The regression analysis of predictors for selected health behaviors among elderly in Poland

The meaning of the word health takes on a different connotation in relation to certain individuals or groups. The trend is visible when taking under consideration the health of elderly individuals or the entire population in this age category. Even more, there has been noticed a great spread in individuals belonging to this age group, given that the elderly person is considered to be one that completed 65 years of life untill the diversified its end. Therefore, such a wide age range covering approximately 20 - 30 years demands diverse criteria for persons aged 70 years and the ones aged 90 years.            The purpose of the study was to identify predictors influencing the health behaviors of people over 65 years of age in Poland.            On the one hand, older age allows a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and understanding for the meaning of the whole past life. On the other hand, it can be a source of physical and mental pain, the cause of dissatisfaction and frustration. All in all, the manner in which this period is experienced depends on numerous factors. These include both genetic and individual factors as well as social aspects. However, the most important ones are considered to be health behaviors of seniors. For that reason, taking into account the perspective of aging Poland, joint preparation for old age should become a priority undertaking

Samoocena stanu zdrowia i jej wybrane uwarunkowania w grupie osób po 65 roku życia, pacjentów Podstawowej Opieki Zdrowotnej = The self-assessment of health and its selected conditions within a group of over-65-year-old primary-care patients

Nowicki Grzegorz Józef, Młynarska Magdalena, Ślusarska Barbara, Korecka Renata, Kotus Marzena. Samoocena stanu zdrowia i jej wybrane uwarunkowania w grupie osób po 65 roku życia, pacjentów Podstawowej Opieki Zdrowotnej = The self-assessment of health and its selected conditions within a group of over-65-year-old primary-care patients. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2016;6(4):447-457. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.50611http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/3492 The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 755 (23.12.2015).755 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eISSN 2391-8306 7© The Author (s) 2016;This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, PolandOpen Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,provided the original author(s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercialuse, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.Received: 05.04.2016. Revised 25.04.2016. Accepted: 27.04.2016.  Samoocena stanu zdrowia i jej wybrane uwarunkowania w grupie osób po 65 roku życia, pacjentów Podstawowej Opieki Zdrowotnej The self-assessment of health and its selected conditions within a group of over-65-year-old primary-care patients Grzegorz Józef Nowicki1, Magdalena Młynarska2, Barbara Ślusarska1, Renata Korecka2, Marzena Kotus3 1. Zakład Medycyny Rodzinnej i Pielęgniarstwa Środowiskowego, Katedra Onkologii i Środowiskowej Opieki Zdrowotnej, Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie2. Zakład Ratownictwa Medycznego, Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie3. Zakład Pielęgniarstwa Anestezjologicznego i Intensywnej Opieki Medycznej, Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie Słowa klucze: samoocena stanu zdrowia, osoby starsze, podstawowa opieka zdrowotna.Key words: self-assessment of health, the elderly, primary health care. StreszczenieWprowadzenie. Starzenie się jest procesem stałym, będącym poważnym wyzwaniem dla społeczeństwa. Współcześnie maksymalizuje się wysiłki w celu przedłużenia życia w sensie biologicznym, ale również po to, aby przybliżyć poziom jakości życia do stanu sprzed choroby. Uznano, że bardzo istotne w procesie leczenia i pielęgnowania pacjenta jest samoocena własnego zdrowia. Pozwala to na aktywne włączenie chorego w realizację procesów terapeutycznych, co jest korzystne zarówno dla pacjenta, jak i dla zespołu leczącego.Cel. Poznanie samooceny stanu zdrowia i jej uwarunkowań w grupie osób powyżej 65 roku życia, pacjentów Podstawowej Opieki Zdrowotnej.Materiał i metoda. Badania przeprowadzono od lipca do września 2013 r. wśród 505 osób w wieku powyżej 65 roku życia w losowo wybranych 5 jednostkach Podstawowej Opieki Zdrowotnej (POZ) na terenie województwa lubelskiego. Narzędziem badawczym był autorski kwestionariusz ankiety.Wyniki. W samoocenie stanu zdrowia badani w większości określili swoje zdrowia jako złe (odpowiedzi zły i bardzo zły) – 214 (42,38%). Ci, którzy zadeklarowali, że ich stan zdrowia jest przyzwoity stanowią drugą pod względem liczności grupę – 167 (33,07%). Jedynie 124 osoby (24,56%) zadeklarowały, że ich zdrowie jest dobre lub bardzo dobre. Analiza statystyczna wykazała, że swój stan zdrowia istotnie częściej lepiej oceniają: badani w wieku 76 - 85 lat (p=0,007), posiadający wykształcenie podstawowe, zawodowe, średnie, wyższe (p<0,001) w porównaniu do badanych nie posiadających wykształcenia, osoby znajdujące się w związkach partnerskich lub konkubinacie (p=0,001), nie posiadające problemów finansowych (p<0,001), nie odczuwające bólu (p<0,01) oraz nie posiadające ograniczeń w sprawności fizycznej (p<0,001). Badani wykonujący w przeszłości zawód związany z praca fizyczną istotnie gorzej oceniają swój stan zdrowia (p=0,001). Wnioski. Analiza samooceny stanu zdrowia pozwala stwierdzić, żewiększość uczestników badania nie cieszy się dobrym zdrowiem. Wykazano, że samoocena stanu zdrowia zależy od: wieku, wykształcenia, stanu cywilnego, statusu finansowego, odczuwania bólu, sprawności fizycznej oraz charakteru zawodu wykonywanego w przeszłości. AbstractIntroduction. Ageing is a constant process which constitutes a serious challenge to society. Today every effort is maximised in order to extend human life in the biological sense, and also to come as close as possible to the pre-disease quality of life. It is maintained that health self-assessment is a very important measure in the process of the treatment and nursing of the patient. It allows the patient to be actively included in the implementation of therapeutic processes, which is advantageous for both the patient and the treating team.Purpose. The knowledge of health self-assessment and its conditions within a group of over-65-year-old primary-care patients.Materials and methods. The research was conducted from July to September 2013 among 505 people aged over 65 at 5 randomly selected primary care units (POZ) on the territory of the Lubelskie Voivodeship. The research tool used in this paper was a questionnaire devised by the author. Results. During health self-assessment most patients defined their state of health as poor (answers: poor and very poor – 214 (42.38%)). Those who claimed to maintain a decent level of health constituted the second largest group of respondents – 167 (33.07%). Only 124 persons (24.56%) described their health as good or very good. The statistical analysis showed that the following groups considerably more frequently assess their health as better: the survey participants aged 76-85 (p=0.007) with primary, vocational, secondary and higher education (p<0.001) (compared to subjects without education), people in civil unions or domestic partnerships (p=0.001), patients without financial problems (p<0.001) and those who don’t feel pain (p<0.01), as well as people without physical limitations (p<0.001). The examined persons who had performed physical work in the past described their state of health as significantly worse (p=0.001).Conclusions. The analysis of health self-assessment allows us to conclude that most of the survey participants do not enjoy good health. It has been shown that the results of health self-assessment depend on the following factors: age, education, civil status, financial status, feeling pain, physical fitness and the nature of work performed in the past

