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Considerable evidence links the "Big Five" personality traits (neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness) with depression. However, potential mediating and moderating factors are less well understood. We utilized data from a cross-sectional survey of 3065 German-speaking adults from the D-A-CH region to estimate multivariable-adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervalsbetween personality traits and lifetime prevalence of depression (overall and stratified by sex and age). We further explored proportions mediated by psychosocial factors optimism, empathy, perspective-taking, work-life balance, and interpersonal trust. High levels of neuroticism were associated with more than two-fold higher odds of depression, whereas higher levels of conscientiousness were associated with approximately 30% lower odds of depression. The association with neuroticism persisted in all investigated subgroups; apparently, stronger associations for females and participants aged ≥60 years did not correspond to statistically significant interactions. Overall and across all strata, the association of neuroticism with depression appeared to be mediated in part by the considered psychosocial factors; optimism explained the largest proportion of the association. Our results provide empirical evidence for the dynamic predisposition model. Further investigations of these relationships are warranted in longitudinal data with more precise outcome assessments.

Interpersonal trust declined worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic; strategies are needed to restore it. We surveyed 3,065 quota-sampled German-speaking adults residing in the D-A-CH region. Using multinomial logistic regression models and backward elimination for variable selection, we calculated multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to appraise correlates of interpersonal trust using the Interpersonal Trust Short Scale (KUSIV3). Participants with high levels of interpersonal trust (top KUSIV3 tertile (T3)) tended to be older, male, residents of Switzerland, university degree holders, and workers with higher income and work satisfaction (all Pdiff<0.01) compared to those in the lowest KUSIV3 tertile (T1). Optimism was most strongly associated with high interpersonal trust (ORT3vsT1 = 5.75, 95%CI = 4.33-7.64). Also significantly associated with high interpersonal trust were: Having voted in the last national election (for the opposition, OR = 1.39, 95%CI = 1.02-1.89 or the governing party, OR = 1.61, 95%CI = 1.23-2.11) versus non-voters; perspective taking (ORT3vsT1 = 1.46, 95%CI = 1.11-1.91); being more extraverted (ORT3vsT1 = 1.99, 95%CI = 1.53-2.59) and more agreeable (ORT3vsT1 = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.46-2.61); and scoring higher on complexity thinking (ORT3vsT1 = 1.32, 95%CI = 1.01-1.72). Participants scoring significantly lower for interpersonal trust did not regularly participate in religious meetings (OR = 0.61, 95%CI = 0.44-0.84, versus participation at least monthly); were more conscientious (ORT3vsT1 = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.51-0.91) or current smokers (OR = 0.68; 95%CI = 0.53-0.87, versus never smoking); had sleep problems >5 times a week (OR = 0.48; 95%CI = 0.36-0.66, versus none); and scored high on conspiracy belief (ORT3vsT1 = 0.53; 95%CI = 0.41-0.69). Results differed minimally by gender and country. These findings may be helpful in devising targeted strategies to strengthen interpersonal trust and social engagement in European societies, especially during times of crises., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Schernhammer et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Social restriction measures (SRM) implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a reduction in time spent outdoors (TSO). The aim of this study was to describe TSO and evaluate its association with sleep outcomes, optimism, happiness and health-status before and during SRM. Two online surveys were conducted in 2017 (N = 1004) and 2020, during SRM (N = 1010), in samples representative of the age, sex and region of the Austrian population. Information on the duration of TSO, sleep, optimism, happiness and health-status was collected. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models were used to study the association of TSO with chronic insomnia, short sleep, late chronotype, optimism, happiness and self-rated health-status. The mean TSO was 3.6 h (SD: 2.18) in 2017 and 2.6 h (SD: 1.87) during times of SRM. Men and participants who were older, married or in a partnership and lived in a rural area reported longer TSO. Participants who spent less time outdoors were more likely to report short sleep or a late chronotype in both surveys and, in 2020, also chronic insomnia. Less TSO was associated with lower happiness and optimism levels and poor health-status. Our findings suggest that TSO may be a protective factor for sleep, mood and health, particularly during stressful and uncertain times.

