Indoors illumination and seasonal changes in mood and behavior are associated with the health-related quality of life

Lifestyles and health-related quality of life in Chinese people: a national family study

BACKGROUND

There were few studies that investigated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the general population in China, and many of them reported limitations in sampling.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between lifestyles and HRQoL in the Chinese population in both individual and family levels.

METHOD

Online questionnaires were distributed across China to collect demographic information and participants' HRQoL using EuroQoL 5 Dimension scales. The EuroQoL Group's 5 Dimension scale (EQ-5D) index and EuroQoL Group's visual analog scale (EQ VAS) score were calculated to evaluate the HRQoL.

RESULTS

A total of 1305 valid questionnaires were included. Higher HRQoL was found in people with intend to lower oil intake, intend to lower salt intake, intend to lower sugar intake, balanced diet, moderate sports every week, a sport hobby and joining a fitness organization (all p<.05). HRQoL was higher among male (female as reference), healthy weight (unhealthy weight as reference) (both p<.05). Negative correlation was found between HRQoL and clinical medical history and drinking history. Small families (1-2 persons, 83.19 ± 20.14) had poorer HRQoL (EQ VAS score) than big families (≥3 persons, 85.00 ± 17.96, p <.05).

CONCLUSION

In China, people with healthy dietary habits, regular sports habits, healthy weight and male groups tended to have better HRQoL. Clinical medical history and drinking history were negatively related to HRQoL. Small families tend to have poorer HRQoL than big families. The finding implicated influence of the number of family members on people's perception of health and provided scientific evidence for the current policies to encourage birth in China. For a better HRQoL, we suggest people live in big families and take measures to lower salt/sugar/oil intake and exercise regularly in daily life.

Opportunities for Smartphone Sensing in E-Health Research: A Narrative Review

Recent years have seen significant advances in the sensing capabilities of smartphones, enabling them to collect rich contextual information such as location, device usage, and human activity at a given point in time. Combined with widespread user adoption and the ability to gather user data remotely, smartphone-based sensing has become an appealing choice for health research. Numerous studies over the years have demonstrated the promise of using smartphone-based sensing to monitor a range of health conditions, particularly mental health conditions. However, as research is progressing to develop the predictive capabilities of smartphones, it becomes even more crucial to fully understand the capabilities and limitations of using this technology, given its potential impact on human health. To this end, this paper presents a narrative review of smartphone-sensing literature from the past 5 years, to highlight the opportunities and challenges of this approach in healthcare. It provides an overview of the type of health conditions studied, the types of data collected, tools used, and the challenges encountered in using smartphones for healthcare studies, which aims to serve as a guide for researchers wishing to embark on similar research in the future. Our findings highlight the predominance of mental health studies, discuss the opportunities of using standardized sensing approaches and machine-learning advancements, and present the trends of smartphone sensing in healthcare over the years.

Seasonal Variation in Generic and Disease-Specific Health-Related Quality of Life in Rhinologic Patients in Southern Finland

Background: Seasonal variation in exacerbations, hospitalisations, and mortality statistics has been reported for some diseases. To our knowledge, however, no published studies exist on the seasonality of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) amongst rhinologic patients. Aims/Objectives: This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the possible seasonal variation in rhinologic patients’ HRQoL using the rhinologic disease-specific Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) and the generic 15D HRQoL instrument. Material and Methods: We enrolled unselected adult rhinologic patients requiring specialist care at the Helsinki University Hospital in this cross-sectional, questionnaire-based prospective study during four seasons: February (winter), May (spring), August (summer), and November (autumn). Patients received SNOT-22 and 15D questionnaires via post. The Finnish Meteorological Institute supplied climate data from these months. Results: SNOT-22 and 15D data were available for 301 and 298 patients, respectively. We found no statistically significant differences (p = 0.948) between the mean monthly 15D scores or mean SNOT-22 scales. Furthermore, the mean SNOT-22 subscales did not differ between the monthly study periods. Conclusions and Significance: Our study shows that seasonality did not impact rhinologic patients’ SNOT-22 or 15D HRQoL scores. Thus, these questionnaires can be used for follow-up amongst rhinologic patients regardless of season.

Investigating Daylight in the Apartment Buildings in Melbourne, Australia

Daylighting improves users’ experience in visual comfort, aesthetics, behaviour and perception of space and plays an important part in enhancing the health and wellbeing of occupants inside a dwelling. However, daylighting design is challenging for high rise living since configuration of multiple apartments together often results in deep plans and wrongly oriented apartments with poor daylighting. Melbourne considered as the most liveable city in the world has witnessed a boom in high rise apartments in recent years, where bedrooms were designed without windows or with one small opening. Previous studies indicated that one out of two apartments in Melbourne’s central business district (CBD) failed to provide daylighting in the bedrooms. This has led to amendments in planning policy with the aim of providing access to daylight in all habitable rooms. This paper investigates the daylighting conditions in apartment buildings using field measurement and daylight simulations. Daylight levels in 12 apartment units in Melbourne CBD were measured. Additionally, daylight simulations were conducted to identify ways for optimizing light levels in standard layouts. The field measurements showed that daylighting levels were insufficient in one third the apartments due to the presence of deep floor plates and external obstructions. The results from the daylight simulations showed that window to floor area ratio (WFR) of approximately 30% is required for achieving acceptable daylighting levels in bedrooms that have south orientation.

