BACKGROUND Childhood and current economic difficulties are associated with physical health. However, evidence concerning the factors underlying these associations is sparse. This study examines the contribution of a range of social and behavioural factors to associations between economic difficulties and physical functioning. METHODS We used comparable data on middle-aged white-collar employe...

The prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is growing, and people are living with this disease well into older age. Little is known about how people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease adapt to aging, particularly the physical changes of aging. According to the Identity Process Theory, people are inclined to attribute age-related changes in physical functioning to a transito...

OBJECTIVE Child maltreatment (abuse and neglect) has established associations with mental health; however, little is known about its relationship with physical functioning. Physical functioning (ie, the ability to perform the physical tasks of daily living) in adulthood is an important outcome to consider, as it is strongly associated with an individual's ability to work, and future disability ...

BACKGROUND Loss of physical functioning is an early marker of declining health in older people. The objective of this study was to examine the age-related trajectories of physical functioning among those in full-time work and retirement. METHODS Based on the Health and Retirement Study, participants who were working full-time or were in full-time retirement and 65-85 years of age during the f...

Patient physical functioning level is an indicator of medical fitness that may predict outcomes after kidney transplantation. A small study of patients at a single center found a correlation between patient-rated physical functioning pretransplantation and the number of emergency hospital visits posttransplantation. In a national multicenter cohort, the association of incident dialysis patients...

BACKGROUND Physical inactivity and overweight are major threats to public health. However, it is not well understood to what extent physical activity might counteract the harmful effects of overweight on functioning. Thus, we examined the joint associations of leisure-time physical activity and body mass index (BMI) with subsequent physical and mental functioning over a follow-up of five to sev...

OBJECTIVE A prospective study was conducted in order to establish whether AS patients, who are defined as non-responders after 3 months of anti-TNF therapy, show improvement on performance-based tests of physical functioning. METHODS At baseline and 3 months after the start of anti-TNF therapy, AS patients completed seven performance-based tests of physical functioning, questionnaires on self...

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is associated with impaired physical and psychological functioning for some long-term survivors. A risk prediction model would help clinicians estimate their patients' physical and psychological functioning after HCT and determine when to refer to added supportive care when appropriate. The purpose of the present study was to develop risk prediction mode...