154 research outputs found
A bi-directional relationship between obesity and health-related quality of life : evidence from the longitudinal AusDiab study
Objective: To assess the prospective relationship between obesity and health-related quality of life, including a novel assessment of the impact of health-related quality of life on weight gain.Design and setting: Longitudinal, national, population-based Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study, with surveys conducted in 1999/2000 and 2004/2005.Participants: A total of 5985 men and women aged 25 years at study entry.Main outcome measure(s): At both time points, height, weight and waist circumference were measured and self-report data on health-related quality of life from the SF-36 questionnaire were obtained. Cross-sectional and bi-directional, prospective associations between obesity categories and health-related quality of life were assessed.Results: Higher body mass index (BMI) at baseline was associated with deterioration in health-related quality of life over 5 years for seven of the eight health-related quality of life domains in women (all P0.01, with the exception of mental health, P>0.05), and six out of eight in men (all P<0.05, with the exception of role-emotional, P=0.055, and mental health, P>0.05). Each of the quality-of-life domains related to mental health as well as the mental component summary were inversely associated with BMI change (all P<0.0001 for women and P0.01 for men), with the exception of vitality, which was significant in women only (P=0.008). For the physical domains, change in BMI was inversely associated with baseline general health in women only (P=0.023).Conclusions: Obesity was associated with a deterioration in health-related quality of life (including both physical and mental health domains) in this cohort of Australian adults followed over 5 years. Health-related quality of life was also a predictor of weight gain over 5 years, indicating a bi-directional association between obesity and health-related quality of life. The identification of those with poor health-related quality of life may be important in assessing the risk of future weight gain, and a focus on health-related quality of life may be beneficial in weight management strategies.<br /
Studying the association between musculoskeletal disorders, quality of life and mental health. A primary care pilot study in rural Crete, Greece
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The burden of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) on the general health and well-being of the population has been documented in various studies. The objective of this study was to explore the association between MSD and the quality of life and mental health of patients and to discuss issues concerning care seeking patterns in rural Greece.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients registered at one rural Primary Care Centre (PCC) in Crete were invited to complete the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms, together with validated instruments for measuring health related quality of life (SF-36) and mental distress (GHQ-28).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence rate of MSD was found to be 71.2%, with low back and knee pain being the most common symptoms. Most conditions significantly impaired the quality of life, especially the physical dimensions of SF-36. Depression was strongly correlated to most MSD (<it>p </it>< 0.001). Multiple logistic analyses revealed that patients who consulted the PCC due to MSD were likely to have more mental distress or impaired physical functioning compared to those who did not.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Musculoskeletal disorders were common in patients attending the rural PCC of this study and were associated with a poor quality of life and mental distress that affected their consultation behaviour.</p
Observation of the Charmed Baryon at CLEO
The CLEO experiment at the CESR collider has used 13.7 fb of data to
search for the production of the (css-ground state) in
collisions at {\rm GeV}. The modes used to
study the are ,
, , , and
. We observe a signal of 40.49.0(stat) events
at a mass of 2694.62.6(stat)1.9(syst) {\rm MeV/}, for all modes
combined.Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Evidence of New States Decaying into
Using 13.7 of data recorded by the CLEO detector at CESR, we report
evidence for two new charmed baryons: one decaying into
