INTEREST GROUP SESSION—AGING AMONG ASIANS: RESEARCH METHODS IN AGING AMONG ASIANS

Abstract Asians are the largest and the fastest growing segment of the world population. Asian immigrants are the second largest immigrant population in the U.S. However, age-related social and health issues are understudied among late-life immigrant and the oldest old Asians. Little data exist to support public health promotion, policy studies and clinical practice in this population. To advance research into aging among Asians living in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, sound methodologies can be adopted from those well-developed in other settings while novel methodologies are to be developed to meet the unique needs of Asian studies. This symposium brings together four abstracts that address a variety of common methodological issues in social and health studies among Asian older adults. The topics range from culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies for recruiting non-English speaking research participants, assessment of social isolation and transportation barriers using an ethnographical approach, development of a new culturally appropriate measure for successful aging among the oldest old Chinese in China, and evaluation of preventive healthcare use among faith-based first-generation Chinese immigrants using self-administered surveys in the U.S. These studies involve qualitative ethnographical analysis, mixed methods for instrument development, quantitative data analysis, use of geographic information systems and demography to plan participant recruitment, and use of staged community engagement to increase efficiency and representativeness of participant recruitment. Lessons learned from these studies are valuable to future studies on aging among Asians. This symposium is a collaborative effort of the GSA Aging Among Asians Interest Group.

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AAA Research Methodology II: Innovative Observational and Intervention Studies

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2968 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 815-815

Author(s):

Wenjun Li ◽

Vivian Lou

Keyword(s):

Screening Program ◽

Oldest Old ◽

Social Contact ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Cognitive Intervention ◽

Assessment Method ◽

World Population ◽

Age Related ◽

The World ◽

The U.S

Abstract Asians are the largest and the fastest growing segment of the world population, and the second largest immigrant population in the U.S. A high proportion of Asians live in developing countries or are immigrants to developed countries. Studies on age-related social and health issues of Asians have lagged. To advance research into aging among Asians living in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, sound methodologies can be adopted from those well-developed in other settings while novel methodologies are to be developed to meet the unique needs of Asian studies. This symposium brings together five abstracts that address a variety of innovative methodological issues in social and health studies among Asian older adults. The topics range from use of wearable devices to measure travel patterns, life space and physical activity in late-life Asian immigrants in the U.S.; use of Ecological Momentary Assessment method to examine influences of social contact satisfaction on neighborhood affect in Chinese in mainland China; use of multilingual age-friendly touch-screen device for cognitive intervention in Singapore; use of GIS to evaluate potential influences of accessibility to neighborhood living resources on attitudes towards aging among the oldest old in Shanghai; and use of a multi-phase complex mixed methods to evaluate a Chinese cancer screening program in Taiwan. Together, these studies showed that innovative methods can be adapted for context relevance and linguistic and cultural appropriateness, and successfully executed in studies on aging among Asians. This symposium is a collaborative effort of the Aging Among Asians Interest Group.

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Comparative Metabolomic Study of Drosophila Species with Different Lifespans

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms222312873 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (23) ◽

pp. 12873

Author(s):

Dmitry L. Maslov ◽

Nadezhda V. Zemskaya ◽

Oxana P. Trifonova ◽

Steven Lichtenberg ◽

Elena E. Balashova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Metabolite Profiling ◽

Direct Injection ◽

Lifespan Extension ◽

World Population ◽

Comparison Study ◽

Age Related ◽

The World ◽

Direct Injection Mass Spectrometry ◽

Metabolomic Study

The increase in life expectancy, leading to a rise in the proportion of older people, is accompanied by a prevalence of age-related disorders among the world population, the fight against which today is one of the leading biomedical challenges. Exploring the biological insights concerning the lifespan is one of the ways to provide a background for designing an effective treatment for the increase in healthy years of life. Untargeted direct injection mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling of 12 species of Drosophila with significant variations in natural lifespans was conducted in this research. A cross-comparison study of metabolomic profiles revealed lifespan signatures of flies. These signatures indicate that lifespan extension is associated with the upregulation of amino acids, phospholipids, and carbohydrate metabolism. Such information provides a metabolome-level view on longevity and may provide a molecular measure of organism age in age-related studies.

