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Cancer Epidemiology Jun 2024Weighting can improve study estimate representativeness. We examined the impact of weighting on associations between participants' characteristics and cancer,...
Impact of weighting on the association between sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviours and cancer, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the Australian 45 and Up Study.
BACKGROUND
Weighting can improve study estimate representativeness. We examined the impact of weighting on associations between participants' characteristics and cancer, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the Australian 45 and Up Study cohort.
METHODS
Raking weighted cohort data to the 2006 Australian population for seven sociodemographic characteristics. Deaths were ascertained via linkage to routinely collected data. Cox's proportional hazards regression quantified associations between 11 sociodemographic and health characteristics and cancer, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. The ratios of hazard ratios (RHRs) compared unweighted and weighted estimates.
RESULTS
Among 195,052 included participants (median follow-up 11.4 years), there were 7200 cancer, 5912 cardiovascular and 21,840 all-cause deaths. Overall, 102/111 (91.9%) weighted HRs did not differ significantly from unweighted HRs (100%, 86.5% and 89.2% of 37 HRs for cancer, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, respectively). Significant differences included a somewhat stronger association between single/widowed/divorced (versus married/de-facto) and cardiovascular mortality (unweighted HR=1.25 (95%CI:1.18-1.32), weighted HR=1.33 (95%CI:1.24-1.42), RHR=1.06 (95%CI:1.02-1.11)); and between no school certificate/qualification (versus university degree) and all-cause mortality (unweighted HR=1.21 (95%CI:1.15-1.27), weighted HR=1.28 (95%CI:1.19-1.38), RHR=1.06 (95%CI:1.03-1.10)).
CONCLUSION
Our results support the generalisability of most estimates of associations in the 45 and Up Study, particularly in relation to cancer mortality. Slight distortion of a few associations with cardiovascular or all-cause mortality were observed.
Topics: Humans; Male; Neoplasms; Female; Middle Aged; Cardiovascular Diseases; Australia; Aged; Cause of Death; Health Behavior; Cohort Studies; Socioeconomic Factors; Sociodemographic Factors; Follow-Up Studies
PubMed: 38603997
DOI: 10.1016/j.canep.2024.102567 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2024Farmers are vulnerable to adverse health effects from pesticide exposure due to their health literacy (HL). Therefore, this study aims to investigate HL among farmers in...
INTRODUCTION
Farmers are vulnerable to adverse health effects from pesticide exposure due to their health literacy (HL). Therefore, this study aims to investigate HL among farmers in four main regions of Thailand, investigating socio-demographics, agricultural, and personal protective factors to their HL.
METHODS
This cross-sectional design study was conducted on 4,035 farmers from January to July 2023. The European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire-47 items were used to measure HL.
RESULTS
Thai farmers had a mean HL score of 34.7 ± 8.7, and the farmers in the North region of Thailand had the highest frequency of limited HL (75.8%). Socio-demographic factors that were associated with HL included gender, region of living, marital status, education level, co-morbidity, and number of family members. Agricultural factors associated with HL included planting status, working hours on farm, spraying pesticides, harvesting crops, pesticide use of >1 type, access information from government officers, access information from posters/brochures, information from online multimedia, and access information from neighbors. Personal protective factors that were associated with HL included wearing a hat, goggles, a rubber apron, and a long-sleeved shirt.
DISCUSSION
Our study recommends that strategies and interventions to enhance the HL of farmers should be focused on the target populations, which include men, widows, or divorced, those with low levels of education, those who have co-morbidities, and those who applied pesticides of more than 1 type and improper personal protective equipment (PPE) use. The primary emphasis needs to be on the North region of Thailand, making that the target area to improve health equity in Thailand. These efforts would enhance the HL of farmers and sustainably improve pesticide safety behavior. Additionally, there is an urgent need for supportive measures aimed at altering on-farm practices and promoting education on alternative pest management strategies, particularly non-chemical crop protection, to ensure sustainable agriculture.
