Gender-specific epidemiology of diabetes: a representative cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diabetes and its associated complications are part of a chronic disease global epidemic that presents a public health challenge. Epidemiologists examining health differences between men and women are being challenged to recognise the biological and social constructions behind the terms 'sex' and/or 'gender', together with social epidemiology principles and the life course approach. This paper examines the epidemiology of a population with diabetes from the north-west metropolitan region of South Australia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were used from a sub-population with diabetes (n = 263), from 4060 adults aged 18 years and over living in the north-west suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. Eligible respondents were asked to participate in a telephone interview, a self-report questionnaire and a biomedical examination. Diabetes (undiagnosed and diagnosed) was determined using self-reported information and a fasting blood test administered to participants. Data were analysed using SPSS (Version 10.0) and EpiInfo (Version 6.0).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Factors associated with diabetes for both men and women were being aged 40 years and over, and having a low gross annual household income, obesity and a family history of diabetes. In addition, being an ex-smoker and having low cholesterol levels were associated with diabetes among men. Among women, having a high waist-hip ratio, high blood pressure and reporting a previous cardiovascular event or mental health problem were associated with diabetes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results found that men and women with diabetes face different challenges in the management of their condition. Public health implications include a need for quality surveillance data, including epidemiological life course, social, behavioural, genetic and environmental factors. This will enrich the evidence base for health promotion professionals and allow policy makers to draw inferences and conclusions for interventions and planning purposes.</p

Socioeconomic differentials in the immediate mortality effects of the national Irish smoking ban

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: Consistent evidence has demonstrated that smoking ban policies save lives, but impacts on health inequalities are uncertain as few studies have assessed post-ban effects by socioeconomic status (SES) and findings have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the national Irish smoking ban on ischemic heart disease (IHD), stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality by discrete and composite SES indicators to determine impacts on inequalities. Methods: Census data were used to assign frequencies of structural and material SES indicators to 34 local authorities across Ireland with a 2000–2010 study period. Discrete indicators were jointly analysed through principal component analysis to generate a composite index, with sensitivity analyses conducted by varying the included indicators. Poisson regression with interrupted time-series analysis was conducted to examine monthly age and gender-standardised mortality rates in the Irish population, ages ≥35 years, stratified by tertiles of SES indicators. All models were adjusted for time trend, season, influenza, and smoking prevalence. Results: Post-ban mortality reductions by structural SES indicators were concentrated in the most deprived tertile for all causes of death, while reductions by material SES indicators were more equitable across SES tertiles. The composite indices mirrored the results of the discrete indicators, demonstrating that post-ban mortality decreases were either greater or similar in the most deprived when compared to the least deprived for all causes of death. Conclusions: Overall findings indicated that the national Irish smoking ban reduced inequalities in smoking-related mortality. Due to the higher rates of smoking-related mortality in the most deprived group, even equitable reductions across SES tertiles resulted in decreases in inequalities. The choice of SES indicator was influential in the measurement of effects, underscoring that a differentiated analytical approach aided in understanding the complexities in which structural and material factors influence mortality

Health At Risk: Exploring Geographical Differences In Health Risk Factors Among Canada’s Aboriginal Population

Smoking, obesity, and binge drinking are identified as important behavior-related risk factors for long-term health outcomes. Aboriginal People in Canada have significantly higher self-reported rates of all three of these negative health factors compared to the general population of Canada. Initial results from this study demonstrate that there are significant differences in Aboriginal smoking, binge drinking, and obesity rates depending on province or region of residence. Continued analyses clarify the nature of these geographic effects and provide some important implications for industry and government policy-makers.

Is subjective social status a more important determinant of health than objective social status? Evidence from a prospective observational study of Scottish men

Both subjective and objective measures of lower social position have been shown to be associated with poorer health. A psychosocial, as opposed to material, aetiology of health inequalities predicts that subjective social status should be a stronger determinant of health than objective social position. In a workplace based prospective study of 5232 Scottish men recruited in the early 1970s and followed up for 25 years we examined the association between objective and subjective indices of social position, perceived psychological stress, cardiovascular disease risk factors and subsequent health. Lower social position, whether indexed by more objective or more subjective measures, was consistently associated with an adverse profile of established disease risk factors. Perceived stress showed the opposite association. The main subjective social position measure used was based on individual perceptions of workplace status (as well as their actual occupation, men were asked whether they saw themselves as “employees”, “foremen”, or “managers”). Compared to foremen, employees had a small and imprecisely estimated increased risk of all cause mortality, whereas managers had a more marked decreased risk. The strongest predictors of increased mortality were father's manual as opposed to non-manual occupation; lack of car access and shorter stature, (an indicator of material deprivation in childhood). In the fully adjusted analyses, perceived work-place status was only weakly associated with mortality. In this population it appears that objective material circumstances, particularly in early life, are a more important determinant of health than perceptions of relative status. Conversely, higher perceived stress was not associated with poorer health, presumably because, in this population, higher stress was not associated with material disadvantage. Together these findings suggest that, rather than targeting perceptions of disadvantage and associated negative emotions, interventions to reduce health inequalities should aim to reduce objective material disadvantage, particularly that experienced in early life

