scholarly journals Switching up How You Get in Your Steps: Daily Activity Diversity and Cognitive Functioning

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 581-581
Author(s):  
Sangha Jeon ◽  
Yee To Ng ◽  
Soomi Lee ◽  
Susan Charles ◽  
Karen Fingerman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Daily Activity ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Cognitive Health ◽  
Crystallized Intelligence ◽  
Common Activity ◽  
Activity Types ◽  
Active Lifestyles ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract Active lifestyles are related to better cognitive health. More work is needed, however, to examine whether participating in a variety of daily activities (i.e., activity diversity) has unique importance beyond amount of activity. The current study examined associations between daily activity diversity and cognitive functioning among community-dwelling older adults (N = 313, ages 65-90). Participants completed a cognitive battery, then responded to ecological momentary assessments of their participation in 10 common activity types (e.g., exercise, chores, social visits, volunteering) every 3 hours for 5-6 days, and wore accelerometers to track daily step counts and duration of activity. Multiple regression models revealed that greater daily activity diversity related to higher overall cognitive functioning, executive functioning, memory, and crystallized intelligence. These associations remained significant after adjusting for step count and duration of activity. Findings suggest daily activity diversity has unique importance beyond sheer amount of activity for cognitive health in later adulthood.

scholarly journals Robotic Pet Use Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 2018-2028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janella Hudson ◽  
Rachel Ungar ◽  
Laurie Albright ◽  
Rifky Tkatch ◽  
James Schaeffer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Effective Solution ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Active Lifestyles ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract Objective The primary purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of robotic pets in alleviating loneliness for older adults. Method Self-reported lonely individuals with AARP Medicare Supplement plans insured by UnitedHealthcare who participated in a program with a robotic pet (n = 20) were recruited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Participants were asked to provide feedback about their experiences interacting with a robotic pet, their perceptions about the potential impact on loneliness, and recommendations for improving the program. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Participants’ responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Constant comparison and consensus-gaining processes were used to develop categories that later formed representative themes. Results Seven themes emerged from analysis: Openness to Adoption of Robotic Pet, Reactions to Pet and its Attributes, Integration of Pet in Daily Life, Strategic Utilization and Forging New Connections, Deriving Comfort and Camaraderie, Advice for Future Users, and Recommendations for Enhancing Ownership Experience. Participants living alone, with fewer social connections and less active lifestyles, derived the most benefit from interacting with their pets. Common responses to pets included cuddling, petting, grooming, and sleeping with them. Some shared or loaned their pets, while others refused to loan their pets to interested peers. Most reported showing their pets to others, which helped some facilitate communication and social connections. Conclusion Robotic pets may be an effective solution for alleviating loneliness in older adults, especially among those who live alone, have fewer social connections, and live less active lifestyles.

scholarly journals Cognitive Impairment, Sexual Activity and Physical Tenderness in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Exploration

Gerontology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 589-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosanne Freak-Poli ◽  
Silvan Licher ◽  
Joanne Ryan ◽  
M. Arfan Ikram ◽  
Henning Tiemeier
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Sexual Activity ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Cognitively Impaired ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Partner Status ◽  
Weak Evidence ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Background: The ability to engage in sexual activity and better cognitive functioning are both associated with better health. However, the association between cognitive functioning and sexual activity is understudied. Objective: To examine the association between cognitive functioning with sexual activity and physical tenderness among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: From the Rotterdam Study, cognitive impairment and sexual activity were assessed in 4,201 community-dwelling, 60+ year olds between 2008 and 2014 in the Netherlands. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was based upon subjective complaints related to age and education-adjusted test scores. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) impairment was defined by a score of < 26. Sexual activity and physical tenderness (e.g., fondling or kissing) in the last 6 months were assessed at an interview. Analyses were stratified by gender and partner status, with prevalence rates for the “no impairment” categories weighted based on age from the cognitive impairment categories. Inter-rater reliability was examined utilising 74 cohabiting couples of opposite gender. Results: It was found that 14% were categorised as having cognitive impairment, and < 1% as dementia (excluded from subsequent analyses). There was strong evidence that the odds of engaging in physical tenderness (observed through MMSE < 26, OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.32–3.48, p = 0.002) and sexual activity (MCI, OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.35–4.12, p = 0.003) among partnered females with no impairment was twice that observed among cognitively impaired partnered females. There was weak evidence that the odds of engaging in physical tenderness (MMSE < 26, OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.04–2.42, p = 0.03) and sexual activity (MMSE < 26, OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.02–2.24, p = 0.04) among partnered males with no impairment was 50% greater than observed among cognitively impaired partnered males. The associations between cognitive functioning and physical tenderness continued to remain after adjustment for physical function, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. There was no clear evidence of a difference between amnestic and non-amnestic MCI for sexual behaviour. There was moderate to substantial agreement among the coupled adults who had 1 partner categorised with MCI. Conclusion: Having no cognitive impairment was associated with more engagement in sexual activity and physical tenderness among community-dwelling older adults. Sexuality is an important aspect of active aging and our findings illustrate a potential barrier to maintaining or instigating intimate relationships as we age. Longitudinal analyses are required to explore the direction of effect.

scholarly journals How Is Daily Social Interaction Related to Loneliness in Older Adults? The Roles of Trait Loneliness and Personality

