Association between life satisfaction, self-esteem, and health checkup participation: A population-based longitudinal study in South Korea.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that background sociodemographic factors are associated with health checkup participation. However, little is known about the psychological determinants of health checkup participation in longitudinal studies. This study explored the psychological determinants of health checkup participation based on a longitudinal study in South Korea. METHODS: Data were retrieved from a nationwide, longitudinal panel study in South Korea, which included community-dwelling general adults, conducted from 2005 to 2022. Established scales for assessing life satisfaction and self-esteem were employed, and life satisfaction and self-esteem levels were categorized into four groups based on quartile values (lowest, low, high, and highest). Respondents reported whether they had undergone a health checkup in the past year. Fixed effects logistic regressions were fitted to determine within-individual associations between life satisfaction, self-esteem, and health checkup participation (n = 15,771; 171,943 observations). Odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) were determined. RESULTS: Compared with the lowest life satisfaction, the highest life satisfaction is associated with increased odds of health checkup participation (OR: 1.17, 95 % CI: 1.13-1.23). Compared to the lowest self-esteem level, the highest self-esteem level was positively associated with health checkup participation (OR, 1.14; 95 % CI: 1.10-1.18). The odds of participating in health checkups were also positively associated with age, income, and educational level. CONCLUSION: Although the effect sizes were modest, high life satisfaction and self-esteem were associated with an increased likelihood of participating in health checkups.

Urban regrets (Unhappy metros: Satisfaction with life scale (SWLS)).

This is the first study of urban-rural happiness gradient using multi-item Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). A new finding is that urbanites fail especially on "If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing"-urban way of life tends to result in regrets. Effect sizes of urbanicity on subjective wellbeing (SWB) are substantial-about half of health-living in a metro depresses one's happiness as much as going half way from fair health to poor health, for instance.

COVID-19 vaccination and involuntary movements: A longitudinal panel study.

OBJECTIVE: Despite high COVID-19 vaccination rates in many populations, concerns persist about potential adverse events, including concerns about involuntary movements. While case studies have shown occurrences of involuntary movements following COVID-19 vaccination, no systematic studies have explored this association. Our study aims to investigate the relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and involuntary movements. METHODS: This study employs a longitudinal panel design. The study population consists of 165,834 responses from a total of 97,537 unique individuals sourced from the BiCoVac cohort, which is a randomly sampled cohort of Danish individuals aged 16 to 65. Data were collected through a combination of questionnaires and national registers, and analyses were conducted using mixed effects logistic regression. RESULTS: Vaccinated individuals had lower odds of reporting involuntary movements compared to non-vaccinated individuals. Although adjustments attenuated the results, a consistent pattern of lower odds was observed among the vaccinated individuals. The strongest association for the first dose was observed in individuals who received the vaccine within the last 4 weeks before reporting symptoms (OR = 0.72 (0.60; 0.85)). For the second dose, the strongest association was found in individuals who received the second vaccine dose more than 4 weeks before reporting symptoms (OR = 0.77 (0.65; 0.91)). CONCLUSION: The results of the study do not indicate involuntary movements as an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine. These findings support the safety profile of the COVID-19 vaccine concerning involuntary movements and contribute to enhancing public trust in vaccination programs.

Association Between Egalitarian Gender Attitudes and Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage: Findings from a National Representative Survey.

Egalitarian gender attitudes are linked to increased support for same-sex marriage, with previous studies mainly focusing on Western countries. Limited existing research from Asian countries often relied on non-representative, convenient samples. Taiwan, the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019, offers a valuable context. Since surveys before 2020 lacked questions on attitudes toward same-sex marriage, we utilized the 2020 PSFD data for a cross-sectional analysis. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between gender attitudes (assessed through six questions) and attitudes toward same-sex marriage, along with examining the moderation effects of socio-demographic variables. The results revealed significant associations between embracing egalitarian gender attitudes and increased support for same-sex marriage (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] ranged from 1.34 to 2.08, 95% CI = [1.15, 2.45]). Moderation analysis indicated that this connection appeared to be more pronounced among younger individuals, those who were not currently married, and those with higher educational attainment. Individuals who are older, less educated, or married and hold negative views on gender equality should be targeted for efforts to enhance their support for same-sex marriage. Advocating for gender equality aligns with principles of equality, nondiscrimination, and recognizing fundamental rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation.

