Dating Violence among Undergraduate Medical Students at a Public University in Mexico City: An Exploratory Study.

Gender-based violence (GBV) and cyber-aggression are growing problems in Mexico, but there is a dearth of information on their associated risks. We aimed to determine the prevalence of dating violence (DV) and cyber-aggression in a public campus and compared students' acceptability of abusive DV based on their sex and sexual orientation. We employed a cross-sectional design to survey 964 first-year medical students attending a public university. We analyzed who found "acceptable" abusive behaviors from a dating partner and carried out descriptive analyses of sample characteristics by sex. We included 633 women and 331 men. Homosexual and bisexual orientation was lower among women (1.5%, 4.8%) vs. men (16.9%, 7.2%). Of women and men, respectively, 64.2% and 35.8% reported having been in a dating relationship. Experiencing abusive behaviors in the year prior to the study was associated with students' level of "acceptability". A total of 43.5% of the students who experienced cyber-aggression did not report any mental health consequences, 32.6% did not seek professional help, and 17.4% reported feeling depressed. Students that accepted emotionally abusive DV behaviors displayed a fourfold risk of experiencing physical abuse. Women and sexual minorities are more at risk of experiencing GBV and DV. More male students reported being victims of cyber-aggression.

The association between low cognitive reserve and subjective memory complaints in functionally independent older women.

BACKGROUND: Several factors have been found to defend against pathologic cognitive decline in aging (i.e., cognitive reserve [CR]); however, other factors, including subjective memory complaints (SMC) and decreased functionality are considered early indicators of underlying neurocognitive dysfunction. Despite these known associations, the relationship between the presence of CR and SMC remains equivocal. This study sought to determine the relationship between objectively measured CR and SMC in a sample of functionally independent older women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited women aged ≥60 years who attended fitness or continuing education programs at the University for Seniors in Mexico City. Participants underwent a battery of physical and cognitive evaluations, including the Cognitive Reserve Questionnaire (CRQ), and were asked probing questions used to identify the presence of SMC. RESULTS: The 269 participants had a median age of 69 years; most were single (40.5 %), lived alone (32.7 %), retired (58.2 %), well-educated (≥12 years of education), and functionally independent (89.2 %). 62 % scored "high" on the CRQ, while 9.3 % scored "low". After adjusting for multiple covariates, an independent association between CRQ score and the probability to have SMC was found (adjusted OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.80-0.95, p-value = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: This study identified a relationship between low CR and the presence of SMC, independently of the cognitive function and motoric marker of muscle strength (i.e., low gait speed and handgrip strength) in functionally independent older women over 60y. This relationship remains independent of other variables such as age, symptoms of depression and instrumented activities of daily living.

The Paradoxical Effect of Living Alone on Cognitive Reserve and Mild Cognitive Impairment among Women Aged 60+ in Mexico City.

An elderly person who lives alone must often be autonomous and self-sufficient in daily living activities. We explored if living alone and marital status were associated with mild cognitive impairment and low cognitive reserve in a sample of Mexican women aged 60+ attending continuing education courses using a cross-sectional design. Objective cognitive functions were assessed using the MMSE and Blessed Dementia Scale. We administered the Cognitive Reserve Questionnaire. Independence skills were assessed with the Katz index and Lawton index. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. We recruited 269 participants (x¯ = 69.0 ± 5.8 years). Single, widowed, separated, and divorced women comprised 73% of the participants. A third lived alone and 84% had completed high school. Mild cognitive deficit was observed among 24.5-29.0%; the upper range for cognitive reserve was 61.7%. Living alone versus living with someone was associated with cognitive impairment (OR = 0.51, p = 0.04) and with low to medium cognitive reserve (OR = 0.51, p = 0.02) after adjusting for confounding variables. Living alone was an independent factor associated with a lower probability of displaying mild cognitive impairment and a higher probability of displaying high cognitive reserve. Women living alone in this study had a more robust cognitive framework and had built their own support networks.