Age, Education, and Stress Affect Ageing Males' Symptoms More than Lifestyle Does: The Wroclaw Male Study

Major Stressful Life Events and the Risk of Pancreatic, Head and Neck Cancers: A Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND

Major stressful life events have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, breast cancer and the development of various chronic illnesses. The stress response generated by our body results in a variety of physiological and metabolic changes which can affect the immune system and have been shown to be associated with tumor progression. In this study, we aim to determine if major stressful life events are associated with the incidence of head and neck or pancreatic cancer (HNPC).

METHODS

This is a matched case-control study. Cases (CAs) were HNPC patients diagnosed within the previous 12 months. Controls (COs) were patients without a prior history of malignancy. Basic demographic data information on major stressful life events was collected using the modified Holmes-Rahe stress scale. A total sample of 280 was needed (79 cases, 201 controls) to achieve at least 80% power to detect odds ratios (ORs) of 2.00 or higher at the 5% level of significance.

RESULTS

From 1 January 2018 to 31 August 2021, 280 patients were enrolled (CA = 79, CO = 201) in this study. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis after controlling for potential confounding variables (including sex, age, race, education, marital status, smoking history), there was no difference between the lifetime prevalence of major stressful event in cases and controls. However, patients with HNPC were significantly more likely to report a major stressful life event within the preceding 5 years when compared to COs (p = 0.01, OR = 2.32, 95% CI, 1.18-4.54).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with head, neck and pancreatic cancers are significantly associated with having a major stressful life event within 5 years of their diagnosis. This study highlights the potential need to recognize stressful life events as risk factors for developing malignancies.

The level of actual functional fitness of men from different living environments in Poland and associations with health - a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The study aimed to assess the differences in functional fitness between older men living in social welfare homes (SWH) and men living in society.

METHODS

The study involved 474 men aged 60-84, including 134 men living in social welfare homes and 340 men living in community. The Senior Fitness Test was used to assess functional fitness. Body weight and height were measured. Moreover, data on age, education, taking up physical activity and place of residence were collected.

RESULTS

A significantly lower level of functional fitness of SWH residents was demonstrated compared to men living in the society (p < 0.001). A significant percentage of seniors living in SWH did not reach the normal range for the Polish population. Also, the level of education, physical activity and health self-assessment differentiated the institutionalized men from those living in the community.

CONCLUSIONS

The place of residence is a factor that differentiates seniors' functional fitness levels. The reduced fitness of social welfare home residents may also result from the low level of their daily physical activity, education and health. Introducing physical activity programs for elderly residents in social welfare homes seems reasonable.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN platform as 18,225,729; December 2020.

Trends in Health Behavior of Polish Women in 1986-2021: The Importance of Socioeconomic Status

In the last 35 years Poland has undergone a series of fundamental economic, social, and biological transformations. With the transition from a centrally planned to a free-market economy, a period of economic and social transformation, Poland's accession to the European Union, and the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, living conditions in the country have seen dramatic changes. The aim of this study was to assess whether there were changes in the basic health behaviors of Polish women, and if so, in what directions and with what strength, and whether there were differences in these changes depending on the socioeconomic status. Information on basic lifestyle factors (drinking alcohol, smoking, coffee drinking, and physical activity) and socioeconomic status (level of education, Gini coefficient, Gender Inequality Index, women total employment, employed women being in managerial positions, women among scientists) of 5806 women aged 40-50 years were analyzed. During the 1986-2021 period, based on the same methodology, team of technicians and research tools, six birth cohorts of women were examined in 1986, 1991, 1996, 2006, 2019 and 2021. Highly statistically significant changes were found in the frequencies of declared health behaviors from 1986-2021, according to the order of significance in coffee and alcohol consumption, physical activity levels, and smoking and smoking intensity. In subsequent cohorts, there were fewer and fewer women who did not drink coffee and alcohol, while more drank more than two cups of coffee a day and drank alcohol more often than 2× a week. Furthermore, they were more likely to be physically active, and slightly fewer were smokers. The lifestyles of the women were less likely to depend on their socio-economic status than the cohorts. In 1991 and 1996, there was a marked intensification of unhealthy behavior. Changes in the analyzed health behaviors may have been caused by adaptation to the high level of psychosocial stress observed during the transition of the 1986-2021 period and may result in changes in the biological condition and quality and length of life of Polish women. Research on social differences in health behavior provides an opportunity to analyze the biological effects of changes in the living environment.

How Stress Is Related to Age, Education, Physical Activity, Body Mass Index, and Body Fat Percentage in Adult Polish Men?

Stressful events and chronic tension are considered a burden and a threat to physical, mental, and social health. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the associations of variation in stress exposure with social factors, physical activity, basic components of physical fitness, body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat (BFP). An additional objective was to identify the main BFP modifiers among those analyzed. The material consisted of data of ethnically homogeneous group 355 men (32-87 yrs), invited to the study as part of the Wroclaw Male Study research project. The analyzed features included socioeconomic status (age, educational level), elements of lifestyle (physical activity), major and most important stressful life events-Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) and basic parameters of the somatic structure of the body (BMI, BFP). Statistical analyses included: chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test and backward stepwise regression (significance level α = 0.05). Stress exposure showed significant socioeconomic variation among the adult Poles studied. Higher levels of education were associated with higher levels of stress. Significant correlations between SRRS and physical activity were found, especially in men older than 60 years and with higher levels of education. A positive relationship was shown between SRRS and BFP, especially in men under 60 years of age. BFP appeared to depend mainly on age and stress. The main determinants of SRRS were age and education level, while BFP turned out to be more sensitive to stress than BMI. The modifying force of physical activity for SRRS appears to be age dependent.

Active Ageing Awareness and Quality of Life among Pre-Elder Malaysian Public Employees

Increasing life expectancy has led to a global rise in late-life diseases. Quality of Life (QOL) is important for healthy life expectancy. The active ageing framework serves as a guide for policymakers to design policies that enhance the QOL of older people. This study aims to determine the association between awareness of active ageing and QOL. The Malay version of the 26-item WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was utilised along with the 14-item Active Ageing Awareness Questionnaire (AAAQ). A total of 532 participants had a mean (SD) age of 50.2 (5.9), were largely ethnic Malay (96.2%), female (52.8%), and comprised largely of low-income households (65.4%). The median (IQR) AAAQ score was 71.4 (19.1). The hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed significant positive association between AAAQ and the QOL domains of physical (β = 0.154, p < 0.001), psychological (β = 0.196, p < 0.001), social relationship (β = 0.175, p < 0.001), and environment (β = 0.145, p < 0.001) after adjusting for all covariates. Awareness of active ageing was found to have a positive effect on all domains of QOL among pre-elder employees, and thus, we recommend that policies to improve active ageing awareness should be implemented for healthy life expectancy in ageing populations.