scholarly journals Older Adults Pursue More Autonomy During Pandemic: An Explanation by Social Obligation

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 193-193
Author(s):  
Chunyan Mai ◽  
Helene Fung ◽  
Hiu Ling Vivian Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
The Social ◽  
Perceived Importance ◽  
Social Obligation ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

Abstract Older adults are considered more vulnerable under the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the pandemic also highlights the social obligation of all individuals, young and old. We investigated whether older adults pursued more autonomy during the pandemic than did middle-aged adults, and the moderating effect of perceived social obligation. One hundred and twenty-three Hong Kong citizens (62 females, Mage=60.59±13.28 years old) participated in this study in 2018 (before pandemic) and 2020 (during pandemic). Comparing these two waves, the results showed a larger increase of perceived importance of independence and autonomy among older adults than among middle-aged adults. Moreover, the age difference became stronger with a higher increase in expectation on social obligation, suggesting that the pandemic might make older adults feel more socially obligated to be independent and autonomous, so as not to be a burden on others. Future ageism-related studies should take the social obligation of older adults into consideration.

Age norms for older adults among Koreans: perceptions and influencing factors

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1335-1355 ◽  
Author(s):  
SOONDOOL CHUNG ◽  
YUNKYUNG JUNG
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adult Group ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Norms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

ABSTRACTDespite rapid social change that has influenced the social status of older adults, expectations about their behaviour and whether such expectations differ across generations remain unexplored in Korea. Based on ageing theories of activity, disengagement and modernisation, this study investigated age norms among Koreans conceptualised as shared expectations of appropriate behaviours of older adults. Competing perspectives in intergenerational relations and prejudice toward older adults were examined to test if they influenced age norms and if such associations varied across different age groups. Data were analysed from a survey of 1,445 individuals aged 20 and above who resided in 16 administrative districts of Korea. Comparisons of age norms across age groups indicated that the older adult group (age 65+) held more restrictive attitudes about social participation and engagement in various behaviours in old age than the middle-aged adults (ages 45–64) and younger adults (ages 20–44). Respondents with more prejudice towards older adults tended to place more restrictions on the behaviour of older adults. A significant interaction indicated that respondents whose views were in line with a generational conflictive perspective, assessed as reporting more competitive perspectives between young and old people and being less supportive of intergenerational programmes, had a more restrictive view about older adults' behaviours among the middle-aged group but less restrictive attitudes in determining acceptable behaviour in later life among the older adult group.

scholarly journals Factors associated with sarcopenia screened by finger-circle test among middle-aged and older adults: a population-based multisite cross-sectional survey in Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiki Watanabe ◽  
Tsukasa Yoshida ◽  
Takashi Nakagata ◽  
Naomi Sawada ◽  
Yosuke Yamada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Multiple Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Mail Surveys ◽  
Osaka Prefecture ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

AbstractBackgroundPrevious epidemiological studies have demonstrated the prevalence and relationship of various factors associated with sarcopenia in older adults; however, few have examined the status of sarcopenia in middle-aged adults. In this study, we aimed to, 1) evaluate the validity of the finger-circle test, which is potentially a useful screening tool for sarcopenia, and 2) determine the prevalence and factors associated with sarcopenia in middle-aged and older adults.MethodsWe conducted face-to-face surveys of 525 adults, who were aged 40–91 years and resided in Settsu City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan to evaluate the validity of finger-circle test. The finger-circle test evaluated calf circumference by referring to an illustration printed on the survey form. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) was plotted to evaluate the validity of the finger-circle test for screening sarcopenia and compared to that evaluated by skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) measured using bioimpedance. We also conducted multisite population-based cross-sectional anonymous mail surveys of 9337 adults, who were aged 40–97 years and resided in Settsu and Hannan Cities, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Participants were selected through stratified random sampling by sex and age in the elementary school zones of their respective cities. We performed multiple logistic regression analysis to explore associations between characteristics and prevalence of sarcopenia.ResultsSarcopenia, defined by SMI, was moderately predicted by a finger-circle test response showing that the subject’s calf was smaller than their finger-circle (AUROC: 0.729, < 65 years; 0.653, ≥65 years); such subjects were considered to have sarcopenia. In mail surveys, prevalence of sarcopenia screened by finger-circle test was higher in older subjects (approximately 16%) than in middle-aged subjects (approximately 8–9%). In a multiple regression model, the factors associated with sarcopenia were age, body mass index, smoking status, self-reported health, and number of meals in all the participants.ConclusionsSarcopenia, screened by the finger-circle test, was present not only among older adults but also among middle-aged adults. These results may provide useful indications for developing public health programs, not only for the prevention, but especially for the management of sarcopenia.Trial registrationUMIN000036880, registered prospectively May 29, 2019, https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000042027

Educational Differences in Self-Rated Health Trends Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults Living Alone, 1972–2018

2022 ◽  
pp. 089826432110527
Author(s):  
Esther O. Lamidi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Older Americans ◽  
Health Trends ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Educational Differences ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

Objectives: This study examines educational differences in living alone and in self-rated health trends among middle-aged and older adults. Methods: We used logistic regression to analyze data from the 1972–2018 National Health Interview Survey ( n = 795,239 aged 40–64; n = 357,974 aged 65–84). Results: Between 1972–1974 and 2015–2018, living alone became more prevalent, particularly among men and at lower levels of education. Self-rated health trends varied by living arrangement and education. We found self-rated health declines among middle-aged adults having no college degree and living alone, but trends in self-rated health were mostly stable or even improved among middle-aged adults living with others. Among older adults, self-rated health improved over time, but for the least-educated older Americans living alone, the probability of reporting fair or poor health increased between 1972–1974 and 2015–2018. Discussion: The findings suggest growing disparities by social class, in living arrangements and in self-rated health.

Effects of perceived social isolation, fear of social isolation and gratitude during COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety in Malaysia (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cher Yi Tan ◽  
Jia Yi Ng ◽  
Mei-Hua Lin ◽  
Min Hooi Yong
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Perceived Social Isolation

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic compelled many countries including Malaysia to impose movement restrictions to curb spreading the virus. Evidence shows that prolonged isolation has negative effects on both physical and mental health. OBJECTIVE Our aims were to examine (1) the mediating effect of perceived social isolation (SI) and fear of social isolation (FSI) on the relationship between gratitude and anxiety, and (2) to explore the moderating effect of age, education and socioeconomic status on the mediation model. METHODS We collected data from 427 participants currently living in Malaysia during the movement restriction order (Mage = 37.90, SD = 16.51, 313 females) from an online survey containing questions pertaining to isolation and gratitude. RESULTS Our mediation analysis showed that gratitude has a positive effect on overcoming anxiety as it also lowers feelings of SI and FSI (B = -.229, β = .128, bootstrap SE = .049, 95% bootstrap CI = [-.332, -.138]). The moderated mediation analyses revealed the indirect effect of gratitude on anxiety through SI was significant for young adults (B = -.148, β = .083, 95% bootstrap CI [-.274, -.042]) and middle-aged (B = -.099, β = -.055, 95% bootstrap CI [-.177, -.033]) but not for older adults (B = -.026, β = -.015, 95% bootstrap CI [-.129, .047]). Results were similar for FSI in that it was significant for middle aged and not significant for older adults (all CIs does not include zero). However the mediation effect was not significant for young adults (B = -.020, β = -.011, 95% bootstrap CI [-.066, .016]). When we examined the moderating effect of education and SES in the parallel mediation model, results showed that the mediation effect of SI and FSI for those with lower levels of education was significant for all SES levels (all CIs did not contain zero). As for those with medium levels of education, the conditional indirect effect of SI and FSI was significant only for low and medium levels of SES but not for high SES. CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight the importance of having some coping mechanism and social connection during the pandemic to have higher wellbeing and quality of life, especially for middle-aged sample and people from low education and SES background. CLINICALTRIAL None

scholarly journals Social Support Patterns of Middle-Aged and Older Adults Within a Physical Activity App: Secondary Mixed Method Analysis

JMIR Aging ◽  
10.2196/12496 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. e12496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakkoyya H Lewis ◽  
Maria C Swartz ◽  
Eloisa Martinez ◽  
Elizabeth J Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
The Social ◽  
Method Analysis

