scholarly journals INEQUALITIES IN FRAILTY BY SOCIO-ECONOMIC POSITION: IT’S ALL IN THE TIMING

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S225-S225
Author(s):  
Carol Jagger ◽  
Mark D Hayward
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Occupational Status ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Very Old ◽  
Very Old Age ◽  
Economic Position ◽  
Young Old

Abstract A number of studies have found that higher socio-economic position (SEP) appears protective of becoming frail. However, not only can SEP be defined in early, mid or late life, by education, occupational status or income/material disadvantage respectively, but frailty may occur in the young old as well as the very old. Do the same measures of SEP reflect inequalities in frailty in the young old as the very old? Does it matter when in the lifecourse SEP is measured? Have inequalities in frailty between SEP groups changed across the generations of older people? We seek to answer such questions from cohorts across the spectrum of later life. The first presentation, from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study, examines the association between early-life SEP and frailty at age 50 and whether this association is due to continued disadvantage into mid-life. The second presentation moves to very old age, examining the role of early, mid and late life disadvantage on the progression of frailty between ages 85 and 90 in the Newcastle 85+ cohort. The third presentation, based on the electronic health records of adults aged 75 years and over in England, focuses on whether SEP modifies frailty trajectories in the last year of life. The final presentation examines whether SEP inequalities in frailty have changed over different generations of older people, and utilises data from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies. Together these presentations increase understanding of which SEP groups should be targeted for interventions to reduce frailty throughout later life.

scholarly journals Personality disorders in later life: epidemiology, presentation and management

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 208-218
Author(s):  
Ayesha Bangash
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Older People ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Enormous Amount ◽  
Expected Increase ◽  
Growing Population

SUMMARYDespite the enormous amount of literature on medical care of older people, personality disorders in late life have been given little attention. Clinicians tend not to assign this diagnosis to older adults in view of limited research into, and therefore limited awareness of, this topic. This article aims to promote better understanding of this subject in view of the growing population of older people and hence an expected increase in the number of personality disorder cases.

Socio-economic position and quality of life among older people in 10 European countries: results of the SHARE study

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLAF VON DEM KNESEBECK ◽  
MORTEN WAHRENDORF ◽  
MARTIN HYDE ◽  
JOHANNES SIEGRIST
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older People ◽  
Home Ownership ◽  
Later Life ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Car Ownership ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Net Worth ◽  
Economic Position

This study examines associations between quality of life and multiple indicators of socio-economic position among people aged 50 or more years in 10 European countries, and analyses whether the relative importance of the socio-economic measures vary by age. The data are from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2004. 15,080 cases were analysed. Quality of life was measured by a short version of the CASP-19 questionnaire, which represents quality of life as comprising four conceptual domains of individual needs that are particularly relevant in later life: control (C), autonomy (A), self-realisation (S) and pleasure (P). The short version has 12 items (three for each domain). Five indicators of socio-economic position were used: income, education, home ownership, net worth, and car ownership. A multiple logistic regression showed that quality of life was associated with socio-economic position, but that the associations varied by country. Relatively small socio-economic differences in quality of life were observed for Switzerland, but comparatively large differences in Germany. Education, income, net worth, and car ownership consistently related to quality of life, but the association of home ownership was less consistent. There was no indication that the socio-economic differences in quality of life diminished after retirement (i.e. from 65+ years). Conventional measures of socio-economic position (education and income), as well as alternative indicators (car ownership and household net worth), usefully identified the differential risks of poor quality of life among older people before and after the conventional retirement age.

scholarly journals Loneliness and Social Isolation Among Centenarians and Near-Centenarians: Results From the Fordham Centenarian Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 110-110
Author(s):  
Daniele Zaccaria ◽  
Stefano Cavalli ◽  
Barbara Masotti ◽  
Daniela Jopp
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Very Old ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Loneliness Scale ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
Very Old Age

Abstract Although loneliness and social isolation are often discussed together, they are mainly examined separately. The few studies examining both concepts simultaneously focus usually on the wider category of older people (65+), with no or little attention to very old age. Our main aim was to investigate loneliness and social isolation in combination among near-centenarians and centenarians. Analyzing data from the Fordham Centenarian Study (N=94; MAge=99.2; range=95-107), we found no or very weak associations between loneliness and social isolation. Combining measures of loneliness (UCLA Loneliness scale) and social isolation (Lubben Scale) we built a typology with four different groups (Not lonely or isolated; Lonely and isolated; Lonely but not isolated; Isolated but not lonely). The factors that most strongly predicted the distribution among these four groups were gender, widowhood, education, and self-rated health. Findings highlight the importance of jointly studying both concepts to better understand social risks in very old age.

scholarly journals Subjective mental health, incidence of depressive symptoms in later life, and the role of epigenetics: results from two longitudinal cohort studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Perna ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Pamela R. Matias-Garcia ◽  
Karl-Heinz Ladwig ◽  
Tobias Wiechmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Older People ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Mental Hrqol ◽  
Subjective Mental Health

