Impact of Weight Loss and Regain on Quality of Life: Mirror Image or Differential Effect?

Objective: To compare the impact of weight regain and weight loss on health‐related quality of life. Research Methods and Procedures: Subjects were 122 (106 women, 16 men) overweight and obese participants in a weight reduction program (phentermine‐fenfluramine and dietary counseling) who had initially lost at least 5% of their total body weight and then regained at least 5% of their weight during the follow‐up period. Follow‐up periods ranged from 10 to 41 months (mean, 28 months). Participants completed the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life‐Lite, an obesity‐specific health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) measure, at 3‐month intervals. Results: Mean BMI at baseline was 40.9 ± 6.6 kg/m² (range, 29.2 to 63.7 kg/m²). Average weight loss from entry was 18.8 ± 6.7% (range, 6.0% to 43.7%), and average regain was 10.1 ±4.4% of baseline weight (range, 5.0% to 30.6%). The effects of weight regain on HRQOL mirrored the effects of weight loss—rates of HRQOL change were similar in magnitude but different in direction for comparable weight loss and regain. Those with more severe initial impairments in HRQOL experienced greater improvements in HRQOL during weight loss as well as greater deterioration during weight regain than those with less severe impairments. Discussion: Weight loss and regain produced mirror image changes in HRQOL. The initial severity of HRQOL impairment had a greater impact on the magnitude of HRQOL change than the direction of weight change. Findings underscore the importance of maintaining weight loss for the purposes of retaining obesity‐specific HRQOL benefits.     

Identifying the most noxious invasive plants in China: role of geographical origin, life form and means of introduction

In a heterogenous world, invasive plants often differ in noxiousness and nature of impacts, and there is a difference between strong and weak invaders. That knowing which invaders are most noxious and their nature of impacts is of great value to invasive ecology and management. Here we show that in China the most notorious invasive plants are with a perennial life cycle, clonal growth ability and from the American continent. They often form monocultural populations in land and water, replacing almost all other plants, and are mainly distributed in Central and South China. Following are some accidentally introduced annuals. Annuals from the American continent are often common, dominant or in monocultural populations in ruderal and agricultural habitats whereas those from Eurasia are highly noxious only in agricultural habitats. Annuals are not restricted in distribution and could spread fast to all of the country. There are also two perennial grasses from Europe and Mediterranean area and four intentionally introduced annuals from South America that were identified in this study. Factors that may account for these patterns include relatedness between invasives and natives, vegetative propagation, and plant strategies. The invasive plants identified in this study have caused significant negative impacts to native biodiversity, environment, economics and agriculture, with different groups being different in their extent and nature of impacts.     

Quality of life among patients with severe aortic stenosis

BackgroundThe disease burden of patients with severe aortic stenosis is not often explored, while the incidence is increasing and many patients who have an indication for aortic valve replacement are not referred for surgery. We studied the quality of life of 191 patients with severe aortic stenosis, hypothesising that symptomatic patients have a far worse quality of life than the general population, which could enforce the indication for surgery.MethodsThe SF-36v2 Health Survey was completed by 191 consecutive patients with symptomatic or asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis.ResultsAsymptomatic patients (n = 59) had health scores comparable with the general Dutch population but symptomatic patients (n = 132) scored significantly lower across different age categories. Physical functioning, general health and vitality were impaired, as well as social functioning and emotional well-being. There was no relation between degree of stenosis and physical or mental health scores.ConclusionsBoth physical and emotional problems have a major impact on normal daily life and social functioning of symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis, regardless of age. If the aortic stenosis is above the ‘severe’ threshold, the degree of stenosis does not predict disease burden. These results encourage to reconsider a conservative approach in symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis. Using the SF-36v2 Health Survey together with this study, an individual patient’s quality of life profile can be assessed and compared with the patient group or with the general population. This can assist in decision making for the individual patient.     

Evaluation of newly developed devices for denture placement and removal in the dependent elderly

doi: 10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2011.00547.x Evaluation of newly developed devices for denture placement and removal in the dependent elderly Objective: The purpose of this study was to subjectively evaluate the utility of newly developed denture placement and removal devices. Objective observations were also made to support the evidence. Materials and method: Twenty‐one subjects were instructed to place and remove their dentures with and without the devices. We evaluated the device based on a questionnaire. Objective observations were based on a 2‐D image analysis. We analysed three factors: the time, the area and the circumference required to insert and remove the dentures. Results: Image analysis showed that the effectiveness and ease with which the subject used the device significantly improved with practice. The questionnaire data showed that a majority of the subjects appreciated the device after the first and second time. While there was no significant decrease in time required to place and remove dentures even with the device, the area and circumference of the movement on 2‐D images were significantly reduced. Conclusion: In this study, the utility of denture placement and removal devices was evaluated both subjectively and objectively. Our data reveal that the device is effective in the elderly. Further minor improvement in the device might be required to increase its effectiveness.     

