Older Adult Behavioral Health Issues in New England: Findings from the Healthy Aging Data Reports

Behavioral health issues in older adults are prevalent and have negative consequences on quality of life and overall health, yet are often untreated. The present study compares state and local community rates of behavioral health indicators of older adults age 60+ in Massachusetts (MA), New Hampshire (NH), Rhode Island (RI), and Connecticut (CT). For this study rates were calculated from the following data sources: Medicare Current Beneficiary Summary File 2014-2018 (2014-2015 MA, NH, and 2016-2017 RI, CT) and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2013-2015 MA, 2014-2016 NH, 2015-2017 RI, CT). Small area estimation techniques were used to calculate age-sex adjusted community rates for more than 170 health indicators (https://healthyagingdatareports.org/). This research examines disparities in rates across the 4 states for 4 behavioral health indicators: substance use disorder (SUD), tobacco use disorder (TUD), opioid use disorder (OUD), and excessive drinking. Results varied across states with RI reporting the highest rates of substance (7.0%) and tobacco use (10.8%) disorders, CT had the highest rate of opioid use disorder (2.2%), and MA and RI reporting the highest rates of excessive drinking (9.3%). Overall, MA had the greatest disparities in rates for all indicators (SUD: 6.6% (5.35-15.99%); TUD: 10.2% (2.67-24.20%); excessive drinking: 9.3% (5.63-19.98%)), indicating behavioral health disparities by community are most pronounced in MA. This study found behavioral health issues are prevalent among New England older adults and should no longer be overlooked. Furthermore, visualizing the community rates makes disparities evident and may guide resources and services to areas of highest need.

Prevalence, Characteristics, and Associated Risk Factors of Wrist Fractures in Americans Above 50: the Cross-sectional NHANES Study

BackgroundWrist fractures, also known as distal radius fractures, are the most common fractures occurred in the upper limb. This study is conducted in the purpose of evaluating the prevalence, characteristics, and associated factors of wrist fractures in Americans that aged 50 and above.MethodsData of Americans aged 50 or above from the year 2013 to 2014 and 2017 to 2018 in NHANES was extracted and analyzed. Based on orthopedist's diagnosis, we further conducted surveys to determine the condition of wrist fractures, and collected relevant epidemiological and demographic data. The prevalence of wrist fractures and other statistics were calculated to study population characteristics and analyze potential risk factors associated with wrist fractures.ResultsThe prevalence of wrist fractures among Americans whose age was 50 or above was 12%, with similar results between men and women patients (male 12.8 % vs female 11.4 %, P = 0.267). Male and female Americans’ first wrist fracture occurred at a mean age of 29.4. 17.8% of Americans aged 50 and above had experienced two fractures, while 1.7% of Americans even experienced four or more fractures. The top two causes of the first fracture were falling down from standing height (56%) and violent falls (34.8%). Multivariate analysis showed that osteoporosis (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.7-2.9), excessive drinking (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.3-2.4), smoking (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.2-2.1), prednisolone administration (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1-2.1) and obesity (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.6-0.9) were independently associated with wrist fractures. Gender was not an independent risk factor associated with wrist fractures.ConclusionsThe prevalence of wrist fractures in Americans aged 50 and above was 12 %. The prevalence was similar between male and female patients. Falling from a standing height was the main cause of the first wrist fracture. Osteoporosis, excessive drinking, smoking and prednisolone administration were risk factors of wrist fractures, while obesity was negatively correlated.

Clinical case of papulo-pustular rosacea

The article presents a clinical case of papulopustular rosacea from our own practice. First of all, the patient's anamnesis is extremely interesting: family history (his brother has episodes of reddening of the face), the onset of rosacea against the background of a stressful situation, the presence of gastric diseases, the connection with nutritional factors. One of the first mentions of rosacea belongs to Avicenna, who in his writings described the clinical picture of rhinophyma ("badschenan", later renamed "abedsamen"). The pineal nose, dotted with "serpentine" vessels, has traditionally been associated with excessive drinking. Currently, the role of alcohol as an etiological factor is not paramount, but its aggravating effect has been proven. Despite the typical picture of rosacea, our patient has been receiving therapy for seborrheic dermatitis and other diseases several times over the course of several years. Probably, the specialists had doubts about the possible diagnosis of rosacea in a male patient under the age of 30.

