Caregiving and all-cause mortality in older men 2005-15: the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project.

BACKGROUND: while both negative and positive impacts of caregiving on health have been reported, findings regarding caregiver's mortality may be biased by the lack of consideration of changes in their health and caregiving status during follow-up. This study examines the impact of caregiving on the risk of death in older men, allowing for caregiving-transition by individuals and adjusting for changes over time in their health status. METHODS: data from 1639 men age ≥70 years old from the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP) were collected between baseline (2005-07), 2-year and 5-year follow-up and linked to death records up to 30 September 2015. A time-varying Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the risk of death from caregiving between 2005 and 2015, adjusting for baseline education, history of myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and risk factors which may change over time (age, income, self-rated overall health, number of morbidities, physical disability, depression and anxiety). RESULTS: the average follow-up was 7.39 years (SD = 2.95) with 495 deaths observed. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality between caregivers and non-caregivers in the multivariable model (HR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.67-1.32, P = 0.73). CONCLUSIONS: this study addressed the dynamic caregiving role and covariates which has been rarely considered in the literature. While there is concern that when older people take on a caring role their health suffers, we found no difference in mortality between older male caregivers and non-caregivers when we accounted for transitions in their caregiving status.

Falls from ladders in New South Wales: A data-linkage study.

INTRODUCTION: Fall from ladders is increasingly identified as a significant cause of injury and mortality, yet large-scale research into ladder fall outcomes and trends is limited. OBJECTIVES: To explore the nature and severity of injuries resulting from ladder falls and to determine predictors of Injury Severity Score (ISS) and 6-month mortality. METHODS: Data were obtained from the New South Wales (NSW) Trauma Registry, Admitted Patient Data Collection and Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages on patients aged 15 and over who had major trauma from a ladder fall and were admitted to hospital between January 1st, 2012, and July 31st, 2019. Data linkage and descriptive statistics were carried out alongside bivariate and multivariable regression analysis. RESULTS: 963 patients injured after ladder falls were identified. The mean age was 61.9 years (SD 14.2), 91.0% were male, and 489 (50.8%) were born in Australia. The height of fall was between one and five meters in 827 (86.2%) patients, and the place of fall was home and residential places in 27.5%. The most common body areas injured were the head (26.5%), spine (21.2%) and thorax (20.6%), and the median injury severity score was 17. The median length of stay of patients' in-hospital and intensive care unit was six days and two days, respectively. Six months post-discharge mortality was 6.4%. The unadjusted association between the presence of comorbidities or socio-economic class and ISS or mortality was not statistically significant. Increasing ISS was found to be associated with increasing age (Estimate (Est), 15.2; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 12.3-18.1) and a fall height greater than five metres (Est, 5.8; CI, 3.2-8.4). Mortality was found to be associated with increasing age (Odds ratio (OR), 1.06; CI, 1.03-1.08) and increasing ISS (OR, 1.19; CI, 1.15-1.24). CONCLUSION: People presenting to the hospital after falling from a ladder were predominately male, aged over 60 and had fallen in a residential setting. Increasing age and fall height are associated with more severe injuries.

Health status, health behaviours and anxiety symptoms of older male caregivers: Findings from the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project.

OBJECTIVE: To explore differences between older male caregivers and non-caregivers on health status, health behaviours and well-being, including symptoms of anxiety. METHODS: Data were collected through self-completed questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with 1705 community living men aged ≥70 in the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project. RESULTS: Eleven per cent of older men were caregivers, of whom 81.7% were looking after their wives or partners. Older male caregivers did not have worse physical health or more depressive symptoms than non-caregivers, but being a caregiver was associated with increased likelihood of reporting anxiety symptoms (OR: 2.32, 95% CI: 1.39-3.87). Caregivers had similar levels and frequencies of leisure activities but did more housework activities than non-caregivers. CONCLUSION: Higher anxiety levels were the main adverse health condition in older male caregivers. Strategies to assist minimising anxiety for caregivers should be a target of interventions.

The dimensions of responsiveness of a health system: a Taiwanese perspective.

