scholarly journals Engagement in leisure activities and depression in older adults in the United States: Longitudinal evidence from the health and Retirement Study

2022 ◽  
pp. 114703
Author(s):  
Jessica K. Bone ◽  
Feifei Bu ◽  
Meg E. Fluharty ◽  
Elise Paul ◽  
Jill K. Sonke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Retirement Study

scholarly journals Everyday Discrimination and Kidney Function Among Older Adults: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-521
Author(s):  
Ryon J Cobb ◽  
Roland J Thorpe ◽  
Keith C Norris
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Chronic Kidney Disease ◽  
Kidney Disease ◽  
Kidney Function ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Disease Epidemiology ◽  
Lower Egfr ◽  
Everyday Discrimination ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Background With advancing age, there is an increase in the time of and number of experiences with psychosocial stressors that may lead to the initiation and/or progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our study tests whether one type of experience, everyday discrimination, predicts kidney function among middle and older adults. Methods The data were from 10 973 respondents (ages 52–100) in the 2006/2008 Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing biennial nationally representative survey of older adults in the United States. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) derives from the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. Our indicator of everyday discrimination is drawn from self-reports from respondents. Ordinary Least Squared regression (OLS) models with robust standard errors are applied to test hypotheses regarding the link between everyday discrimination and kidney function. Results Everyday discrimination was associated with poorer kidney function among respondents in our study. Respondents with higher everyday discrimination scores had lower eGFR after adjusting for demographic characteristics (B = −1.35, p < .05), and while attenuated, remained significant (B = −0.79, p < .05) after further adjustments for clinical, health behavior, and socioeconomic covariates. Conclusions Our study suggests everyday discrimination is independently associated with lower eGFR. These findings highlight the importance of psychosocial factors in predicting insufficiency in kidney function among middle-aged and older adults.

scholarly journals Genetic heterogeneity in depressive symptoms following the death of a spouse: Polygenic score analysis of the US Health and Retirement Study

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin W. Domingue ◽  
Hexuan Liu ◽  
Aysu Okbay ◽  
Daniel W. Belsky
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Polygenic Score ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
Retirement Study

AbstractExperience of stressful life events is associated with risk of depression. Yet many exposed individuals do not become depressed. A controversial hypothesis is that genetic factors influence vulnerability to depression following stress. This hypothesis is most commonly tested with a “diathesis-stress” model, in which genes confer excess vulnerability. We tested an alternative model, in which genes may buffer against the depressogenic effects of life stress. We measured the hypothesized genetic buffer using a polygenic score derived from a published genome-wide association study (GWAS) of subjective wellbeing. We tested if married older adults who had higher polygenic scores were less vulnerable to depressive symptoms following the death of their spouse as compared to age-peers who had also lost their spouse and who had lower polygenic scores. We analyzed data from N=9,453 non-Hispanic white adults in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a population-representative longitudinal study of older adults in the United States. HRS adults with higher wellbeing polygenic scores experienced fewer depressive symptoms during follow-up. Those who survived death of their spouses during follow-up (n=1,829) experienced a sharp increase in depressive symptoms following the death and returned toward baseline over the following two years. Having a higher polygenic score buffered against increased depressive symptoms following a spouse's death. Effects were small and clinical relevance is uncertain, although polygenic score analyses may provide clues to behavioral pathways that can serve as therapeutic targets. Future studies of gene-environment interplay in depression may benefit from focus on genetics discovered for putative protective factors.

scholarly journals Self-reported Instances of Major Discrimination, Race/Ethnicity, and Inflammation Among Older Adults: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryon J Cobb ◽  
Lauren J Parker ◽  
Roland J Thorpe
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Psychosocial Factor ◽  
Prevalence Ratio ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Background This study examines the relationship between self-reported instances of major discrimination and inflammation among older adults, and explores whether this relationship varies in accordance with race/ethnicity. We hypothesized that self-reported instances of major discrimination would be associated with higher levels of high-risk inflammation and that this relationship would be stronger for racial/ethnic minorities than whites. Methods Data from the 2006/2008 Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing biennial nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States, were used to collect measures of self-reported instances of major discrimination and high-risk C-reactive protein (CRP), which was assayed from blood samples. Modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors was applied to estimate the prevalence ratios of self-reported instances of major discrimination, as it relates to high-risk CRP (CRP ≥ 22 kg/m2), and test whether this relationship varies by race/ethnicity. Results Respondents who experienced any instances of major discrimination had a higher likelihood of high-risk CRP (prevalence ratio [PR]: 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07–1.22) than those who did not report experiencing any instances of major discrimination. This association was independent of differences in newly diagnosed health conditions and socioeconomic status. The relationship between any self-reported instance of major discrimination and high-risk CRP was weaker for blacks than whites (PR: 0.81, 95% CI = 0.69–0.95). Conclusions Our study confirms that self-reported instances of major lifetime discrimination is a psychosocial factor that is adversely associated with high-risk CRP among older adults; this association is especially pronounced among older whites. Future studies among this population are required to examine whether the relationship between self-reported instances of major discrimination and high-risk CRP changes over time.

Perceived neighbourhood safety and volunteerism among older adults

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Erin G. Grinshteyn ◽  
Judith A. Sugar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multivariate Logistic Regression ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Perceptions Of Safety ◽  
Fair Poor ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Previous research shows the benefits of volunteerism to individuals and communities. The purpose of this study was to determine whether lower perceived neighbourhood safety is associated with reduced volunteerism and whether this association differs by sex. Data from the 2008 Health and Retirement Study in the United States of America were used (N = 13,009 adults 60 years and older). Multivariate logistic regression models were estimated to assess the association between perceived neighbourhood safety and volunteerism while controlling for potential confounders. Perceived neighbourhood safety was associated with volunteering. The odds of volunteering were higher for those rating their perceived neighbourhood safety as excellent compared with those rating their perceived neighbourhood safety as fair/poor. Those rating their perceived neighbourhood safety as very good also had greater odds of volunteering than those rating their perceived neighbourhood safety as fair/poor. Results differed somewhat by gender. Men who perceived their neighbourhood safety as excellent had increased odds of volunteering. The association of neighbourhood safety with volunteerism was significant for women rating their perceived neighbourhood safety as excellent or very good. Among men, being married was associated with increased odds of volunteering; being completely or partly retired was associated with increased odds of volunteering among women. Initiatives aimed at improving older adults’ perceptions of safety would help improve volunteerism, which is beneficial to both older adults and communities.

Personality and Walking Speed Across Adulthood

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 773-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick Stephan ◽  
Angelina R. Sutin ◽  
Gabriel Bovier-Lapierre ◽  
Antonio Terracciano
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Walking Speed ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study ◽  
Robust Evidence ◽  
Retirement Study

Walking speed is one marker of health in adulthood. Although personality may contribute to gait speed, there is limited longitudinal data on this association. Thus, the present study examined whether personality traits are prospectively associated with walking speed among middle aged and older adults. Participants were adults aged from 25 to 100 years old ( N > 15,000) drawn from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study Graduate and Sibling samples, the Midlife in the United States Survey, the Health and Retirement Study, and the National Health and Aging Trends Survey. Across most samples and in a meta-analysis, lower neuroticism and higher extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness at baseline were prospectively related to faster gait speed. In the HRS, lower neuroticism and higher extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness were related to slower gait speed decline. This study provides robust evidence that walking speed in adulthood reflects, in part, the individual’s personality.

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