scholarly journals DOES THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AGE AND MAJOR ILLNESS VARY BY NATIONAL HEALTHCARE QUALITY?

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S140-S140
Author(s):  
Matthew A Andersson ◽  
Lindsay R Wilkinson ◽  
Markus H Schafer
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Attributable Mortality ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
National Healthcare ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Major Illness

Abstract Though the risk of chronic disease and disability accelerates once adults are in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, researchers have long suspected that economic, social, and institutional variation — even among high-income Western nations — may powerfully influence the likelihood that people remain healthy at advanced ages. This study builds on comparative research into global aging, by offering a multiple-indicator test of whether national healthcare quality modifies the association between age and major illness. Recent individual-level data on morbidity among respondents aged 50 or older (16 countries; 2014 European Social Survey) are merged with nation-level healthcare indicators. Healthcare quality is assessed using a subjective, evaluation-based approach (based on the 2011 International Social Survey Programme) and an objective, attributable-mortality approach (2010 Healthcare Access and Quality, based on the Global Burden of Disease Study). Lagged nation-level economic and health indicators are controlled to help isolate healthcare effects. Multilevel logistic and linear regression models of any major health condition and morbidity reveal that while older individuals showed approximately a 10% reduction in probability of major illness when residing in countries with higher healthcare quality, associations between age and morbidity indices combining number and severity of illness showed greater modification by healthcare quality, with reductions around 18%. Results across subjective and objective approaches to healthcare quality are strikingly consistent. Taken together, results are suggestive of healthcare’s protective role in reducing age-related illness and disability. Future research should illuminate pathways by which healthcare quality may lead to differences in healthy aging among advanced nations.

Does the Association Between Age and Major Illness Vary by Healthcare System Quality?

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 988-1013
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Andersson ◽  
Lindsay R. Wilkinson ◽  
Markus H. Schafer
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare System ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Severity Of Illness ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Attributable Mortality ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
System Quality ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Major Illness

This study builds on research into global aging, by offering a multiple-indicator test of whether national healthcare system quality modifies the association between age and major illness. Recent individual-level data on morbidity among respondents aged 50 or older (16 countries; 2014 European Social Survey) are merged with nation-level healthcare indicators. Healthcare system quality is assessed using a subjective, evaluation-based approach and an objective, attributable-mortality approach. Lagged nation-level economic and health indicators are controlled to help isolate healthcare system effects. Results across subjective and objective approaches to healthcare system quality are strikingly consistent. While older individuals showed approximately a 10% reduction in probability of major illness when residing in countries with higher healthcare quality, associations between age and morbidity indices combining number and severity of illness showed greater modification by healthcare quality, with reductions around 18%. Taken together, results are suggestive of healthcare’s protective role in reducing age-related illness and disability.

scholarly journals VACCINATION TO PROMOTE HEALTH THROUGHOUT LIFE AS A HEALTHY AGING STRATEGY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S211-S211
Author(s):  
Leonard Friedland
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Target Antigen ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Demographic Shift ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Important Progress

Abstract This symposium addresses the role of vaccination to promote healthy aging, the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age. Life-span immunization of adults across all age categories can help to reduce morbidity and mortality. Healthy aging is critical for our global society to counter the surge in healthcare costs that is coming as a result of the demographic shift to older age. Immune system function and response to vaccination declines with advancing age. Generating effective immune responses against new infectious disease targets can be difficult in older individuals. Important progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms underlying immunosenescence, the age-related decline of the immune response to infections and vaccinations. Innovative research and the development of new technologies, such as adjuvants, substances that can enhance and shape the immune response to the target antigen(s), has facilitated the development of vaccines specially tailored for adults. This evidence-based approach to the development of innovative vaccines addressing immunosenescence is an important clinically relevant healthy aging strategy to promote health throughout life.

Gastrointestinal Microbiota and Their Contribution to Healthy Aging

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Maria Mello ◽  
Giulia Paroni ◽  
Julia Daragjati ◽  
Alberto Pilotto
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Microbiota Composition ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Gastrointestinal Microbiota ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Older Subjects