Background Physical activity (PA) is critical for maintaining independence and delaying mobility disability in aging adults. However, 27 to 44% of older adults in the United States are meeting the recommended PA level. Activity trackers are proving to be a promising tool to promote PA adherence through activity tracking and enhanced social interaction features. Although social support has been known to be an influential behavior change technique to promote PA, how middle-aged and older adults use the social interaction feature of mobile apps to provide virtual support to promote PA engagement remains mostly underexplored. Objective This study aimed to describe the social support patterns of middle-aged and older adults using a mobile app as part of a behavioral PA intervention. Methods Data from 35 participants (mean age 61.66 [SD 6] years) in a 12-week, home-based activity intervention were used for this secondary mixed method analysis. Participants were provided with a Jawbone Up24 activity monitor and an Apple iPad Mini installed with the UP app to facilitate self-monitoring and social interaction. All participants were given an anonymous account and encouraged to interact with other participants using the app. Social support features included comments and likes. Thematic coding was used to identify the type of social support provided within the UP app and characterize the levels of engagement from users. Participants were categorized as superusers or contributors, and passive participants were categorized as lurkers based on the literature. Results Over the 12-week intervention, participants provided a total of 3153 likes and 1759 comments. Most participants (n=25) were contributors, with 4 categorized as superusers and 6 categorized as lurkers. Comments were coded as emotional support, informational support, instrumental support, self-talk, and other, with emotional support being the most prevalent type. Conclusions Our cohort of middle-aged and older adults was willing to use the social network feature in an activity app to communicate with anonymous peers. Most of our participants were contributors. In addition, the social support provided through the activity app followed social support constructs. In sum, PA apps are a promising tool for delivering virtual social support to enhance PA engagement and have the potential to make a widespread impact on PA promotion. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01869348; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01869348

scholarly journals The Role of Delay of Care in Depression among US Middle-Aged and Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic:: A Secondary Data Analysis (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Luo
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Delay Of Care ◽  
Middle Aged Adults ◽  
Univariate Analyses

BACKGROUND The depression level among US adults significantly increased during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and age disparity in depression during the pandemic were reported in recent studies. Delay or avoidance of medical care is one of the collateral damages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and it can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE The present study aims to assess the prevalence of depression and delay of care among US middle-aged adults and older adults during the pandemic, as well as investigate the role of delay of care in depression among those two age groups. METHODS This cross-sectional study used the 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) COVID-19 Project (Early, Version 1.0) data. Univariate analyses, bivariate analyses, and binary logistic regression were applied. US adults older than 46 years old were included. Depression was measured by Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form (CIDI-SF). Delay of care were measured by four items: delay of surgery, delay of seeing a doctor, delay of dental care, and delay of other care. Univariate analyses, bivariate analyses, and binary logistic regression were conducted. RESULTS More than half of participants were older than 65 years old (58.23%) and 274 participants (8.75%) had depression during the pandemic. Delay of dental care was positively associated with depression among both middle-aged adults (OR=2.05, 95%CI=1.04-4.03, P<0.05) and older adults (OR=3.08, 95%CI=1.07-8.87, P<0.05). Delay of surgery was positively associated with depression among older adults (OR=3.69, 95%CI=1.06-12.90, P<0.05). Self-reported pain was positively related to depression among both age groups. Middle-aged adults who reported higher education level (some college of above) or worse self-reported health had higher likelihood to have depression. While perceived more loneliness was positively associated with depression among older adults, financial difficulty was positively associated with depression among middle-aged adults. CONCLUSIONS This study found that depression among middle-aged and older adults during the pandemic was also prevalent. The study highlighted the collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic by identifying the effect of delay of surgery and dental care on depression during the pandemic. Although surgery and dental care cannot be delivered by telehealth, telehealth services can still be provided to address patients’ concern on delay of surgery and dental care. Moreover, the implementation of tele-mental health services is also needed to address mental health symptoms among US middle-aged and older adults during the pandemic. Future research that uses more comprehensive CLINICALTRIAL N/A

scholarly journals Social Support Patterns of Middle-Aged and Older Adults Within a Physical Activity App: Secondary Mixed Method Analysis (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakkoyya H Lewis ◽  
Maria C Swartz ◽  
Eloisa Martinez ◽  
Elizabeth J Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
The Social ◽  
Method Analysis

