Bereavement and marriage are associated with antibody response to influenza vaccination in the elderly

Stressful life events exposure including bereavement, an event commonly experienced by elderly people, social support, marital status and satisfaction were examined in relation to antibody response to the annual trivalent influenza vaccination in an elderly community sample (N = 184). Antibody response was assessed at baseline, and at one and 12 months following vaccination. Taking into account baseline antibody titer, overall life events exposure and social support were not associated with response to any of the influenza strains. However, bereavement in the year prior to vaccination was negatively associated with the one-month response to the A/Panama and B/Shangdong strains. Being married and having higher marital satisfaction was also associated with higher peak responses to the A/Panama influenza strain at one month. The positive association between marital satisfaction and A/Panama response was particularly evident in the younger half of the married sample. These associations largely withstood adjustment for potential confounders. Thus, in the elderly, peak antibody response was associated with bereavement and marriage, and not the more general factors, life events and social support, related to antibody response in student samples. This suggests the importance of taking a life course approach to examining relationships between psychosocial factors and immunity, and that interventions to modify the impact of these factors should address those most salient for each age group

Tweeting about sexism: The well-being benefits of a social media collective action.

Although collective action has psychological benefits in non-gendered contexts (e.g., Drury et al., 2005), the benefits for women taking action against gender discrimination are unclear. This study examined how a popular, yet unexplored potential form of collective action, namely tweeting about sexism, affects women’s well-being. Women read about sexism and were randomly assigned to tweet, or to one of three control groups. Content analyses showed tweets exhibited collective intent and action. Analyses of linguistic markers suggested public tweeters used more cognitive complexity in their language than private tweeters. Profile analyses showed that compared to controls, only public tweeters showed decreasing negative affect and increasing psychological well-being, suggesting tweeting about sexism may serve as a collective action that can enhance women’s well-being

An evaluation of the effectiveness of a community mentoring service for socially isolated older people: a controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Social isolation affects a significant proportion of older people and is associated with poor health outcomes. The current evidence base regarding the effectiveness of interventions targeting social isolation is poor, and the potential utility of mentoring for this purpose has not previously been rigorously evaluated. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a community-based mentoring service for improving mental health, social engagement and physical health for socially isolated older people.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This prospective controlled trial compared a sample of mentoring service clients (intervention group) with a matched control group recruited through general practice. One hundred and ninety five participants from each group were matched on mental wellbeing and social activity scores. Assessments were conducted at baseline and at six month follow-up. The primary outcome was the Short Form Health Survey v2 (SF-12) mental health component score (MCS). Secondary outcomes included the SF-12 physical health component score (PCS), EuroQol EQ-5D, Geriatric Depression Score (GDS-10), social activity, social support and morbidities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found no evidence that mentoring was beneficial across a wide range of participant outcomes measuring health status, social activity and depression. No statistically significant between-group differences were observed at follow-up in the primary outcome (p = 0.48) and in most secondary outcomes. Identifying suitable matched pairs of intervention and control group participants proved challenging.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this trial provide no substantial evidence supporting the use of community mentoring as an effective means of alleviating social isolation in older people. Further evidence is needed on the effectiveness of community-based interventions targeting social isolation. When using non-randomised designs, there are considerable challenges in the recruitment of suitable matches from a community sample.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>SCIE Research Register for Social Care 105923</p

The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936: a study to examine influences on cognitive ageing from age 11 to age 70 and beyond

BACKGROUND: Cognitive ageing is a major burden for society and a major influence in lowering people's independence and quality of life. It is the most feared aspect of ageing. There are large individual differences in age-related cognitive changes. Seeking the determinants of cognitive ageing is a research priority. A limitation of many studies is the lack of a sufficiently long period between cognitive assessments to examine determinants. Here, the aim is to examine influences on cognitive ageing between childhood and old age. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is designed as a follow-up cohort study. The participants comprise surviving members of the Scottish Mental Survey of 1947 (SMS1947; N = 70,805) who reside in the Edinburgh area (Lothian) of Scotland. The SMS1947 applied a valid test of general intelligence to all children born in 1936 and attending Scottish schools in June 1947. A total of 1091 participants make up the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. They undertook: a medical interview and examination; physical fitness testing; extensive cognitive testing (reasoning, memory, speed of information processing, and executive function); personality, quality of life and other psycho-social questionnaires; and a food frequency questionnaire. They have taken the same mental ability test (the Moray House Test No. 12) at age 11 and age 70. They provided blood samples for DNA extraction and testing and other biomarker analyses. Here we describe the background and aims of the study, the recruitment procedures and details of numbers tested, and the details of all examinations. DISCUSSION: The principal strength of this cohort is the rarely captured phenotype of lifetime cognitive change. There is additional rich information to examine the determinants of individual differences in this lifetime cognitive change. This protocol report is important in alerting other researchers to the data available in the cohort

The association between aids related stigma and major depressive disorder among HIV-positive individuals in Uganda

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is common and may be associated with a number of factors, including AIDS-related stigma, decreased CD4 levels, increased opportunistic infections and sociodemographic variables. The extent to which AIDS-related stigma is associated with major depressive disorder among PLWHA has not been well studied in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between major depressive disorder, AIDS-related stigma, immune status, and sociodemographic variables with the aim of making recommendations that can guide clinicians. METHODS: We assessed 368 PLWHA for major depressive disorder, as well as for potentially associated factors, including AIDS-related stigma, CD4 levels, presence of opportunistic infections, and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: The prevalence of major depressive disorder was 17.4%, while 7.9% of the participants had AIDS related stigma. At multivariable analysis, major depressive disorder was significantly associated with AIDS-related stigma [OR = 1.65, CI (1.20-2.26)], a CD4 count of ≥200 [OR 0.52 CI (0.27-0.99)], and being of younger age [0.95, CI (0.92-0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Due to the high burden of major depressive disorder, and its association with AIDS related stigma, routine screening of PLWHA for both conditions is recommended. However, more research is required to understand this association

For science, love and money: the social worlds of poultry and rabbit breeding in Britain, 1900-1940

This paper traces the joint histories of poultry and rabbit breeding by fanciers, and for commercial and scientific purposes, in early 20th-century Britain. I show that the histories of the social worlds that bred for these different purposes are intertwined, as are the histories of poultry and rabbit breeding in general. To properly understand the history of scientific breeding we must therefore understand the general context of breeding in which this occurred. In the paper I show that as fancy poultry and rabbits were taken up for scientific research at the start of the 20th century they became scientific specimens and boundary objects between the social worlds. Their existence as boundary objects motivated the social worlds to coordinate their work through translators and trading zones. By the 1930s all three coordination methods were being used simultaneously

The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). I. Conceptual framework and item selection

A 36-item short-form (SF-36) was constructed to survey health status in the Medical Outcomes Study. The SF-36 was designed for use in clinical practice and research, health policy evaluations, and general population surveys. The SF-36 includes one multi-item scale that assesses eight health concepts: 1) limitations in physical activities because of health problems; 2) limitations in social activities because of physical or emotional problems; 3) limitations in usual role activities because of physical health problems; 4) bodily pain; 5) general mental health (psychological distress and well-being); 6) limitations in usual role activities because of emotional problems; 7) vitality (energy and fatigue); and 8) general health perceptions. The survey was constructed for self-administration by persons 14 years of age and older, and for administration by a trained interviewer in person or by telephone. The history of the development of the SF-36, the origin of specific items, and the logic underlying their selection are summarized. The content and features of the SF-36 are compared with the 20-item Medical Outcomes Study short-form