Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2023
The physical activity implications of retirement across occupational activity groups.
Retirement is an important later life transition which may represent a critical period for physical activity in older age. Past findings on the association between retirement and physical activity are inconclusive and there is some evidence that the physical activity implications of retirement may differ by occupational activity level. This study used data from waves 4-9 (June 2008-July 2019) of the English Longitudinal Study on Aging to evaluate whether there is an association between retirement and physical activity, and whether this varies across occupational activity groups. ⋯ This study quantified the importance of retirement for later life physical activity. With demographic aging, the population health importance of later life physical activity will likely become more important. These findings should inform the design of public health interventions to increase physical activity around the retirement transition.
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2023
The role of social cohesion in explaining rural/urban differences in healthcare access and health status among older adults in the mid-Atlantic United States.
Social cohesion can influence health. It is higher among rural versus urban residents, but the burden of chronic disease is higher in rural communities. We examined the role of social cohesion in explaining rural/urban differences in healthcare access and health status. ⋯ Compared to urban participants, rural participants were less likely to have a personal provider, had lower physical and mental health scores, and had higher BMI. Paradoxically, rural residents had higher social cohesion but generally poorer health outcomes than did urban residents, even though higher social cohesion is associated with better health. These findings have implications for research and policy to promote social cohesion and health, particularly for health promotion interventions to reduce disparities experienced by rural residents.
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2023
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on immunization with pneumococcal vaccines in children and older adults in Brazil.
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted individuals, resulting in long-lasting consequences. One of the effects has been a decline in vaccine adherence attributed to physical distancing measures, potentially contributing to the resurgence of preventable diseases, and posing diagnostic challenges. Consequently, monitoring immunization rates becomes crucial as an indicator for health promotion campaigns and to mitigate the strain on healthcare systems. ⋯ However, not all showed a statistically significant change associated with the pandemic. Therefore, it is essential for states that experienced a decline in vaccination rates during the COVID-19 pandemic to closely monitor changes in pneumococcal vaccination. Failure in the process may lead to an increase in pneumococcal infections and place an additional burden on the healthcare system.
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2023
Curative effect of medicine cake sticking ultrasound drug penetration combined with body training on hemiplegia after stroke: An in vitro ultrasound targeted drug controlled release technology.
To explore the efficacy of ultrasound drugs in the treatment of hemiplegia after stroke. The evaluation included clinical symptoms and signs, the Stroke Scale, activities of daily living, sensory disorder Fugl-Meyer and Lindmark, electromyography sensory nerve amplitude, and conduction velocity indexes in both groups. There was no significant difference in the improved Fugl-Meyer and Lindmark score between treatment (26.97 ± 2.78) and the control group (27.45 ± 3.1) (t = 14.528, P = 0.593). ⋯ After comparison, the total response rate of the observed group reached 92.500% (37 / 40), which was significantly higher than the 80.00% (32 / 40) of the control group. This difference was statistically significant (χ 2 = 9.458, P = 0.015). This therapy closely links the theoretical knowledge of modern medicine with the theoretical knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, and uses the meridian theory to give full play to the unique advantages of traditional Chinese medicine.
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Accumulating evidence suggests that the built environment may be associated with cardiovascular disease via its influence on health behaviours. The aim of this study was to estimate the associations between traditional and novel neighbourhood built environment metrics and clinically assessed cardio-metabolic risk factors among a sample of adults in Canada. A total of 7171 participants from Albertas Tomorrow Project living in Alberta, Canada, were included. ⋯ Space syntax walkability was also associated with lower odds of overweight/obese among women and men (OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.87, 0.99 and OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.79, 0.97, respectively). No significant associations were observed between traditional walkability and cardio-metabolic outcomes. This study showed that the novel built environment metric based on the space syntax theory was associated with some cardio-metabolic risk factors.