Self-assessments and determinants of HRQoL in a German MS population.

OBJECTIVES: The importance of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in multiple sclerosis (MS) is widely acknowledged. In 2015, a multicenter study was launched to assess the HRQoL and coping styles of chronically ill persons in Germany. The aims of this paper were (i) to describe how persons affected by MS assess their HRQoL and (ii) find out sociodemographic and disease-specific determinants of HRQoL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quantitative survey (optionally per paper-pencil or online) was conducted between March and October 2015 in Germany. Recruitment ways were as follows: Associations of the German Multiple Sclerosis Society (DMSG), medical practices specialized in neurology/MS, hospitals, public events, social networks, and self-help clearinghouses. To measure HRQoL, the Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life (MusiQoL) questionnaire and the short form of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire (FoP-Q) were used. RESULTS: A total of 1220 individuals with MS participated in the study. Frequent problems reported were related to activities of daily living as well as sentimental and sexual life. Multiple regression analyses identified disease severity and comorbidity-in different directions (positive and negative)-as the strongest factors in predicting activities of daily living, symptoms, sentimental and sexual life, and reject. The demographic variables sex, age, education, and employment status also have different impact on the HRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: Using HRQoL measures can be feasible outcomes in addition to clinical assessments of MS and other chronic diseases and can help better managing the care. Some challenges have to be taken into account involving patients and the limitations of our empirical study.

[Social Inequality in Utilization of Aftercare Services Among Breast and Prostate Cancer Patients]. / Soziale Ungleichheit bei der Inanspruchnahme onkologischer Versorgungsangebote.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines social inequalities in the utilization of medical rehabilitation, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and psychosocial support programs among patients with prostate and breast cancer after surgery. METHOD: A prospective, multicenter observational study was conducted. Subjects were 483 patients after primary manifestation of prostate and breast cancer (UICC-Stadium 0-IV) aged between 18 and 65 years. Patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire after surgery and 6 months later. Social inequality was measured by education, income and occupational status. In addition, the insurance status (private vs. statutory) was taken into account. Logistic regression models were used separately for each cancer site. The analyses were controlled for age, tumor stage and mental comorbidity. RESULTS: The associations between social inequality and the utilization of aftercare services vary by inequality indicator and the different health care services. Inequalities in utilization of CAM are most pronounced and consistent. Differences between status groups are small in utilization of rehabilitation. Among breast cancer patients, inequalities are more pronounced than among prostate cancer patients. CONCLUSION: Social inequalities in utilization of aftercare services among breast and prostate cancer patients are inconsistent. Future investigations should clarify to what extent such inequalities are due to access barriers or due to differences in health literacy or preferences.

Perceived job insecurity, unemployment and depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies.

PURPOSE: It was shown that both job insecurity and unemployment are strongly and consistently associated with depressive symptoms. It is, however, less clear whether perceived job insecurity and unemployment constitute a comparable risk for the onset of depressive symptoms. A meta-analysis was conducted to explore this issue. METHODS: In December 2014, relevant records were identified through the databases MEDLINE, Embase and PsychINFO. Articles were included if they had been published in the last 10 years and contained a quantitative analysis on the prospective link between job insecurity and unemployment with depressive symptoms. RESULTS: In 20 cohort studies within 15 articles, job insecurity and unemployment were significantly related to a higher risk of depressive symptoms, with the odds ratio (OR) being modestly higher for job insecurity (1.29, 95% CI 1.06-1.57) than for unemployment (1.19, 95% CI 1.11-1.28). Sensitivity analyses revealed that the effects were strongest in studies that examined younger respondents (<40 years) and used an unadjusted statistical model. By considering the length of the observational period, it was shown that unemployment ORs were higher in shorter time lags (under 1 year), while ORs for job insecurity were increased in longer exposure-outcome intervals (3-4 years). Specifically for unemployment, ORs were highest in studies that did not control for potential health selection effects and that ascertained enduring unemployment. A statistically significant publication bias was found for studies on unemployment, but not for job insecurity. CONCLUSIONS: The analyses revealed that both perceived job insecurity and unemployment constitute significant risks of increased depressive symptoms in prospective observational studies. By comparing both stressors, job insecurity can pose a comparable (and even modestly increased) risk of subsequent depressive symptoms.

[Social Inequalities and Rehabilitation Among Patients with Mental Illness]. / Soziale Ungleichheit und Rehabilitation bei psychischen Erkrankungen.