AFM-based detection of glycocalyx degradation and endothelial stiffening in the db/db mouse model of diabetes

Degradation of the glycocalyx and stiffening of endothelium are important pathophysiological components of endothelial dysfunction. However, to our knowledge, these events have not been investigated in tandem in experimental diabetes. Here, the mechanical properties of the glycocalyx and endothelium in ex vivo mouse aorta were determined simultaneously in indentation experiments with an atomic force microscope (AFM) for diabetic db/db and control db/+ mice at ages of 11–19 weeks. To analyze highly heterogeneous aorta samples, we developed a tailored classification procedure of indentation data based on a bi-layer brush model supplemented with Hertz model for quantification of nanomechanics of endothelial regions with and without the glycocalyx surface. In db/db mice, marked endothelial stiffening and reduced glycocalyx coverage were present already in 11-week-old mice and persisted in older animals. In contrast, reduction of the effective glycocalyx length was progressive and was most pronounced in 19-week-old db/db mice. The reduction of the glycocalyx length correlated with an increasing level of glycated haemoglobin and decreased endothelial NO production. In conclusion, AFM nanoindentation analysis revealed that stiffening of endothelial cells and diminished glycocalyx coverage occurred in early diabetes and were followed by the reduction of the glycocalyx length that correlated with diabetes progression

Large extracellular vesicles do not mitigate the harmful effect of hyperglycemia on endothelial cell mobility

