Suchergebnisse

Background: Meat is an important source of high-quality protein and vitamin B but also has a relatively high content of saturated and trans fatty acids. Although protein and vitamin B intake seems to protect people from functional limitations, little is known about the effect of habitual meat consumption on physical function. The objective of this study was to examine the prospective association between the intake of meat (processed meat, red meat, and poultry) and physical function impairment in older adults. Methods: Data were collected for 2982 participants in the Seniors-ENRICA cohort, who were aged ≥60 years and free of physical function impairment. In 2008-2010, their habitual diet was assessed through a validated computer-assisted face-to-face diet history. Study participants were followed up through 2015 to assess self-reported incident impairment in agility, mobility, and performance-based lower-extremity function. Results: Over a median follow-up of 5.2 years, we identified 625 participants with impaired agility, 455 with impaired mobility, and 446 with impaired lower-extremity function. After adjustment for potential confounders, processed meat intake was associated with a higher risk of impaired agility (hazard ratio [HR] for highest vs. lowest tertile: 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-1.64; p trend = 0.01) and of impaired lower-extremity function (HR for highest vs. lowest tertile: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.02-1.68; p trend = 0.04). No significant associations were found for red meat and poultry. Replacing one serving per day of processed meat with one serving per day of red meat, poultry, or with other important protein sources (fish, legumes, dairy, and nuts) was associated with lower risk of impaired agility and lower-extremity function. Conclusions: A higher consumption of processed meat was associated with a higher risk of impairment in agility and lower-extremity function. Replacing processed meat by other protein sources may slow the decline in physical functioning in older adults ; This work was supported by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, State Secretary of R+D+I of Spain and FEDER/FSE (FIS 13/0288, 16/609 and 16/1512), and the European Union: FP7-HEALTH-2012-Proposal No: 305483-2, "Utility of omic-based biomarkers in characterizing older individuals at risk for frailty, its progression to disability and general consequences to health and wellbeing - The FRAILOMIC Initiative"; EU H2020- Project ID: 635316, " Ageing Trajectories of Health: Longitudinal Opportunities and Synergies- The ATHLOS project"; and the JPI HDHL: "Salivary Markers of Diet and Health- The SALAMANDER project".

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the level of compliance with the PAOS Code (Publicidad, Actividad, Obesidad y Salud), which establishes standards for the self-regulation of food marketing aimed at minors, in television advertising by food and beverage companies that have agreed to abide by the Code. DESIGN: The study sample consisted of food and beverage advertisements targeting children during 80 h of programming by four Spanish television networks. The level of compliance with each standard of the PAOS Code was classified into three categories: 'compliance', 'non-compliance' and 'uncertain compliance'. Overall, an advertisement was considered compliant with the PAOS Code if it met all the standards; non-compliant if it contravened one or more standards; and uncertain in all other cases. RESULTS: Of a total of 203 television advertisements from companies that agreed to the PAOS Code, the overall prevalence of non-compliance was 49.3% (v. 50.8% among those that did not agree to the code), with 20.7% of advertisements considered of uncertain compliance. Non-compliance was more frequent on Saturdays, in longer advertisements, in advertisements containing promotions or dairy products, and for advertisements from companies of French or US origin. CONCLUSIONS: Non-compliance with the PAOS Code was very high and was similar for companies that did and did not agree to the Code, casting doubt on the Code's effectiveness and oversight system. It seems the time has come to commit to statutory regulations that reduce the negative impact of advertising on children's diets, as demanded by public health experts and consumer associations. ; The authors declare that they have not received any typeof funding for conducting the study and there is noconflict of interest. M.M.R.-F. took part in the design of thestudy, bibliographical research, interpretation of results,editing every part of the manuscript and checking it. Shedid the fieldwork collecting the data and analysed thedata in collaboration with M.A.R.-B., being the first eva-luator. M.A.R.-B. took part in the design of the study,bibliographical research, interpretation of results, editingevery part of the manuscript and checking it. He analysedthe data in collaboration with M.M.R.-F. and he was thesecond evaluator in cases of doubt. F.R.-A. took part inthe design of the study, bibliographical research, inter-pretation of results, manuscript editing and checking it. ; Sí

This work was supported by grants from the State Secretary for R+D of Spain and FEDER/FSE (FIS12/1166 and 13/0288), CIBERESP and the European Union (FP7-HEALTH-2012-Proposal No: 305483-2, FRAILOMIC Initiative)