Objectives: The concept of social position ("soziale Lagen") includes horizontal (gender, age) and vertical (occupation, education) indicators of social inequalities. For the first time, this concept is used to identify health and health care inequalities among rehabilitation patients with mental illness. Methods: Analyses are based on a survey of 327 patients with mental illness in rehabilitation clinics in northern Germany. Social inequalities are analyzed according to psychosocial health at baseline, utilization of therapies during the stay and psychosocial health 4 month after discharge by applying bi- and multivariate statistical procedures. Results: Vertical inequalities were found in psychosocial health at baseline and 4 months later. In contrast, no inequalities were found in the utilization of therapies during the stay. Conclusion: Health inequalities can be identified by vertical indicators, whereas horizontal indicators are not significantly associated with health outcomes in this study.

[Active Health Promotion among the Aged--Transfer of a Programme from an Urban to a Rural Area]. / Aktive Gesundheitsförderung bei älteren Menschen--Transfer eines Programms vom städtischen in den ländlichen Raum.

The objective of the programme "active health promotion in old age" is to improve physical activity, healthy nutrition and the social integration of older people. The intervention has been successfully implemented in an urban setting and was then transferred to a rural area. Although the rural area has a major impact on recruitment, access, and factors of implementation, results demonstrate that overall the intervention was implemented successfully. Moreover, structural conditions (e.g., availability of fitness clubs) are essential for a successful transfer.

Estimating the prevalence of mental disorders in patients with newly diagnosed cancer in relation to socioeconomic status: a multicenter prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to provide the 4-week prevalence estimates of mental disorders in newly diagnosed cancer patients in relation to socioeconomic status (SES). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled newly diagnosed patients with a confirmed solid tumor within 2 months of diagnosis. We calculated patients' SES on the basis of their educational level, professional qualification, income and occupational status. We used the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition-Clinical Version (SCID-5-CV) to assess the 4-week prevalence of mental disorders in addition to a comorbidity questionnaire to assess the level of physical impairment. RESULTS: We identified a total of 1702 patients with mixed cancers after reviewing their medical records and contacting them in person or by post due to coronavirus pandemic patient safety restrictions. 1030 patients (53.2% men, mean age 60.2 years) had completed SCID-5-CV. When weighted according to the SES distribution to account for over- and under-sampling of SES groups, 20.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 18.1% to 23.6%] of patients were diagnosed with any mental disorder. The most prevalent were depressive disorders (9.9%, 95% CI 7.9% to 11.9%), trauma and stress-related disorders (6.3%, 95% CI 4.7% to 7.9%) and anxiety disorders (4.2%, 95% CI 2.9% to 5.6%). We found no difference in any mental disorder between patients with high, medium or low SES. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed higher proportion of patients with any mental disorder in patients younger than 60 years [odds ratio (OR) 0.42; P < 0.001], in patients without a partner (OR 1.84; P < 0.001), in women with tumor in female genital organs (OR 2.45; P < 0.002) and in those with a higher level of impairment (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.07; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: SES had no significant influence on mental comorbidity in early cancer survivorship.

[Diabetes-specific health literacy: what do Turkish immigrants with diabetes mellitus 2 know about their disease?]. / Diabetesspezifische Gesundheitskompetenz: Was wissen türkischstämmige Menschen mit Diabetes mellitus 2 über ihre Erkrankung?

AIM OF THE STUDY: Only few findings are available for the large group of type 2 diabetics whose origin is not German. This article investigates 1) the degree of diabetes-knowledge among diabetics of Turkish origin, and 2) factors that influence this knowledge and the competencies with handling the disease. METHODS: In cooperation with 15 medical practices 294 diabetics of Turkish origin were interviewed in person by Turkish-speaking interviewers. There is no established concept for this population to measure their health literacy, therefore we adopted some questions from other tests and added our own items. Besides diabetes knowledge tests with closed and open questions the interviewees had to undertake a reading test and a screening test on German language skills. Socio-demographics and the attendance at diabetes trainings were gathered as well, and analysed in principal component analyses and multiple regressions. RESULTS: On average, the respondents had lived in Germany for 32 years, but 40% of them do not speak German. 25% never went to school and 21% cannot read or write (Turkish). Even though 60% took part in a diabetes training course, it appears that knowledge about the disease is scarce: only 15% could sufficiently explain their diabetes disease with their own words. A dimensional analysis helps to differentiate "theoretical" and "behavioural relevant" knowledge about diabetes. Theoretical knowledge is strongly associated with education, German language skills and attending a training course, whereas competencies that are relevant to the behaviour only are associated with participation in diabetes training courses. The educational effects remain on a rather low level and cannot compensate the fact that theoretical knowledge about diabetes depends on education. Hence, the overall (too) low level of knowledge on health and diabetes is only marginally improved. CONCLUSIONS: Education, attending a diabetes training course and language skills are the main factors for explaining poor knowledge about diabetes. A tailor-made training course--considering people's educational background--for the large group of people of Turkish origin could lead to improvements. Moreover, the neglected potential of self-help groups should be developed, as only one person of the reviewed population reported to search for support here.

