Age In Spain Research Articles

Book Review: Scott Eastman, A Missionary Nation: Race, Religion, and Spain's Age of Liberal Imperialism, 1841-1881

Book Review: Scott Eastman, <i>A Missionary Nation: Race, Religion, and Spain's Age of Liberal Imperialism, 1841-1881</i>

Divergent trends in gastric cancer incidence by sex and age in Spain (1990-2019).

To investigate trends in gastric cancer (GC) incidence in Spain from 1990 to 2019, analysing variations by sex and age. GC incidence data from the Global Burden of Disease database and population data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics were used to calculate age-specific and age-standardized incidence rates (ASIR) with the European population as the reference. Temporal trends by sex and age groups were analyzed using joinpoint regression. While the total number of cases rose slightly, ASIR showed a consistent annual decrease of 1.8% for both men and women. Both sexes experienced this increase in total cases (women: 4,023 to 4,359; men: 6,243 to 6,591). Men consistently had a higher GC burden compared to women (approximately 2.2:1 ratio). Younger adults (<35 years) of both sexes saw significant decreases in ASIR. However, the joinpoint analysis revealed a recent increase in young men (25-34 years) during the period 2014-2019. Adults aged 35-64 showed a decrease in ASIR for both sexes, with a slightly steeper decline in men. Adults over 65 had a similar decrease in ASIR for both sexes, but the joinpoint analysis suggests different patterns within this age group. Our study reveals a decline in overall age-adjusted GC incidence in Spain. However, the recent rise observed in young men warrants further investigation to understand potential risk factors in this specific population group.

Working More Years In Spain Has to Start from a Young Age: Lessons from the Labour Market Exit of People Aged from 50 to 65 in the Last Decade

Since 2013, retirement age in Spain has been rising slowly from 65 to an expected 67 in 2027 and, with it, the minimum number of years of National Insurance contributions from 35 to 38. This policy is justified by sustainability of the social security system since the number of older people is increasing faster than the number of contributors. However, the policy has been criticised for not taking into account the diversity of working lives. The labour market and social construction of work differ with occupations and with gender, thus creating pluralities of working lives. Hence, the ways of leaving the labour market should take this diversity into account. Since the present wholesale policy of equally postponing retirement age for everyone overlooks the actual state of retirements, the aim of this study is to ascertain who has retired earlier or later in the last decade, the causes of exits from the labour market, and the repercussions on the number of years of National Insurance contributions. Premature exits from the labour market of people aged between 50 and 65 during the decade from 2010 to 2020 are analysed using data from the Continuous Sample of Working Lives (CSWL) taken from Spanish Social Security records. These are people who were born between 1945 and 1954. The results show that women work later than men, that people in Routine occupations tend to leave the labour market early, and that the number of years worked between the ages of 50 and 59 are a good predictor of prolongation of working life after the age of 60, although there are differences between the sexes.

Small-area models to assess the geographical distribution of tobacco consumption by sex and age in Spain.

Complete and accurate data on smoking prevalence at a local level would enable health authorities to plan context-dependent smoking interventions. However, national health surveys do not generally provide direct estimates of smoking prevalence by sex and age groups at the subnational level. This study uses a small-area model-based methodology to obtain precise estimations of smoking prevalence by sex, age group and region, from a population-based survey. The areas targeted for analysis consisted of 180 groups based on a combination of sex, age group (15-34, 35-54, 55-64, 65-74, and ≥75 years), and Autonomous Region. Data on tobacco use came from the 2017 Spanish National Health Survey (2017 SNHS). In each of the 180 groups, we estimated the prevalence of smokers (S), ex-smokers (ExS) and never smokers (NS), as well as their coefficients of variation (CV), using a weighted ratio estimator (direct estimator) and a multinomial logistic model with random area effects. When smoking prevalence was estimated using the small-area model, the precision of direct estimates improved; the CV of S and ExS decreased on average by 26%, and those of NS by 25%. The range of S prevalence was 11-46% in men and 4-37% in women, excluding the group aged ≥75 years. This study proposes a methodology for obtaining reliable estimates of smoking prevalence in groups or areas not covered in the survey design. The model applied is a good alternative for enhancing the precision of estimates at a detailed level, at a much lower cost than that involved in conducting large-scale surveys. This method could be easily integrated into routine data processing of population health surveys. Having such estimates directly after completing a health survey would help characterize the tobacco epidemic and/or any other risk factor more precisely.

