Association Between Adiposity in Midlife and Older Age and Risk of Diabetes in Older Adults

Objective: Searching the Internet for health-related information is a complex and dynamic goal-oriented process that places demands on executive functions, which are higher-order cognitive abilities that are known to deteriorate with older age. This study aimed to examine the effects of older age on electronic health (eHealth) search behavior, and to determine whether executive functions played a mediating role in that regard. Method: Fifty younger adults (≤ 35 years) and 41 older adults (≥50 years) completed naturalistic eHealth search tasks involving fact-finding (Fact Search) and symptom diagnosis (Symptom Search), a neurocognitive battery, and a series of questionnaires. Results: Multiple regression models with relevant covariates revealed that older adults were slower and less accurate than younger adults on the eHealth Fact Search task, but not on the eHealth Symptom Search task. Nevertheless, executive functions mediated the relationship between older age and eHealth Fact Search and Symptom Search accuracy. Conclusions: Older adults can experience difficulty searching the Internet for some health-related information, which is at least partly attributable to executive dysfunction. Future studies are needed to determine the benefits of training in the organizational and strategic aspects of Internet search for older adults and whether these findings are applicable to clinical populations with executive dysfunction.

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Parental Bereavement in Older Age: A Scoping Review

Illness Crisis & Loss ◽

10.1177/1054137321995811 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 105413732199581

Author(s):

Patricia Moyle Wright

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Adult Child ◽

Older Age ◽

Parental Bereavement ◽

Older Parents ◽

Physical Decline ◽

Scoping Reviews ◽

Cultural Mores ◽

Meta Analyses

A scoping review of parental bereavement in older age was conducted to identify the unique needs of older adults after the loss of an adult child. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed in accordance with the stated objectives of this review, which was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). In total, 26 research studies were included. The data were then analyzed using a systematic approach for organizing and synthesizing key data. The results indicated that some consequences and mediators of parental bereavement are similar regardless of age. But, older adults experience greater loneliness, isolation, and stigma than their younger counterparts. Older parents are also at greater risk for physical decline, mortality, and institutionalization following the death of an adult child. Religious and cultural mores also have influence on the bereavement process.

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Aging Reduces EEG Markers of Recognition Despite Intact Performance: Implications for Forensic Memory Detection

10.1101/2020.10.20.339523 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Robin Hellerstedt ◽

Arianna Moccia ◽

Chloe M. Brunskill ◽

Howard Bowman ◽

Zara M. Bergström

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Temporal Variability ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Age Groups ◽

Older Age ◽

Practical Applications ◽

Younger Age ◽

Behavioural Performance ◽

Older Populations

AbstractERP-based forensic memory detection is based on the logic that guilty suspects will hold incriminating knowledge about crimes they have committed, and therefore should show parietal ERP positivities related to recognition when presented with reminders of their crimes. We predicted that such forensic memory detection might however be inaccurate in older adults, because of changes to recognition-related brain activity that occurs with aging. We measured both ERPs and EEG oscillations associated with episodic old/new recognition and forensic memory detection in 30 younger (age < 30) and 30 older (age > 65) adults. EEG oscillations were included as a complementary measure which is less sensitive to temporal variability and component overlap than ERPs. In line with predictions, recognition-related parietal ERP positivities were significantly reduced in the older compared to younger group in both tasks, despite highly similar behavioural performance. We also observed ageing-related reductions in oscillatory markers of recognition in the forensic memory detection test, while the oscillatory effects associated with episodic recognition were similar across age groups. This pattern of results suggests that while both forensic memory detection and episodic recognition are accompanied by ageing-induced reductions in parietal ERP positivities, these reductions may be caused by non-overlapping mechanisms across the two tasks. Our findings suggest that EEG-based forensic memory detection tests are invalid in older populations, limiting their practical applications.

