Search results for "HEALTH STATUS"

Combined associations of body weight and lifestyle factors with all cause and cause specific mortality in men and women: prospective cohort study

2016

Objective  To evaluate the combined associations of diet, physical activity, moderate alcohol consumption, and smoking with body weight on risk of all cause and cause specific mortality. Design  Longitudinal study with up to 32 years of follow-up. Setting  Nurses’ Health Study (1980-2012) and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2012). Participants  74 582 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and 39 284 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study who were free from cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline. Main outcome measures  Exposures included body mass index (BMI), score on the alternate healthy eating index, level of physical activity, smoking habits, and alcohol drink…

A Prospective Study of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Mortality in Finland

2016

Objectives. To estimate the simultaneous effects of social isolation and loneliness on mortality. Methods. We analyzed a representative Finnish sample (n = 8650) from the cross-sectional Living Conditions Survey of 1994, with a 17-year follow-up period (1995–2011), by using Cox regression models adjusted for several possible confounding variables. We examined the possible nonlinear threshold effect of social isolation on mortality. Results. The analyses revealed that social isolation predicted mortality even after we controlled for loneliness and control variables. The connection between social isolation and mortality was linear in nature and there was no synergistic effect between social …

Testing a new health indicator: using avoidable causes of death and life expectancy for Spain between 1975-1986.

1993

The concept of avoidable cause of death serves as the basis for measuring the quality and diversity of a health care system. In this study the authors propose a new way to use this kind of mortality by combining with the concept of life expectancy to obtain what they call "life expectancy free of avoidable mortality" (LEFAM). This indicator was 76.9 in 1986 in Spain while life expectancy was 75.83. If these deaths were avoidable there would be a gain of 1.09 years per person born. There is an important difference between the would-be male gain of 1.76 years and the would-be female gain of 0.6. In the ecological study, LEFAM would better explain the year to year changes of the resources in t…

Effect of physical activity on health in twins: a 30-yr longitudinal study.

2010

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate whether persistent leisure-time physical activity, adjusted for genetic liability and childhood experiences, protects against chronic diseases, early signs of disability, and loss of life satisfaction. Methods: From 5663 healthy adult twin pairs, we identified 146 pairs who were discordant for both intensity and volume of leisure physical activity in 1975 and 1981. Of them, both members of 95 pairs were alive and participated in our follow-up study in 2005 when chronic diseases (such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and osteoarthritis), life satisfaction, and disability were assessed by a structured telephone interview. The mean age of t…

African and European HIV-positive women: psychological and psychosocial differences.

2000

The objectives were to study and compare the psychosocial and psychopathological aspects of HIV infection in African and European HIV-positive women living in France. All women included were seen in a semi-structured interview to assess personal history, history of their HIV infection, social and family relationships, preoccupation with childbearing and concerns about HIV infection and its prognosis. The comparison of psychological and psychosocial factors between HIV-positive African and European women showed certain significant differences. The demographic characteristics did not differ, except for current professional activity, with more African women being unemployed. The medical aspect…

Ageing: Not only an age-related issue.

2021

Developments in the last century have led to an unprecedented increase in life expectancy. These changes open opportunities for humans to grow and develop in healthy and adaptive ways, adding life to years as well as years to life. There are also challenges, however - as we live longer, a greater number of people will experience chronic illness and disability, often linked to lifestyle factors. The current paper advances an argument that there are fundamental biological sex differences which, sometimes directly and sometime mediated by lifestyle factors, underpin the marked differences in morbidity and mortality that we find between the sexes. Furthermore, we argue that it is necessary to c…

Outdoor and indoor falls as predictors of mobility limitation in older women

2009

Mobility Limitation and Changes in Personal Goals Among Older Women.

2016

Objectives. Several theoretical viewpoints suggest that older adults need to modify their personal goals in the face of functional decline. The aim of this study was to investigate longitudinally the association of mobility limitation with changes in personal goals among older women. Method. Eight-year follow-up of 205 women aged 66–78 years at baseline. Results. Health-related goals were the most common at both measurements. Goals related to independent living almost doubled and goals related to exercise and to cultural activities substantially decreased during the follow-up. Higher age decreased the likelihood for engaging in new goals related to cultural activities and disengaging from g…

Healthy and sustainable diet and physical activity: the rationale for and experiences from developing a combined summary score

2018

Aims: First, to describe the rationale for developing a combined summary score, the Healthy and Sustainable Dietary and Physical Activity habits (HSDPA) score, incorporating four selected dietary and physical activity aspects: (a) the New Nordic Diet, (b) local and sustainable foods, (c) active transportation and (d) non-exercise outdoor activities. Secondly, to describe the experiences from constructing the HSDPA score. Methods: Relevant literature covering the four aspects of interest was reviewed to secure a well-grounded rationale and a theory-based approach. To measure compliance with such a broad approach targeting diet, physical activity, health and environmental sustainability, the…

How young Europeans sleep.

1993

This study investigated sleeping habits, difficulties in being able to fall asleep and their connections to self-reported health conditions, as well as other selected health behaviours and use of leisure time, among 11-16 year old Europeans from 11 countries. The study was part of a larger, comparative, WHO coordinated project on the health and life-style of school children (Health Behaviour of School Age Children--A WHO Cross-National Survey, The HBSC Study). In most of the countries, research data were collected from samples representative of the whole country. Using a standardized survey questionnaire, the data were collected anonymously in schools. Altogether 40,202 students responded t…