Small-area models to assess the geographic distribution of second-hand smoke exposure by sex and age in Spain

1. Tobacco. World Health Organization. 2002. https://www.who.int/news-room/.... Google Scholar

Tipologías de mayores de 65 años en España según la Encuesta Europea de Salud

IntroductionNumerous organizations and institutions warn of the need for physical activity due to the multiple benefits it brings to the health of the population. In people over 65 years of age, doing some type of activity has a direct impact on healthy ageing. ObjectiveTo find out the state of health and physical activity of people over 65 years of age in Spain and to identify population typologies in order to establish specific health promotion strategies. MethodDescriptive cross-sectional study using a sample formed by 7167 older adults with data collected during the years 2019 and 2020 from the European Health Survey in Spain. Sociodemographic variables related to physical activity and health status were selected. A latent class analysis was carried out to analyze characteristics in subgroups of the population over 65 years of age. ResultsFive population subgroups were found where only one, representing 21.35% of the older adult, had a good perception of their health and regularly engaged in physical activity. ConclusionMost of the Spanish population over 65 years, despite not suffering from limiting health problems, has high levels of sedentary lifestyles and obesity. It is necessary to promote healthy ageing policies taking into account the characteristics of the subgroups of the population over 65 years of age.

Away but connected: from the mountains of Babia to the plains of Cáceres. A study of Spanish transhumance at the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries

AbstractOne of the most important systems of sheep transhumance since the Middle Ages in Spain occurred between the mountains of northern Leon and the Extremadura Meadow lands – a 500-kilometre journey on foot. We analyse here an interesting collection of thirty letters, written at the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century, and sent by the shepherds responsible for the flock from the wintering land to the owner of the animals. The only connection with the owner for seven long months but also with their villages and families, were these letters.

Trends in asthma hospitalizations among adults in Spain: Analysis of hospital discharge data from 2011 to 2020

AimsTo analyze trends in asthma hospitalizations in patients over 15 years of age in Spain. To identify possible changes in incidence, demographic characteristics, clinical conditions, and outcomes. MethodsWe conducted an observational retrospective epidemiological study using the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database and included all patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of asthma from 2011 to 2020. ResultsA total of 1,102,923 patients were hospitalized with a code for asthma in any diagnostic position; of these, 153,749 (13.94%) had asthma coded as the primary diagnosis (asthma exacerbation). The number of patients with an asthma exacerbation decreased over time, from 15,356 in 2011 to 8804 in 2020. In-hospital mortality (IHM) remained low (around 1.5%) and stable in this subgroup of patients. When the diagnosis of asthma appeared in any diagnostic position, hospitalizations increased for all ages and sexes. In this case, a significant change was observed for IHM, which increased from 3.27% in 2011–12 to 4.36% in 2019–20 (p < 0.001). The main risk factors for IHM in both cases were age over 65 years, need for mechanical ventilation, and associated diagnoses of pneumonia, heart disease, or atrial fibrillation. In contrast, obesity was a predictor of lower mortality. ConclusionOur results suggest a decline in the incidence of hospitalizations for asthma exacerbations from 2011 to 2020. In contrast, the number of patients with asthma in any diagnostic position increased progressively, as did mortality, probably owing to an increase in comorbidities in a gradually ageing population.

