Measures Of Physical Well-being Research Articles

Do appraisals of military service indicate current distress in aging Vietnam War combat veterans?

Appraisals of military service, both desirable and undesirable, assessed via Elder and Clipp's (1989) scale, are associated with psychological distress in veterans. Aging combat veterans (CV) are at increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder and other psychological disorders yet may underreport symptoms and not seek treatment that could be beneficial. It is unknown whether desirable and undesirable appraisals of military service are associated with mental health outcomes above and beyond typical risk and protective factors, such as age, education, and combat exposure. Therefore, we examined associations between appraisals of military service and assessments of psychological distress in Vietnam War CV, currently the largest cohort of aging veterans. Male Vietnam War CV aged 60 and older (n = 134) were selected from a larger study. Regression analyses examined the associations between appraisals of military service and measures of physical and psychological well-being and distress. Both desirable and undesirable appraisals of military service exhibited associations with measures of psychological distress, with undesirable appraisals being more strongly associated with distress than desirable appraisals. In regression analyses, appraisals were related to mental health outcomes over and above covariates. In addition, appraisals were more strongly related to psychological versus physical well-being measures, with undesirable appraisals more strongly related to mental health and well-being measures than desirable appraisals. Assessing appraisals of military service may identify veterans experiencing psychological distress who may benefit from referral for psychological interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Decent living standards, prosperity, and excessive consumption in the Lorenz curve

Sustainable production and consumption allows every individual to meet their basic needs and societies to flourish, all with limited overall throughput constrained by ecological ceilings. The question is how exactly basic needs satisfaction, flourishing societies, and limited throughput can come together. Based on the insight that decent living standards constrain the slope of the Lorenz curve for the lowest decile, a simple model can be derived that determines total consumption from only three factors: per capita decent living standards, the Gini coefficient of inequality, and population. With a constraint on maximum living standards, overall consumption splits into three components: basic needs satisfaction, prosperous consumption, and excessive consumption. The model calculates sustainable consumption corridors based on decent living standards and the acceptable maximum under ecological ceilings, while still allowing for reasonable levels of inequality and ample prosperous consumption. The model can be applied to economic and physical stock and flow indicators, and examples for all four combinations are provided. The work concludes with calling upon the research community to assess the inequality of physical stock and flow indicators related to human wellbeing, identify suitable physical wellbeing measures, and extend the debate on desirable levels of inequality to physical socio-metabolic indicators.

Evaluation of a Behavioral Self-care Intervention Administered through a Massive Open Online Course

ABSTRACT Background: Previous research reported the effectiveness of a curriculum-based self-care intervention for students administered in the context of a course on behavior change. Purpose: The study evaluated the effectiveness of the self-care intervention for learners in a publicly available massive open online course (MOOC), who completed the course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Participants were 216 learners enrolled in Coursera’s Health Behavior Change – From Evidence to Action in March 2020 – January 2021. The intervention consisted of behavior change assignments designed to increase health-promoting behaviors within three domains (nutrition, physical activity, and mental health). Course assignments were to apply behavioral principles to modify health behaviors. Outcomes included measures of physical wellbeing, depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and self-efficacy. Results: Health promotion behaviors and measures of physical and mental health showed significant improvements over the course of the semester. Discussion: The study provides support for the effectiveness of a brief self-care intervention for learners in a publicly available MOOC. Translation to Health Education Practice: This publicly available intervention can support learner well-being in a variety of academic programs, community, or workplace settings.

Effects of nutritional supplements on the re-infection rate of soil-transmitted helminths in school-age children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The effect of nutritional supplements on the re-infection rate of species-specific soil-transmitted helminth infections in school-aged children remains complex and available evidence on the subject matter has not been synthesized. The review included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster RCTs investigating food supplements on school-aged children between the age of 4-17 years. A search for RCTs was conducted on eight databases from inception to 12th June 2019. Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias in all included studies. Meta-analysis and narrative synthesis were conducted to describe and analyze the results of the review. Outcomes were summarized using the mean difference or standardized mean difference where appropriate. The search produced 1,816 records. Six studies met the inclusion criteria (five individually RCTs and one cluster RCT). Four studies reported data on all three STH species, while one study only reported data on Ascaris lumbricoides infections and the last study reported data on only hookworm infections. Overall, the risk of bias in four individual studies was low across most domains. Nutritional supplementation failed to statistically reduce the re-infection rates of the three STH species. The effect of nutritional supplements on measures of physical wellbeing in school-aged children could not be determined. The findings from this systematic review suggest that nutritional supplements for treatment of STH in children should not be encouraged unless better evidence emerges. Conclusion of earlier reviews on general populations may not necessarily apply to children since children possibly have a higher re-infection rate.

