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Research on patterns of self-rated health and health service use suggests that women report having poorer health than men, and that, after controlling for health measures, women are more likely to obtain formal health care. Proposed reasons for these differences have included that women's self-rated health is more strongly influenced by psychosocial factors or negative affect and that women are likely to obtain services when at better levels of self-rated health, compared with men. Our study explored gender differences in the effects of non-health attributes on decisions to obtain primary medical services for an Australian community-based sample of 4140 adults from two age groups: 40-44 years and 60-64 years. Participants provided information on measures of physical and mental health, and on predisposing and enabling factors that could affect their levels of health service use. Information on visits made to general practitioners (GPs) in a 6-month period was obtained from the national insurer. We found that men and women who obtained no GP services reported comparable levels of physical and mental health and that, for both men and women, measures of health needs were most strongly associated with their obtaining care. After controlling for measures of mental and physical health and enabling factors, we found that non-health factors that could predispose an individual to obtain care had greater impact on men's but not women's decisions to obtain any GP services. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that in choosing to obtain medical care, women are more strongly influenced by non-health factors compared with men. Keywords: Gender; Health service use; Predisposing factors; Australia

Objective: To investigate the association of obesity with anxiety, depression and emotional well-being (positive and negative affect) in three age groups. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Canberra and the neighbouring town of Queanbeyan, Australia, with a random sample from the electoral roll of 2,280 persons aged 20-24, 2,334 aged 40-44, and 2,305 aged 60-64. Results: Self-reported height and weight were used to classify participants as underweight (body mass index of less than 18.5), acceptable weight (18.5 to less than 25), overweight (25 to less than 30) or obese (30 and over). Obesity in women was associated with more anxiety and depression symptoms and less positive affect, but there were only weak and inconsistent associations in men. When factors that might mediate any association were controlled (physical ill health, lack of physical activity, poorer social support, less education and financial problems), a different picture emerged, with the underweight women having more depression and negative affect and the obese and overweight women tending to have better mental health than the acceptable weight group. Controlling for physical ill health alone accounted for the association of obesity with anxiety and depression in women. Conclusions: Obesity has an association with anxiety, depression and lower well-being in women, but not in men. The results are consistent with physical ill health playing a mediating role. Implication: Reducing obesity in the population is unlikely to have any direct effect on mental health or emotional well-being.

Introduction Two recent cross-sectional studies have shown that cognitive impairment in old age, as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) [1], varies across occupational groups. A French study classified [...]

Abstract Background National screening programs have reduced cervical cancer mortality; however participation in these programs varies according to women's personal and social characteristics. Research into these inequalities has been limited by reliance on self-reported service use data that is potentially biased, or administrative data that lacks personal detail. We address these limitations and extend existing research by examining rates and correlates of cervical screening in a large epidemiological survey with linked administrative data. Methods The cross-sectional sample included 1685 women aged 44-48 and 64-68 years from the Australian Capital Territory and Queanbeyan, Australia. Relative risk was assessed by logistic regression models and summary Population Attributable Risk (PAR) was used to quantify the effect of inequalities on rates of cervical cancer screening. Results Overall, 60.5% of women participated in screening over the two-year period recommended by Australian guidelines. Screening participation was associated with having children, moderate or high use of health services, employment, reported lifetime history of drug use, and better physical functioning. Conversely, rates of cervical screening were lower amongst women who were older, reliant on welfare, obese, current smokers, reported childhood sexual abuse, and those with anxiety symptoms. A summary PAR showed that effective targeting of women with readily observable risk-factors (no children, no partner, receiving income support payments, not working, obese, current smoker, anxiety, poor physical health, and low overall health service use) could potentially reduce overall non-participation in screening by 74%. Conclusions This study illustrates a valuable method for investigating the personal determinants of health service use by combining representative survey data with linked administrative records. Reliable knowledge about the characteristics that predict uptake of cervical cancer screening services will inform targeted health promotion efforts.

Abstract Background The loss of participants in longitudinal studies due to non-contact, refusal or death can introduce bias into the results of such studies. The study described here examines reasons for refusal over three waves of a survey of persons aged ≥ 70 years. Methods In a longitudinal study involving three waves, participants were compared to those who refused to participate but allowed an informant to be interviewed and to those who refused any participation. Results At Wave 1 both groups of Wave 2 non-participants had reported lower occupational status and fewer years of education, had achieved lower verbal IQ scores and cognitive performance scores and experienced some distress from the interview. Those with an informant interview only were in poorer physical health than those who participated and those who refused. Depression and anxiety symptoms were not associated with non-participation. Multivariate analyses found that verbal IQ and cognitive impairment predicted refusal. Results were very similar for refusers at both Waves 2 and 3. Conclusions Longitudinal studies of the elderly may over estimate cognitive performance because of the greater refusal rate of those with poorer performance. However, there is no evidence of bias with respect to anxiety or depression.

Background: It is commonly assumed that owning a pet provides older residents in the community with health benefits including improved physical health and psychological well-being. It has also been reported that pet owners are lower on neuroticism and higher on extraversion compared with those without pets. However, findings of research on this topic have been mixed with a number of researchers reporting that, for older people, there is little or no health benefit associated with pet ownership. Objective: To identify health benefits associated with pet ownership and pet caring responsibilities in a large sample of older community-based residents. Methods: Using survey information provided by 2,551 individuals aged between 60 and 64 years, we compared the sociodemographic attributes, mental and physical health measures, and personality traits of pet owners and non-owners. For 78.8% of these participants, we were also able to compare the health services used, based on information obtained from the national insurer on the number of general practitioner (GP) visits they made over a 12-month period. Results: Compared with non-owners, those with pets reported more depressive symptoms while female pet owners who were married also had poorer physical health. We found that caring for a pet was associated with negative health outcomes including more symptoms of depression, poorer physical health and higher rates of use of pain relief medication. No relationship was found between pet ownership and use of GP services. When we examined the personality traits of pet owners and carers, we found that men who cared for pets had higher extraversion scores. Our principal and unexpected finding, however, was that pet owners and carers reported higher levels of psychoticism as measured by the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Conclusions: We conclude that pet ownership confers no health benefits for this age group. Instead, those with pets have poorer mental and physical health and use more pain relief medication. Further, our study suggests that those with pets are less conforming to social norms as indicated by their higher levels of psychoticism. Copyright © 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An informant questionnaire to measure cognitive decline in the elderly (the IQCODE) is described. The IQCODE was found to have high internal consistency reliability and to measure a general factor of cognitive decline. Scores on this questionnaire correlated highly with the Mini-Mental State Examination and with the level of care required by the subject. Furthermore, scores were unrelated to the subject's education or occupational status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]