Background: Emergence of new coronavirus variants and waning immunity may necessitate regular COVID-19 vaccine boosters, but empirical data on population willingness for regular vaccination are limited., Methods: In August 2021, we surveyed 3,067 quota-sampled German-speaking adults residing in the D-A-CH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). Using multivariable adjusted ordered logistic regression models we calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to assess factors associated with willingness to vaccinate annually against COVID-19., Findings: Among 2,480 participants vaccinated or planning to get vaccinated, 82·4% indicated willingness to receive annual COVID-19 boosters. This willingness was higher in Austria (OR=1·47, 95% CI, 1·19-1·82; p < 0·001) and Germany (OR=1·98, 95% CI, 1·60-2·45; p  < 0·001) versus Switzerland and increased with age. Having voted in the last national election (OR opposition party voters =1·51, 95% CI=1·18-1·92; p  = 0·001 and OR governing party voters =1·57, 95% CI=1·28-1·93; p  < 0·001, versus non-voters) and not regularly participating in religious meetings (OR=1·37, 95% CI=1·08-1·73; p  = 0·009, versus participation at least monthly) were significantly associated with willingness to vaccinate, as was partial (OR=1·97, 95% CI=1·43-2·72; p  < 0·001) or total (OR=5·20, 95% CI=3·76-7·19; p  < 0·001) approval of COVID-19 mitigation measures (versus non-approval). By country, Austrians showed the strongest association of voting behavior and mitigation measure approval with willingness to vaccinate., Interpretation: Targeted promotion programs informed by political and religious engagement and mitigation measure approval are needed to increase willingness to receive regular COVID-19 boosters., Funding: Medical University of Vienna, Department of Epidemiology, Danube University Krems, Department for Knowledge and Communication Management; Austrian Society of Epidemiology., Competing Interests: JW received funding from the Austrian Society of Epidemiology. BMB reports that her institution (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA) received research grant funding from the US National Institutes of Health and from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) to support research projects that she leads and that are unrelated to this manuscript (cancer etiology studies). She is also has been an unpaid member of the Scientific Advisory Panel of the Oliver Foundation (Key Biscayne, FL) since 2015 to help guide their work on pediatric cancer prevention. IS reports royalties from book publications and Honoraria (about 2-3 times per year) for invited lectures not exceeding on the average € 1000 per year. MB reports to have received funding from the German Federal Ministry of Science and Education, German Federal Ministry of Economic affairs, Saxonian Ministry of Science and the Arts, EU H-2020 and honoraria for reviews from European public funding organizations. MB also reports patents DE102021115850.8; DE102020134133.4; DE102020107138.8; DE102018105449.1; and he is Member of the Executive committee of the Saxonian Academy of Sciences, Secretary General for the technical sciences in the Saxonian Academy of Sciences, Head of DECHEMA expert group “Raw Materials”, as well as Director of Recycling unit at Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS; Fraunhofer Technology Center for High-Performance Materials THM, Am St.-Niclas-Schacht 13, 09599 Freiberg, Germany. LZ reports small shares in a stock portfolio < 500 EUR. MDL reports funding from the NSF (USA), small amounts of royalties for several published books, and he is Advisory boards (KLI; Complexity Science Hub, Vienna, TU Graz; TISE). ESS reports funding from the National Institute of Health, FFG, FWF, H-2020, and received honoraria (about 2-3 times per year, each never >1000 Euro) for invited lectures. She is member on the Advisory board of trustees of the FWF (Austrian Science Fund), and the Scientific Advisory Board for the Annual Houska Award; honorary board member of the Austrian Cancer Help; scientific advisory board member for Cochrane Austria; advisory board member of the Austrian Scientific Community and member of Board of Trustees “Sparkling Science” Funding, Ministry of Health Austria; as well as ad hoc NIH study section member and Horizon Europe Scientific Review Panel member., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Background: With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic surging and new mutations evolving, trust in vaccines is essential., Methods: We explored correlates of vaccine hesitancy, considering political believes and psychosocial concepts, conducting a non-probability quota-sampled online survey with 1007 Austrians., Results: We identified several important correlates of vaccine hesitancy, ranging from demographics to complex factors such as voting behavior or trust in the government. Among those with hesitancy towards a COVID-19 vaccine, having voted for opposition parties (opp) or not voted (novote) were (95% Confidence Intervall (CI)opp, 1.44-2.95) to 2.25-times (95%CInovote, 1.53-3.30) that of having voted for governing parties. Only 46.2% trusted the Austrian government to provide safe vaccines, and 80.7% requested independent scientific evaluations regarding vaccine safety to increase willingness to vaccine., Conclusions: Contrary to expected, psychosocial dimensions were only weakly correlated with vaccine hesitancy. However, the strong correlation between distrust in the vaccine and distrust in authorities suggests a common cause of disengagement from public discourse., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health.)

