Health Status Of People Research Articles

A matter of time: The necessity of temporal language in research on health conditions that present with autism spectrum disorder.

Relatively consistent findings from recent studies using population-level data identify heightened physical and psychiatric morbidity in autistic people compared to the general population. Health problems that commonly present with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are generally discussed in the literature as "co-occurring" or "comorbid" regardless of their known or hypothesized causal mechanisms. In this commentary, we introduce a new temporally focused terminology to describe health conditions that present with ASD. Emphasizing the temporal development of health conditions in research will help the field understand whether conditions are (1) "truly co-occurring" (share an etiologic origin with ASD in utero and are a defining characteristic of a subphenotype), (2) "resulting" (caused by ASD related disparity or the health effect of behaviors developed to cope with ASD symptoms), or (3) "associated" (conditions more common in individuals with ASD with etiology not yet known or hypothesized, or an artifact of diagnostic process or trends). Whether a health condition is "truly co-occurring", "resulting", or "associated" has implications for how we design interventions to prevent and treat health conditions in people on the autism spectrum. Ultimately, we think that using clear and temporally focused language can set us on a path to better deduce etiology and develop effective prevention and intervention efforts for health conditions that impact the lives of autistic individuals. We hope that this approach to temporal language to describe health conditions that present with ASD promotes thought and discussion in research, advocate, and autistic communities. Autism Research 2019, 12: 20-25. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Research finds autistic people have more health problems than the general population but we do not understand why. In this commentary, we argue researchers need to use language describing the timing of health problems in autistic people, specifying whether problems truly co-occur (share a cause), result from autism-related disparities, or are more common in autistic people for an unknown reason. Clarifying language can provide more specificity in research and improve efforts to prevent and treat health problems in autistic people.

Unmet long-term care needs and depression: The double disadvantage of community-dwelling older people in rural China.

This study investigates the relationship between unmet long-term care needs and depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older people in China. The data come from a nationally representative sample of 1,324 disabled older people from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) collected between 2013 and 2014. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the factors associated with unmet needs and the impacts of unmet needs on people's depressive symptoms. We found that disabled older people living in rural communities have a higher level of unmet needs than those in urban communities. Unmet needs cause more severe depressive symptoms among rural older people, but they do not have a significant impact among urban older people. Depressive symptoms are also affected by people's health conditions in rural China and by household income in urban China. We argue that older people living in rural communities face a double disadvantage. The first disadvantage relating to unmet needs reinforces the second one relating to mental health. These findings highlight the urgent need for more investment by the Chinese central government in formal social care services and support for carers in rural areas.

Enhancing nutrition and health survey and implementing effective interventions to reduce the incidence of nutritional diseases

Public nutrition is related to the improvement of population health and the development of social economy. Nutrition and health survey can provide indispensable information for public health and disease prevention and control to improve people's nutritional and health status and support the policy making of food production and chronic diseases prevention and control. In recent years, China's nutritional supply capacity has increased significantly. Our people's nutritional and health status has improved significantly. The articles published in "Nutrition and Health Survey" column come from nutrition surveys both at the national and provincial level. They are making full use of data to give information on not only nutritional and health status of residents throughout the country, but also regional features. These results will provide a detailed and reliable reference for both national and regional nutrition and health policy and strategy making. At present, China's nutrition work faces many challenges. China's Party Central Committee and the State Council always places great emphasis on people's nutritional and health status. In order to promote the health of the whole population in our country, our government has implemented a number of nutrition promotion policies or strategies. Chinese nutrition and health survey will further evaluate the effect of these movements.

Elgetako farmazian II motako Diabetes Mellitusa (DM2) pairatzeko arriskua izango duten herritarrak antzemateko programa pilotua

