Perceived Health and Earnings: Evidence from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015

This paper aims to analyse the relationship between perceived health and earnings across Europe. Empirical analysis is based on the last published round from the European Working Conditions Survey (N = 43,850) and offers updated evidence on the effect of earnings on perceived health in 35 countries. The main findings show a positive and significant relationship between earnings and health, which is consistent with the existing literature. Moreover, health seems to be U-shaped relative to earnings. On the other hand, age is negatively related to health, which is consistent with previous research. This paper shows the health differences between countries, where cultural, geographic, and economic differences imply health inequalities across countries. From a practical perspective, understanding the dynamics of perceived health and earnings’ processes can contribute to health policy.

Association Between Serum Follicle-Stimulating Hormone and Sarcopenia and Physical Disability Among Older Chinese Men: Evidence From a Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome characterized by progressive loss of muscle mass, function and quality and associated with a range of adverse health outcomes including disability. Despite a negative correlation between muscle mass and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in postmenopausal women, it is unclear if FSH is associated with sarcopenia and its poor outcomes, especially in older men.Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 360 men aged over 80 who participated in health check-ups to investigate correlations between serum FSH and sarcopenia, individual sarcopenia components, low physical performance (gait speed ≤ 0.8 m/s) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) disability. Sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia were diagnosed according to the revised definition of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Old People (EWGSOP2).Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia was 17.8% in this population. In binary logistic regression analysis, compared with higher FSH group, lower FSH group showed a significant reduction in the risk of low calf circumference (a surrogate for muscle mass; OR 0.308, 95% CI 0.109–0.868, P = 0.026) after adjusting potential confounders including age, waist circumference, education, exercise, associated biochemical parameters, other sex hormones and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. The correlation between FSH and low handgrip strength was marginally significant (OR 0.390, 95% CI 0.151–1.005, P = 0.051). No associations were observed between FSH and sarcopenia, severe sarcopenia, and disability in adjusted models.Conclusion: In older men, circulating FSH was not associated with sarcopenia, sarcopenia severity, the majority of its components and adverse health outcome (IADL disability), with the exception of low calf circumference. Further work is needed to better elucidate the association of FSH and low muscle quantity by adopting more accurate measurement method of appendicular skeletal muscle mass such as DXA, CT or MRI.

Emotional Management in the Workplace of the Spanish Population. Quantitative Analysis through the Construction of an Emotional Quality Index at Work and its Link to Social Structure

The organisation of work, located in the post-Fordist paradigm, stresses the emotional aspects of employee-client interaction processes. This emphasis arises from the shift in the productive structure towards growth in service activities in which interpersonal relationships are key factors. In this "new culture", the organisation is conceived as a ‘sentient’ environment and emotional workcaptures the interest of researchers and social scientists who analyse the role played by emotionsin occupations and organisational culture (Zapf, 2002, Grandey 2000, 2015, Seymour and Sandiford2005, Bolton 2000, Wharton, 2009, Totterdell, and Holman, 2003). Most related research has focused on qualitative case studies of workers in the service sector (Steinberg and Figart, 1999) — an approach that limits the inferences one can make and hinders one in linking findings to the socialstructure. The aim of our research is to expand this field of analysis and explore the link between emotional management and social structure. That is why we used a quantitative methodology, for which purpose we built an Emotional Quality Index in the Workplace (EQIW), allowing us to measure the emotional quality of workers in Spain and analyse their relationship with the threekey structural variables: social class; occupation; gender. Here, we used data from the European Working Conditions Survey (2015). The results show that there are significant differences in the emotional management of work by occupation, social class and gender, verifying that there isindeed a link between the EQIW and the social structure.

Gonadotropins at Advanced Age - Perhaps They Are Not So Bad? Correlations Between Gonadotropins and Sarcopenia Indicators in Older Adults