Life satisfaction in persons with spinal cord injury across the seasons

STUDY DESIGN

Longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine level and variations of life satisfaction (LS) across the seasons in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).

SETTING

Polish sample of persons with SCI.

METHODS

The study included 56 persons with SCI, who repeatedly completed the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSaT-9), and a study-specific questionnaire across the four seasons in a calendar year. Mixed model analyses were performed to: (1) examine seasonal changes in LS; (2) explore the possible moderating factors on seasonal changes in LS.

RESULTS

There were significant seasonal trends in overall and domain-specific LS scores; yet, these changes differed in terms of shape (i.e. linear vs. quadratic). In general, the highest LS scores occurred in spring across all domains, followed by a significant reduction in summer; yet, there were u-shape trends in LS domain scores for life as a whole, vocational, and financial situation and partner relations (P-for-quadratic trends ≤0.05). Five individual characteristics, i.e. place of living, education, gender, physical activity, and time since injury significantly moderated seasonal trends in LS scores (P's for interaction ≤ 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Life satisfaction in persons with SCI differs significantly in relation to different seasons throughout a year. The season of the year should be considered in future studies on LS and included in evaluating and projecting healthcare interventions or programs for persons with SCI.

Are there any seasonal changes of cognitive impairment, depression, sleep disorders and quality of life in hemodialysis patients?

OBJECTIVE

Cognitive impairment, depression, sleep disorders and impaired quality of life are very common in hemodialysis (HD) patients. However, whether there are any seasonal changes of cognitive impairment, depression, sleep disorders and quality of life in HD patients is not known.

METHODS

The laboratory parameters, depressive symptoms, health-related quality of life, sleep quality (SQ) and cognitive function, were measured twice.

RESULTS

A total of 66 HD patients were enrolled. Pre-dialysis systolic blood pressure (BP) and pre-dialysis diastolic BP were higher, whereas predialysis creatinine and sodium were lower in January compared to July. Among domains of Short Form 36 (SF-36), physical functioning, role-physical limitation, general health perception, vitality, role emotional, Physical Component Summary Score (PCS) were higher, whereas Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score was lower in July compared to January. Stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that only change in albumin and smoking status were related with seasonal change of BDI scores. Additionally only change in Mental Component Summary score of SF-36 were related with change in PCS score of SF-36 scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Depressive symptoms and quality of life but not SQ and cognitive function showed seasonal variability in HD patients.

Improvement in Fatigue, Sleepiness, and Health-Related Quality of Life with Bright Light Treatment in Persons with Seasonal Affective Disorder and Subsyndromal SAD

Objective. To investigate the effects of bright light treatment for secondary outcome measures and to explore and validate empirically derived subgroups and treatment effects in subgroups. Methods. A descriptive design. A sample of forty-nine persons (mean age of 45.8) with clinically assessed seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or subsyndromal SAD (S-SAD) participated in a two-group clinical trial evaluating the effects of treatment with bright light therapy. A person-oriented cluster analysis was applied to study treatment effects in subgroups. Results. For the merged group, sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), fatigue (fatigue questionnaire), and health-related quality of life (SF-36) were improved at posttreatment, and results were maintained at the one-month followup. Three distinct subgroups had a high level of fatigue in common, while the level of excessive daytime sleepiness and depressed mood differed between the subgroups. Over time, all subgroups improved following ten days treatment in a light room. Conclusion. Fatigue, excessive daytime sleepiness, and health-related quality of life improve in a similar way as depressed mood following treatment with bright light. The treatment was effective irrespective of the severity of the disorder, that is, for persons with SAD and subsyndromal SAD.

Time trends and seasonal patterns of health-related quality of life among U.S. adults

OBJECTIVES

Although numerous studies have examined health-related quality of life (HRQOL) longitudinally, little is known about the impact of seasonality on HRQOL. We examined trend and seasonal variations of population HRQOL.

METHODS

We used data from the monthly Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). We examined monthly observed mean physically and mentally unhealthy days from January 1993 to December 2006, using the structural time-series model to estimate the trend and seasonality of HRQOL.

RESULTS

We found overall worsening physical and mental health during the time period and a significant and regular seasonal pattern in both physical and mental health. The worst physical health was during the winter and the best physical health was during the summer. The mean number of physically unhealthy days in January was 0.63 days higher than in July. The worst mental health occurred during the spring and fall, but the magnitude of the seasonal effect was much smaller. The difference between the best and worst months of mentally unhealthy days was approximately 0.23 days. We found significant differences in unadjusted and season-adjusted unhealthy days in many counties.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings can be used to examine time-varying causal factors and the impact of interventions, such as policies designed to improve population health. Our findings also demonstrated the need for calculating season-adjusted HRQOL scores when examining cross-sectional factors on the population HRQOL measures for continuous surveys or longitudinal data.