Historical-graphical analysis and digital preservation of cultural heritage: case study of the baptismal font of the church of Santiago Apóstol in Montilla (Córdoba, Spain)

Stone is a characteristic element in the construction of buildings and monuments in the Middle Ages in Spain. This is so mainly due to its durability and, in baptismal fonts, specifically, its symbolism: Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, he comes to save us and is the foundation of the life of the Christian and of the Universal Church. The application of virtual 3D reconstruction is essential in the conservation of this type of heritage, together with scientific techniques and methods, and the analysis of historical-graphic documentation. Focusing on these three aspects, the baptismal font of the church of Santiago Apóstol de Montilla will be taken as a reference. The baptismal font of the church of Santiago Apóstol in Montilla (Córdoba, Spain), whose exact origin is unknown, is one of the most important heritage assets. San Francisco Solano, known as the “Thaumaturge of the New World”, was baptised in it. For over four centuries, the temple has been the Main Church of the head of the Marquisate of Priego. This study aims to know, document and carry out a digital reconstruction of an important piece of the monumental heritage of the Catholic Church: the baptismal font of the church of Santiago Apóstol in Montilla. To this end, we searched a major literature review focused on the use of photogrammetry for reading old graphics and deciphering texts. After that we analysed the graphic documentation derived from the restoration process conducted by Cordovan restorer Vázquez Arjona in the late twentieth century. The application of 3D digitisation and documentation techniques has allowed not only to analyse this important heritage element in detail through a virtual reconstruction, but also to make a far-reaching discovery regarding one of its elements, the unknown inserted inscription in the baptismal font band.

Un nouveau cas de façonnage dentaire intentionnel au Néolithique pour le dolmen A4 de la nécropole de Chenon (Charente, France)

We report the case of a new type of dental shaping practiced post-mortem on two lower canines belonging to an individual who had been deposited in the main corridor of the double megalithic monument called A4 passage-grave of the Neolithic Necropolis at Chenon (Charente, France). The main purpose of the present study based on ESEM microscopic observation of human teeth was to examine the trimming process used to shape these teeth. The ESEM observations were performed at different magnifications (30X, 100X, 200X, 500X) on the fractured lingual face, near the CEJ, near the pulp cavity and on the edge of the crown. The tooth shaping was done symmetrically on the two canines, from top to bottom of the lingual side, halfway up the crown, from the mesial face to the distal face, descending a little lower than the CEJ under the gum. A polishing of the exposed surface completed the proceeding. This type of teeth shaping has not been listed until now within the classifications of canine shaping. Known trimmed canines are either pyramid-shaped or L-shaped and observed from Neolithic period to Iron age in Spain.

Gender Gap in Unhealthy Life Expectancy: The Role of Education Among Adults Aged 45.

Objectives: This paper examines the gender gap in unhealthy life expectancy across education levels and age in Spain to understand the extent to which the gender paradox exists over education and across ages. Methods: Death registrations and vital status were taken from the Spanish Statistical Office, while the three health measures (chronic conditions, bad-self rated health and cognitive impairment) from the 2019 European Health Interview Survey. We used Sullivan’s method to compute unhealthy life expectancy by education level. We computed the gender and the education ratios of the proportion of unhealthy life years in each health measure by education and age. Results: At almost all ages and all education levels, women significantly lived longer but in poorer health than men. Marked gender differences are seen across most age-groups, particularly among the low educated. We detected greater health inequalities by education level for women (confirming the gender paradox) and a health gradient due to aging and across the health measures charting the disablement process. Conclusion: The new education distribution might improve the unhealthy life expectancy and might reduce the gender gap in the number of years spent in poor health.

E-Commerce, social media and Social Inclusion: A Typology of Users Over 60 Years of Age in Spain

The growth of e-commerce and the ageing of the world population converges in a situation which represents significant challenges for the economy: a large population of over 65year-olds with major limitations for online shopping. The digital division, although reduced in certain sectors, in others, such as e-commerce persists. This research involves the study of 405 subjects, Spanish seniors aged between 60 and 79, to discover and analyse the barriers, motivators and behaviour with regards to shopping online. Using a telephone survey and a random sample, a typology of users was established as per their behaviour and perception of e-commerce. The main finding is the segmentation in eleven typologies of users, identified through cluster analysis. The major conclusions confirm the barriers related to data security or levels of confidence. Furthermore, with basic digital skills, seniors consider themselves capable of completing purchases on the Internet. Online shoppers feel empowered being digitally self-sufficient, while non-shoppers desiring to be independent, require the implementation of measures to aid the process on commercial websites.