Many hormones fluctuate during the aging process. It has been suggested that gonadotropins, which increase with age, contribute to the occurrence of many diseases and syndromes in older life, such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity, frailty syndrome and osteoporosis. This study aims to assess the relationship between circulating gonadotropins and other hormones potentially contributing to age-related functional decline and sarcopenia indicators in 39 male and 61 female community-dwelling seniors, mean age 80 years. According to the definition developed by the second European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2), the following indicators of the sarcopenia were assessed: bioimpedance-measured body composition, gait speed, handgrip strength, timed up and go test (TUG), chair stand test, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Blood levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) and cortisol were also measured. In the men, FSH and partially LH correlated positively with muscle mass percentage, gait speed, handgrip strength and SPPB, and negatively with percent body fat. Additionally, testosterone and DHEAS correlated negatively with the percentage of fat mass in men. Whereas in the women, FSH and LH were mainly negatively associated with body mass and adipose tissue measures. Cortisol did not show any relationship with the examined indicators. The study shows that the indicators of sarcopenia are strongly associated with levels of gonadotropins, sex hormones and DHEAS, especially in older men. The obtained results, after being confirmed in a larger group, may modify prevention and treatment strategies of sarcopenia.

Malnutrition, Sarcopenia, and Malnutrition-Sarcopenia Syndrome in Older Adults with COPD

Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the world population. In addition to airflow obstruction, COPD is associated with multiple systemic manifestations, including impaired nutritional status or malnutrition and changes in body composition (low muscle mass, LMM). Poor nutritional status and sarcopenia in subjects with COPD leads to a worse prognosis and increases health-related costs. Data from previous studies indicate that 30–60% of subjects with COPD are malnourished, 20–40% have low muscle mass, and 15–21.6% have sarcopenia. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of malnutrition, sarcopenia, and malnutrition-sarcopenia syndrome in elderly subjects with COPD and investigate the relationship between COPD severity and these conditions.Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study involving 124 patients with stable COPD, aged ≥60, participating in a stationary pulmonary rehabilitation program. Nutritional status was assessed following the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria and sarcopenia with the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2) criteria. The results of pulmonary function tests and exercise capacity were obtained from the hospital database. Results: 22.6% of participants had malnutrition according to the GLIM criteria. Subjects with malnutrition had lower gait speed (p = 0.0112) and worse results of the Six Minute Walk Test. Sixteen participants (12.9%) had sarcopenia; 12 subjects with sarcopenia had concomitant malnutrition. The prevalence of severe and very severe obstruction (GOLD3/GOLD4) was 91.7%. It was significantly higher in patients with malnutrition-sarcopenia syndrome. Conclusions: Malnutrition was found in nearly one out of four subjects with COPD, while sarcopenia was one out of seven patients. About 10% of our study sample had malnutrition-sarcopenia syndrome. The prevalence of severe and very severe obstruction was significantly higher in patients with malnutrition-sarcopenia syndrome.

‘Dual’ labour market? Patterns of segmentation in European labour markets and the varieties of precariousness

This article aims to empirically explore how European labour markets are segmented and who the outsiders are. The article moves beyond the dichotomous approach to understanding labour market division, often based solely on examining employment relationships. Taking a multi-dimensional approach to defining labour market precariousness, this study incorporates aspects such as income, job prospects and subjective insecurity. Latent Class Analysis is used on data taken from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey to extend the traditional definition of outsider-ness. Four labour market segments are found: insiders and three different types of outsiders: typical outsiders, dead-end insiders and subjective outsiders. Looking at the cross-national aspect, variations are found in the segmentation patterns, especially in terms of who the outsiders are. The findings show the need to examine various aspects of labour precariousness in order to capture the complexity of post-industrialised labour markets and identify different types of outsiders across Europe that need to be protected for building a more cohesive society.

