Health and aging: does retirement transition make any difference?

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
António M. Fonseca ◽  
Constança Paúl
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
Basic Notion ◽  
Progressive Decline ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Health Trajectories ◽  
Health Decline

A basic notion relating to development during adulthood and old age, according to a lifespan perspective, refers to the progressive increase in individual differences in psychological wellbeing. It is possible to find diverse ‘health trajectories’, shaping patterns of evolution regarding the general health of adult and elderly individuals, such as (1) permanent good health (2) good health most of the time and decline by the end of life (3) health decline and recovery (4) permanent poor health, (5) progressive decline and (6) irregular health.

scholarly journals What Levels the Association Between Income and Mortality in Later Life: Age or Health Decline?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Rehnberg
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Socioeconomic Position ◽  
Poisson Regression ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Health Decline ◽  
Marginal Effects ◽  
Average Marginal Effects

Abstract Objectives Researchers frequently use the “age-as-leveler” hypothesis to explain decreasing inequality and a weakened relationship between socioeconomic position and health in old age. This study examined whether health status can explain the age pattern in the association between income and mortality as predicted by the age-as-leveler hypothesis. Method This study used longitudinal (1991–2002) data from the SWEOLD and LNU surveys. The analytical sample consisted of 2,619 people aged 54–92 in 2003. Mortality (2003–2014) and income (1991–2000) was collected from Swedish national registers. Poisson regression was used to estimate associations between mortality, income, age, and health status. Average marginal effects were used to visualize interaction effects between income and age. Results The association between income and mortality weakened in those aged 84 and older. However, health status explained a large part of the effect that age had on the association between income and mortality. Analyses done after stratifying the sample by health status showed that the association between income and mortality was strong in people who reported good health and weak or nonexistent in those who reported poor health. Discussion Age leveled the income–mortality association; however, health status, not age, explained most of the leveling.

scholarly journals CURRENT CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE PROCESS OF AGEING AND OLD AGE

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 722-727
Author(s):  
Vanina Mihaylova ◽  
Dimitar Shopov ◽  
Iliya Bivolarski ◽  
Adolf Alakidi ◽  
Kristina Kilova
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Old People ◽  
Active Approach ◽  
Quality Life ◽  
Long Life ◽  
Elderly And Old People

: Ageing should be considered not only as an increase in the number of elderly and old people in their absolute and relative numbers, but also as a unity of the transformations of the lifecycle, with an emphasis on: later retirement, prolonged period of good‑quality life, an active approach towards the process of retirement and differentiation of the category of “fourth age”. The general preparation for old age has earned a new appeal in the contemporary societies. Motivation of the old people for activity – both physical and intellectual – is of great importance for the better survival of the old age and long life in good health, supported by realized well-being and feeling of joy from life. In this aspect the study of both risk and protective factors for human health (in a salutogenetic perspective) becomes increasingly fundamental. The issue of population at an advanced age has definitely been considered as an independent subject since the beginning of the 21st century. Moreover, the society perceives it as an essential basis for further progress and flourishing of the mankind. In this sense the demographic strategies treating the problem need to address it in a new positive way, with different and positive attitude, accepting the population-related failures and anxiety and turning them into challenges and advantages.

“Looking Back, What Period of Your Life Brought You the Most Satisfaction”

1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy Field
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Childhood Memories ◽  
Great Satisfaction ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Life Period ◽  
Looking Back

Common myths hold that old persons are fixated on childhood memories, that they believe that youth is the best part of life, and that old age contains few satisfactions. Berkeley Older Generation Study members, when asked on two occasions during old age ( M ages = 69.8 and 82.7) to name the periods of their lives that brought them the most and the least satisfaction, dispelled these myths. The thirties and forties were popular choices for periods of great satisfaction, but childhood and adolescence were quite unpopular for these old persons. “Right now” was named more often than any other life period as most satisfactory. Men and women did not differ in life periods nominated, but they did differ in the reasons given for their choices. Each period provided its own pattern of satisfactions and disappointments, and strong individual differences were apparent.

