Dominance Measuring Method Performance under Incomplete Information about Weights.

In multi-attribute utility theory, it is often not easy to elicit precise values for the scaling weights representing the relative importance of criteria. A very widespread approach is to gather incomplete information. A recent approach for dealing with such situations is to use information about each alternative?s intensity of dominance, known as dominance measuring methods. Different dominancemeasuring methods have been proposed, and simulation studies have been carried out to compare these methods with each other and with other approaches but only when ordinal information about weights is available. In this paper, we useMonte Carlo simulation techniques to analyse the performance of and adapt such methods to deal with weight intervals, weights fitting independent normal probability distributions orweights represented by fuzzy numbers.Moreover, dominance measuringmethod performance is also compared with a widely used methodology dealing with incomplete information on weights, the stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA). SMAA is based on exploring the weight space to describe the evaluations that would make each alternative the preferred one.

El fitness como factor determinante en el riesgo de discapacidad, su relación con la composición corporal y el estado cognitivo en población mayor institucionalizada y de vida independiente = Fitness as a determinant factor in the risk of disability, and its relationship to body composition and cognitive status in institutionalized elderly population and independent living

La condición física, o como mejor se la conoce hoy en día el “fitness”, es una variable que está cobrando gran protagonismo, especialmente desde la perspectiva de la salud. La mejora de la calidad de vida que se ha experimentado en los últimos años en las sociedades desarrolladas, conlleva un aumento de la esperanza de vida, lo que hace que cada vez más personas vivan más años. Este rápido crecimiento de la población mayor de 60 años hace que, un grupo poblacional prácticamente olvidado desde el punto de vista de la investigación científica en el campo de la actividad física y del deporte, cobre gran relevancia, con el fin de poder ayudar a alcanzar el dicho “no se trata de aportar años a la vida sino vida a lo años”. La presente memoria de Tesis Doctoral tiene como principal objetivo valorar los niveles de fitness en población mayor española, además de analizar la relación existente entre el fitness, sus condicionantes y otros aspectos de la salud, tales como la composición corporal y el estado cognitivo. Entendemos que para poder establecer futuras políticas de salud pública en relación a la actividad física y el envejecimiento activo es necesario conocer cuáles son los niveles de partida de la población mayor en España y sus condicionantes. El trabajo está basado en los datos del estudio multicéntrico EXERNET (Estudio Multi-céntrico para la Evaluación de los Niveles de Condición Física y su relación con Estilos de Vida Saludables en población mayor española no institucionalizada), así como en los datos de dos estudios, llevados a cabo en población mayor institucionalizada. Se han analizado un total de 3136 mayores de vida independiente, procedentes de 6 comunidades autónomas, y 153 mayores institucionalizados en residencias de la Comunidad de Madrid. Los principales resultados de esta tesis son los siguientes: a) Fueron establecidos los valores de referencia, así como las curvas de percentiles, para cada uno de los test de fitness, de acuerdo a la edad y al sexo, en población mayor española de vida independiente y no institucionalizada. b) Los varones obtuvieron mejores niveles de fitness que las mujeres, excepto en los test de flexibilidad; existe una tendencia a disminuir la condición física en ambos sexos a medida que la edad aumenta. c) Niveles bajos de fitness funcional fueron asociados con un aumento en la percepción de problemas. d) El nivel mínimo de fitness funcional a partir del cual los mayores perciben problemas en sus actividades de la vida diaria (AVD) es similar en ambos sexos. e) Niveles elevados de fitness fueron asociados con un menor riesgo de sufrir obesidad sarcopénica y con una mejor salud percibida en los mayores. f) Las personas mayores con obesidad sarcopénica tienen menor capacidad funcional que las personas mayores sanas. g) Niveles elevados de fuerza fueron asociados con un mejor estado cognitivo siendo el estado cognitivo la variable que más influye en el deterioro de la fuerza, incluso más que el sexo y la edad. ABSTRACT Fitness is a variable that is gaining in prominence, especially from the health perspective. Improvement of life quality that has been experienced in the last few years in developed countries, leads to an expanded life expectancy, increasing the numbers of people living longer. This population consisting of people of over 60 years, an almost forgotten population group from the point of view of scientific research in the field of physical activity and sport, is becoming increasingly important, with the main aim of helping to achieve the saying “do not only add years to life, but also add life to years”. The principal aim of the current thesis was to assess physical fitness levels in Spanish elderly people, of over 65 years, analyzing relationship between physical fitness, its determinants, and other aspects of health such as body composition and cognitive status. In order to establish further public health policies in relation to physical activity and active ageing it is necessary to identify the starting physical fitness levels of the Spanish population and their determinants. The work is based on data from the EXERNET multi-center study ("Multi-center Study for the Evaluation of Fitness levels and their relationship to Healthy Lifestyles in noninstitutionalized Spanish elderly"), and on data from two studies conducted in institutionalized elderly people: a total of 3136 non-institutionalized elderly, from 6 Regions of Spain, and 153 institutionalized elderly in nursing homes of Madrid. The main outcomes of this thesis are: a) sex- and age-specific physical fitness normative values and percentile curves for independent and non-institutionalized Spanish elderly were established. b) Greater physical fitness was present in the elderly men than in women, except for the flexibility test, and a trend toward decreased physical fitness in both sexes as their age increased. c) Lower levels of functional fitness were associated with increased perceived problems. d) The minimum functional fitness level at which older adults perceive problems in their ADLs, is similar for both sexes e) Higher levels of physical fitness were associated with a reduced risk of suffering sarcopenic obesity and better perceived health among the elderly. f) The elderly with sarcopenic obesity have lower physical functioning than healthy counterparts. g) Higher strength values were associated with better cognitive status with cognitive status being the most influencing variable in strength deterioration even more than sex and age.