Dispositional optimism is a potentially modifiable factor and has been associated with multiple physical health outcomes, but its relationship with depression, especially later in life, remains unclear. In the Nurses´ Health Study (n = 33,483), we examined associations between dispositional optimism and depression risk in women aged 57-85 (mean = 69.9, SD = 6.8), with 4,051 cases of incident depression and 10 years of follow-up (2004-2014). We defined depression as either having a physician/clinician-diagnosed depression, or regularly using antidepressants, or the presence of severe depressive symptoms using validated self-reported scales. Age- and multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) across optimism quartiles and for a 1-standard deviation (SD) increment of the optimism score. In sensitivity analyses we explored more restrictive definitions of depression, potential mediators, and moderators. In multivariable-adjusted models, women with greater optimism (top vs. bottom quartile) had a 27% (95%CI = 19-34%) lower risk of depression. Every 1-SD increase in the optimism score was associated with a 15% (95%CI = 12-18%) lower depression risk. When applying a more restrictive definition for clinical depression, the association was considerably attenuated (every 1-SD increase in the optimism score was associated with a 6% (95%CI = 2-10%-) lower depression risk. Stratified analyses by baseline depressive symptoms, age, race, and birth region revealed comparable estimates, while mediators (emotional support, social network size, healthy lifestyle), when combined, explained approximately 10% of the optimism-depression association. As social and behavioral factors only explained a small proportion of the association, future research should investigate other potential pathways, such as coping strategies, that may relate optimism to depression risk., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objectives: To explore changes in quality of life and perceived productivity, focusing on the effects of working from home during the first COVID-19 50-day mitigation period in Austria., Methods: We conducted an Austrian-representative online survey (N = 1010) of self-reported life- and work-related changes during the first COVID-19 50-day mitigation period (March 16 through May 1 2020) compared to the situation before. We used multinominal logistic regression models to identify correlates of improved/decreased quality of life in the entire sample, and of improved/decreased productivity in a subsample of the working population (N = 686). We also calculated age- and multivariable-adjusted ORs and 95% CIs of an improved/decreased quality of life and an improved/decreased productivity by work from home status., Results: During the COVID-19 mitigation period, quality of life improved in 17.5%, but decreased in 20.7% of the general Austrian population; perceived productivity at work increased in 12.7%, but decreased in 30.2% of the working population. Working from home during the mitigation period was associated with an increased quality of life (vs. none, partially: OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.09-3.91; all the time: 3.69, 1.86-7.29). In contrast, perceived productivity seemed to decrease when people worked from home (vs. none, partially: 1.42, 0.86-2.35; all the time: 1.48, 0.85-2.58). Working from home and related benefits were not equally distributed among gender, age, and educational attainment., Conclusions: A transition to more flexibility of workplace and working hours for employees could have important positive consequences for family and professional life, for stakeholders, for public health, and ultimately for the environment., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Sleep impairment is highly prevalent in night shift workers, but evidence on the association of former night shift work (NSW) and its metrics (duration and frequency) in relation to sleep complaints is lacking. We evaluated the association of former and current NSW with chronic insomnia or circadian rhythm sleep disorder in a sample of the general worker (GW) population and in hospital workers (HW) in Austria. Information on sleep, NSW history, sociodemographic, and lifestyle factors was collected through an online cross-sectional survey in a representative sample of GW ( N = 1,004) and a sample of HW ( N = 799) between 2017 and 2019. Multi-variable adjusted logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for various measures of sleep (including chronic insomnia, daytime sleepiness, sleep duration, napping habits) and doctor-diagnosed chronic insomnia across NSW exposure (never night shift work; ever; ever/former; ever/current) and related metrics (cumulative duration, average frequency), compared to never NSW. Effect modification by chronotype and daytime napping was investigated. Former NSW was associated with higher odds of chronic insomnia in both samples (GW: OR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.07-4.83; HW: OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 0.60-2.27). Chronic insomnia odds tended to increase among current night shift workers (HW: OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 0.79-2.83), compared to day workers. Higher NSW frequency (shifts/month) was associated with higher chronic insomnia odds in former night shift workers in both samples (GW: OR per shift/month  = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.00-1.12; HW: OR per shift/month  = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.00-1.25). Former NSW was also associated with increased daytime sleepiness among GW (OR = 2.26, 95% CI 1.28-3.99). Associations were more pronounced among early chronotypes and participants who reported no daytime naps. Our results suggest that NSW is associated with chronic insomnia even in the years after cessation of involvement in working it.

