scholarly journals Exploring awareness of age-related changes among over 50s in the UK: findings from the PROTECT study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Serena Sabatini ◽  
Obioha C. Ukoumunne ◽  
Clive Ballard ◽  
Rachel Collins ◽  
Anne Corbett ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objectives: Older people describe positive and negative age-related changes, but we do not know much about what contributes to make them aware of these changes. We used content analysis to categorize participants’ written comments and explored the extent to which the identified categories mapped onto theoretical conceptualizations of influences on awareness of age-related change (AARC). Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Participants: The study sample comprised 609 UK individuals aged 50 years or over (mean (SD) age = 67.9 (7.6) years), enrolled in the PROTECT study. Measurements: Between January and March 2019, participants provided demographic information, completed a questionnaire assessing awareness of age-related change (AARC-10 SF), and responded to an open-ended question asking them to comment on their responses. Results: While some of the emerging categories were in line with the existing conceptual framework of AARC (e.g. experiencing negative changes and attitudes toward aging), others were novel (e.g. engagement in purposeful activities or in activities that distract from age-related thoughts). Analysis revealed some of the thought processes involved in selecting responses to the questionnaire items, demonstrating different ways in which people make sense of specific items. Conclusions: Results support the ability of the AARC questionnaire to capture perceived age-related changes in cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and engagement in social activities and in healthy and adaptive behaviors. However, findings also suggest ways of enriching the theoretical conceptualization of how AARC develops and offer insights into interpretation of responses to measures of AARC.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena Sabatini ◽  
Obioha Ukoumunne ◽  
Allyson Brothers ◽  
Manfred Diehl ◽  
Hans-Werner Wahl ◽  
...  

Abstract Higher awareness of positive age-related changes (AARC gains) is related to better mental health, whereas higher awareness of negative age-related changes (AARC losses) is related to poorer mental and physical health. So far perceived gains and losses have been explored separately, but people report gains and losses concurrently in varying degrees, and different profiles of gains and losses may be differentially associated with health. We identified profiles of gains and losses and explored whether different profiles differed in physical, mental, and cognitive health. We used cross-sectional data from the PROTECT study (N= 6,192; mean(SD) age= 66.1(7.0)). Using latent profile analysis, a four-class solution showed the best model fit. We found that 45% of people perceived many gains and few losses (Class 1); 24% perceived moderate gains and few losses (Class 2); 24% perceived many gains and moderate losses (Class 3); 7% perceived many gains and many losses (Class 4). Analysis of variance and Chi-square tests showed that Class 1 had relatively better physical, mental, and cognitive health, followed by Classes 2, 3, and 4. Experiencing one’s ageing to a high degree as gain may be related to better health only when individuals interpret ageing as involving low levels of loss across several life domains. Risk in terms of poorer health emerged in those who perceived high losses. Considering gains and losses in parallel, rather than separately, may lead to a more fine-tuned understanding of relations with health.


2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Goh ◽  
D. F. Holmes ◽  
H.-Y. Lu ◽  
S. Richardson ◽  
K. E. Kadler ◽  
...  

Connective tissues are biological composites comprising of collagen fibrils embedded in (and reinforcing) the hydrated proteoglycan-rich (PG) gel within the extracellular matrices (ECMs). Age-related changes to the mechanical properties of tissues are often associated with changes to the structure of the ECM, namely, fibril diameter. However, quantitative attempts to correlate fibril diameter to mechanical properties have yielded inconclusive evidence. Here, we described a novel approach that was based on the rule of mixtures for fiber composites to evaluate the dependence of age-related changes in tendon tensile strength (σ) and stiffness (E) on the collagen fibril cross-sectional area fraction (ρ), which is related to the fibril volume fraction. Tail tendons from C57BL6 mice from age groups 1.6–35.3months old were stretched to failure to determine σ and E. Parallel measurements of ρ as a function of age were made using transmission electron microscopy. Mathematical models (rule of mixtures) of fibrils reinforcing a PG gel in tendons were used to investigate the influence of ρ on ageing changes in σ and E. The magnitudes of σ, E, and ρ increased rapidly from 1.6monthsto4.0months (P-values <0.05) before reaching a constant (age independent) from 4.0monthsto29.0months (P-values >0.05); this trend continued for E and ρ (P-values >0.05) from 29.0monthsto35.3months, but not for σ, which decreased gradually (P-values <0.05). Linear regression analysis revealed that age-related changes in σ and E correlated positively to ρ (P-values <0.05). Collagen fibril cross-sectional area fraction ρ is a significant predictor of ageing changes in σ and E in the tail tendons of C57BL6 mice.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S44-S44
Author(s):  
Julian Mutz ◽  
Cathryn M Lewis

