Lack of basic and luxury goods and health-related dysfunction in older persons; Findings from the longitudinal SMILE study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>More so than the traditional socioeconomic indicators, such as education and income, wealth reflects the accumulation of resources and makes socioeconomic ranking manifest and explicitly visible to the outside world. While the lack of basic goods, such as a refrigerator, may affect health directly, via biological pathways, the lack of luxury goods, such as an LCD television, may affect health indirectly through psychosocial mechanisms. We set out to examine, firstly, the relevance of both basic and luxury goods in explaining health-related dysfunction in older persons, and, secondly, the extent to which these associations are independent of traditional socioeconomic indicators.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional and longitudinal data from 2067 men and women aged 55 years and older who participated in the Study on Medical Information and Lifestyles Eindhoven (SMILE) were gathered. Logistic regression analyses were used to study the relation between a lack of basic and luxury goods and health-related function, assessed with two sub-domains of the SF-36.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The lack of basic goods was closely related to incident physical (OR = 2.32) and mental (OR = 2.12) dysfunction, even when the traditional measures of socioeconomic status, i.e. education or income, were taken into account. Cross-sectional analyses, in which basic and luxury goods were compared, showed that the lack of basic goods was strongly associated with mental dysfunction. Lack of luxury goods was, however, not related to dysfunction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Even in a relatively wealthy country like the Netherlands, the lack of certain basic goods is not uncommon. More importantly, lack of basic goods, as an indicator of wealth, was strongly related to health-related dysfunction also when traditional measures of socioeconomic status were taken into account. In contrast, no effects of luxury goods on physical or mental dysfunction were found. Future longitudinal research is necessary to clarify the precise mechanisms underlying these effects.</p

The SMILE study: a study of medical information and lifestyles in Eindhoven, the rationale and contents of a large prospective dynamic cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health problems, health behavior, and the consequences of bad health are often intertwined. There is a growing need among physicians, researchers and policy makers to obtain a comprehensive insight into the mutual influences of different health related, institutional and environmental concepts and their collective developmental processes over time.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>SMILE is a large prospective cohort study, focusing on a broad range of aspects of disease, health and lifestyles of people living in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. This study is unique in its kind, because two data collection strategies are combined: first data on morbidity, mortality, medication prescriptions, and use of care facilities are continuously registered using electronic medical records in nine primary health care centers. Data are extracted regularly on an anonymous basis. Secondly, information about lifestyles and the determinants of (ill) health, sociodemographic, psychological and sociological characteristics and consequences of chronic disease are gathered on a regular basis by means of extensive patient questionnaires. The target population consisted of over 30,000 patients aged 12 years and older enrolled in the participating primary health care centers.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Despite our relatively low response rates, we trust that, because of the longitudinal character of the study and the high absolute number of participants, our database contains a valuable set of information.</p> <p>SMILE is a longitudinal cohort with a long follow-up period (15 years). The long follow-up and the unique combination of the two data collection strategies will enable us to disentangle causal relationships. Furthermore, patient-reported characteristics can be related to self-reported health, as well as to more validated physician registered morbidity. Finally, this population can be used as a sampling frame for intervention studies. Sampling can either be based on the presence of certain diseases, or on specific lifestyles or other patient characteristics.</p

Relation between perceived health and sick leave in employees with a chronic illness

Introduction: To improve work participation in individuals with a chronic illness, insight into the role of work-related factors in the association between health and sick leave is needed. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the contribution of work limitations, work characteristics, and work adjustments to the association between health and sick leave in employees with a chronic illness. Methods: All employees with a chronic illness, between 15 and 65 years of age (n = 7,748) were selected from The Netherlands Working Conditions Survey. The survey included questions about perceived health, working conditions, and sick leave. Block-wise multivariate linear regression analyses were performed and, in different blocks, limitations at work, work characteristics, and work adjustments were added to the model of perceived health status. Changes in regression coefficient (B) (%) were calculated for the total group and for sub-groups per chronic illness. Results: When work limitations were added to the model, the B between health and sick leave decreased by 18% (5.0 to 4.1). Adding work characteristics did not decrease the association between health and sick leave, but the B between work limitations and sick leave decreased by 14%, (5.3 to 4.5). When work adjustments were added to the model, the Bs between sick leave and work limitations and work characteristics changed from 4.5 to 3.4 for work limitations and from 2.1 to 1.9 for temporary contract and from -0.8 to -1.0 for supervisor support. Conclusions: The association between health and sick leave was explained by limitations at work, work characteristics, and work adjustments. Paying more attention to work limitations, characteristics and adjustments offers opportunities to reduce the negative consequences of chronic illness. © The Author(s) 2010