The scarce research on the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on mental health among older adults suggests a protective effect against depression. We prospectively examined the association between patterns of moderate alcohol consumption, depression and psychological distress, using information from 5,299 community-dwelling older adults from the ELSA and Seniors-ENRICA cohorts. A Mediterranean drinking pattern (MDP) was defined as moderate alcohol intake (<40 g/day for men; <24 g/day for women) with a preference for wine and drinking only with meals. Depression was ascertained with the 10-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-10), a self-report of clinically-diagnosed depression, or being on anti-depressant medication (Seniors-ENRICA); and with the 8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) (ELSA). Psychological distress was assessed with the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Compared to never drinkers, moderate drinkers showed comparable scores on the ENRICA-GDS-10 (PRR (95%CI): 1.03 (0.84-1.26)), the ENRICA-GHQ-12 (0.88 (0.73-1.06)), the ELSA-CES-D (0.92 (0.79-1.06)) and the ELSA-GHQ-12 (0.75 (0.55-1.01). The MDP was not associated with the GDS-10 or GHQ-12 scores, or with clinically-diagnosed depression; however drinkers with a preference for wine showed an increased number of psychological distress symptoms (1.31 (1.03-1.66)). In conclusion, we found no consistent protective association between moderate alcohol consumption and depression in older adults. ; This work was supported by grant no. 02/2014 from the Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (Ministry of Health of Spain). Additional support was obtained from FIS grants nos. 12/1166 and 16/609 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, State Secretary of R + D + I and FEDER/FSE); the FRAILOMIC Initiative (European Union FP7 grant agreement 305483-2); the Ageing Trajectories of Health: Longitudinal Opportunities and Synergies (ATHLOS) project (European Union H2020 grant agreement 635316); and the CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP). ELSA waves have been funded jointly by UK government departments and the National Institute on Aging, in the USA. The funding agencies had no role in study design, data analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript preparation or in the decision to submit this manuscript for publication. Dr. Laclaustra was supported by Agencia Aragonesa para la Investigación y Desarrollo (ARAID). ; Sí

Purpose: To examine the associations of specific dietary fats with the risk of disabling hearing impairment in the UK Biobank study. Methods: This cohort study investigated 105,592 participants (47,308 men and 58,284 women) aged ≥ 40 years. Participants completed a minimum of one valid 24-h recall (Oxford Web-Q). Dietary intake of total fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), saturated fatty acids (SFA), and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) was assessed at baseline. Functional auditory capacity was measured with a digit triplet test (DTT), and disabling hearing impairment was defined as a speech reception threshold in noise > − 3.5 dB in any physical exam performed during the follow-up. Results: Over a median follow-up of 3.2 (SD: 2.1) years, 832 men and 872 women developed disabling hearing impairment. After adjustment for potential confounders, including lifestyles, exposure to high-intensity sounds, ototoxic medication and comorbidity, the hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence interval (CI) of disabling hearing function, comparing extreme quintiles of intakes were 0.91 (0.71–1.17) for total fat, 1.09 (0.83–1.44) for PUFA, 0.85 (0.64–1.13) for SFA and 1.01 (0.74–1.36) for MUFA among men. Among women, HRs comparing extreme intakes were 0.98 (0.78–1.24) for total fat, 0.69 (0.53–0.91) for PUFA, 1.26 (0.96–1.65) for SFA, and 0.91 (0.68–1.23) for MUFA. Replacing 5% of energy intake from SFA with an equivalent energy from PUFA was associated with 25% risk reduction (HR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.74–0.77) among women. Conclusions: PUFA intake was associated with decreased risk of disabling hearing function in women, but not in men ; UK Biobank was established by the Wellcome Trust medical charity, Medical Research Council, Department of Health, Scottish Government and the Northwest Regional Development Agency. It has also had funding from the Welsh Government, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, and Diabetes UK. This work was supported by FIS grants 19/319 and 20/1040, (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, State Secretary of R + D + I and FEDER/FSE)

