Just for Fun

Random errors, from any source, will attenuate epidemiological risk estimates. Before we launched the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS), a large population-based cohort study investigating the diet-cancer association among Chinese men, a dietary calibration study was conducted among 96 men aged 40-75 years (mean age 56.5 years), with biweekly 24-hour dietary recalls (24HDRs) implemented over a 1-year period. Data from this study were analysed to evaluate the nature and magnitude of variances for intake of 26 nutrients among SMHS participants, to compare variance ratios of 26 nutrients among Chinese men and women and individuals in other studies, and to estimate the number of 24HDRs required for future dietary calibration studies in similar populations. Ninety-six healthy, free-living men in Shanghai were administered biweekly 24HDR interviews 24 times over a 1-year period. To assess between-individual and within-individual contributions to variance, a mixed effects model was fitted and ratios of within-individual to between-individual (sigma(w)(2)/sigma(b)(2)) dietary intake variances were computed. Shanghai, China. In agreement with reports from studies conducted in the USA and many other countries, we found that within-individual variances were usually larger than between-individual variances in dietary intake for all nutrients. The sum of all other variation (e.g. weekday and weekend, seasonal, interviewer) accounted for less than 5% of total variation. Ratios of within- to between-individual variances (for log-transformed data) ranged from 1.25 for carbohydrate intake to near 8 for delta-tocopherol intake. The results of this study suggest that among middle-aged and elderly Chinese men in Shanghai, within- and between-individual variation account for more than 95% of the total variation for 26 nutrients. Further dietary validation studies in the same population could be adequately carried out with only 12 days of dietary recalls, if 100 participants were enrolled.

Background The loss of gut microbial stability has been observed during aging. Previous studies have noted changes in the diversity of gut microbiota and richness of specific bacteria along with age, but rarely focused on alternations in microbial guild. Methods Included in this study were 2944 middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults (1473 men and 1471 women) from the Shanghai Men's and Women's Health Studies, of whom 1419 healthy subjects (747 men and 672 women) self-reported no common non-communicable diseases (NCD) were selected for evaluating the healthy aging pattern. Microbiome was profiled by 16S rRNA sequencing. A guild-based method was adopted to cluster operational taxonomic units (OTU) into co-abundance groups (CAG) as functional units. PICRUSt2 were used to predict metagenome functions. The aging trend were assessed by linear regression. A random forest model incorporating significant CAGs with chronological age was developed to fit microbial age in the healthy and subsequently applied to those with NCDs. Results The age of all participants ranged from 51.4 to 89.3 years (mean of 70.2). A decline in Chao1 index and an increase in Pielou evenness with aging were observed among healthy women but not men. The microbial drift based on Bray-Curtis distance appeared driven by age and differed significantly by sex. Eleven CAGs were identified as potential aging markers in men, and twelve in women; wherein only CAG_6 (Bifidobacterium sp. dominated) and CAG_118 (Veillonella dispar dominated) were positively related with age in both genders. The 1,4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoate biosynthesis served as the core metabolic pathway that increased with age in both men and women. Subjects with metabolic diseases had an older microbial age than the healthy, particularly among men. Conclusions This study indicates the importance of gut microbiota in healthy aging among Chinese men and women. The aging related sex-specific patterns of gut microbiota can be modified by prevalent NCDs. Key messages • The aging patterns of gut microbiota guild were different in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men and women. • The microbial age was older in subjects with metabolic diseases than those without.

Over the last twenty years or so, debates about men's health have been dominated by the thesis that masculinity is bad for men's health (Gough, 2010). Practical examples of this discursive tendency occur in a report, titled 'Man Made: Men, masculinities and equality in public policy' (Ruxton, 2009). The report comments, 'Boys and men are still socialised to be tough and strong, to appear in control and to take risks,' and later it goes on to masculine bodies: … men expect their bodies to be capable of doing 'manly' things and not to be weak or vulnerable. This repetitive emphasis on negative and often damaging features of men's practices and behaviours (Collier, 1998) does not do justice to the contradictory and shifting realities of aging, working-class, men's lives through their life courses. The dominant discourse in men's health discussions that masculinity is bad for men's health very often marginalises or even pathologises (Gough and Robertson, 2010) aging men's masculinities. It certainly does not allow for an acknowledgement of significant and varied changes in the meanings of men and masculinities over time.KeywordsLife StoryPhysical VulnerabilityMasculine IdentityWeak BodyExtended Family NetworkThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This article investigates the influence of partnership status on older men's involvement in social organisations, drawing on qualitative research. Men are found to be highly resistant to participation in organisations that cater primarily for the needs of older people. Older divorced and never-married men are more susceptible to social isolation and poor health than married men. This could be ameliorated by membership of such establishments, yet their resistance is the greatest. Policy implications focus on identifying and responding to appropriate provision of organisational and communal activities for ageing men, particularly those who spend their later years without a partner.