Background and aim Iron deficiency is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in older adults. However, data on its prevalence and incidence among older adults is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and incidence of iron deficiency in European community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 70 years. Methods Secondary analysis of the DO-HEALTH trial, a 3-year clinical trial including 2157 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 70 years from Austria, France, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland. Iron deficiency was defined as soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) > 28.1 nmol/L. Prevalence and incidence rate (IR) of iron deficiency per 100 person-years were examined overall and stratified by sex, age group, and country. Sensitivity analysis for three commonly used definitions of iron deficiency (ferritin < 45 μg/L, ferritin < 30 μg/L, and sTfR–ferritin index > 1.5) were also performed. Results Out of 2157 participants, 2141 had sTfR measured at baseline (mean age 74.9 years; 61.5% women). The prevalence of iron deficiency at baseline was 26.8%, and did not differ by sex, but by age (35.6% in age group ≥ 80, 29.3% in age group 75–79, 23.2% in age group 70–74); P < 0.0001) and country (P = 0.02), with the highest prevalence in Portugal (34.5%) and the lowest in France (24.4%). As for the other definitions of iron deficiency, the prevalence ranged from 4.2% for ferritin < 30 µg/L to 35.3% for sTfR–ferritin index > 1.5. Occurrences of iron deficiency were observed with IR per 100 person-years of 9.2 (95% CI 8.3–10.1) and did not significantly differ by sex or age group. The highest IR per 100 person-years was observed in Austria (20.8, 95% CI 16.1–26.9), the lowest in Germany (6.1, 95% CI 4.7–8.0). Regarding the other definitions of iron deficiency, the IR per 100 person-years was 4.5 (95% CI 4.0–4.9) for ferritin < 45 µg/L, 2.4 (95% CI 2.2–2.7) for ferritin < 30 µg/L, and 12.2 (95% CI 11.0–13.5) for sTfR–ferritin index > 1.5. Conclusions Iron deficiency is frequent among relatively healthy European older adults, with people aged ≥ 80 years and residence in Austria and Portugal associated with the highest risk.

Background Violence and discrimination are common events at work, especially in health care. Moreover, such workplace experiences are considered to have negative impacts and particularly adverse health consequences on health care workers. Nevertheless, the problem is still highly underreported and thus largely ignored and unexplored in Switzerland as comprehensive data and studies on their prevalence and health correlates among hospital staffs and health professionals are widely missing. Methods This cross-sectional study was based on secondary data from a company survey among several public hospitals and rehabilitation clinics in German-speaking Switzerland conducted in 2015/16. The study population was limited to a subsample of 1567 health professionals among the surveyed staffs of five participating hospitals and clinics. Relative frequencies of different forms of violence and discrimination at work and the total number of such experiences were calculated for the entire study population and for occupational subgroups. These data were compared with a nationally representative subsample of the Swiss Health Survey 2017 as a reference population. Multiple logistic regression analyses were further computed to investigate the association between the number of different experienced forms of violence and/or discrimination at work and several poor general and mental health outcomes. Results 23% of the inverviewed hospital employees experienced at least one form of discrimination or violence at work in the past year, compared to 18% of the general working population. Nurses were by far the most affected occupational group regarding all forms of violence. More and particularly the most exposed and affected hospital employees with regard to experiences of violence and/or discrimination at work showed almost consistently increased frequencies and relative risks for the studied poor mental and general health outcomes. Prevalence rates and odds ratios for strong sleep disorders, strong stress feelings and increased burnout symptoms were between 3 and 4 times higher among the most exposed compared to the non-exposed group of hospital employees. Conclusions Study findings underline the importance of an active combat against violent and discriminatory behaviors in health care. Prevention strategies should particularly focus on nurses and midwives, which turned out to be the most affected and exposed group of all health professions.

BackgroundViolence and discrimination are common events at work, especially in the health care setting. Nevertheless, comprehensive data on their prevalence and health correlates among the entirety of hospital staff is missing. Thisstudy aimed to estimate the prevalence of different self-reported forms of workplace violence and discrimination among hospital employees in Switzerland and to investigate the association between such experiences at work and the general and mental health status. MethodsThis cross-sectional study was based on secondary data from a company survey among five public hospitals and rehabilitation clinics in German-speaking Switzerland conducted in 2015/16 (N = 1,567). Relative frequencies of different forms of violence and discrimination at work were calculated for the entire study population and for the occupational subgroups. These prevalence data were compared with a representative sample of the general Swiss working population as a reference group. Multiple logistic regression analyses were further computed to investigate the association between the number of different experienced forms of violence and/or discrimination at work and several poor general and mental health outcomes (poor self-rated health, sleep disorders, psychological stress, mental problem, burnout). Results23% of hospital employees experienced at least one form of discrimination or violence at work in the past year, compared to 18% of the general working population. Nurses and midwives were by far the most affected occupational group regarding all forms of violence. More and particularly most exposed hospital employees with regard to experiences of violence and/or discrimination at work showed almost consistently increased prevalence rates and odds ratios for the studied poor mental and general health outcomes. Prevalence rates and adjusted odds ratios for strong sleep disorders, strong stress feelings and increased burnout symptoms were between three and four times higher among the most exposed compared to those hospital employees who did not make any of these experiences at work at all. ConclusionsStudy findings underline the importance of an active combat against violent and discriminatory behaviors in health care. Prevention strategies should particularly focus on nurses and midwives, which turned out to be the most affected and exposed group of all health professions.