Physicians’ characteristics and practices associated with the provision of cancer screening advice to their patients: the Spanish SUN cohort study

ObjectivesTo evaluate the association between cancer screening counselling provided by medical doctors to their patients and each doctor’s own anthropometrics, lifestyle, cancer screening practices, and personal and family history of...

Factors Influencing Intention to Technological Use in Older Adults. The TAM Model Aplication.

The use of digital technology by older adults has improved in recent years in response to the need for their functional adaptation to an increasingly technological social context. Understanding this type of technological adaptation has recently become an important field of inquiry in both social and gerontological studies. Working within this framework, the aim of this study is to identify the main determinants that influence the intention of older people to use digital technology in their daily lives, using the Technological Acceptance Model. A study was carried out with the participation of 1155 people over 65years of age in Spain. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and structural equation models (SEM) were performed. The results show that the TAM is a useful model to explain the intention of older adults to use Digital Technology, showing a high predictive power, highlighting Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use as the main predictor variables.

Grade retention and school entry age in Spain: a structural problem

Grade retention has been the focus of the education debate in Spain for decades. On average, more than 30% of students have repeated at least one grade before they finish (or dropout from) their compulsory studies. The present research provides new evidence on this issue by investigating the influence of Spain’s school entry age upon students’ grade retention. Using data from 15-year-old students who participated in the PISA 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015 assessments, we implement a regression discontinuity analysis. Our key finding is that students who were born late in the year (younger students) are more likely to repeat a grade. Yet, once they reach secondary education, the disadvantage they suffer due to their younger school starting age seems to disappear. Hence, the key reason why younger students have lower PISA scores than older students in Spain is due to their increased likelihood of repeating a grade, rather than being due to their relative age per se. To avoid these artificial disadvantages of younger students and unfair retention, we suggest that policymakers inform families about this school entry issue and also make the school entry law more flexible. This would facilitate parents of younger children to choose whether to delay their children’s school enrolment or not.

How Did the COVID-19 Lockdown Affect Children and Adolescent's Well-Being: Spanish Parents, Children, and Adolescents Respond.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown strategies have been widely used to contain SARS-CoV-2 virus spread. Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to suffering psychological effects as result of such measures. In Spain, children were enforced to a strict home lockdown for 42 days during the first wave. Here, we studied the effects of lockdown in children and adolescents through an online questionnaire.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain using an open online survey from July (after the lockdown resulting from the first pandemic wave) to November 2020 (second wave). We included families with children under 16 years-old living in Spain. Parents answered a survey regarding the lockdown effects on their children and were instructed to invite their children from 7 to 16 years-old (mandatory scholar age in Spain) to respond a specific set of questions. Answers were collected through an application programming interface system, and data analysis was performed using R.Results: We included 1,957 families who completed the questionnaires, covering a total of 3,347 children. The specific children's questionnaire was completed by 167 kids (7–11 years-old), and 100 adolescents (12–16 years-old). Children, in general, showed high resilience and capability to adapt to new situations. Sleeping problems were reported in more than half of the children (54%) and adolescents (59%), and these were strongly associated with less time doing sports and spending more than 5 h per day using electronic devices. Parents perceived their children to gain weight (41%), be more irritable and anxious (63%) and sadder (46%). Parents and children differed significantly when evaluating children's sleeping disturbances.Conclusions: Enforced lockdown measures and isolation can have a negative impact on children and adolescent's mental health and well-being. In future waves of the current pandemic, or in the light of potential epidemics of new emerging infections, lockdown measures targeting children, and adolescents should be reconsidered taking into account their infectiousness potential and their age-specific needs, especially to facilitate physical activity and to limit time spent on electronic devices.