AimsIndividuals with mental disorders, on average, die prematurely, have higher levels of physical comorbidities and may experience accelerated ageing. In individuals with lifetime depression and healthy controls, we examined associations between age and multiple physiological measures.MethodThe UK Biobank study recruited >500,000 participants, aged 37–73 years, between 2006–2010. Generalised additive models were used to examine associations between age and grip strength, cardiovascular function, body composition, lung function and bone mineral density. Analyses were conducted separately in males and females with depression compared to healthy controls.ResultAnalytical samples included up to 342,393 adults (mean age = 55.87 years; 52.61% females). We found statistically significant differences between individuals with depression and healthy controls for most physiological measures, with standardised mean differences between -0.145 and 0.156. There was some evidence that age-related changes in body composition, cardiovascular function, lung function and heel bone mineral density followed different trajectories in individuals with depression. These differences did not uniformly narrow or widen with age. For example, BMI in female cases was 1.1 kg/m2 higher at age 40 and this difference narrowed to 0.4 kg/m2 at age 70. In males, systolic blood pressure was 1 mmHg lower in cases at age 45 and this difference widened to 2.5 mmHg at age 65.ConclusionIndividuals with depression differed from healthy controls across a broad range of physiological measures. Differences in ageing trajectories differed by sex and were not uniform across physiological measures, with evidence of both age-related narrowing and widening of case-control differences.


Author(s):  
William D. Hopkins ◽  
Mary C. Mareno ◽  
Sarah J. Neal Webb ◽  
Steven J. Schapiro ◽  
Mary A. Raghanti ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Pavão Martins ◽  
Carolina Maruta ◽  
Cláudia Silva ◽  
Pedro Rodrigues ◽  
Catarina Chester ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 220-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Lopez-Larson ◽  
Janis L. Breeze ◽  
David N. Kennedy ◽  
Steven M. Hodge ◽  
Lena Tang ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 490-499
Author(s):  
Linda Nazarko

In the UK, around 250 000 people are living with both sight loss and dementia ( Bowen et al, 2016 ). People with dementia are more likely to experience sight loss than people of their age who do not have dementia. Dementia affects the ability to understand and relate to the world and sight loss has a huge impact on the ability of the person with dementia. This article examines normal age-related eye changes and eye disease. It outlines ways to compensate for age-related changes and how to detect and treat eye disease.


2008 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 1583-1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dror Ofir ◽  
Pierantonio Laveneziana ◽  
Katherine A. Webb ◽  
Yuk-Miu Lam ◽  
Denis E. O'Donnell

The prevalence of activity-related breathlessness increases with age, particularly in women, but the specific underlying mechanisms have not been studied. This novel cross-sectional study was undertaken to examine the effects of age and sex, and their interaction, on the perceptual and ventilatory responses to incremental treadmill exercise in 73 healthy participants (age range 40–80 yr old) with normal pulmonary function. Age-related changes at a standardized oxygen uptake (V̇o2) during exercise included significant increases in breathlessness ratings (Borg scale), ventilation (V̇e), ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide, and the ratio of tidal volume (Vt) to dynamic inspiratory capacity (IC) (all P < 0.05). These changes were quantitatively similar in women ( n = 39) and in men ( n = 34). For the group as a whole, exertional breathlessness ratings increased as resting static inspiratory muscle strength diminished ( P = 0.05), as exercise ventilation increased relative to capacity ( P = 0.013) and as the Vt/IC ratio increased ( P = 0.003) during exercise. Older women (60–80 yr old, n = 23) reported greater ( P < 0.05) intensity of exertional breathlessness at a standardized V̇o2 and V̇e than age-matched men ( n = 16), despite similar age-related changes in ventilatory demand and dynamic ventilatory mechanics. These increases in breathlessness ratings in older women disappeared when sex differences in baseline maximal ventilatory capacity were accounted for. In conclusion, although increased exertional breathlessness with advancing age is multifactorial, contributory factors included higher ventilatory requirements during exercise, progressive inspiratory muscle weakness, and restrictive mechanical constraints on Vt expansion related to reduced IC. The sensory consequences of this age-related respiratory impairment were more pronounced in women, who, by nature, have relatively reduced maximal ventilatory reserve.


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