Trends and socioeconomic factors in smoking and alcohol consumption among Chinese people: evidence from the 2008–2018 National Health Service Surveys in Jiangsu Province

Background Smoking and excessive drinking are risk factors for many diseases. With the rapid economic development in China, it is important to identify trends in smoking and alcohol consumption and socioeconomic factors that contribute to these behaviors to ensure the health of the population. Methods we analyzed pooled cross-sectional data from the fourth, fifth, and sixth National Health Service Surveys conducted in Jiangsu Province in 2008, 2013, and 2018, respectively. The study population was those over 15 years old in three surveys. Trends in smoking and alcohol use were analyzed with descriptive statistics, and bivariate and multinomial logistic regression was used to identify contributing factors. Results Among total sample, smoking rate was 23.95%, in which the incidence of light, moderate and heavy smoking was 5.75, 4.63 and 13.56%, respectively; drinking rate was 23.29%, in which non-excessive drinking and excessive drinking were 19.80 and 3.49%, respectively, “smoking and drinking” rate was 13.41%. From 2008 to 2018, overall and light-to-moderate smoking rates first increased and then decreased while heavy smoking rate declined; alcohol consumption increased while excessive drinking increased before decreasing; and the incidence of “smoking and drinking” has been rising continuously. The trend of smoking and drinking rates in urban area was similar to rural area, however there was significant difference between urban and rural area. Socioeconomic factors, demographic, health-related and year variables were significant influencing factors of smoking and drinking. Conclusion Our research can provide important evidences for tobacco and alcohol control in China and other similar developing countries. Preventive measures such as education and support services along with stricter regulations for tobacco and alcohol use are needed to improve public health in China.

Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Common Autoimmune Inflammatory Diseases—Evidence From a Large-Scale Genetic Analysis Totaling 1 Million Individuals

Purpose: Observational studies have suggested a protective effect of alcohol intake with autoimmune disorders, which was not supported by Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses that used only a few (<20) instrumental variables.Methods: We systemically interrogated a putative causal relationship between alcohol consumption and four common autoimmune disorders, using summary-level data from the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We quantified the genetic correlation to examine a shared genetic similarity. We constructed a strong instrument using 99 genetic variants associated with drinks per week and applied several two-sample MR methods. We additionally incorporated excessive drinking as reflected by alcohol use disorder identification test score.Results: We observed a negatively shared genetic basis between alcohol intake and autoimmune disorders, although none was significant (rg = −0.07 to −0.02). For most disorders, genetically predicted alcohol consumption was associated with a slightly (10–25%) decreased risk of onset, yet these associations were not significant. Meta-analyzing across RA, MS, and IBD, the three Th1-related disorders yielded to a marginally significantly reduced effect [OR = 0.70 (0.51–0.95), P = 0.02]. Excessive drinking did not appear to reduce the risk of autoimmune disorders.Conclusions: With its greatly augmented sample size and substantially improved statistical power, our MR study does not convincingly support a beneficial role of alcohol consumption in each individual autoimmune disorder. Future studies may be designed to replicate our findings and to understand a causal effect on disease prognosis.

Tropical Hospitality, British Masculinity, and Drink in Late Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

White Jamaicans developed a drinking culture that drew on British precedents, but which mutated in the tropics into a form of sociability different from how sociability operated in mid-eighteenth Enlightenment Europe, where civility was a much-aspired-to norm. In this article, I use works by eighteenth-century social commentators on Jamaica – Edward Long and especially J. B. Moreton – to explore how white Jamaicans developed a form of sociability which in Long was praised as showing Jamaicans as a generous and hospitable people but which in Moreton was described, more accurately, as a distinctive and unattractive form of debauchery, oriented around excessive drinking and sexual exploitation of enslaved women and free women of colour. The overwhelming importance of slavery in Jamaica accentuated the trends towards a debauched version of hospitality that stressed white male pleasure over everything else as a central animating value in society.

