Dietary patterns may be related to quality of life (QoL) of older adults, although evidence from literature is conflicting. The demographic shifts toward ageing populations in many countries ...increases the importance of understanding the relationship between diet and QoL in older adults. This review was designed to investigate associations between dietary patterns and QoL in older adults. The systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Eight electronic databases were searched to identify articles published in English from January 1975 to March 2018 that investigated associations between dietary patterns and QoL in older adults. Relevant studies were identified based on set inclusion and exclusion criteria, data were extracted and analysed to examine the relationships and possible implications for public health recommendations. The systematic review included 15 articles (One randomized control trial, six prospective cohorts and eight cross sectional). The studies looked at correlations between different dietary patterns and/or adherence to particular dietary patterns and self-reported QoL or self-rated health status. Excluding two studies which showed no significant association, healthy dietary patterns were associated with better self-rated health and QoL in one or more domains, and adherence to healthy dietary patterns like the Mediterranean diet were significantly associated with improvement in at least one of the QoL domains.
Abstract
Objective
there may be age-related differences in the impact of weight change on health. This study systematically reviewed the evidence on the relationship between weight change and ...all-cause mortality in adults aged 65 years and older.
Methods
MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL were searched from inception to 11 June 2020, PROSPERO CRD 42019142268. We included observational studies reporting on the association between weight change and all-cause mortality in older community-dwelling adults. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to calculate pooled hazard ratios and scored based on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality guidelines.
Results
a total of 30 studies, including 1,219,279 participants with 69,255 deaths, demonstrated that weight loss was associated with a 59% increase in mortality risk (hazard ratio (HR): 1.59; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.45–1.74; P < 0.001). Twenty-seven studies that reported outcomes for weight gain (1,210,116 participants with 65,481 deaths) indicated that weight gain was associated with a 10% increase in all-cause mortality (HR: 1.10; 95%CI: 1.02, 1.17; P = 0.01). Four studies investigated weight fluctuation (2,283 events among 6,901 participants), which was associated with a 63% increased mortality risk (HR: 1.66; 95%CI: 1.28, 2.15). No evidence of publication bias was observed (all P > 0.05).
Conclusion
for community-dwelling older adults, weight changes (weight loss, gain or weight fluctuation) are associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality risk relative to stable weight. Further research is needed to determine whether these associations vary depending upon initial weight, and whether or not the weight loss/gain was intentional.
Poor social health is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recent research suggests that different social health domains should be considered separately as the implications ...for health and possible interventions may differ.
To assess social isolation, low social support and loneliness as predictors of CVD.
Secondary analysis of 11,486 community-dwelling, Australians, aged 70 years and over, free of CVD, dementia, or significant physical disability, from the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial. Social isolation, social support (Revised Lubben Social Network Scale), and loneliness were assessed as predictors of CVD using Cox proportional-hazard regression. CVD events included fatal CVD, heart failure hospitalization, myocardial infarction and stroke. Analyses were adjusted for established CVD risk factors.
Individuals with poor social health were 42 % more likely to develop CVD (p = 0.01) and twice as likely to die from CVD (p = 0.02) over a median 4.5 years follow-up. Interaction effects indicated that poorer social health more strongly predicted CVD in smokers (HR 4.83, p = 0.001, p-interaction = 0.01), major city dwellers (HR 1.94, p < 0.001, p-interaction=0.03), and younger older adults (70-75 years; HR 2.12, p < 0.001, p-interaction = 0.01). Social isolation (HR 1.66, p = 0.04) and low social support (HR 2.05, p = 0.002), but not loneliness (HR 1.4, p = 0.1), predicted incident CVD. All measures of poor social health predicted ischemic stroke (HR 1.73 to 3.16).
Among healthy older adults, social isolation and low social support may be more important than loneliness as cardiovascular risk factors. Social health domains should be considered in future CVD risk prediction models.
Abstract
Background
With economic and social changes, participation in occupational and transport-related physical activity is declining among Nepalese adults, highlighting the growing importance of ...leisure-time physical activity. However, limited information is available to guide public health policies and interventions to promote leisure-time physical activity in Nepal. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the socioecological influences of participation in leisure-time physical activity among Nepalese adults aged 40 years and above.
Methods
A total of 51 adults (30 females and 21 males) participated in one of the nine focus groups conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal. A semi-structured guide based on the social-ecological model of physical activity was used to facilitate these focus groups. Data were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach in NVivo 12.
