SRH and HrQOL: does social position impact differently on their link with health status?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Self-rated Health (SRH) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are used to evaluate health disparities. Like all subjective measures of health, they are dependent on health expectations that are associated with socioeconomic characteristics. It is thus needed to analyse the influence played by socioeconomic position (SEP) on the relationship between these two indicators and health conditions if we aim to use them to study health disparities. Our objective is to assess the influence of SEP on the relationship between physical health status and subjective health status, measured by SRH and HRQoL using the SF-36 scale.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used data from the French National Health Survey. SEP was assessed by years of education and household annual income. Physical health status was measured by functional limitations and chronic low back pain.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Regardless of their health status, people with lower SEP were more likely than their more socially advantaged counterparts to report poor SRH and poorer HRQoL, using any of the indicators of SEP. The negative impact of chronic low back pain on SRH was relatively greater in people with a high SEP than in those with a low SEP. In contrast, chronic low back pain and functional limitations had less impact on physical and mental component scores of quality of life for socially advantaged men and women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Both SRH and HRQoL were lower among those reporting functional limitations or chronic low back pain. However, the change varied according SEP and the measure. In relative term, the negative impact of a given health condition seems to be greater on SRH and lower on HRQoL for people with higher SEP in comparison with people with low SEP. Using SRH could thus decrease socioeconomic differences. In contrast using HRQoL could increase these differences, suggesting being cautious when using these indicators for analyzing health disparities.</p

Socioeconomic status, non-communicable disease risk factors, and walking speed in older adults: Multi-cohort population based study

Objective To assess the association of low socioeconomic status and risk factors for non-communicable diseases (diabetes, high alcohol intake, high blood pressure, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking) with loss of physical functioning at older ages. Design Multi-cohort population based study. Setting 37 cohort studies from 24 cou

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Changements de comportement de santé chez les femmes survivantes du cancer: l’étude Seintinelles

International audienceIntroduction: The number of cancer survivors increases and their risks of recurrence, second cancer, morbidity and death is high; measures to prevent these risks are thus critical. Knowing the factors that lead cancer survivor to adopt or not healthy behaviours is crucial for designing effective prevention campaigns and better support them in after-cancer. Our study attempts to provide additional knowledge in this direction. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted via the Seintinelles collaborative research platform in a community of women with cancer volunteering to take online questionnaires. We collected data on sociodemographic factors and health, knowledge of cancer risk factors, and possible behaviour changes (tobacco/alcohol use, diet, physical activity) after cancer diagnosis. Results: The study involved 1180 women aged between 26 and 79 years. Several cancer-related factors (cancer other than breast cancer, longer time since diagnosis, taking drug treatment for cancer, sequelae, negative evolution of the cancer) favoured certain positive changes in behaviour. Sociodemographic factors (age, habitat environment, currently employed, living status, dependent children) or factors related to health (general condition, presence of comorbidities, neurological problems, hospitalizations, body mass index) favoured or not certain changes in behaviour. Lack of knowledge about modifiable risk factors for cancer was associated with not adopting healthy behaviours after cancer. Discussion: This study made it possible to identify important elements to be addressed in order to improve cancer risk prevention messages

Compliance with public health recommendations of cancer-free female research volunteers: the French Seintinelles study

International audiencePurpose: Acting on modifiable risk factors can prevent approximately 40% of cancers. Knowing the factors that lead people to adopt healthy behaviors is crucial for designing effective primary prevention campaigns. Our study attempts to provide knowledge in this direction. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted via the Seintinelles collaborative research platform in a community of women without a personal cancer history, and volunteering to take online questionnaires. We collected data on sociodemographic and health factors, knowledge of cancer risk factors, behaviors, and possible behavior changes (tobacco/alcohol use, diet, body weight, and physical activity) in the last 10 years. Results: The study involved 1465 women aged between 18 and 84 years. Factors such as young age, living alone, and obesity were associated with some positive or negative behavior changes. Being professionally active and having comorbidities favored certain positive behavior changes, while having dependent children, living in a rural area, and being hospitalized were associated with negative or no change in behaviors. Lack of knowledge about modifiable risk factors for cancer was associated with the non-adoption of various healthy behaviors (consumptions of fruit and vegetables, processed and red meat; physical activity). Only 5.5% of participants currently reported to be compliant with seven public health recommendations (smoking; alcohol, fruit/vegetables, and red/processed meat intakes; body mass index; and physical activity). Conclusions: This study allowed to identify the need to increase the level of knowledge on modifiable risk factors for cancer among the general population and to better clarify the content of prevention messages

Impact of chronic maternal separation on metabolism, food motivation and brain gene expression profiles in C57BL/6J and C3H/Hen mice

PosterEarly life adversity during infancy influences the development of child and exerts long-lasting effects on physiological functions and vulnerability to psychiatric disorders in particular depression and anxiety. Recent studies also suggest a higher prevalence of metabolic dysfunctions and obesity as well as risks of food addiction in adulthood in subjects exposed to childhood adversity. Maternal separation (MS) in rodents is a well-studied model of early life stress. Several studies demonstrate that chronic MS leads to an exaggerated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to stress and impairs emotional behavior in adult offspring. In contrast, the impact of MS on metabolism and food motivation remain poorly characterized. The aim of the present study was to explore in 2 mouse strains (C57BL/6J and C3H/HeN) differing by their initial maternal behavior, the impact of MS on motivation for palatable food in adult male and female offspring. MS lasted 3 h/day from postnatal day (PND) 2 to PND14 and was combined with a chronic unpredictable stress in dams. We found that MS reduced body weight growth in C3H pups at PDN 15 but had no effect in C57 mice. This effect persisted into adulthood in male C3H but not in females. To investigate MS impact on motivation for palatable food, we used operant conditioning chambers, in which mice, fed ad libitum, must press one (FR1) or several times (Variable Ratio 5, VR10 and VR20) on a lever to obtain a food reward (sweet milk). MS exacerbated the motivation to obtain the palatable reward in male and female C3H mice but not in C57. In conclusion, vulnerability to early stress strongly differs between strain mice. C3H strain seems more susceptible to the long lasting effects of MS on metabolism and on motivation for food reward. Finally, to better understand the brain changes associated with MS in C3H mice, we used microarray to examine gene expression in the hypothalamus, the nucleus accumbens and the medial prefrontal cortex, three regions related to stress and reward functions