射频消融改善阵发性和长期持续性心房颤动患者生活质量的研究

目的:比较射频消融对阵发性和长期持续性心房颤动(房颤)患者生活质量的改善。方法:纳入2011年5月至2016年8月接受射频消融治疗的阵发性房颤患者142例和长期持续性房颤61例。消融前和消融后12个月采用健康状况调查简表(SF-36)评估患者生活质量。结果:长期持续性房颤患者年龄及合并高血压和慢性心功能不全的比例高于阵发性房颤组。消融后12个月,两组患者心理健康(MCS)和生理健康(PCS)评分均显著提高(P0.01)。长期持续性房颤患者MCS和PCS的改善幅度显著高于阵发性房颤组(P0.01)。房颤未复发患者生活质量的提高幅度显著高于复发患者(P0.01)。结论:射频消融改善长期持续性房颤患者生活质量的幅度高于阵发性房颤,房颤复发将影响患者的生活质量。     

髋关节骨性关节炎患者生存质量现状及其影响因素分析

目的：探讨髋关节骨性关节炎患者生存质量现状及其影响因素。方法：选择60 例髋关节骨性关节炎患者作为观察组,60 例健康者作为对照组。采用SF-36 生存质量评价量表,比较观察组与对照组SF-36 量表各维度评分;分析影响患者生存质量的因素。结果：①观察组SF-36 量表各维度评分均显著低于健康对照组,差异均具有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;②经Pearson 单因素分析,SF-36 量表综合得分在性别、职业、病程、治疗前景、内科慢性疾病数、10m 步行速度及K-L 分级方面的差异均具有统计学意义（P＜0.05~0.01）;③经多元Logistic 回归分析,病程（beta=0.772,S.E.=0.689,Wald=34.027,P＜0.05,OR=1.99）、治疗前景（beta=0.778,S.E.=0.542,Wald=55.638,P＜0.05,OR=1.88）、内科慢性疾病数（beta=0.929,S.E.=0.301,Wald=12.382,P＜0.05,OR=1.72）、10m 步行速度（beta=0.661,S.E.=0.381,Wald=19.929,P＜0.05,OR=1.69）及K-L 分级（beta=0.992,S.E.=0.526,Wald=28.371,P＜0.05,OR=2.31）为影响髋关节骨性关节炎患者生存质量的危险因素。结论：髋关节骨性关节炎患者生存质量明显差于健康者,病程、治疗前景、内科慢性疾病数、10m步行速度及K-L分级是影响患者生存质量的危险因素。     

The effect of aortic valve replacement on quality of life in symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis

Background

Although symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis have a high disease burden and guidelines recommend aortic valve replacement, many are treated conservatively. This study describes to what extent quality of life is changed by aortic valve replacement relative to conservative treatment.

Methods

This observational study followed 132 symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis who were subjected to an SF-36v2TM Health Survey.

Results

At baseline 84 patients were treated conservatively, 48 were referred for aortic valve replacement. In the conservatively treated group 15 patients died during a mean follow-up of 18 months (Kaplan-Meier survival was 85 % and 72 % at one and 2 years respectively) and 22 patients crossed over to the surgical group. Of the resulting 70 patients in the surgical group 3 patients died during a mean follow-up of 11 months (survival 95 % at 1 year). Physical functioning, vitality and general health improved significantly 1 year after aortic valve replacement. In conservatively treated patients physical quality of life deteriorated over time while general health, vitality and social functioning showed a declining trend. Mental health remained stable in both groups.

Conclusions

Aortic valve replacement improves physical quality of life, general health and vitality in patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis. Besides having a low life expectancy, conservatively treated patients experience deterioration of physical quality of life. Health surveys such as the SF-36v2TM can be valuable tools in monitoring the burden of disease for an individual patient and offer additional help in treatment decisions.     

Country-specific damage factors for air pollutants

An integrated impact assessment model is used to calculate the impact per tonne of SO₂, NO_x, fine particles, and NMVOC emitted from different source countries on human health, acidification, eutrophication, and the man-made environment (crop yield and building materials). Indicators on the endpoint level are used to measure the effects resulting from a marginal change in emission levels. While the assessment of impacts on ecosystems and the man-made environment is limited to Europe, damage factors for health effects are also derived for Asia and South America. For Europe, emission scenarios for the years 1990 and 2010 are considered to analyse the influence of changing background conditions on the resulting impacts. Results show that there is a significant variation in the damage resulting from a unit emission for some of the impact categories, both between countries and between base years. Depending on the scope of the study and the information available from the life cycle inventory, results from the paper can be used to consider site dependent conditions in life cycle impact assessment as a complement to the current site-independent (or global) approach.     