APLICABILIDADE DO QUESTIONÁRIO SARC-F POR ENTREVISTA TELEFÔNICA

Introdução: A sarcopenia é uma doença muscular, associada ao envelhecimento. Para o rastreamento deste deste quadro, o European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) recomenda a utilização do questionário SARC-F. Objetivo: Avaliar a aplicabilidade do questionário SARC-F, por entrevista telefônica, em idosos não institucionalizados pertencentes a uma coorte no sul do Brasil. Metodologia: Trata-se de um estudo de base populacional realizado com a polução idosa da cidade de Pelotas-RS. Foram utilizados dados sociodemográficos, comportamentais e de saúde dos idosos, coletados em 2014, e dados referentes ao questionário SARC-F, aplicado por contato telefônico, coletados em 2016. Foram excluídos indivíduos com diagnóstico confirmado de sarcopenia, conforme os critérios da EWGSOP de 2019. A análise dos dados foi realizada pelo programa estatístico Stata 16. Foram testadas associações entre a variável desfecho e variáveis de exposição através de teste Qui-quadrado de Pearson para heterogeneidade e/ou tendência linear. Para todos os testes foi considerado um nível de significância de 5%, bicaudal. Resultados: Foram avaliados 951 idosos, sendo a maioria do sexo feminino (62,67%), entre 60 e 69 anos (59,06%), não praticante de atividade física no lazer (79,10%), com excesso de peso (64,52%) e independente quanto a capacidade funcional (69,19%). A prevalência de risco de sarcopenia foi de 20,50% e esteve associada significativamente com as variáveis: sexo (12,11%:homens; 25,50%:mulheres), idade (14,44%:60-69; 25,59%:70-79; 41,30%:≥80 anos/tendência linear), escolaridade (41,90%:nenhum ano de estudo; 24,11%:<8; 8,66%:≥8 anos/tendência linear), nível socioeconômico (10,48%:classe A/B; 25,57%:C; 37,65%:D/E/tendência linear), situação conjugal (16,55%:casado/com companheiro; 20,26%:solteiro/separado/divorciado; 30,08%:viúvo), atividade física no lazer (9,18%:ativos; 23,72%:inativos), depressão (40,54%:presente; 17,82%:ausente), multimorbidade (5,54%:0-4; 29,47%: 5 ou mais comorbidades), capacidade funcional (11,85%:independentes; 36,67%:dependentes para 1; 78,26%:dependentes para 2 ou mais atividades/tendência linear) e polifarmácia (15,04%:<5; 32,03%:≥5 medicamentos) (p<0,001 para todas associações). Conclusão: O questionário SARC-F, aplicado por contato telefônico, esteve associado à importantes variáveis sociodemográficas, comportamentais e de saúde da população idosa. Estes dados fortalecem a importância da construção de políticas públicas voltadas à prevenção da sarcopenia, que possam ser implementadas em situações de isolamento social.

Pro-inflammatory diet, frailty and sarcopenia: a study with older people in outpatient care

Objectives: To analyze the relationship between the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), sarcopenia, and frailty syndrome in older people. Methods: A cross-sectional, non-probabilistic study was carried out with 135 older people, attended by a general outpatient clinic. The older people were classified in relation to sarcopenia according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. The frailty classification was made through self-referred questions. The calculation of the DII was made using the iOS application IF RATING®. Association analysis was performed using multiple logistic regression. Results: Of the 135 older people evaluated, 17.78% were classified as sarcopenic and 47.41% as frail. No association was observed between the most inflammatory DII and sarcopenia. Regarding frailty syndrome, older people with a more inflammatory DII were more likely to be frail (OR=3.64; 95%CI=1.24-10.70). Discussion: These results could stimulate actions to promote an anti-inflammatory diet, with a view to preventing frailty in older people.

A Multifactorial Approach for Sarcopenia Assessment: A Literature Review

Sarcopenia refers to a progressive and generalized weakness of skeletal muscle as individuals age. Sarcopenia usually occurs after the age of 60 years and is associated with a persistent decline in muscle strength, function, and quality. A comparison of the risk factors associated with sarcopenia based on the European Working Group on Sarcopenia (1 and 2) in Older People, the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (1 and 2), the International Working Group on Sarcopenia, and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health revealed no consistent patterns. Accordingly, the identification of a single risk factor for sarcopenia is unpredictable due to its “multifactorial” pathogenesis, with the involvement of a multitude of factors. Therefore, the first aim of this review was to outline and propose that the multiple factors associated with sarcopenia need to be considered in combination in the design of new experimentation in this area. A secondary aim was to highlight the biochemical risk factors that are already identified in subjects with sarcopenia to assist scientists in understanding the biology of the pathophysiological mechanisms affecting the old people with sarcopenia. We also briefly discuss primary outcomes (physical) and secondary outcomes (social and financial) of sarcopenia. For future investigative purposes, this comprehensive review may be useful in considering important risk factors in the utilization of a panel of biomarkers emanating from all pathways involved in the pathogenesis of this disease. This may help to establish a uniform consensus for screening and defining this disease. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact may be exacerbated in older populations, which requires immediate attention. Here, we briefly suggest strategies for advancing the development of smart technologies to deliver exercise in the COVID-19 era in an attempt regress the onset of sarcopenia. These strategies may also have an impact on sarcopenia’s primary and secondary outcomes.