Urban environment, physical inactivity and unhealthy dietary habits correlate to depression among elderly living in eastern mediterranean islands: The MEDIS (Mediterranean Islands Elderly) study

Aims: To evaluate factors associated with depression in elderly. Methods: During 2005-2007, 553 men and 637 women (aged 65 to 100 yrs) living in various Greek islands and in Cyprus participated in the study. The sampling was random and multistage (according to age-sex distribution of the referent population). Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Results: Twenty five per cent of men and 35% of women were classified in the highest GDS category (i.e. GDS score > 10), indicating intense depressive symptoms, while 54% of men and 70% of women scored above the depression cut-off (i.e. GDS score > 5) indicating mild-to-severe depressive symptoms. Among the investigated characteristics, living in urban environment, physical inactivity and history of hypertension were correlated with the presence of depressive symptoms (p<0.05), after adjusting for various confounders. Moreover, the consumption of fish, vegetables and cereals is more prevalent among people with low or moderate depression (p<0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of depression is quite high between elderly people living in Greek islands and Cyprus. Urban environment that may also interact with sedentarism and unhealthy dietary habits seems to promote depression in the studied population. Efforts to lower the prevalence of depression in the elderly should target on the aforementioned factors that employ functional impairment, social environment and dietary habits. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging©

Effects of moderate beer consumption on health and disease: A consensus document

A large evidence-based review on the effects of a moderate consumption of beer on human health has been conducted by an international panel of experts who reached a full consensus on the present document. Low-moderate (up to 1 drink per day in women, up to 2 in men), non-bingeing beer consumption, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. This effect is similar to that of wine, at comparable alcohol amounts. Epidemiological studies suggest that moderate consumption of either beer or wine may confer greater cardiovascular protection than spirits. Although specific data on beer are not conclusive, observational studies seem to indicate that low-moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of developing neurodegenerative disease. There is no evidence that beer drinking is different from other types of alcoholic beverages in respect to risk for some cancers. Evidence consistently suggests a J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption (including beer) and all-cause mortality, with lower risk for moderate alcohol consumers than for abstainers or heavy drinkers. Unless they are at high risk for alcohol-related cancers or alcohol dependency, there is no reason to discourage healthy adults who are already regular light-moderate beer consumers from continuing. Consumption of beer, at any dosage, is not recommended for children, adolescents, pregnant women, individuals at risk to develop alcoholism, those with cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, depression, liver and pancreatic diseases, or anyone engaged in actions that require concentration, skill or coordination. In conclusion, although heavy and excessive beer consumption exerts deleterious effects on the human body, with increased disease risks on many organs and is associated to significant social problems such as addiction, accidents, violence and crime, data reported in this document show evidence for no harm of moderate beer consumption for major chronic conditions and some benefit against cardiovascular disease. (C) 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved