scholarly journals Associations between Safety from Crime, Cycling, and Obesity in a Dutch Elderly Population: Results from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stef P. J. Kremers ◽  
Gert-Jan de Bruijn ◽  
Tommy L. S. Visscher ◽  
Dorly J. H. Deeg ◽  
G. C. Fleur Thomése ◽  
...  

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate differences in associations between crime rates, cycling, and weight status between people living in low and high socioeconomic status (SES) neighbourhoods. In total, 470 participants in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were included (age: 63–70 y). Body height and weight were measured using a stadiometer and calibrated weight scale, respectively. Cycling behaviour was assessed in a face-to-face interview, and neighbourhood crime rates were assessed using data from police reports. Men residing in high SES neighbourhoods cycled more than males residing in low SES neighbourhoods. Cycling was negatively related to crime rates among both men and women living in low SES neighbourhoods. Among men living in low SES neighbourhoods, more cycling was associated with lower BMI. Interventions aiming to prevent obesity in older people may consider aiming at increasing bicycle use in lower SES neighbourhoods, but neighbourhood safety issues should be considered.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Peltzer ◽  
Supa Pengpid

Background. Hypertension is the most significant avoidable cause of morbidity and mortality, yet nationally representative adult data on Indonesia have not been available. The study aimed at assessing the prevalence and determinants of hypertension, including sociodemographic variables, weight status, health behaviour, and psychosocial stress and support risk factors. Methods. The Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS-5) interviewed and examined in a national population-based cross-sectional study 29965 individuals aged 18 years and older, mean age 43.3 years (SD=15.3). Blood pressure, body height and weight, dietary behaviour, physical activity, tobacco use, and psychosocial variables were measured. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate determinants of hypertension by gender. Results. The prevalence of hypertension among study participants was 33.4 % (95 % CI: 32.7-34.0), among males 31.0% (95% CI: 30.2, 31.9), and among females 35.4% (95% CI: 34.6, 36.3). Among hypertensives, 42.9% were aware, 11.5% were treated, and 14.3% were controlled. In fully adjusted analyses, in both men and women, older age, no or elementary education, being overweight or obese, and having visited an outpatients health facility in the past 4 weeks were positively associated hypertension. Significant linear relationships of hypertension were found with age (P for trend <0.001) and body mass index (BMI) (P for trend < 0.001). In addition, among men having quit tobacco use and depressive symptoms were positively associated with hypertension, while current tobacco use was negatively associated with hypertension. Moreover, among women lower subjective economic status was associated with hypertension. Conclusions. The prevalence of hypertension was high and awareness was low, and treatment and control were very low. Significant multilevel public health interventions are urgently needed to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and control of hypertension in Indonesia.


Author(s):  
Emiel O. Hoogendijk ◽  
Maaike E. Muntinga ◽  
Sascha de Breij ◽  
Martijn Huisman ◽  
Silvia S. Klokgieters

AbstractVery few studies have investigated frailty among older immigrants in Europe. The aim of the current study was to investigate inequalities in frailty in young-olds related to gender, educational level and country of origin, as well as intersections between these characteristics. Cross-sectional data were used from older Turkish and Moroccan immigrants (n = 466) and native Dutch (n = 1,020), all aged 55–65 years and participating in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Frailty was assessed with a 30-item frailty index, based on the deficit accumulation approach. Frailty was higher among women, lower educated, and people with a migration background. Of all groups considered, frailty levels were the highest among Turkish immigrants. No statistically significant interaction effects between gender, educational level and country of origin were found. When targeting frailty interventions, special attention should be devoted to older immigrants, as they are the most vulnerable group with the highest frailty levels.


Author(s):  
Noah A. Schuster ◽  
Sascha de Breij ◽  
Laura A. Schaap ◽  
Natasja M. van Schoor ◽  
Mike J. L. Peters ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Delay of routine medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic may have serious consequences for the health and functioning of older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate whether older adults reported cancellation or avoidance of medical care during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to explore associations with health and socio-demographic characteristics. Methods Cross-sectional data of 880 older adults aged ≥ 62 years (mean age 73.4 years, 50.3% female) were used from the COVID-19 questionnaire of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, a cohort study among community-dwelling older adults in the Netherlands. Cancellation and avoidance of care were assessed by self-report, and covered questions on cancellation of primary care (general practitioner), cancellation of hospital outpatient care, and postponed help-seeking. Respondent characteristics included age, sex, educational level, loneliness, depression, anxiety, frailty, multimorbidity and information on quarantine. Results 35% of the sample reported cancellations due to the COVID-19 situation, either initiated by the respondent (12%) or by healthcare professionals (29%). Postponed help-seeking was reported by 8% of the sample. Multimorbidity was associated with healthcare-initiated cancellations (primary care OR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.09–3.50; hospital OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.28–2.74) and respondent-initiated hospital outpatient cancellations (OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.04–4.12). Depressive symptoms were associated with postponed help-seeking (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.06–1.24). Conclusion About one third of the study sample reported cancellation or avoidance of medical care during the first months of the pandemic, and this was more common among those with multiple chronic conditions. How this impacts outcomes in the long term should be investigated in future research.


