scholarly journals The Sex Difference in Physical Functioning: How Do Risk Factors Contribute?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 545-545
Author(s):  
Lena Sialino ◽  
Susan Picavet ◽  
Hanneke Wijnhoven ◽  
Anne Loyen ◽  
Monique Verschuren ◽  
...  

Abstract This study explores whether sex differences in the sensitivity to risk factors (strength of the association) and/or in the exposure to risk factors (prevalence) contributes to the sex difference in physical functioning, with women reporting more limitations. Data of the Doetinchem Cohort Study was used (n=5971, initial ages 26-70 years), with follow-up measurements every 5 years (up to 20). Physical functioning (subscale SF-36, range:0-100) and a number of socio-demographic, lifestyle and health-related risk factors were assessed. Mixed-model multivariable analysis was used to investigate sex differences in sensitivity (interaction term with sex) and in exposure (change of the sex difference when adjusting) to risk factors. The physical functioning score among women was 6.75 (95%CL:5.65,7.85,age-adjusted) points lower than among men. In general, men and women had similar risk factors, but pain was more strongly associated with physical functioning (higher sensitivity), and also more prevalent among women (higher exposure). The higher exposure to low educational level and not having a paid job also contributed to the lower physical functioning score among women. In contrast, smoking, mental health problems and a low educational level were more strongly associated with a lower physical functioning score among men and lower physical activity and higher BMI were more prevalent. So, few risk factors seem to contribute the more reported limitations in physical functioning among women aged 26 to 90 years. Our findings provide no indications for reducing this sex difference by promoting a healthy lifestyle but stress the importance of sex differences in pain, work and education.

BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Gong ◽  
Katie Harris ◽  
Sanne A. E. Peters ◽  
Mark Woodward

Abstract Background Sex differences in major cardiovascular risk factors for incident (fatal or non-fatal) all-cause dementia were assessed in the UK Biobank. The effects of these risk factors on all-cause dementia were explored by age and socioeconomic status (SES). Methods Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and women-to-men ratio of HRs (RHR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), smoking, diabetes, adiposity, stroke, SES and lipids with dementia. Poisson regression was used to estimate the sex-specific incidence rate of dementia for these risk factors. Results 502,226 individuals in midlife (54.4% women, mean age 56.5 years) with no prevalent dementia were included in the analyses. Over 11.8 years (median), 4068 participants (45.9% women) developed dementia. The crude incidence rates were 5.88 [95% CI 5.62–6.16] for women and 8.42 [8.07–8.78] for men, per 10,000 person-years. Sex was associated with the risk of dementia, where the risk was lower in women than men (HR = 0.83 [0.77–0.89]). Current smoking, diabetes, high adiposity, prior stroke and low SES were associated with a greater risk of dementia, similarly in women and men. The relationship between blood pressure (BP) and dementia was U-shaped in men but had a dose-response relationship in women: the HR for SBP per 20 mmHg was 1.08 [1.02–1.13] in women and 0.98 [0.93–1.03] in men. This sex difference was not affected by the use of antihypertensive medication at baseline. The sex difference in the effect of raised BP was consistent for dementia subtypes (vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease). Conclusions Several mid-life cardiovascular risk factors were associated with dementia similarly in women and men, but not raised BP. Future bespoke BP-lowering trials are necessary to understand its role in restricting cognitive decline and to clarify any sex difference.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 967-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osamu Iida ◽  
Mitsuyoshi Takahara ◽  
Yoshimitsu Soga ◽  
Masahiko Fujihara ◽  
Daizo Kawasaki ◽  
...  

Purpose To present a novel angiographic scoring system that stratifies the risk of restenosis after endovascular therapy (EVT) to inform the decision to use paclitaxel-eluting devices in the femoropopliteal segment. Materials and Methods A prospective, multicenter registry including 1799 limbs of 1578 patients (mean age 74±9 years; 1090 men) with symptomatic peripheral artery disease undergoing intravascular ultrasound–supported femoropopliteal EVT was used as the basis for developing the angiographic score. Multivariable analysis identified baseline patient and limb characteristics associated with restenosis at 12 months. These risk factors for 12-month restenosis were explored using a generalized linear mixed model with a logit-link function in which the inter-institutional and inter-subject variability were treated as random effects. The multiple imputation method was adopted to address missing data. Results of the regression analysis are presented as the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Twelve-month primary patency was estimated to be 65.1% (95% CI 62.7% to 67.5%). After multivariable analysis, distal reference vessel diameter per 1 mm (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.81, p<0.001), lesion length per 10 cm (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.62, p<0.001), and chronic total occlusion (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.10, p=0.004) were independently associated with the 12-month restenosis risk, whereas baseline patient risk factors were not. Compared to bare nitinol stent implantation, plain angioplasty (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.67 to 3.18, p<0.001) was independently associated with a higher risk of 12-month restenosis, while drug-eluting stents (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.99, p=0.045) and stent-grafts (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.50, p<0.001) were independently associated with a lower risk of 12-month restenosis. The angiographic score, which was developed by using the 3 angiographic factors but not the TransAtlantic Society Consensus II (TASC) class, was significantly and independently associated with 12-month restenosis. Conclusion The current study demonstrated a novel angiographic score for 12-month restenosis after femoropopliteal EVT in a real-world clinical practice. The developed score was significantly and independently associated with the 12-month restenosis risk, but the TASC class was not.


Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Shah ◽  
Jing Tian ◽  
Marie-Jeanne BUSCOT ◽  
Hoang T Phan ◽  
Costan Magnussen ◽  
...  

Background: Understanding the origins of sex differences in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) may help with prevention. We examined sex differences in carotid artery IMT and plaques in adulthood including the contribution of childhood risk factors. Methods: Boys and girls aged 7-15 years old from the Australian Schools Health and Fitness Survey in 1985 were followed up in the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health study at ages 36-49 years between 2014-19. Sex differences in adult carotid IMT and plaques, identified with 2D ultrasound of left and right carotid arteries, were examined with linear and log binomial regression, respectively. Childhood sociodemographic, psychosocial, health-related behavioural and biomedical risk factors that might contribute to sex differences in carotid IMT/plaques were identified with purposeful model building. Results: Among 1,286 men and women with vascular measurements of carotid IMT (53% women, mean carotid IMT 0.63 mm ± 0.09 standard deviation) women had thinner carotid IMT measurements than men (β coefficients -0.053 95% CI -0.063, -0.043). Adjusting for age standardised waist circumference (WC), waist/hip ratio (WHR), waist/height ratio (WHtR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in childhood reduced the sex difference of carotid IMT in adulthood (see Figure), but a significant sex-difference in carotid IMT remained. Women had a 42% lower risk of plaques than men (Relative Risk 0.58 95% CI 0.42, 0.79). School achievement levels, endurance/power fitness and SBP in childhood partially explained the sex difference in the prevalence of plaques at adulthood (see Figure) as the sex difference decreased and became statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Various factors in childhood had contributed to thicker carotid IMT and higher prevalence of carotid plaques in men compared to women. These findings suggest that the origins of adult sex differences in CVD may begin in childhood. There may be benefits of sex-specific primary prevention programs starting in childhood.


2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márcia Cristina Fraga Silva ◽  
Ricardo Arraes de Alencar Ximenes ◽  
Demócrito Barros Miranda Filho ◽  
Luciano Wagner de Melo Santiago Arraes ◽  
Mecleine Mendes ◽  
...  

Cross-sectional study analyzed as case-control to identify risk factors for non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy. We studied 412 out-clinics HIV infected subjects of three public hospitals of Recife, Pernambuco. The objective was to examine the association between non-adherence to the antiretroviral therapy and biological, social-behavior and demographics and economic factors, factors related to the disease and/or treatment, factors related to life habits and depression symptoms. Variables significantly associated with non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy were: time elapsed since HIV diagnosis (p = 0.002), daily dose (p = 0.046), use of alcohol (p = 0.030) and past drug use (p = 0.048), and borderline p-values were found for educational level (p = 0.093) and family monthly income (p = 0.08). In the multivariable analysis, the factors that remained in the final model were family monthly income, time period with HIV infection and use of alcohol. No association was observed between non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy and gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, educational level and place of residence. Based on our results and the local situation we suggest: assessment of social needs; training of partners and/or families on supporting adherence, creation of "adherence groups" to motivate and to reassure patients on the benefits of treatment; counseling and/or psychotherapy for alcohol drinkers.


2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisli H. Gudjonsson ◽  
Jon Fridrik Sigurdsson

Summary: The Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS), the COPE Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were administered to 212 men and 212 women. Multiple regression of the test scores showed that low self-esteem and denial coping were the best predictors of compliance in both men and women. Significant sex differences emerged on all three scales, with women having lower self-esteem than men, being more compliant, and using different coping strategies when confronted with a stressful situation. The sex difference in compliance was mediated by differences in self-esteem between men and women.


2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Glicksohn ◽  
Yamit Hadad

Individual differences in time production should indicate differences in the rate of functioning of an internal clock, assuming the existence of such a clock. And sex differences in time production should reflect a difference in the rate of functioning of that clock between men and women. One way of approaching the data is to compute individual regressions of produced duration (P) on target duration (T), after log transformation, and to derive estimates for the intercept and the slope. One could investigate a sex difference by comparing these estimates for men and women; one could also contrast them by looking at mean log(P). Using such indices, we found a sex difference in time production, female participants having a relatively faster internal clock, making shorter time productions, and having a smaller exponent. The question is whether a sex difference in time production would be found using other methods for analyzing the data: (1) the P/T ratio; (2) an absolute discrepancy (|P-T|) score; and (3) an absolute error (|P-T|/T) score. For the P/T ratio, female participants have a lower mean ratio in comparison to the male participants. In contrast, the |P-T| and |P-T|/T indices seem to be seriously compromised by wide individual differences.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernie Gonzalez ◽  
Jorge G. Varela ◽  
Erika J. Canales ◽  
Alexandra Tellez ◽  
Amy B. Percosky

