[Nonagenarians on an emergency department for internal medicine and cardiology : Comparison of comorbidities, disease course and survival with younger patients].

Background: Little is known about how younger and older hospitalized patients differ with respect to reasons for admission, comorbidities, diagnostics, treatment and intercurrent problems.

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the previously named characteristics in the clinical profile of patients > 90 years old (nonagenarians) with a control group of patients 70-75 years old admitted to an emergency hospital department for internal medicine and cardiology.

Material And Method: The study included all consecutive nonagenarians and gender-matched control patients who were admitted during 2011.

No Socioeconomic Inequalities in Mortality among Catholic Monks: A Quasi-Experiment Providing Evidence for the Fundamental Cause Theory.

We propose a novel approach to test the fundamental cause theory (FCT) by analyzing the association between socioeconomic status (SES), as measured by the order titles "brothers" and "padres," and mortality in 2,421 German Catholic monks born between 1840 and 1959. This quasi-experiment allows us to study the effect of SES on mortality in a population with largely standardized living conditions. Mortality analyses based on Kaplan-Meier product limit estimation show that there were no statistically significant survival differences between the high and lower SES monks.

Measuring generic health using the minimum european health module: does it work and is it better than self-rated health?

Background: Health is a fundamental aspect of many scientific disciplines and its definition and measurement is the analytical core of many empirical studies. Comprehensive measures of health, however, are typically precluded in survey research due to financial and temporal restrictions. Self-rated health (SRH) as a single indicator of health, on the other hand, exhibits a lack of measurement invariance by age and is biased due to non-health influences.

Rating Health and Rating Change: How Canadians Rate Their Health and Its Changes.

We investigated the contribution of five health domains to self-rated health (SRH) cross-sectionally and longitudinally and whether these contributions differ by gender or age. Employing dominance analyses, we quantified the contributions of functioning, diseases, pain, mental health, and behavior to both SRH at a point in time and for changes in SRH using data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey (NPHS, 1994-2011). Cross-sectionally and longitudinally, functioning was the most important health domain, followed by diseases and pain.

Stroke and embolism in patients with left ventricular hypertrabeculation/noncompaction.

Objectives: Left ventricular hypertrabeculation/noncompaction(LVHT) is characterized by extensive trabeculations. LVHT has been reported to be associated with stroke or embolism(S/E). Aim of the study was to compare characteristics and prognosis of LVHT-patients with and without S/E to identify potential risk factors for S/E.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the northern temperate genus Dracocephalum s.l. (Lamiaceae).

The northern temperate genus Dracocephalum consists of approximately 70 species mainly distributed in the steppe-desert biomes of Central and West Asia and the alpine region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Previous work has shown that Dracocephalum is not monophyletic and might include Hyssopus and Lallemantia. This study attempts to clarify the phylogenetic relationships, diversification patterns, and the biogeographical history of the three genera (defined as Dracocephalum s.

Strategies of accumulation of potentially toxic elements in Minuartia recurva and M. bulgarica.

The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of potentially toxic elements in soil samples and plant tissues of Minuartia recurva and M. bulgarica, predominantly or exclusively calcifuge species. Biological concentration (BCs) and translocation factors (TFs) were used to evaluate their accumulation potential.

The gender health gap in Europe's ageing societies: universal findings across countries and age groups?

We provide a systematic country and age group comparison of the gender gap in several generic health indicators and more specific morbidity outcomes. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE), we examined the gender gap in the prevalence of poor self-rated health, chronic health conditions, activity limitations, multimorbidity, pain, heart attacks, diabetes, and depression in three age groups (50-64, 65-79, and 80+) based on linear probability models with and without adjustment for covariates. While women were typically disadvantaged regarding poor self-rated health, chronic health conditions, activity limitations, multimorbidity, pain, and depression, men had a higher prevalence of heart attacks and diabetes.

Diverging ideas of health? Comparing the basis of health ratings across gender, age, and country.

Background: Self-rated health (SRH) is arguably the most widely used generic health measurement in survey research. However, SRH remains a black box for researchers. In our paper, we want to gain a better understanding of SRH by identifying its determinants, quantifying the contribution of different health domains to explain SRH, and by exploring the moderating role of gender, age groups, and the country of residence.

[Importance of health indicators in the analysis of health effects on informal caregivers : Different indicator, different result?].

Background: Analysis of the health of informal caregivers is gaining in importance. Research has shown negative effects of caregiving on mental health but the results regarding physical health were ambiguous. It remains unclear whether this can be traced back to the use of different health indicators.

Life Expectancy: Frequently Used, but Hardly Understood.

Period life expectancy is one of the most used summary indicators for the overall health of a population. Its levels and trends direct health policies, and researchers try to identify the determining risk factors to assess and forecast future developments. The use of period life expectancy is often based on the assumption that it directly reflects the mortality conditions of a certain year.

Alteration in basal redox state of young male soccer players after a six-month training programme.

Despite worldwide popularity of soccer, there are still insufficient data about the effects of training process on oxidative stress-induced damage, which may occur during chronic exercise. The present study aimed to determine the effects of a six-month training programme on basal redox status of young male soccer players. The study included 26 male soccer players, aged 12-13, who participated in a six-month training programme, and 26 age-matched non-athletes who were not implemented in the training process.

The analysis of factors associated with improved glycemic control in patients with insulin-requiring type 2 diabetes mellitus after treatment.

Aim: To observe the effect of standardized ten-day diabetes prevention and control program on glycemic control, and to analyze factors contributing significantly to improvement of glycemic control after the program/intervention.

Methods: A cross-sectional nested case-control study on 91 adult patients with insulin-requiring type 2 diabetes mellitus who underwent a standardized ten-day diabetes program in the Specialized Hospital "Merkur" in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia, from June the 1st to August 1st 2010 was performed. All necessary data were obtained from patients' medical files archived in this institution.

[Psychophysiological fatigue in persons with normal and increased blood pressure during work with video display terminals].

In a field study, on the sample of 73 phototype-setters employed in newspaper press, various data of objective and subjective changes in psychophysiological functions were collected during work with Video Display Terminals. Using the "matched pairs" method, two groups were definitely formed; the first with normal blood pressure and the second with increased blood pressure. The subjects of 11 matched pairs within these two groups differed in value of blood pressure measured at the beginning of work, while they were matched with respect to sex, age, shift of work and the level of psychophysiological abilities that were examined at the beginning of work by fatigue tests.

[Current results and methods in eradication of typhus fever on the Serbian territory excluding autonomic provinces].

Since 1969 Serbia has been conducting the programme of eradication louse-borne typhus. To this effect of Law on the eradication of communicable diseases has been passed. In addition to Republic Commission, as well as 6 regional commissions, and 18 communal commissions in whose territory the disease is being eradicated, have been formed.