[Outcome evaluation of a health promotion among the elderly]. / Ergebnis-Evaluation einer Gesundheitsförderungsmaßnahme für ältere Menschen.

The programme "active health promotion in old age" focuses on responsible self determination in old age (empowerment) and places special emphasis on physical activity and nutrition. The intervention, successfully conducted in an urban setting (Hamburg), was tested in a rural area (Kinzigtal, Baden-Wuerttemberg). In this paper we present the results of the outcome evaluation. The intervention group consisted of older people, without care need and without cognitive impairment who lived in their own home (N=468). For the evaluation of the results a pre-post comparison was conducted (2 measuring points within an interval of 12 months). 4 out of 5 participants reported changes in their behaviour after the intervention. However, the pre-post comparison shows significant changes only for nutrition behaviour, but not of physical activity. Health related quality of life (SF-36) did not change after 12 months. These findings indicate that health promotion in old age may lead to changes in nutrition behaviour.

[Social inequality and perceived quality of doctor-patient relationship among the chronically ill]. / Soziale Ungleichheit in der wahrgenommenen Qualität der Arzt-Patienten-Beziehung bei chronisch Kranken.

BACKGROUND: Several recent German studies indicate an association between social inequality and quality of health care, i.e., patients with a low socioeconomic position receive lower quality care than patients with a high position. In this study, we investigate whether two indicators of social inequality (education and income) are associated with the perceived quality of the doctor-patient relationship among chronically ill men and women. METHOD: Data basis is the TNS Health Care Access Panel (N=27 049). For the analyses chronically ill respondents were selected from the sample (N=12 343). In a multiple logistic regression analysis, odds ratios were calculated separately for men and women and for three age groups (18-30, 31-60, 61 years and older). We used three indicators for measuring the quality in the doctor-patient relationship: trust in physician, information received from the physician and participation in the decision-making process. RESULTS: Results show that income and education are consistently though weakly associated with the perceived quality of the doctor-patient relationship. Among chronically ill men and women with comparatively low income and educational level odds for rating the perceived quality of health care as suboptimal are slightly higher. This is especially true for the group of old chronically ill persons (61 years and older). DISCUSSION: Social inequality is associated with perceived quality of health care among chronically ill older men and women in Germany. These inequalities in health care can be explained by patient factors (e.g., information seeking, participation seeking) and physician related factors (e.g., providing information).

[Active health promotion among the aged in a rural region. Participants, acceptance, and implementation]. / Gesundheitsförderung für ältere Menschen in einer ländlichen Region. Teilnehmerstruktur, Akzeptanz und Durchführung.

The program "active health promotion in old age" focuses on persons aged 60 years and older who are not in need of care and are living independently without cognitive impairment. The objective of the intervention is to improve physical activity, healthy nutrition, and the integration of older people into network structures. The intervention was successfully conducted in an urban setting and has now been transferred to a rural area in southwestern Germany (Baden-Wuerttemberg). It was offered to statutory health insured people of Baden-Wuerttemberg within an integrated care program and was free of charge. This article reports the results of the process evaluation. For data collection, participants were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. Semistructured interviews were conducted with the intervention team and involved general practitioners. In addition, secondary data were used to analyze selection bias between participants and nonparticipants. Although the rural area has a major impact on recruitment, access, and factors of implementation, results demonstrate that the intervention is highly accepted by participants. Moreover, structural conditions (e.g., fitness clubs, exercise classes) are essential for a successful transfer.

[Social inequality in health care--a plea for systematic research]. / Soziale Ungleichheit in der gesundheitlichen Versorgung--Ein Plädoyer für systematische Forschung.

Inequalities in health care are often discussed in an undifferentiated way in Germany. Against this background, this article presents an analysis scheme for a classification of relevant studies and an identification of research needs. To this aim, areas of health care are differentiated (ambulant and inpatient care, prevention and health promotion) and a difference is made between access, utilization and quality of care. According to this scheme, research regarding inequalities in health care can be conducted in nine fields. For each field, exemplary results of a recent study from Germany are summarized. It becomes apparent that there is a substantial lack of systematic research in inequalities in health care in Germany.