with the subsequent decay , and its
isospin partner decaying into followed by
. We measure the following mass differences
for the two states: =318.2+-1.3+-2.9 MeV,
and =324.0+-1.3+-3.0 MeV. We interpret
these new states as the particles, the charmed-strange
analogs of the .Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Observation of and
We have studied two-body charmless hadronic decays of mesons into the
final states phi K and phi K^*. Using 9.7 million pairs collected
with the CLEO II detector, we observe the decays B- -> phi K- and B0 -> phi K*0
with the following branching fractions: BR(B- -> phi K-)=(5.5 +2.1-1.8 +- 0.6)
x 10^{-6} and BR(B0 -> phi K*0)=(11.5 +4.5-3.7 +1.8-1.7) x 10^{-6}. We also see
evidence for the decays B0 -> phi K0 and B- -> phi K*-. However, since the
statistical significance is not overwhelming for these modes we determine upper
limits of <12.3 x 10^{-6} and <22.5 x 10^{-6} (90% C.L.) respectively.Comment: 9 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Measurement of the Relative Branching Fraction of to Charged and Neutral B-Meson Pairs
We analyze 9.7 x 10^6 B\bar{B}$ pairs recorded with the CLEO detector to
determine the production ratio of charged to neutral B-meson pairs produced at
the Y(4S) resonance. We measure the rates for B^0 -> J/psi K^{(*)0} and B^+ ->
J/psi K^{(*)+} decays and use the world-average B-meson lifetime ratio to
extract the relative widths f+-/f00 = Gamma(Y(4S) -> B+B-)/Gamma(Y(4S) ->
B0\bar{B0}) = = 1.04 +/- 0.07(stat) +/- 0.04(syst). With the assumption that
f+- + f00 = 1, we obtain f00 = 0.49 +/- 0.02(stat) +/- 0.01(syst) and f+- =
0.51 +/- 0.02(stat) +/- 0.01(syst). This production ratio and its uncertainty
apply to all exclusive B-meson branching fractions measured at the Y(4S)
resonance.Comment: 11 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
First Observation of the Decays and B^{0}\to D^{*-}p\bar{n}$
We report the first observation of exclusive decays of the type B to D^* N
anti-N X, where N is a nucleon. Using a sample of 9.7 times 10^{6} B-Bbar pairs
collected with the CLEO detector operating at the Cornell Electron Storage
Ring, we measure the branching fractions B(B^0 \to D^{*-} proton antiproton
\pi^+) = ({6.5}^{+1.3}_{-1.2} +- 1.0) \times 10^{-4} and B(B^0 \to D^{*-}
proton antineutron) = ({14.5}^{+3.4}_{-3.0} +- 2.7) times 10^{-4}. Antineutrons
are identified by their annihilation in the CsI electromagnetic calorimeter.Comment: 9 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Measurements of B --> D_s^{(*)+} D^{*(*)} Branching Fractions
This article describes improved measurements by CLEO of the and branching fractions, and first evidence
for the decay , where
represents the sum of the , , and
L=1 charm meson states. Also reported is the first
measurement of the polarization in the decay . A partial reconstruction technique, employing only the fully
reconstructed and slow pion from the decay, enhances sensitivity. The observed branching fractions are
, , and , where the first error is statistical,
the second systematic, and the third is due to the uncertainty in the branching fraction. The measured longitudinal
polarization, , is consistent with
the factorization prediction of 54%.Comment: 26 pages (LaTeX), 15 figures. To be submitted to PR
Study of the Decays B0 --> D(*)+D(*)-
The decays B0 --> D*+D*-, B0 --> D*+D- and B0 --> D+D- are studied in 9.7
million Y(4S) --> BBbar decays accumulated with the CLEO detector. We determine
Br(B0 --> D*+D*-) = (9.9+4.2-3.3+-1.2)e-4 and limit Br(B0 --> D*+D-) < 6.3e-4
and Br(B0 --> D+D-) < 9.4e-4 at 90% confidence level (CL). We also perform the
first angular analysis of the B0 --> D*+D*- decay and determine that the
CP-even fraction of the final state is greater than 0.11 at 90% CL. Future
measurements of the time dependence of these decays may be useful for the
investigation of CP violation in neutral B meson decays.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
A Search for
We report results of a search for in a sample of 9.7 million
charged meson decays. The search uses both and
decay modes of the , and demands exclusive reconstruction of the
companion decay to suppress background. We set an upper limit on the
branching fraction at 90%
confidence level. With slight modification to the analysis we also establish
at 90% confidence
level.Comment: 10 ages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
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