scholarly journals INFLUENCING FACTORS OF SUBJECTIVE AGE: FINDINGS FROM THE KUSATSU LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON AGING AND HEALTH

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S695-S696
Author(s):  
Tomoko Ikeuchi ◽  
Satoshi Seino ◽  
Yu Taniguchi ◽  
Miki Narita ◽  
Takumi Abe ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Subjective age (SA) has been found to be a biopsychosocial marker of aging, yet little is known about factors that influence SA development. This study examined factors influencing SA using longitudinal data of community-dwelling older Japanese. Methods: Data drawn from the Kusatsu Longitudinal Study were collected during annual health check-ups in 2017 and 2018 from participants (aged 65-95) who completed all the measurement items used for this analysis (N=981). SA was indexed by asking participants to specify in years how old they felt. Proportional discrepancy scores ((subjective age - chronological age)/chronological age ×100) were calculated to indicate younger or older SAs and used as a dependent variable. As influencing factors of SA, chronological age, sex, years of schooling, history of smoking, cognitive function (using MMSE scores, range 14-30 at baseline), depressive symptoms, physical function (gait speed), and social function (employment status) were examined. Analyses were performed with random-effects GLS regression models. Results: Significant partial regression coefficients were found for cognitive function (0.48%, CI: 0.18, 0.79), years of schooling (-0.42%, CI: -0.69, -0.15), depressive symptoms (0.32%, CI: 0.11, 0.53), and chronological age (-0.18%, CI: -0.30, -0.68). Implications: This study found that older age and longer years of schooling were associated with younger SA, while better cognition and depressive symptoms were linked to older SA. Better cognition being associated with older SA was inconsistent with existing studies. This may be due in part to the association of better cognition and the level of satisfaction influenced by awareness of age-related physical/social changes.

Author(s):  
Minjeong Kang ◽  
Inhwan Lee ◽  
Haeryun Hong ◽  
Jeonghyeon Kim ◽  
Hyunsik Kang

Cognitive decline with normal aging varies widely among individuals. This study aimed to investigate predictors of longitudinal changes in cognitive function in community-dwelling Korean adults aged 65 years and older. Data from 727 older adults who participated in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) survey from 2006 (baseline) until 2018 (seventh wave) were used. Cognitive performance was assessed with the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination. The participants were retrospectively classified into normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and moderate/severe cognitive impairment. Education, income, religion, living area, alcohol intake, smoking, physical activity, handgrip strength, functional dependency, depression, comorbidity, medications, fall experience, and unintentional weight loss were included as covariates. A linear mixed regression analysis showed that a steeper decline in cognitive function over time was significantly associated with parameters of poor socio-economic status, health conditions, and unhealthy behaviors. Individuals with mild cognitive impairment or moderate/severe cognitive impairment were likely to have steeper cognitive declines compared with individuals with normal cognition. The current findings of the study showed that age-related cognitive decline was multifactorial in older Korean adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 271-271
Author(s):  
Yuxiao Li ◽  
Minhui Liu ◽  
Christina Miyawaki ◽  
Xiaocao Sun ◽  
Tianxue Hou ◽  
...  

Abstract Frailty is a clinical syndrome that becomes increasingly common as people age. Subjective age refers to how young or old individuals experience themselves to be. It is associated with many risk factors of frailty, such as increased depression, worse cognitive function, and poorer psychological wellbeing. In this study, we examined the relationship between subjective age and frailty using the 2011-2015 waves of the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Participants were community-dwelling older adults without frailty in the initial wave (N=1,165). Subjective age was measured by asking participants, “What age do you feel most of the time?” Based on the Fried five phenotypic criteria: exhaustion, unintentional weight loss, low physical activity, slow gait, and weak grip strength, frailty was categorized into robust=0, pre-frail=1 or 2; frail=3 or more criteria met. Participants were, on average, 74.1±6.5 years old, female (52%), and non-Hispanic White (81%). Eighty-five percent of the participants felt younger, and 3% felt older than their chronological age, but 41% of them were pre-frail/frail. Generalized estimating equations revealed that an “older” subjective age predicted a higher likelihood of pre-frailty and frailty (OR, 95%CI= 1.01, 1.01-1.02). In contrast, frailty predicted an “older” subjective age (OR, 95%CI= 2.97, 1.65-5.35) adjusting for demographics and health conditions. These findings suggest a bidirectional relationship between subjective age and frailty. Older people who feel younger than their chronological age are at reduced risk of becoming pre-frail/frail. Intervention programs to delay frailty progression should include strategies that may help older adults perceive a younger subjective age.


Author(s):  
Yannick Stephan ◽  
Angelina R Sutin ◽  
Brice Canada ◽  
Antonio Terracciano

Abstract Objectives The motoric cognitive risk (MCR) syndrome, characterized by cognitive complaints and slower gait speed, is a predementia syndrome associated with dementia and mortality risk. The present study examined whether subjective age, that is, how old or young individuals feel relative to their chronological age, is related to concurrent and incident MCR syndrome. A relation between subjective age and MCR will inform knowledge on psychological factors related to dementia risk, identify who is at greater risk, and suggest a potential target of intervention. Methods The study sample was composed of 6,341 individuals aged 65–107 years without dementia from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study of adults aged 50 years and older. Participants completed measures of subjective age, cognitive complaints, and gait speed and provided information on demographic factors, cognition, physical activity, depressive symptoms, and body mass index (BMI) at baseline in 2008/2010. Incident MCR was assessed 4 and 8 years later. Results Controlling for demographic factors, an older subjective age was related to more than 60% higher likelihood of MCR at baseline and to around 50% higher risk of incident MCR over time. These associations remained significant when cognition, physical inactivity, depressive symptoms, and BMI were included in the analytic models. Discussion This study provides evidence that how old individuals feel is related to concurrent and incident MCR beyond the effect of chronological age, other demographic factors, physical inactivity, depressive symptoms, BMI, and cognitive functioning.