Peaks, sources, and immediate health impacts of PM2.5 and PM1 exposure in Indonesia and Taiwan with microsensors.

BACKGROUND: Microsensors have been used for the high-resolution particulate matter (PM) monitoring. OBJECTIVES: This study applies PM and health microsensors with the objective of assessing the peak exposure, sources, and immediate health impacts of PM2.5 and PM1 in two Asian countries. METHODS: Exposure assessment and health evaluation were carried out for 50 subjects in 2018 and 2019 in Bandung, Indonesia and for 55 subjects in 2019 and 2020 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Calibrated AS-LUNG sets and medical-certified RootiRx® sensors were used to assess PM and heart-rate variability (HRV), respectively. RESULTS: Overall, the 5-min mean exposure of PM2.5 and PM1 was 30.4 ± 20.0 and 27.0 ± 15.7 µg/m3 in Indonesia and 14.9 ± 11.2 and 13.9 ± 9.8 µg/m3 in Taiwan, respectively. The maximum 5-min peak PM2.5 and PM1 exposures were 473.6 and 154.0 µg/m3 in Indonesia and 467.4 and 217.7 µg/m3 in Taiwan, respectively. Community factories and mosquito coil burning are the two most important exposure sources, resulting in, on average, 4.73 and 5.82 µg/m3 higher PM2.5 exposure increments for Indonesian subjects and 10.1 and 9.82 µg/m3 higher PM2.5 exposure for Taiwanese subjects compared to non-exposure periods, respectively. Moreover, agricultural waste burning and incense burning were another two important exposure sources, but only in Taiwan. Furthermore, 5-min PM2.5 and PM1 exposure had statistically significantly immediate impacts on the HRV indices and heart rates of all subjects in Taiwan and the scooter subjects in Indonesia with generalized additive mixed models. The HRV change for a 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 and PM1 ranged from -0.9% to -2.5% except for ratio of low-high frequency, with greater impacts associated with PM1 than PM2.5 in both countries. IMPACT STATEMENT: This work highlights the ability of microsensors to capture high peaks of PM2.5 and PM1, to identify exposure sources through the integration of activity records, and to assess immediate changes in heart rate variability for a panel of approximately 50 subjects in Indonesia and Taiwan. This study stands out as one of the few to demonstrate the immediate health impacts of peak PM, complementing to the short-term (days or weeks) or long-term effects (months or longer) assessed in most epidemiological studies. The technology/methodology employed offer great potential for researchers in the resource-limited countries with high PM2.5 and PM1 levels.

Changes in Resources and Volunteering: A Longitudinal Study of Active Engagement Among Older Europeans.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Volunteering is an important dimension of successful aging. Although prior studies have found that personal resources such as health and financial situations are associated with volunteering, there is a lack of research exploring the relationship between resource changes and volunteering. Here, we investigated whether changes in individuals' resources were associated with volunteer engagement among older Europeans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe, collected in five waves between 2011 and 2020 across 19 countries (57,410 observations from 17,498 individuals aged 50 and above), we employed asymmetric fixed-effect ordinal regression models to investigate whether positive or negative resource changes were associated with the frequency of volunteering over time. We used three resource indicators: health, financial condition, and time availability (measured by engagement in paid work, grandparenting, and family care). RESULTS: Health deterioration and worsening financial condition were associated with a decreased frequency of volunteering. A transition out of weekly paid work and beginning to provide weekly grandchild care were both associated with an increased frequency of volunteering. We did not detect any further significant effects of resource changes on volunteering. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our study revealed asymmetrical associations between changes in resources and volunteering, providing new insights into their interplay. The results deepen our understanding of successful aging by emphasizing the need to consider the dynamics of all resources that either facilitate or hinder active engagements among older adults.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure and arterial stiffness-related plasma miRNAs: A panel study.

The underlying mechanisms between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure and arterial stiffness are poorly understood. We carried out a panel study involving three repeated surveys to examine the associations of individual and mixture of PAHs exposure with arterial stiffness-related miRNAs among 123 community adults. In linear mixed-effect (LME) models, we found that urinary 9-hydroxyfluorene (9-OHFlu), 2-hydroxyphenanthrene (2-OHPh), 9-hydroxyphenanthrene (9-OHPh) at lag 0 day were positively linked to miR-146a and/or miR-222. The Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) analyses revealed positive overall associations of PAHs mixture at lag 0 day with miR-146a and miR-222, and urinary 9-OHFlu contributed the most. In addition, an inter-quartile range (IQR) increase in urinary 9-OHFlu at lag 0 day was associated with elevated miR-146a and miR-222 by 0.16 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.30) to 0.34 (95% CI: 0.13, 0.54). Accordingly, exposure to PAHs, especially 9-OHFlu at lag 0 day, was related to elevated arterial stiffness-related plasma miRNAs.

