The outdoor mobility and leisure activities of older people in five European countries
ABSTRACTMany gerontological studies have dealt with the leisure activities of older people and they have generated many important theories. Although outdoor activities and mobility promote good health in old age, both decrease with increasing age as people lose physical and mental functions. This paper examines the outdoor and indoor leisure activities of 3,950 older adults and their variations by personal and environmental characteristics in Germany, Finland, Hungary, The Netherlands and Italy. The main dimensions of activity were established by factor analysis, and in all countries four factors were found: home activities, hobbies, social activities, and sports activities. Both similar an…
Remodelling of biological parameters during human ageing: evidence for complex regulation in longevity and in type 2 diabetes.
Factor structure analyses have revealed the presence of specific biological system markers in healthy humans and diseases. However, this type of approach in very old persons and in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is lacking. A total sample of 2,137 Italians consisted of two groups: 1,604 healthy and 533 with T2DM. Age (years) was categorized as adults (≤65), old (66-85), oldest old (>85-98) and centenarians (≥99). Specific biomarkers of routine haematological and biochemical testing were tested across each age group. Exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) by principal component method with Varimax rotation was used to identify factors including related variables. Structural equation modelling (SEM) wa…
Circulating miRNAs and miRNA shuttles as biomarkers: Perspective trajectories of healthy and unhealthy aging
Human aging is a lifelong process characterized by a continuous trade-off between pro-and anti-inflammatory responses, where the best-adapted and/or remodeled genetic/epigenetic profile may develop a longevity phenotype. Centenarians and their offspring represent such a phenotype and their comparison to patients with age-related diseases (ARDs) is expected to maximize the chance to unravel the genetic makeup that better associates with healthy aging trajectories. Seemingly, such comparison is expected to allow the discovery of new biomarkers of longevity together with risk factor for the most common ARDs. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and their shuttles (extracellular vesicles in particular) are curre…
Outdoor mobility and social relationships of elderly people.
Social relationships and activities are important elements in the quality of life of older people. With advancing age, they are made more difficult through the possible loss of physical functions, through societal processes of differentiation, and through unfavourable environmental and technological conditions. Therefore, mobility becomes a fundamental prerequisite for the participation in social relations and activities. This article presents some initial findings of a project which investigates the mobility needs of the elderly and the main factors hindering their desired mobility in three European countries. It became apparent that there is a clear connection between the social situation…
Evidences of +896 A/G TLR4 Polymorphism as an Indicative of Prevalence of Complications in T2DM Patients
T2DM is today considered as world-wide health problem, with complications responsible of an enhanced mortality and morbidity. Thus, new strategies for its prevention and therapy are necessary. For this reason, the research interest has focused its attention on TLR4 and its polymorphisms, particularly the rs4986790. However, no conclusive findings have been reported until now about the role of this polymorphism in development of T2DM and its complications, even if a recent meta-analysis showed its T2DM association in Caucasians. In this study, we sought to evaluate the weight of rs4986790 polymorphism in the risk of the major T2DM complications, including 367 T2DM patients complicated for th…
Akzeptanz und Nutzung öffentlicher Automaten durch Ältere: Ergebnisse einer europÄischen Untersuchung
Die Autoren dieses Beitrags stellen Befunde uber altere Manner und Frauen als Nutzer von Fahrkartenautomaten, Bankautomaten und Kartentelefonen vor. Basis der Analysen bilden Daten, die im Rahmen des internationalen Kooperationsprojektes „Keeping the Elderly Mobile“ in vier europaischen Stadten erhoben wurden. Die Untersuchungen fanden 1995 in Mannheim (Westdeutschland) mit 404, in Chemnitz (Ostdeutschland) mit 400, in Ancona (Italien) mit 600 und in Jyvaskyla (Finnland) mit 618 in Privathaushalten lebenden Befragten statt, die aus den jeweiligen Einwohnermeldedregistern zufallig ausgewahlt wurden. Die nach Geschlecht und Alter disproportional geschichtete Stichprobe setzte sich zu gleichen…