Author(s):  
Ehud Bodner ◽  
Amit Shrira ◽  
Yaakov Hoffman ◽  
Yoav S Bergman

Abstract Objectives Evidence of daily fluctuations in subjective age and their association with older adults’ well-being was recently obtained. Yet, neither the simultaneous tracking of two daily views on aging (i.e., daily subjective age and daily ageist attitudes) nor their interactive effect on mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms) has been explored. We hypothesized that (a) at days on which older adults feel older or report high ageist attitudes they would report higher depressive symptoms, (b) combined older subjective age and high ageist attitudes will be associated with the highest daily depressive symptoms. Method Community-dwelling older adults (N = 134, mean age = 69.66) completed measures of subjective age, ageist attitudes, and depressive symptoms for 10 consecutive days. Results Daily older subjective age and higher ageist attitudes were related to higher depressive symptoms, but there was no combined effect of both on depressive symptoms. There was a significant three-way interaction between subjective age, ageist attitudes, and chronological age, demonstrating the interactive effect of subjective age and ageist attitudes on depressive symptoms only among the old-old respondents. Time-lagged analyses further showed that ageist attitudes during previous days predicted feeling older and more depressed on following days, but not vice versa. Discussion Results suggest that old-old individuals are more susceptible to a combination of negative views on aging on daily basis. Findings further support a daily assimilation process, whereby previous-day stereotypes are assimilated and manifested into one’s identity and mental health, so that one feels older and more depressed on subsequent days.


2018 ◽  
Vol 125 (5) ◽  
pp. 1468-1474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihiro Fukumoto ◽  
Yosuke Yamada ◽  
Tome Ikezoe ◽  
Yuya Watanabe ◽  
Masashi Taniguchi ◽  
...  

Ultrasonic echo intensity (EI), an easy-to-use measure of intramuscular fat and fibrous tissues, is known to increase with aging. However, age-related changes in EI have not been examined in a longitudinal design. The objective of this study was to investigate 4-yr longitudinal changes in the EI of the quadriceps femoris in older adults, based on difference in physical activity (PA). This study included 131 community-dwelling older adults with a mean age of 72.9 ± 5.2 yr. Subcutaneous fat thickness (FT), muscle thickness (MT), and EI of the quadriceps femoris were measured by ultrasound. Isometric knee extensor strength was also measured. PA was assessed using a questionnaire at baseline, and participants were classified into the high or low PA groups. In 4 yr, a significant decrease in FT, MT, and strength was observed in both groups ( P < 0.05), whereas a significant decrease in EI was observed only in the high PA group ( P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that the difference in PA was a significant predictor of 4-yr changes in MT (β = 0.189, P = 0.031) and EI (β = −3.145, P = 0.045) but not in the body mass index, FT, or strength adjusted for potential confounders. The present findings suggest that greater PA has a positive effect on longitudinal changes in the MT and EI of the quadriceps femoris in older adults. In addition, greater PA may contribute to a future decrease in EI, and an increase in EI may not occur in 4 yr, even in older adults with lesser PA. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our results suggest that greater physical activity (PA) may mitigate future changes in muscle thickness and echo intensity (EI). A decrease in EI over 4 yr was observed in older adults with greater PA, and an increase in EI was not observed, even in older adults with smaller PA. Several cross-sectional studies demonstrated an increase in EI with aging. Additionally, the results of our longitudinal study suggest that an age-related increase in EI may be moderated after the old-age period.


BMC Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Wrigglesworth ◽  
Phillip Ward ◽  
Ian H. Harding ◽  
Dinuli Nilaweera ◽  
Zimu Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Brain age is a biomarker that predicts chronological age using neuroimaging features. Deviations of this predicted age from chronological age is considered a sign of age-related brain changes, or commonly referred to as brain ageing. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and synthesize the evidence for an association between lifestyle, health factors and diseases in adult populations, with brain ageing. Methods This systematic review was undertaken in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. A systematic search of Embase and Medline was conducted to identify relevant articles using search terms relating to the prediction of age from neuroimaging data or brain ageing. The tables of two recent review papers on brain ageing were also examined to identify additional articles. Studies were limited to adult humans (aged 18 years and above), from clinical or general populations. Exposures and study design of all types were also considered eligible. Results A systematic search identified 52 studies, which examined brain ageing in clinical and community dwelling adults (mean age between 21 to 78 years, ~ 37% were female). Most research came from studies of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s disease, or healthy populations that were assessed cognitively. From these studies, psychiatric and neurologic diseases were most commonly associated with accelerated brain ageing, though not all studies drew the same conclusions. Evidence for all other exposures is nascent, and relatively inconsistent. Heterogenous methodologies, or methods of outcome ascertainment, were partly accountable. Conclusion This systematic review summarised the current evidence for an association between genetic, lifestyle, health, or diseases and brain ageing. Overall there is good evidence to suggest schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease are associated with accelerated brain ageing. Evidence for all other exposures was mixed or limited. This was mostly due to a lack of independent replication, and inconsistency across studies that were primarily cross sectional in nature. Future research efforts should focus on replicating current findings, using prospective datasets. Trial registration A copy of the review protocol can be accessed through PROSPERO, registration number CRD42020142817.


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