Changes in Occupational Roles and Common Mental Disorders in Mothers of Children With Congenital Zika Syndrome.

IMPORTANCE: The functional limitations and long-term dependence of children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) may lead to changes in maternal occupational roles, which can have a negative impact on mothers' well-being and mental health. OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes in occupational roles and their effects on the mental health of mothers who have a child with CZS. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Rehabilitation centers of the Brazilian Unified Health System in Alagoas, Northeast Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: Forty mothers of children with CZS. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The Role Checklist and the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 were used to assess the mothers' involvement in occupational roles and common mental disorders (CMDs), respectively. The relationship between changes in occupational roles and CMDs was analyzed using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: Our study showed that loss of paid work (p = .026) is associated with poor mental health of mothers of children with CZS. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Strengthening public policies to reduce the economic impact of CZS on families, offering multidisciplinary counseling, and implementing psychoeducational strategies for promoting maternal psychological adjustment are needed. WHAT THIS ARTICLE ADDS: The time and money spent by mothers in daily care activities for children with CZS contribute to a reduction in family income and social well-being and have a negative impact on mothers' mental health.

Telomere length and frailty in older adults-A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Telomere shortening has been proposed as a potentially useful biomarker of human ageing and age-related morbidity and mortality. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize results from individual studies on the telomere length according to the frailty status and frailty index in older adults. We searched the PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases to identify studies that evaluated the telomere length in frail and non-frail older adults and the relationship between telomere length and frailty index score. We used the base pairs (bp) as a measure of the telomere length. Summary estimates were calculated using random-effects models. Nine studies were included in the present systematic review and a total of 10,079 older adults were analyzed. We found that the frail older adults (n = 355) had shorter telomeres than the non-frail (n = 1894) (Standardized Mean Difference [SMD] -0.41; 95% CI -0.73 to -0.09; P = 0.01; I2 = 82%). Significant differences in telomere length between frail and non-frail older adults were identified in Hispanic (SMD -1.31; 95% CI -1.71 to -0.92; P < 0.0001; I2 = 0%) but not in Non-Hispanic countries (SMD -0.13; 95% CI -0.26 to 0.00; P = 0.06; I2 = 0%). Similar results were found in the adjusted meta-analysis (SMD -0.56; 95% -1.12 to 0.00; P = 0.05; I2 = 85%). A significant but weak relationship was found between telomere length and frailty index analyzing 8244 individuals (SMD -0.06; 95% IC -0.10 to 0.01; P = 0.01; I2 = 0%). The current available evidence suggests that telomere length may be not a meaningful biomarker for frailty. Because the potential influence of ethnicity in shortening of telomeres and decline in physiologic reserves associated with aging, additional multiethnic studies are needed.

Association between human herpes virus seropositivity and frailty in the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Frailty is an emerging geriatric syndrome characterized by decreased physiologic reserve and increased vulnerability to environmental factors. Several studies have examined the association between persistent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and poor clinical outcomes in the elderly, but the results are often contradictory. Here, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to analyze the association between human herpesvirus seropositivity [CMV, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Varicella zoster virus (VZV), and Herpes simplex virus (HSV)] and frailty in elderly people. Searches were performed in PubMed, SCOPUS, Lilacs, IBECS, and Web of Science databases. We used the odds ratio (OR) as a measure of the association between herpesvirus infections and frailty. Summary estimates were calculated using random-effects models. Six studies were included in the present systematic review. The data from 2559 elderly subjects were analyzed; 1571 of the subjects had ages between 60 and 79 years, and 988 of the subjects were older than 80. We found an association between CMV seropositivity and frailty in the elderly aged 60-79 years (OR 2.33, CI 95% 1.48-3.67) but not in the oldest-old subjects (OR 0.67, CI 95% 0.42-1.05). Moreover, no association was found between EBV, VZV, and HSV infections and frailty. Current evidence suggests an association between CMV seropositivity and frailty in individuals aged 60-79 years old.