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Background: Physical activity (PA) is a health determinant among middle-aged and older adults. In contrast, poor health is expected to have a negative impact on PA. This study sought to assess to what extent specific International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) health components were associated with PA among older adults.Methods: We used a sample of 864 persons aged ≥50 years, positively screened for disability or cognition in a cross-sectional community survey in Spain. Weekly energy expenditure during PA was measured with the Yale Physical Activity Survey (YPAS) scale. The associations between body function impairment, health conditions or World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) disability scores and energy expenditure were quantified using negative-binomial regression, and expressed in terms of adjusted mean ratios (aMRs).Results: Mean energy expenditure was 4542 Kcal/week. A lower weekly energy expenditure was associated with: severe/extreme impairment of mental functions, aMR 0.38, 95% confidence interval, CI (0.21-0.68), and neuromusculoskeletal and movement functions, aMR 0.50 (0.35-0.72); WHODAS 2.0 disability, aMR 0.55 (0.34-0.91); dementia, aMR 0.45 (0.31-0.66); and heart failure, aMR 0.54 (0.34-0.87). In contrast, people with arthritis/osteoarthritis had a higher energy expenditure, aMR 1.27 (1.07-1.51).Conclusion: Our results suggest that there is a strong relationship between selected body function impairments, mainly mental, and PA. Although more research is needed to fully understand causal relationships, strategies to improve PA among the elderly may require targeting mental, neuromusculoskeletal and movement functions, disability determinants (including barriers), and specific approaches for persons with dementia or heart failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer is one of the oncological diseases in which health-related quality of life (HRQL) has been most studied. This is mainly due to its high incidence and survival. This paper seeks to: review published research into HRQL among women with breast cancer in Spain; analyse the characteristics of these studies; and describe the instruments used and main results reported. Methods: The databases consulted were MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Dialnet, IBECS, CUIDEN, ISOC and LILACS. The inclusion criteria required studies to: 1) include Spanish patients, and a breakdown of results where other types of tumours and/or women from other countries were also included; and, 2) furnish original data and measure HRQL using a purpose-designed questionnaire. The methodological quality of studies was assessed. Results: Spain ranked midway in the European Union in terms of the number of studies conducted on the HRQL of breast cancer patients. Of the total of 133 papers published from 1993 to 2009, 25 met the inclusion criteria. Among them, only 12 were considered as having good or excellent quality. A total of 2236 women participated in the studies analysed. In descending order of frequency, the questionnaires used were the EORTC, FACT-B, QL-CAAfex, SF-12, FLIC, RSCL and CCV. Five papers focused on validation or adaptation of questionnaires. Most papers examined HRQL in terms of type of treatment. Few differences were detected by type of chemotherapy, with the single exception of worse results among younger women treated with radiotherapy. In the short term, better results were reported for all HRQL components by women undergoing conservative rather than radical surgery. Presence of lymphedema was associated with worse HRQL. Three studies assessed differences in HRQL by patients' psychological traits. Psychosocial disorder and level of depression and anxiety, regardless of treatment or disease stage, worsened HRQL. In addition, there was a positive effect among patients who reported having a "fighting spirit" and using "denial" as a defence mechanism. One study found that breast cancer patients scored worse than did healthy women on almost all SF-12 scales. Conclusion: Research into health-related quality of life of breast-cancer patients is a little developed field in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2002 the oil-tanker Prestige sank off the Galician coast. This study analyzes the effect of this accident on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mental health in the affected population., Methods: Using random sampling stratified by age and sex, 2700 residents were selected from 7 coastal and 7 inland Galician towns. Two exposure criteria were considered: a) residential exposure, i.e., coast versus interior; and b) individual exposure-unaffected, slightly affected, or seriously affected-according to degree of personal affectation. SF-36, GHQ-28, HADS and GADS questionnaires were used to assess HRQoL and mental health. Association of exposure with suboptimal scores was summarized using adjusted odds ratios (OR) obtained from logistic regression., Results: For residential exposure, the SF-36 showed coastal residents as having a lower likelihood of registering suboptimal HRQoL values in physical functioning (OR:0.69; 95%CI:0.54-0.89) and bodily pain (OR:0.74; 95%CI:0.62-0.91), and a higher frequency of suboptimal scores in mental health (OR:1.28; 95%CI:1.02-1.58). None of the dimensions of the other questionnaires displayed statistically significant differences. For individual exposure, no substantial differences were observed, though the SF-36 physical functioning dimension rose (showed better scores) with level of exposure (91.51 unaffected, 93.86 slightly affected, 95.28 seriously affected, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Almost one and a half years after the accident, worse HRQoL and mental health levels were not in evidence among subjects exposed to the oil-spill. Nevertheless, some of the scales suggest the possibility of slight impact on the mental health of residents in the affected areas.