A longitudinal study of brain atrophy over two years in community-dwelling older individuals

ObjectivesSelf-rated health (SRH) is an assessment and predictor of health based on an individual’s general condition; however, evidence of the value of SRH for predicting frailty remains scarce for older Asian adults. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between SRH score trajectory and frailty among older individuals in Taiwan.DesignAn 8-year retrospective cohort study.SettingData were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging from 1999 to 2007.ParticipantsRespondents aged 53–69 years old who were not frail or disabled in 1999 (n=1956).Primary and secondary outcome measuresFrailty was defined using the Fried criteria. The group-based trajectory modelling technique was used to estimate SRH trajectories. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between changes in SRH and frailty.ResultsFour SRH trajectory classes were identified across the 8-year follow-up: 232 participants (11.9%) were classified into the constantly poor SRH group, 1123 (57.4%) into the constantly fair SRH group, 335 (17.1%) into the constantly good SRH group and 266 (13.6%) into the good-to-fair SRH group. After adjusting for gender, age, level of education, income, social participation, health behaviours and major comorbidities, it was found that age, poor income satisfaction, without job and constantly poor SRH were associated with increased risk of frailty, while constantly good SRH (OR 0.04, 95% CI (0.01 to 0.32)) and good-to-fair SRH (OR 0.19, 95% CI (0.06 to 0.63)) were associated with reduced risks of frailty.ConclusionsConstantly poor SRH was associated with an increased risk of frailty in older age. SRH in older adults should be recognised as a predictive tool for future frailty. Diet and exercise interventions may help to prevent frailty among high-risk older individuals with constantly low SRH.

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Perceived Voice Disorders in Older Adults and Impact on Social Interactions

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2020_persp-20-00059 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Connie K. Porcaro ◽

Clare Singer ◽

Boris Djokic ◽

Ali A. Danesh ◽

Ruth Tappen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Leisure Activities ◽

Treatment Strategies ◽

Voice Disorders ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Vocal Performance ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Cross Sectional

Purpose Many aging individuals, even those who are healthy, report voice changes that can impact their ability to communicate as they once did. While this is commonly reported, most do not seek evaluation or management for this issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and differences in voice disorders in older adults, along with the effect of fatigue on their social interactions. Method This is a cross-sectional investigation of a community-dwelling sample of individuals aged 60 years or older. Participants completed the Questionnaire on Vocal Performance, the Social Engagement Index subset “Engagement in Social or Leisure Activities,” and the Fatigue Severity Scale. Results Results indicated 32.5% of the 332 participants reported symptoms of voice problems with no difference found between male and female respondents. A slight increase in report of voice problems was noted with each year of age. Participants who self-reported voice problems indicated less interaction in social activities involving communication than those who did not. Finally, as severity of self-reported voice problems increased, an increase was reported by the same individuals for signs of fatigue. Conclusions Voice problems and resulting decreased social interaction are commonly experienced by older individuals. Voice symptoms in older adults have been found to benefit from evidence-based treatment strategies. It is critical to provide education to encourage older individuals to seek appropriate evaluation and management for voice issues through a speech-language pathologist or medical professional.

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Long-Term Brain Atrophy after Focal Ischemic Stroke: A Longitudinal Study Applying Deformation-Based Morphometry

Klinische Neurophysiologie ◽

10.1055/s-2004-832160 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 35 (03) ◽

Author(s):

S Schnaudigel ◽

T Ugur ◽

F Kruggel ◽

HJ Mentzel ◽

C Fitzek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ischemic Stroke ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Brain Atrophy ◽

Deformation Based Morphometry

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Impacts of stroke and cognitive impairment on activities of daily living in the Taiwan longitudinal study on aging

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-91838-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Pi-Hsia Lee ◽

Ting-Ting Yeh ◽

Hsin-Yen Yen ◽

Wan-Ling Hsu ◽

Valeria Jia-Yi Chiu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Activities Of Daily Living ◽

Daily Living ◽

Skill Training ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Combined Effects ◽

Stroke Group ◽

The Individual ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

AbstractStroke and cognitive impairment are common in older population. They often occur together and their combined effects significantly increase disability in both basic (BADLs) and instrumental (IADLs) activities of daily living. We investigated the individual and combined impacts of stroke and cognitive impairment on BADLs and IADLs. A total of 3331 community-dwelling older adults were enrolled from the Taiwan longitudinal study on aging in 2011. Both BADLs and IADLs were analyzed. Combination of stroke and cognitive impairment increased severity of ADL disabilities, but similar prevalence, similar numbers of summed BADL and IADL tasks with disability, and similar levels of difficulty for each BADL and IADL task were found between the stroke group and cognitive impairment group. The former had more difficult in dressing while the latter had more difficult in using the telephone, transport, and managing finances. A hierarchy of ADLs was also observed in all groups. ADL skill training supplemented with cognitive and physical interventions should focus on secondary prevention of dementia and improve motor functional capacity to reduce loss of ADLs.