Experimental evidence indicates that exercise performed at different times of the day may affect circadian rhythms and circadian disruption has been linked to breast and prostate cancer. We examined in a population-based case-control study (MCC-Spain) if the time-of-day when physical activity is done affects prostate and breast cancer risk. Lifetime recreational and household physical activity was assessed by in-person interviews. Information on time-of-day of activity (assessed approximately 3 years after the assessment of lifetime physical activity and confounders) was available for 781 breast cancer cases, 865 population female controls, 504 prostate cases and 645 population male controls from 10 Spanish regions, 2008-2013. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for different activity timings compared to inactive subjects using unconditional logistic regression adjusting for confounders. Early morning (8-10 am) activity was associated with a protective effect compared to no physical activity for both breast (OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.48-1.15) and prostate cancer (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.44-1.20); meta-OR for the two cancers combined 0.74 (95%CI = 0.53-1.02). There was no effect observed for breast or prostate cancer for late morning to afternoon activity while a protective effect was also observed for evening activity only for prostate cancer (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.45-1.24). Protective effects of early morning activity were more pronounced for intermediate/evening chronotypes for both cancers. This is the first population-based investigation identifying a differential effect of timing of physical activity on cancer risk with more pronounced effects for morning hour activity. Our results, if confirmed, may improve current physical activity recommendations for cancer prevention., (© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Union for International Cancer Control.)

We would like to extend on the article by Alley et al [...].

Attitudes and expectations of people towards their lives are essential to future health outcomes. Growing evidence has linked dispositional optimism to beneficial health outcomes, such as exceptional longevity, healthy aging and better sleep quality. We describe the association between dispositional optimism and chronic insomnia, considering potential mediators, in the Austrian Sleep Survey (N = 1,004), a population-based cross-sectional study conducted in 2017. Optimism was measured using the validated Life Orientation Test-Revised, and four different definitions were used to assess chronic insomnia. Three definitions were based on the criteria of chronic insomnia according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (3rd edn). Age- and multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Among Austrians who were more optimistic, chronic insomnia risk was lower compared with those less optimistic (middle versus bottom tertile of optimism score: OR = 0.39, 95% CI, 0.22-0.70; and top versus bottom tertile: OR = 0.28, 95% CI, 0.14-0.54; p-trend < .001). Results were similar for all four definitions of insomnia, and differed slightly between men and women. Happiness, depression and health status confounded the association, whereas lifestyle did not. Promoting dispositional optimism could represent a simple and accessible strategy to improve sleep quality and lower insomnia risk, with downstream beneficial health effects. Further research is needed to clarify the prevention potential of interventions targeting this mental trait., (© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Sleep Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Sleep Research Society.)

Background: Physical inactivity is one of the most important risk factors in modern society. Primary Health Care (PHC) interventions have been shown to be effective to increase physical activity (PA). This work evaluates the Catalan Physical Activity, Sport and Health Plan (PAFES)., Methods: Nested case-control design with risk-set matching based on a retrospective cohort of 22 450 physically inactive people registered between 2010 and 2018 in the Catalan electronic medical record (EMR). Confounder adjusted conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the probability that participants who had received PA advice became active between 2010 and 2018 compared to those who did not receive it., Results: A lower probability to become active [odds ratio (OR) = 0.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10-0.13] was found for those people who had received PA advice only once. However, the probability to become active increased for people who had received advice two or more times (two times: OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.32-1.55). A dose-response relationship was observed., Conclusions: This is the first study evaluating a PA promotion real-life intervention in PHC using a large cohort based on data from an EMR with more than 2 years of follow-up., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.)

Abstract: Natural sciences are still considered as typical male fields, while humanities are interpreted as typical female topics. Economic, social but also biological factors are discussed to influence the choice of study field. In the present study, the impact of prenatal sex hormone exposure - estimated by 2D:4D ratio - on the choice of study field was analyzed. Two hundred Viennese students between the ages 18 and 28 years were enrolled. Lengths of the index finger and the ring finger were measured directly from the hand of the participants. 2D:4D ratios were calculated. Male and female students differed significantly in 2D:4D ratio. As expected, female students showed significantly higher 2D:4D ratios than their male counterparts ( p < 0.001). Male scientists and male humanists differed significantly in 2D:4D ratio. The 2D:4D of male humanists was significantly higher than that of scientists ( p = 0.037). Female scientists and female humanists however, did not differ significantly in 2D:4D ratio. Both showed a typical female 2D:4D ratio. This was also true of male humanists. Consequently low prenatal androgen exposure may be associated with the choice of humanities among male students.