Topics: Male; Humans; Farmers; Thailand; Protective Factors; Health Literacy; Cross-Sectional Studies; Occupational Exposure; Agriculture; Pesticides; Demography
PubMed: 38590809
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1364296 -
Innovation in Aging 2024The population of older individuals in Africa is increasing, and at a rapid rate. Although the numbers of these individuals increase, many African countries, including...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The population of older individuals in Africa is increasing, and at a rapid rate. Although the numbers of these individuals increase, many African countries, including Nigeria, are devoid of state-sponsored welfare systems that address their well-being. This situation has placed the bulk of support on the family members including spouses. Studies have shown that spouses are considered to be veritable sources of support in later life. However, spousal death tends to reduce the perceived support including emotional support, which usually occasions lower well-being, life dissatisfaction, and higher mortality rates. This study ascertains the impact of spirituality/religious participation on the emotional well-being of widowed older adults.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
The study was conducted in Enugu State, southeast Nigeria. The study implemented a qualitative approach to collect data from 71 widowed older adults, aged 60 and older. The thematic analytical method was used to analyze the generated data.
RESULTS
Participating in spiritual/religious activities like prayers, church programs/activities reading, studying, and meditating on the word of God have enabled the widowed older adults to buffer some of the emotional challenges.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Older adults should be encouraged to participate in spiritual and religious activities. Religious leaders should also make every effort to organize activities that will address the emotional needs of these individuals.
PubMed: 38572404
DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igad128 -
Innovation in Aging 2024Ghana's older adult population is growing rapidly and is projected to double by 2050. It is well-documented that social, health, and housing factors influence segmented...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Ghana's older adult population is growing rapidly and is projected to double by 2050. It is well-documented that social, health, and housing factors influence segmented aging trajectories that lead to disparate rates of disability. However, little is known about how the intersection of place (i.e., urban and rural) and gender (i.e., woman and man) inform rates of disability among older Ghanaians. We seek to examine this gap in the literature through an intersectional approach.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Using logistic regression with Wave 1 (2007/2008) data from the World Health Organization's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Ghana, we investigate the prevalence of reporting activities of daily living (ADL) disability among respondents ages 50+ ( = 4,106). To document gender differences by place, we compute separate adjusted odds ratio models among urban and rural respondents. We also control for health, social, and housing factors that might explain gender differences.
RESULTS
Compared to urban men, urban women's ADL disability disadvantage was explained by marital status, particularly widowhood. In contrast, rural women consistently reported an ADL disability disadvantage when compared to rural men. Additionally, we found that the morbidity profiles of those who reported ADL disability differed by place and that certain ADL difficulties (i.e., bed transferring and toileting) were especially common among women respondents.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Women, regardless of urban or rural residence, were especially vulnerable to ADL disability. Marital status, particularly widows, explained the difference in disability risk between urban men and urban women. This finding suggests that urban women's risk of ADL disability is attenuated during the partnership. Also, we speculate that varied morbidity associations with ADL disability are due to different stressors in urban versus rural environments. These findings also generate further interest in about rural women's disability disadvantage.
PubMed: 38572403
DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igad134 -
Innovation in Aging 2024In most African societies with little or no social welfare services for older adults, many parents regard their children as personal investments and security for the...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
In most African societies with little or no social welfare services for older adults, many parents regard their children as personal investments and security for the future. As a result, satisfaction with children's achievements may be necessary for older parents' physical and mental health. This study examined the association between satisfaction with adult children's achievements (SACA) and health outcomes (regarding somatic health, self-rated health, anxiety, and depression) in a sample of Nigerian older adults.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
By using the multistage sampling technique in a cross-sectional survey, 465 older adults (mean age = 74.18 ± 9.42) consisting of 294 women were selected from 14 rural communities in a State in Nigeria. Data were collected using validated instruments and analyzed using multiple linear regression and multigroup analyses in SPSS AMOS.