The metabolic costs 30 years after preterm birth

The “developmental origins of adult disease” is a well-accepted hypothesis, linking early exposures to various disease states. However, whether prematurity itself contributes to metabolic and cardiovascular disease in adulthood is unknown. One limitation has been the lack of data from a population-based, prospective study of these infants as adults. Fortuitously, in 1986, every VLBW neonate born in New Zealand and admitted to a neonatal unit was prospectively enrolled in an audit of retinopathy of prematurity. In this volume of The Journal, Darlow et al report the physical wellbeing of 229 of these infants at ~30-year follow-up. These data are important. A majority of the measures of physical wellbeing and metabolic health were not different between former VLBW and term controls. However, although differences in metabolic syndrome were not statistically different between VLBW and control, some disturbing trends were noted. Logistic regression demonstrated a significant relationship between extremely preterm (<28 wks) birth and metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, a full 22% of former male VLBW infants met criteria for metabolic syndrome, compared with 11% of controls. It remains to be determined if that difference did not reach significance due to sample size. Regardless, these data demonstrate the need to continue to follow these high-risk neonates through adulthood so that we may better understand the long-term implications of preterm birth, and provide the proper screening and preventive measures to this unique population. Article page 128 ▶ Metabolic Syndrome in Very Low Birth Weight Young Adults and Controls: The New Zealand 1986 VLBW StudyThe Journal of PediatricsVol. 206PreviewTo assess the physical well-being and components of the metabolic syndrome in a national cohort of very low birth weight (VLBW) young adults and same age controls. Full-Text PDF

Nonparental child care during nonstandard hours: Does participation influence child well-being?

Over the last three decades there has been a rise in the number of workers employed during nonstandard (evening and overnight) hours; accompanying this trend has been a renewed interest in documenting the well-being of these workers and their families. However, no work has considered how participation in nonparental child care during nonstandard hours is associated with child development That is the aim of the current paper. Using repeated cross-sectional data from the 1999 and 2002 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), this paper investigates the relationship between participation in nonstandard hours of nonparental child care (‘nonstandard child care’) and child well-being. I begin this investigation by classifying children as participants or nonparticipants in nonstandard child care; next, I specify a child production function to estimate the relationship between nonstandard child care and child well-being. I find a generally negative relationship between nonstandard child care and cognitive, behavioral, and contemporaneous physical well-being measures. Mechanisms analyses suggest this relationship is driven by exposure to low-quality, unpredictable care arrangements.

Effect of Somatic Experiencing Resiliency-Based Trauma Treatment Training on Quality of Life and Psychological Health as Potential Markers of Resilience in Treating Professionals.

Background: Individuals who treat trauma are at significant risk of vicarious traumatization and burnout. Somatic Experiencing® (SE®) is a resiliency-focused trauma treatment modality designed to address autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation and its impacted physical health and mental health symptoms e.g., anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, migraines, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue, etc. The SE® training supports the development of clinical skills to reduce physical health/mental health symptoms as well as increase clinician resilience. Individuals who display resilience often have increased experiences of well-being (quality of life) and decreased levels of self-reported psychological symptoms. Greater resilience could mitigate the risks to providers and the clients they treat.Materials and Methods: This within-groups, longitudinal study assessed students (N = 18) over the course of a 3-year SE® practitioner training. This training focuses on increased ANS, physical, and emotional regulation skills. The convenience of a web-based survey allowed for: measures of a general quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), psychological symptoms, somatic, anxiety, and depressive symptoms (PHQ-SADS), as well as a measure of early life exposure to adversity (CDC/Kaiser Permanente ACE Score Calculator Questionnaire). The clinician survey was conducted yearly for 3 years. Future studies would do well to also include laboratory-based objective measures of ANS functioning.Results: ANOVA with repeated measures showed that there were significant reductions in anxiety symptoms (GAD7, p < 0.001) and somatization symptoms (PHQ15, p < 0.001). Health-related quality of life (a measure of physical well-being) and social quality of life (a measure of interpersonal well-being) both increased significantly (Health QoL p = 0.028; Social QoL p = 0.046).Conclusions: Results suggest that professionals attending the 3-year SE® training course experience a significant improvement in self-reported measures associated with resiliency including: quality of life (well-being) and psychological symptoms (anxiety and somatization). Our results support the importance of future research in a larger sample and support the exploration, cross-sectionally and prospectively, of the relationship of clinician resiliency and changes in clinician resiliency with SE® training and clinical outcomes. These data have implications for other professions at risk of exposure to vicarious trauma (VT) including nurses, medical providers, and paramedics.

