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- Husain, Waqar, et al.
(författare)
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Gerascophobia or Excessive Fear of Aging Scale (GEFAS) : Development, validation, and exploration of psychometric properties of a brief instrument using classical testing theory and item response theory
- 2025
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Ingår i: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics (Print). - : Elsevier. - 0167-4943 .- 1872-6976. ; 128
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Gerascophobia, or excessive fear of aging, is thought to be caused by a mixture of cognitive, experiential, and physiological factors acting on a person at particular time points. Measurement tools for evaluating geraschophobia remain insufficiently developed, despite this commonplace fear's distress.Objective: The objective of the current study was to develop and validate the Gerascophobia or Excessive Fear of Aging Scale (GEFAS) and analyze its psychometric properties.Methods: Three successive investigations were carried out with a total of 1594 participants. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate the construct validity of the GEFAS. Convergent and discriminant validity was assessed by examining relationships with measures of depression, anxiety, stress, death anxiety, psychosocial illness, and life satisfaction. Multiple linear regression was used to investigate factors that predict fear of aging.Results: The GEFAS demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach alpha >0.8). Factor analysis supported a single-factor solution for the scale (fitness indices CFI, TLI, NNFI, NFI, RFI, and MFI all > 0.95; RMSEA=0.06. Significant positive correlations were found between fear of aging and depression (r = 0.270; p < 0.01), anxiety (r = 0.311; p < 0.01), stress (r = 0.285; p < 0.01), death anxiety (r = 0.600; p < 0.01), and psychosocial illness (r = 0.243; p < 0.01). A significant inverse correlation was observed with life satisfaction. Gender differences were also noted, with women exhibiting greater fear of aging than men (p < 0.01; d = 0.488).Conclusion: The GEFAS fills a significant gap in the psychological/psychiatric literature as a useful tool for evaluating the fear of aging. The study concludes that the excessive fear of aging contributes to poor mental health.
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| 2. |
- Wang, Chao, et al.
(författare)
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Characterization and sources of childhood PAEs exposure from residential airborne dust in China cities
- 2025
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Sciences(China). - : Elsevier. - 1001-0742 .- 1878-7320. ; 152, s. 1-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To explore the multicenter characteristics of endocrine-like phthalate esters (PAEs) in household dust and propose effective control strategies for global indoor public health. An on-site observational investigation was conducted in nine Chinese cities from 2018 to 2019. A total of 246 household dust samples were collected and analyzed for ten PAE congeners using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Questionnaires were used to gather information on building conditions, indoor behaviors, and ventilation habits. In residential dust from the nine cities, the total concentrations of the ten PAE congeners (∑PAEs) ranged from 0.921 to 29097.297 µg/g. Dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) and di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were the dominant congeners in ∑PAEs. Childhood exposure to PAEs through dust ingestion was four orders of magnitude higher than through inhalation, with a carcinogenic risk of 5.47 × 10−6 for DEHP exposure in household dust. Higher ∑PAEs concentrations were associated with higher temperature, double glazing, wall paint usage, television and computer use, and indoor plant growth. This multicenter on-site investigation confirmed PAE pollution characteristics and uncovered the inacceptable risk of daily DEHP exposure in household dust under real living conditions. Effective mitigation measures based on household-related information, residential characteristics, decoration materials, and lifestyle should be taken to build a healthy household environment.
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| 3. |
- Fome, Anna Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of a competitive respiratory disease system with quarantine : Epidemic thresholds and cross-immunity effects
- 2025
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Ingår i: Applied Mathematics and Computation. - : Elsevier. - 0096-3003 .- 1873-5649. ; 485
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Our study investigates the dynamics of disease interaction and persistence within populations, exploring various epidemic scenarios, including backward bifurcation and cross-immunity effects. We establish conditions under which the disease-free equilibrium of the model demonstrates local or global asymptotic stability, contingent on the efficacy of quarantine measures. Notably, we find that a strain with a quarantine reproduction number greater than 1 will out-compete a strain with a quarantine reproduction number less than 1, leading to its extinction under complete immunity conditions. Additionally, we identify scenarios where diseases persist in a sub-critical coexistence endemic equilibrium, despite one control reproduction number being below one. Our exploration of backward bifurcation reveals the model's capacity to accommodate the coexistence of the disease-free equilibrium with up to four endemic equilibria. Moreover, we demonstrate that the existence of cross-immunity enhances the coexistence of two strains. However, co-infections and imperfect quarantine measures pose significant challenges in containing outbreaks, sustaining the outbreak potential even with successful control of individual virus strains. Conversely, controlling outbreaks becomes more manageable in the absence of co-infections, especially with perfect quarantine measures. We conclude by advocating for public health strategies that address the complexities posed by co-infections, emphasizing the importance of simultaneously tackling multiple pathogens.
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