Social exclusion of older persons: a scoping review and conceptual framework

As a concept, social exclusion has considerable potential to explain and respond to disadvantage in later life. However, in the context of ageing populations, the construct remains ambiguous. A disjointed evidence-base, spread across disparate disciplines, compounds the challenge of developing a coherent understanding of exclusion in older age. This article addresses this research deficit by presenting the findings of a two-stage scoping review encompassing seven separate reviews of the international literature pertaining to old-age social exclusion. Stage one involved a review of conceptual frameworks on old-age exclusion, identifying conceptual understandings and key domains of later-life exclusion. Stage two involved scoping reviews on each domain (six in all). Stage one identified six conceptual frameworks on old-age exclusion and six common domains across these frameworks: neighbourhood and community; services, amenities and mobility; social relations; material and financial resources; socio-cultural aspects; and civic participation. International literature concentrated on the first four domains, but indicated a general lack of research knowledge and of theoretical development. Drawing on all seven scoping reviews and a knowledge synthesis, the article presents a new definition and conceptual framework relating to old-age exclusion

Tactile elevation perception in blind and sighted participants and its implications for tactile map creation.

To determine the optimal elevation of tactile map symbols. Background: Tactile perception research predicts that symbol elevation (vertical height) and texture on tactile maps could influence their readability. However, while research has shown that elevation influences detection and discrimination thresholds for single tactile stimuli, and that the physiological response of fingertip receptors varies with texture, little is known about the influence of these parameters on the identification of stimuli in the context of multiple symbols as found on tactile maps. Method: Sighted and visually impaired participants performed tactile symbol identification tasks. In Experiment 1, we measured the effect of elevation on identification accuracy. In Experiment 2, we measured the effect of elevation and symbol texture on identification speed. Results: Symbol elevation influenced both speed and accuracy of identification with thresholds being higher than found in work on detection and discrimination but lower than on existing tactile maps. Further, as predicted from existing knowledge of tactile perception, rough features were identified more quickly than smooth ones. Finally, visually impaired participants performed better than sighted ones. Conclusion: The symbol elevations necessary for identification (0.040 to 0.080 mm) are considerably lower than would be expected on the basis of existing tactile maps (generally 0.5 mm or higher) and design guidelines (0.4 mm). Application: Tactile map production costs could be reduced and map durability increased by reducing symbol elevation. Further, legibility of maps could be improved by using rough features, which are read more easily, and smaller symbols, which reduces crowding of graphics

Tactile elevation perception in blind and sighted participants and its implications for tactile map creation.

To determine the optimal elevation of tactile map symbols. Background: Tactile perception research predicts that symbol elevation (vertical height) and texture on tactile maps could influence their readability. However, while research has shown that elevation influences detection and discrimination thresholds for single tactile stimuli, and that the physiological response of fingertip receptors varies with texture, little is known about the influence of these parameters on the identification of stimuli in the context of multiple symbols as found on tactile maps. Method: Sighted and visually impaired participants performed tactile symbol identification tasks. In Experiment 1, we measured the effect of elevation on identification accuracy. In Experiment 2, we measured the effect of elevation and symbol texture on identification speed. Results: Symbol elevation influenced both speed and accuracy of identification with thresholds being higher than found in work on detection and discrimination but lower than on existing tactile maps. Further, as predicted from existing knowledge of tactile perception, rough features were identified more quickly than smooth ones. Finally, visually impaired participants performed better than sighted ones. Conclusion: The symbol elevations necessary for identification (0.040 to 0.080 mm) are considerably lower than would be expected on the basis of existing tactile maps (generally 0.5 mm or higher) and design guidelines (0.4 mm). Application: Tactile map production costs could be reduced and map durability increased by reducing symbol elevation. Further, legibility of maps could be improved by using rough features, which are read more easily, and smaller symbols, which reduces crowding of graphics