Studies on populations at different ages have shown that after birth, the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota composition keeps evolving, and this seems to occur especially in old age. Significant changes in GI microbiota composition in older subjects have been reported in relation to diet, drug use and the settings where the older subjects are living, that is, in community nursing homes or in a hospital. Moreover, changes in microbiota composition in the old age have been related to immunosenescence and inflammatory processes that are pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the pathways of frailty. Frailty is an age-related condition of increased vulnerability to stresses due to the impairment in multiple inter-related physiologic systems that are associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes, such as falls, delirium, institutionalization, hospitalization and death. Preliminary data suggest that changes in microbiota composition may contribute to the variations in the biological, clinical, functional and psycho-social domains that occur in the frail older subjects. Multidimensional evaluation tools based on a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) have demonstrated to be useful in identifying and measuring the severity of frailty in older subjects. Thus, a CGA approach should be used more widely in clinical practice to evaluate the multidimensional effects potentially related to GI microbiota composition of the older subjects. Probiotics have been shown to be effective in restoring the microbiota changes of older subjects, promoting different aspects of health in elderly people as improving immune function and reducing inflammation. Whether modulation of GI microbiota composition, with multi-targeted interventions, could have an effect on the prevention of frailty remains to be further investigated in the perspective of improving the health status of frail ‘high risk' older individuals.

scholarly journals Healthy, Active Aging for People and Dogs

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra McCune ◽  
Daniel Promislow
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
World Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Active Aging ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Physical Support ◽  
Companion Dogs ◽  
The Us

Dogs act as companions who provide us with emotional and physical support. Their shorter lifespans compel us to learn about the challenges and gifts of caring for older individuals. Our companion dogs can be exemplars of healthy or unhealthy aging, and sentinels of environmental factors that might increase or decrease our own healthy lifespan. In recent years, the field of aging has emphasized not just lifespan, but healthspan—the period of healthy, active lifespan. This focus on healthy, active aging is reflected in the World Health Organization's current focus on healthy aging for the next decade and the 2016 Healthy Aging in Action initiative in the US. This paper explores the current research into aging in both people and companion dogs, and in particular, how the relationship between older adults and dogs impacts healthy, active aging for both parties. The human-dog relationship faces many challenges as dogs, and people, age. We discuss potential solutions to these challenges, including suggestions for ways to continue contact with dogs if dog ownership is no longer possible for an older person. Future research directions are outlined in order to encourage the building of a stronger evidence base for the role of dogs in the lives of older adults.

scholarly journals When the “Golden Years” turn blue

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Green ◽  
Joshua C. Magee ◽  
Amanda R.W. Steiner ◽  
Bethany A. Teachman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Pathological Anxiety ◽  
Age Related Changes

Current treatments for disorders of emotion, such as pathological anxiety, are often less effective in older adults than in younger adults and have poorly understood mechanisms, pointing to the need for psychopathology models that better account for age-related changes in normative emotional functioning and the expression of disordered emotion. This article describes ways in which the healthy aging and emotion literature can enhance understanding and treatment of symptoms of anxiety and depression in later life. We offer recommendations on how to integrate the theories and findings of healthy aging literature with psychopathology research and clinical practice and highlight opportunities for future research.

scholarly journals Effect of Cognitive Control on Attentional Processing of Emotional Information Among Older Adults: Evidence From an Eye-Tracking Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haining Liu ◽  
Haihong Liu ◽  
Feng Li ◽  
Buxin Han ◽  
Cuili Wang
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Spatial Cueing ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cueing Task ◽  
Engagement And Disengagement

Background: Although numerous studies have suggested that the gradually increasing selective preference for positive information over negative information in older adults depends on cognitive control processes, few have reported the characteristics of different attention stages in the emotional processing of older individuals. The present study used a real-time eye-tracking technique to disentangle the attentional engagement and disengagement processes involved in age-related positivity effect (PE).Methods: Eye movement data from a spatial-cueing task were obtained for 32 older and 32 younger healthy participants. The spatial-cueing task with varied cognitive loads appeared to be an effective way to explore the role of cognitive control during the attention engagement and disengagement stages of emotion processing.Results: Compared with younger adults, older participants showed more positive gaze preferences when cognitive resources were sufficient for face processing at the attention engagement stage. However, the age-related PE was not observed at the attention disengagement stage because older adults had more difficulty disengaging from fearful faces than did the younger adults due to the consumption of attention by the explicit target judgment.Conclusion: The present study highlights how cognitive control moderates positive gaze preferences at different attention processing stages. These findings may have far-reaching implications for understanding, preventing, and intervening in unsuccessful aging and, thus, in promoting active and healthy aging.

scholarly journals Teaching listening to older second language learners: Classroom implications

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-155
Author(s):  
Agata Słowik
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
Listening Strategies

Listening is often listed as the most challenging language skill that the students need to learn in the language classrooms. Therefore the awareness of listening strategies and techniques, such as bottom-up and top-down processes, specific styles of listening, or various compensatory strategies, prove to facilitate the process of learning of older individuals. Indeed, older adult learners find decoding the aural input, more challenging than the younger students. Therefore, both students’ and teachers’ subjective theories and preferences regarding listening comprehension as well as the learners’ cognitive abilities should be taken into account while designing a teaching model for this age group. The aim of this paper is, thus, to draw the conclusions regarding processes, styles and strategies involved in teaching listening to older second language learners and to juxtapose them with the already existing state of research regarding age-related hearing impairments, which will serve as the basis for future research.

