Cities, environmental stressors, ageing and chronic disease

The State of the Evidence about the Family and Community Nurse: A Systematic Review

Introduction. The increase in chronic degenerative diseases poses many challenges to the efficacy and sustainability of healthcare systems, establishing the family and community nurse (FCN) who delivers primary care as a strategic role. FCNs, indeed, can embrace the complexity of the current healthcare demand, sustain the ageing of the population, and focus on illness prevention and health promotion, ensuring a continuous and coordinated integration between hospitals and primary care ser. The literature on FCNs is rich but diverse. This study aimed to critically summarise the literature about the FCN, providing an overall view of the recent evidence. Methods. A state-of-art systematic review was performed on PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus, employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and checklist to guide the search and reporting. Results. Five interpretative themes emerged from the 90 included articles: clinical practice, core competencies, outcomes, Organisational and educational models, and advanced training program. Conclusions. FCNs can make a major contribution to a population’s health, playing a key role in understanding and responding to patients’ needs. Even if the investment in prevention does not guarantee immediate required strategies and foresight on the part of decisionmakers, it is imperative to invest more political, institutional, and economic resources to support and ensure the FCNs’ competencies and their professional autonomy.

Urban-rural differences in multimorbidity and associated factors in China and Korea: A population-based survey study

AIM

To analyze differences in multimorbidity rates and associated factors between urban and rural regions of Korea and China.

METHODS

Data were drawn from the Gateway to Global Aging Datasets. We describe multimorbidity patterns across rural and urban settings in each of the countries. Multivariate regression was used to identify factors associated with multimorbidity in each of the countries by region.

RESULTS

In China, 31% of the sample had multimorbidity, with significantly higher proportions in the cities. In Korea, 24% had multimorbidity, with higher proportions in rural areas. However, multivariate analyses showed that rurality was associated with a lower risk of multimorbidity in both countries. Also, although there was significant socioeconomic disparity regarding multimorbidity in both rural and urban China, the disparity was focused around urban areas for Korea.

CONCLUSIONS

Multimorbidity rates and associated socioeconomic factors varied by country and region. The concentration of socioeconomic disparities associated with multimorbidity in urban regions call to attention the vulnerability of "urban poor" in East Asia against chronic conditions. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 1157-1164.

Genomic Approach to Understand the Association of DNA Repair with Longevity and Healthy Aging Using Genomic Databases of Oldest-Old Population

Aged population is increasing worldwide due to the aging process that is inevitable. Accordingly, longevity and healthy aging have been spotlighted to promote social contribution of aged population. Many studies in the past few decades have reported the process of aging and longevity, emphasizing the importance of maintaining genomic stability in exceptionally long-lived population. Underlying reason of longevity remains unclear due to its complexity involving multiple factors. With advances in sequencing technology and human genome-associated approaches, studies based on population-based genomic studies are increasing. In this review, we summarize recent longevity and healthy aging studies of human population focusing on DNA repair as a major factor in maintaining genome integrity. To keep pace with recent growth in genomic research, aging- and longevity-associated genomic databases are also briefly introduced. To suggest novel approaches to investigate longevity-associated genetic variants related to DNA repair using genomic databases, gene set analysis was conducted, focusing on DNA repair- and longevity-associated genes. Their biological networks were additionally analyzed to grasp major factors containing genetic variants of human longevity and healthy aging in DNA repair mechanisms. In summary, this review emphasizes DNA repair activity in human longevity and suggests approach to conduct DNA repair-associated genomic study on human healthy aging.

Housing type, location of residence and health status in Australian baby boomers: results from the Australian Baby Boomer (ABBA) Study

INTRODUCTION

Baby Boomers are working and living longer than their pre-war counterparts, and are more likely to live in high density urban housing. This paper examines the relationship between housing type, working status and location of residence on health status in Baby Boomers.

METHODS

We investigated location of residence and housing type in 1009 participants of the Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia (ABBA) Study to identify any predictors of, or correlations between, these variables and health status.

RESULTS

Current workers were less likely to report depression than retirees. We found a significantly higher rate of diabetes, obesity and hypertension in retirees than in current workers however rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension were higher than predicted in current workers.

CONCLUSION

The rates of chronic disease are higher than previous estimates and provide evidence to inform health promotion programs designed to increase physical activity and improve eating habits in baby boomers.