Background Frailty is a geriatric syndrome characterized by a decline in physiological reserves, and multiple factors contribute to the occurrence and development of frailty. Growing evidence supports a strong link and overlap between frailty and cognitive impairment, but the mechanisms involved have not yet been fully elucidated. Aim To identify associations between 12 plasma cognition-related biomarkers and frailty in community-dwelling older adults. Methods A total of 375 participants (age 70.9 ± 5.8, 165 men and 210 women) were included in this study. Frailty was assessed using the modified Fried frailty phenotype. Participants were divided into not-frail group (n = 313) and frail group (n = 62). Twelve plasma cognitive biomarkers were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the association between different biomarkers and frailty status. Results Among the 12 biomarkers, only pTau was higher in frail individuals than in their not-frail peers (471.3 ± 58.1 pg/mL vs. 451.9 ± 61.1 pg/mL, p = 0.022). No other biomarkers had any significant association with frailty, including total-Tau (tTau), neurofilament light (NFL), amyloid-β 40 (Aβ40), amyloid-β 40 (Aβ42), S100 calcium binding protein B (S100B), visinin-like protein 1 (VLP-1), Alzheimer-associated neuronal thread protein (AD7cNTP), β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP), chitinase-3-like-1 (CHI3L1), soluble complement receptor 1 (sCR1) and heart-type fatty acid binding protein (hFABP). Furthermore, pTau was compared between negative and positive subject groups for each individual criterion of frailty. Significantly higher levels of pTau were observed in those who were positive for the criteria of low grip strength (451.2 ± 61.4 pg/mL vs. 469.1 ± 57.6 pg/mL, p = 0.019), exhaustion (451.2 ± 61.6 pg/mL vs. 466.4 ± 58.4 pg/mL, p = 0.035) and low physical activity (451.1 ± 60.7 pg/mL vs. 465.7 ± 60.7 pg/mL, p = 0.034) when compared to those who were negative for each corresponding criterion. Finally, in the multivariable-adjusted analysis, the association between pTau and frailty was statistically significantly associated (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.04–1.89), even after adjusting. Conclusions The present study found a potential association between pTau and frailty. Future works should monitor the longitudinal trajectory of changes of pTau concentrations in frailty older adults. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind will contribute to biomarker research in frailty.

Young migrant women workers frequently experience disparities in accessing health services, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, especially in urban settings. This study assesses the barriers and utilization of SRH services and explores factors associated with the utilization of these services among young female migrant workers working in the industrial zone (IZ) in Vietnam. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1061 young women migrant workers working in an IZ in Hanoi, Vietnam. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with utilization of SRH services. Nearly 35% of the participants reported using SRH services at least once since working in the IZ. Additionally, around 78% of the participants reported using a contraceptive method during their last sexual encounter. The study also found that older participants (25–29 years old) were nearly two times more likely to use SRH services than younger participants (18–24 years old) (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.19–3.06). Married participants had nearly six times higher odds of using SRH services compared to single participants (OR = 5.98, 95% CI: 3.71–9.63), and participants with higher incomes were more likely to use SRH services (OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01–1.04). The most commonly reported barriers to access SRH services were inconvenient hours of service operation (26.2%), followed by long distance from the service location (9.2%) and high service cost (5.2%). This study found a low level of SRH service utilization and identified several barriers to accessing these services among the study participants. The study findings provide important evidence insights for policymakers and program managers to develop and implement policies that help reduce barriers and enhance the provision of SRH services tailored to the needs of IZ married and unmarried women migrant workers in the IZ in rapidly developing and urbanizing countries like Vietnam and other low- and middle-income countries with similar contexts.