II motako Diabetes Mellitusa (DM2) Espainiako hirugarren gaixotasun kroniko nagusia da. Gaixotasunak duen prebalentziagatik eta horren prebentzioaren garrantziagatik, Gipuzkoako farmazietan “DM2a Pairatzeko Arriskua Antzemateko Programa” jarri da martxan 2017ko urtarrilean. Helburua, Elgetako botikan, programan parte hartzen duten gizabanakoek DM2a pairatzeko duten arriskua kalkulatzea eta Elgetako biztanleriaren osasun-egoera aztertzea da. Horrez gain, komunitateko farmaziak DM2a pairatzeko arriskuaren detekzioa komunitateko zerbitzu farmazeutiko bezala bultzatzea du helburu. Programak 6 hilabeteko iraupena izan du eta ikerketa prospektiboa izan da. Gaixotasuna pairatzeko arriskua kalkulatzeko Findrisk testa erabili da eta osasun-egoeraren ikuspegi orokorragoa lortzeko pazienteei presio arteriala neurtu zaie. Arestian aipatutako programan, Elgetako botikan, 58 pertsonak hartu dute parte. Horietatik, 10 urtetan DM2a pairatzeko arrisku baxukoak 7 pertsona (%12,1), ertainekoak 36 (%62,1) eta altukoak 15 izan dira (%25,8). Hipertentsioarentzako medikamentua hartzen ez zuten 37 pertsonetatik 15 (%40,5), pre-hipertentso edo hipertentso bezala sailkatu dira. Hipertentsioaren kontrako medikamentua hartzen zuten 21 pertsonetatik 12 (%57,1) ez daude kontrolpean. Lortutako emaitzek Elgetako biztanleriaren osasun-egoera oro har ona dela erakusten dute. Hala ere, hainbat neurketatan (gerriko perimetroa, eguneroko ariketa fisikoa eta hipertentsioa), ahuleziak antzeman dira. Hori dela-eta, Elgetako biztanleriaren osasun-heziketa indartu behar dela ondorioztatu da.

The Effect of Transportation Benefits on Health and Consumption Among the Elderly: Quasi-Experimental Evidence From Urban China

This study estimates the causal effect of transportation subsidies or similar benefits on the health of elderly people. We exploit a discontinuity in the probability of receiving transportation benefits induced by an age-based policy to take into account the endogeneity of treatment status. Our baseline IV results indicate that receiving public transportation benefits significantly improves elderly people's health condition by approximately 10 percentage points. The results are robust under different specifications and placebo tests. Further tests on possible channels show that the health effect is driven by increasing food consumption and health care utilization, but not by the amount of exercise done.

State of health and undesirable outcomes of people practicing paralympic sports: A prospective cohort study

In a general context, a health condition of people dealing with chronic diseases or injuries are better represented by a biopsychosocial model. As a result, they face the impact of these health conditions in their daily lives, experiencing impaired functions and structures of the body, limited activity, and restricted participation. It is believed that adapted sport contributes positively for the presented context. However, participation in sports not only promotes favorable outcomes to health-related states, but also increases the exposure to risk factors that may predict undesirable situations. From this, we aimed to identify the health-related state parameters from people facing disabilities who practice Paralympic sports, exploring disabilities in biopsychosocial domains that could be predictors of undesirable outcomes in sports. We carried out a prospective longitudinal observational design by qualitative and quantitative approach, through interviews and questionnaires, respectively, applied for the coaches and athletes of Paralympic sports linked to a Special Physical Education Training Center, from June to September 2017. Sixty-nine athletes performing 12 sports pointed out causal relations between the self-care and the reported undesirable outcomes, producing theoretical, graphical and numerical results. Our analysis showed that there are causal relationships between one of the explored domains of the health-related states and reported undesirable outcomes, evidencing that good scores reported in self-care by people with disabilities practicing sports may predict undesirable outcomes.

Direito à informação em saúde: uma revisão integrativa

Objetivo: Identificar, avaliar criticamente e sintetizar as evidências científicas relacionadas ao conhecimento de profissionais de saúde e usuários sobre direito à informação em saúde. Metodologia: Revisão integrativa da literatura. Foram selecionadas as bases de dados Hein Online, ISTA, Lilacs, LISA, PubMed e Web of Science para a identificação de estudos primários. Resultados: Um total de 6888 estudos foi identificado e, considerando os critérios de seleção, 15 estudos primários foram incluídos na revisão. As categorias temáticas desta revisão foram agrupadas de acordo com o conhecimento dos usuários sobre seu direito à informação e conhecimento dos profissionais sobre o direito à informação do usuário. Conclusões: Verifica-se a necessidade de capacitação de profissionais de saúde em relação ao direito dos usuários de serviços de saúde. Assim, a educação dos profissionais mostra-se como uma possibilidade de se fazer cumprir o direito à informação do paciente, melhorando a prática assistencial e, consequentemente, as condições de saúde das pessoas e o exercício de seus direitos.