Cancer-Related Worry and Physical Well-Being in the Context of Perceived Stress in Young Adults with Testicular Cancer.

Uncertainty associated with cancer can foster future-focused worry and ultimately diminish physical well-being, especially among young adult survivors. Stress perceptions might exacerbate the association of worry and physical well-being. Young adults with testicular cancer (N = 171) completed measures of physical well-being, perceived stress, and future cancer-related worry. Perceived stress and future worry were both negatively associated with physical well-being. Perceived stress moderated the relationship; more perceived stress was related to lower physical well-being in those with high worry. Interventions aimed at worry reduction might benefit from reducing global stress perceptions.

Development and validation of a symptom index for advanced hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers: the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (NCCN-FACT) Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Symptom Index (NFHSI).

The 45-item Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary (FACT-Hep) questionnaire assesses health-related quality of life in patients with liver, bile duct, and pancreatic cancers. Although the FACT-Hep was initially derived from patient input, this study's researchers sought to verify adequate coverage of items by soliciting open-ended input from patients with advanced disease. As part of a larger study in collaboration with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), 50 people (60% male, 80% caucasian, average age 60.4 years) with stage 3 or 4 hepatobiliary or pancreatic cancer were recruited. Participants generated and ranked up to 10 important symptoms and concerns that physicians should monitor when assessing the value of chemotherapy. Patients were also able to provide open-ended, qualitative information that was evaluated systematically. Ten expert physicians also provided input on priority symptoms. The resulting 18-item NCCN-FACT Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Symptom Index (NFHSI-18) demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .89) and moderate to strong correlations with measures of physical well-being (ρ = .76), emotional well-being (ρ = 0.52), and functional well-being (ρ = 0.57). Scores on the NFHSI-18 were also highly correlated with the original hepatobiliary scale of the FACT-Hep (ρ = .82; all P < .001). Compared with patients with better performance status, patients with poor performance status had worse NFHSI-18 symptom scores, F(3,47) = 9.74; P = .0003. The NFHSI-18 assesses symptoms of importance to patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers and demonstrates promising measurement properties. The scale is a good candidate for brief symptom assessment in clinical trials.

Subjective age and its relationship with the successful aging

The article presents a theoretical review on the concept "subjective age" and evidences from the international literature on its relationship with indicators of successful aging. From the studies derived from the life span and life course perspectives in psychology and sociology, subjective age showed significant associations with measures of physical wellbeing and subjective, which can be considered an important variable in clinical research and a potential clinical indicator.

Effects of Computer Training and Internet Usage on the Well-Being and Quality of Life of Older Adults: A Randomized, Controlled Study

The quality of life of older adults may be improved by the use of computer or Web-based services. A limited number of experimental studies on this topic have shown mixed results. We carried out a randomized, controlled intervention study that aimed to examine the causal relationship between computer use and measures of physical well-being, social well-being, emotional well-being, development and activity, and autonomy. We randomly assigned a group of 191 participants to an intervention group, a training-no intervention group, or a no training-no intervention group. A fourth group consisted of 45 participants with no interest in computer use. We collected data at baseline, after 4 months, and after 12 months. The results showed that using computers and the Internet neither positively nor negatively influenced everyday functioning, well-being and mood, and the social network of healthy older individuals. We discuss possibilities for future studies.

