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Holman posted an update 1 year, 6 months ago
BACKGROUND Older adults complete suicide at a disproportionately higher rate compared to the general population, with firearms the most common means of suicide. State gun laws may be a policy remedy. Less is known about Gun Violence Restricting Order (GVRO) laws, which allow for removal of firearms from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, and their effects on suicide rates among older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of state firearm laws with the incidence of firearm, non-firearm-related, and total suicide among older adults, with a focus on GVRO laws. METHODS This is a longitudinal study of US states using data from 2012 to 2016. The outcome variables were firearm, non-firearm and total suicide rates among older adults. Predictor variables were [1] total number of gun laws to assess for impact of overall firearm legislation at the state level, and [2] GVRO laws. RESULTS The total number of firearm laws, as well as GVRO laws, were negatively associated with firearm-related suicide rate among older adults ages 55-64 and > 65 years-old (p less then 0.001). There was a small but significant positive association of total number of firearm laws to non-firearm-related suicide rates and a negative association with total suicide rate. GVRO laws were not significantly associated with non-firearm-related suicide and were negatively associated with total suicide rate. CONCLUSION Stricter firearm legislation, as well as GVRO laws, are protective against firearm-relate suicides among older adults.BACKGROUND Body composition is a crucial factor associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, no study on this relationship has been performed in the Chinese population. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between body composition indicators and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus among Chinese adults undergoing medical examination. METHODS Between January 2018 and July 2018, a retrospective cross-sectional study was performed on 3367 (2307 male and 1060 female) participants aged ≥18 years undergoing medical examination in Zhengzhou. Logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the relationship between body composition indicators and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to calculate cutoff points and the predictive power of each indicator. RESULTS Among the 3367 participants, 12.53% were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Multivariate logistic analysis indicated that male participants (odds ratio [OR] = 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29-2.19), older participants (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.04-1.06), participants with a waist-to-hip ratio above the reference value (OR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.18-2.07), participants with body fat percentage above the reference value (OR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.01-2.68), and participant with a large visceral fat area (OR = 1.01, 95% CI 1.01-1.02) had a high risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage, and visceral fat area were the best indicators of type 2 diabetes mellitus (P less then 0.001) with cutoff values of 0.90, 25.02%, and 92.00 cm2, respectively. CONCLUSION This study suggests a predictive relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus and body composition indicators of waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage, and visceral fat area, which are valuable for screening diabetes and providing effective health education and behavioral intervention for high-risk populations.BACKGROUND Carers provide both practical and emotional support and often play an important role in coordination of care for recipients. The demands of caring may lead to increased levels of stress for the carer, which can affect mental health and quality of life. This study examined the relationship between being a carer and psychological distress (assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K10]), and explored the moderating effect of social support in that relationship using a large sample. METHODS The study used data from the 45 and Up study, a large cohort study of individuals aged 45 years and over in New South Wales, Australia, and applied multiple regression methods and moderation analysis. The sample for the current study comprised 267,041 participants drawn from the baseline dataset, with valid data on the primary outcome (carer status). RESULTS The mean age of participants was 62.73 (±11.18) years, and 4.23% and 7.13% were identified as full-time and part-time carers, respectively. Compared to non-carers, full-time carers had K10 scores that were on average, higher by 1.87, while part-time carers’ K10 scores were on average higher by 1.60 points. A perception of social support reduced the strength of the relationship between carer status and psychological distress by 40% for full-time carers and 60% for part-time carers. CONCLUSIONS The findings have important implications, for both prevention and treatment of psychological problems among carers. In terms of prevention, they suggest that public health campaigns focused on increasing awareness regarding the psychological burden faced by carers would be useful. In terms of intervention, potential treatments that focus on improving social support networks may be helpful. The results are particularly important in the current context of an ageing population in Australian and other developed countries, where caregiving is likely to play an increasing role in the care and support services.BACKGROUND Bullous serous retinal detachment (RD) with retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) tear is a rare and severe variant of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). Due to its atypical presentation, it may raise diagnostic issues, leading to inappropriate therapeutic procedures. BAY 11-7821 ic50 The optimum treatment for this CSC variant is still uncertain. CASE PRESENTATION A 65-year-old male was referred for vitreo-retinal surgery with a provisional diagnosis of rhegmatogenous RD in his right eye. Dilated fundus examination showed an inferior bullous RD with no evidence of retinal breaks, while a large RPE tear was detected in the temporal quadrant. Ocular ultrasound showed no mass lesion. The axial length was 23.63 mm. Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) revealed a pachychoroid pattern in both eyes. The patient referred a history of CSC in the right eye and the recent use of intravenous corticosteroids for bronchitis. Laser therapy and photodynamic therapy were not applicable due to the extension and elevation of the RD.