RESULTS
High SACA was significantly associated with low somatic health problems, positive self-rated health, and low levels of anxiety and depression, even after controlling for sociodemographic factors, children's support, social engagement, and loneliness. Further analyses indicated that the relationship between SACA and depression was only significant in women and more robust in the widowed. Also, SACA was associated with somatic health among the married but not the widowed. The level of children's support was not a significant moderator.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Parents can experience positive emotions and, consequently, good health from being satisfied with their children's achievements regardless of perceived children's support. Assessing SACA may aid in better diagnoses and formulation of a more effective clinical intervention to improve the well-being of older adults in developing societies.
PubMed: 38572400
DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igad088 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2024This study aimed to examine the relationship between health literacy and health-related quality of life in older adults.
BACKGROUND
This study aimed to examine the relationship between health literacy and health-related quality of life in older adults.
METHODS
A cross-sectional survey design was used. We used a self-administered questionnaire to assess sociodemographic factors of older adults, the Chinese Citizen Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQC) and the 36-item Chinese version of the Short Form 36 (SF-36) to measure health literacy and quality of life, respectively, among older adults. Between September 2011 and June 2012, information was collected from 1,396 older adults in 44 nursing homes in four cities through face-to-face interviews.
RESULTS
The mean health literacy level of older adults in nursing homes was relatively low (71.74 ± 28.35). Health-related quality of life scores were moderate (104.77 ± 16.92). There were statistically significant differences in the effects of health literacy, education level, former occupation (professional), marital status (widowed) and race on health-related quality of life.
CONCLUSION
Improving health literacy is considered an important intervention to promote health-related quality of life in older adults in nursing homes.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Quality of Life; Cross-Sectional Studies; Health Promotion; Health Literacy; Health Status
PubMed: 38572002
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1288906 -
Journal of Cancer Research and... Jan 2024Breast self-examination (BSE) is a simple and cost-effective screening procedure in downstaging breast tumors.
CONTEXT
Breast self-examination (BSE) is a simple and cost-effective screening procedure in downstaging breast tumors.
AIM
To assess the BSE practices and its associated knowledge and attitudes of rural women from Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SETTINGS AND DESIGN
A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed, and snowball sampling was used to recruit the sample of rural women from Tirunelveli.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Women ages 18-60 willing to take part were included. Data were collected online through a self-developed questionnaire.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Responses were analyzed using SPSS Version 20. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to present the general details and responses of the rural women through percentages. Using the appropriate tests, the mean differences of the BSE attitudes based on the personal variables were computed using one-way ANOVA.
RESULTS
A total of 433 rural women (Mean age: 29.20 ± 9.35 years) from Tirunelveli responded to the online Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) questionnaire. Regular health checkups were undergone by 27.48% of women and 9.24% underwent breast cancer (BC) screening in the past. While 68.36% had heard of BC, 61% knew it could be detected in the early stages. Insufficient knowledge regarding BSE techniques was evident among the women. Knowledge about BC was highest among those earning more than 20,001 INR, women aged 36-45, widowed/separated/divorced women, and diploma graduates. Overall, BSE and BC knowledge score was low, with correspondingly low attitudes and practices.
CONCLUSION
Findings showed the KAP among rural Tirunelveli women to be low.
Topics: Humans; Female; Young Adult; Adult; Breast Self-Examination; Cross-Sectional Studies; India; Pandemics; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Breast Neoplasms; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 38554300
DOI: 10.4103/jcrt.jcrt_713_22 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024Schizophrenia is typically treated with medication as the first approach, but additional strategies are necessary to enhance the effectiveness of this treatment for...
Attitude towards mental help-seeking, motivation, and economic resources in connection with positive, negative, and general psychopathological symptoms of schizophrenia: a pilot study of a psychoeducation program.
INTRODUCTION
Schizophrenia is typically treated with medication as the first approach, but additional strategies are necessary to enhance the effectiveness of this treatment for better outcomes. However, it is crucial to explore methods, alongside medication, that promote a positive attitude towards seeking mental health support and alleviate symptom severity among non-institutionalized individuals of different age groups in Pakistan. Thus, this pilot study aimed to utilize a psychoeducation program to enhance patients' motivation and attitudes toward seeking treatment, decrease symptom severity, and investigate the role of financial factors in their illness journey.