Beyond the Runway: Respiratory health effects of ultrafine particles from aviation in children.

Aviation has been shown to cause high particle number concentrations (PNC) in areas surrounding major airports. Particle size distribution and composition differ from motorized traffic. The objective was to study short-term effects of aviation-related UFP on respiratory health in children. In 2017-2018 a study was conducted in a school panel of 7-11 year old children (n = 161) living North and South of Schiphol Airport. Weekly supervised spirometry and exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) measurements were executed. The school panel, and an additional group of asthmatic children (n = 19), performed daily spirometry tests at home and recorded respiratory symptoms. Hourly concentrations of various size fractions of PNC and black carbon (BC) were measured at three school yards. Concentrations of aviation-related particles were estimated at the residential addresses using a dispersion model. Linear and logistic mixed models were used to investigate associations between daily air pollutant concentrations and respiratory health. PNC20, a proxy for aviation-related UFP, was virtually uncorrelated with BC and PNC50-100 (reflecting primarily motorized traffic), supporting the feasibility of separating PNC from aviation and other combustion sources. No consistent associations were found between various pollutants and supervised spirometry and eNO. Major air pollutants were significantly associated with an increase in various respiratory symptoms. Odds Ratios for previous day PNC20 per 3,598pt/cm3 were 1.13 (95%CI 1.02; 1.24) for bronchodilator use and 1.14 (95%CI 1.03; 1.26) for wheeze. Modelled aviation-related UFP at the residential addresses was also positively associated with these symptoms, corroborating the PNC20 findings. PNC20 was not associated with daily lung function, but PNC50-100 and BC were negatively associated with FEV1. PNC of different sizes indicative of aviation and other combustion sources were independently associated with an increase of respiratory symptoms and bronchodilator use in children living near a major airport. No consistent associations between aviation-related UFP with lung function was observed.

Association between short-term pollen exposure and blood pressure in adults: A repeated-measures study.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have related high pollen concentrations to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, yet very little research concerns pre-clinical cardiovascular health, including effects on blood pressure (BP). The EPOCHAL panel study investigated the exposure-response relationship between ambient pollen exposure and systolic and diastolic BP in adults. METHODS: BP was measured in 302 adults with and in 94 without pollen allergy during the pollen season, on approximately 16 days per person (6253 observations). Average individually-relevant pollen exposure in the 96 h prior to each BP measurement was calculated by summing up the averages of all ambient pollen concentrations to which the individual was found to be sensitized in a skin prick test, and which originated from seven highly allergenic pollen types (hazel, alder, birch, ash, grasses, mugwort and ragweed). Generalized additive mixed models were used to study the association between mean individually-relevant pollen exposure in the last 96 h and BP, adjusting for individual and environmental time-varying covariates. Effect modification by pollen allergy status, sex and BMI was evaluated. RESULTS: Positive non-linear associations between individually-relevant pollen exposure and both systolic and diastolic BP were found in the allergic but not in the non-allergic group. BP increased sharply for exposures from zero to 60/80 pollen/m3 (diastolic/systolic BP), followed by a tempered further increase at higher concentrations. Increases of 2.00 mmHg [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80-3.19] in systolic and 1.51 mmHg [95% CI: 0.58-2.45] in diastolic BP were associated with 96-h average pollen exposure of 400 pollen/m3, compared to no exposure. Obesity and female sex were associated with larger BP increases. CONCLUSIONS: The finding that short-term pollen concentration is associated with increased systolic and diastolic BP in persons with pollen allergy strengthens the evidence that pollen may cause systemic health effects and trigger cardiovascular events.

Mechanistic insights into cardiovascular effects of ultrafine particle exposure: A longitudinal panel study.

