TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of the financial crisis on lifestyle health determinants among older adults living in the mediterranean region
T2 - The multinational MEDIS Study (2005-2015)
AU - Foscolou, Alexandra
AU - Tyrovolas, Stefanos
AU - Soulis, George
AU - Mariolis, Anargiros
AU - Piscopo, Suzanne
AU - Valacchi, Giuseppe
AU - Anastasiou, Foteini
AU - Lionis, Christos
AU - Zeimbekis, Akis
AU - Tur, Josep Antoni
AU - Bountziouka, Vassiliki
AU - Tyrovola, Dimitra
AU - Gotsis, Efthimios
AU - Metallinos, George
AU - Matalas, Antonia Leda
AU - Polychronopoulos, Evangelos
AU - Sidossis, Labros
AU - Panagiotakos, Demosthenes B.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Objectives: By the end of the 2000s, the economic situation in many European countries started to deteriorate, generating financial uncertainty, social insecurity and worse health status. The aim of the present study was to investigate how the recent financial crisis has affected the lifestyle health determinants and behaviours of older adults living in the Mediterranean islands. Methods: From 2005 to 2015, a population-based, multi-stage convenience sampling method was used to voluntarily enrol 2749 older adults (50% men) from 20 Mediterranean islands and the rural area of the Mani peninsula. Lifestyle status was evaluated as the cumulative score of four components (range, 0 to 6), that is, smoking habits, diet quality (MedDietScore), depression status (Geriatric Depression Scale) and physical activity. Results: Older Mediterranean people enrolled in the study from 2009 onwards showed social isolation and increased smoking, were more prone to depressive symptoms, and adopted less healthy dietary habits, as compared to their counterparts participating earlier in the study (p<0.05), irrespective of age, gender, several clinical characteristics, or socioeconomic status of the participants (an almost 50% adjusted increase in the lifestyle score from before 2009 to after 2009, p<0.001). Conclusions: A shift towards less healthy behaviours was noticeable after the economic crisis had commenced. Public health interventions should focus on older adults, particularly of lower socioeconomic levels, in order to effectively reduce the burden of cardiometabolic disease at the population level.
AB - Objectives: By the end of the 2000s, the economic situation in many European countries started to deteriorate, generating financial uncertainty, social insecurity and worse health status. The aim of the present study was to investigate how the recent financial crisis has affected the lifestyle health determinants and behaviours of older adults living in the Mediterranean islands. Methods: From 2005 to 2015, a population-based, multi-stage convenience sampling method was used to voluntarily enrol 2749 older adults (50% men) from 20 Mediterranean islands and the rural area of the Mani peninsula. Lifestyle status was evaluated as the cumulative score of four components (range, 0 to 6), that is, smoking habits, diet quality (MedDietScore), depression status (Geriatric Depression Scale) and physical activity. Results: Older Mediterranean people enrolled in the study from 2009 onwards showed social isolation and increased smoking, were more prone to depressive symptoms, and adopted less healthy dietary habits, as compared to their counterparts participating earlier in the study (p<0.05), irrespective of age, gender, several clinical characteristics, or socioeconomic status of the participants (an almost 50% adjusted increase in the lifestyle score from before 2009 to after 2009, p<0.001). Conclusions: A shift towards less healthy behaviours was noticeable after the economic crisis had commenced. Public health interventions should focus on older adults, particularly of lower socioeconomic levels, in order to effectively reduce the burden of cardiometabolic disease at the population level.
KW - Financial crisis
KW - Health status
KW - Lifestyle health determinant index
KW - Mediterranean islands
KW - Older adults
KW - Socioeconomic status
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85012878907&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3961/jpmph.16.101
DO - 10.3961/jpmph.16.101
M3 - Review article
C2 - 28173690
AN - SCOPUS:85012878907
SN - 1975-8375
VL - 50
SP - 1
EP - 9
JO - Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
JF - Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
IS - 1
ER -