The protective effect of mindfulness and compassion meditation practices on ageing: Hypotheses,models and experimental implementation

Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents a major health and societal issue; there is no treatment to date and the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this disease are not well understood. Yet, there is hope that AD risk factors and thus the number of AD cases can be significantly reduced by prevention measures based on lifestyle modifications as targeted by non-pharmacological preventive interventions. So far, these interventions have rarely targeted the psycho-affective risk factors related to depression, stress, anxiety, and feeling of loneliness, which are all prevalent in ageing. This paper presents the hypothesis that the regular practice of mindfulness meditation (MM) and loving-kindness and compassion meditation (LKCM) in the ageing population constitutes a lifestyle that is protective against AD. In this model, these practices can promote cognition, mental health, and well-being by strengthening attention control, metacognitive monitoring, emotion regulation and pro-social capacities. Training these capacities could reduce the risk of AD by upregulating beneficial age-related factors such as cognitive reserve, and down-regulating detrimental age-related factors, such as stress, or depression. As an illustration, we present the Medit-Ageing study (public name Silver Santé Study), an on-going European project that assesses the impact and mechanisms of non-pharmacological interventions including meditation, in the ageing population.     

住院精神分裂症患者主观舒适度的影响因素分析

目的 了解影响精神分裂症患者主观舒适度的相关因素。方法 对200例住院精神分裂症患者测评“抗精神病药物治疗中主观舒适度（SWN）简表”及自制的“相关因素调查表”。结果 住院精神分裂症患者SWN评分异常率为31％,SWN评分异常组与正常组相比,在总病程、住院次数、服药次数、药物剂量、家庭经济水平、服药依从性、社会支持、医患关系、诊断亚型、合并使用抗副作用药、藏药行为等方面差异显著。2项Logistic回归分析显示,精神分裂症患者主观舒适度影响因素依次为：药物剂量、合并使用抗副作用药、服药依从性、藏药行为、家庭经济水平、医患关系。结论 在治疗精神分裂症患者时应注意多因素对主观舒适度的影响,尤其注意发挥人为干预因素作用。     

Role Involvement and Well-Being in Middle-Aged Women

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The aim of this research was to shed light on the relation of social role experiences and health to well-being outcomes of 198 middle-aged (40–55 years old) Swiss women living in various familial contexts (double-track women, i.e., partnered working mothers, homemakers, single mothers, single women).

Results: Our results revealed that the way roles were experienced was primarily a function of a specific living context and satisfying social resources. Double-track women and homemakers showed the highest social role satisfaction rates and had better health and well-being outcomes than other women. Common to all groups was a considerable difference between actual and desired role investment.

Discussion: The findings are discussed in terms of a resource-oriented model of well-being.     

An audit on diabetes management in Asian patients treated by specialists: the Diabcare-Asia 1998 and 2003 studies

ABSTRACT

Objective: To collect information on diabetes management, including psychosocial aspects, in patients managed by specialists 5 years after they were first surveyed in 1998.

Methods: Data on demography, diabetes status, management and complications were collected via medical records, interview and laboratory assessments. HbA_1c was analysed by a central laboratory prospectively.

Results: Patient profile was similar in the 1998 (N = 21 838) and 2003 cohorts (N = 15 549): 95% were diagnosed as type 2 diabetes mellitus and were obese (BMI ≈ 25 kg/m²). Glycaemic control was unsatisfactory in many patients (mean HbA_1c ≈ 8%; fasting glucose ≈ 9 mmol/L). Lipids were well-controlled but hypertension was not. The incidence of neuropathy (≈ 33%) and cataract (≈ 27%) were high. The majority (≈ 71%) of patients in both cohorts were treated with oral antidiabetic drug (OAD) monotherapy; ≈ 24% were on insulin therapy. Approximately half of the 2003 cohort reported a healthy state of well-being. Quality of life did not appear to have suffered as a result of having diabetes. However, many patients were worried about hypoglycaemic risk (53.9%) or worsening of diabetes (45.8%) and insulin initiation (64.5%).

Conclusions: Although both cohorts were separate cross-sectional studies of diabetes management status in Asia, the results showed that the demography profile, glycaemic control and cardiovascular risk factors were remarkably similar in both cohorts 5 years after the first survey. More concerted efforts are needed to increase diabetes awareness and education.     

The relationship between yoga involvement,mindfulness and psychological well-being

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to examine how different levels of yoga involvement are related to different parameters of mental health and illness.Design and settingA total sample of 455 participants (410 females) were investigated by means of an internet survey. 362 yoga practitioners (327 females) rated their degree of yoga involvement on the Yoga Immersion Scale. A control group was comprised of 93 gymnastics practitioners (83 females).Main outcome measuresAll participants completed the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being, the Freiburger Mindfulness Inventory and the Brief Symptom Inventory for psychiatric symptoms.ResultsHighly involved yoga practitioners exhibited a significantly increased amount of mindfulness and religious/spiritual well-being (both p < 0.01) and lower psychiatric symptoms such as depression (p < 0.01) compared to those who were only marginally/moderately yoga-involved or who were in the gymnastics control group.ConclusionsIn accordance with the literature, yoga practice might have its biggest impact on mental health when it is part of a practitioner’s worldview. Further research focusing on the impact of yoga involvement in clinical groups is encouraged.     