BACKGROUND: Ultrafine particle (UFP) has been linked with higher risks of cardiovascular diseases; however, the biological mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the cardiovascular responses to short-term UFP exposure and the biological pathways involved. METHODS: A longitudinal panel study was conducted among 32 healthy, non-smoking young adults in Shanghai, China, who were engaged in five rounds of follow-ups between December 2020 and November 2021. Individual exposures were calculated based on the indoor and outdoor real-time measurements. Blood pressure, arterial stiffness, targeted biomarkers, and untargeted proteomics and metabolomics were examined during each follow-up. Linear mixed-effect models were applied to analyze the exposure and health data. The differential proteins and metabolites were used for pathway enrichment analyses. RESULTS: Short-term UFP exposure was associated with significant increases in blood pressure and arterial stiffness. For example, systolic blood pressure increased by 2.10 % (95 % confidence interval: 0.63 %, 3.59 %) corresponding to each interquartile increase in UFP concentrations at lag 0-3 h, while pulse wave velocity increased by 2.26 % (95 % confidence interval: 0.52 %, 4.04 %) at lag 7-12 h. In addition, dozens of molecular biomarkers altered significantly. These effects were generally present within 24 h after UFP exposure, and were robust to the adjustment of co-pollutants. Molecular changes detected in proteomics and metabolomics analyses were mainly involved in systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, coagulation, and disturbance in lipid transport and metabolism. DISCUSSION: This study provides novel and compelling evidence on the detrimental subclinical cardiovascular effects in response to short-term UFP exposure. The multi-omics profiling further offers holistic insights into the underlying biological pathways.

Physical activity modified association of urinary metals mixture and fasting blood glucose in children: From two panel studies.

There is unclear evidence available on the associations between multiple metals and fasting blood glucose (FBG) in children, and whether they could be beneficial from physical activity. We included 283 children aged 4-12 years from two panel studies with 4-consecutive morning urinary 13 essential metals and 10 non-essential metals repeated across 3 seasons. We employed multiple informant model, linear mixed-effect model, and quantile g-computation to evaluate associations of single metal and their mixture with FBG and interactions with extra-school activity. The results showed that positive relations of multiple essential metals (aluminum, chromium, copper, iron, molybdenum (Mo), nickel, selenium (Se), strontium, zinc) and non-essential metals (arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), rubidium, titanium (Ti), thallium) with FBG were the strongest at lag 0 (the health examination day), especially in overweight & obesity children (FDR <0.05). The strongest effect presented 1-fold increment in As was related to FBG increased 1.66% (95%CI: 0.84%, 2.48%) in overweight & obesity children. Notably, modification of extra-school activity showed significant, and the effects of multiple metals on FBG were attenuated in children taking total extra-school activity ≥1 h/day, and only one type of which, low or moderate & high intensity extra-school activity reached 20 min/day (Pint <0.05). For instance, each 1-fold increased As was associated with 1.41% increased FBG in overall children taking total extra-school activity <1 h/day, while that of 0.13% in those ≥1 h/day. Meanwhile, mixture of all, essential and non-essential metals were associated with increased FBG, a trend that decreased and became nonsignificant in children having certain extra-school activity, which were dominated by Mo, Se, Ti, Cd. And such relations were substantially beneficial from extra-school activity in overweight & obesity children. Accordingly, multiple essential and non-essential metals, both individual and in mixture, were positively related to FBG in children, which might be attenuated by regular physical activity.

Shades and shifts in flexitarian and meat-oriented consumer profiles in a German panel study.

Consumers' growing awareness of the adverse effects of high meat consumption has led to increased attention to flexitarian or meat-reduced diets. However, most flexitarians do not significantly reduce their meat consumption and still eat many meat-based meals. This study aims to classify the large and heterogeneous consumer group of flexitarians into different profiles based on attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs about meat reduction. Being aware that consumer profiles can change over time, this study explores the dynamics of the identified profiles using a two-wave panel survey of 430 German consumers. Latent profile analysis revealed distinct flexitarian and meat-oriented consumer profiles, including three stable profiles and one non-stable profile across both waves. The findings indicate that flexitarian and meat-oriented consumer profiles differ significantly in their belief structure about meat reduction and that consumers can switch back and forth to other profiles over time. Practitioners should be aware of changes in the belief structure of flexitarian and meat-oriented consumer profiles when developing meat reduction interventions. Further research is needed to understand the reasons behind these profile shifts.

Mental health, gender, and higher education attainment.

