Suchergebnisse

Natural disasters and aging societies are increasingly prevalent globally. To improve environmental injustice and contribute to social good, the Tzu Chi Recycling Program engages older adult volunteers in recycling usable materials into eco-friendly blankets for disaster survivors. Drawing on life span and ecological systems theories, this study examined the longitudinal effects of this program on older adults' mental and physical health. Using a quasi-experimental longitudinal design, data were collected from older adults at recycling stations (intervention group, n = 36) and community centers (control group, n = 36) in rural areas in Southern Taiwan. Findings from two-way repeated measures analysis of variance show that the program significantly improved older adults' self-compassion, compassion for others, depression, hostility, happiness, and hypertension. Older adults built resilience and contributed to environmental sustainability and social good, which suggest a new avenue for social work practitioners and policy-makers to address social and environmental challenges.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein) ; Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder characterized by hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and polycystic ovarian morphology. Affected women frequently have metabolic disturbances including insulin resistance and dysregulation of glucose homeostasis. PCOS is diagnosed with two different sets of diagnostic criteria, resulting in a phenotypic spectrum of PCOS cases. The genetic similarities between cases diagnosed based on the two criteria have been largely unknown. Previous studies in Chinese and European subjects have identified 16 loci associated with risk of PCOS. We report a fixed-effect, inverse-weighted-variance meta-analysis from 10,074 PCOS cases and 103,164 controls of European ancestry and characterisation of PCOS related traits. We identified 3 novel loci (near PLGRKT, ZBTB16 and MAPRE1), and provide replication of 11 previously reported loci. Only one locus differed significantly in its association by diagnostic criteria; otherwise the genetic architecture was similar between PCOS diagnosed by self-report and PCOS diagnosed by NIH or non-NIH Rotterdam criteria across common variants at 13 loci. Identified variants were associated with hyperandrogenism, gonadotropin regulation and testosterone levels in affected women. Linkage disequilibrium score regression analysis revealed genetic correlations with obesity, fasting insulin, type 2 diabetes, lipid levels and coronary artery disease, indicating shared genetic architecture between metabolic traits and PCOS. Mendelian randomization analyses suggested variants associated with body mass index, fasting insulin, menopause timing, depression and male-pattern balding play a causal role in PCOS. The data thus demonstrate 3 novel loci associated with PCOS and similar genetic architecture for all diagnostic criteria. The data also provide the first genetic evidence for a male phenotype for PCOS and a causal link to depression, a previously hypothesized comorbid disease. Thus, the genetics provide a comprehensive view of PCOS that encompasses multiple diagnostic criteria, gender, reproductive potential and mental health. ; This work has been supported by MRC grant MC_U106179472 (FD, KO, JRBP), Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute Developmental Funds, Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics and Department of Biomedical Sciences Developmental Funds (MRJ), NCI P30CA177558 (CH), NCI UM1CA186107 (PK), European Regional Development Fund (Project No. 2014-2020.4.01.15-0012) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreements No 692065 (TL, RM, AS) and 692145 (RM), NICHD R01HD065029 (RS), Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (grant IUT34-16 to TL), NICHD R01HD057450 (MU), NICHD P50HD044405 (AD), NICHD R01HD057223 (AD), R01HD085227 (MGH, AD), deCode Genetics (GT, UT, KS, US), Raine Medical Research Foundation Priming Grant (BHM), SCGOPHCG RAC 2015-16/034 (SGW, BGAS), 2016-17/018 (BGAS), NIHR BRC, Wellcome Trust, MRC (TDS), Eris M. Field Chair in Diabetes Research (MOG), NIDDK P30 DK063491 (MOG), NIDDK U01DK094431, U01DK048381 (DE), NICHD U10HD38992 (RL), Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (grant IUT34-16), Enterprise Estonia (grant EU48695); the EU-FP7 Marie Curie Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP, grant SARM, EU324509 to AS), Wellcome (090532, 098381, 203141); European Commission (ENGAGE: HEALTH-F4-2007-201413 to MIM), MRC G0802782, MR/M012638/1 (SF), Li Ka Shing Foundation, WT-SSI/John Fell Funds, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, Widenlife and NICHD 5P50HD028138-27 (CML), NICHD R01HD065029, ADA 1-10-CT-57, Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center, from the National Center for Research Resources 1UL1 RR025758 (CKW). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ; Peer Reviewed

WOS: 000393031600001 ; PubMed ID: 27939304 ; Background: The potential for global collaborations to better inform public health policy regarding major non-hypercholesterolaemia (FH), a common genetic disorder associated with premature cardiovascular disease, is yet to be reliably ascertained using similar approaches. The European Atherosclerosis Society FH Studies Collaboration (EAS FHSC) is a new initiative of international stakeholders which will help establish a global FH registry to generate large-scale, robust data on the burden of FH worldwide. Methods: The EAS FHSC will maximise the potential exploitation of currently available and future FH data (retrospective and prospective) by bringing together regional/national/international data sources with access to individuals with a clinical and/or genetic diagnosis of heterozygous or homozygous FH. A novel bespoke electronic platform and FH Data Warehouse will be developed to allow secure data sharing, validation, cleaning, pooling, harmonisation and analysis irrespective of the source or format. Standard statistical procedures will allow us to investigate cross-sectional associations, patterns of real-world practice, trends over time, and analyse risk and outcomes (e.g. cardiovascular outcomes, all-cause death), accounting for potential confounders and subgroup effects. Conclusions: The EAS FHSC represents an excellent opportunity to integrate individual efforts across the world to tackle the global burden of FH. The information garnered from the registry will help reduce gaps in knowledge, inform best practices, assist in clinical trials design, support clinical guidelines and policies development, and ultimately improve the care of FH patients. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. ; Pfizer Independent Grant for Learning Change [16157823]; AmgenAmgen; MSD; Sanofi-AventisSanofi-Aventis; Latvian State Research Programme BIOMEDICINE; Czech RepublicCzech Republic Government [MZ CR AZV 15-28277A, 16-29084A] ; The present project has received support from a Pfizer Independent Grant for Learning & Change 2014 (No: 16157823) and from investigator initiated unrestricted research grants to the European Atherosclerosis Society from Amgen, MSD, and Sanofi-Aventis. The project in Latvia was supported by the Latvian State Research Programme BIOMEDICINE. The project in Czech Republic was partly supported by grants MZ CR AZV 15-28277A and 16-29084A.