BACKGROUND: Responsiveness is an indicator used to measure how well a health system performs relative to non-health aspects. This study assessed whether seven dimensions proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to measure responsiveness (dignity, autonomy, confidentiality, prompt attention, social support, basic amenities, and choices of providers) are applicable in evaluating the health system of Taiwan. METHODS: A key informant survey and focus group research were used in this study. The translated WHO proposed questionnaire was sent to 205 nominated key informants by mail, and 132 (64.4%) were returned. We used principal component analysis to extract factors. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the total score and the extracted factors. A qualitative content analysis was also carried out in focus group research. RESULTS: Principal component analysis produced five factors (respect, access, confidentiality, basic amenities, and social support) that explained 63.5% of the total variances. These five factors demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and four of them (except social support) were significantly correlated with the total responsiveness score. The focus group interviews revealed health providers' communication ability and medical ethics were also highly appraised by Taiwanese. CONCLUSION: When the performance of a health system is to be evaluated, elements of responsiveness proposed by WHO may have to be tailored to fit different cultural backgrounds. Four key features illustrate the uniqueness of Taiwanese perspectives: the idea of autonomy may not be conceptualized, prompt attention and choice of providers are on the same track, social support during care is trivially correlated to the total responsiveness score, and accountability of health providers is deemed essential to a health system.

The effect of the market opening on trends in smoking rates in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: To examine smoking rates before and after the opening of the market to foreign imports. METHODS: Consumer surveys of Monopoly Bureau, National Health Interview Survey and official tobacco consumption, production and import data were used to calculate smoking rates, cigarette consumption, and the market share of imports. Age-adjusted smoking rates were used to compare trends before and after the market opening. RESULTS: The market share of the imports reached half in 2001 from 2% before opening. Compared to projected rates, smoking rates in 2001 for all and younger males, and all and younger females were increased by 12, 6, 202, and 249%, respectively, over and above the projected trends. The ratio of smoking rates between younger and older adults became larger, from 0.62 to 0.74 in males and from 0.32 to 0.98 in females. Per capita consumption increased after the market opening, particularly when large increases in smuggled cigarettes were considered. CONCLUSIONS: The finding that the market opening triggered an increase in smoking rates is contrary to the assertion by U.S. cigarette producers that importation would only make smokers switch brands. Younger adults and females were more affected, reflecting their higher sensitivity to the appeal from foreign cigarettes. Because of the marketing strategy of imports, more young people smoked, at an earlier age. Experience from Taiwan revealed that after the initial increase in smoking rates, the opening had galvanized the anti-smoking sentiments, legitimized and strengthened tobacco control policies and tempered the severity of the adverse impact.

Factors influencing the clinical expression of intermediate CAG repeat length mutations of the Huntington's disease gene.

Our aim is to elucidate the clinical variables associated with the development of manifest HD in patients with intermediate CAG repeat lengths. 2,167 participants were seen throughout 44 research sites in the United States, Canada or Australia over a five-year natural history observational study (2006-2011) (Trial # NCT00313495). The Chi-square test and a generalised linear model were used to examine the differences in demographics and cognitive tests among three groups of CAG repeat length. The mixed model was then used to examine the time effect on cognitive assessments by CAG groups. No patient with CAG repeat length 27-35 developed manifest HD, whereas three patients with 36-39 did. Total motor score, maximal chorea score and maximal dystonia score were significantly different at baseline (p < 0.001) for each measure between those patients with a repeat length 27-35 versus those 36-39; as were total functional assessment, independence scale and total functional capacity (p < 0.001). Being aged 65 years or more (OR 5.81, 95 % CI 0.37-90.58, p = 0.02) and smoking (OR 13.99, 95 % CI 2.03-96.44, p = 0.007) were related to manifest HD in patients with CAG 36-39; those with an associated university degree or higher education were less frequently diagnosed as manifest HD (OR 0.10, 95 % CI 0.02-0.54, p = 0.007). Age, smoking and lower education achievement were found to be significantly associated with higher odds of manifest HD in patients with intermediate CAG repeat length mutations.