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 461-462
Author(s):  
Ruixue Zhaoyang ◽  
Stacey Scott ◽  
Karra Harrington ◽  
Martin Sliwinski
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
The Past ◽  
Aging Study ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract Loneliness is prevalent among older adults and is associated with increased risks for morbidity and mortality. This study examined what types of social interactions could reduce loneliness for older adults and who would benefit the most from social interactions. We used data from 312 community-dwelling older adults (aged 70 to 90 years) who completed ecological momentary assessments (EMA) five times a day for 16 consecutive days using smartphones (n=20,507 reports), as part of the ongoing Einstein Aging Study (EAS). At each EMA, participants reported their social interactions in the past 3 to 4 hours and their current feelings of loneliness. Results from multilevel models revealed that older adults reported lower levels of loneliness on occasions when they had pleasant social interactions (p&lt;.000) or interactions with family (p=.001) in the past few hours, compared with occasions when they had no social interaction. In contrast, they reported higher levels of loneliness if they had unpleasant social interactions in the past few hours (p=.004). These within-person (WP) effects of social interactions on momentary loneliness were significantly moderated by participants’ trait levels of loneliness and neuroticism; and were significantly stronger among those with higher (vs. lower) trait loneliness (ps &lt;.001) or neuroticism (ps &lt;.042). Other personality traits (Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness) did not moderate any WP association. These results highlight the importance of having pleasant social interactions and frequent interactions with family for reducing older adults’ loneliness in daily life, especially for those higher in trait loneliness and neuroticism.

scholarly journals Reliabilities of mean and variability of ambulatory pain among community dwelling older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 892-892
Author(s):  
Jinshil Hyun ◽  
Jiyue Qin ◽  
Cuiling Wang ◽  
Mindy Katz ◽  
Jelena Pavlovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Health Consequences ◽  
Subjective Pain ◽  
Aging Study ◽  
Diverse Community ◽  
Pain Experiences ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract Individual’s pain experiences vary substantially over time periods, and the variability in pain may be an important metric to predict health consequences. However, research on its reliability is lacking among older adults. We aimed to examine the reliabilities of both intra-individual mean (IIM) and intra-individual variability (IIV) of subjective pain reports assessed using ecological momentary assessments (EMA) among racially diverse, community dwelling older adults. Participants were from the Einstein Aging Study (N=311, age=70-91) and completed a 14-day EMA protocol which included self-reports of pain intensity 6 times a day. Pain IIV was quantified using intraindividual standard deviation (iSD). We followed Wang and Grimm(2012)’s approach to calculate the reliability of IIM and IIV. Over a 2-week period, we found excellent reliabilities for both pain IIM (.99) and pain IIV (.91), showing that these measures are reliable and can be used to link with various health outcomes among community dwelling older adults. We also estimated the average number of assessments that produce acceptable levels of reliability. The average of 2 assessments for pain IIM and 23 assessments for pain IIV produced values that exceeded reliability score of .80, suggesting that a briefer study design may be used to reduce participants’ burden with reliable pain metrics. Future studies need to examine whether pain IIV is associated with cognitive, emotional, and physical health among older adults and whether intervention studies that target to reduce pain IIV improve health consequences.

scholarly journals Assessing Coping Strategies and Outdoor Activities Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 585-586
Author(s):  
Martha Coates ◽  
Sarah Wetzel ◽  
Janvi Patel ◽  
Keyanna Bynum ◽  
K Linh Pham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Outdoor Activities ◽  
Positive Coping ◽  
Common Activity ◽  
Conventional Content Analysis ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Information is lacking on how older adults are coping during the pandemic. We explored coping strategies including outdoor activities among community-dwelling older adults (N = 115) 65 and older (mean age 76.45, 71.3% female). Using conventional content analysis, we analyzed responses to: 1) How are you coping with COVID-19? and 2) How often are you going outside during the pandemic and for what reasons? Most common activities are connecting with family and friends (some in person, others on the phone or virtually), reading, tv, game playing, and learning something new (e.g. webinars, online classes). The majority are going outside every day, with walking being the most common activity. Only a few are restricting their out of home activities to essential tasks (e.g. going to the doctors, pharmacy, getting groceries). Findings suggest that many older adults are engaging in positive coping activities. Assessing coping strategies can give insight into wellbeing.

scholarly journals Marginal Effects of Multiple Years of Volunteering on Objective and Subjective Measures of Cognition

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 718-719
Author(s):  
Yi Wang ◽  
Takashi Amano ◽  
Huei-wern Shen ◽  
Roger Wong
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Sampling Weights ◽  
Older Americans ◽  
Cognitive Health ◽  
Marginal Effects ◽  
Average Marginal Effects

Abstract Volunteering is conducive to older Americans’ physical and mental health; however, the effect of volunteering on cognitive health is less studied. Using four waves (2010-2016) of the Health and Retirement Study, this study examined the incremental effect of volunteering engagement on older adults’ cognitive health. We included10,718 cognitively unimpaired, community-dwelling individuals aged 51+ in 2010 and were alive through 2016. Volunteering engagement was measured by the number of times respondents participated in volunteering throughout the four waves. Objective cognition was assessed using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS), a standardized test of cognitive functioning. The TICS score was further categorized into three statuses: “No impairment,” “Cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND),” and “Dementia.” Subjective cognition referred to self-rated memory on a 5-point Likert scale. With sampling weights, ordered logit regression was performed controlling for health-related variables (e.g., health conditions, depression), SES (e.g., income, assets), contextual features (e.g., neighborhood safety, urbanicity), and sociodemographics. The average marginal effects (AMEs) were produced. Results show that more volunteering engagement significantly reduced the likelihood of CIND or dementia (OR=0.88, p&lt;0.001). Specifically, every one-time increase in volunteering increased the probability of remaining cognitively normal by 0.01 (p&lt;0.001), whereas it decreased the probability of CIND by 0.008 (p&lt;0.001) and dementia by 0.001 (p&lt;0.001). For subjective cognition, there was no significant relationship with volunteering. Our findings address gaps in literature by adding evidence of the incremental health benefits of volunteering on cognitive functioning. Differences in the findings for subjective and objective cognition warrant further investigation.

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