Background: There is emerging evidence of the role of certain nutrients as risk factors for frailty. However, people eat food, rather than nutrients, and no previous study has examined the association between dietary patterns empirically derived from food consumption and the risk of frailty in older adults. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study of 1,872 non-institutionalized individuals aged ≥60 years recruited between 2008 and 2010. At baseline, food consumption was obtained with a validated diet history and, by using factor analysis, two dietary patterns were identified: a 'prudent' pattern, characterized by high intake of olive oil and vegetables, and a 'Westernized' pattern, with a high intake of refined bread, whole dairy products, and red and processed meat, as well as low consumption of fruit and vegetables. Participants were followed-up until 2012 to assess incident frailty, defined as at least three of the five Fried criteria (exhaustion, weakness, low physical activity, slow walking speed, and unintentional weight loss). Results: Over a 3.5-year follow-up, 96 cases of incident frailty were ascertained. The multivariate odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of frailty among those in the first (lowest), second, and third tertile of adherence to the prudent dietary pattern were 1, 0.64 (0.37–1.12), and 0.40 (0.2–0.81), respectively; P-trend = 0.009. The corresponding values for the Westernized pattern were 1, 1.53 (0.85–2.75), and 1.61 (0.85–3.03); P-trend = 0.14. Moreover, a greater adherence to the Westernized pattern was associated with an increasing risk of slow walking speed and weight loss. Conclusions: In older adults, a prudent dietary pattern showed an inverse dose-response relationship with the risk of frailty while a Westernized pattern had a direct relationship with some of their components. Clinical trials should test whether a prudent pattern is effective in preventing or delaying frailty ; Baseline data collection was funded by Sanofi-Aventis. Data collection during follow-up was funded by the Spanish Government grants 09/1626 and 09/0104 (Ministry of Health of Spain). Funding specific for this analysis was obtained from the Spanish Government grant 12/1166 (Ministry of Health of Spain) and the FP7-HEALTH-2012-Proposal No: 305483–2 (FRAILOMIC Initiative). Funders had no role in data analyses, preparation of the manuscript, or in the decision to submit it for publication

Abstract

Background
Oral vitamin C supplementation has been associated with lower risk of chronic postsurgical pain. However, the effect of dietary vitamin C on pain in a non-surgical setting is unknown. We aimed to investigate the association between dietary vitamin C intake and changes over time in chronic pain and its characteristics in community-dwelling adults aged 60+ years.


Methods
We pooled data from participants of the Seniors-ENRICA-1 (n=864) and Seniors-ENRICA-2 (n=862) cohorts who reported pain at baseline or at follow-up. Habitual diet was assessed with a face-to-face diet history and dietary vitamin C intake was estimated using standard food composition tables. Pain changes over time were the difference between scores at baseline and follow-up obtained from a pain scale that considered the frequency, severity, and number of pain locations. Multivariable-adjusted relative risk ratios (RRR) were obtained using multinomial logistic regression.


Results
After a median follow-up of 2.6 years, pain worsened for 696 (40.3%) participants, improved for 734 (42.5%), and did not change for 296 (17.2%). Compared to the lowest tertile of energy-adjusted vitamin C intake, those in the highest tertile had a higher likelihood of overall pain improvement (RRR 1.61 [95% confidence interval 1.07–2.41],p-trend 0.02). Higher vitamin C intake was also associated with lower pain frequency (1.57 [1.00–2.47],p-trend=0.05) and number of pain locations (1.75 [1.13–2.70],p-trend=0.01).


Conclusions
Higher dietary vitamin C intake was associated with improvement of pain and with lower pain frequency and number of pain locations in older adults. Nutritional interventions to increase dietary vitamin C intake with the aim of improving pain management require clinical testing.

