Does old age reduce the risk of anxiety and depression? A review of 
epidemiological studies across the adult life span

Background. There is considerable disagreement about what happens to the risk of anxiety and depression disorders and symptoms as people get older.Methods. A search was made for studies that examine the occurrence of anxiety, depression or general distress across the adult life span. To be included, a study had to involve a general population sample ranging in age from at least the 30s to 65 and over and use the same assessment method at each age.Results. There was no consistent pattern across studies for age differences in the occurrence of anxiety, depression or distress. The most common trend found was for an initial rise across age groups, followed by a drop. Two major factors producing this variability in results were age biases in assessment of anxiety and depression and the masking effect of other risk factors that vary with age. When other risk factors were statistically controlled, a more consistent pattern emerged, with most studies finding a decrease in anxiety, depression and distress across age groups. This decrease cannot be accounted for by exclusion of elderly people in institutional care from epidemiological surveys or by selective mortality of people with anxiety or depression.Conclusion. There is some evidence that ageing is associated with an intrinsic reduction in susceptibility to anxiety and depression. However, longitudinal studies covering the adult life span are needed to distinguish ageing from cohort effects. More attention needs to be given to understanding the mechanism behind any ageing-related reduction in risk for anxiety and depression with age. Possible factors are decreased emotional responsiveness with age, increased emotional control and psychological immunization to stressful experiences.

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Risk factors for physical inactivity across the adult life span: the impact of depression

Acta Neuropsychiatrica ◽

10.1017/s092427080003088x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 274-274

Author(s):

J Walker ◽

H Christensen ◽

T Windsor ◽

A George

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Life Span ◽

Physical Inactivity ◽

Adult Life ◽

Adult Life Span ◽

The Impact

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Studying Post-Traumatic Growth Across the Adult Life Span

Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth ◽

10.1093/med-psych/9780197507407.003.0011 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 186-211

Author(s):

Omar E. Staben ◽

Molly J. Gardner ◽

Frank J. Infurna ◽

Suniya S. Luthar ◽

Kevin J. Grimm

Keyword(s):

Life Span ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Character Strengths ◽

Age Groups ◽

Adult Life ◽

Adult Life Span ◽

Post Traumatic Growth ◽

Post Traumatic ◽

The Stability ◽

Methodological Considerations

This chapter discusses conceptual and methodological considerations for studying post-traumatic growth across adulthood and into old age. Conceptual considerations that the authors focus on include examining character strengths and virtues longitudinally across multiple age groups and also the stability of these strengths and virtues across the life span. Methodological considerations elaborated are the use of convenience sampling in scale development and the importance of measurement invariance when examining character strengths in the context of post-traumatic growth. The authors provide examples from previous research on post-traumatic growth and discuss methods of measurement that could be utilized to enhance the validity of current measures. The chapter highlights the importance of character strengths and virtues and aims to solidify their role in the scientific community. Additionally, it highlights the need for more rigorous lines of scientific inquiry in this area due to its potential to impact healthy aging outcomes for persons across the adult life span.

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Changes in leisure-time physical activity during the adult life span and relations to cardiovascular risk factors—Results from multiple Swedish studies

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0256476 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. e0256476

Author(s):

Lars Lind ◽

Björn Zethelius ◽

Eva Lindberg ◽

Nancy L. Pedersen ◽

Liisa Byberg

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Life Span ◽

Cardiovascular Risk Factors ◽

Longitudinal Studies ◽

Leisure Time ◽

Leisure Time Physical Activity ◽

Adult Life ◽

Adult Life Span

Objective To evaluate how self-reported leisure-time physical activity (PA) changes during the adult life span, and to study how PA is related to cardiovascular risk factors using longitudinal studies. Methods Several Swedish population-based longitudinal studies were used in the present study (PIVUS, ULSAM, SHE, and SHM, ranging from hundreds to 30,000 participants) to represent information across the adult life span in both sexes. Also, two cross-sectional studies were used as comparison (EpiHealth, LifeGene). PA was assessed by questionnaires on a four or five-level scale. Results Taking results from several samples into account, an increase in PA from middle-age up to 70 years was found in males, but not in females. Following age 70, a decline in PA was seen. Young adults reported both a higher proportion of sedentary behavior and a higher proportion high PA than the elderly. Females generally reported a lower PA at all ages. PA was mainly associated with serum triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol, but also weaker relationships with fasting glucose, blood pressure and BMI were found. These relationships were generally less strong in elderly subjects. Conclusion Using data from multiple longitudinal samples the development of PA over the adult life span could be described in detail and the relationships between PA and cardiovascular risk factors were portrayed. In general, a higher or increased physical activity over time was associated with a more beneficial cardiovascular risk factor profile, especially lipid levels.

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Accelerated Trajectories of Walking Capacity Across the Adult Life Span in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis: An Underrecognized Challenge

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair ◽

10.1177/1545968320907074 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 360-369

Author(s):

Lars G. Hvid ◽

Peter Feys ◽

Ilse Baert ◽

Alon Kalron ◽

Ulrik Dalgas

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Life Span ◽

Gait Speed ◽

Age Groups ◽

Adult Life ◽

Advanced Age ◽

Walk Test ◽

Adult Life Span ◽

Walking Capacity ◽

Minute Walk

Background. In the general population, trajectories of walking capacity is accelerated and nonlinear with advanced age. Whether this is more pronounced in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS), along with the prevalence of dismobility (ie, slow gait speed), are currently unknown. Our objective was to investigate trajectories of walking capacity and prevalence of dismobility across the adult life span in pwMS versus healthy controls (HC). Methods. Data on maximal timed 25-foot walk test (T25FWT), 2-minute walk test (2MWT), and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) along with prevalence of dismobility were assembled from 2 RIMS multicenter studies (n = 502 pwMS; age range 21-77 years, 6 age groups: 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70-79 years). HC data were extracted from studies containing normative reference values (n = 1070-3780 HC). Results. Age trajectories of walking capacity was nonlinear and accelerated in pwMS versus HC. While measures of walking capacity in pwMS were suppressed already early in life, the gap between pwMS and HC significantly widened across the 6 age groups (pwMS performed 64%, 70%, 57%, 59%, 51%, and 37% of HC, respectively). This coincided with high prevalences of dismobility in pwMS across the 6 age groups when using usual gait speed cut-point values <1.0 m/s (corresponding to 33%, 32%, 51%, 59%, 75%, and 100%) and <0.6 m/s (corresponding to 19%, 12%, 26%, 23%, 33%, and 43%), markedly exceeding that observed in HC. Conclusion. The present data on walking capacity provide evidence for an accelerated deterioration in pwMS with advanced age, coinciding with high prevalences of dismobility (ie, slow gait speed).

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