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Heavy alcohol use is negatively affecting antiretroviral therapy adherence, mental health and health-related quality of life among people living with HIV (PLWH). This paper aims to test the mediation model examining whether changes in depression symptoms mediate in the relationship between health-related quality of life and alcohol use among male PLWH who consume alcohol in India. The study is guided by the stress-coping model, which posits that individuals facing stress may turn to maladaptive coping mechanisms such as alcohol use to alleviate their distress, which includes depression and a low health-related quality of life due to various physical, psychological, and social factors associated with the HIV infection. This study used the data from a randomized controlled clinical trial entitled ‘Alcohol and ART adherence: Assessment, Intervention, and Modeling in India’. Participants completed surveys assessing demographic characteristics, health-related quality of life, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use. Multiple simple mediation models were investigated to examine whether changes in depression symptoms mediated the association between the changes in health-related quality of life and alcohol use after a 9-month follow-up. A total of 940 male PLWH were recruited and interviewed, with 564 participants in the intervention group and 376 participants in the control group. After a 9-month intervention, the mediation results showed that, among intervention participants, a decrease in depressiove symptoms mediated the relationship between improved health-related quality of life and lower alcohol use. However, among control participants, changes in depressive symptoms did not mediate the relationship between changes in health-related quality of life and alcohol use. The study findings have practical and theoretical implications. From a practical perspective, the results suggest that interventions aimed at simultaneously improving HRQoL and depressive symptoms among male PLWH with alcohol use may help reduce alcohol consumption. Therefore, interventions that address depressive symptoms in addition to improving HRQoL may have an even greater impact on reducing alcohol use among this population. Theoretically, the study supports the use of the stress-coping theory in understanding the association between HRQoL, mental health, and alcohol use among male PLWH, contributing to existing literature on a gap in our understanding of the interactions among these factors among PLWH.

Background. Young migrant workers living in low- and middle-income countries often experience the barriers and inadequate access to HIV prevention and treatment services. This study examines the prevalence of HIV testing, associated factors and reasons for obtaining and not obtaining HIV testing among young women migrant workers working in the industrial zones in Hanoi, Vietnam. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1061 young women migrant workers (aged 18 to 29) working in the Thang Long industrial zone in Hanoi, Vietnam. Data were collected via a face-to-face interview from January 2020 to June 2021. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to explore factors associated with ever-testing for HIV Results. The study found a low level of HIV testing and high rates of unprotected sex; only 18.7% of participants reported having ever tested for HIV. Among those who reported never having tested for HIV, 46.4% said they had ever had sex, and 38.8% reported not using condoms during their most recent sexual encounter. Factors associated with prior testing for HIV included older age, being married, higher HIV knowledge, having sex with and without condoms, and prior use of sexual and reproductive health and HIV services. Conclusions. Overall, a low level of HIV testing, high rates of unprotected sex and low perceived risk of HIV among study participants point to a need to implement targeted HIV interventions that can improve safe sex practices and perceptions of risky sexual behaviors, as well as take into consideration factors facilitating HIV testing HIV testing among industrial zones women migrant workers.

Background: Depression is a common mental disorder that significantly contributes to the global burden of disease. Studies have consistently reported that migrant workers experience higher levels of depressive symptoms, especially women. Aims: This study aimed to examine the mediation role of sexual self-efficacy on the relationship between psychological wellbeing, and depressive symptoms among young female migrant workers in Vietnam’s industrial zones. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1061 female migrant workers aged 18 to 29 from January to November 2020 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Anonymous interview questionnaires were used to collect data on demographic characteristics, psychosocial wellbeing (PWB), sexual self-efficacy, and depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis was conducted to explore the mediation effect of sexual self-efficacy on the relationship between PWB and depressive symptoms. Results: Nearly 8% of the female migrant workers reported experiencing depressive symptoms. The final mediation model showed that the effect of overall psychological wellbeing on depressive symptoms was partially mediated by sexual self-efficacy. Specifically, 4.1% of the effect of overall PWB on depressive symptoms was mediated through sexual self-efficacy. In the PWB subdimension analyses, sexual self-efficacy mediated 14.3% of the effect of personal growth, 8.8% of the effect of purpose in life, 8.0% of the effect of autonomy, and 7.8% of the effect of environmental mastery on depressive symptoms, respectively. Conclusion: The study findings demonstrate that sexual self-efficacy plays an important role in the relationship between psychosocial wellbeing and depressive symptoms among female migrant workers in industrial zones in Vietnam. Improving psychosocial wellbeing and promoting sexual health including sexual self-efficacy should be prioritized when addressing depressive symptoms and mental health concerns among industrial zone female migrant workers in Vietnam, which may also be applicable in other low- and middle-income countries with similar socio-cultural settings.