Background: There is emerging evidence of the role of diabetes as a risk factor for frailty. However, the mechanisms of this association are uncertain. Methods: Prospective cohort study of 1750 non-institutionalized individuals aged ≥60 years recruited in 2008-2010. At baseline, information was obtained on health behaviors, morbidity, cardiometabolic biomarkers, and antidiabetic treatments. Individuals were considered diabetic if they reported a physician-diagnosis or had fasting serum glucose ≥126 mg/dl. Study participants were followed-up through 2012 to assess incident frailty, defined as at least three of the five Fried criteria. Results: At baseline, the cohort included 346 individuals with diabetes and 1404 without it. Over a mean 3.5-year follow-up, 115 cases of incident frailty were ascertained. After adjustment for age, sex and education, participants with diabetes showed an increased risk of frailty (odds ratio [OR]: 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.42-3.37). Additional adjustment for health behaviors and abdominal obesity yielded a 29.7% reduction in the OR (OR: 1.83; 95%CI: 1.16-2.90). Subsequent adjustment for morbidity produced an additional 8.4% reduction (OR: 1.76; 95%CI: 1.10-2.82), and for cardiometabolic biomarkers, a further 44% reduction (OR: 1.32; 95% 0.70-2.49). In particular, adjustment for HbA1c, lipoproteins and triglycerides accounted for the greatest reductions. Finally, additional adjustment for oral antidiabetic medication reduced the OR to 1.01 (95%CI: 0.46-2.20), while adjustment for nutritional therapy increased it to 1.64 (95%CI: 0.77-3.49). Conclusions: Diabetes mellitus is associated with higher risk of frailty; this association is partly explained by unhealthy behaviors and obesity and, to a greater extent, by poor glucose control and altered serum lipid profile among diabetic individuals. Conversely, diabetes nutritional therapy reduces the risk of frailty ; Baseline data collection was funded by Sanofi-Aventis. Data collection during follow-up was funded by the Spanish Government FIS grants 09/1626 and 09/0104 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III). Funding specific for this analysis was obtained from the Spanish Government FIS grant 12/1166 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III) and the FP7-HEALTH-2012-Proposal No: 305483–2 (FRAILOMIC Initiative).

This work was supported by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, State Secretary of R+D+I of Spain and FEDER/FSE (FIS 13/0288, 16/609 and 16/1512), the European Union (FP7-HEALTH-2012-Proposal No: 305483-2, FRAILOMIC Initiative), the ATHLOS project (EU H2020- Project ID: 635316) and the JPI HDHL (SALAMANDER project).

Data on the combined impact of healthy behaviors on healthcare use in older adults are limited. Methods Study with community-dwelling individuals aged ≥60 years from the Spanish Seniors-ENRICA cohort, recruited in 2008–2010, followed through 2012–2013, and analyzed in 2016 (N=2,021). At baseline, the following healthy behaviors were self-reported: three traditional (never smoking, being physically active, having a healthy diet) and three emerging (sleeping 7–8 hours/day, sitting < 8 hours/day, not living alone). Outcomes were self-reported polypharmacy (five or more drugs per day), primary care physician visits (one or more per month), medical specialist visits (more than one per year), and hospitalization (one or more in the last year). The associations between baseline healthy behaviors and healthcare services used in 2012–2013 were summarized with ORs and 95% CIs from multiple logistic regression, adjusting for demographics, lifestyles, comorbidities, and baseline health services used. Results Most single healthy behaviors were associated with lower use of most health services. Compared with participants with zero or one healthy behavior, those with five or six healthy behaviors showed lower risk of polypharmacy (OR=0.46, 95% CI=0.24, 0.85, p-trend=0.001), visits to the primary care physician (OR=0.50, 95% CI=0.26, 0.96, p-trend=0.013), and hospitalization (OR=0.50, 95% CI=0.24, 1.01, p-trend=0.016). No association was found with visits to the medical specialist. Conclusions The combination of five to six healthy behaviors in older adults is associated with half the risk of polypharmacy and using several healthcare services. In an era of constrained resources in most countries, this information may help inform health policy to control healthcare spending in the future ; Specific funding for this study was obtained from Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS) grant PI13/02321 and PI16/ 01460 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III and FEDER/FSE). RFP-T was supported by the National Government of Ecuador through the National Institution of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT)