[Patient self-help, user perspective and health services research]. / Patientenselbsthilfe, Nutzerperspektive und Versorgungsforschung.

Patient's individual responsibility, self-help and active co-operation are essential for the health care system. This paper presents a synopsis of research in self-help groups and self-help organizations. Studies provide evidence that self-help initiatives are an important contribution to population health. Especially self-help groups increase mutual aid and social support, knowledge about the disease and its consequences and possibilities for changing attitudes of the group members and their social environment. They disburden primary networks and families and reinforce an 'intelligent' utilization of professional health care services. There has been as yet hardly any systematic investigation of the activities of self-help organizations, except from counseling services. Self-help groups and organizations increasingly receive financial support from the social security system and have increasingly become part of the health care system. However, the co-operation between self-help initiatives and the professional health care system is characterized by an imbalance between laymen and experts. Given these results, self-help, user perspective and the health-related behavior of laymen should obtain more significance in the conceptualization and definitions of health services research.

[Health inequalities among the aged]. / Gesundheitliche Ungleichheit im Alter.

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the current state of research concerning health inequalities among the aged. First, health inequalities are introduced as a general phenomenon. Then, the magnitude of inequalities in elderly populations is described for different health indicators. In particular, analyses of the association between education and depressive symptoms based on a European dataset are presented. Subsequently, different hypotheses on age differences in health inequalities and possible explanations for social inequalities in health in elderly populations are discussed. Finally, some consequences for health policy, which can be derived from current research, are outlined.

[Social inequality and health care among the aged]. / Soziale Ungleichheit und gesundheitliche Versorgung im höheren Lebensalter.

In this article the association between social inequality and selected aspects of health care among the aged is analysed. Analyses are based on German data (release 1) of the 'Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe' (SHARE) in 2004. Data from 1921 respondents aged 50 years or more are analysed. Three indicators of social inequality are used (education, income, and financial assets). In terms of health care, indicators of geriatric assessment by the general practitioner of the respondent (questions about balance, physical exercise, and drugs as well as examination of balance and weight control) and secondary prevention (mammogram, endoscopic examination of colon, eye examination) are included. Results of cross-tabs and logistic regression analyses show that geriatric assessment is less comprehensive among people in a comparatively high socioeconomic position. On the other hand, people in a higher socioeconomic position use screening examinations more often than those in a lower position. Inconsistency of results indicates the necessity to distinguish different areas of health care when analysing social inequalities. Moreover, results indicate that no simple answer can be given to the question whether and to what extent social inequalities in health among older people can be explained by inequalities in medical care.

Causation or selection - examining the relation between education and overweight/obesity in prospective observational studies: a meta-analysis.

Numerous studies have investigated the association between education and overweight/obesity. Yet less is known about the relative importance of causation (i.e. the influence of education on risks of overweight/obesity) and selection (i.e. the influence of overweight/obesity on the likelihood to attain education) hypotheses. A systematic review was performed to assess the linkage between education and overweight/obesity in prospective studies in general populations. Studies were searched within five databases, and study quality was appraised with the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. In total, 31 studies were considered for meta-analysis. Regarding causation (24 studies), the lower educated had a higher likelihood (odds ratio: 1.33, 1.21-1.47) and greater risk (risk ratio: 1.34, 1.08-1.66) for overweight/obesity, when compared with the higher educated. However, these associations were no longer statistically significant when accounting for publication bias. Concerning selection (seven studies), overweight/obese individuals had a greater likelihood of lower education (odds ratio: 1.57, 1.10-2.25), when contrasted with the non-overweight or non-obese. Subgroup analyses were performed by stratifying meta-analyses upon different factors. Relationships between education and overweight/obesity were affected by study region, age groups, gender and observation period. In conclusion, it is necessary to consider both causation and selection processes in order to tackle educational inequalities in obesity appropriately.

Housing and health in Germany.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between housing tenure and self rated health, controlling for socioeconomic measures and testing the mediating effects of physical features of the home, pollution in the local environment, and relationships with neighbours. DESIGN: Cross sectional panel study with people nested within households. Analyses were performed using multilevel methods. SETTING: Population based sample in Germany. PARTICIPANTS: People aged 16 or older were interviewed in the 1999 wave of the socio-economic panel study (n = 14 055) and nested within households (n = 7381). MAIN RESULTS: 44.0% of the population lived in homes that they owned. In bivariate analyses, women, people who live in apartment buildings, reside near cities, live in crowded homes, have homes in need of renovation, report higher pollution, and have distant contact with neighbours are more likely to live in rented homes. In multilevel analyses, renting a home was found to be associated with poor self rated health (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.68). This relation persisted after controlling for education and income and was partially mediated by the need for household renovation, the perception of air and noise pollution in the local area, and distant relationship with neighbours, all of which were significantly associated with self rated health. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that home ownership is significantly associated with self rated health in Germany, and this relation may be, in part, mediated by physical and social features of home and neighbourhood.