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Changes in Health Behaviors, Mental and Physical Health among Older Adults under Severe Lockdown Restrictions during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18137067 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (13) ◽

pp. 7067

Author(s):

Esther García-Esquinas ◽

Rosario Ortolá ◽

Iago Gine-Vázquez ◽

José A. Carnicero ◽

Asier Mañas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Housing Conditions ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Lifestyle Risk Factors ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Lifestyle Risk

We used data from 3041 participants in four cohorts of community-dwelling individuals aged ≥65 years in Spain collected through a pre-pandemic face-to-face interview and a telephone interview conducted between weeks 7 to 15 after the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. On average, the confinement was not associated with a deterioration in lifestyle risk factors (smoking, alcohol intake, diet, or weight), except for a decreased physical activity and increased sedentary time, which reversed with the end of confinement. However, chronic pain worsened, and moderate declines in mental health, that did not seem to reverse after restrictions were lifted, were observed. Males, older adults with greater social isolation or greater feelings of loneliness, those with poorer housing conditions, as well as those with a higher prevalence of chronic morbidities were at increased risk of developing unhealthier lifestyles or mental health declines with confinement. On the other hand, previously having a greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet and doing more physical activity protected older adults from developing unhealthier lifestyles with confinement. If another lockdown were imposed during this or future pandemics, public health programs should specially address the needs of older individuals with male sex, greater social isolation, sub-optimal housing conditions, and chronic morbidities because of their greater vulnerability to the enacted movement restrictions.

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Prediction of 11-year incidence of psychophysically dependent status or death among community-dwelling younger elderlies: from an age-specified community-based cohort study (the NISSIN project)

Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine ◽

10.1186/s12199-021-00968-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Satoe Okabayashi ◽

Takashi Kawamura ◽

Hisashi Noma ◽

Kenji Wakai ◽

Masahiko Ando ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Logistic Regression ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Prediction Model ◽

Nursing Care ◽

Family Members ◽

Limited Resource ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Regression Analyses

Abstract Background Predicting adverse health events and implementing preventative measures are a necessary challenge. It is important for healthcare planners and policymakers to allocate the limited resource to high-risk persons. Prediction is also important for older individuals, their family members, and clinicians to prepare mentally and financially. The aim of this study is to develop a prediction model for within 11-year dependent status requiring long-term nursing care or death in older adults for each sex. Methods We carried out age-specified cohort study of community dwellers in Nisshin City, Japan. The older adults aged 64 years who underwent medical check-up between 1996 and 2005 were included in the study. The primary outcome was the incidence of the psychophysically dependent status or death or by the end of the year of age 75 years. Univariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the associations between candidate predictors and the outcome. Using the variables with p-values less than 0.1, multivariable logistic regression analyses were then performed with backward stepwise elimination to determine the final predictors for the model. Results Of the 1525 female participants at baseline, 105 had an incidence of the study outcome. The final prediction model consisted of 15 variables, and the c-statistics for predicting the outcome was 0.763 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.714–0.813). Of the 1548 male participants at baseline, 211 had incidence of the study outcome. The final prediction model consisted of 16 variables, and the c-statistics for predicting the outcome was 0.735 (95% CI 0.699–0.771). Conclusions We developed a prediction model for older adults to forecast 11-year incidence of dependent status requiring nursing care or death in each sex. The predictability was fair, but we could not evaluate the external validity of this model. It could be of some help for healthcare planners, policy makers, clinicians, older individuals, and their family members to weigh the priority of support.

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A longitudinal study on clinically relevant self-reported depression, anxiety and acute stress features among Italian community-dwelling adults during the COVID-19 related lockdown: Evidence of a predictive role for baseline dysfunctional personality dimensions

Journal of Affective Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.165 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 282 ◽

pp. 364-371

Author(s):

Antonella Somma ◽

Robert F. Krueger ◽

Kristian E. Markon ◽

Giulia Gialdi ◽

Miriana Colanino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Personality Dimensions ◽

Predictive Role ◽

Italian Community

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Compassion toward others and self-compassion predict mental and physical well-being: a 5-year longitudinal study of 1090 community-dwelling adults across the lifespan

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-021-01491-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ellen E. Lee ◽

Tushara Govind ◽

Marina Ramsey ◽

Tsung Chin Wu ◽

Rebecca Daly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Mental Well Being ◽

Over Time

AbstractThere is growing interest in the role of compassion in promoting health and well-being, with cross-sectional data showing an inverse correlation with loneliness. This is the first longitudinal study examining both compassion toward others (CTO) and compassion toward self (CTS) as predictors of mental and physical health outcomes including loneliness, across adult lifespan. We followed 552 women and 538 men in San Diego County for up to 7.5 (mean 4.8 and SD 2.2) years, using validated rating scales for CTO, CTS, and loneliness. Linear mixed-effects models were employed to examine age- and sex-related trajectories of CTO and CTS over time. Linear regression models were used to evaluate baseline and longitudinal relationships of CTO and CTS with mental well-being, physical well-being, and loneliness. CTS and CTO were weakly intercorrelated. Women had higher baseline CTO than men. While CTO was stable over time and across the lifespan, CTS scores had an inverse U-shaped relationship with age, peaking around age 77. There were significant baseline × slope interactions of both CTO and CTS predicting improvements in physical well-being in adults <60 years old. Increases in CTO and CTS predicted improvements in mental well-being. Higher baseline CTO and CTS as well as increases in CTO and CTS scores predicted lower loneliness scores at follow-up. Thus, CTO and CTS were associated with better mental well-being and loneliness across the adult lifespan, and physical well-being in younger adults, and are promising targets for interventions to improve health outcomes.

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