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Towards a Gerontoludic Manifesto

Anthropology & Aging ◽

10.5195/aa.2015.104 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 112-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Bob De Schutter ◽

Vero Vanden Abeele

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Research And Development ◽

Digital Games ◽

Older Age ◽

Age Related ◽

Physical Limitations ◽

Game Industry

Digital games have become an important part of the technoscape, not only for youngsters, but for players of all ages. Older adults are a large, currently still largely untapped market for innovative game research and development. However, the current discourse on games and ageing can largely be categorized into two themes. The first theme refers to digital games framed as a way for older adults to improve certain skills. The useful, pragmatic qualities, rather than the fun, hedonic aspects of games are emphasized. The second theme identifies the various age-related constraints that prevent older adults from playing. It focuses on the cognitive and physical limitations of older adults. Underlying both themes is a reductionist perspective on ageing as merely a process of decline and debilitation. In this article, we present a “gerontoludic” manifesto. Firstly, games should not be marketed solely as having the purpose of dealing with or mitigating age-related decline and focus on positive aspects of older age (adagio 1: growth over decline). Secondly, age-related adjustments should never interfere with the actual gameplay of the game (adagio 2: playfulness over usefulness). Finally, game researchers and game industry should put more efforts in understanding what differentiates elderly players, rather than seeing them as united in their age-related impairments (adagio 3: heterogeneity over unification). As this manifesto is a first step that needs further abutment by a wider community, we welcome debate and additions from game designers and researchers to further this manifesto and to move beyond ageism in games.

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Abstract 301: Differential Outcomes for Geriatric Patients in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Compared to Medical Intensive Care Unit

Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes ◽

10.1161/hcq.13.suppl_1.301 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Caroline Ong ◽

Albert Lui ◽

John A Dodson ◽

Jordan B Strom ◽

Carlos Alviar

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Medical Center ◽

Older Age ◽

Icu Mortality ◽

Differential Outcomes ◽

Medical Intensive Care ◽

Cardiac Intensive Care

Background: The number of older adults admitted to cardiac intensive care units (CICU) have been increasing over the past decade, but it is not known if outcomes vary between CICU and medical intensive care units (MICU). We aimed to describe survival and length of stay (LOS) in older adults admitted to CICU and MICU. Methods: All patients admitted to the CICU or MICU at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center from 2001-2012 were identified from MIMIC-III, a large single-center critical care database containing deidentified clinical data for 38,597 patients. Our primary outcomes were ICU mortality and ICU LOS. Regression analyses were performed adjusting for age, gender, ICU setting and Oxford Acute Severity of Illness Score (OASIS), a severity score developed and validated in critically ill patients for ICU mortality. Results: We included 21,088 MICU patients (48.3% female) and 7,726 CICU patients (42% female). Unadjusted mortality was 13.7% in MICU and 12.5% in CICU (p=0.11). When adjusted for age, gender and OASIS, there was no difference in mortality between MICU and CICU (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.34-1.13, p=0.15). However, we found a significant interaction between older age and type of ICU with mortality (p=0.03) but not with ICU LOS (p=0.15). In patients >75 years (6,837 in MICU and 3,161 in CICU), each 5-year interval of older age was associated with higher mortality when adjusted for gender and OASIS in the CICU (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.08 p=0.002), but not in the MICU (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.99-1.03, p=0.15, Figure). Conclusion: Older adults admitted to the CICU had higher adjusted mortality by age group after age 75, as opposed to older MICU patients in whom mortality was high but remained unchanged after age 75.