Self-evaluation of lifestyle and assessment of health condition by clinical measurements – A call to the rural population

Background: Although many people know that a healthy lifestyle prevents chronic diseases and improves the quality of life, the best way to invite people from rural areas to take part in health check-ups is still unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the lifestyle and health condition of people from the Carinthia regions in Slovenia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 participants. Data were collected by questionnaire and clinical measurements and were analysed by descriptive statistical methods.Results: Most of the participants were ≥ 60 years old (62%) and 61% were women, 75% had a high BMI and 64% had elevated blood pressure. The older participants ate breakfast more often than younger participants (p = .010). There was a statistically significant connection between the number of daily hot meals and BMI (p = .026) and blood pressure (p = .049). Half of the participants (51%) drank a litre of water per day as recommended. Hiking was the most popular form of physical activity.Conclusions: The study findings recommended using a new way to call people in health check-ups in rural areas and provided information about the kind of lifestyle counselling rural people may need.

Constipation management in people with intellectual disability: A systematic review.

Constipation can lead to serious health issues and death. This systematic review summarizes international research pertaining to the management of constipation in people with intellectual disability. Studies published from 1990 to 2017 were identified using Medline, Cinahl, PsycINFO, Web of Science, email requests and cross-citations. Studies were reviewed narratively in relation to identified themes. Eighteen studies were reviewed in relation to three themes: laxative receipt; interventions (dietary fibre, abdominal massage and macrogol); and staff issues (knowledge and training). Laxative polypharmacy was common. Studies report positive results for dietary fibre and abdominal massage although study quality was limited. The main management response to constipation in people with intellectual disability is laxative use despite limited effectiveness. An improved evidence base is required to support the suggestion that an individualized, integrated bowel management programme may reduce constipation and associated health conditions in people with intellectual disability.

Association detection between ordinal trait and rare variants based on adaptive combination of P values.

Next-generation sequencing technology not only presents a new method for the detection of human genomic structural variation, but also provides a large number of genetic data of rare variants for us. Currently, how to detect association between human complex diseases and rare variants using genetical data has attracted extensive attention. In the field of medicine, many people's health and disease conditions are measured by ordinal response variables, namely, the trait value reflects the development stage or severity of a certain condition. However, most existing methods to test for association between rare variants and complex diseases are designed to deal with dichotomous or quantitative traits. Association analysis methods of ordinal traits are relatively fewer, and considering ordinal traits as dichotomous and quantitative traits will inevitably lose some valuable information in the original data. Therefore, in this paper, we extend an existing method of adaptive combination of P values (ADA) and propose a new method of association analysis for ordinal trait based on it (called OR-ADA) to test for possible association between ordinal trait and rare variants. In our method, we establish a cumulative logistic regression model, in which the regression coefficients are estimated by the Newton-Raphson algorithm and the likelihood ratio test is used to test the association. Through a large number of simulation studies and an example, we demonstrate the performance of the new method and compare it with several methods. The analysis results show that the OR-ADA strategy is robust to the signs of effects of causal variants and more powerful under many scenarios.

Simple vs. Complex Carbohydrate Dietary Patterns and the Global Overweight and Obesity Pandemic.

Nowadays, obesity and being overweight are among the major global health concerns. Many, diet-related diseases impose high tangible and intangible costs, and threaten the sustainability of health-care systems worldwide. In this study, we model, at the macroeconomic level, the impact of energy intake from different types of carbohydrates on the population’s BMI (body mass index). We proceed in three steps. First, we develop a framework to analyse both the consumption choices between simple and complex carbohydrates and the effects of these choices on people health conditions. Second, we collect figures for 185 countries (over the period 2012–2014) regarding the shares of simple (sugar and sweetener) and complex (cereal) carbohydrates in each country’s total dietary energy supply. Third, we use regression techniques to: (1) estimate the impact of these shares on the country’s prevalence of obesity and being overweight; (2) compute for each country an indicator of dietary pattern based on the ratio between simple and complex carbohydrates, weighted by their estimated effects on the prevalence of obesity and being overweight; and (3) measure the elasticity of the prevalence of obesity and being overweight with respect to changes in both carbohydrate dietary pattern and income per capita. We find that unhealthy eating habits and the associated prevalence of excessive body fat accumulation tend to behave as a ‘normal good’ in low, medium- and high-HDI (Human Development Index) countries, but as an ‘inferior good’ in very high-HDI countries.

Coordinating medical education and health care systems: the power of the social accountability approach.