Author(s):  
Osama Abdelkarim ◽  
Julian Fritsch ◽  
Darko Jekauc ◽  
Klaus Bös

Physical fitness is an indicator for children’s public health status. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the construct validity and the criterion-related validity of the German motor test (GMT) in Egyptian schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 931 children aged 6 to 11 years (age: 9.1 ± 1.7 years) with 484 (52%) males and 447 (48%) females in grades one to five in Assiut city. The children’s physical fitness data were collected using GMT. GMT is designed to measure five health-related physical fitness components including speed, strength, coordination, endurance, and flexibility of children aged 6 to 18 years. The anthropometric data were collected based on three indicators: body height, body weight, and BMI. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with IBM SPSS AMOS 26.0 using full-information maximum likelihood. The results indicated an adequate fit (χ2 = 112.3, df = 20; p < 0.01; CFI = 0.956; RMSEA = 0.07). The χ2-statistic showed significant results, and the values for CFI and RMSEA showed a good fit. All loadings of the manifest variables on the first-order latent factors as well as loadings of the first-order latent factors on the second-order superordinate factor were significant. The results also showed strong construct validity in the components of conditioning abilities and moderate construct validity in the components of coordinative abilities. GMT proved to be a valid method and could be widely used on large-scale studies for health-related fitness monitoring in the Egyptian population.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003151252110284
Author(s):  
João Paulo de Aguiar Greca ◽  
Thomas Korff ◽  
Jennifer Ryan

Our aim in this study was to investigate the relationships between physical activity (PA), pain, and injury among children. Secondarily, we examined whether these relationships differed between children with normal versus excessive weight or obesity. This was a cross-sectional study of 102 children (57 girls) aged 8–12 years old. We assessed the prevalence of moderate and vigorous PA using accelerometry over a seven-day period. We examined the associations between moderate PA, vigorous PA, pain presence, and injury presence using generalized estimating equations with a logit link and binomial distribution. We adjusted the obtained models for potential confounders and explored the moderating effect of weight status. We found no association between moderate PA and pain, but time spent in vigorous PA was associated with pain. Neither moderate or vigorous PA were associated with injury, and there was no moderating effect of weight status in these relationships. In summary, we found that objectively measured vigorous PA is associated with pain among 8–12 year old children. While these results should be replicated in longitudinal studies, they suggest that an association between vigorous PA and pain should be considered when developing PA interventions for children.


Author(s):  
Erwin Stolz ◽  
Emiel O Hoogendijk ◽  
Hannes Mayerl ◽  
Wolfgang Freidl

Abstract Background Baseline frailty index (FI) values have been shown to predict mortality among older adults, but little is known about the effects of changes in FI on mortality. Methods In a coordinated approach, we analyzed data from 4 population-based cohorts: the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA), and the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA), comprising a total of 24 961 respondents (65+), 95 897 observations, up to 9 repeated FI assessments, and up to 23 years of mortality follow-up. The effect of time-varying FI on mortality was modeled with joint regression models for longitudinal and time-to-event data. Results Differences (of 0.01) in current FI levels (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.04, 95% credible interval [CI] = 1.03–1.05) and baseline FI levels (HR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.03–1.05) were consistently associated with mortality across studies. Importantly, individuals with steeper FI growth also had a higher mortality risk: An increase in annual FI growth by 0.01 was associated with an increased mortality risk of HR = 1.56 (95% CI = 1.49–1.63) in HRS, HR = 1.24 (95% CI = 1.13–1.35) in SHARE, HR = 1.40 (95% CI = 1.25–1.52) in ELSA, and HR = 1.71 (95% CI = 1.46–2.01) in LASA. Conclusions FI changes predicted mortality independently of baseline FI differences. Repeated assessment of frailty and individual’s frailty trajectory could provide a means to anticipate further health deterioration and mortality and could thus support clinical decision making.


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