Prospective associations between unforgiveness and physical health and positive mediating mechanisms in a nationally representative sample of older adults

Abstract This study examined the prevalence of everyday ageism, routine types of age-based discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping that older adults encounter in their daily lives, and its relationships with health in a nationally representative sample age 50-80 (N=2,048, 52% female, 71% White). Nearly all older adults said they sometimes or often experienced everyday ageism (96% age 65-80, 92% age 50-64). The most common types were beliefs that health problems were an inevitable part of getting older (78%), hearing jokes about aging/older people (61%), and seeing material suggesting that older adults were unattractive/undesirable (38%). Those reporting more experiences with everyday ageism (>3 types) were less likely than those reporting fewer types to have excellent/very good physical health (31% vs. 50%); similar results were found for mental health (60% vs. 80%). This poll documented the ubiquity of minor, but not inconsequential, everyday ageism reported by older adults and its potential ramifications for health.

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Positive Attributes of Aging and Connections to Health: Evidence From the National Poll on Healthy Aging

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2557 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 722-723

Author(s):

Erica Solway ◽

Julie Ober Allen ◽

Matthias Kirch ◽

Dianne Singer ◽

Jeffrey Kullgren ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Physical Health ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

National Poll ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Sample Age ◽

Better Than

Abstract This study explored the prevalence of positive attributes of aging among older adults in a nationally representative sample age 50-80 ((N=2,048, 52% female, 71% White). Nearly 70% of older adults reported that people sought their guidance because of their wisdom and experience. Older adults reported that, as they have gotten older, they have become more comfortable with themselves (88%), have a strong sense of purpose (80%), feel more positively about aging (67%), and have found their life to be better than they had thought it would be (65%). Over half (52%) of those who said their lives were better than they thought reported very good or excellent physical health. Among those who disagreed, only one out of four (25%) reported very good/excellent physical health; similar results were found for mental health (48% vs. 22%). This session will describe positive attributes of aging and their association to physical and mental health.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of The association of frailty with olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in older adults: a nationally representative sample.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.739007216.793580865 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Wise

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Nationally Representative

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Dual trajectories of loneliness and depression and their baseline correlates over a 14‐year follow‐up period in older adults: Results from a nationally representative sample in Taiwan

International Journal of Older People Nursing ◽

10.1111/opn.12410 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

I Liu ◽

Yu‐Jen Huang ◽

Liang‐Kai Wang ◽

Yi‐Hsuan Tsai ◽

Sheng‐Lun Hsu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Dual Trajectories ◽

Nationally Representative

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Childhood infectious diseases and old age cognitive functioning: a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling older adults

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610220001404 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

A. Rotstein ◽

S. Z. Levine

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Older Adults ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Cognitive Functioning ◽

Old Age ◽

Early Life ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Nationally Representative

ABSTRACT Background: Cumulative evidence suggests that health-related risk factors during midlife and old-age are associated with cognitive impairment. However, studies are needed to clarify the association between early-life risk factors and impaired cognitive functioning to increment existing knowledge. Objective: To examine the association between childhood infectious diseases and late-life cognitive functioning in a nationally representative sample of older adults. Participants: Eligible respondents were 2994 community-dwelling individuals aged 65–85. Measurements: Cognitive functioning was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Childhood infectious diseases (i.e. chicken pox, measles, and mumps) were self-reported. The study covariates were age, sex, highest educational level achieved, smoking status, body mass index, and depression. The primary statistical analysis examined the association between the number of childhood infectious diseases and total MMSE scores, accounting for all study covariates. Regression models of progressive complexity were examined for parsimony. The robustness of the primary results was tested in 17 sensitivity analyses. Results: The most parsimonious model was a linear adjusted model (Bayesian Information Criterion = 12646.09). Late-life cognitive functioning significantly improved as the number of childhood infectious diseases increased (β = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.11, 0.26; p < 0.001). This effect was not significantly attenuated in all sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: The current study results are consistent with prior ecological findings indicating that some childhood infectious diseases are associated with better cognitive functioning in old-age. This points to an early-life modifiable risk factor associated with older-life cognitive functioning. Our results may reflect selective mortality and/or beneficial effects via hormetic processes.

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Identifying Predictive Characteristics of Opioid Medication Use among a Nationally Representative Sample of United States Older Adults with Pain and Comorbid Hypertension or Hypercholesterolemia

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare8030341 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 341

Author(s):

David R. Axon ◽

Shannon Vaffis ◽

Srujitha Marupuru

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Older Adults ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Chronic Conditions ◽

Functional Limitation ◽

The United States ◽

Medical Expenditure ◽

Opioid Use ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Opioid Users

The prevalence of older adults with pain and comorbid cardiovascular conditions is increasing in the United States (U.S.). This retrospective, cross-sectional database study used 2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data and hierarchical logistic regression models to identify predictive characteristics of opioid use among a nationally representative sample of older U.S. adults (aged ≥50 years) with pain in the past four weeks and comorbid hypertension (pain–hypertension group) or hypercholesterolemia (pain–hypercholesterolemia group). The pain–hypertension group included 2733 subjects (n = 803 opioid users) and the pain–hypercholesterolemia group included 2796 subjects (n = 795 opioid users). In both groups, predictors of opioid use included: White race versus others, Hispanic versus non-Hispanic ethnicity, 1 versus ≥5 chronic conditions, little/moderate versus quite a bit/extreme pain, good versus fair/poor perceived mental health, functional limitation versus no functional limitation, smoker versus non-smoker, and Northeast versus West census region. In addition, Midwest versus West census region was a predictor in the pain–hypertension group, and 4 versus ≥5 chronic conditions was a predictor in the pain–hypercholesterolemia group. In conclusion, several characteristics of older U.S. adults with pain and comorbid hypertension or hypercholesterolemia were predictive of opioid use. These characteristics could be addressed to optimize individuals’ pain management and help address the opioid overdose epidemic.

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