scholarly journals Predicting life expectancy of older people using respiratory symptoms and smoking status: Data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Respirology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Petrie ◽  
Michael J. Abramson ◽  
Amanda J. Cross ◽  
Johnson George
2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (6) ◽  
pp. 1077-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nitin Shivappa ◽  
Danielle A. J. M. Schoenaker ◽  
James R. Hebert ◽  
Gita D. Mishra

AbstractDietary factors and inflammation markers have been shown to play a role in the development of depression. However, there are very few studies that have explored the association between inflammatory potential of diet and risk of depression. In this study, we examined the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII), which was developed specifically to measure the inflammatory potential of diet, and risk of depression in the middle-aged cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. A total of 6438 women with a mean age of 52·0 (sd 1·4) years at baseline were followed-up at five surveys over 12 years (2001–2013). Depression was defined as a score of ≥10 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression-10 scale. The DII score, a literature-derived, population-based dietary index that has been validated against several inflammatory markers, was computed on the basis of dietary intake assessed using a validated FFQ. Generalised estimating equations were used to estimate relative risk (RR) of depression according to DII score. Models were adjusted for energy intake, highest education completed, marital status, menopause status and symptoms, personal illness or injury, smoking status, physical activity, BMI and depression diagnosis or treatment. In total, 1156 women (18 %) had scores≥10 on the CESD scale over the course of 9 years. Women with the most anti-inflammatory diet had an approximately 20 % lower risk of developing depression compared with women with the most pro-inflammatory diet (RRDII quartile 1 v. 4: 0·81; 95 % CI 0·69, 0·96; Ptrend=0·03). These results suggest that an anti-inflammatory diet is associated with lower risk of depression in middle-aged Australian women.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ximena Moreno ◽  
Lydia Lera ◽  
Francisco Moreno ◽  
Cecilia Albala

Abstract Background Chile has one of the longest life expectancies of Latin America. The country is characterised by an important macroeconomic growth and persisting socioeconomic inequalities. This study analyses socioeconomic differences in life expectancy (LE) and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) among Chilean older people. Methods The sample of the Social Protection Survey, a longitudinal study, was analysed. Five waves, from 2004 to 2016, were considered. The indicator was disability, defined as having difficulties to perform at least one basic activity of daily living. Type of health insurance was used to determine socioeconomic position (SEP). Total LE and DFLE were estimated with multistate life table models. Results At age 60, men in the higher SEP could expect to live 3.7 years longer (22.2; 95% CI 19.6–24.8) compared to men of the same age in the medium SEP (18.4; 95% CI 17.4–19.4), and 4.9 years longer than men of the same age in the lower SEP (17.3; 95% CI 16.4–18.2). They also had a DFLE (19.4; 95% CI 17.1–21.7) 4 (15.4; 95% CI 14.6–16.1) and 5.2 (14.2; 95% CI 13.4–14.9) years longer, compared to the same groups. Women aged 60 years in the higher SEP had a LE (27.2; 95% CI 23.7–30.8) 4.6 (22.7; 95% CI 21.9–23.5) and 5.6 (21.6; 20.6–22.6) years longer, compared to women in the medium and the lower SEP. The difference in DFLE, for the same age and groups was 4.9 and 6.1 years, respectively (high: 21.4; 95% CI 19.5–23.3; medium: 16.5; 95% CI 15.8–17.1; low: 15.3; 95% CI 14.6–16.0). Socioeconomic differences in LE and DFLE were observed among both sexes until advanced age. Discussion Socioeconomic inequalities in LE and DFLE were found among Chilean older men and women. Older people in the highest SEP live longer and healthier lives. Conclusion A reform to the Chilean health system should be considered, in order to guarantee timely access to care and benefits for older people who are not in the wealthiest group.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan-Ru Wang ◽  
Nai-Tzu Chen ◽  
Nai-Yun Hsu ◽  
I-Ying Kuo ◽  
Hsin-Wen Chang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Dysregulation of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) expressions is linked to asthma and allergic disease. Exposure to phthalate esters, a widely used plasticizer, is associated with respiratory and allergic morbidity. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) causes TSLP upregulation in the skin. In addition, phthalate exposure is associated with changes in environmentally induced DNA methylation, which might cause phenotypic heterogeneity. This study examined the DNA methylation of the TSLP gene to determine the potential mechanism between phthalate exposure and allergic diseases. Results Among all evaluated, only benzyl butyl phthalate (BBzP) in the settled dusts were negatively correlated with the methylation levels of TSLP and positively associated with children’s respiratory symptoms. The results revealed that every unit increase in BBzP concentration in the settled dust was associated with a 1.75% decrease in the methylation level on upstream 775 bp from the transcription start site (TSS) of TSLP (β =  − 1.75, p = 0.015) after adjustment for child’s sex, age, BMI, parents’ smoking status, allergic history, and education levels, PM2.5, formaldehyde, temperature; and relative humidity. Moreover, every percentage increase in the methylation level was associated with a 20% decrease in the risk of morning respiratory symptoms in the children (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65–0.99). Conclusions Exposure to BBzP in settled dust might increase children’s respiratory symptoms in the morning through decreasing TSLP methylation. Therefore, the exposure to BBzP should be reduced especially for the children already having allergic diseases.