Extracellular vesicles, especially the larger fraction (LEVs – large extracellular vesicles), are believed to be an important means of intercellular communication. Earlier studies on LEVs have shown their healing properties, especially in the vascular cells of diabetic patients. Uptake of LEVs by endothelial cells and internalization of their cargo have also been demonstrated. Endothelial cells change their properties under hyperglycemic conditions (HGC), which reduces their activity and is the cause of endothelial dysfunction. The aim of our study was to investigate how human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) change their biological properties: shape, mobility, cell surface stiffness, as well as describe the activation of metabolic pathways after exposure to the harmful effects of HGC and the administration of LEVs released by endothelial cells. We obtained LEVs from HUVEC cultures in HGC and normoglycemia (NGC) using the filtration and ultracentrifugation methods. We assessed the size of LEVs and the presence of biomarkers such as phosphatidylserine, CD63, beta-actin and HSP70. We analyzed the LEVs uptake efficiency by HUVECs, HUVEC shape, actin cytoskeleton remodeling, surface stiffness and finally gene expression by mRNA analysis. Under HGC conditions, HUVECs were larger and had a stiffened surface and a strengthened actin cortex compared to cells under NGC condition. HGC also altered the activation of metabolic pathways, especially those related to intracellular transport, metabolism, and organization of cellular components. The most interesting observation in our study is that LEVs did not restore cell motility disturbed by HGC. Although, LEVs were not able to reverse this deleterious effect of HGC, they activated transcription of genes involved in protein synthesis and vesicle trafficking in HUVECs

The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 2 Biomarker Core: A review of progress and plans

INTRODUCTION: We describe Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Biomarker Core progress including: the Biobank; cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid beta (Aβ1-42), t-tau, and p-tau181 analytical performance, definition of Alzheimer's disease (AD) profile for plaque, and tangle burden detection and increased risk for progression to AD; AD disease heterogeneity; progress in standardization; and new studies using ADNI biofluids. METHODS: Review publications authored or coauthored by ADNI Biomarker core faculty and selected non-ADNI studies to deepen the understanding and interpretation of CSF Aβ1-42, t-tau, and p-tau181 data. RESULTS: CSF AD biomarker measurements with the qualified AlzBio3 immunoassay detects neuropathologic AD hallmarks in preclinical and prodromal disease stages, based on CSF studies in non-ADNI living subjects followed by the autopsy confirmation of AD. Collaboration across ADNI cores generated the temporal ordering model of AD biomarkers varying across individuals because of genetic/environmental factors that increase/decrease resilience to AD pathologies. DISCUSSION: Further studies will refine this model and enable the use of biomarkers studied in ADNI clinically and in disease-modifying therapeutic trials

Temporal relationship between systemic endothelial dysfunction and alterations in erythrocyte function in a murine model of chronic heart failure

Endothelial dysfunction (ED) and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) are both prognostic factors in heart failure (HF), but the relationship between them is not clear. In this study, we used a unique mouse model of chronic HF driven by cardiomyocyte-specific overexpression of activated Gαq protein (Tgαq*44 mice) to characterise the relationship between the development of peripheral ED and the occurrence of structural nanomechanical and biochemical changes in red blood cells (RBCs).Systemic ED was detected in vivo in 8-month-old Tgαq*44 mice, as evidenced by impaired acetylcholine-induced vasodilation in the aorta and increased endothelial permeability in the brachiocephalic artery. ED in the aorta was associated with impaired nitric oxide (NO) production in the aorta and diminished systemic NO bioavailability. ED in the aorta was also characterised by increased superoxide and eicosanoid production. In 4- to 6-month-old Tgαq*44 mice, RBC size and membrane composition displayed alterations that did not result in significant changes in their nanomechanical and functional properties. However, 8-month-old Tgαq*44 mice presented greatly accentuated structural and size changes and increased RBC stiffness. In 12-month-old Tgαq*44 mice, the erythropathy was featured by severely altered RBC shape and elasticity, increased RDW, impaired RBC deformability, and increased oxidative stress (GSH/GSSH ratio). Moreover, RBCs taken from 12-month-old Tgαq*44 mice, but not from 12-month-old FVB mice, co-incubated with aortic rings from FVB mice, induced impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation and this effect was partially reversed by an arginase inhibitor (ABH, 2(S)-amino-6-boronohexanoic acid).In the Tgαq*44 murine model of HF, systemic endothelial dysfunction accelerates erythropathy and, conversely, erythropathy may contribute to endothelial dysfunction. These results suggest that erythropathy may be regarded as a marker and a mediator of systemic endothelial dysfunction in HF. In particular, targeting RBC arginase may represent a novel treatment strategy for systemic endothelial dysfunction in HF. RBC arginase and possibly other RBC-mediated mechanisms may represent novel therapeutic targets for systemic endothelial dysfunction in HF.Endothelial dysfunction (ED) and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) both have prognostic value for heart failure (HF), but it is not known whether these pathologies are related. We comprehensively characterized endothelial and RBC functional status in a unique murine model of chronic heart failure with a prolonged time course of HF progression. Our results suggest that ED accelerates erythropathy and, conversely, erythropathy may contribute to ED. Accordingly, erythropathy in HF reflects ED and involves various changes (in functional, structural, nanomechanical, and biochemical levels) that could have diagnostic and therapeutic significance for HF

