Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are predominantly lifestyle related. Mental health issues also influence CVD progression and quality of life. Self-management of lifestyle behaviors and mental well-being may play a significant role in reducing the CVD burden. Previous studies have shown that mindfulness practices are associated with psychological well-being, but their effects on CVD self-management are mainly unknown. Methods: The study had a before–after design and included adults over 50 years with CVD and/or one or more risk factors from three European countries. Follow-up was six months. The intervention was a 7-week mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) in a group setting focusing on chronic disease self-management. Outcomes were measured with validated self-report questionnaires at baseline and follow-up: self-efficacy, physical activity, nutrition, smoking, alcohol use, sleep and fatigue, social support, stress, depression, medication adherence, and self-rated health. Results: Among 352 participants, 324 (92%) attended ≥4 of the 7 group sessions and completed follow-up. During follow-up, self-efficacy, stress, social support, depressive symptoms, and self-rated health significantly improved. No significant changes were detected for other outcomes. Conclusions: A 7-week MBI focusing on chronic disease self-management was conducive to improved self-efficacy, emotional well-being, social support, and self-rated overall health during six months. These findings support the use of MBIs for improving self-management in cardiovascular care. ISRCTN registry-number ISRCTN11248135.

Background Due to the aging population, there is a need for monitoring well-being and safety while living independently. A low-intrusive monitoring system is based on a person’s use of energy or water. Objective The study's objective was to provide a systematic overview of studies that monitor the health and well-being of older people using energy (eg, electricity and gas) and water usage data and study the outcomes on health and well-being. Methods CENTRAL, Embase, MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched systematically from inception until November 8, 2021. The inclusion criteria were that the study had to be published in English, have full-text availability, target independent-living people aged 60 years and older from the general population, have an observational design, and assess the outcomes of a monitoring system based on energy (ie, electricity, gas, or water) usage on well-being and safety. The quality of the studies was assessed by the QualSyst systematic review tool. Results The search strategy identified 2920 articles. The majority of studies focused on the technical algorithms underlying energy usage data and related sensors. One study was included in this review. This study reported that the smart energy meter data monitoring system was considered unobtrusive and was well accepted by the older people and professionals involved. Energy usage in a household acted as a unique signature and therefore provided useful insight into well-being and safety. This study lacked statistical power due to the small number of participants and the low number of observed events. In addition, the quality of the study was rated as low. Conclusions This review identified only 1 study that evaluated the impact of an energy usage monitoring system on the well-being and safety of older people. The absence of reliable evidence impedes any definitive guidance or recommendations for practice. Because this emerging field has not yet been studied thoroughly, many questions remain open for further research. Future studies should focus on the further development of a monitoring system and the evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of these systems. Trial Registration PROSPERO CRD42022245713; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=245713

BACKGROUND Due to the aging population, there is a need for monitoring well-being and safety while living independently. A low-intrusive monitoring system is based on a person’s use of energy or water. OBJECTIVE The study's objective was to provide a systematic overview of studies that monitor the health and well-being of older people using energy (eg, electricity and gas) and water usage data and study the outcomes on health and well-being. METHODS CENTRAL, Embase, MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched systematically from inception until November 8, 2021. The inclusion criteria were that the study had to be published in English, have full-text availability, target independent-living people aged 60 years and older from the general population, have an observational design, and assess the outcomes of a monitoring system based on energy (ie, electricity, gas, or water) usage on well-being and safety. The quality of the studies was assessed by the QualSyst systematic review tool. RESULTS The search strategy identified 2920 articles. The majority of studies focused on the technical algorithms underlying energy usage data and related sensors. One study was included in this review. This study reported that the smart energy meter data monitoring system was considered unobtrusive and was well accepted by the older people and professionals involved. Energy usage in a household acted as a unique signature and therefore provided useful insight into well-being and safety. This study lacked statistical power due to the small number of participants and the low number of observed events. In addition, the quality of the study was rated as low. CONCLUSIONS This review identified only 1 study that evaluated the impact of an energy usage monitoring system on the well-being and safety of older people. The absence of reliable evidence impedes any definitive guidance or recommendations for practice. Because this emerging field has not yet been studied thoroughly, many questions remain open for further research. Future studies should focus on the further development of a monitoring system and the evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of these systems. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO CRD42022245713; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=245713

This study aims to identify the factors associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among community-dwelling older adults. Baseline and follow-up data from the ‘Appropriate care paths for frail elderly patients: a comprehensive model’ study were analysed. Physical and mental HRQOL were measured by the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). Linear regression models were used to evaluate associations between sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle factors and HRQOL. The sample included 661 participants (mean age = 77.4 years; 47% female) from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Frailty was negatively associated with physical (B = -6.14; P < 0.001) and mental (B = -7.06; P < 0.001) HRQOL. Similarly, participants with a higher score on activities of daily living limitations had lower physical (B = -1.08; P < 0.001) and mental (B = -0.24; P = 0.019) HRQOL. Female sex (B = -2.27; P < 0.001), multimorbidity (B = -2.83; P < 0.001), and a high risk of medication-related problems (B = -3.06; P < 0.001) were associated with reduced physical HRQOL, and loneliness (B = -3.73; P < 0.001) with reduced mental HRQOL. In contrast, higher age (B = 1.88; P = 0.022) and living alone (B = 3.48; P < 0.001) were associated with better mental HRQOL in the multivariate models. The findings of this study imply that future interventions aimed at promoting the health and autonomy of community-dwelling older adults could be tailored to subpopulations with relatively poor self-reported HRQOL, such as frail or lonely older adults.