Gender Differences in NSAID Use among Older Adults with Osteoarthritis

2003 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1566-1571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelli L Dominick ◽  
Frank M Ahern ◽  
Carol H Gold ◽  
Debra A Heller

BACKGROUND: Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly prescribed medications for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). Little is known about whether there are important gender differences in NSAID use among patients with OA. OBJECTIVE: To examine gender differences in patterns of NSAID use among older adults (≥65 y) with OA. METHODS: Subjects (n = 11 298) were members of a statewide prescription drug plan who responded to a health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) survey in 1997 and had a physician diagnosis of OA. Gender differences in patterns of NSAID use were examined over a 2-year period. RESULTS: Approximately one-third of the participants filled at least 1 NSAID prescription during the study. Women were significantly more likely to be prescribed an NSAID than men (37% vs. 30%), had a greater total days' supply of NSAIDs, and were more frequently prescribed NSAIDs with greater degrees of cyclooxygenase-2 selectivity. These gender differences persisted in statistical analyses controlling for demographic factors, HRQOL, and gastrointestinal (GI) risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study showed significant gender differences in patterns of NSAID use, and these differences were independent of the risk for GI adverse effects and self-reported symptoms. Further research is needed to examine reasons for these gender variations, as well as their impact on the quality of symptom management.

Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
James Smith ◽  
Mohsen Bazargan

Background: The association between age and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is still under debate. While some research shows older age is associated with better HRQoL, other studies show no or negative association between age and HRQoL. In addition, while the association between age and HRQoL may depend on race, ethnicity, gender, and their intersections, most previous research on this link has been performed in predominantly White Middle Class. Objective: To explore gender differences in the association between age and mental and physical HRQoL in a sample of economically disadvantaged African American (AA) older adults. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in South Los Angeles between 2015 to 2018. A total number of 740 economically disadvantaged AA older adults (age ≥ 55 years) were enrolled in this study, using non-random sampling. This includes 266 AA men and 474 AA women. The independent variable of interest was age. Dependent variables of interest were physical component scores (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS), two main summary scores of the HRQoL, measured using Short Form-12 (SF-12). Gender was the moderator. Socioeconomic status (educational attainment and financial difficulty) were covariates. Linear regression models were used to analyze the data. Results: AA women reported worse PCS; however, gender did not impact MCS. In the pooled sample, high age was associated with better PCS and MCS. In the pooled sample, a significant interaction was found between gender and age on PCS, suggesting a stronger effect of age on PCS for AA men than AA women. In gender-stratified models, older age was associated with better PCS for AA men but not AA women. Older age was similarly and positively associated with better MCS for AA men and women. Conclusions: There may be some gender differences in the implications of ageing for the physical HRQoL of AA older adults. It is unclear how old age may have a boosting effect on physical HRQoL for AA men but not AA women. Future research should test gender differences in the effect of age on physical health indicators such as chronic disease as well as cognitive processes involved in the evaluation of own’s health in AA men and women.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaojie Li ◽  
Yongtian Yin ◽  
Lijun Chen ◽  
Guanghui Cui ◽  
Jiaqin Li ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Older adults’ health literacy levels are crucial to improving health outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, the impact of eHealth literacy on HRQoL in older adults is unclear. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the association between eHealth literacy and HRQoL of older adults and provide reference for the development of network intervention measures related to the health quality of life of the older adults. METHODS An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,201 adults aged 60 or older from Jinan, China. The eHealth Literacy Scale and Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) were used to measure eHealth literacy and HRQoL. We used linear regression to test the adjusted association between eHealth literacy and HRQoL. RESULTS Most participants (88.9%) had inadequate eHealth literacy. Lower eHealth literacy was related to older age ( F=12.618, P<.001), female gender( t=3.303, P<.01), living in rural areas( F=11.356, P<.001), having less education( F=59.084, P<.001), being unmarried, divorced or widowed( t=4.416, P<.001), having a lower family income( F=38.017, P<.001), living with others(χ2=4.319, P<.05), and not having health insurance( F=12.713, P<.001). There were significant differences across physical functioning( t=-4.862, P<.001), role- physical( t=-2.485, P<.05), bodily pain( t=-3.470, P<.01), general health( t=-4.449, P<.001), vitality( t=-3.498, P<.001), role-emotional( t=-2.654, P<.01), mental health( t=-4.150, P<.001), physical component summary( t=-6.350, P<.001) and mental component summary( t=-4.483, P<.001) between adequate eHealth literacy and inadequate eHealth literacy. After controlling for age, gender, and other covariates, adequate eHealth literacy was positively related to physical component summary ( beta=7.6, P<.001) and mental component summary(beta=4.6, P=.001). CONCLUSIONS This study showed that Chinese older adults with higher eHealth literacy were more likely to contribute to higher HRQoL. Thus, Older adults’ eHealth literacy levels need to be taken into account when formulating health education and promotion programs for older adults, especially when the expected outcome is to improve HRQoL.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 673-673
Author(s):  
Lizette Swanepoel ◽  
Isabelle Gelinas ◽  
Barbara Mazer

Abstract Community mobility in older adults is important for maintaining health, quality of life and social participation. Globally, older adults who are non-drivers, access their community through various modes of transport to maintain community mobility. This international cross-sectional cohort study (n=246) explored the mobility patterns of older adults and examined their access to out-of-home activities and health related quality of life in seven countries. Quality of life was determined using EQ-5D-5L and was generally high among all participants. Findings from the study indicate that a complex myriad of factors influence safe transport mobility in older adults. Results suggested that inclement weather and place of residence negatively impacted access to out-of-home activities, yet these factors but did not increase use of public transport. Given the complexity of transportation use and mobility patterns in older adults, an individualised approach may be necessary to keep older adults connected to their out-of-home activities.


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