As the purpose of medical education is to produce graduates able to most effectively address people's health concerns, there is general agreement that coordination with the health care system is essential. For too long, coordination has been dealt with in a subjective manner with only few landmarks to ensure objective and measurable achievements. Over the last 30 years, since the Edinburgh Declaration on medical education, progress has been made, namely with the concept of social accountability. The social accountability approach provides a way to plan, deliver and assess medical education with the explicit aim to contribute to effective, equitable and sustainable health system development. It is based on a system-wide scope exploring issues from identification of people's and society's health needs to verification of the effects of medical education in meeting those needs. A wide international consultation among medical education leaders led to the adoption of the Global Consensus on Social Accountability of Medical Schools. Benchmarks of social accountability are in the process of being conceived and tested, enabling medical schools to steer medical education in a more purposeful way in relation to determinants of health. A sample of schools using the social accountability approach claims to have had a positive influence on health care system performance and people's health status. Improved coordination of medical education and other key stakeholders in the health system is an important challenge for medical schools as well as for countries confronted with an urgent need for optimal use of their health workforce. There is growing interest worldwide in defining policies and strategies and supporting experiences in this regard.

Measuring Individuals' Spatial Access to Healthy Foods by Incorporating Mobility, Time, and Mode: Activity Space Measures

Spatial access to healthy foods has drawn growing attention regarding the relationship with people's health conditions and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Individuals' differences and the impact of travel behaviors on food accessibility, however, are rarely studied. This study incorporates mobility, time, and transportation mode components to measure each individual's access to healthy foods. We employed three activity space measures to estimate food accessibility: route network buffer, time-weighted standard deviational ellipse (SDE), and mode-weighted SDE. Food accessibility in three activity spaces shows similar variabilities. Geographic size and spatial access to healthy foods differ significantly by income and employment for all three activity space measures. People with higher incomes and those who are currently employed are likely to have larger activity spaces and higher food accessibility. As age increases, people tend to increase their size of activity spaces (in both SDE measures) and food accessibility significantly. Females are likely to have smaller activity spaces and less accessibility to healthy foods (only in the time-weighted SDE measure). Geographic size and spatial access do not differ significantly by education and number of vehicles per household. Although three activity spaces are highly correlated in both geographic size and spatial access, differences still exist among them.

Solid fuel use is associated with anemia in children

Over 3 billion people use solid fuels as a means of energy and heating source, and ~ 50% of households burn them in inefficient, poorly ventilated stoves. In 2010, ~ 43% of the 640 million preschool children in 220 countries suffered from a certain degree of anemia, with iron deficiency as the main cause in developed countries whereas its causes remained multifactorial in the undeveloped group. In this study, we explore the relations of country-wide variables that might affect the people's health status (from socioeconomic status to more specific variables such as water access). We found independent relationship between solid fuel use and anemia in children under five years old (p < 0.0001), taking into account the prevalence of anemia in pregnant woman and the access to improved water sources. Countries in which the population uses solid fuel the most have over three times higher anemia rates in children than countries with the lowest prevalence of solid fuels use. There is still a complex relationship between solid fuels use and anemia, as reflected in its worldwide significance (p < 0.05) controlled for measles immunization, tobacco consumption, anemia in pregnant mothers, girl's primary education, life expectancy and improved water access but not (p > 0.05) when weighing for sanitation access or income per capita.

Secondary health conditions in people with different types of disabilities.

Secondary health conditions in people with different types of disabilities.

How strongly related are health status and subjective well-being? Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Health status is widely considered to be closely associated with subjective well-being (SWB), yet this assumption has not been tested rigorously. The aims of this first systematic review and meta-analysis are to examine the association between health status and SWB and to test whether any association is affected by key operational and methodological factors. A systematic search (January 1980-April 2017) using Web of Science, Medline, Embase, PsycInfo and Global health was conducted according to Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines. Meta-analyses using a random-effects model were performed. Twenty nine studies were included and the pooled effect size of the association between health status and SWB was medium, statistically significant and positive (pooled r = 0.347, 95% CI = 0.309-0.385; Q = 691.51, I2 = 94.99%, P < 0.001). However, the association was significantly stronger: (i) when SWB was operationalised as life satisfaction (r = 0.365) as opposed to happiness (r = 0.307); (ii) among studies conducted in developing countries (r = 0.423) than it was in developed countries (r = 0.336) and (iii) when multiple items were used to assess health status and SWB (r = 0.353) as opposed to single items (r = 0.326). Improving people's health status may be one means by which governments can improve the SWB of their citizens. Life satisfaction might be preferred to happiness as a measure of SWB because it better captures the influence of health status.

Hospital admissions for physical health conditions for people with intellectual disabilities: Systematic review.