We compared the mental health of higher education students with that of nonstudents. Moreover, we examined whether the mental health of students predicts their probability of obtaining a higher education degree, and whether the extent to which mental health affects educational attainment varies by gender. Drawing on a risk and resilience framework, we considered five facets of mental health that may be implicated in distinct ways in the educational attainment process: positive attitude towards life, self-esteem, self-efficacy, negative affectivity, and perceived stress. We used data from a nationally representative panel study from Switzerland (Nstudents = 2070, 42.8% male; Nnonstudents = 3755, 45.9% male). The findings suggest that overall, the mental health of higher education students was relatively similar to that of nonstudents, although students exhibited slightly higher self-esteem, slightly weaker self-efficacy, greater negative affectivity, and higher levels of perceived stress. The effects of different facets of mental health on higher education degree attainment were mostly statistically and/or practically insignificant. However, positive attitudes towards life had a substantial positive effect on the probability of being awarded a higher education degree. Mental health was equally important for male and female students' educational attainment. Supplementary Information: The online version of this article (10.1007/s11618-023-01187-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Vulnerability or Resiliency? A Two-Wave Panel Analysis of Social Network Factors Associated with Glycemic Levels among Mexican Immigrants in the Bronx, NYC, Before and During COVID-19.

Latinos have high rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) yet are characterized as having health-promoting social networks. The impacts of COVID-19 on personal networks were complex, especially in urban areas with high proportion of immigrants such as the Bronx in NYC. Our objective was to test the extent to which network characteristics increase vulnerability or resiliency for glycemic control based on data gathered from Mexican-origin Bronx dwellers. We used two-wave panel study analyzing self-reported personal social networks (n=30participants; 600network members) and HbA1c levels via dried blood spots in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, a time after initial lockdowns and when the pandemic was still ravaging the community of study. Regression models adjusted for individual-level variables including sociodemographic and health indicators (i.e., physical health including COVID-19 and mental health). We found that an increase in the proportion of network members with diabetes predicted an increase in participant's HbA1c levels from 2019 to 2021 (ß=0.044, p < 0.05). Also, a greater proportion of network members consuming "an American diet" in 2019 predicted a decrease in participant's HbA1c levels (ß=-0.028, p < 0.01), while a greater proportion of network members that encouraged participants' health in 2019 predicted an increase in participant's HbA1c levels (ß=0.033, p < 0.05). Our study sheds light on specific social network characteristics relevant to individual diabetes outcomes, including potential longitudinal mechanistic effects that played out at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis.

Longitudinal analysis of the mediating role of self-perception of aging in the relationship between frailty and intrinsic capacity: A cross-lagged mediation model.

OBJECTIVES: The causal relationship between intrinsic capacity and frailty in older adults, as well as the underlying temporal mechanisms, remained poorly understood. The study aimed to investigate the causal association between intrinsic capacity and frailty while exploring the potential mediating role of self-perception of aging. MEASUREMENTS: A survey was conducted with a sample of 429 participants who completed measures of intrinsic capacity, self-perception of aging, and frailty at baseline and were followed for one year. The relationships between these variables were assessed using an autoregressive cross-lagged model. RESULTS: The study found reciprocal associations between intrinsic capacity and frailty (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the results indicated that self-perception of aging partially mediated the effect of frailty at baseline (T1) on intrinsic capacity at one-year follow-up (T2) (ß = -0.02, confidence interval: [-0.055, -0.004]). However, the reverse causation was not observed. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This study demonstrates a bidirectional causal relationship between intrinsic capacity and frailty in older adults. Self-perception of aging plays a significant mediating role in this relationship. Older adults with a worse level of frailty should be made aware of the potentially vicious cycle related to self-perception of aging, which can negatively affect their intrinsic capacity. Maintaining a positive self-perception of aging may help preserve physical and psychological reserves, maintain intrinsic capacity, and slow the decline of frailty.

Building blocks for a happy life: Longitudinal associations between early life income, mentorship and later well-being.

Longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID; N = 2996) were used to test hypotheses about the link between well-being and financial and social developmental resources. Results suggest that higher average family income from birth to age 18, and personal and professional mentoring received between 17 and 30, were positively associated with indicators of positive well-being and negatively related to negative indicators of well-being. Interactions between early life family income and mentoring during emerging adulthood were not significant predictors of any of the well-being outcomes. In all cases, the magnitudes of the coefficients became larger when simultaneously accounting for early life income, emerging adulthood mentoring, and their interactions-suggesting that financial and social resources in earlier life are independently linked to later life well-being. Findings highlight that mentoring received in emerging adulthood benefits downstream hedonic and eudemonic well-being, regardless of financial resources.