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Health-Related Quality of Life of Economically Disadvantaged African American Older Adults: Age and Gender Differences

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16091522 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (9) ◽

pp. 1522 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Shervin Assari ◽

James Smith ◽

Mohsen Bazargan

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Gender Differences ◽

Economically Disadvantaged ◽

Older Age ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

Physical Hrqol ◽

Effect Of Age ◽

Pooled Sample

Background: The association between age and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is still under debate. While some research shows older age is associated with better HRQoL, other studies show no or negative association between age and HRQoL. In addition, while the association between age and HRQoL may depend on race, ethnicity, gender, and their intersections, most previous research on this link has been performed in predominantly White Middle Class. Objective: To explore gender differences in the association between age and mental and physical HRQoL in a sample of economically disadvantaged African American (AA) older adults. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in South Los Angeles between 2015 to 2018. A total number of 740 economically disadvantaged AA older adults (age ≥ 55 years) were enrolled in this study, using non-random sampling. This includes 266 AA men and 474 AA women. The independent variable of interest was age. Dependent variables of interest were physical component scores (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS), two main summary scores of the HRQoL, measured using Short Form-12 (SF-12). Gender was the moderator. Socioeconomic status (educational attainment and financial difficulty) were covariates. Linear regression models were used to analyze the data. Results: AA women reported worse PCS; however, gender did not impact MCS. In the pooled sample, high age was associated with better PCS and MCS. In the pooled sample, a significant interaction was found between gender and age on PCS, suggesting a stronger effect of age on PCS for AA men than AA women. In gender-stratified models, older age was associated with better PCS for AA men but not AA women. Older age was similarly and positively associated with better MCS for AA men and women. Conclusions: There may be some gender differences in the implications of ageing for the physical HRQoL of AA older adults. It is unclear how old age may have a boosting effect on physical HRQoL for AA men but not AA women. Future research should test gender differences in the effect of age on physical health indicators such as chronic disease as well as cognitive processes involved in the evaluation of own’s health in AA men and women.

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Design of Telephone Answering Machines for Older Adults

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181397041002142 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 1367-1367

Author(s):

Chin Chin Lee ◽

Jessica D'Agostini ◽

Sara J. Czaja ◽

Joseph Sharit

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Older People ◽

Age Differences ◽

Task Analysis ◽

Age Groups ◽

Older Age ◽

Hearing Impairments ◽

Usage Patterns ◽

Automatic Teller Machines

Older adults frequently have difficulty when attempting to use various forms of technology such as computers or automatic teller machines. This study evaluated the usability of telephone answering machines for older adults. Initially, a task analysis of four commonly used answering machines was performed to identify the subtasks involved in using an answering machine. A questionnaire was then developed which assessed usage patterns and usability issues associated with answering machines. This questionnaire was administered to a sample of 68 people aged 65+ yrs. and 50 people aged 20 — 30 yrs. The data indicated that most older people own answering machines and perceive them as useful. There were, however, some age differences in aspects of usability. The older adults were more likely to have difficulty understanding messages than the younger people and to perceive the messages as distorted. Further, the older people reported that they have difficulty replaying messages and accessing messages remotely. The results also indicated that older people with hearing impairments were more likely to have problems with message distortion than those without hearing impairments. Overall, the data suggest features of answering machines which affect the usability of this technology for older age groups. Data is currently being collected regarding the ability of a sample of older people to perform a common set of tasks using two different answering machines. The results from the research are being used to develop recommendations for improving the design of telephone answering machines for people of all age groups.

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Malnutrition and related risk factors in older adults from different health-care settings: an enable study

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980019002271 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 446-456 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Eva Kiesswetter ◽

Miriam G Colombo ◽

Christa Meisinger ◽

Annette Peters ◽

Barbara Thorand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Older Adults ◽

Older Age ◽

Dietary Behaviour ◽

Individual Risk ◽

Mobility Limitations ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Living Situation ◽

