Social Status and Mortality With Activity of Daily Living Disability in Later Life

Objectives. The aim of this study was to assess which social status factors predispose a person to dying with activity of daily living (ADL) disability in later life. Methods. We followed 243 deceased members of the Swiss Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on the Oldest Old annually up to 8 years before their deaths. Using a multilevel regression, we analyzed age at death, gender, occupational category, and geographic area as potential factors predisposing a person to ending life with ADL disability. Results. Disability scores showed a substantial increase as death approached. Individuals from a lower occupational category were at higher risk of ADL disability and experienced a greater functional decline prior to death compared to those from higher occupational categories. Discussion. Consistent with the cumulative disadvantage theoretical framework, the health differential between the occupational categories seems to be exacerbated prior to deat

Do "Young-Old” Exercisers Feel Better Than Sedentary Persons? A Cohort Study in Switzerland

From a "successful aging” perspective, the subjective feeling of well-being is as important as "objective” health. Physical exercise is seen as being an effective way of staying healthy, but its link with well-being in a normal aging population remains largely unexplored. Based on two randomized surveys of the aging population, conducted in 1979 and 1994, respectively, with questionnaires including retrospective questions on activities and health, two cohorts of young-old (aged 64-74) were selected (cohort 1, born 1905-1914, N = 949; cohort 2, born 1920-1929, N = 602) and split into four groups, corresponding to their exercising trajectories (long-term exercisers LE, new exercisers NE, quitters Q, sedentary S). The link between the four trajectories and two indicators of well-being (self-rated health, self-assessed depression scale) was examined by means of regression analyses. In both cohorts, the LE group had a higher level of well-being than the Q and the S. The study also throws light on the case of the quitters (Q), who showed the lowest level of well-being. Scant research has hitherto been done on the causes and repercussions of abandoning exercis

Sociologie et morale sociale

Le thème que Jacques Coenen-Huther propose à notre réflexion m’amène à faire une pause au bord du chemin. Back to basics. La sociologie est-elle, par nature, relativiste ? Peut-on, de la sociologie, discipline analytique, tirer des enseignements normatifs, des principes-guides ? Du coup je m’interroge : comment, sur la base de quels axiomes, pratiquai-je ma science ? Quels liens, ou quelles ruptures, établis-je entre ma science et ma vie ? Que m’enseignent ma science et ma recherche sur la so..

La dynamique des échanges de services au fil de la vieillesse

Lien filial et paradigme du don Pour Gérald Berthoud, dans la suite de Marcel Mauss, le don est «une mise en sens» en même temps qu’une «mise en relation»; il «fonctionne en même temps qu’il signifie». Condition du «tenir ensemble d’une société», le don est en même temps l’affirmation d’une appartenance sociale et un exercice de différentiation qui rend manifeste l’individualité du donneur. Alors que dans ses travaux sur le don, Mauss s’est surtout intéressé au moment du «rendre» et à l’oblig..

Avant-propos

L’événement de la fin de l’année académique 2002 a été le départ à la retraite de Jacques Coenen-Huther, lui qui depuis plus de vingt ans a apporté au Département de Sociologie et à l’Université de Genève sa vaste culture, sa rigueur intellectuelle, son imagination créatrice, ainsi que son enthousiasme pédagogique sans concession – ce qu’atteste une fois de plus sa contribution au présent ouvrage. Comment, à l’occasion de cette transition si décisive, manifester à Jacques notre estime, notre ..

Avant-propos

L’événement de la fin de l’année académique 2002 a été le départ à la retraite de Jacques Coenen-Huther, lui qui depuis plus de vingt ans a apporté au Département de Sociologie et à l’Université de Genève sa vaste culture, sa rigueur intellectuelle, son imagination créatrice, ainsi que son enthousiasme pédagogique sans concession – ce qu’atteste une fois de plus sa contribution au présent ouvrage. Comment, à l’occasion de cette transition si décisive, manifester à Jacques notre estime, notre ..

Conformational epitopes of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein are targets of potentially pathogenic antibody responses in multiple sclerosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Myelin/oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is a putative autoantigen in multiple sclerosis (MS). Establishing the pathological relevance and validity of anti-MOG antibodies as biomarkers has yielded conflicting reports mainly due to different MOG isoforms used in different studies. Because epitope specificity may be a key factor determining anti-MOG reactivity we aimed at identifying <it>a priori </it>immunodominant MOG epitopes by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and at assessing clinical relevance of these epitopes in MS.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sera of 325 MS patients, 69 patients with clinically isolated syndrome and 164 healthy controls were assayed by quantitative, high-throughput ELISA for reactivity to 3 different MOG isoforms, and quantitative titers correlated with clinical characteristics. mAbs defined unique immunodominant epitopes distinct to each of the isoforms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the majority of human samples anti-MOG levels were skewed towards low titers. However, in 8.2% of samples high-titer anti-MOG antibodies were identified. In contrast to anti-MOG reactivity observed in a mouse model of MS, in patients with MS these never reacted with ubiquitously exposed epitopes. Moreover, in patients with relapsing-remitting MS high-titer anti-MOG IgG correlated with disability (EDSS; Spearman r = 0.574; p = 0.025).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Thus high-titer reactivity likely represents high-affinity antibodies against pathologically relevant MOG epitopes, that are only present in a small proportion of patients with MS. Our study provides valuable information about requirements of anti-MOG reactivity for being regarded as a prognostic biomarker in a subtype of MS.</p

Prognosis of Functional Recovery 1 Year After Hip Fracture: Typical Patient Profiles Through Cluster Analysis

Background. Many investigators have identified distinct medical, demographic and psychosocial prefracture conditions that influence the functional outcome of patients surgically treated for a fracture of the hip. However, to design efficient intervention care programs addressing the needs of these patients, at optimal economic and social costs, more information is required on the typical combinations of prognostic determinants actually encountered. Methods. Data on specific descriptors of the prefracture status and on mobility and functioning 1 year after surgical intervention were collected by interview from 253 consecutive patients hospitalized for a fracture of the proximal femur. Cluster analysis was used to form homogeneous groups of patients with similar profiles in terms of the 13 predictive variables and the 7 outcome variables significantly interrelated. The modeling procedure generated four clusters of patients with a typical profile sharply contrasted by their structure. Results. Subjects of two clusters could walk without difficulty and were functionally independent prior to their hip fracture. One year later, however, mobility and functioning were only fully recovered by the members of one cluster. The majority of predictors were of less favorable prognostic value for the members of the second cluster. The other two clusters regrouped patients with impaired prefracture mobility that were either unaltered or even aggravated 1 year later. Conclusions. Cluster analysis identified typical profiles of elderly hip fracture patients. Close scrutiny of their respective global structure, in terms of combined prognostic determinants and outcomes, may help to develop specific management strategies that are more efficiently adapted to these different groups of patient