Author(s):  
Fulwah Alqahtani ◽  
Marzouqah Alanazi ◽  
Wajdan Alassaf ◽  
Fadilah Sfouq Aleanizy ◽  
Muna Aljahany ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to describe the development and implementation of a separated pathway to check and treat patients with a suspected/confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the emergency department (ED) at King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital in Riyadh. Methods We conducted a retrospective, descriptive longitudinal study from March to July 2020 by analyzing data of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 among ED visitors and healthcare workers in King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital. Results During the study period, a total of 1,182 swab samples were collected for testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), of which 285 (24.1%) tested positive. Of the 285 cases of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, 18 were healthcare workers and 267 were patients. As a result of using the respiratory pathway for COVID-19 patients, the hospital managed to limit transmission of SARS-CoV-2 not only between patients but also between patients and healthcare workers, while also containing the pandemic. There were no cases of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection recorded among the patients who visited the ED or the flu clinic. All confirmed cases were community acquired and patients were cared for under constrained measures. Conclusions Implementing infection control measures and restricting those with respiratory symptoms to the ED pathway prevented nosocomial spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the ED.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. e025132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Nishimura ◽  
Toru Oga ◽  
Kazuhito Nakayasu ◽  
Miyoko Ogasawara ◽  
Yoshinori Hasegawa ◽  
...  

ObjectivesWe hypothesised that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-specific health status measured by the COPD assessment test (CAT), respiratory symptoms by the evaluating respiratory symptoms in COPD (E-RS) and dyspnoea by Dyspnoea-12 (D-12) are independently based on specific conceptual frameworks and are not interchangeable. We aimed to discover whether health status, dyspnoea or respiratory symptoms could be related to smoking status and airflow limitation in a working population.DesignThis is an observational, cross-sectional study.Participants1566 healthy industrial workers were analysed.ResultsRelationships between D-12, CAT and E-RS total were statistically significant but weak (Spearman’s correlation coefficient=0.274 to 0.446). In 646 healthy non-smoking subjects, as the reference scores for healthy non-smoking subjects, that is, upper threshold, the bootstrap 95th percentile values were 1.00 for D-12, 9.88 for CAT and 4.44 for E-RS. Of the 1566 workers, 85 (5.4%) were diagnosed with COPD using the fixed ratio of the forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity <0.7, and 34 (2.2%) using the lower limit of normal. The CAT and E-RS total were significantly worse in non-COPD smokers and subjects with COPD than non-COPD never smokers, although the D-12 was not as sensitive. There were no significant differences between non-COPD smokers and subjects with COPD on any of the measures.ConclusionsAssessment of health status and respiratory symptoms would be preferable to dyspnoea in view of smoking status and airflow limitation in a working population. However, these patient-reported measures were inadequate in differentiating between smokers and subjects with COPD identified by spirometry.


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