Abstract The role of self-perceived general health in predicting morbidity and mortality among older people is established. The predictive value of self-perceived mental health and of its possible biological underpinnings for future depressive symptoms is unexplored. This study aimed to assess the role of mental health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and of its epigenetic markers in predicting depressive symptoms among older people without lifetime history of depression. Data were based on a subgroup (n = 1 492) of participants of the longitudinal ESTHER study. An epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of mental HRQOL was conducted using DNA from baseline whole blood samples and logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the predictive value of methylation beta values of EWAS identified CpGs for incidence of depressive symptoms in later life. The methylation analyses were replicated in the independent KORA cohort (n = 890) and a meta-analysis of the two studies was conducted. Results of the meta-analysis showed that participants with beta values of cg27115863 within quartile 1 (Q1) had nearly a two-fold increased risk of developing depressive symptoms compared to participants with beta values within Q4 (ORQ1vsQ4 = 1.80; CI 1.25–2.61). In the ESTHER study the predictive value of subjective mental health for future depressive symptoms was also assessed and for 10-unit increase in mental HRQOL scores the odds for incident depressive symptoms were reduced by 54% (OR 0.46; CI 0.40–0.54). These findings suggest that subjective mental health and hypomethylation at cg27115863 are predictive of depressive symptoms, possibly through the activation of inflammatory signaling pathway.

scholarly journals SUCCESSFUL AGING IN VERY OLD AGE: THE ROLE OF ACTIVITIES

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 944-944
Author(s):  
D.S. Jopp ◽  
I. Skoog ◽  
D. Spini
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Very Old ◽  
Very Old Age

scholarly journals Management of depression and referral of older people to psychological therapies: a systematic review of qualitative studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (680) ◽  
pp. e171-e181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Frost ◽  
Angela Beattie ◽  
Cini Bhanu ◽  
Kate Walters ◽  
Yoav Ben-Shlomo
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Qualitative Studies ◽  
Late Life Depression ◽  
Psychological Therapies

BackgroundDepressive symptoms are common in later life and increase both the risk of functional and cognitive decline and the use of healthcare services. Despite older people expressing preferences for talking therapies, they are less likely to be referred than younger adults, particularly when aged ≥80 years.AimTo explore how healthcare professionals (HCPs) manage older people in relation to depression and referrals to psychological therapies.Design and settingSystematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies.MethodMEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Social Sciences Citation Index (inception–March 2018) were searched for studies exploring HCPs’ views regarding management of late-life depression across all settings. Studies of older people’s views or depression management across all ages were excluded.ResultsIn total, 27 studies, were included; these predominantly focused on the views of GPs and primary and community care nurses. Many HCPs felt that late-life depression was mainly attributable to social isolation and functional decline, but treatments appropriate for this were limited. Clinicians perceived depression to have associated stigma for older adults, which required time to negotiate. Limited time in consultations and the complexity of needs in later life meant physical health was often prioritised over mental health, particularly in people with frailty. Good management of late-life depression appeared to depend more on the skills and interest of individual GPs and nurses than on any structured approach.ConclusionMental ill health needs to be a more-prominent concern in the care of older adults, with greater provision of psychological services tailored to later life. This may facilitate future identification and management of depression.

Changes in older people's living arrangements in Flanders, 1993–98

2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
VEERLE AUDENAERT
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Very Old ◽  
Registration Data ◽  
Single Person ◽  
Very Old Age

The living arrangements of older people are changing. An analysis of official registration data (1993–1998) in Flanders, Belgium, shows that while the number of single person households has been increasing, the proportion of people aged 75 or more years living alone has been falling and the proportion living with a spouse or partner increasing. No less than one third of the older people who lived alone in 1993 sustain a one-person household into very old age. It was also found that those who are widowed at a very advanced age change house or move very quickly, women to a greater extent and at younger ages than men. The principal destinations are residential care homes and, to a lesser extent, child's households. Living alone appears to be a decreasingly acceptable option. Since very old people with a disability appear to have an increasing preference for residential care and a lessening preference for co-residence with relatives, these developments have consequences for both informal family care and public social services. Particular attention needs to be paid to men who live alone as a risk-group, and residential care provision requires expansion.

Consumption and Identity in Later Life: Toward a Cultural Gerontology

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Gilleard
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Personal Identity ◽  
Consumer Culture ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Social Gerontology ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Age Class ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Modern Mass

AbstractThis paper considers the role of contemporary consumer culture in helping older people re-fashion their own identity in later life. As a result of the expanding role played by consumption in modern mass societies, adult identities now are being denned as much by how people spend their time and money as by the goods and services they can produce. An increasing number of retired people are able to participate in this consumer culture, and in doing so are creating new possibilities of being ‘old’. The contemporary period, whether deemed ‘late’ or ‘post’ modernity, seems to present a growing challenge to the dominance of structures of age, class and gender in defining the nature of our personal identity. There is more emphasis upon the exercise of choice and agency across all periods of the lifespan. The means by which this process is enacted in the lives of pre- and post-retired people should become central to a new, culturally focused social gerontology.

scholarly journals Invisible or Powerful? Ageing in a Mediatised Society

2022 ◽  
pp. 191-205
Author(s):  
Annika Bergström ◽  
Maria Edström
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
The Media ◽  
Technological Means ◽  
Media Responsibility

AbstractIn order to live your rights and achieve your goals, you need to be informed, have a voice and be listened to, and have the opportunity to engage in society, regardless of age. Freedom of expression and freedom of information are core human rights values that connect the concept of capability with the role of the media in society. The media can be a tool for enhancing a person’s capabilities, but it can also be seen as hindering a good life if technology and its applications are perceived as awkward and/or difficult to access.At a structural level, a wider discussion of media responsibility has the potential to contribute to enhancing people’s capabilities in later life. One critical issue is who should be held accountable and responsible for media content that lacks diverse stories about older people and their voices, possibly reinforcing ageism. Furthermore, where the responsibility lies for ensuring that older people have the technological means to act as digital citizens is somewhat unclear. In an increasingly mediatised environment, we might see a stronger relationship between media literacy, health and ageing, which in turn could emphasise the importance of the role of the media in enhancing capabilities.

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