Sociology of normal ageing

2012 ◽  
pp. 1512-1516
Author(s):  
Sarah Harper
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Narrative Psychology ◽  
Normal Ageing ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Disengagement Theory

Research on the sociology of normal ageing has focused on understanding the paradigms of ‘successful ageing’. In an apparent reaction to ‘disengagement theory’ which proposed that to withdraw from roles and relationships in old age was normal, a new conceptual framework was developed in the late 1960s and 1970s which attempted to explain how individuals adapted to the constraints of ageing and old age. This has been variously measured in terms of good health, high levels of physical and mental functioning, and active engagement with one's social and physical environment. While post-modernism and critical gerontology have attempted to refocus the debate, the emphasis of most research and writing has remained within the framework of understanding, explaining, and even facilitating, ‘success’ in old age. There is also a body of research which recognizes the importance of the life course perspective, and that throughout an individual's life, he or she is faced with continuities and discontinuities which have to be negotiated and resolved. Old age is but part of this life-long process. Changes which occur in later life, such as retirement and widowhood, will lead to discontinuities in roles and relationships, other aspects of our lives will undergo little change allowing continuity. Alongside this, perspectives from anthropology, history and the social constructionist school of thought have also been recently influential. This chapter will discuss concepts of age, generation, and cohort. It will consider the contribution of the life course approach to understanding ageing, and the manner in which other perspectives, such as social constructionism, narrative psychology and anthropology, have contributed to the sociology of normal ageing.

Operant control of ambient temperature during sleep deprivation

1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (2) ◽  
pp. R682-R690 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Shaw ◽  
B. M. Bergmann ◽  
A. Rechtschaffen
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Sleep Deprivation ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Thermal Gradient ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Thermal Preference ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Progressive Decline ◽  
Baseline Levels ◽  
Almost All

Rats subjected to total sleep deprivation (TSD) by the disk-over-water method were provided with a continuously available operant by which they could increase ambient temperature (T(amb)). TSD rats progressively increased operant responses for heat to 700% of baseline levels. During the last quarter of sleep deprivation, they maintained mean T(amb) at 9 degrees C above baseline and held T(amb) over 40 degrees C for 35% of the day. In contrast, yoked control rats (TSC) did not change mean T(amb). Although both TSD and TSC rats showed a progressive decline in intraperitoneal temperature (T(ip)), TSD rats maintained an elevated T(amb) even during periods when T(ip) and brain temperatures (T(br)) were above baseline levels. Thus these results confirm and extend earlier findings that rats subjected to TSD show an increase in temperature set point (T(set)). The earlier studies, which utilized short daily trials in a thermal gradient, demonstrated an increase in T(set) early in the deprivation period. The present study, which obtained more extensive data on thermal preference at a range of body temperatures demonstrated an increasing T(amb) for almost all T(ip) and T(br) values, suggesting a progressive increase in T(set) over the course of sleep deprivation. Surprisingly, survival time was shorter than in previous TSD studies. Reduced survival could not be attributed to differences in T(br), T(ip), energy expenditure, or sleep loss from previous studies.

Resistance to Isolation among Elderly Widows

1976 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Arling
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Religious Services ◽  
Piedmont Region

The widow's ability to resist isolation in old age-to either maintain the involvement of earlier years or develop new social networks-may be conditioned by a number of different factors. Drawing upon a survey of 409 widows, age sixty-five and older, from the Piedmont region of South Carolina, this study concludes that good health and the availability of economic resources are the primary factors which facilitate involvement with family, neighbors and friends, and participation in a number and variety of daily activities. In addition, those widows who were more educated participated in more activities; those living in small towns and rural areas were more involved with family and friends; and white widows saw more of their children, while black respondents were more active and knew more of their neighbors. Finally, the availability and degree of contact with children was unrelated to other activities, while friendship and neighboring was positively associated with taking walks, shopping, and attendance at religious services and other organizational meetings.

scholarly journals When longevity meets vitality

2014 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudi G. J. Westendorp ◽  
Frank H. Schalkwijk
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Ageing Process ◽  
Social Security Systems ◽  
Average Life Expectancy ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Age Related

Alarmed by the sustainability of our health and social security systems, longevity has become a great societal challenge. In line with evolutionary logic we see a continuous increase of average life expectancy and maximal lifespan. Striving for a healthy old age, however, is an infelicitous expression as for human subjects the ageing process cannot be ultimately postponed. Not disregarding the huge variation in health trajectories, in old age we will all suffer from frailty and infirmity. As yet efforts of the biomedical arena are almost exclusively focused on stalling the ageing process and preventing dysfunction. Too little effort is spend on how to inspire and coach the great majority of people who still feel relatively well notwithstanding the presence of multiple age-related disorders. There is a strong rationale to separate the quest to live in good health for longer from actively and effectively negotiating the challenge of functional decline in old age. In particular, we emphasise a focus on adjusting the environment in order to correct the gene–environment mismatch that contributes to ill health. An additional strategy is to empower people to set ambitions and to realise appropriate goals, in spite of infirmity. Striving for vitality presents a striking opportunity to achieve subjective feelings of life satisfaction when ageing.

Decision-Making in Old Age: Cautiousness and Rigidity

1981 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E. Calhoun ◽  
Sam L. Hutchison
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Old Age ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Individual ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Behavioral Rigidity ◽  
Elderly Participant ◽  
Risky Decisions

The purpose of the present study was to test the findings of Botwinick's work on cautiousness and decision-making in old age [1, 2], along with an examination of two factors not previously studied: rigidity and certainty of decision outcome. Sixty-four elderly participants of both sexes participated in filling out the Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire (CDQ) after having been classified as high or low on Schaie's Test of Behavioral Rigidity [3]. In general, Botwinick's conclusions were supported: 1. when given the opportunity to avoid making decisions on the CDQ, the elderly did so, even under conditions of no risk at all concerning the outcome of the decision; 2. elderly individuals appeared to become more conservative and cautious in their decisions when the outcome was directed at the lives of young individuals than when older individual's lifestyles were of concern. This latter phenomenon, however, was not seen when the elderly participant was required to make a decision and could not elect to abstain. In addition, rigidity was found to be related to risky decisions made by the elderly individual.

scholarly journals Depression and Psychological Well-Being among Living Institutionalized and Non- Institutionalized Elderly

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Srisailamaiah. M ◽  
Suresh. K ◽  
Srikanth Reddy. V
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Institutionalized Elderly ◽  
Old Age Homes

India is fast developing country. The elderly population is large and increasing due to development of health care facilities. Elderly people are facing physical, psychological and health issues due to economic impairment, urbanization, modernization. Globalizations have brought lifestyle changes which resulted in disintegration of joint family system and alternative living arrangements for elderly have come forward. Living in old age homes is becoming an option for elderly. This study is an attempt to find out the mean difference between depression and psychological well being among institutionalized and non- institutionalized elderly. To realize the objectives and to test the hypotheses formulated, two tools were used to assess depression and psychological wellbeing The Geriatric depression Inventory (Holroyd & Clayton, 2000), and Psychological Wellbeing Scale (Bhogley & Prakash, 1995), were used on elderly population. For purposes of the present study, a total sample of 60 were taken out of which 30 were ( 60+ years )  elderly people  from old age homes and 30 were  (60+ y ears) from non- institutionalized elderly from Tirupati in Chittoor district ,Andhra Pradesh. ‘t’-test was applied to check the difference of depression and psychological well being and the Karl-person ‘r’ method used to check the correlation. Result revealed significant differences in depression and psychological well being with respect to institutionalized and non- institutionalized elderly. While co-relation between depression and psychological well-being reveals -0.68, negative correlation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document