Gender Inequality in the Wealth of Older Canadians

Beyond income, wealth is an important measure of economic well-being, because while income captures the current state of inequality, wealth has the potential for examining accumulated and historically structured inequality. This paper documents the extent of gender inequality in wealth for Canadian women and men aged 45 and older. The analysis uses data from the 1999 Canadian Survey of Financial Security, a large nationally representative survey of household wealth in Canada. Wealth is measured by total net worth as measured by total assets minus debt. We test two general hypotheses to account for gender differences in wealth. The differential exposure hypothesis suggest that women report less wealth accumulation because of their reduced access to the material and social conditions of life that foster economic security. The differential vulnerability hypothesis suggests that women report lower levels of wealth because they receive differential returns to material and social conditions of their lives. Support is found for both hypotheses. Much of the gender differences in wealth can be explained by the gendering of work and family roles that restricts women’s ability to build up assets over the life course. But beyond this, there are significant gender interaction effects that indicate that women are further penalized by their returns to participation in family life, their health and where they live. When women do work, net of other factors, they are better able to accumulate wealth than their male counterparts.wealth, retirement, net assets, gender differences

Positive psychological functioning in a sample of portuguese students

Este estudo explora diferentes recursos pessoais associados ao bem-estar e funcionamento psicológico positivo de estudantes universitários portugueses, tomando na sua análise as variáveis área de curso e género. Foi aplicada a Escala de Funcionamento Psicológico Positivo (EFPP) a 1070 estudantes de diferentes cursos. Observa-se um efeito da interação do género e área científica em 5 dimensões da EFPP. O género diferencia Autonomia, Autoestima e Otimismo (pontuações mais favoráveis nos homens), enquanto a área científica diferencia Resiliência, Autoestima, Propósito na Vida, Desfrute e Otimismo (pontuações superiores nos estudantes de Saúde). Discutem-se implicações para a intervenção no contexto do Ensino Superior.This study explores different personal resources related to well-being and positive psychological functioning of Portuguese university students. The analysis considers the field of studies and gender. The positive psychological functioning scale (FPP) was applied to a sample of 1070 students, who were attending the 1st and 3rd years of different courses. The findings suggest an effect of the interaction of gender and field of studies in 5 of the 11 dimensions of FPP. Higher scores were found in men in Resilience, Self-Esteem and Optimism. The field of studies differentiates Resilience, Self-Esteem, Purpose in Life, Enjoyment, and Optimism, with higher scores in the group of students in health sciences courses. The results are discussed regarding implications for intervention in Higher Education.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Munkahelyi tényezők és pszichés jól-lét az oktatás és kultúra területén dolgozó nők körében

Jelen kutatás célkitűzése a pszichés jól-lét kapcsolatának elemzése öt munkahelyi stressz-tényezővel: az alacsony munkahelyi kontrollal, a munkatársi társas támogatottság hiányával, a munkával kapcsolatos bizonytalansággal, valamint a munkával és a főnökkel való elégedetlenséggel. Módszerek: Elemzéseinket a Hungarostudy 2002 országos reprezentatív felmérés egy almintáján végeztük, azon nők körében, akik az oktatás és kultúra területén dolgoztak (n = 451). A pszichológiai jól-létet négy mutató mentén vizsgáltuk: a depressziós tünetegyüttes, a vitális kimerültség, a szorongás, valamint az általános jól-lét mentén. Az adatok statisztikai feldolgozásához lépésenkénti lineáris regressziót alkalmaztunk. Eredmények: Eredményeink szerint a munkahelyi kontroll az általános jól-lét védő tényezőjének bizonyult, míg a főnökkel való elégedetlenség vitális kimerültséggel, depressziós tünetegyüttessel és alacsonyabb általános jól-léttel társult. A munkával való elégedetlenség mind a négy elemzett mentális jól-lét indikátor alakulását bejósolta. A munkahelyi biztonságérzet alacsony szorongással és magas általános jól-lét pontszámmal járt együtt. Nem várt módon, a munkatársi támogatottság és az általános jól-lét között fordított irányú együttjárást találtunk. Következtetések: A kutatás eredményei részben alátámasztják a létező ismereteket a munkahelyi tényezők és a mentális egészség közötti kapcsolatot illetően. Az ilyen témájú vizsgálatok fontos kiindulási pontot képezhetnek a munkával kapcsolatos stresszt kezelő programok megtervezésében és bevezetésében

Gender Inequality in the Wealth of Older Canadians

Beyond income, wealth is an important measure of economic well-being, because while income captures the current state of inequality, wealth has the potential for examining accumulated and historically structured inequality. This paper documents the extent of gender inequality in wealth for Canadian women and men aged 45 and older. The analysis uses data from the 1999 Canadian Survey of Financial Security, a large nationally representative survey of household wealth in Canada. Wealth is measured by total net worth as measured by total assets minus debt. We test two general hypotheses to account for gender differences in wealth. The differential exposure hypothesis suggest that women report less wealth accumulation because of their reduced access to the material and social conditions of life that foster economic security. The differential vulnerability hypothesis suggests that women report lower levels of wealth because they receive differential returns to material and social conditions of their lives. Support is found for both hypotheses. Much of the gender differences in wealth can be explained by the gendering of work and family roles that restricts women’s ability to build up assets over the life course. But beyond this, there are significant gender interaction effects that indicate that women are further penalized by their returns to participation in family life, their health and where they live. When women do work, net of other factors, they are better able to accumulate wealth than their male counterparts.wealth, retirement, net assets, gender differences