@article {7019, title = {The impact of own and spouse{\textquoteright}s urinary incontinence on depressive symptoms.}, journal = {Soc Sci Med}, volume = {60}, year = {2005}, month = {2005 Jun}, pages = {2537-48}, publisher = {60}, abstract = {

This study investigated the impact of own and spouse{\textquoteright}s urinary incontinence on depressive symptoms. Attention was paid to the possibility that gender and caregiving might be important factors in understanding significant effects. We used negative binomial regression to analyze survey data for 9974 middle-aged and older respondents to the Health and Retirement Study in the USA. Results supported the hypothesis that the respondents{\textquoteright} own urinary incontinence was associated with depressive symptoms (unadj. IRR = 1.73, 95\% CIs = 1.53, 1.95 for men; unadj. IRR = 1.50, 95\% CIs = 1.38, 1.63 for women). Controlling sociodemographic and health variables reduced this relationship, but it remained statistically significant for both men and women. Having an incontinent wife put men at greater risk for depressive symptoms (unadj. IRR = 1.13, 95\% CIs = 1.02, 1.25), although this relation became nonsignificant with the addition of control variables. No relation between women{\textquoteright}s depressive symptoms and husbands{\textquoteright} (in)continence status was found. Caregiving was not a significant variable in the adjusted analyses, but spouses{\textquoteright} depressive symptoms emerged as a significant predictor of the respondents{\textquoteright} own depressive symptoms. Health care providers must be sensitive to the emotional impact of urinary incontinence. Our findings also suggest the importance of considering the patient{\textquoteright}s mental health within a wider context, particularly including the physical and mental health of the patient{\textquoteright}s spouse.

}, keywords = {Aged, Caregivers, Cohort Studies, depression, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, United States, Urinary incontinence}, issn = {0277-9536}, doi = {10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.11.019}, author = {Fultz, Nancy H. and Kristi Rahrig Jenkins and Truls Ostbye and Donald H. Taylor Jr. and Mohammed U Kabeto and Kenneth M. Langa} } @article {6807, title = {A longitudinal study of the effects of tobacco smoking and other modifiable risk factors on ill health in middle-aged and old Americans: results from the Health and Retirement Study and Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old survey.}, journal = {Prev Med}, volume = {34}, year = {2002}, month = {2002 Mar}, pages = {334-45}, publisher = {34}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: While the effects of smoking and other modifiable risk factors on mortality and specific diseases are well established, their effects on ill health more generally are less known. Using two national, longitudinal surveys, the objective of this study was to analyze the effect of smoking and other modifiable risk factors on ill health, defined in a multidimensional fashion (i.e., disability, impaired mobility, health care utilization, and self-reported health).

METHODS: The analyses were based on the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (12,652 persons 50-60 years old surveyed in 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998) and the Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old survey (8,124 persons 60-70 years old surveyed in 1993, 1996, and 1998).

RESULTS: Smoking was strongly related to mortality and to ill health, with similar relative effects in the middle-aged and the elderly. There were consistent adverse dose-response relationships between smoking and ill health in the HRS. Persons who had quit smoking at least 15 years prior to the survey were no more likely than never smokers to experience ill health. A dose-response relationship was found between exercise and ill health. For body mass index and alcohol, there were U-shaped relationships with ill health.

CONCLUSIONS: Public health efforts designed to encourage smoking cessation should emphasize improvements in ill health in addition to decreased mortality.

}, keywords = {Age Distribution, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alcohol Drinking, Attitude to Health, Chi-Square Distribution, Exercise, Female, Health Behavior, Health Status, Health Surveys, Humans, Life Style, Logistic Models, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Risk Assessment, Risk Factors, Sex Distribution, Smoking, Socioeconomic factors, Survival Rate, United States}, issn = {0091-7435}, doi = {10.1006/pmed.2001.0991}, author = {Truls Ostbye and Donald H. Taylor Jr. and Sang-Hyuk Jung} } @article {6775, title = {Do Smokers Respond to Health Shocks?}, journal = {The Review of Economics and Statistics}, volume = {83}, year = {2001}, pages = {675-687}, publisher = {83}, abstract = {This paper reports the first effort to use data to evaluate how new information, acquired through exogenous health shocks, affects people{\textquoteright}s longevity expectations. We find that smokers react differently to health shocks than do those who quit smoking or never smoked. These differences, together with insights from qualitative research conducted along with the statistical analysis, suggest specific changes in the health warnings used to reduce smoking. Our specific focus is on how current smokers responded to health information in comparison to former smokers and nonsmokers. The three groups use significantly different updating rules to revise their assessments about longevity. The most significant finding of our study documents that smokers differ from persons who do not smoke in how information influences their personal longevity expectations. When smokers experience smoking-related health shocks, they interpret this information as reducing their chances of living to age 75 or more. Our estimated models imply smokers update their longevity expectations more dramatically than either former smokers or those who never smoked. Smokers are thus assigning a larger risk equivalent to these shocks. They do not react comparably to general health shocks, implying that specific information about smoking-related health events is most likely to cause them to update beliefs. It remains to be evaluated whether messages can be designed that focus on the link between smoking and health outcomes in ways that will have comparable effects on smokers{\textquoteright} risk perceptions.}, keywords = {Health Conditions and Status}, issn = {0034-6535}, doi = {10.1162/003465301753237759}, author = {V. Kerry Smith and Donald H. Taylor Jr. and Frank A Sloan and Desvousges, William H. and F. Reed Johnson} }