CERTIFICATION REPORT: The certification of Amyloid β1-42 in CSF in ERM®-DA480/IFCC, ERM®-DA481/IFCC and ERM®-DA482/IFCC

This report describes the production of ERM®-DA480/IFCC, ERM®-DA481/IFCC and ERM®-DA482/IFCC, which are human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) materials certified for the mass concentration of amyloid β1-42 peptide (Aβ1-42). These materials were produced by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC) in collaboration with the International Federation for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) following ISO Guide 34:2009 and are certified in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006. The starting material used to prepare ERM-DA480/IFCC, ERM-DA481/IFCC and ERM-DA482/IFCC was human CSF collected from normal pressure hydrocephalus patients by continuous lumbar drainage. After collection, the CSF was aliquoted and frozen at -80 °C. For the preparation of each certified reference material (CRM) a selected number of CSF donations were thawed, pooled, mixed, filled in microvials and stored at (-70 ± 10) °C immediately thereafter. Between unit-homogeneity was quantified and stability during dispatch and storage were assessed in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006 [ ]. The material was characterised by an interlaboratory comparison of laboratories of demonstrated competence and adhering to ISO/IEC 17025 [ ]. Technically invalid results were removed but no outlier was eliminated on statistical grounds only. Uncertainties of the certified values were calculated in accordance with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) [ ] and include uncertainties related to possible inhomogeneity, instability and characterisation. The materials are intended for the calibration of methods, quality control and/or the assessment of method performance. As with any reference material, they can be used for establishing control charts or validation studies. The CRMs are available in microvials containing at least 0.5 mL of frozen liquid. The minimum amount of sample to be used is 15 µL.JRC.F.6-Reference Material

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Conversion Discriminative Analysis on Mild Cognitive Impairment Using Multiple Cortical Features from MR Images

Neuroimaging measurements derived from magnetic resonance imaging provide important information required for detecting changes related to the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Cortical features and changes play a crucial role in revealing unique anatomical patterns of brain regions, and further differentiate MCI patients from normal states. Four cortical features, namely, gray matter volume, cortical thickness, surface area, and mean curvature, were explored for discriminative analysis among three groups including the stable MCI (sMCI), the converted MCI (cMCI), and the normal control (NC) groups. In this study, 158 subjects (72 NC, 46 sMCI, and 40 cMCI) were selected from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. A sparse-constrained regression model based on the l2-1-norm was introduced to reduce the feature dimensionality and retrieve essential features for the discrimination of the three groups by using a support vector machine (SVM). An optimized strategy of feature addition based on the weight of each feature was adopted for the SVM classifier in order to achieve the best classification performance. The baseline cortical features combined with the longitudinal measurements for 2 years of follow-up data yielded prominent classification results. In particular, the cortical thickness produced a classification with 98.84% accuracy, 97.5% sensitivity, and 100% specificity for the sMCI–cMCI comparison; 92.37% accuracy, 84.78% sensitivity, and 97.22% specificity for the cMCI–NC comparison; and 93.75% accuracy, 92.5% sensitivity, and 94.44% specificity for the sMCI–NC comparison. The best performances obtained by the SVM classifier using the essential features were 5–40% more than those using all of the retained features. The feasibility of the cortical features for the recognition of anatomical patterns was certified; thus, the proposed method has the potential to improve the clinical diagnosis of sub-types of MCI and predict the risk of its conversion to Alzheimer's disease