scholarly journals Assessing lifestyle risk factors and inequalities in health outcomes in most deprived communities in Wales

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiao Song ◽  
Ashley Akbari ◽  
Caryn Cox ◽  
Leon May ◽  
Williams Watkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Health Check ◽  
Effect Change ◽  
Inequalities In Health ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk ◽  
Health Boards

IntroductionThe Inverse Care Law (ICL) programme in Wales was piloted in Aneurin Bevan (AB) and Cwm Taf (CT) University Health Boards, chosen due to being located in areas of Wales which experience some of the most significant health inequalities and lower life expectancy and potential to effect change. Objectives and ApproachThe programme is aiming to address inequalities in health outcomes between the most and least deprived communities in Wales and implement targeted interventions towards lifestyle risk factors, such as poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking and high alcohol intake. The project collaborated with multiple stakeholders within the Health Boards, Swansea and Cardiff University and Public Health Wales to ensure the correct outcomes were identified and measured. The Welsh Longitudinal General Practice (WLGP) data held in Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank was used to extract clinically relevant information for evaluation, with the Welsh Demographic Service Dataset (WDSD) providing demographic characteristics. ResultsBetween AB and CT University Health Boards, from February 2015 to November 2016, over 7000 people who were offered a health check completed one at a participating General Practice. 96% of these were in the three most deprived Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) quintiles. 51% were referred within primary care for follow up based on their health check results, 71% were overweight/obese, and 20% were identified as current smoker of within which 28% were referred to smoking sensation services. Alchohol usage and other health issues have also been investigated. For example, 20% of those tested for blood pressure had an elevated result and 24% were subsequently prescribed anti-hypertensive medication. Conclusion/ImplicationsResults showed risks have been identified from health checks and targeted interventions were introduced based on the results. Repeated analysis in future should be used to further evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions longitudinally. Outcomes are reported back on a scheduled basis to monitor and improve the implementation across Wales.

scholarly journals Middle-aged Australians’ perceptions of support to reduce lifestyle risk factors: a qualitative study

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 313
Author(s):  
Christine Ashley ◽  
Elizabeth Halcomb ◽  
Susan McInnes ◽  
Karin Robinson ◽  
Elizabeth Lucas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Aged People ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion ◽  
Lifestyle Risk ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Reduction

Increasingly, middle-aged people are demonstrating lifestyle risk factors that increase their risk of developing chronic disease. Reducing lifestyle risk in middle age can significantly reduce future morbidity and mortality and improve quality of life. Understanding peoples’ perceptions of health support is important to inform health professionals and policymakers regarding strategies to support lifestyle risk reduction. This paper seeks to explore middle-aged Australians’ perceptions of support for lifestyle risk reduction. Thirty-four middle-aged Australians were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The overarching theme ‘support for healthy lifestyles’ comprised three subthemes. ‘Engagement with general practice’ highlighted gender differences in why people attend and what impacts their access to general practice. ‘Providing information’ emphasised participants’ experiences of lifestyle risk communication in general practice. Finally, ‘Sources of support’ revealed participants’ current health advice-seeking behaviours. Findings highlight a need for general practices to better engage middle-aged people in behaviour change and educate them about the role of general practice in prevention and health promotion. Consistent messaging across the community and strategies that focus on gender-specific concerns are likely to ensure that middle-aged people are able to make informed choices about seeking support for lifestyle risk reduction.

scholarly journals Skeletal Muscle Health and Cognitive Function: A Narrative Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Sophia X. Sui ◽  
Lana J. Williams ◽  
Kara L. Holloway-Kew ◽  
Natalie K. Hyde ◽  
Julie A. Pasco
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Muscle Health ◽  
Lifestyle Risk ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship

Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function with advancing age. It involves both complex genetic and modifiable risk factors, such as lack of exercise, malnutrition and reduced neurological drive. Cognitive decline refers to diminished or impaired mental and/or intellectual functioning. Contracting skeletal muscle is a major source of neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which regulate synapses in the brain. Furthermore, skeletal muscle activity has important immune and redox effects that modify brain function and reduce muscle catabolism. The identification of common risk factors and underlying mechanisms for sarcopenia and cognition may allow the development of targeted interventions that slow or reverse sarcopenia and also certain forms of cognitive decline. However, the links between cognition and skeletal muscle have not been elucidated fully. This review provides a critical appraisal of the literature on the relationship between skeletal muscle health and cognition. The literature suggests that sarcopenia and cognitive decline share pathophysiological pathways. Ageing plays a role in both skeletal muscle deterioration and cognitive decline. Furthermore, lifestyle risk factors, such as physical inactivity, poor diet and smoking, are common to both disorders, so their potential role in the muscle–brain relationship warrants investigation.

scholarly journals The Inverse Care Law programme: evaluating a population based intervention in primary care within deprived communities in Wales.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiao Song ◽  
Ashley Akbari ◽  
Caryn Cox ◽  
Leon May ◽  
William Watkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Health Checks ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Inverse Care Law ◽  
Lifestyle Risk ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Health Boards