An observational study of Atyambupan as Hetu (nidan) in diabetes mellitus (Madhumeha) and its preventive treatment

ABSTRACT:- It is common lifelong health disease. India had more diabetics than any other country in the world, according to the International Diabetes Foundation, although the country has now been surpassed in the top spot by China. Diabetes currently affects more than 62 million Indians, which is more than 7.1% of the adult population. The average age on onset is 42.5 years. Nearly 1 million Indians die due to diabetes every year1. According to WHO Diabetes is a Life style disorder. The main cause of diabetes is there is restless lifestyle, stress, unnatural dietary factor. It has turned out biggest silent killer today’s in world. In Ayurveda diabetes can be correlated with Madhumeh which is a Vata predominant disease. Causes of Madhumeh are Diwaswap, Atyaambupan(excessive water intake), Guru, Madhur, Shita, Snighatdh, Ahara Sevan2 etc. Now a day most of people think drinking large amounts of water is helpful for proper skin health, Digestion, and Health, etc? Claims have been made that excessive drinking water gives you a radiant skin, and healthy while others people say it has no effect and it causes many disease and side effect .so here is effort to highlight the Atyambupan (Excessive water intake) as Nidan of Diabetes given in Ayurvedic text as well as occurring at present and make aware the society to prevent the disease through Nidanparivarjan.

CRIMES OF THE URAL POLICE JUST BEFORE AND DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

The purpose of this study is to analyze the nature and causes of crime among the Ural police. Analysis of their offenses in 1914-1916 revealed the following structure of crime: 2/3 of the crimes of the class composition of the police amounted to exceeding their official powers and illegal actions in relation to the entrusted property, 2/3 of the crimes of the lower ranks concerned exclusively “excess of power”. All other criminal offenses were not widespread in the Ural police. When considering the data on the provinces, it is noteworthy that 2/3 of all crimes of the Ural police are in the Perm province, while the police of the Orenburg province were the least criminalized. The main reasons for the violations of the Ural police can be considered an insufficient cultural and educational level, excessive drinking, poor material support, a “peasant mentality” and a lack of understanding of the social responsibility imposed by the status of a policeman.

Smoking, hazardous drinking and individual differences in cost and gain discounting

Aims: Past research has linked substance use to individual differences in discounting of future rewards. Since behaviours such as smoking and excessive drinking appear to involve a devaluation of future negative consequences, discounting of costs may also be relevant in the understanding of such behaviour. The primary aims were to investigate the association between cost discounting and the behaviours smoking and hazardous drinking. Methods: In four studies, individuals recruited from the crowdsourcing marketplace Amazon Mechanical Turk responded to measures of discounting. Results were combined by meta-analysis of the standardised mean differences ( d) between self-reported smokers and non-smokers, and between participants with AUDIT scores of 10+ (hazardous drinking) and those with scores below 10. Results: In comparison with non-smokers, smokers’ relative valuations of future gains were lower, d = –0.32, 95% CI [–0.47, –0.18]. There was no association between smoking and cost discounting, d = –0.02, 95% CI [–0.17, 0.13]. Participants with AUDIT scores of 10+ valued future gains somewhat lower than participants with scores below 10, d = –0.17, 95% CI [–0.35, 0.01]. There was no association between hazardous drinking and cost discounting, d = –0.02, 95% CI [–0.21, 0.16]. According to Bayes Factors (BF), the data supported an association between gain discounting and smoking (BF > 100). It was insensitive in the analysis of gain discounting and hazardous drinking (BF = 0.6), but it strongly supported null-effects in both analyses of cost discounting (BFs = 0.1). Conclusion: The results suggest that the robust link between gain discounting and smoking status does not reflect a general devaluation of future outcomes among smokers.

EXCESSIVE DRINKING AS A MORAL TRANSGRESSION IN THE WORK OF F. M. DOSTOEVSKY

The article studies the topic of excessive drinking in the works of F. M. Dostoevsky in the light of the tradition of the ancient feast, or symposium. The wine offered at a symposium did not merely incline people to philosophical conversations and discussions about eternal questions, but also revealed the inner human essence, thoughts and intentions. There is ancient understanding of wine as a means of forgetting sorrows and attaining temporary joys. Excessive drinking is associated with the ancient Dionysian idea — excessive drinking at the festival of Dionysus, and the concept of metamorphosis — people lose their human essence and begin to resemble animals. In the fates of the heroes of Dostoevsky’s Poor Folk, Humiliated and Insulted, Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, Demons, The Brothers Karamazov, the ancient tradition is combined with the Christian understanding of a feast as reveling, and amusements at a feast, and excessive drinking as a moral transgression. On the pages of Dostoevsky’s magazine Citizen excessive drinking is equated to a serious illness, a flood, a fire, an enemy invasion, that is, to a catastrophe that affects the Russian people. The ancient tradition allows to reveal additional meanings in Dostoevsky’s interpretation of the topic of excessive drinking.