METHODS
In this preliminary investigation, our focus was on individuals who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and were receiving treatment from various hospitals and primary care clinics. Following a thorough screening process, 255 participants met the eligibility criteria, and 220 completed the psychoeducation program. The study included both male and female participants, with 143 (56.08%) being men and 112 (43.82%) being women. Regarding marital status, 123 (48.24%) were single, 98 (38.43%) were married, and 34 (13.33%) were divorced widowers or widows. The age range of the respondents varied from 18 to 52 years, with a mean age of 35.45 and a standard deviation of 10.27.
RESULTS
The results indicated a decrease in symptom severity following a 16-week psychoeducation program. The psychoeducation program significantly reduced the positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and general psychopathological symptoms among patients. Similarly, significant improvement was observed in patients' motivation toward treatment and they actively participated in treatment after getting psychoeducation about the treatment. Similarly, after the psychoeducation program significant improvement was seen in patients' attitudes towards help-seeking and perceived mental health functioning.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the findings suggest that our psychoeducation program has the potential to positively impact the motivation and help-seeking attitudes of schizophrenia patients towards treatment. Moreover, there is a need for further exploration of psychoeducation programs for schizophrenia, particularly in countries facing economic challenges. This study paves the way for the development of an indigenous psychoeducation program tailored to Pakistani schizophrenia patients, with potential applicability for Urdu-speaking individuals.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/show/TCTR20210208003, identifier TCTR20210208003.
PubMed: 38550536
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1353125 -
International Journal of Molecular... Mar 2024Spider silk has extraordinary mechanical properties, displaying high tensile strength, elasticity, and toughness. Given the high performance of natural fibers, one of...
Spider silk has extraordinary mechanical properties, displaying high tensile strength, elasticity, and toughness. Given the high performance of natural fibers, one of the long-term goals of the silk community is to manufacture large-scale synthetic spider silk. This process requires vast quantities of recombinant proteins for wet-spinning applications. Attempts to synthesize large amounts of native size recombinant spidroins in diverse cell types have been unsuccessful. In these studies, we design and express recombinant miniature black widow MaSp1 spidroins in bacteria that incorporate the N-terminal and C-terminal domain (NTD and CTD), along with varying numbers of codon-optimized internal block repeats. Following spidroin overexpression, we perform quantitative analysis of the bacterial proteome to identify proteins associated with spidroin synthesis. Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC MS/MS) reveals a list of molecular targets that are differentially expressed after enforced mini-spidroin production. This list included proteins involved in energy management, proteostasis, translation, cell wall biosynthesis, and oxidative stress. Taken together, the purpose of this study was to identify genes within the genome of for molecular targeting to overcome bottlenecks that throttle spidroin overexpression in microorganisms.
Topics: Animals; Fibroins; Proteomics; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Silk; Recombinant Proteins; Bacteria; Spiders
PubMed: 38542528
DOI: 10.3390/ijms25063556 -
JBRA Assisted Reproduction Jun 2024This comprehensive review delves into the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding post-mortem sperm retrieval (PMSR) and its implications for creating new individuals.... (Review)
Review
This comprehensive review delves into the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding post-mortem sperm retrieval (PMSR) and its implications for creating new individuals. The paper examines the challenges posed by unusual requests for sperm retrieval from the deceased's widow and parents, as well as the broader socio-ethical considerations associated with PMSR. These requests have often been denied due to the absence of established laws and guidelines governing posthumous sperm retrieval and subsequent births, which were once deemed impossible. While some countries have implemented institutional policies to regulate its use to some extent, there remains a lack of standardized rules and procedures for the collection and retrieval of sperm after death. It is essential to introduce institutional guidelines to facilitate requests for assisted reproductive technology (ART) following successful sperm retrieval. Additionally, the development of PMSR legislation is necessary to ensure a proper balance between the moral rights and fundamental rights of the deceased, their family, and any current or future offspring, while providing adequate protection for all parties involved.
Topics: Humans; Male; Sperm Retrieval; Posthumous Conception; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted
PubMed: 38530764
DOI: 10.5935/1518-0557.20240022