Results
Participation in leisure-time physical activity was minimal and leisure time was mostly spent resting, socialising, or engaging in sedentary activities such as watching television. Walking was the most common form of leisure-time physical activity, and men reported being more active than women. Individual-level barriers included lack of knowledge, lack of skill, lack of motivation, considering oneself as sufficiently active and engagement in sedentary screen activities. Family and household responsibilities, lack of support and fear of being judged constituted the interpersonal barriers while environmental barriers included an absence of a supportive social norm, lack of open spaces, weather conditions and perceived lack of safety. Health benefits, prioritising physical activity, social support, provision of group-based activities and age-appropriate public exercise facilities were identified as major facilitators.
Conclusion
Critical issues that need to be addressed to increase leisure-time physical activity among Nepalese adults include traditional gender roles, family and social support, and social norms. Modifications of the built environment, such as public exercise facilities, offer further opportunities and will require coordination beyond the health sector.
Hypertension increases the risk of premature death and reduces work productivity. We estimated the burden of hypertension in Australia in terms of productivity lost over the working lifetime of the ...Australian population. Life table models were used to estimate excess mortality, years of life lost, and productivity-adjusted life years lost among Australians with hypertension and of working age (20 to 69 years), with simulated follow-up until age 70 years. In 2017, an estimated 4.1 million working-age Australians (25.9%) had hypertension, of whom an estimated 21.6% were treated and controlled, 17.0% were treated but uncontrolled, and 61.4% were untreated. With simulated follow-up, over 149 846 excess deaths leading to a loss of over 548 794 years of life were predicted to occur in the hypertension cohort. Hypertension also caused the loss of 609 801 productivity-adjusted life years (2.4%), equating to AUD$137.2 billion in lost gross domestic product over the working lifetime. A 25% reduction in hypertension prevalence, in line with the World Health Organisation Global Action Plan targets, would lead to 155 450 productivity-adjusted life years saved over the working lifetime, whereas the adequate treatment and control of all of those with hypertension would lead to 342 538 productivity-adjusted life years saved. This equates to AUD$34.3 billion and $76.4 billion in gross domestic product retained over the working lifetime of the cohort, respectively. Our findings highlight the considerable economic burden of hypertension in Australia and that effective strategies aimed at the prevention and adequate control of hypertension are likely to pay significant economic dividends for individuals, employers, and governments in the longer term.
A tacit understanding of the influence of healthy eating on chronic disease risk and quality of life among older adults is essential for successful design and roll-out of healthy ageing policies. ...Existing research on dietary determinants among older adults is largely outdated owing to the changing geopolitical scenarios including advancements in health and technology and global migration. Studies published between 2000 and 2020 that explored determinants of diet in older adults were identified using five databases, following Preferred Reporting of Systematic review and Meta-Analyses extended for Scoping Review (PRISMA ScR) guidelines. The final 51 studies (25 quantitative, 22 qualitative and 4 mixed methods) were analysed and interpreted to corroborate existing evidence and identify research gaps. The review identified past influences including childhood affluence and future apprehensions regarding loss of independence and fear of disability to be major drivers of food choices. Current socio-economic status, health conditions and cultural contexts were congruent with past and future influences, implying the role of behavioural change programmes in early life to achieve long term health goals for older adults.
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•Poor diet choices are associated with increased chronic disease risk and decreased quality of life in older adults.•Research on dietary determinants needs renewed focus to reflect advances in healthcare, migration and food technology.•Review included 51 studies investigating dietary determinants in older adults, identified from 5 resource databases.•Diet in older adults determined by past influences, future insecurities, and current socioeconomic and health status.•Innovative policy approaches required to support behaviour change early in life to achieve long-term health for older adults. Enabling healthy eating in later life might benefit from a reformed look at cultural contexts.
ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the impact of smoking on productivity in Australia, in terms of years of life lost, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost and the novel measure of ...productivity-adjusted life years (PALYs) lost.MethodsLife table modelling using contemporary Australian data simulated follow-up of current smokers aged 20–69 years until age 70 years. Excess mortality, health-related quality of life decrements and relative reduction in productivity attributable to smoking were sourced from published data. The gross domestic product (GDP) per equivalent full-time (EFT) worker in Australia in 2016 was used to estimate the cost of productivity loss attributable to smoking at a population level.ResultsAt present, approximately 2.5 million Australians (17.4%) aged between 20 and 69 years are smokers. Assuming follow-up of this population until the age of 70 years, more than 3.1 million years of life would be lost to smoking, as well as 6.0 million QALYs and 2.5 million PALYs. This equates to 4.2% of years of life, 9.4% QALYs and 6.0% PALYs lost among Australian working-age smokers. At an individual level, this is equivalent to 1.2 years of life, 2.4 QALYs and 1.0 PALY lost per smoker. Assuming (conservatively) that each PALY in Australia is equivalent to $A157 000 (GDP per EFT worker in 2016), the economic impact of lost productivity would amount to $A388 billion.ConclusionsThis study highlights the potential health and productivity gains that may be achieved from further tobacco control measures in Australia via application of PALYs, which are a novel, and readily estimable, measure of the impact of health and health risk factors on work productivity.
