scholarly journals Volunteering and Chronic Inflammation in Later Life: Is Sustained Volunteering Beneficial for Health?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 695-695
Author(s):  
Mallory Bell ◽  
Madison Sauerteig ◽  
Kenneth Ferraro
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Chronic Inflammation ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Informal Volunteering ◽  
Retirement Study ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Although research on the health benefits of volunteering has proliferated in recent decades, most studies have focused on whether or not a person volunteers or the monthly frequency of volunteering. This study examines whether sustained volunteering has health benefits above and beyond occasional or short-lived volunteering. To investigate the salubrious effects of volunteering, the present study considers sustained volunteering engagement in terms of both formal and informal volunteering. Using four waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study, we assess the influence of sustained volunteering on chronic inflammation, measured by C-reactive protein (CRP). Results reveal that sustained engagement in formal and informal volunteering is related to lower CRP concentration, but this association is partly mediated by adult health and socioeconomic factors. Although sustained volunteering is associated with lower levels of chronic inflammation, older adults who maintain their volunteering over time are a select category of adults, characterized by higher education and wealth and better health.

Childhood Disadvantage and Adult Functional Status: Do Early-Life Exposures Jeopardize Healthy Aging?

2022 ◽  
pp. 089826432110647
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Functional Status ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Functional Disability ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Additive Effects ◽  
Childhood Disadvantage ◽  
Early Life Exposures ◽  
Over Time

Objectives To examine whether childhood disadvantage is associated with later-life functional status and identify mediating factors. Methods Unique and additive effects of five childhood domains on functional status were assessed at baseline (2006) and over time (2006–2016) in a sample of 13,894 adults from the Health and Retirement Study (>50 years). Adult health behaviors and socioeconomic status (SES) were tested as mediators. Results Respondents exposed to multiple childhood disadvantages (OR = .694) as well as low childhood SES (OR = .615), chronic diseases (OR = .694), impairments (OR = .599), and risky adolescent behaviors (OR = .608) were less likely to be free of functional disability by baseline. Over time, these unique and additive effects of childhood disadvantage increased the hazard odds of eventually developing functional disability (e.g., additive effect: hOR = 1.261). Adult health behaviors and SES mediated some of these effects. Discussion Given the enduring effects of childhood disadvantage, policies to promote healthy aging should reduce exposure to childhood disadvantage.

scholarly journals Gulf War Illness-associated increases in blood levels of interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein: biomarker evidence of inflammation

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tammy A. Butterick ◽  
Janeen H. Trembley ◽  
Laura L. Hocum Stone ◽  
Clemma J. Muller ◽  
Rebecca R. Rudquist ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Inflammation ◽  
Interleukin 6 ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Gulf War ◽  
Blood Levels ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Gulf War Illness ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Gastrointestinal Problems

Abstract Objective Gulf War Illness is a chronic multisymptom disorder severely impacting the health and well-being of many Veterans of the 1990–1991 Gulf War. Symptoms that define the disease include pain, fatigue, mood and memory impairments, gastrointestinal problems, lung disorders, and skin rashes. In our previous biomarker study, we discovered Gulf War Illness-associated proinflammatory blood biomarkers. Therefore, we hypothesized that chronic inflammation causes the symptoms that define this disorder. Testing the chronic inflammation hypothesis is the objective of this study. Results The biomarker fingerprint of Gulf War Illness is the end-product of a cascade of proinflammatory cytokine signals. In particular, the observed increase in C-reactive protein predicts a corresponding increase in interleukin 6, the cytokine that stimulates hepatocytes to produce C-reactive protein. Therefore, in this study we measured potential upstream cytokine signals in plasma samples from Gulf War Veterans. As predicted, a positive correlation between interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein was observed.

scholarly journals Inflammatory Biomarkers Do Not Differ Between Persistently Seronegative vs Seropositive People With HIV After Treatment in Early Acute HIV Infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine W Cai ◽  
Suteeraporn Pinyakorn ◽  
Eugène Kroon ◽  
Mark de Souza ◽  
Donn J Colby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Chronic Inflammation ◽  
Interleukin 6 ◽  
Inflammatory Biomarkers ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Acute Hiv Infection ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Acute Hiv ◽  
Cluster Of Differentiation ◽  
D Dimer

Abstract Persistent viral activity may cause enduring seropositivity and inflammation in treated people with HIV (PWH). We compared inflammatory biomarkers between early treated PWH who remained seronegative or seroconverted and found similar levels of D-dimer, soluble cluster of differentiation 14, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6, indicating that seronegativity does not affect chronic inflammation in early treated PWH.

Episodic Memory in Later Life: Benefits of Prayer and Meditation

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-40
Author(s):  
Nirmala Lekhak ◽  
Tirth R. Bhatta ◽  
Jaclene A. Zauszniewski
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Estimating Equation ◽  
Generalized Estimating Equation ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Retirement Study ◽  
Over Time

Purpose: To examine the effects of prayer and meditation on the episodic memory of older adults. Design: Secondary analysis of Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Method: Drawing from a subsample of HRS ( n = 1,135), this study utilized generalized estimating equation regression models to examine the effects of meditation and prayer on changes in episodic memory of older adults over time. Findings: Findings show a statistically significant positive effect of the use of prayer (0.50, p < .05) on episodic memory score at baseline. We also observed a slight gain in episodic memory over time for older adults who used prayer (0.04, p = .05). Meditation was not found to have a statistically significant effect on changes in memory in later life. Conclusion: This study illustrates the benefits of prayer in preserving memory and provides much needed empirical basis for community-level interventions to enhance memory in later life.

scholarly journals LIFE COURSE ORIGINS OF FRAILTY IN LATER LIFE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S59-S59
Author(s):  
Monica Williams-Farrelly ◽  
Kenneth F Ferraro
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Clinical State ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Health Outcomes Research ◽  
Age Related ◽  
And Function ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Frailty, generally characterized as a clinical state of increased vulnerability resulting from age-related decline in reserve and function across multiple physiologic systems, has been gaining attention in recent years due to its high correlates with a number of poor health outcomes including falls, hospitalization, and mortality. Similar to other adult health outcomes, research on the etiology of frailty has begun to move from proximal risk factors only to those more distal in time. This research uses data from the Health and Retirement study (2004-2016) to examine whether childhood exposures predict developing frailty in later life. A series of ordinal logistic regression models were estimated to test whether six domains of childhood exposures (socioeconomic status, infectious disease, chronic disease, impairments, risky adolescent behavior, and risky parental behavior) were associated with frailty, composed of five components: unintentional weight loss, weakness, slowness, exhaustion, and low energy expenditure (Fried et al., 2001). After adjusting for demographic factors, experiencing multiple SES misfortunes or risky adolescent behaviors in childhood are associated with higher odds of frailty in later life (OR= 1.24 and 2.37, respectively), while experiencing any infectious diseases is associated with lower odds of frailty (OR= 0.67 and 0.72). After further adjusting for adult characteristics, experiencing 2 or more chronic diseases in childhood is associated with a 1.35 higher odds of incident frailty over an 8-year period. These results reveal some of the early exposures that may raise frailty risk in later life but also the mid-life factors that mediate those risks.

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