Marital status and mortality among Japanese men and women: the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several studies have indicated a significant association between marital status and mortality risks. However, most of these studies have compared married and unmarried people without differentiating among single, divorced and widowed status. Moreover, gender differences in mortality rates associated with marital status have not been sufficiently clarified. With significant increases in the percentages of divorced and widowed people and a corresponding drop in the marriage rate in Japan during the past two or three decades, it can be expected that these changes will have a significant impact on mortality rates.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This investigation used a prospective study of a total of 94,062 Japanese men and women aged 40–79 who completed self-administered questionnaires at baseline and during a followed-up of 9.9-years.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with married men, never-married men showed higher risks of mortality from cardiovascular disease [relative risk (RR) = 3.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.03–4.60], respiratory disease (RR = 2.43, 95%CI 1.27–4.63), external causes (RR = 2.18, 95%CI 1.05–4.54) and all causes (RR = 1.91, 95%CI 1.51–2.42) after adjustment for potentially confounding variables. For never-married women, there was a smaller but significantly higher risk of mortality from all causes (RR = 1.46, 95%CI 1.15–1.84). Divorced and widowed men showed moderately higher risks of mortality from cardiovascular disease, external causes and all causes compared with married men, but such a trend was not observed in women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Single status was associated with a higher risk of mortality than was married status for both men and women. Divorce and widowhood were associated with elevated risk for men, but not for women. These findings suggest single, divorce and widowhood status constitute potentially adverse health effects.</p

Genetics ignite focus on microglial inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease

In the past five years, a series of large-scale genetic studies have revealed novel risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Analyses of these risk factors have focused attention upon the role of immune processes in AD, specifically microglial function. In this review, we discuss interpretation of genetic studies.  We then focus upon six genes implicated by AD genetics that impact microglial function: TREM2, CD33, CR1, ABCA7, SHIP1, and APOE. We review the literature regarding the biological functions of these six proteins and their putative role in AD pathogenesis. We then present a model for how these factors may interact to modulate microglial function in AD

Subjetividade e crítica cultural

Nos muitos trabalhos que tentam resgatar "o ator" em algum sentido, existe uma tendência a evitar questões de subjetividade, ou seja, "estruturas de sentimento" complexas (na expressão de Raymond Williams). Este artigo retorna ao trabalho de Max Weber e Clifford Geertz para considerar várias questões de subjetividade, incluindo tanto ansiedades existenciais fundamentais como construções sociais e históricas específicas de "consciência". O artigo conclui com uma releitura de vários textos recentes sobre a consciência pós-moderna como uma configuração específica de ansiedades, ligadas a formações do "capitalismo tardio".<br>In the many works that try to bring back 'the actor' in some sense, there is a tendency to avoid questions of subjectivity, that is, complex 'structures of feeling' (in Raymond Williams's phrase). This article returns to the work of Max Weber and Clifford Geertz to consider various issues of subjectivity, including both fundamental existential anxieties, and specific cultural and historical constructions of 'consciousness'. The article concludes with a rereading of several recent texts on postmodern consciousness as a specific configuration of anxieties, tied in turn to formations of 'late capitalism'