People with intellectual disabilities may have inequalities in hospital admissions compared with the general population. The present authors aimed to investigate admissions for physical health conditions in this population. The present authors conducted a systematic review, searching six databases using terms on intellectual disabilities and hospital admission. Papers were selected based on pre-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria, data extracted, tabulated and synthesized and quality assessed. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42015020575. Seven of 29,613 papers were included. There were more admissions, and a different pattern of admissions (more medical and dental), for people with intellectual disabilities, but most studies did not take account of higher disease prevalence. Three papers considered admissions for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions, two of which accounted for disease prevalence (asthma, diabetes) and found higher admission rates for people with intellectual disabilities. Admissions are common. Asthma and diabetes admission data suggest suboptimal primary health care for people with intellectual disabilities compared with the general population, but evidence is limited.

Relation between Hand Grip Strength and Body Composition Associated with Cardiovascular Risk in University Students

The measurement of Hand Grip Strength (HGS) is one of the methods for evaluating the maximum isometric strength of the hand and forearm muscles, that is related to predictive factors of health conditions of people. In addition, this is an indicator that relates the physical condition of young people with their Body Composition (BC), identifying Cardiovascular Risk (CR) factors in the university population. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to relate the HGS and the BC associated with the CR in the Students of Elective Course of Physical Activity and Sports (SECPAS) of the Pontificia Javeriana University (PJU) Bogota, D.C. Colombia. METHODS: Descriptive correlational study, which 91 students aged an average of 22,5±4,5 years old, were assessed n=40 (44%) males and n=51 (56%) females. To evaluate the HGS was used an hydraulic hand dynamometer owner´s manual JAMAR®, it was registered two measurements of Right Hand (RH) and Left Hand (LH) in seated position, using the best result for analysis. A bioelectrical impedance scale OMROM® HBF-510LA, was used to evaluate the BC, which shows the percentage of Body Fat (BF) and Skeletal Muscle (SM). RESULTS: Values of HGS for RH and LH were compared, demonstrating that in the RH were higher than the LH for both genders, the difference of HGS was 8.4% (4.5 kg). For 78% of students (n=71), are in an average classification of low HGS for the population. BC shows that the BF was classified as high, 24.2% (n=22) and very high, 35.2% (n=32) for both genders. It was evidenced that the BF of females 23.1% (n=21) was classified as very high in comparison to males, 12.1% (n=11). The SM, had a behavior classified as normal 65.9% (n=60), with a trend to the lower limit of SM with low level in males 62.5% (n=25), according to OMRON® parameters. CONCLUSION: For males, was found a relation between HGS and BC, lower SM, greater BF and less HGS, become predisposing factors to develop CR. On the other hand, females showed a normal SM, higher BF and less HGS, it looks apparently normal, but hides a healthy appearance that prevents the CR control. Those indicators are useful to reorient the objectives of integral formation towards create healthy habits to SECPAS.

Children's migration and lifestyle-related chronic disease among older parents ‘left behind’ in india

Lifestyle-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are now the leading causes of death and disability in India. Interestingly, those Indian states with the highest prevalence of lifestyle-related chronic disease among older adults are also found to have the highest rates of international or internal out-migration. This paper investigates the association between having migrant (adult) children and older parents’ lifestyle-related chronic disease in India. Bi-variate and multivariate analysis are conducted using data from a representative sample of 9507 adults aged 60 and older in seven Indian states from the UNFPA project ‘Building Knowledge Base on Ageing in India’. The results show that for any of the diagnosed conditions of hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, the prevalence among older people with a migrant son is higher than among those without. More specifically, the odds ratio of reporting a lifestyle-related chronic disease is higher among older adults with at least one adult son living in another district, State or outside India than those with their children living closer. This study contributes empirical evidence to the academic and policy debate about the consequences of globalization and urbanization for older people's health status generally, and particularly their risk for reporting chronic diseases that relate to changes in their lifestyle.

Mental Health Consequences and Social Issues After the Fukushima Disaster.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent nuclear power plant accident caused multidimensional and long-term effects on the mental health condition of people living in Fukushima. In this article, focusing on the influence of the nuclear disaster, we present an overview of studies regarding the psychosocial consequences of people in Fukushima. Studies revealed that the experiences of the explosions at the plant as well as the tsunami are deeply embedded in their memory, leading to posttraumatic responses. Chronic physical diseases, worries about livelihood, lost jobs, lost social ties, and concerns about compensation were also associated with posttraumatic responses. Furthermore, the radioactive fallout brought chronic anxiety regarding physical risks of radiation exposure to people, especially young mothers. People often have different opinions about the radiation risk and their own future plans, resulting in a reduction in the resilience that communities and families had before the disaster. In addition, such weakened community resilience may produce a significant increase in disaster-related suicide in Fukushima. Specific social issues, such as "radiation stigma" among the public and self-stigma among evacuees, that are never seen with other natural disasters also increased in Fukushima.