More to Blue Zones than long life: positive psychological characteristics

Blue Zones are defined as regions of exceptional longevity. Emerging evidence also indicates the presence of several positive psychological characteristics amongst older inhabitants. No synthesis of this information is currently available. The current article focuses on psychological characteristics of successful ageing, including perceived well-being and cognitive health. Relevant findings concerning the Sardinian Blue Zone are reviewed along with an evidence suggesting links to the distinctive sociocultural environment of this region. People aged 65+ living in the Sardinian Blue Zone have substantially lower levels of depressive symptomatology, higher levels of self-perceived well-being and better subjective and objective cognitive health relative to matched control samples. These differences are robust, reliable and persist throughout late adulthood. Important determinants of the positive traits include increased active engagement in community religious and leisure activities. Sparse evidence for other Blue Zones exists but reduced levels of depression may be a shared attribute. Older Blue Zone Sardinians possess positive psychological characteristics, which are associated with successful ageing and are known to promote longevity. Blue Zone populations appear to be a valuable, but overlooked, resource for the study of positive aspects of ageing.     

Fate control and well-being in Chinese rural people living with HIV: mediation effect of resilience

Fate control has been often misconceptualized as a superstitious belief and overlooked in health psychology. It is not known how this cultural belief might impact the well-being of Chinese people living with HIV. This study examined the protective role of fate control for well-being and the potential mediation effect of resilience. Participants in this study were rural patients who contracted HIV via commercial blood donation. In this cross-sectional survey, 250 participants completed measures of fate control, well-being, and resilience. The results showed that fate control and resilience were positively associated with well-being. Resilience mediated the association between fate control and well-being. Our findings provide insight into the adaptive function of fate control as a cognitive defensive mechanism and highlight the need to incorporate this cultural belief in developing culturally sensitive intervention programs for resilience enhancement tailored for this understudied population infected with HIV living in rural China.     

Risk and protective factors for health-related quality of life among persons aging with HIV

For persons living with HIV, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) may be threatened by physical and mental conditions but may be protected by positive psychological traits. We performed an exploratory look at the risk and protective factors for HRQOL in older adults living with HIV. Cross-sectional analyses of baseline data from the Rush Center of Excellence on Disparities in HIV and Aging (CEDHA), a community-based cohort of persons ages ≥50 living with HIV (n?=?176) were performed. Analyses examined the relationship between risk/protective factors and two outcomes (i.e., self-reported health status [SRHS] and the healthy days index [HDI]). Having good/excellent health was associated with being a non-smoker (p?=?0.002), greater purpose in life (p?=?0.006), higher education (p?=?0.007), fewer depressive symptoms (p?=?0.004), fewer disabilities (p?=?0.000), and less loneliness (p?=?0.002) in bivariate analyses. Males (p?=?0.03) and African Americans/Blacks (p?=?0.03) reported higher HDI. Fewer depressive symptoms (p?=?0.000), disabilities (p?=?0.002), adverse life events (p?=?0.0103), and loneliness (p?=?0.000) were associated with higher HDI in bivariate analyses. In a logistic regression model, greater purpose in life, fewer disabilities, and being a non-smoker were associated with better SRHS after adjusting for covariates. For African Americans/Blacks, having fewer depressive symptoms and disabilities were associated with higher HDI after adjusting for covariates. Disabilities, depression, smoking status, race/ethnicity, and purpose in life were significantly associated with HRQOL. Findings support the need for research to examine the influence of cultural interpretations of life quality and focus on promoting physical function, smoking cessation, and psychological wellness in persons aging with HIV.     

Psychosocial well-being of people living with HIV and the community before and after a HIV stigma-reduction community “hub” network intervention

The purpose of the research was to determine whether an HIV stigma-reduction community “hub” network intervention in a South African urban area would bring about a difference in the psychosocial well-being of people living with HIV (PLWH), as well as their community (living in the same municipal ward). A single case pre-test post-test design was implemented. The sample for this study included 62 PLWH who were selected through accessibility sampling and 570 community members who were selected through random voluntary sampling. Participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) before and after the intervention. A dependent t-test as well as Cohen’s d-values were used to calculate the differences between the pre- and post-test results for depression and well-being. Levels of languishing, moderate mental health and flourishing before and after the intervention were determined. Although the focus of the HIV stigma-reduction community “hub” intervention that was followed in this study was on the involvement of PLWH and people living close to them (PLC) to share their knowledge as community mobilisers and to mobilise and empower their own community to reduce HIV stigma, it can be concluded that a secondary gain was the effect it had on both depression and mental health of the PLWH as well as the community. Of interest is how these effects differed for PLWH and the community. It is thus recommended that future interventions should give special attention to aspects of depression and well-being.     

The Mediating Effect of Spiritual Well-being on Depressive Symptoms and Health-related Quality of Life Among Elders

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of spiritual well-being (SWB) on depressive symptoms (DS) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Taiwanese elders. A convenience sample of 150 Taiwanese elders completed self-administrated questionnaires participated in this cross-sectional study. This study revealed that SWB was positively related to HRQOL but negatively correlated with DS. Results of hieratical regression analyses suggested that SWB significantly mediated the relationship between DS and mental components of HRQOL. Findings from this study suggest that nurses and health care providers should develop strategies to enhance spiritual well-being when caring for elders to maintain good health and promote quality of life.