Poor Appetite ◽

Individual Risk Factors

AbstractObjective:The origin of malnutrition in older age is multifactorial and risk factors may vary according to health and living situation. The present study aimed to identify setting-specific risk profiles of malnutrition in older adults and to investigate the association of the number of individual risk factors with malnutrition.Design:Data of four cross-sectional studies were harmonized and uniformly analysed. Malnutrition was defined as BMI < 20 kg/m2 and/or weight loss of >3 kg in the previous 3–6 months. Associations between factors of six domains (demographics, health, mental function, physical function, dietary intake-related problems, dietary behaviour), the number of individual risk factors and malnutrition were analysed using logistic regression.Setting:Community (CD), geriatric day hospital (GDH), home care (HC), nursing home (NH).Participants:CD older adults (n 1073), GDH patients (n 180), HC receivers (n 335) and NH residents (n 197), all ≥65 years.Results:Malnutrition prevalence was lower in CD (11 %) than in the other settings (16–19 %). In the CD sample, poor appetite, difficulties with eating, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases were associated with malnutrition; in GDH patients, poor appetite and respiratory diseases; in HC receivers, younger age, poor appetite and nausea; and in NH residents, older age and mobility limitations. In all settings the likelihood of malnutrition increased with the number of potential individual risk factors.Conclusions:The study indicates a varying relevance of certain risk factors of malnutrition in different settings. However, the relationship of the number of individual risk factors with malnutrition in all settings implies comprehensive approaches to identify persons at risk of malnutrition early.

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Neurometabolic Correlates of Reactive and Proactive Motor Inhibition in Young and Older Adults: Evidence from Multiple Regional 1H-MR Spectroscopy

Cerebral Cortex Communications ◽

10.1093/texcom/tgaa028 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Akila Weerasekera ◽

Oron Levin ◽

Amanda Clauwaert ◽

Kirstin-Friederike Heise ◽

Lize Hermans ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Proactive Inhibition ◽

Older Age ◽

Resonance Spectroscopy ◽

Reactive Inhibition ◽

Age Related ◽

The Right ◽

Age Range

Abstract Suboptimal inhibitory control is a major factor contributing to motor/cognitive deficits in older age and pathology. Here, we provide novel insights into the neurochemical biomarkers of inhibitory control in healthy young and older adults and highlight putative neurometabolic correlates of deficient inhibitory functions in normal aging. Age-related alterations in levels of glutamate–glutamine complex (Glx), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), and myo-inositol (mIns) were assessed in the right inferior frontal gyrus (RIFG), pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA), bilateral sensorimotor cortex (SM1), bilateral striatum (STR), and occipital cortex (OCC) with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Data were collected from 30 young (age range 18–34 years) and 29 older (age range 60–74 years) adults. Associations between age-related changes in the levels of these metabolites and performance measures or reactive/proactive inhibition were examined for each age group. Glx levels in the right striatum and preSMA were associated with more efficient proactive inhibition in young adults but were not predictive for reactive inhibition performance. Higher NAA/mIns ratios in the preSMA and RIFG and lower mIns levels in the OCC were associated with better deployment of proactive and reactive inhibition in older adults. Overall, these findings suggest that altered regional concentrations of NAA and mIns constitute potential biomarkers of suboptimal inhibitory control in aging.

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A Qualitative Exploration of Immigrant Muslim Older Adults’ Experiences and Perceptions of Physical Activity

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity ◽

10.1123/japa.2019-0297 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (5) ◽

pp. 765-773

Author(s):

Jordana Salma ◽

Allyson Jones ◽

Savera Aziz Ali ◽

Bukola Salami ◽

Shelby Yamamoto

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

First Generation ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Older Age ◽

Community Members ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

Older Immigrants ◽

Qualitative Exploration

Physical activity is essential for healthy aging; however, there has been little exploration of physical activity in Muslim older immigrants in Canada. Over one million Canadians identify as Muslim, the majority is first-generation immigrants, with increasing cohorts entering older age. A community-based participatory research project on healthy aging was conducted with 68 older adults and community members from South Asian, Arab, and African Muslim ethnocultural communities in a Canadian urban center. A combination of individual interviews and focus groups discussions were completed, followed by thematic analysis of data. Participating community groups emphasized the importance of physical activity in older age and prioritized the need for physical activity programs. The four themes highlight Muslim older immigrants’ perspectives on physical activity in Canada: (a) values and approaches to staying active; (b) health factors: pain and health limitations; (c) social factors: culture, religion, and belonging; and (d) environmental factors: safety and accessibility.

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