Dataset Information

Comparing loneliness in England and the United States, 2014-2016: Differential item functioning and risk factor prevalence and impact.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to compare mean levels of loneliness, and correlates of loneliness, among older adults in the U.S. and England. Comparisons are conducted after attending to comparability of the loneliness measure between countries based on tests for discriminatory capacity and differential item functioning of the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. Cross-sectional data from the 2015-16 wave of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) and the 2014-2015 wave of the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA) were analyzed using graded item response models and multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) models. Risk factors included demographic variables, health characteristics, and social characteristics that were harmonized across surveys. Because of differences in the racial-ethnic composition of the U.S. and England, analyses were limited to white respondents (N = 2624 in NSHAP; N = 6639 in ELSA). Only respondents born 1925-1965 were included in analyses. Discriminatory capacity was evident in each item being able to distinguish a lonely from a nonlonely individual. Differential item functioning (DIF) was evident in country differences in the likelihood of endorsing the "lack companionship" item at a given level of trait loneliness, and in DIF among marital status, education, and gender subgroups that were comparable across countries. Overall loneliness levels are equivalent in England and the U.S. Risk factor impact did not differ between countries, but differences in risk factor prevalence between countries combined to produce a net result of slightly lower mean levels of loneliness in older adults in England than in the U.S. after risk factor adjustment. The fact that the impact of risk factors were similar across countries suggests that evidence of successful interventions in one country could be leveraged to accelerate development of effective interventions in the other.

SUBMITTER: Hawkley LC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7577322 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Comparing loneliness in England and the United States, 2014-2016: Differential item functioning and risk factor prevalence and impact.

Hawkley Louise C LC Steptoe Andrew A Schumm L Philip LP Wroblewski Kristen K

Social science & medicine (1982) 20201021

The purpose of this study is to compare mean levels of loneliness, and correlates of loneliness, among older adults in the U.S. and England. Comparisons are conducted after attending to comparability of the loneliness measure between countries based on tests for discriminatory capacity and differential item functioning of the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. Cross-sectional data from the 2015-16 wave of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) and the 2014-2015 wave of the English ...[more]

PMID: 33162196

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background/objectivesPsychotropic and opioid medications are routinely prescribed for symptom management in hospice, but national estimates of prescribing are lacking. Changes in Medicare hospice payment in 2014 provide the first opportunity to examine psychotropic and opioid prescribing among hospice beneficiaries, and the factors associated with use of specific medication classes.DesignCross-sectional analysis of a 20% sample of traditional and managed Medicare with Part D enrolled in hospice, 2014-2016.SettingBeneficiaries enrolled in the Medicare hospice benefit.ParticipantsMedicare beneficiaries ≥65 newly enrolled in hospice between July 1, 2014 and December 31, 2016 (N = 554,022).Main outcomePrevalence of psychotropic and opioid medication prescribing by class and factors associated with prescribing.Results70.3% of hospice beneficiaries were prescribed a psychotropic and 63.3% were prescribed an opioid. The most common psychotropic classes prescribed were: benzodiazepines (60.6%), antipsychotics (38.3%), antidepressants (18.4%), and antiepileptics (10.2%). Lorazepam (56.4%), morphine (52.8%), and haloperidol (28.6%) were received by the most beneficiaries. Prevalence of any psychotropic and opioid prescription was highest among beneficiaries who were female (76.7%), non-Hispanic white (76.6%), and those with cancer (78.9%). Compared to white beneficiaries, non-Hispanic black beneficiaries were less likely to receive nearly every class of medication, with significantly lower odds of receiving opioids (64.1% vs 57.9%; AOR 0.75, 95% CI 0.72-0.77) and benzodiazepines (61.6% vs 52.2%; AOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.64-0.68). Differences were seen across hospice diagnosis; those with cancer were more likely to receive opioids, benzodiazepines, and antipsychotics but less likely to receive antidepressants and antiepileptics.ConclusionsPsychotropic and opioid medications are frequently prescribed in hospice. Observed variations in prescribing across race and ethnicity may reflect disparities in prescribing as well as patient preferences for care. Further work is important to understand factors driving prescribing given limited studies surrounding medication prescribing in hospice.

Project description:Biogas plants (BGPs) produce methane and carbon dioxide through the anaerobic digestion of agricultural waste. Identification of strategies for more stable biogas plant operation and increased biogas yields require better knowledge about the individual degradation steps and the interactions within the microbial communities. The metaprotein profiles of ten agricultural BGPs and one laboratory reactor were investigated using a metaproteomics pipeline. Fractionation of samples using SDS-PAGE was combined with a high resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometer, metagenome sequences specific for BGPs, and the MetaProteomeAnalyzer software. This enabled us to achieve a high coverage of the metaproteome of the BGP microbial communities. The investigation revealed approx. 17,000 protein groups (metaproteins), covering the majority of the expected metabolic networks of the biogas process such as hydrolysis, transport, fermentation processes, amino acid metabolism, methanogenesis and bacterial C1-metabolism. Biological functions could be linked with the taxonomic composition. Two different types of BGPs were classified by the abundance of the acetoclastic methanogenesis and by abundance of enzymes implicating syntrophic acetate oxidation. Linking of the identified metaproteins with the process steps of the Anaerobic Digestion Model 1 proved the main model assumptions but indicated also some improvements such as considering syntrophic acetate oxidation. Beside the syntrophic interactions, the microbial communities in BGPs are also shaped by competition for substrates and host-phage interactions causing cell lysis. In particular, larger amounts of Bacteriophages for the bacterial families Bacillaceae, Enterobacteriaceae and Clostridiaceae, exceeding the cell number of the Bacteria by approximately four-fold. In contrast, less Bacteriophages were found for Archaea, but more CRISPR proteins were detected. On the one hand, the virus induced turnover of biomass might cause slow degradation of complex biomass in BGP. On the other hand, the lysis of bacterial cells allows cycling of essential nutrients.

Dataset Information

Comparing loneliness in England and the United States, 2014-2016: Differential item functioning and risk factor prevalence and impact.

Publications

Comparing loneliness in England and the United States, 2014-2016: Differential item functioning and risk factor prevalence and impact.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets