Subjective well -being as predictor of mortality, heart disease, and obesity: Prospective evidence from the Alameda County Study

Based on the World Health Organization's (1965) definition of health, understanding of health requires understanding of positive psychological states. Subjective Well-being (SWB) is a major indicator of positive psychological states. Up to date, most studies of SWB have been focused on its distributions and determinants. However, study of its consequences, especially health consequences, is lacking. This dissertation research examined Subjective Well-being, as operationally defined by constructs drawn from the framework of Positive Psychology, and its sub-scores (Positive Feelings and Negative Feelings) as predictors of three major health outcomes—mortality, heart disease, and obesity. The research used prospective data from the Alameda County Study over 29 years (1965–1994), based on a stratified, randomized, representative sample of the general public in Alameda County, California (Baseline N = 6928). ^ Multivariate analyses (Survival analyses using sequential Cox Proportional Hazard models in the cases of mortality and heart disease, and sequential Logistic Regression analyses in the case of obesity) were performed as the main methods to evaluate the associations of the predictors and the health outcomes. The results revealed that SWB reduced risks of all-cause mortality, natural-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality. Positive feelings not only had an even stronger protective effect against all-cause, natural-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but also predicted decreased unnatural-cause mortality which includes deaths from suicide, homicide, accidents, mental disorders, drug dependency, as well as alcohol-related liver diseases. These effects were significant even after adjusted for age, gender, education, and various physical health measures, and, in the case of cardiovascular mortality, obesity and health practices (alcohol consumption, smoking, and physical activities). However, these two positive psychological indicators, SWB and positive feelings, did not predict obesity. And negative feelings had no significant effect on any of the health outcomes evaluated, i.e., all-cause mortality, natural- and unnatural-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, or obesity, after covariates were controlled. These findings were discussed (1) in comparison with relevant existing studies, (2) in terms of their implications in health research and promotion, (3) in terms of the independence of positive and negative feelings, and (4) from a Positive Psychology perspective and its significance in Public Health research and practice. ^

GRADE Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks : a systematic and transparent approach to making well informed healthcare choices. 2: Clinical practice guidelines

Funding: Work on this article has been partially funded by the European Commission FP7 Program (grant agreement 258583) as part of the DECIDE project. Sole responsibility lies with the authors; the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

The principles and practice of the law of evidence /

Bound with: A digest of the law of evidence / by Sir James Fitzjames Stephen. -- 4th English ed. / American ed., with annotations and references to American cases, including those of John Wilder May. -- Boston : Little, Brown, and Co., 1886. -- xxxii, 251 p.

The law of insurance of the state of Ohio : including fire, life, accident, casualty, quaranty, mutual benefit, fraternal and marine insurance, and pleading, practice and evidence relating thereto, as determined by the courts and contained in the statutes ... from the earliest period to date of publication, with full annotations from the decisions of the courts of Ohio and other states /

Includes bibliographical references and index.

A practical treatise on the law and procedure involved in the preparation and trial of cases of ejectment and other actions at law respecting titles to land, treating particularly of the pleading, practice and evidence, and, in general way, also of the principles of substantive law involved in such actions,

Mode of access: Internet.

Digest of evidence taken before Her Majesty's Commissioners of inquiry into the state of the law and practice in respect to the occupation of land in Ireland ....

"Report" of the commissioners: p. [1103]-1172.

Digest of evidence taken before Her Majesty's commissiones of inquiry into the state of the law and practice in respect to the occupation of land in Ireland.

Mode of access: Internet.

New criminal procedure: or, New commentaries on the law of pleading and evidence and the practice in criminal cases,

"The general rules of practice and procedure are treated in volumes I and II, while volume III is devoted wholly to procedure and evidence in various common law crimes."--Pref, to 2d ed.

New criminal procedure ; or, New commentaries on the law of pleading and evidence and the practice in criminal cases /

v. 1. General and elementary, complete in itself -- v. 2. Specific offences and their incidents

Self-help organisations: A qualitative study of successful collaboration with general practice

Thousands of self-help organisations (SHOs) exist in Australia but little is known about how they relate to the mainstream health care system. This qualitative study, based in south-east Queensland, aimed to identify examples of collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and SHOs in order to examine the attributes of successful partnerships. Representatives of six SHOs, identified by key informants as having good collaborative links with GPs, and seven GPs with whom they collaborated, completed semi-structured interviews. The interviews focused on evidence of collaboration and perceptions of benefits and barriers experienced. Maximum variation sampling enabled a cross-section of SHOs in terms of size, funding, and health issue. Although GPs readily identified SHO benefits, they referred patients to them only rarely. SHO credibility, evidence of tangible benefits for patients, ease of contacting the SHO, and correspondence between the SHO?s focus and the GP?s personal and professional interests appear to contribute to the success of partnerships. We conclude that mutually beneficial partnerships between GPs and SHOs exist but are under-utilised. A more coordinated effort is needed to strengthen links between the two sectors.