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Genetic Signatures of Centenarians: Implications for Achieving Successful Aging

Current Pharmaceutical Design ◽

10.2174/1381612825666191112094544 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (39) ◽

pp. 4133-4138 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Calogero Caruso ◽

Anna Aiello ◽

Giulia Accardi ◽

Elena Ciaglia ◽

Monica Cattaneo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Span ◽

Successful Aging ◽

Human Life ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Western World ◽

Exceptional Longevity ◽

Age Related ◽

Extreme Longevity ◽

Genetic Signatures ◽

Human Life Span

The extraordinary rise in the old population in the Western world underscores the importance of studies on aging and longevity to decrease the medical, economic and social problems associated with the increased number of non-autonomous individuals affected by invalidating pathologies. Centenarians have reached the extreme limits of the human life span. They are the best example of extreme longevity, representing selected individuals in which the appearance of major age-related diseases has been consistently delayed or avoided. There is growing evidence that the genetic component of longevity becomes higher with survival at the age of over 90 years. For centenaries, it reaches up to 33% for women and 48% for men. Therefore, exceptional longevity is a complex, hereditable trait that runs across generations. Longevity should correlate either with the presence of protective alleles or the absence of detrimental alleles. The aim of this review is to discuss the possible attainment of successful aging in the context of the lessons learned from centenarian genetics.

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Rapid Development and Deployment of Respiratory Evaluation Clinics in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic to Keep Staff and Patients Safe

Osteopathic Family Physician ◽

10.33181/13025 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 38-42

Author(s):

Charles Haddad ◽

Christopher Scuderi ◽

Judelle Haddad-Lacle ◽

Reetu Grewal ◽

Jeffrey Jacqmein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Infectious Disease ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

The Novel ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Vulnerable Patients ◽

The World ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Geographical Locations ◽

The U.S

The world as we knew it changed at the beginning of 2020 with the explosion of the global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, a.k.a. COVID-19. As of January 10, 2021, the novel coronavirus has infected over 89 million people worldwide and killed over 1.9 million. In the U.S., there have been 22 million people infected and 373,000 deaths. It has never been more important to protect our vulnerable patients and staff from infectious disease, especially during the time they spend in our offices and clinics. It quickly became apparent that there was a need for a dedicated location where patients could be seen that were too ill to be evaluated via telemedicine, but not ill enough to be sent to the Emergency Department (ED). To fill this need, our primary care network developed the Respiratory Evaluation Clinic (REC) concept. These were two geographical locations where the outlying clinics could send potentially infectious patients to evaluate and test COVID-19. Some recommendations, adaptations, lessons learned and the REC clinics' expansions to other locations throughout our network are discussed.

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“They’re not leaving their home; this is where they were born, this is where they will die.”: Key Informant Perspectives From the U.S. Counties With the Greatest Concentration of the Oldest Old

Research on Aging ◽

10.1177/01640275211032387 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 016402752110323

Author(s):

Carrie Henning-Smith ◽

Megan Lahr ◽

Jill Tanem

Keyword(s):

Successful Aging ◽

Resource Constraints ◽

Oldest Old ◽

County Level ◽

County Commissioners ◽

Rural Counties ◽

Rural Environments ◽

Key Informant ◽

Service Areas ◽

The U.S

The “oldest old,” age 85 and older, constitute one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the characteristics of U.S. counties with the highest percentage of the oldest old, nearly all of which are rural. We used qualitative analysis of key informant interviews ( n = 50) with county commissioners and other county-level representatives from rural counties with the highest prevalence of the oldest old, targeting the 54 rural counties with ≥5% of the population age 85+. We found that the rural counties with the highest proportion of residents age 85+ face unique challenges to supporting successful aging among the oldest old, including resource constraints, limited services, isolated locations, and widespread service areas. Still, interviewees identified particular reasons why the oldest old remain in their counties, with many highlighting positive aspects of rural environments and community.

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Land of the Free: Prison Reform Following the War on Drugs

Pitt Political Review ◽

10.5195/ppr.2014.44 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 28-32

Author(s):

Megan Tingley

Keyword(s):

Prison Population ◽

War On Drugs ◽

Unintended Consequences ◽

Prison Reform ◽

World Population ◽

Federal Prison ◽

The Past ◽

The World ◽

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing ◽

The U.S

ince its beginnings in 1971, the war on drugs has been largely unsuccessful in reducing drug use. Instead, it has had many unintended consequences, one of which is a huge increase in the federal prison population over the past 40 years. Despite making up only five percent of the world population, the U.S. is home to 25 percent of its prisoners. Since the 1970s, the prison population in the U.S. has skyrocketed due to the implementation of War on Drugs policies. The main reason for the failure of the War on Drugs can be attributed in part to mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Implemented as a part of the Anti- Drug Abuse Act of 1986, these one-size-fits-all policies require a certain punishment based on the amount and type of drug in possession without allowing for flexibility based on context.

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Governments Should Compel Leading Medical Journals to Correct Flaws and Mistakes Concerning COVID-19

10.31219/osf.io/nk2vw ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jianqing Wu

Keyword(s):

World Population ◽

Review System ◽

Medical Journals ◽

Editorial Policies ◽

The World ◽

Western Nations ◽

The U.S

The COVID-19 pandemic has gotten out of control, from a few cases to nearly 170,000 cases in the U.S. It is predicted that about 80% people will get the disease with estimated 2.2 million deaths. The world population is 7.8 billion and about 6.2 billion will get the disease. About 180 million may die from the disease. A far worse consequence is that a large number of people will suffer lung disability permanently. I will show that leading medical journals’ editorial policies and review practices are primarily responsible for this disaster. It is time to completely fix medical journals’ review system. I urge all lawmakers in Western nations to wear masks.

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656 Commercialized Biotechnology, Food for Thought

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.35.3.511 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 511

Author(s):

E.A. Baldwin

Keyword(s):

Fruits And Vegetables ◽

Herbicide Tolerance ◽

Genetically Engineered ◽

Postharvest Quality ◽

World Population ◽

Future Goals ◽

The World ◽

Future Potential ◽

The Masses ◽

The U.S

The promise of biotechnology has been slow to be realized, but some commercialized products are finding their way to supermarket shelves. Nevertheless, the future potential remains in the realm of speculation and may be on the verge of delivering some incredible benefits. Since the world population growth is predicted to double in the next 50 years, primarily in developing nations, food resources will become critical. In view of this prediction, we may need every trick in the book to feed the masses, which means either more land (wetlands, forests, and rain forests) will fall to the plow or there will need to be an increase in yields. Concurrently, a decrease in postharvest losses would also be crucial. Various authorities have estimated that 25% to 80% of harvested fruits and vegetables are lost due to damage and spoilage. Early biotech successes were developing plants with enhanced insect resistance (cotton, corn, and potato) and virus resistance (squash and papaya) and improved herbicide tolerance (cotton, soybean, and corn). The only commercialized transgenic fruit engineered for improved postharvest quality so far is the tomato. Future goals for biotechnology include increasing yield, extending shelf life, improving nutritional and flavor quality, and producing specialty proteins or other compounds. Genetically engineered food, however, has met rancorous resistance in Europe, New Zealand, and elsewhere; although, it is somewhat tolerated in the U.S. The U.S., Canada, and Japan lead the world in biotech acreage, with biotechnology accounting for 40% of cotton, 39% of soybeans, and 20% of corn acreage in the U.S. and 73 million acres worldwide.

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Seizures and Status Epilepticus

10.1093/med/9780190226459.003.0082 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Pravin Taneja

Keyword(s):

Status Epilepticus ◽

Neurological Disorders ◽

Emergency Situation ◽

World Population ◽

The World ◽

Life Threatening ◽

History Of ◽

History Of Epilepsy ◽

Severity Of The Disease ◽

The U.S

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent chronic neurological disorders both in the U.S. and worldwide, effecting ~1% of the world population. As a result, patients with a history of epilepsy frequently present for surgery. It is important to be aware of how to best characterize the severity of the disease, and treat seizures should they be encountered. In this chapter, we review the epidemiology and pathophysiology of epilepsy. We also discuss the most severe and life threatening form of the condition, status epilepticus. In this emergency situation it is critical that seizures be terminated, and supportive care given. We delineate initial treatment steps and medications, in addition to providing recommendations for refractory cases.

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Reablement Services Across the World: Effectiveness and Impacting Factors

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.1611 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 418-418

Author(s):

Stan Vluggen ◽

Lise Buma ◽

Barbara Resnick

Keyword(s):

Assisted Living ◽

Interdisciplinary Cooperation ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

World Population ◽

Effective Interventions ◽

The World ◽

More Care ◽

Increasing Demand ◽

The Individual ◽

The Impact

Abstract Due to the ageing of the world population, solutions are necessary to reduce the increasing demand for care. Besides the need for more care, older people often wish to remain as independent as possible and retain as much control as possible. A possible solution are services based on the concept of reablement, which includes working in a more rehabilitative and person-centered manner and has been researched in various forms internationally. Reablement services are promising and use the patient's strengths and, through interdisciplinary cooperation, aims to achieve the goals important for, and set by, the individual to remain/become as independent as possible. During this symposium, five presenters from the US, New-Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands talk about the impact and implementation of reablement services. The first presentation is about the results of a systematic review of the effects of reablement on daily functioning and identifying common features of effective interventions. The second presentation is about a systematic scoping review mapping how physical activity strategies are integrated and explored in reablement research and identifying knowledge gaps. The third presentation is about the significant impact of COVID-19 and its associated restrictions on residents in assisted living communities. The fourth presentation is on combining lessons learned and practical implications from research on reablement services into the SELF-intervention. The fifth presentation describes the implications of funding on practice and outcomes of reablement. This symposium represents the current practice and future directions regarding implementation and research of reablement services across the world.

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