The impact of current smoking, regular drinking, and physical inactivity on health care-seeking behavior in China

Background People with lifestyle behaviors, such as current smoking, regular drinking, and physical inactivity, may experience a lack of or delayed health care, leading to severe sickness and higher health care expenditures in the future. Hence, the current study aims to ascertain the effects of current smoking, regular drinking, and physical inactivity on health care-seeking behavior among adults who report physical discomfort in China. Methods The data used in this study were obtained from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). The final sample consisted of 44,362 individuals who participated in all five waves of data collection. Logistic regression models were used for the analysis. Results The results of fixed effects logistic regression showed that among those who reported physical discomfort, adults who currently smoked cigarettes were 0.65 times less likely to seek health care than those who formerly smoked. Compared to nondrinkers, adults who regularly drank alcohol had a decreased likelihood of seeking health care. Adults who never engaged in physical exercise had 24% lower odds of seeking health care than those who engaged in physical exercise. Conclusions Current smoking, regular drinking, and physical inactivity decreased the probability of seeking health care among adults who reported physical discomfort. Therefore, screening and brief advice programs should be delivered by primary-level care and should pay more attention to individuals who engage in lifestyle behaviors such as current smoking, regular drinking, and physical inactivity, thus avoiding missed opportunities to treat chronic conditions and detect new diseases early.

Risk Factors, Lifestyle Behaviors, and Vascular Brain Health

Although a relationship between traditional cardiovascular risk factors and stroke has long been recognized, these risk factors likely play a role in other aspects of brain health. Clinical stroke is only the tip of the iceberg of vascular brain injury that includes covert infarcts, white matter hyperintensities, and microbleeds. Furthermore, an individual’s risk for not only stroke but poor brain health includes not only these traditional vascular risk factors but also lifestyle and genetic factors. The purpose of this narrative review is to summarize the state of the evidence on traditional and nontraditional vascular risk factors and their contributions to brain health. Additionally, we will review important modifiers that interact with these risk factors to increase, or, in some cases, reduce risk of adverse brain health outcomes, with an emphasis on genes and biomarkers associated with Alzheimer disease. Finally, we will consider the importance of social determinants of health in brain health outcomes.

Time from diagnosis does not improve diabetes care knowledge for older adults with type 2 diabetes

Uncontrolled diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease development. Knowledge of diabetes management is one tool in helping individuals with diabetes to control their blood glucose levels. The goal of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between self-rated understanding of diabetes management and time since diagnosis, and whether there were differences in self-rated understanding based on time since diagnosis. This study used an observational, cross-sectional, self-report design with two delivery options. Participants were adults over 50 years of age participating either online or at a senior apartment. A survey was developed to include self-rated diabetes management knowledge, relatives with diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, as well as lifestyle behaviors. The data were filtered to include only those with a self-reported diabetes diagnosis, and analyzed using non-parametric statistics, the Mann-Whitney test and Spearman’s rho. There was no relationship or difference between time since diagnosis and self-rated understanding of diabetes management. Continuing education is needed to help people with diabetes to manage their condition, even years after diagnosis. Failure to understand diabetes management is likely to lead to uncontrolled diabetes, which is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Beyond Services and Prescriptions: Reimagining Healthy Lifestyle Centers as Cooperative Enterprises

While the health-enhancing benefits of exercise and good nutrition have been well documented, the ability of health professionals to encourage healthier lifestyle behaviors among those they serve continues to prove challenging. Creating the conditions where healthier living can both occur and be sustained requires thinking beyond the traditional provision of services and prescriptions that occur in healthcare settings. Healthy Lifestyle Centers are emerging as a way of deploying lifestyle medicine practices. Turning these centers into cooperative businesses has the potential to make them more effective. Cooperative business principles are well established, and they enable individuals to become makers and producers of their own healthy lifestyles, providing a greater opportunity for sustained lifestyles changes. The purpose of this article is to further examine the role of engagement practices and coproduction as they relate to cooperative business models and to propose a framework for a Cooperative Healthy Lifestyle Center.