Are There “Healthy” and “Unhealthy” Reasons for Exercise? Examining Individual Differences in Exercise Motivations Using the Function of Exercise Scale

This study reports the psychometric development of a measure to assess individual differences in exercise motivations using a functionalist strategy (Snyder &amp; Cantor, 1997). Factor analyses revealed two subscales for the newly developed Function of Exercise Scale (FES): Weight and Appearance (WA), and Health and Enjoyment (HE). FES-HE scores correlated with better psychological well-being and predicted prospectively monitored as well as concurrently and longitudinally assessed exercise behavior. FES-HE scores also correlated with lower pulse, systolic blood pressure, and salivary cortisol readings, indicating its association with better physical health. In contrast, FES-WA scores correlated with greater depressive and eating disorder symptoms, as well as lower self-esteem, and predicted the later emergence of eating disorder, but not depressive, symptoms. FES-WA scores failed to show a relationship with measures of physical well-being, including exercise engagement and vital sign data. Overall, the FES appears to hold promise as a succinct and psychometrically sound heuristic for meaningfully relating exercise motivations to important indices of both physical and psychological well-being.

Assessment of Socio-economic Status in the Context of Food Insecurity: Implications for Field Research

Measures of socio-economic status (SES) were compared with a measure of physical well-being, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), in the food insecure regions of Ethiopia. Income, housing conditions and education had the greatest correlation to MUAC, and significant differences in these measures were observed between malnourished and adequately nourished individuals. Findings indicate that in rural Ethiopia, income, education and housing quality may be better indicators of SES than wealth and measures encompassing home and landownership.

P.419 Patients infected with HIV/HCV and the liver injury as a side effect of HAART

The effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the treatment of HIV infection is usually measured by survival, CD4 lymphocyte counts, HIV-1 RNA viral load testing, and the occurrence of opportunistic infections. This pilot study sought to measure the impact of HAART treatments on a wide range of clinical outcomes and psychological variables in a sample of patients with advanced HIV infection. Seventy patients with advanced AIDS who were protease inhibitor naı̈ve were started on HAART regimens. Patients were admitted to an AIDS inpatient unit of a long-term care facility that provides treatment and palliative care. All patients were diagnosed with AIDS, had CD4 cell counts below 300/cc3, and had a projected survival of greater than one month. Patients were started on triple-drug HAART regimens with daily medical supervision and observation. In addition to standard clinical and laboratory markers, a series of observer-rated and self-report instruments were used to measure various physical and psychological factors (e.g., pain and symptom distress, psychological well-being, depression). Data were collected at baseline and after 1 and 3 months of HAART therapy. As expected, the CD4 count increased and viral load levels decreased significantly over the 3-month study period. In addition, patients improved significantly in body weight, and serum albumin and ferritin levels. The only psychosocial measure that improved significantly with treatment was depression. Ratings of pain intensity, physical and psychological symptom distress, and overall quality of life did not change. Of the 70 patients studied, 84.3% were still alive after the 3-month study period. Of these, 6 (8.6%) were discharged to community. However, 17 surviving patients (24.3%) had HAART regimens discontinued due to drug intolerance and 11 patients (15.7%) expired during the study period. While these data are preliminary, HAART regimens appear to have positive effects on CD4 count, HIV viral load, and several other measures of physical well-being in patients with advanced AIDS. Despite these improvements, the benefits of treatment on pain and symptom distress, and psychological well-being were less clear. In addition, treatment failure (mortality and intolerance) were not uncommon in this sample (40%). Further research is clearly necessary to better understand the benefits of HAART therapy in patients with advanced HIV infection.

Humor and Laughter May Influence Health: II. Complementary Therapies and Humor in a Clinical Population

Our results support a connection between sense of humor and self-reported physical health, however, it is difficult to determine the relationship to any specific disease process. Whereas relationships between sense of humor and self-reported measures of physical well-being appear to be supported, more research is required to determine interrelationships between sense of humor and well-being.

Physical well-being and school enrollment:: a comparison of adopted and biological children in one-child families in China

Adoption has increased in China since 1980 when the government started the one-child policy. There were approximately six million adopted children living in China in 1988. The objective of this study was to compare adopted and biological children in one-child families across a number of measures of physical well-being and school enrollment. The 1992 National Sample Survey on the Situation of Children provided data on 2458 adopted and 194,760 biological children aged 0–14 years living in one-child families. Logistic regression models were used to adjust for confounders. We found that adopted children were not significantly different from biological children in reported diarrhea and nutritional outcomes (stunting, underweight, wasting) after controlling for other known demographic, socioeconomic and geographic correlates. However, there was evidence of significantly higher odds of never being immunized and not being currently enrolled in school, and evidence of slightly lower odds of having fever or acute respiratory infections among adopted children compared to biological children. These results suggest that adopted children were as healthy and well-fed as biological children, but adopted children aged 7–14 years were less likely to be enrolled in school than biological children.

