Objectives We examined the effects of early life exposure to poor nutrition and infectious diseases on adult heart disease and diabetes using season of birth as an indicator to help disentangle the effects on health of early life exposure from effects associated with other childhood conditions. Methods Using data from 60- to 74-year-old Puerto Ricans who lived in rural areas during childhood (n = 1,457), we estimated the effects of seasonal exposure during late gestation on the probability of diabetes and heart disease, controlling for adult obesity and other childhood conditions (health, socioeconomic status, knee height). Results We found (a) strong associations between exposure and heart disease; (b) weaker associations between exposure and diabetes, although significant negative interaction effects between exposure and having a family member with diabetes suggest the possibility of either strong gene–environment or early adult–environment interactions; (c) virtually no attenuation of effects of self-reported childhood health with controls for exposure. Discussion Timing of birth may reveal conditions experienced perinatally that affect adult heart disease and diabetes. The results suggest that examination of the effects of season of birth on these chronic conditions among older Puerto Rican adults and among older adults from similar populations deserves deeper scrutiny.

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El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar las diferencias en las estrategias de afrontamiento en personas con y sin ansiedad. La investigación se llevó a cabo a través de un diseño descriptivo – comparativo, con 60 personas, divididas en dos grupos; 30 personas con ansiedad y 30 personas sin ansiedad, seleccionadas a partir de la aplicación del Inventario de Ansiedad de Beck (BAI) y controlando la ausencia de depresión a través de la aplicación del Inventario para la Depresión de Beck (BDI), esto con el fin de identificar estrategias de afrontamiento propias de la ansiedad. Para medir las estrategias de afrontamiento se utilizó la Escala de Estrategias de Coping Modificada (EEC-M). Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas en el uso de las estrategias: a) reevaluación positiva; y b) solución de problemas. Siendo más utilizadas por las personas sin ansiedad. De igual forma, se encontró diferencias significativas en: a) reacción agresiva; b) expresión de la dificultad de afrontamiento; c) búsqueda de apoyo profesional; y d) evitación emocional. Siendo más utilizadas en las personas con ansiedad.

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Background Older Puerto Rican adults have particularly high risk of diabetes compared to the general U.S. population. Diabetes is associated with both higher depressive symptoms and cognitive decline, but less is known about the longitudinal relationship between cognitive decline and incident depressive symptoms in those with diabetes. The current study investigated the association between cognitive decline and incident depressive symptoms in older Puerto Rican adults with diabetes over a four-year period. Methods Households across Puerto Rico were visited to identify a population-based sample of adults age 60+ for the Puerto Rican Elderly: Health Conditions study (PREHCO); 680 participants with diabetes at baseline and no baseline cognitive impairment were included in analyses. Cognitive decline and depressive symptoms were measured using the Mini-Mental Cabán (MMC) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), respectively. We examined predictors of incident depressive symptoms (GDS ≥ 5 at follow-up but not baseline) and cognitive decline using regression modeling. Results In a covariate-adjusted logistic regression model, cognitive decline, female gender, and greater diabetes-related complications were each significantly associated with increased odds of incident depressive symptoms (p<.05). In a multiple regression model adjusted for covariates, incident depressive symptoms and older age were associated with greater cognitive decline, and higher education was related to less cognitive decline (p<.05). Conclusions Incident depressive symptoms were more common for older Puerto Ricans with diabetes who also experienced cognitive decline. Efforts are needed to optimize diabetes management and monitor for depression and cognitive decline in this population.