BACKGROUND Physical activity (PA) is critical for maintaining independence and delaying mobility disability in aging adults. However, 27 to 44% of older adults in the United States are meeting the recommended PA level. Activity trackers are proving to be a promising tool to promote PA adherence through activity tracking and enhanced social interaction features. Although social support has been known to be an influential behavior change technique to promote PA, how middle-aged and older adults use the social interaction feature of mobile apps to provide virtual support to promote PA engagement remains mostly underexplored. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to describe the social support patterns of middle-aged and older adults using a mobile app as part of a behavioral PA intervention. METHODS Data from 35 participants (mean age 61.66 [SD 6] years) in a 12-week, home-based activity intervention were used for this secondary mixed method analysis. Participants were provided with a Jawbone Up24 activity monitor and an Apple iPad Mini installed with the UP app to facilitate self-monitoring and social interaction. All participants were given an anonymous account and encouraged to interact with other participants using the app. Social support features included comments and likes. Thematic coding was used to identify the type of social support provided within the UP app and characterize the levels of engagement from users. Participants were categorized as superusers or contributors, and passive participants were categorized as lurkers based on the literature. RESULTS Over the 12-week intervention, participants provided a total of 3153 likes and 1759 comments. Most participants (n=25) were contributors, with 4 categorized as superusers and 6 categorized as lurkers. Comments were coded as emotional support, informational support, instrumental support, self-talk, and other, with emotional support being the most prevalent type. CONCLUSIONS Our cohort of middle-aged and older adults was willing to use the social network feature in an activity app to communicate with anonymous peers. Most of our participants were contributors. In addition, the social support provided through the activity app followed social support constructs. In sum, PA apps are a promising tool for delivering virtual social support to enhance PA engagement and have the potential to make a widespread impact on PA promotion. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01869348; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01869348

Abstract 18787: Hypertension Treatment and Control Rates in United States Adults by Risk Group

Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunal N Karmali ◽  
Hongyan Ning ◽  
Donald M Lloyd-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Kidney Disease ◽  
Risk Group ◽  
Intensive Therapy ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Ascvd Risk ◽  
Middle Aged Adults ◽  
And Control

Introduction: Ten-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and absolute benefit from antihypertensive therapy vary at any given BP based on associated risk factor levels. Thus, implications of treatment and control rates at a particular BP vary substantially in different risk groups. Objectives: We examined the prevalence, treatment, and control of hypertension (HTN) by risk group in US adults without prevalent CVD. Methods: We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005 to 2010 for adults age 40-79 years without prevalent CVD (n=4,066). We estimated 10-year risk for an atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD) event using the ACC/AHA 2013 Pooled Cohort risk equations. We examined HTN treatment and control rates according to current guidelines in middle-aged (40-59 years) and older (60-79 years) adults with: 10-year ASCVD risk <7.5% (no diabetes/kidney disease); 10-year ASCVD risk ≥7.5% (no diabetes/kidney disease); and either diabetes or kidney disease. Results: The proportion of adults with treatment-eligible HTN was 39.3% for those with 10-year ASCVD risk <7.5%, 32.2% for those with 10-year ASCVD risk ≥7.5%, and 28.4% for those with either diabetes or kidney disease (see Table 1). Treatment rates across the risk groups varied from 51.5% to 79.0% for middle-aged adults and 81.8% to 90.2% for older adults. HTN control rates were highest (87.7%) in older adults with 10-year ASCVD risk <7.5% but were lowest (29.3%) in middle-aged individuals with 10-year ASCVD risk ≥7.5%. Conclusions: US HTN guidelines, based solely on BP thresholds, identify a higher proportion of low-risk adults and a lower proportion of high-risk adults as being eligible for treatment. Control rates remain suboptimal in high-risk individuals, particularly middle-aged adults. Future guidelines should consider pre-treatment risk stratification to identify those at increased pretreatment ASCVD risk who would benefit most from more intensive therapy.

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