Search results for "Behavioral and Social Aspects of Health"
showing 10 items of 30 documents
A Twin Protection Effect? Explaining Twin Survival Advantages with a Two-Process Mortality Model
2016
Twin studies that focus on the correlation in age-at-death between twin pairs have yielded important insights into the heritability and role of genetic factors in determining lifespan, but less attention is paid to the biological and social role of zygosity itself in determining survival across the entire life course. Using data from the Danish Twin Registry and the Human Mortality Database, we show that monozygotic twins have greater cumulative survival proportions at nearly every age compared to dizygotic twins and the Danish general population. We examine this survival advantage by fitting these data with a two-process mortality model that partitions survivorship patterns into extrinsic …
Self-care appraisal in nursing assistant students: Adaptation, validation and psychometric properties of the Spanish ASAS
2021
The core implication of nursing professionals’ labor is promoting self-care and foster well-being among healthcare service users. The beginning of the healing process starts with the provider, and self-care habits are needed to positively impact on patients’ care outcomes at different spheres. Overall, current literature supports the idea that nurses’ personal self-care should be a necessary skill to be expected in their professional role. In this regard, the Appraisal of Self-care Agency Scale (ASAS) is a worldwide known instrument aimed at assessing the ability to engage in self-care. However, it has never been tested in the Spanish context before, and much less in nursing practitioners o…
Disentangling the dynamics of social assistance: A linked survey—Register data cohort study of long-term social assistance recipients in Norway
2020
Social assistance is a means-tested benefit that is supposed to be a short-term, temporary economic support. Understanding why some individuals are in repeated or continuous need of social assistance is thus of obvious policy relevance, but the dynamics of social assistance receipt remain poorly understood. In 2005, a survey among long-term recipients of social assistance in Norway collected data on (a) childhood disadvantages, (b) health status, (c) health behaviors, (d) psychological resources, and (e) social ties, in addition to basic sociodemographic information. This rich survey data has been linked with tax register data from 2005–2013, enabling us to explore the detailed characterist…
Does Sedentary Behavior Predict Academic Performance in Adolescents or the Other Way Round? A Longitudinal Path Analysis.
2016
This study examined whether adolescents’ time spent on sedentary behaviors (academic, technological-based and social-based activities) was a better predictor of academic performance than the reverse. A cohort of 755 adolescents participated in a three-year period study. Structural Equation Modeling techniques were used to test plausible causal hypotheses. Four competing models were analyzed to determine which model best fitted the data. The Best Model was separately tested by gender. The Best Model showed that academic performance was a better predictor of sedentary behaviors than the other way round. It also indicated that students who obtained excellent academic results were more likely t…
Vitamin D deficiency and leisure time activities in the elderly: are all pastimes the same?
2014
Background Optimal vitamin D status is important for overall health and well-being, particularly in the elderly. Although vitamin D synthesis in the skin declines with age, exposure to sunlight still seems to help older-aged adults to achieve adequate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels. Elderly people would therefore benefit from outdoor leisure activities, but the effects of different types of pastime on serum 25OHD levels have yet to be thoroughly investigated. Aims To assess the association of different pastimes with 25OHD deficiency in elderly subjects. Methods A sample of 2,349 community-dwelling elderly individuals (1,389 females and 960 males) enrolled in the Progetto Veneto An…
Energy balance related behaviour: Personal, home- and friend-related factors among schoolchildren in Europe studied in the ENERGY-project
2014
Published version of an article in the journal: PLoS One. Also available from the publisher: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111775 Open Acces Objective: To design interventions that target energy balance-related behaviours, knowledge of primary schoolchildren’s perceptions regarding soft drink intake, fruit juice intake, breakfast consumption, TV viewing and physical activity (PA) is essential. The current study describes personal beliefs and attitudes, home- and friend-related variables regarding these behaviours across Europe. Design: Cross-sectional study in which personal, family and friend -related variables were assessed by validated questionnaires, and dichotomized as favour…
Quantifying Excess Deaths Related to Heatwaves under Climate Change Scenarios: A multicountry time series modelling study
2018
Background: Heatwaves are a critical public health problem. There will be an increase in the frequency and severity of heatwaves under changing climate. However, evidence about the impacts of climate change on heatwave-related mortality at a global scale is limited. Methods and findings: We collected historical daily time series of mean temperature and mortality for all causes or nonexternal causes, in periods ranging from January 1, 1984, to December 31, 2015, in 412 communities within 20 countries/regions. We estimated heatwave–mortality associations through a two-stage time series design. Current and future daily mean temperature series were projected under four scenarios of greenhouse g…
Aerobic Fitness Does Not Modify the Effect of FTO Variation on Body Composition Traits
2012
Purpose Poor physical fitness and obesity are risk factors for all cause morbidity and mortality. We aimed to clarify whether common genetic variants of key energy intake determinants in leptin (LEP), leptin receptor (LEPR), and fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) are associated with aerobic and neuromuscular performance, and whether aerobic fitness can alter the effect of these genotypes on body composition. Methods 846 healthy Finnish males of Caucasian origin were genotyped for FTO (rs8050136), LEP (rs7799039) and LEPR (rs8179183 and rs1137101) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and studied for associations with maximal oxygen consumption, body fat percent, serum leptin levels, wa…
Beneficial effects of choir singing on cognition and well-being of older adults: Evidence from a cross-sectional study.
2021
Background and objectivesChoir singing has been associated with better mood and quality of life (QOL) in healthy older adults, but little is known about its potential cognitive benefits in aging. In this study, our aim was to compare the subjective (self-reported) and objective (test-based) cognitive functioning of senior choir singers and matched control subjects, coupled with assessment of mood, QOL, and social functioning.Research design and methodsWe performed a cross-sectional questionnaire study in 162 healthy older (age ≥ 60 years) adults (106 choir singers, 56 controls), including measures of cognition, mood, social engagement, QOL, and role of music in daily life. The choir singers…
The novelty-seeking phenotype modulates the long-lasting effects of intermittent ethanol administration during adolescence.
2013
The aim of the present study was to investigate if a novelty-seeking phenotype mediates the long-lasting consequences of intermittent EtOH intoxication during adolescence. The hole board test was employed to classify adolescent mice as High- or Low-Novelty Seekers. Subsequently, animals were administered ethanol (1.25 or 2.5 g/kg) on two consecutive days at 48-h intervals over a 14-day period. Anxiety levels - measured using the elevated plus maze- spontaneous motor activity and social interaction test were studied 3 weeks later. A different set of mice underwent the same procedure, but received only the 2.5 g/kg dose of ethanol. Three weeks later, in order to induce CPP, the same animals w…