Changes in the prevalence of chronic disability in the United States black and nonblack population above age 65 from 1982 to 1999

Survey evidence through the early 1990s generally suggests a reduction in disability in the elderly population of the United States. Because the evidence is not fully consistent, several authors have speculated about whether disability declines will continue. This paper reports results from the 1999 National Long-Term Care Survey on disability trends from 1982 through 1999. It is found that disability continued to decline in the 1994 to 1999 period, and that the decline was greater in the 1990s than in the 1980s. The disability decline from 1982 to 1989 was 0.26% per year, from 1989 to 1994 it was 0.38% per year, and from 1994 to 1999 it was 0.56% per year. In addition, disability declined by a greater percentage for blacks than for nonblacks over the 1989 to 1999 period.

Time Trends in Self-Rated Health and Disability in Older Spanish People: Differences by Gender and Age

Abstract Background: To analyse time trends in self-rated health in older people by gender and age and examine disability in the time trends of self-rated health. Methods: The data used come from the Spanish National Health Surveys conducted in 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2011- 12. Samples of adults aged 16 yr and older were selected. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between age, gender, socio-economic status, marital status, disability and self-rated health across period study. Results: Women exhibited lower (higher) prevalence of good self-rated health (disability) compared to men. The multivariate analysis for time trends found that good self-rated health increased from 2001 to 2012. Overall, variables associated with a lower likelihood of good self-rated health were: being married or living with a partner, lower educational level, and disability. Conclusion: Trends of good self-rated health differ by gender according to socio-demographic factors and the prevalence of disability.

Molecular Genetic Basis of Opposite Gene by Environment Interactions in Reading Disability and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

The goal of this study is to better understand the genetic basis of Reading Disability (RD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by examining molecular G x E interactions with parental education for each disorder. Research indicates that despite sharing genetic risk factors, RD and ADHD are influenced by different types of G x E interactions with parental education - a diathesis stress interaction in the case of ADHD and a bioecological interaction in RD. In order to resolve this apparent paradox, we conducted a preliminary study using behavioral genetic methods to test for G x E interactions in RD and the inattentive subtype of ADHD (ADHD-I) in the same sample of monozygotic and dizygotic Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center same-sex twin pairs (DeFries et al., 1997), and our findings were consistent with the literature. We posited a genetic hypothesis for this opposite pattern of interactions, which suggests that only genes specific to each disorder enter into these opposite interactions, not the shared genes underlying their comorbidity. This study sought to further investigate this paradox using molecular genetics methods. We examined multiple candidate genes identified for RD or related language phenotypes and those identified for ADHD for G x E interactions with parental education. The specific aims of this study were as follows: 1) partition known risk alleles for RD and/or related language phenotypes and ADHD-I into those which are pleiotropic and non-pleiotropic by testing each risk allele for association with both RD and ADHD-I, 2) explore the main effects of parental education on both RD and ADHD-I, 3) address G-E correlations, and 4) conduct exploratory G x E interaction analyses in order to test the genetic hypothesis. Analyses suggested a number of pleiotropic genes that influence both RD and ADHD; however, results did not remain after correcting for multiple comparisons. Although exploratory G x E interaction findings were not significant after multiple comparison correction, results suggested a G x E interaction in the bioecological direction with KIAA0319, parental education, and ADHD-I. Given the limited power in the current study, replication of these findings with larger samples is necessary.

Attitudes towards disability in education through the SSCI (2000-2011): a topical and bibliometric analysis

Introduction. The purpose of this study is to describe and characterize the international sci-entific output relating to “attitudes towards disability in education”, using a battery of bibliometric indicators that make it possible to analyze and monitor international scientific activity. Method. This ex post facto retrospective study analyzed 925 papers published in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) database during the period 2000-2011. Results. The number of publications increased steadily between 2006 and 2010. The results reported here include the most productive authors, the journals that deal with this topic, and the articles cited most often. An analysis of research types showed a tendency toward empiri-cal studies. A total of 18 categories were identified when considering article content, and the distribution of the research studies across stages of education was found to be uneven. Discussion and Conclusion. The results reveal a topic that is highly current in today’s scien-tific community, and offer us a view of the traits that have characterized research on "attitudes towards disability in education" for the last eleven years.