Articles: middle-aged.
-
BACKGROUND Treatment efficacy for the increasing prevalence of back pain is a great challenge for both health care providers and individuals coping with this problem. This study aimed to evaluate pain coping strategies used by primary care patients with chronic lower back pain (CLBP) as a supplementation of medical diagnosis before a physiotherapy programme. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 88 people were divided into 3 age groups: young adults (21-40 years old), middle-aged adults (41-60 years old), and the elderly (over 60 years old). ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Patients in different age groups had various difficulties in pain coping. Most of them required support in self-management of pain in addition to physiotherapy. The basic assessment of pain coping strategies should be consistently taken into account and included in rehabilitation protocols in chronic pain treatment.
-
Body mass index (BMI) lower than 16 is the most severe category of adult undernutrition and is associated with substantial morbidity, increased mortality, and poor maternal-fetal outcomes such as low-birth-weight newborns. Little is known about the prevalence and distribution of BMI lower than 16 in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). ⋯ Among women in 60 LMIC, the prevalence of BMI lower than 16 was 1.8%, and was associated with poverty and low education levels. Prevalence of BMI lower than 16 did not decrease over time in most countries studied.
-
The objectives of this study are to describe an emergency department (ED) adult population with the chief complaint of mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use and to investigate sex- and age-related differences. ⋯ Mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use account for 1.3% of ED visits. Older people should be screened for chronic alcohol consumption. Our findings underscore the opportunity provided by the ED for screening and brief intervention in drug- and alcohol-related problems.
-
Smoking is known to be a major cause of death among middle-aged adults, but evidence on its impact and the benefits of smoking cessation among older adults has remained limited. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the influence of smoking and smoking cessation on all-cause mortality in people aged ≥60 years. ⋯ Smoking remains as a strong risk factor for premature mortality in older individuals and cessation remains beneficial even at advanced ages. Efforts to support smoking abstinence at all ages should be a public health priority.
-
To determine the heritability of spine curve using plain radiographs and to identify risk factors for spine curvature including age, body mass index, smoking, bone mineral density (BMD), and lumbar disc degeneration (LDD). ⋯ In this sample of middle-aged and elderly women, there were significant genetic influences on all spine curves but particularly thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis. The strongest predictor for lumbar lordosis was LDD (p < 0.0001) which is itself genetically determined in part. For thoracic kyphosis, BMD was strongly associated and remained so (for lumbar BMD) with the inclusion of age, showing BMD to be an independent risk factor. This work highlights the genetic factors influencing normal spine curvature in women.