The study assessed the relationship between prior diagnosis of diabetes and its control with depression score, differences in socioeconomic, lifestyle, health characteristics and diabetes control by adherence to treatment in population-based sample of older individuals. Patients and Methods:The analysis of the sub-sample of Polish cohort of the HAPIEE (Health, Alcohol, and Psychosocial Factors in Eastern Europe) study was conducted; 464 participants were interviewed and random first 360 (78%) underwent physical examination and blood sample tests. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The robust regression method was applied to assess the association between depression score and diabetes diagnosis as well as diabetes control. Results: There were 97 participants (21.0%) at mean age of 73.6 years (SD=6.31 years) with prior diagnosis of diabetes. Mean HbA1c concentration was 6.65% (SD=1.0) The majority of patients (55.7%) used oral medication with diet. Nearly 20% declared the use of oral treatment alone, and 10.3% used combined treatment of oral medications, insulin, and diet. In this study, 86.6% of the participants with diabetes confirmed self-monitoring of blood glucose levels and 58.8% were on high-quality diet. No differences in socioeconomic, lifestyle, health characteristics or control of diabetes by adherence to diabetes treatment were found. After adjustment for age and gender, diagnosis of diabetes was associated with greater depressive score by about 2 points (β=2.02, 95% CI=0.16;3.88). However, no significant association between depression score and any indicator of diabetes control was found. Conclusion:In older individuals with diabetes, depression score was higher compared to those without diabetes, but it was not related to poorer diabetes control. No differences in socioeconomic, lifestyle, health characteristics and control of diabetes by adherence to diabetes treatment may suggest that in this age group some other, less known factors are substantial for achievement of treatment targets.
One of the most crucial determinants of early-life development is the experience of childhood adversities. However, limited evidence is available for how these experiences shape later-life reproductive outcomes in women. Here we test the association between early-life adversities and reproductive parameters in women. Post-reproductive women (N = 105; mean age = 59.7; SD = 10.09) were recruited at the Mogielica Human Ecology Study Site in Poland within a traditional population with a low prevalence of birth control usage and fully traced reproductive histories. Reproductive parameters, as well as exposure to early-life abuse and neglect, were assessed using questionnaires. Childhood adversity was associated negatively with age at menarche (p = 0.009). Analyses on specific subtypes revealed that compared to women who did not experience any kind of early-life adversities in childhood, those who were exposed to emotional (p = 0.007) and physical (p = 0.023) neglect had an earlier age at menarche, those who experienced emotional abuse reported an earlier age at first birth (p = 0.035), and those who were exposed to physical abuse gave birth to fewer number of sons (p = 0.010). Our results suggest that women exposed to childhood adversities experience earlier physiological reproductive readiness and timing of the first birth, but their overall biological condition might be impaired as they bear fewer sons.
Introduction: Prejudices might negatively influence the well-being of people they concern and often lead to discrimination. Hence, it’s important to search for effective ways to improve intergroup attitudes and implement them during education. One of the most effective known methods is intergroup contact. However, as it’s not always possible to implement, it’s important to search for more accessible methods. The article proposes a new form of reducing prejudices, i.e. a letter of contact with fictitious outgroup members. In such interaction, people receive a letter and are asked for a reply. The method is based on two concepts of improving attitudes: imaginary contact and narrative about positive intergroup interaction. Its effectiveness in improving attitudes was experimentally tested and compared to a typical imaginary contact task. Method: Participants were 179 high school students. They were divided into three experimental conditions: replying to a letter from an outgroup member; replying to a similar letter from an ingroup member; imagining interaction with an ingroup member. After the manipulation, participants completed an intergroup attitudes questionnaire. Results: What had an impact on intergroup attitudes was the perceived pleasure of the task, while the type of manipulation had no effects. Conclusions: Results suggest that in manipulations based on imaginary contact or narration, responses are probably influenced not by imaging interaction with an outgroup member, but by the positive character of the task, which probably has an impact on attitudes by priming a good mood. This calls into question the effectiveness of methods of imaginary contact and narrative about the contact. They probably temporarily affect mood but have no influence on prejudice.
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