After unification: gender and subjective health status in East and West Germany.

Results of a random survey of 2574 adults in East and West Germany in 1992 show virtually no differences in subjective health status for the populations of East versus West Germany and only slight differences for men versus women. A closer analysis via multiple regression indicates, however, that contrary to previous results from other countries West German women have a better health status than men. Of the four gender groups analyzed separately East German men are the best off, while owing to a number of socio-economic status discrepancies, East German women report the worst health status. Surprisingly, West German men show a poorer subjective health status than East German men, although a number of factors like participation in sport, better income and younger age would predict otherwise. It is suggested that their health situation is negatively influenced not only by their work situation but also by outside private commitments not accounted for in this analysis. Also difficult to explain from the present data is the relatively good health status of East German men. Despite an insecure job and a difficult work situation they may experience unification in sociopolitical terms and their present social status as something positive. Overall, conditions in the system of West Germany show a tendency to favor women, while those in East Germany clearly favor men.

[Significance of measures to optimize medical sociology research: the example of telephone survey of the elderly]. / Die Bedeutung ausschöpfungssteigernder Massnahmen für die medizinsoziologische Forschung: Das Beispiel einer telefonischen Befragung alter Menschen.

Based on a telephone survey of elderly people (> or = 60 years) the impact of measures to optimize response rate (repeated telephone calls and converting temporary refusals) on the sample structure is analyzed. Results show slight differences between persons who can be reached easily and those who are difficult to contact as far as their sociodemographic, socioeconomic and health related characteristics are concerned. Moreover there are no significant differences between temporary refusals and cooperative respondents on these characteristics. Differences are considerable however on multivariate relationships between sociodemographic, socioeconomic and psychosocial variables on the one hand and subjective health on the other. Results indicate that nonresponse has an effect on relationships between variables which are essential for research in medical sociology. This effect clearly shows the necessity of measures to increase response rate for reducing nonresponse bias especially in surveys of elderly people.

[Sports and physical activity in the elderly: social structural context and relation to health]. / Sport und körperliche Aktivität im Alter: sozialstruktureller Kontext und die Beziehung zur Gesundheit.

OBJECTIVES: The following contribution analyses the socio-structural context of sport as well as the relationship between sport/physical activity and health among older people (> or = 60 years). METHODS: The data are part of a telephone-survey by random sample with 436 realised cases in the independent cities of the Western Ruhr-District and thus represent a situation in highly urbanised areas. RESULTS: In the cardinal question concerning the meaning of sport and physical activity for health a positive relationship was found, in particular between sport intensity and health measured by Advanced Activities of Daily Living (AADL) as well as for sport as hobby, which showed a highly significant relationship with subjective health. With regard to socio-demographic variables results show that sport and physical activity vary with gender and age. Apart from that attitudes like low external control for one's health as well as the value of appearance show strong relationships with sport participation. Stratification variables with the exception of income only show weak effects. CONCLUSIONS: The results, which are partly not congruent, indicate that further research is needed in the field of sport and health among the aged.

[Medical decision making in symptoms of type 2 diabetes mellitus in general practice]. / Hausärztliche entscheidungen bei symptomen für diabetes mellitus typ 2.

BACKGROUND: Patient and physician attributes influence medical decisions as non-medical factors. The current study examines the influence of patient age and gender and physicians' gender and years of clinical experience on medical decision making in patients with undiagnosed diabetes type 2. METHOD: A factorial experiment was conducted to estimate the influence of patient and physician attributes. An identical physician patient encounter with a patient presenting with diabetes symptoms was videotaped with varying patient attributes. Professional actors played the "patients". A sample of 64 randomly chosen and stratified (gender and years of experience) primary care physicians was interviewed about the presented videos. RESULTS: Results show few significant differences in diagnostic decisions: Younger patients were asked more frequently about psychosocial problems while with older patients a cancer diagnosis was more often taken into consideration. Female physicians made an earlier second appointment date compared to male physicians. Physicians with more years of professional experience considered more often diabetes as the diagnosis than physicians with less experience. CONCLUSION: Medical decision making in patients with diabetes type 2 is only marginally influenced by patients' and physicians' characteristics under study.