Intergenerational Contacts Influence Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) and Subjective Well Being among Austrian Elderly.

Over the last century population ageing is a well described phenomenon all over the world. The dramatic absolute and relative increase in the population component of the elderly and the very old has influenced not only population structure but also the relationships within families, in particular between older parents and their adult children. The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of intergenerational contact frequency on health related quality of life among 62 men and 98 women ranging in age between 60 and 94 years. All participants of the study were healthy and lived independently in their private homes. Data concerning subjective well being and health related quality of life were collected by personal interviews based on structured questionnaires. Health related quality of life was tested by means of the WHOQOL-BREF. The main finding of this study is that the frequency of intergenerational contacts has a significant impact on health related quality of life. Contact frequency with grandchildren per month correlated significantly (p<0. 01) with all five domains of the WHOQOL-BREF. Contact frequency with sons and daughters per month correlated significantly (p<0.05) with the social and the global domain. According to Kruskall-Wallis tests and regression analyses with increasing intergenerational contacts health related quality of life increased significantly (p<0.01). According to these results a close and frequent contact to offspring is an important source for quality of life during old age.

Gender differences in health-related quality of life among healthy aged and old-aged Austrians: cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although they experience lower mortality rates and lower rates of several chronic diseases than do their male counterparts, aging women are more likely to experience functional impairment in mobility and a general diminished health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The determinants of these gender differences have been the subject of controversy. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed gender differences in HRQoL in relation to social and biomedical factors such as age, marital status, educational level, and living arrangements. METHODS: Participants were recruited via snowball sampling. All were healthy and lived independently in private homes. Data were obtained from personal interviews, based on a 30-item questionnaire, in the private homes of the participants. Additionally, HRQoL was assessed by means of the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) 26-item questionnaire, which contains 1 general health item, 1 general QoL item, and 24 specific items covering 4 broad domains: physical (DOM I), psychological (DOM II), social (DOM III), and environmental (DOM IV). RESULTS: The participants (98 women, 62 men) enrolled in the study ranged in age from 57 to 95 years (mean [SD] age: 71.8 [8.6] years). The younger age group (aged 57-70 years) comprised 54 women and 25 men, and the older age group (aged >70 years) comprised 44 women and 37 men. Women aged < or =70 years rated their health and QoL significantly higher than did men in the same age group (P = 0.02). These women rated physical capacity (DOM I), social relationships (DOM III), and environment (DOM IV) higher, but not statistically significantly different, than did same-aged men. Women and men exhibited nearly identical psychological health (DOM II) values. Physical capacity (DOM I) differed significantly between women and men aged >70 years (P = 0.03). Women aged >70 years rated their QoL lower than their male counterparts did, although not significantly so. These women depended more on medical treatment, felt significantly less safe in everyday life (P = 0.03), and were less satisfied with themselves. The results of the multiple regression analyses suggest that gender may have a significant impact on general QoL for both age groups (P < 0.01 for the younger age group; P > 0.04 for the older age group). In these analyses, gender also had a significant impact on 2 domains, physical capacity and social relationships (P < 0.02 for both domains), among the participants of the younger age group. CONCLUSION: Depending on the age group (< or =70 vs >70 years) in this small sample of Austrian women and men, gender influenced HRQoL.

The association between mild geriatric depression and reproductive history--a Darwinian approach.

The well described trend of population ageing results in a dramatic increase in the number of elderly, reporting symptoms of depression, the most common mood disorder today. Various intrinsic and extrinsic factors are discussed to be responsible for this increase of mood disorders. In the present study the association patterns between mild geriatric depression and the individual reproductive history are analyzed. 264 subjects, 167 females and 97 males, ageing between 60 and 95 years (mean 72.3, SD 8.1 yrs) were enrolled in the present study. The prevalence of depression was tested by mean of the geriatric depression scale (GDS), additionally reproductive history was documented. It turned out, that with increasing number of offspring the depression score decreased. Childless women exhibited the highest prevalence of mild depression and the highest mean depression score. These association patterns between reproductive history and depressive disorders during old age were discussed by means of Darwinian psychiatry. A low number of offspring or childlessness and a lack of social networks for support are new in the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens. Mild geriatric depression may be interpreted as a result of a mismatch or dysregulation because the recent social environment of elderly is completely different from that in which Homo sapiens evolved. The occurrence of geriatric depression may be an adaptation to this new situation.

[Associative thoughts in women in different phases of the menstrual cycle]. / Assoziatives denken bei Frauen in verschiedenen Zyklusphasen.

In this study female students in different phases of the menstrual cycle made a test of word association. The results were represented and compared in a pathfinder-network. This special network is a model of knowledge representation in which words are portrayed as nodes, and links between nodes represent associations. This method (pathfinder), developed by Schvaneveldt (1990), generates associative networks from individual's ratings of similarity of word pairs. 51 women had to judge 45 words of the three categories sexual, romantic and neutral in similarity. These networks were compared regarding probability of contraception, partnership and level of testosterone. The number and weights of links differed between women with high and low probability of contraception. The level of testosterone had a large influence on the density of associations, especially in sexual contents.