Conducting nationwide cohort COVID-19 serology surveys on a nation with limited resources and decentralized governance: Evidence from Indonesia.

Knowing the level of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is crucial for decision-making on Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) handling. Guidelines for measuring SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to estimate seroprevalence are conceptually straightforward and internationally available. However, challenges exist for developing countries with limited laboratory capacity, diverse geographical topography, fragmented health information systems and limited resources such as Indonesia. One year after the first case was confirmed in Indonesia, approximately ten infections were undiagnosed or underreported for every reported case. Under those circumstances, we described the method and lessons learned in conducting nationwide cohort COVID-19 serology surveys in a nation with limited resources, such as Indonesia. •Strong cross-sectoral collaboration between ministries and levels of governance (central and subnational) enables strategic use of civil registration database for efficient sampling.•All agglomeration districts (highly dense population and urban area) were selected as study sites, and additional non-agglomeration districts were selected using probability-proportional-to-size (PPS).•Involving the experienced phlebotomist in community health service provider and district laboratory cut down preparation time.

Persistence of Low Back Pain and Predictive Ability of Pain Intensity and Disability in Daily Life among Nursery School Workers in Japan: A Five-Year Panel Study.

Nursery school workers are known for having a high prevalence of low back pain (LBP). The natural history of LBP and the determinants of persistent LBP remain unclear. We examined the prevalence of persistent LBP and whether pain intensity and disability in daily life due to LBP affected the persistence of LBP among these workers. A five-year panel study was conducted for 446 nursery school workers in Japan. LBP, pain intensity, and disability in daily life due to LBP were assessed with a self-administered questionnaire survey. Pain intensity was assessed using the numerical rating scale (NRS). The Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) was used to assess disability in daily life due to LBP. At baseline, 270 nursery school workers (60.5%) suffered from LBP. The estimated prevalence of persistent LBP was 84.6% (80.3-88.9%), 82.2% (77.7-86.8%), and 82.0% (77.4-86.5%) at 1, 3, and 5 years after the initial study, respectively. NRS scores of 5 or greater predicted the persistence of LBP at 1 and 3 years after the initial survey (adjusted odds ratios: 4.01 (1.27-12.6) and 8.51 (1.87-38.7), respectively), while RDQ scores did not. In conclusion, LBP highly persisted for a long time and pain intensity predicted persistent LBP among nursery school workers in Japan.

Inconsistencies in self-reported diabetes in a large panel study: the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).

BACKGROUND: The validity of self-reported chronic conditions has been assessed by comparing them with medical records or register data in several studies. However, the reliability of self-reports of chronic diseases has less often been examined. Our aim was to assess the proportion and determinants of inconsistent self-reports of diabetes in a long panel study. METHODS: SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) includes 140,000 persons aged ≥ 50 years from 28 European countries and Israel. We used data from waves 1 to 7 (except wave 3) collected between 2004 and 2017. Diabetes was assessed by self-report. An inconsistent report for diabetes was defined as reporting the condition in one wave, but denying it in at least one later wave. The analysis data set included 13,179 persons who reported diabetes, and answered the question about diabetes in at least one later wave. Log-binomial regression models were fitted to estimate crude and adjusted relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between various exposure variables and inconsistent report of diabetes. RESULTS: The proportion of persons with inconsistent self-reports of diabetes was 33.0% (95% CI: 32.2%-33.8%). Inconsistencies occurred less often in persons taking antidiabetic drugs (RR = 0.53 (0.53-0.56)), persons with BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 versus BMI < 25 kg/m2 (RR = 0.70, (0.64-0.77)), and poor versus excellent subjective health (RR = 0.87 (0.75-1.01)). Inconsistencies occurred more often in older persons (RR = 1.15 (1.12-1.18) per 10 years increase of age), and persons not reporting their age at diabetes onset (RR = 1.38 (1.31-1.45)). CONCLUSION: In SHARE, inconsistent self-report of diabetes is frequent. Consistent reports are more likely for persons whose characteristics make diabetes more salient, like intake of antidiabetic medication, obesity, and poor subjective health. However, lack of attention in answering the questions, and poor wording of the items may also play a role.