Describir de forma sistemática las políticas nutricionales escolares de las 17 comunidades autónomas de España .Método: Mediante una búsqueda en bases de datos bibliográficas, páginas web y otros sistemas d einformación oficiales se localizaron 183 documentos de interés. La información se extrajo de manera siste-mática con el cuestionario SNIPE (School Nutrition Index of Programme Effectiveness), adaptado a España,y se validó por personal de referencia de las consejerías de sanidad y educación de las comunidades participantes. Resultados: El principal objetivo de las políticas es prevenir la obesidad y mejorar la nutrición de los esco-lares. Las 17 comunidades autónomas abordan el servicio de comedor escolar, 11 los servicios de cafetería y las máquinas expendedoras, y 9 el servicio de desayuno. Todas las comunidades usan el Documento de Consenso sobre la Alimentación en los Centros Educativos como referencia para la composición del menú y la calidad nutricional de los productos ofertados en la escuela; sin embargo, solo 4 han regulado estos aspectos por decreto. La frecuencia de evaluación de los objetivos de las políticas varió entre el 58,8% delas comunidades para el suministro alimentario y el 5,9% para la rotación y la calidad de los menús.Conclusión: Aunque todas las comunidades autónomas disponen de estándares para el menú escolar,la cobertura del resto de la oferta alimentaria es variable, la evaluación de objetivos escasa y solo 4comunidades disponen de normativa de obligado cumplimiento. Los estándares nutricionales deben revisarse según el conocimiento científico actual y aprobarse reglamentariamente, en cumplimiento dela legislación vigente (Ley 17/2011) ; To systematically describe the school nutritional policies of the 17 autonomous communitiesof Spain.Method: Through a search of bibliographic databases, web pages and other official information systems,183 documents of interest were identified. Information was systematically collected with the SNIPE(school nutrition index of programme effectiveness) questionnaire, adapted to Spain, and validated byreference staff of the regional government's health and education ministries.Results: The main objective of the policies is to prevent obesity and improve the nutrition of school-children. The 17 autonomous communities cover the school canteen service, 11 cafeteria and vendingmachines, and 9 the breakfast service. All communities use the Consensus Document on School Food as areference for the content of the menu and the nutritional quality of the products offered at the school;however, only 4 of them have regulated these aspects. The evaluation of policy objectives ranges from58.8% of the autonomous communities for food supply to 5.9% for rotation and menu quality.Conclusion: Although all the autonomous communities have standards for the school menu, the stan-dards for the rest of the food supply vary across them; also, evaluation of objectives is scarce and only4 communities have approved mandatory regulations. Nutritional standards should be reviewed accor-ding to current scientific knowledge and enacted by law, in compliance with the current legislation (Act17/2011)

Background: Some studies have analyzed the relation between well-being and mortality but none of them have attempted to disentangle the differential influence that positive affect, negative affect, and evaluative well-being might have on mortality using a longitudinal design in the general population and measuring independently and accurately each component of well-being. The aim of the present study is to assess the association of these well-being components with mortality after adjusting for health and other lifestyle factors and to analyze whether this association is different in people with and without depression. Methods: A nationally representative sample of 4753 people from Spain was followed up after 3 years. Analyses were performed with Cox regression models among the total sample and separately in people with and without depression. Results: In the analyses adjusted for age, sex, and years of education, all three well-being variables showed separately a statistically significant association with mortality. However, after adjustment for health status and other confounders including the other well-being components, only positive affect remained as marginally associated with a decreased risk of mortality in the overall sample [HR = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.73-1.03], in particular among individuals without depression [HR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.68-0.99]. Conclusion: Positive affect is inversely associated with mortality in individuals without depression. Future research should focus on assessing interventions associated with a higher level of positive affect. ; The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement 635316 (ATHLOS Project), from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement number 223071 (COURAGE in Europe), from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation ACI- Promociona (ACI2009-1010), from the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM) Mental Health and Disability Instruments Library Platform, and from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FIS research grants PS09/00295, PS09/01845, PI12/01490, and PI13/00059. Projects PI12/01490 and PI13/00059 have been co-funded by the European Union European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) "A Way to Build Europe." The study was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM). NMM is supported by the programme "Contratos predoctorales para Formación de Personal Investigador, FPI-UAM," Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Introduction: In older adults, the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower risk of chronic diseases, but its association with health-related quality of life (HRQL) is still uncertain. This study assessed the association between the Mediterranean diet and HRQL in 2 prospective cohorts of individuals aged ≥60 years in Spain. Methods: The UAM-cohort (n = 2376) was selected in 2000/2001 and followed-up through 2003. At baseline, diet was collected with a food frequency questionnaire, which was used to develop an 8-item index of Mediterranean diet (UAM-MDP). The Seniors-ENRICA cohort (n = 1911) was recruited in 2008/2010 and followed-up through 2012. At baseline, a diet history was used to obtain food consumption. Mediterranean diet adherence was measured with the PREDIMED score and the Trichopoulou's Mediterranean Diet Score (MSD). HRQL was assessed, at baseline and at the end of follow-up, with the physical and mental component summaries (PCS and MCS) of the SF-36 questionnaire in the UAM-cohort, and the SF-12v.2 questionnaire in the Seniors-ENRICA cohort. Analyses were conducted with linear regression, and adjusted for the main confounders including baseline HRQL. Results: In the UAM-cohort, no significant associations between the UAM-MDP and the PCS or the MCS were found. In the Seniors-ENRICA cohort, a higher PREDIMED score was associated with a slightly better PCS; when compared with the lowest tertile of PREDIMED score, the beta coefficient (95% confidence interval) for PCS was 0.55 (-0.48 to 1.59) in the second tertile, and 1.34 (0.21 to 2.47) in the highest tertile. However, the PREDIMED score was non-significantly associated with a better MCS score. The MSD did not show an association with either the PCS or the MCS. Conclusions: No clinically relevant association was found between the Mediterranean diet and HRQL in older adults in Spain. ; Baseline data collection of the ENRICA-Seniors cohort was funded by Sanofi-Aventis. Data collection during follow-up was funded by FIS a grant 09/162 (Ministry of Health of Spain). Specific funding for this analysis was obtained from FIS grants PI11/01379 and PI12/1166 (Ministry of Health of Spain), and from the "Cátedra UAM de Epidemiología y Control del Riesgo Cardiovascular". RFP-T received a grant from the National Government of Ecuador through the National Institution of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation-SENESCYT

