Systematic review of factors influencing loneliness in older-adult migrants.

OBJECTIVES: Older-adult migrants constitute a proportion of the global population, and loneliness hinders their adaptation to host areas. However, review studies on risk factors for loneliness target general older-adults without focusing on older-adult migrants. Therefore, this study systematically reviews and synthesizes the factors influencing the loneliness of older-adult migrants. METHOD: Five databases were searched and screened for quantitative studies investigating the relationship between risk factors and loneliness among older-adult migrants (over age 50). Finally, 35 articles were included. RESULTS: Factors related to loneliness in older-adult migrants were synthesized into sociodemographic, physical health, psychological, interpersonal, and acculturation-related factors. Consistent significant relationships with loneliness were found for a few risk factors, including not having spouses, low subjective financial status, poor self-rated health, poor psychological status, few non-kin ties, low quality of kin and non-kin ties, and a weak sense of belonging to either one's ethnic group or that of the host areas. CONCLUSION: This review discusses the unique findings on the risk factors for loneliness in older-adult migrants. Additionally, the current literature on loneliness in older-adult migrants has some research gaps, calling for longitudinal studies with a rigorous design.

Experience of Chinese Recent Retirees on the Effects of Retirement on Healthy Ageing in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

This study examined perspectives of recent retirees in Shenzhen and Hong Kong on how retirement influenced their healthy ageing. It investigated retirees' perceptions of healthy ageing and the ways in which healthy ageing connected with retirees' transition into retirement. A qualitative design with narrative interviews was used to interview twelve recent retirees in Shenzhen and thirteen in Hong Kong. The participants elaborated their perspectives on healthy ageing, which covered physical, mental, social, and financial domains. Retirees in both cities identified healthy ageing as maintaining an independent life and avoiding becoming a burden on family members. This study found that retirement declined physical health (in parallel with raised awareness of health promotion), posed both negative and positive influences on mental health, and shrank peripheral social networks of retirees. In addition, regional social welfare systems have different impacts on retirees' financial security and social participation. Retirees in Hong Kong reported higher stress of financial security and a strong desire for labor participation. Migrant-local welfare gaps were documented by retirees in Shenzhen. This study suggested that retirement planning, establishing a multi-pillar retirement-protection system, and narrowing the welfare gap between migrants and local residents should be implemented to reinforce healthy ageing.

Use of unstructured intervention in a community-based mental health setting for the recovery of people with depression in Hong Kong: A qualitative assessment.

This qualitative evaluation study examined the impact of unstructured intervention on people with depression in a community mental health centre in Hong Kong. In the intervention, service users initiated groups and designed group activities by themselves, with social workers as facilitators. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with service users enrolled in unstructured intervention, their family members, and service providers in 2019. Overall, 32 participants were recruited through purposive sampling. The results revealed that peer interactions helped participants to feel accepted and understood. Participants also acquired experience with emotional coping strategies and practised their interpersonal skills, and by learning new skills from peers, they were able to rebuild their self-esteem and improve their relationships with friends and family. To cater to clients' different needs and concerns, unstructured activities should be diversified. Family and social functioning should also be emphasised in the development of unstructured intervention because the generic skills and knowledge acquired from unstructured activities with peers could help to enhance family relationships, self-confidence, and the ability to manage issues related to working and socialising.

ONZIN Upregulation by Mutant p53 Contributes to Osteosarcoma Metastasis Through the CXCL5-MAPK Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gain-of-function of mutant p53 is associated with a high rate of lung metastasis in osteosarcoma. To investigate the mechanism of mutant p53-induced osteosarcoma metastasis, expression array analysis was performed, comparing non-metastatic osteosarcomas from p53+/- mice with metastatic osteosarcomas from p53R172H/+ mice. Onzin (Plac8) was identified as one of the genes upregulated in p53R172H/+ mouse metastatic osteosarcomas. Accordingly, we investigated the role of ONZIN in human osteosarcoma metastasis. METHODS: ONZIN function and its downstream targets were examined in osteosarcoma cell lines. Assays related to tumorigenesis and metastasis, including cell migration, invasion, clonogenic survival, and soft agar colony formation, were performed in osteosarcoma cells. Additionally, mouse xenograft models were used to examine the role of ONZIN overpression in tumorigenesis in vivo. Lastly, 87 osteosarcoma patients were recruited to investigate the clinical relevance of ONZIN overexpression in metastasis and prognosis. RESULTS: ONZIN overexpression enhanced osteosarcoma cell proliferation, clonogenic survival, migration, and invasion independent of p53 status. Furthermore, ONZIN overexpression induced CXCL5 upregulation and resulted in increased ERK phosphorylation, which contributed to more aggressive osteosarcoma metastatic phenotypes. More importantly, overexpression of ONZIN in human osteosarcoma patients was closely associated with lung metastasis, poor prognoses, and survival. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of ONZIN promotes osteosarcoma progression and metastasis, and can serve as a clinical biomarker for osteosarcoma metastasis and prognosis.