BackgroundThe Inverse Care Law (ICL) programme was set up in South Wales valleys and aiming to achieve a measurable closing of the gap in health outcomes between the most and least deprived areas. ObjectivesPeople in deprived communities in Wales were invited for health checks to identify risks of cardiovascular disease followed by targeted interventions towards lifestyle risk factors, e.g. poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking and high alcohol intake, under the ICL programme piloted in Aneurin Bevan (AB) and Cwm Taf (CT) University Health Boards. MethodsWelsh Longitudinal General Practice (WLGP) data held in Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank was utilised to evaluate outcomes through project-specified clinical codes and uptake of the programme, linked with the Welsh Demographic Service Dataset (WDSD) providing demographic characteristics. FindingsThere were 7,094 people completing health checks in AB and CT University Health Boards between February 2015 and November 2016. 96% of these were in the three most deprived Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) quintiles. 51% were referred within primary care for follow-up based on their health check results, 71% were overweight/obese, and 20% were identified as current smokers of within which 28% were referred to smoking sensation services, with further analyses to follow. ConclusionsImplementations and effectiveness of the interventions and impact of health checks will be evaluated longitudinally on a scheduled basis with repeated analyses. Challenges and results will help refining the programme to be delivered across Wales.

Novel Machine-Learned Approach for COVID-19 Resource Allocation: A Tool for Evaluating Community Susceptibility (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Kale
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Insurance Coverage ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Health Insurance Coverage ◽  
Heart Attacks ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
The People ◽  
Potential Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk

BACKGROUND Despite worldwide efforts to develop an effective COVID vaccine, it is quite evident that initial supplies will be limited. Therefore, it is important to develop methods that will ensure that the COVID vaccine is allocated to the people who are at major risk until there is a sufficient global supply. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to develop a machine-learning tool that could be applied to assess the risk in Massachusetts towns based on community-wide social, medical, and lifestyle risk factors. METHODS I compiled Massachusetts town data for 29 potential risk factors, such as the prevalence of preexisting comorbid conditions like COPD and social factors such as racial composition, and implemented logistic regression to predict the amount of COVID cases in each town. RESULTS Of the 29 factors, 14 were found to be significant (p < 0.1) indicators: poverty, food insecurity, lack of high school education, lack of health insurance coverage, premature mortality, population, population density, recent population growth, Asian percentage, high-occupancy housing, and preexisting prevalence of cancer, COPD, overweightness, and heart attacks. The machine-learning approach is 80% accurate in the state of Massachusetts and finds the 9 highest risk communities: Lynn, Brockton, Revere, Randolph, Lowell, New Bedford, Everett, Waltham, and Fitchburg. The 5 most at-risk counties are Suffolk, Middlesex, Bristol, Norfolk, and Plymouth. CONCLUSIONS With appropriate data, the tool could evaluate risk in other communities, or even enumerate individual patient susceptibility. A ranking of communities by risk may help policymakers ensure equitable allocation of limited doses of the COVID vaccine.

scholarly journals The Prevalence of Insulin Resistance and the Associated Risk Factors in a Sample of 14–18-Year-Old Slovak Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 909
Author(s):  
Jana Jurkovičová ◽  
Katarína Hirošová ◽  
Diana Vondrová ◽  
Martin Samohýl ◽  
Zuzana Štefániková ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Insulin Resistance ◽  
Venous Blood ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Skewed Distribution ◽  
Model Assessment ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk

The prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors has increased in Slovakian adolescents as a result of serious lifestyle changes. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence of insulin resistance (IR) and the associations with cardiometabolic and selected lifestyle risk factors in a sample of Slovak adolescents. In total, 2629 adolescents (45.8% males) aged between 14 and 18 years were examined in the study. Anthropometric parameters, blood pressure (BP), and resting heart rate were measured; fasting venous blood samples were analyzed; and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-insulin resistance (IR) was calculated. For statistical data processing, the methods of descriptive and analytical statistics for normal and skewed distribution of variables were used. The mean HOMA-IR was 2.45 ± 1.91, without a significant sex differences. IR (cut-off point for HOMA-IR = 3.16) was detected in 18.6% of adolescents (19.8% males, 17.6% females). IR was strongly associated with overweight/obesity (especially central) and with almost all monitored cardiometabolic factors, except for total cholesterol (TC) and systolic BP in females. The multivariate model selected variables such as low level of physical fitness, insufficient physical activity, breakfast skipping, a small number of daily meals, frequent consumption of sweetened beverages, and low educational level of fathers as significant risk factors of IR in adolescents. Recognizing the main lifestyle risk factors and early IR identification is important in terms of the performance of preventive strategies. Weight reduction, regular physical activity, and healthy eating habits can improve insulin sensitivity and decrease the incidence of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

scholarly journals Smoking, drinking, diet and physical activity—modifiable lifestyle risk factors and their associations with age to first chronic disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Ng ◽  
Rinku Sutradhar ◽  
Zhan Yao ◽  
Walter P Wodchis ◽  
Laura C Rosella
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Lifestyle Factors ◽  
Competing Risk ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Common Disease ◽  
Heavy Smoking ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk

AbstractBackgroundThis study examined the incidence of a person’s first diagnosis of a selected chronic disease, and the relationships between modifiable lifestyle risk factors and age to first of six chronic diseases.MethodsOntario respondents from 2001 to 2010 of the Canadian Community Health Survey were followed up with administrative data until 2014 for congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive respiratory disease, diabetes, lung cancer, myocardial infarction and stroke. By sex, the cumulative incidence function of age to first chronic disease was calculated for the six chronic diseases individually and compositely. The associations between modifiable lifestyle risk factors (alcohol, body mass index, smoking, diet, physical inactivity) and age to first chronic disease were estimated using cause-specific Cox proportional hazards models and Fine-Gray competing risk models.ResultsDiabetes was the most common disease. By age 70.5 years (2015 world life expectancy), 50.9% of females and 58.1% of males had at least one disease and few had a death free of the selected diseases (3.4% females; 5.4% males). Of the lifestyle factors, heavy smoking had the strongest association with the risk of experiencing at least one chronic disease (cause-specific hazard ratio = 3.86; 95% confidence interval = 3.46, 4.31). The lifestyle factors were modelled for each disease separately, and the associations varied by chronic disease and sex.ConclusionsWe found that most individuals will have at least one of the six chronic diseases before dying. This study provides a novel approach using competing risk methods to examine the incidence of chronic diseases relative to the life course and how their incidences are associated with lifestyle behaviours.

scholarly journals Lifestyle Risk Factors and Cardiovascular Disease in Cubans and Cuban Americans

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa S. Burroughs Peña ◽  
Dhaval Patel ◽  
Delfin Rodríguez Leyva ◽  
Bobby V. Khan ◽  
Laurence Sperling
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Type 2 Diabetes ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Cardiovascular Prevention ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk ◽  
Cuban Americans

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in Cuba. Lifestyle risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) in Cubans have not been compared to risk factors in Cuban Americans. Articles spanning the last 20 years were reviewed. The data on Cuban Americans are largely based on the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES), 1982–1984, while more recent data on epidemiological trends in Cuba are available. The prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus remains greater in Cuban Americans than in Cubans. However, dietary preferences, low physical activity, and tobacco use are contributing to the rising rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and CHD in Cuba, putting Cubans at increased cardiovascular risk. Comprehensive national strategies for cardiovascular prevention that address these modifiable lifestyle risk factors are necessary to address the increasing threat to public health in Cuba.

scholarly journals Lifestyle risk factors for lower limb venous reflux in the general population: Edinburgh Vein Study

2001 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 846-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
FGR Fowkes ◽  
AJ Lee ◽  
CJ Evans ◽  
PL Allan ◽  
AW Bradbury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
General Population ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
Venous Reflux ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk

scholarly journals Influence of lifestyle risk factors on work ability and sick leave in a general working population in Norway: a 5-year longitudinal study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e045678
Author(s):  
Marit Müller De Bortoli ◽  
Inger M. Oellingrath ◽  
Anne Kristin Moeller Fell ◽  
Alex Burdorf ◽  
Suzan J. W. Robroek
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Sick Leave ◽  
Work Ability ◽  
Working Population ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽  
Lifestyle Risk

ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to assess (1) whether lifestyle risk factors are related to work ability and sick leave in a general working population over time, and (2) these associations within specific disease groups (ie, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and mental illness).SettingTelemark county, in the south-eastern part of Norway.DesignLongitudinal study with 5 years follow-up.ParticipantsThe Telemark study is a longitudinal study of the general working population in Telemark county, Norway, aged 16 to 50 years at baseline in 2013 (n=7952) and after 5-year follow-up.Outcome measureSelf-reported information on work ability (moderate and poor) and sick leave (short-term and long-term) was assessed at baseline, and during a 5-year follow-up.ResultsObesity (OR=1.64, 95% CI: 1.32 to 2.05) and smoking (OR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.35 to 1.96) were associated with long-term sick leave and, less strongly, with short-term sick leave. An unhealthy diet (OR=1.57, 95% CI: 1.01 to 2.43), and smoking (OR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.24 to 2.25) were associated with poor work ability and, to a smaller extent, with moderate work ability. A higher lifestyle risk score was associated with both sick leave and reduced work ability. Only few associations were found between unhealthy lifestyle factors and sick leave or reduced work ability within disease groups.ConclusionLifestyle risk factors were associated with sick leave and reduced work ability. To evaluate these associations further, studies assessing the effect of lifestyle interventions on sick leave and work ability are needed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document