Information on the association between socioeconomic status (SES) throughout life and sarcopenic obesity is scarce, whereas no study has been focused on the association between SES and frail obesity. This analysis estimated the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity and frail obesity, and their associations with SES in older adults. Data were collected in 2012 from 1,765 non-institutionalized individuals aged ≥65 participating in the Seniors-ENRICA study in Spain, by using standardized techniques and equipment. SES throughout life was evaluated with the father's occupation, participant's educational level, former own occupation, and current poor housing condition. Overall, 17.2% of participants had sarcopenic obesity, and 4.0% frail obesity. No association was found between SES and sarcopenic obesity. In contrast, the prevalence of frail obesity was higher in those with lower education, having worked in manual job, and currently having poor housing condition. Having ≥1 social disadvantages throughout life was associated with higher prevalence of frail obesity. The prevalence of this disorder increased by 1.49 (95% CI: 1.21-1.85) times for each social disadvantage added. The OR (95% CI) of frail obesity was 3.13 (1.71-5.7) for those having 3 or 4 vs. 0 or 1 social disadvantages, implying a more complex process beginning early in life. ; Data collection was funded by the following grants: PI13/0288; PI14/0009; PI16/01460; PI16/01512; and PI16/00609 (State Secretary of R+D and FEDER/FSE). BM-F was supported by a CIBERCV contract, RFP-T was supported by the National Government of Ecuador through the National Institution of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation-SENESCYT, and ML research activity is funded by Agencia Aragonesa para la Investigación y el Desarrollo (ARAID)

BACKGROUND: This paper examines the association between use of protective devices, frequency of acute health problems and health-protection information received by participants engaged in the Prestige oil spill clean-up in Asturias and Cantabria, Spain. METHODS: We studied 133 seamen, 135 bird cleaners, 266 volunteers and 265 paid workers selected by random sampling, stratified by type of worker and number of working days. Information was collected by telephone interview conducted in June 2003. The association of interest was summarized, using odds ratios (OR) obtained from logistic regression. RESULTS: Health-protection briefing was associated with use of protective devices and clothing. Uninformed subjects registered a significant excess risk of itchy eyes (OR:2.89; 95%CI:1.21-6.90), nausea/vomiting/dizziness (OR:2.25; 95%CI:1.17-4.32) and throat and respiratory problems (OR:2.30; 95%CI:1.15-4.61). There was a noteworthy significant excess risk of headaches (OR:3.86: 95%CI:1.74-8.54) and respiratory problems (OR:2.43; 95%CI:1.02-5.79) among uninformed paid workers. Seamen, the group most exposed to the fuel-oil, were the worst informed and registered the highest frequency of toxicological problems. CONCLUSION: Proper health-protection briefing was associated with greater use of protective devices and lower frequency of health problems. Among seamen, however, the results indicate poorer dissemination of information and the need of specific guidelines for removing fuel-oil at sea. ; This study was funded in part by the Ministry of Health & Consumer Affairs (Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo) and by the Network of Epidemiology and Public Health Research Centres (RCESP-FIS C03-09). V. Lope's work was funded by the Carlos III Institute of Health (grant no. 03/0007), and J.M. Carrasco's work by the Ministry of Health & Consumer Affairs. ; Sí