Inhibition and Switching in Healthy Aging: A Longitudinal Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steinunn Adólfsdóttir ◽  
Daniel Wollschlaeger ◽  
Eike Wehling ◽  
Astri J. Lundervold
Keyword(s):  
Processing Speed ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Longitudinal Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Gender And Education ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Speed Measure ◽  
Interference Test

AbstractObjectives: Discrepant findings of age-related effects between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on executive function (EF) have been described across different studies. The aim of the present study was to examine longitudinal age effects on inhibition and switching, two key subfunctions of EF, calculated from results on the Color Word Interference Test (CWIT). Methods: One hundred twenty-three healthy aging individuals (average age 61.4 years; 67% women) performed the CWIT up to three times, over a period of more than 6 years. Measures of inhibition, switching, and combined inhibition and switching were analyzed. A longitudinal linear mixed effects models analysis was run including basic CWIT conditions, and measures of processing speed, retest effect, gender, education, and age as predictors. Results: After taking all predictors into account, age added significantly to the predictive value of the longitudinal models of (i) inhibition, (ii) switching, and (iii) combined inhibition and switching. The basic CWIT conditions and the processing speed measure added to the predictive value of the models, while retest effect, gender, and education did not. Conclusions: The present study on middle-aged to older individuals showed age-related decline in inhibition and switching abilities. This decline was retained even when basic CWIT conditions, processing speed, attrition, gender, and education were controlled. (JINS, 2017, 23, 90–97)

scholarly journals Age Differences and Longitudinal Change in Exposure to Daily Stressors: Three Waves of Diary Data Across 20 Years

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 215-215
Author(s):  
Eric Cerino ◽  
Jonathan Rush ◽  
Robert Stawski
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Longitudinal Change ◽  
National Study ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Daily Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Age Related

Abstract Exposure to daily stress is an important risk factor for healthy aging. We examined cross-sectional age-related differences and longitudinal aging-related change in stressor exposure across three waves of the National Study of Daily Experiences (N=2,914, M=51.53 years, SD=13.55, 56.35% Female) spanning 20 years. Exposure to six types of stressors (arguments, avoided arguments, work overloads, home overloads, network stressors, other) were obtained from telephone interviews over 8 consecutive days in waves conducted in ~1996, ~2008, and ~2017. Longitudinal analyses revealed declines in stressor exposure across 20 years (p<.01), driven by declines in arguments, work overloads, and network stressors specifically. Cross-sectional analyses indicated that older individuals reported stressors less frequently (p<.01), driven by decreases in arguments, avoided arguments, work overloads, and home overloads specifically. Rates of longitudinal decline did not depend on age at baseline. Results suggest that aging-related changes and baseline age differences inform daily stress trajectories in mid- and later-life.

scholarly journals Intake of Products Containing Anthocyanins, Flavanols, and Flavanones, and Cognitive Function: A Narrative Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha L. Gardener ◽  
Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith ◽  
Michael Weinborn ◽  
Catherine P. Bondonno ◽  
Ralph N. Martins
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Intracellular Signaling ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Receptor Activation ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Dietary Interventions ◽  
Intracellular Signaling Pathway ◽  
Age Related

The purpose of this review is to examine human research studies published within the past 6 years which evaluate the role of anthocyanin, flavanol, and flavanone consumption in cognitive function, and to discuss potential mechanisms of action underlying any observed benefits. Evidence to date suggests the consumption of flavonoid-rich foods, such as berries and cocoa, may have the potential to limit, or even reverse, age-related declines in cognition. Over the last 6 years, the flavonoid subgroups of anthocyanins, flavanols, and flavanones have been shown to be beneficial in terms of conferring neuroprotection. The mechanisms by which flavonoids positively modulate cognitive function are yet to be fully elucidated. Postulated mechanisms include both direct actions such as receptor activation, neurotrophin release and intracellular signaling pathway modulation, and indirect actions such as enhancement of cerebral blood flow. Further intervention studies conducted in diverse populations with sufficient sample sizes and long durations are required to examine the effect of consumption of flavonoid groups on clinically relevant cognitive outcomes. As populations continue to focus on adopting healthy aging strategies, dietary interventions with flavonoids remains a promising avenue for future research. However, many questions are still to be answered, including identifying appropriate dosage, timeframes for intake, as well as the best form of flavonoids, before definitive conclusions can be drawn about the extent to which their consumption can protect the aging brain.

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