Living with Huntington's disease: Illness perceptions, coping mechanisms, and patients' well-being.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the illness perceptions and coping mechanisms of patients with Huntington's disease (HD), and to assess their role in the well-being of these individuals. DESIGN: A single group, cross-sectional study. METHODS: In 77 individuals with a clinically confirmed diagnosis of HD, illness perceptions, coping mechanisms, motor and cognitive performance, and well-being were assessed by means of questionnaire-guided interviews, and subjected to correlational analyses, t-tests and two-stage regression analyses. RESULTS: HD patients' illness perceptions were characterized by a strong illness identity, combined with beliefs about a long duration of HD, perceived negative consequences for their daily lives, and little hope for cure or improvement of their symptoms. In turn, the coping strategies that HD patients reported adopting to deal with their disease were comparable with those adopted by reference individuals dealing with everyday life stressful situations. Where the well-being of HD patients is concerned, compared with Dutch community sample, HD patients scored significantly lower on measures of physical well-being and general health. Both illness perceptions and coping mechanisms were significant predictors of patients' well-being. CONCLUSIONS: More systematic research within a health psychology framework is justified in order to assess the role of illness perceptions and coping mechanisms in the well-being of HD patients.

The Use of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) in Patients With Advanced HIV Infection: Impact on Medical, Palliative Care, and Quality of Life Outcomes

The effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the treatment of HIV infection is usually measured by survival, CD4 lymphocyte counts, HIV-1 RNA viral load testing, and the occurrence of opportunistic infections. This pilot study sought to measure the impact of HAART treatments on a wide range of clinical outcomes and psychological variables in a sample of patients with advanced HIV infection. Seventy patients with advanced AIDS who were protease inhibitor naı̈ve were started on HAART regimens. Patients were admitted to an AIDS inpatient unit of a long-term care facility that provides treatment and palliative care. All patients were diagnosed with AIDS, had CD4 cell counts below 300/cc 3, and had a projected survival of greater than one month. Patients were started on triple-drug HAART regimens with daily medical supervision and observation. In addition to standard clinical and laboratory markers, a series of observer-rated and self-report instruments were used to measure various physical and psychological factors (e.g., pain and symptom distress, psychological well-being, depression). Data were collected at baseline and after 1 and 3 months of HAART therapy. As expected, the CD4 count increased and viral load levels decreased significantly over the 3-month study period. In addition, patients improved significantly in body weight, and serum albumin and ferritin levels. The only psychosocial measure that improved significantly with treatment was depression. Ratings of pain intensity, physical and psychological symptom distress, and overall quality of life did not change. Of the 70 patients studied, 84.3% were still alive after the 3-month study period. Of these, 6 (8.6%) were discharged to community. However, 17 surviving patients (24.3%) had HAART regimens discontinued due to drug intolerance and 11 patients (15.7%) expired during the study period. While these data are preliminary, HAART regimens appear to have positive effects on CD4 count, HIV viral load, and several other measures of physical well-being in patients with advanced AIDS. Despite these improvements, the benefits of treatment on pain and symptom distress, and psychological well-being were less clear. In addition, treatment failure (mortality and intolerance) were not uncommon in this sample (40%). Further research is clearly necessary to better understand the benefits of HAART therapy in patients with advanced HIV infection.

Occupational Locking-in: Some Empirical Findings

Summary Self-reported locking-in (employment immobility) of 127 administrators was related to (a) personal and situational demographic characteristics and personality variables, (b) occupational and life demands and satisfactions, and (c) life style and emotional and physical well-being measures. Individuals reporting greater locking-in were older, less educated, had more children, longer organizational tenure, made fewer previous geographic moves and were less interested in further promotion. Locking-in was also associated with interpersonal passivity, emotional instability, an external locus of control, and reduced Type A propensities. Work experiences and satisfactions were generally unrelated to degree of locking-in although administrators more locked-in reported greater underutilization at work and greater life dissatisfaction. Locking-in, however, was not associated with negative emotional and physical health consequences.