Association between self-rated health status and mortality riskamong the elderly / 预防医学

Objective@#To investigate the association between self-rated health status and mortality risk, and to evaluate the predictive value of self-rated health status for mortality risk among the elderly.@*Methods@#Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) database, data of sociodemographic information, self-rated health status and mortality of the elderly aged 60 years and older were collected from 2011 to 2018. The association between self-rated health status and mortality risk among the elderly was analyzed using a multivariable Cox proportional risk regression model.@*Results@#Totally 4 850 individuals were included, with an median age of 65 (interquartile range, 8) years. There were 2 485 males (51.24%) and 2 365 females (48.76%). There were 877 individuals (18.08%) rated their health as good, 2 078 individuals (42.85%) as general, 1 895 individuals (39.07%) as poor. A total of 28 955 person-years were followed up, with an average follow-up of 5.97 years per person. There were 855 deaths by the end of follow-up in 2018, and the median survival time was 7 (interquartile range, 3) years. Multivariable Cox proportional risk regression analysis showed that there were interactive effects of age, sex and self-rated health status on mortality, respectively (both P<0.05). The results of gender-stratified analysis showed that there was no significant association between self-rated health status and mortality risk in old women (P>0.05). The mortality risk was higher in old men with poor self-rated health than with good self-rated health (<70 years, HR=5.382, 95%CI: 3.263-8.876; 70 to 79 years, HR=3.536, 95%CI: 1.070-11.686; ≥80 years, HR=3.043, 95%CI: 1.827-5.066).@*Conclusion@#There is an association between self-rated health status and mortality risk among the elderly, the old men with poor self-rated health had a higher mortality risk.

Association between intrinsic capacity and falls among older adults / 预防医学

Objective @#To examine the association between intrinsic capacity and falls in older adults, so as to provide insights into the risk assessment of falls. @*Methods@#Older adults aged 60 years and above were selected from two districts and one county in Bengbu City, Anhui Province from September 2022 to June 2023 using convenience sampling method. Demographic information, health-related behaviors and incidence of falls among participants were collected through questionnaire surveys. The intrinsic capacity included five dimensions: sensory, motor, vitality, cognition and psychology, which were investigated by the sensory dimension screening scale recommended by the World Health Organization, the Simple Physical Functioning Battery (SPPB), the Micro Nutritional Assessment Scale (MNAS-SF), the Brief Intelligent Mental State Examination Scale (MMSE), and the Center for Evaluation of Streamlined Depression Levels 10-entry scale (CESD-10), respectively. A total score of 1 or more indicated a decrease in intrinsic capacity. The association between intrinsic capacity and falls in older adults was analyzed by a multivariable logistic regression model.@*Results@#A total of 1 950 questionnaires were allocated, and 1 917 were valid, with an effective rate of 98.30%. There were 934 men (48.72%) and 983 women (51.28%), with a mean age of (68.15±3.42) years. There were 1 352 rural residents (70.53%) and 1 431 illiterate and primary school-educated residents (74.65%). In the past year, 347 residents fell, accounting for 18.10%. The median comprehensive score for intrinsic capacity was 1.00 (interquartile range, 2.00) points, and 1 320 had a decrease in intrinsic capacity, accounting for 68.86%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that decline in intrinsic ability was associated with the risk of falls after adjustment for age, gender, educational level, marital status, alcohol consumption and self-rated health status (OR=1.531, 95%CI: 1.408-1.721).@*Conclusion@#Decreased intrinsic capacity in older adults may contribute to an increased risk of falls.

Research on the healthy life expectancy of older adult individuals in China based on intrinsic capacity health standards and social stratification analysis.

Background: Based on the health standard of intrinsic capacity, this paper conducts an empirical study on the healthy life expectancy of older adult individuals aged 60 and older in China and analyzes the health inequities associated with different social characteristics to provide a reference for improving care for the older adult in China. Methods: Data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 2011 to 2015 were used to evaluate the intrinsic capacity level of older adult individuals, and the multistate life table method was used to measure the healthy life expectancy of older adult individuals in China with the help of IMaCH software. Based on the theory of social stratification, the health inequality between older adult individuals in different social classes was analyzed in three dimensions: residence, income and education level. Results: The calculation results show that the average life expectancy of the older adult in China at age 60 is 21.07 years, the healthy life expectancy is 16.89 years, and the healthy life expectancy accounts for 80.2% of the average life expectancy. The healthy life expectancy of older adult individuals with different social characteristics in China shows significant differences, and the healthy life expectancy of older adult individuals who are male, live in urban environments, have high levels of education and have middle- to high-income levels is significantly better than that of older adult individuals who are female, live in rural areas, have low levels of education and income. Conclusion: Healthy life expectancy measured by intrinsic capacity as the health standard has a certain reference value, which reflects the overall health level of older adult individuals in China and expands the transformation and multidimensional understanding of the healthy thinking of older adult individuals in China. The analysis by social stratification reflects the large health inequities that exist in the older adult population in China.

Development of an internet based system for modeling biotin metabolism using Bayesian networks.

Biotin is an essential water-soluble vitamin crucial for maintaining normal body functions. The importance of biotin for human health has been under-appreciated but there is plenty of opportunity for future research with great importance for human health. Currently, carrying out predictions of biotin metabolism involves tedious manual manipulations. In this paper, we report the development of BiotinNet, an internet based program that uses Bayesian networks to integrate published data on various aspects of biotin metabolism. Users can provide a combination of values on the levels of biotin related metabolites to obtain the predictions on other metabolites that are not specified. As an inherent feature of Bayesian networks, the uncertainty of the prediction is also quantified and reported to the user. This program enables convenient in silico experiments regarding biotin metabolism, which can help researchers design future experiments while new data can be continuously incorporated.