假体隆胸患者手术前后生命质量和自尊的评估

目的:通过对接受假体法隆胸患者的手术前后的生命质量和自尊水平进行主观的评价,得到真实、可靠的手术效果评价结果,最终提高隆胸手术患者的满意度。方法:选取接受假体法隆胸术患者共60例,在手术之前、术后6个月使用SF-36生命质量量表和Rosenberg自尊量表进行生命质量状况和自尊状况的测量评估,并和常模进行比较。结果:接受假体法隆胸患者术前SF-36生命质量量表中社会功能(SF)和精神健康(MH)两项得分明显低于常模(P0.01);术后6个月量表中社会功能(SF)和精神健康(MH)两项水平有显著改善(P0.01);Rosenberg自尊量表显示患者术后6个月的自尊水平较术前有明显的改善(P0.001)。结论:假体法隆胸手术能使患者的生命质量得到一定程度的改善,隆胸手术对患者的自尊水平有积极的显著的影响。     

食管癌住院患者营养风险筛查及营养不良状况对生活质量和预后的影响

摘要 目的：利用营养风险筛查工具（NRS2002）对食管癌住院患者的营养风险进行评估,并分析营养不良情况对患者生活质量及预后的影响。方法：前瞻性选取我院2017年10月～2019年10月收治的食管癌住院患者110例,治疗前经NRS2002分析营养风险,经主观整体营养评估法（PG-SGA）评估营养不良情况,分析营养不良的危险因素。根据PG-SGA评分将患者分成营养正常组、轻度营养不良组、中度营养不良组、重度营养不良组。经简明生活质量量表（SF-36）评估患者生活质量,随访12个月观察预后情况,比较四组SF-36评分与预后。结果：110例患者中,NRS2002分析提示有营养风险者78例,无营养风险者32例。PG-SGA评分提示营养正常37例,轻度营养不良28例,中度营养不良25例,重度营养不良20例。多因素Logistic回归分析显示,年龄≥60岁（95%CI：1.312-3.374,OR=2.104）、消化道症状数目＞2个（95%CI：1.052-6.701,OR=2.655）、吞咽障碍（95%CI：1.711-13.601,OR=4.824）、术前合并症（95%CI：1.274-10.406,OR=3.641）是食管癌住院患者营养不良的危险因素（P＜0.05）。轻、中、重度营养不良组的躯体疼痛、精力、躯体功能、情绪角色功能、心理健康、社会功能、总体健康评分较营养正常组降低,且中、重度营养不良组低于轻度营养不良组,重度营养不良组低于中度营养不良组（P＜0.05）。营养正常组生存率为94.59%,高于重度营养不良组的70.00%（P＜0.05）。营养正常组、轻度营养不良组、中度营养不良组的生存率比较无统计学差异（P＞0.05）。结论：食管癌住院患者营养风险及营养不良发生率较高,其营养状态主要受患者年龄、消化道症状数目、吞咽障碍、术前合并症的影响,对患者生活质量和预后影响较大,营养评估有望成为预测食管癌住院患者生活质量及预后的指标。     

胃癌患者营养风险与生活质量及近期预后的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨胃癌患者的营养风险的危险因素,并分析其与患者生活质量及近期预后的关系。方法：纳入我院2017年4月～2019年10月收治的胃癌患者81例,利用营养风险筛查2002（NRS2002）评分分析患者有无营养风险,经Logistic多元回归分析胃癌患者营养风险的危险因素。经简明生活质量量表（SF-36）评估患者生活质量并进行比较,前瞻性随访3、12个月,统计患者近期预后,分析胃癌患者NRS2002评分与SF-36评分的相关性。结果：在81例胃癌患者中,营养风险发生率为53.09%。Logistic多元回归分析显示：年龄≥60岁（OR=1.657,95%CI：1.042-2.635）、疼痛分度Ⅲ～Ⅳ度（OR=4.515,95%CI：1.656-12.310）、消化道反应Ⅲ～Ⅳ度（OR=3.947,95%CI：1.599-9.743）是胃癌患者营养风险发生的危险因素（P＜0.05）,而营养补充（OR=0.899,95%CI：0.846-0.955）是胃癌患者营养风险发生的保护因素（P＜0.05）。营养风险组情绪角色功能、躯体角色功能、躯体功能、总体健康、心理健康、躯体疼痛评分低于无营养风险组,NRS2002评分高于无营养风险组（P＜0.05）。胃癌患者NRS2002评分与情绪角色功能、躯体角色功能、躯体功能、总体健康、心理健康、躯体疼痛评分呈负相关（P＜0.05）。营养风险组随访3个月的生存率为95.35%,与无营养风险组的100%比较无差异（P＞0.05）。营养风险组随访12个月的生存率为79.07%,低于无营养风险组的94.74%（P＜0.05）。结论：胃癌患者营养风险发生率较高,其发生与多种因素有关,营养风险会影响生活质量和近期预后,临床需及时对胃癌患者进行营养风险评估,并尽早干预。