Comparative Analysis of Women With Notable Subjective Health Indicators Compared With Participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health: Cross-Sectional Survey.

Christoph Schnelle,Vanessa Mchardy,Eunice J Minford,Jane Keep

doi:10.2196/publichealth.9490

Abstract

BackgroundAt least six communities with unusually good health and longevity have been identified, but their lifestyles aren’t adopted widely. Informal evidence suggests that women associated with Universal Medicine (UM), a complementary medicine health care organization in Eastern Australia and the United Kingdom with normal lifestyles, also have several unusual health indicators.ObjectiveOur objective was to determine how UM participants compared with women in the Australian population at large on a variety of health indicators.MethodsIn an Internet survey conducted July to September 2015, a total of 449 female UM participants from 15 countries responded to 43 health indicator questions taken from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH).ResultsSurvey responses revealed large positive differences in mental and physical health when compared with the ALSWH respondents, except for abnormal Pap test and low iron history. Differences and corresponding effect size estimates (Cohen d; ≥0.8 is a high difference, ≥0.5 a medium and ≥0.2 a small one with P<.001 except where indicated) included body mass index (BMI; 1.11), stress level (0.20, P=.006), depression (0.44), summary physical (0.31) and mental health (0.37), general mental health (0.39), emotional (0.15, P=.009) and social functioning (0.22), vitality (0.58), and general health (0.49), as well as lower incidences of diabetes, hypertension, and thrombosis (P<.001 each). Neither education levels nor country of residence had predictive value. Age did not predict BMI.ConclusionsThe women’s responses notably claim substantially lower levels of illness and disease than in the general Australian population.Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12617000972325; https://www.anzctr. org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=373120&isReview=true (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/ 6wEDDn45O)International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR2-10.2196/7993

Highlights

The population in the developed world is getting both older and, even after accounting for age, less healthy
Informal evidence that can be gathered by visiting any Universal Medicine (UM)-run event shows a low number of overweight or obese participants present, even though most events do not involve physical activity and few members profess to be on weight loss diets at any time
We adopted a substantial portion of questions from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH)

Summary

Introduction

The population in the developed world is getting both older and, even after accounting for age, less healthy. There have always been individuals who live exceptionally healthy lives, but entire communities that demonstrate superior health are rare; 4 such groups are the residents of the small US Pennsylvanian town of Roseto [9], Seventh Day Adventists [10], traditional Japanese [11], and senior Whitehall (UK) civil servants [12]. Their lifestyles have not been adopted widely. Informal evidence suggests that women associated with Universal Medicine (UM), a complementary medicine health care organization in Eastern Australia and the United Kingdom with normal lifestyles, have several unusual health indicators

Methods

Results

Conclusion