Inflammatory bowel disease negatively impacts household and family life

BackgroundInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has a major impact on different aspects of life of patients with IBD, but functioning in the home environment is under-reported in literature. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of IBD on household and/or family life.MethodAdult patients with IBD from the outpatient clinic of the Erasmus MC (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study between September and December 2020. A questionnaire was composed to measure the impact of IBD on functioning in the household and family life. In addition, the IBD Disability Index and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire were used. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression modelling.ResultsOf 308 invited patients, 229 patients were included (response rate 74%). Sixty-eight per cent of patients were diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, 69% were female and median age was 38.0 years. Many patients reported difficulties with domestic activities (55.0%), leisure (53.9%), parenting (50.6%), sexual activities (48.4%) and interpersonal relationships (39.1%). Fatigue was associated with the experience of more severe difficulties in domestic activities (OR 16.160, 95% CI 6.053 to 43.141). Furthermore, 32.7% of patients felt that IBD influenced their desire to have children.ConclusionIBD has a markedly negative impact on household and/or family life in many patients. To optimise patient care, household and family related difficulties need to be considered in a holistic treatment approach.

Vietnam economic outlook during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review

This study reviews the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the development of Vietnam’s economy and the change of the Vietnam government’s policies to adapt to critical challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic seriously has been impacting all economies around the world including Vietnam. To bring the pandemic under control, Vietnam performed the same strategies that had been successful in ending earlier outbreaks: targeted lockdowns, travel bans, business closures, mass quarantines, and widespread testing. However, the Vietnam government has also flexibly taken decisive steps to reduce both the health and economic fallout. Vietnamese economy increased by nearly 3% in 2020, ranked one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, backed by the early rebound of domestic activities and robust export performance thanks to their drastic and appropriate actions.

Experts’ preferences for sarcopenia outcomes: a discrete-choice experiment from a working group of the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) in collaboration with the European Union of Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS)

Background and aims To assess experts’ preference for sarcopenia outcomes. Methods A discrete-choice experiment was conducted among 37 experts (medical doctors and researchers) from different countries around the world. In the survey, they were repetitively asked to choose which one of two hypothetical patients suffering from sarcopenia deserves the most a treatment. The two hypothetical patients differed in five pre-selected sarcopenia outcomes: quality of life, mobility, domestic activities, fatigue and falls. A mixed logit panel model was used to estimate the relative importance of each attribute. Results All sarcopenia outcomes were shown to be significant, and thus, important for experts. Overall, the most important sarcopenia outcome was falls (27%) followed by domestic activities and mobility (24%), quality of life (15%) and fatigue (10%). Discussion and conclusion Compared to patient’s preferences, experts considered falls as a more important outcome of sarcopenia, while the outcomes fatigue and difficulties in domestic activities were considered as less important.

Chapter 6 - Warung makan – public kitchens at the epicentre of informality in Jakarta

In Jakarta’s kampung (slum neighbourhoods), warung makan are food outlets that offer traditional ‘homemade’ dishes (masakan rumah) on a daily basis. Eaters who frequent these commercial food outlets every day regard them as extensions of their households. Moreover, domestic activities are shifting towards warung makan, which are propitious to interactions between eaters and vendors within social networks bound by ties of neighbourliness, kinship, solidarity and trust.

Learning from Experiment: Unio Freshwater Mussel Shells in Fifth-millennium bc Romania

Raw materials from aquatic environments were systematically used for domestic activities even before the appearance of modern humans. Here, the authors analyse the possible use of freshwater mussel valves of the Unio species, whose surfaces preserve marks resulting from their use. They consider the ways in which wear develops on these valves, starting from the comparison between archaeological exemplars and experimental pieces. An experimental programme was developed to record variables such as the procurement of the raw material, the processing of various materials, and the time needed for each operation. Experimental pieces were assessed to document how use-wear develops. The archaeological assemblage from the site of Cheia in Romania (Hamangia culture, fifth millennium cal bc) served as a case study to illustrate the relevance of the results.