Author(s):  
Natalia I. Latyshevskaya ◽  
Tatyana L. Yatsyshena ◽  
Elena L. Shestopalova ◽  
Irina Yu. Krainova

Modern trends in the deterioration of health and the growth of non-communicable diseases among the adult working-age population, including medical workers, actualize the importance of a healthy lifestyle for maintaining health and professional longevity. There were almost no studies related to cosmetologists' experienced group as representatives of aesthetic medicine. There is no scientific evidence on behavioral risks of this group. It justifies the relevance of this study. The study aims to analyze the essential components of the cosmetologists' lifestyle depending on age and the argumentation of priority behavioral health risk factors for preventive and recreational work justification. Sixty women (practicing cosmetologists in Volgograd at the age of 28-39 years (group A) and 40-53 (group B)) took part in the study. Lifestyle assessment included a modified questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of 5 blocks (block 1 - nutrition; 2 - physical activity, including hardening and active rest; 3 - daily regimen; 4 - personal hygiene; 5 - bad habits). It allows the analysis of the adherence to a healthy lifestyle based on the provision of quantitative data. Statistical data processing was carried out using the Excel package. The authors identified the essential and statistically significant differences in the cosmetologists' lifestyle depending on age. The respondents of group B demonstrated hygienically rational indicators in all blocks of the lifestyle more often. They had a more formed adherence to a healthy lifestyle: 504 answers in the category "insignificant risk" of respondents in group B versus 354 in group A. Distribution of answers in the "high risk" category: 119 responses in group B and 185 in group A. The lifestyle of 46.7% of the respondents in group B refers to a healthy lifestyle. 3.3% of the group B respondents have an anxious lifestyle, 50% have health risks. 10% of Group A respondents' lifestyle refers to a healthy lifestyle. 13.3% of Group A respondents' lifestyle refers to an anxious lifestyle; 76.7% of this group have health risks. There was almost no complex hygienic research profession of medical cosmetologists. Cosmetologists of the older age group (40-53 years old) are more conscious of maintaining a hygienically rational lifestyle. The most significant defects among cosmetologists aged 28-39 years are low physical activity, nutritional defects, insufficient duration of night rest, and excessive use of information and communication technologies for rest, accompanied by manifestations of neurotization and signs of pronounced fatigue. The obtained results argue the need to develop and implement informational and educational measures to prevent risk behavior patterns, taking into account the age of cosmetologists and the priority of the identified behavioral risk factors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackson Alun ◽  
Barbara Murphy

Loneliness and social isolation are increasingly being acknowledged as risk factors for both physical and mental health problems. Recent statistics demonstrate that loneliness and isolation are on the rise internationally, to the point of being classed as an epidemic. In this paper, the authors outline some of the recent research linking loneliness and isolation to significant chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes; mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression; cognitive disorders and dementia. Isolation has also been shown to compromise recovery after acute cardiac events, being associated with increased hospital readmission and premature death. Indeed, isolation has now been identified as a risk factor equivalent in effect to traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypertension and obesity. While distinguishing between objective and subjective indicators of isolation, the authors highlight the complexity of this phenomenon, both in terms of definition and measurement, as well as the interplay between subjective and objective indicators. Important clinical implications for health professionals working with cardiac patients are also proposed, in terms of screening for isolation, and possible interventions to support patients at risk of isolation. The aim of the current article is to emphasise the importance of acknowledging loneliness and isolation as key risk factors requiring urgent attention, both in research and in clinical practice.


Author(s):  
Daniel Stark ◽  
Stefania Di Gangi ◽  
Caio Victor Sousa ◽  
Pantelis Nikolaidis ◽  
Beat Knechtle

Though there are exhaustive data about participation, performance trends, and sex differences in performance in different running disciplines and races, no study has analyzed these trends in stair climbing and tower running. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate these trends in tower running. The data, consisting of 28,203 observations from 24,007 climbers between 2014 and 2019, were analyzed. The effects of sex and age, together with the tower characteristics (i.e., stairs and floors), were examined through a multivariable statistical model with random effects on intercept, at climber’s level, accounting for repeated measurements. Men were faster than women in each age group (p < 0.001 for ages ≤69 years, p = 0.003 for ages > 69 years), and the difference in performance stayed around 0.20 km/h, with a minimum of 0.17 at the oldest age. However, women were able to outperform men in specific situations: (i) in smaller buildings (<600 stairs), for ages between 30 and 59 years and >69 years; (ii) in higher buildings (>2200 stairs), for age groups <20 years and 60–69 years; and (iii) in buildings with 1600–2200 stairs, for ages >69 years. In summary, men were faster than women in this specific running discipline; however, women were able to outperform men in very specific situations (i.e., specific age groups and specific numbers of stairs).


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