Cost-utility analysis of influenza vaccination in a population aged 65 years or older in Spain with a high-dose vaccine versus an adjuvanted vaccine

BackgroundThe normal ageing process is accompanied by immunosenescence and a progressive weakening of the immune system. High-dose inactivated influenza quadrivalent vaccine (HD-QIV) has shown greater immunogenicity, relative efficacy, and effectiveness than the standard-dose inactivated quadrivalent vaccine (SD-QIV). The aim of the study was to assess the cost-utility of an HD-QIV strategy compared with an adjuvanted trivalent inactivated vaccine (aTIV) strategy in the population above 65 years of age in Spain. MethodsWe evaluated the public health and economic benefits of alternatives by using a decision-tree model, which included influenza cases, visits to the general practitioner (GP), visits to the emergency department (ED), hospitalisations, and mortality related to influenza. We performed deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses to account for both epidemiological and economical sources of uncertainty. ResultsOur results show that switching from aTIV strategy to HD-QIV would prevent 36,476 cases of influenza, 5,143 visits to GP, 1,054 visits to the ED, 9,193 episodes of hospitalisation due to influenza or pneumonia, and 357 deaths due to influenza – increasing 3,514 life-years and 3,167 quality–adjusted life–years (QALYs). Healthcare costs increase by €78,874,301, leading to an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of €24,353/QALY. The sensitivity analysis indicates that the results are rather robust. ConclusionOur analysis shows that HD-QIV in people over 65 years of age is an influenza-prevention strategy that is at least cost-effective, if not dominant, in Spain. It reduces cases of influenza, GP visits, hospitalisations, deaths, and associated healthcare costs.

Burden of severe bronchiolitis in children up to 2 years of age in Spain from 2012 to 2017

ABSTRACT Bronchiolitis represents a heavy burden of disease in children under 2 years of age in our society due to the high infectivity of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus [RSV] and the vulnerability of the youngest children. The objective of this retrospective epidemiological study was to show the burden of severe bronchiolitis in Spain through population-based estimates of hospitalizations due to bronchiolitis in children up to 24 months old during a 6-year period (2012–2017). A total of 100,115 cases of bronchiolitis required hospitalization in Spain from 2012 to 2017. Most cases of bronchiolitis that required hospitalization were in infants under 3 months of age. The hospitalization rate for bronchiolitis for children under 1 year of age was 3,838.27 per 100,000 healthy children. During the 6-year study period, a total of 82 deaths due to bronchiolitis were reported among hospitalized infants. Among these deaths, more than 50% were in patients younger than 3 months of age. The annual average cost to the National Health Care System was €58 M, with a mean hospitalization cost of €3,512 per case.

Gdy rozum śpi, budzą się demony. Rzecz o hiszpańskim Oświeceniu

The purpose of this article is to present the most important features of the Enlightenment in Spain. I start by presenting the discussions that took place on the subject of the Enlightenment among Spanish thinkers. Then, I deal with the problem of the first definition of the Enlightenment, which appeared in 1726 in the Dictionary of the Castilian Language. I also present the chronological framework of this age in Spain as well as the main stages of its development in the form of the Pre-Enlightenment, First Enlightenment, Mature Enlightenment and the Crisis of the Enlightenment.

Influenza hospitalizations in children under 1 year old in Spain: the importance of maternal immunization

ABSTRACT This study estimates the burden of influenza in infants up to 12 months of age in Spain over 8 seasons (2009/10-2016/17). The survey was conducted by reviewing the Spanish Surveillance System for Hospital Data. Over the eight seasons, 5,618 hospital admissions were recorded for patients younger than 12 months that included codes related to influenza in any diagnostic position (487–488 ICD-9-CM and J9, J10 and J11 CIE 10). In total, 2,363 admissions (42.1%) were female patients whose median age was 3.05 months. Patients younger than 6 months accounted for 3,856 admissions (68.6%). Among them, 59.2% were male, and 40.8% were female (p < .05). Overall, 37.1% (2,084 patients) were younger than 2 months. The hospitalization rate for the entire period studied was 156.09 admissions per 100,000 children under 12 months of age (95% CI: 152.4–160.6). The average duration of hospitalization was 6.6 days (95% CI: 6.4–6.8). Eighteen deaths were recorded for hospitalized patients over the entire period. Of these, 12 patients (66.7%) were younger than 6 months. There is a significant burden of influenza disease in children under 1 year of age in Spain, mainly in children under 6 months of age. Improvements to prevention strategies through increased vaccination coverage in family environments and vaccination strategies involving pregnant woman can contribute decisively and effectively to reducing these hospitalizations.