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Background: Qatar is located on the north-eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Qatari natives account for less than 15% of the population while the largest migrant group comprising 60% derives from South Asia. Despite projections that stroke burden in Qatar will increase with population ageing, epidemiological studies focusing on stroke in Qatar are relatively scarce. Method: We reviewed the available epidemiological publications relating to Qatar. In addition, we have added to this knowledge by incorporating Qatari data from the on-going Bio-Repository of DNA in Stroke, an independent multinational database of stroke patients. Results: Qatar has low reported incidence and mortality rates of 58 and 9.17 per 100,000 per year, respectively, which may be explained by its middle-aged migrant worker majority population. Correspondingly, South Asian migrants in Qatar suffered younger strokes than Qatari natives (48.7 vs 63.4 years, P<0.001). Among the most common risk factors identified in stroke patients were hypertension (77.9%), diabetes (43.8%) and hypercholesterolemia (28.5%). Ischaemic stroke was the most frequent subtype amongst migrant South Asians (71.1%). The majority of stroke cases had computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging scans, but only 11.1% of ischaemic strokes were thrombolysed. Qataris on one-year follow up were more often found to have died (6.5% vs 0.3%) and had further stroke/transient ischaemic attack events (17.4% vs 6.4%, P¼0.009) compared to South Asians. Conclusion: The burden of stroke is increasing in Qatar, and considerable disparities are observed between the native and migrant populations which likely will require different approaches to management by its healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dementia is a major public health challenge and China has the largest population with dementia in the world. However, dementia care and caregivers for Chinese are less investigated. Objectives and design: To evaluate demographic and socio-economic influences on dementia care, management patterns and caregiver burden in a household community-dwelling-based survey, using participants’ care receipts and Zarit scale. Setting and participants: Rural and urban communities across six provinces of China comprising 4837 residents aged ≥60 years, in whom 398 had dementia and 1312 non-dementia diseases. Results: People with dementia were less likely to receive care if they were living in rural compared to urban areas (Odd ratio (OR) = 0.20; 95%CI: 0.10–0.41), having education level below compared to above secondary school (OR = 0.24; 95%CI: 0.08–0.70), manual labourer compared to non-manual workers (OR = 0.27; 95%CI: 0.13–0.55), having personal annual income below RMB 10,000 yuan (£1000) compared to above (OR = 0.37; 95%CI: 0.13–0.74) or having four or more than compared to less four children (OR = 0.52; 95%CI: 0.27–1.00). Caregivers for dementia compared with those for non-dementia diseases were younger and more likely to be patients’ children or children in-law, had lower education and spent more caring time. Caregiver burden increased with low education, cutback on work and caring for patients who were younger or living in rural areas, and this caregiver burden was three-fold greater than that for non-dementia diseases. Conclusions: There are a number of inequalities in dementia care and caregiver burden in China. Reducing the socio-economic gap and increasing education may improve community care for people with dementia and preserve caregivers’ well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: the link between the vitamin D endocrine axis and frailty remains undefined, with few studies examining the joint effect of vitamin D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Our objective was to determine the association of frailty with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and PTH.Setting: cross-sectional analysis within the European Male Ageing Study (EMAS).Participants: a total of 1,504 community-dwelling men aged 60–79 years.Methods: frailty was classified using a frailty phenotype (FP) and frailty index (FI). The association of frailty with 25(OH)D and PTH was examined using multinomial logistic regression; individual FP criteria with 25(OH)D and PTH using binary logistic regression. Results were expressed as relative odds ratios (ROR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for multinomial; odds ratios (OR) and 95% CIs for binary models.Results: using the FP, 5.0% of subjects were classified as frail and 36.6% as prefrail. Lower levels of 25(OH)D were associated with being prefrail (per 1 SD decrease: ROR = 1.45; 95% CI: 1.26–1.67) and frail (ROR = 1.89; 95% CI: 1.30–2.76), after adjusting for age, centre and health and lifestyle confounders (robust group = base category). Higher levels of PTH were associated with being frail after adjustment for confounders (per 1 SD increase: ROR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.01–1.52). Comparable results were found using the FI. Among the five FP criteria only sarcopenia was not associated with 25(OH)D levels, while only weakness was associated with PTH.Conclusion: lower 25(OH)D and higher PTH levels were positively associated with frailty in older men. Prospective data would enable the temporal nature of this relationship to be explored further. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives We determined levels of cognitive functioning in community dwelling men aged 40–79 (n = 3265) from eight European centres and investigated to what extent cognitive performance varied between centres, the association between different cognitive domains and age, educational level, co-morbidity and lifestyle factors and the respective contributions of centre and individual factors to cognitive performance. Methods Cognitive domains assessed were visuo-constructional ability and visual memory (Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure test, ROCF), topographical memory (Camden Topographical Recognition Memory test, CTRM) and processing speed (Digit-Symbol Substitution test, DSST). Results There were significant between-centre differences in all four cognitive test scores. Using multilevel linear regression analysis (MLRA), age, education, depression, physical performance and smoking were independent predictors of cognitive function and these variables explained 10–13% of the variation in cognitive scores between centres and 17–36% of the variation in scores between individuals within centres. Conclusion Our data suggest that although a proportion of the variance in cognitive function among European men is explained by individual level differences, a significant proportion is due to contextual phenomenon. Such contextual factors need to be considered when analysing multi-centre data and European men should not be treated as homogeneous when assessing cognitive performance using existing instruments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the association of hormone levels with the occurrence of musculoskeletal pain. Men ages 40 to 79years were recruited from population registers in 8 European centres. Subjects were asked to complete a postal questionnaire, which enquired about lifestyle and the occurrence of musculoskeletal pain over the past month. Total testosterone (T), oestradiol (E2), luteinising hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were assayed from a fasting blood sample. The association between pain status and hormone levels was assessed using multinomial logistic regression with results expressed as relative risk ratios (RRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). A total of 3206 men had complete data on pain status. Of these, 8.7% reported chronic widespread pain (CWP), whereas 50% had some pain although not CWP and were classified as having some pain. T and E2 were not associated with musculoskeletal pain, whereas significant differences in LH and FSH levels were found between pain groups. After adjustment for age and other possible confounders, the association between pain status and both LH and FSH persisted. Compared with those in the lowest tertile of LH, those in the highest tertile were more likely to report some pain (vs no pain, RRR=1.28; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.50) and also CWP (vs no pain, RRR=1.51; 95% CI 1.10 to 2.07). Similar results were found for FSH. Gonadotrophins, but not sex steroid hormone levels, are associated with musculoskeletal pain in men. Higher levels of gonadotrophins but not androgens were significantly associated with musculoskeletal pain in men. Alterations in hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular feedback mechanisms may play a role in the onset of chronic widespread pain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]