Recent studies suggest that diabetes may impact work productivity. In the current study, we sought to estimate the lifetime and population impact of diabetes on productivity using the novel measure ...of "productivity-adjusted life years" (PALYs).
Using age-specific mortality rates and a productivity index attributable to diabetes (akin to the quality of life index, but which adjusts for reduction in productivity) and life table modeling, we estimated years of life and PALYs lost to diabetes among Australians with diabetes currently aged 20-65 years, with follow-up until 69 years. Life tables were first constructed for the cohort with diabetes and then repeated for the same cohort but with the assumption that they no longer had diabetes. The "nondiabetic" cohort had lower mortality rates and improved productivity. The differences in total years of life lived and PALYs lived between the two cohorts reflected the impact of diabetes.
Overall, diabetes reduced total years of life lived by the cohort by 190,219 years or almost 3%. Diabetes reduced PALYs by 11.6% and 10.5% among men and women, respectively. For both sexes, the impact of diabetes on productivity was lowest in those aged 65-69 years and highest in those 20-24 years. Among the latter, PALYs were reduced by 12.2% and 11.0% for men and women, respectively.
Elimination of diabetes can prolong life years lived by the whole population and increase the amount of productive years lived. Employers and government should be aware that having diabetes affects work force productivity and implement prevention programs to reduce the impact of diabetes on the workforce.
ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE), a placebo-controlled prevention trial of low dose aspirin, provided the opportunity to establish a biospecimen biobank from initially healthy ...persons aged 70+ years for future research. The ASPREE Healthy Ageing Biobank (ASPREE Biobank) collected, processed and stored blood and urine samples at -80degC or under nitrogen vapour at two timepoints, three years apart, from a willing subset of Australian ASPREE participants. Written informed consent included separate opt-in questions for biomarker and genetic testing. Fractionated blood and urine were aliquoted into multiple low-volume, barcoded cryotubes for frozen storage within 4 hours of collection. Specially designed and outfitted mobile laboratories provided opportunities for participation by people in regional and rural areas. Detailed, high quality demographic, physiological and clinical data were collected annually through the ASPREE trial. 12,219 participants contributed blood/urine at the first timepoint, 10,617 of these older adults provided 3-year follow-up samples, and an additional 1,712 provided saliva for DNA. The mean participant age was 74 years, 54% were female and 46% lived outside major cities. Despite geographical and logistical challenges, nearly 100% of blood/urine specimens were processed and frozen within 4 hours of collection into >1.4 million aliquots. After a median of 4.7 years, major clinical events among ASPREE Biobank participants included 332 with dementia, 613 with cardiovascular disease events, 1259 with cancer, 357 with major bleeds and 615 had died. The ASPREE Biobank houses and curates a large number of biospecimens collected prior to the clinical manifestations of major disease, and 3-year follow-up samples, all linked to high quality, extensive phenotypic information. This provides the opportunity to identify or validate diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers, and potentially study biological effectors, of ageing-related diseases or maintenance of older-age good health.
There is limited evidence about lifetime burden of child malnutrition. This study aimed to estimate the lifetime impact of being underweight or overweight/obese during childhood in Vietnam.
We ...developed a life table model in combination with a Markov model for Vietnamese children aged 5-19 years and simulated until they reached 75 years of age or died using published data. The starting year was 2019 and the model estimated number of deaths, years of life lived and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) with an annual discount rate of 3%. We performed scenario, one-way, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses to assess the impact of uncertainties in input parameters.
The model estimated 9.68 million deaths (6.44 million men and 3.24 million women), 622 million years of life lived (317 million men and 305 million women), and 601 million QALYs (308 million men and 293 million women). Scenario analyses showed that the reduction in either underweight or overweight/obesity alone, and reduction in both underweight and overweight/obesity resulted in fewer deaths, more years of life lived and more QALYs gained. In the scenario where everyone was a healthy weight, the model estimated 577,267 fewer deaths (6.0% less), 2 million more years of life lived (0.3% more), and 3 million QALYs gained (0.6% more) over base-case results which represents current situation in Vietnam.
Our results suggest that addressing underweight and overweight/obesity will contribute to reducing deaths and increasing years of life lived and QALYs. Policies and interventions in alignment with Sustainable Development Goals to address underweight and overweight/obesity are necessary to achieve health for all.