scholarly journals Age-friendly environments and their role in supporting Healthy Ageing

2017 ◽  
pp. 171-176
Author(s):  
Alana Margaret Officer ◽  
Lisa Warth ◽  
Norah Keating ◽  
John R. Beard
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Functional Ability ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Geriatric Medicine ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Intrinsic Capacity

This chapter explores the role of age-friendly environments in supporting healthy ageing. Environments are important determinants of the trajectories of intrinsic capacity and functional ability over a person’s life course and into older age. Several domains of functional ability are particularly important in later life. We explore the importance of environments in enhancing three domains of functional ability: the ability to meet basic needs, to be mobile, and to build and maintain relationships. The chapter concludes with implications of an environmental approach to Healthy Ageing for geriatric medicine. These are new perspectives on holistic views of older persons in their environment, on making health services more age-friendly and on working collaboratively to achieve better outcomes.

scholarly journals Healthy Ageing and Vaccines: Application of the P4 Medicine Concept to Immunizations

Gerontology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Michel ◽  
Fiona Ecarnot
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Personal Autonomy ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Renal Diseases ◽  
P4 Medicine ◽  
Community Protection

In today’s tormented world, it appears useful to take advantage of communication channels to promote life-course immunization and affirm its major role in healthy ageing. Instead of developing the argument of chronological age, we demonstrate the life-course principle here based on the P4 medicine concept. Are vaccines “preventive, personalized, predictive, and participatory?” Based on detailed analysis of research findings, we successively demonstrate the seminal role of vaccines on preventable infectious diseases, post-sepsis functional decline, non-communicable diseases (cardio-neuro-vascular, respiratory, and renal diseases), community protection, antimicrobial resistance, and perhaps even old-age dementia. Healthy ageing and the promotion of immunization are closely dependent on health literacy and provision of information by skilled health-care professionals. However, personal autonomy and individual freedom are influenced by psycho-cognitive hurdles (cultural approaches, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours), the opinions of the public/family/friends, and the increasing role of social media, which challenges scientific evidence. A similar phenomenon exists when dealing with the issue of healthy ageing, whose success depends greatly on life-course immunization.

scholarly journals EXPLORATION OF HEALTHY AGEING DETERMINANTS IN BALTIC STATES

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 414-427
Author(s):  
Madara Miķelsone ◽  
Diāna Baltmane ◽  
Ieva Reine ◽  
Sigita Sniķere ◽  
Andrejs Ivanovs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Ability ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Psychological Determinants ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Preventive Actions ◽  
Intrinsic Capacity ◽  
The Baltic

According to the WHO, healthy ageing is characterized by such interrelated determinants as intrinsic capacity, functional ability and environment. An individual's intrinsic capacity is a powerful predictor of the future ageing process and includes 5 areas - cognitive, psychological, sensory, locomotion and vitality. Exploration of these areas can provide necessary information for therapeutic and preventive actions that can be tailored to an individual's needs, priorities and values to support participation and quality of life. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare healthy ageing determinants of older individuals in the Baltic States. The research was based on the sample of older individuals (50 years and older) from wave 8 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) during the period from November 2019 to March 2020. The obtained results indicate a low level/poor results in such determinants as locomotion, sensory, vitality and functional ability (more than 50% of the respondents among the Baltic countries has poor health, various long-term illnesses, limitations in daily activities, suffer from moderate or severe pain, requires help to meet daily needs, etc.), has various behavioral risks, however has higher assessment of cognitive and psychological determinants.

Epidemiologic Trends, Social Determinants, and Brain Health: The Role of Life Course Inequalities

Stroke ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saima Hilal ◽  
Carol Brayne
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Functional Independence ◽  
Health Determinants ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
Public Health Challenge ◽  
Specific Disorders

Brain health as expressed in our mental health and occurrence of specific disorders such as dementia and stroke is vitally important to quality of life, functional independence, and risk of institutionalization. Maintaining brain health is, therefore, a societal imperative, and public health challenge, from prevention of acquisition of brain disorders, through protection and risk reduction to supporting those with such disorders through effective societal and system approaches. To identify possible mechanisms that explain the differential effect of potentially modifiable risk factors, and factors that may mitigate risk, a life course approach is needed. This is key to understanding how poor health can accumulate from the earliest life stages. It also allows us to integrate and investigate key material, behavioral, and psychological factors that generate health inequalities within and across communities and societies. This review provides a narrative on how brain health is intimately linked to wider health determinants, thus importance for clinicians and societies alike. There is compelling evidence accumulated from research over decades that socioeconomic status, higher education, and healthy lifestyle extend life and compress major morbidities into later life. Brain health is part of this, but collective action has been limited, partly because of the separation of disciplines and focus on highly reductionist approaches in that clinicians and associated research have focused more on mitigation and early detection of specific diseases. However, clinicians could be part of the drive for better brain health for all society to support life courses that have more protection and less risk. There is evidence of change in such risks for conditions such as stroke and dementia across generations. The evidence points to the importance of starting with parental health and life course inequalities as a central focus.

Life course approach to understanding inequalities in health in later life

2017 ◽  
pp. 69-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Bell ◽  
Michael Marmot
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Social Functioning ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Healthy Life ◽  
Inequalities In Health ◽  
Biological Ageing ◽  
Life Course Approach ◽  
The Life Course

A long and healthy life is universally valued. The starkest inequalities in later life are how many years of life remain at an older age such as 65 years, and how many years of life that remain free from disabilities that impede physical, cognitive, and social functioning to the extent that they limit the sense of valuing one’s life. In this chapter we apply the frame of social determinants of health, using the life course approach to understand inequalities in health in later life. Healthy ageing is patterned by degrees of social advantage. Biological ageing, as revealed by physical and cognitive changes, is slower in people in better socioeconomic circumstances. These inequalities in health in later life need to be understood in terms of current social, economic, environmental conditions of living, as well as previous experiences and living conditions across the life course that affect the biological processes of ageing.

What role for the ‘long arm of childhood’ in social gradients in health? An international comparison of high-income contexts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Haas ◽  
Zhangjun Zhou ◽  
Katsuya Oi
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Functional Limitation ◽  
Later Life ◽  
High Income ◽  
Childhood Health ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Early Life Factors

Social gradients in health have been a focus of research for decades. Two important lines of social gradient research have examined (1) international variation in their magnitude and (2) their life course / developmental antecedents. The present study brings these two strands together to explore the developmental origins of educational gradients in health. We leverage data spanning 14 high-income contexts from the Health and Retirement Study and its sisters in Europe. We find that early-life health and socio-economic status consistently attenuate educational gradients in multimorbidity and functional limitation. However, the relative contribution of early-life factors to gradients varies substantially across contexts. The results suggest that research on social gradients, and population health broadly, would benefit from the unique insights available from a conceptual and empirical approach that integrates comparative and life course perspectives.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>The magnitude of educational gradients in later life health depend, in part, on childhood health and socioeconomic circumstances.</li><br /><li>The role of early life factors in educational gradients in health varies substantially across high income contexts.</li></ul>

scholarly journals A Longitudinal Study of Allostatic Load in Later Life: The Role of Sex, Birth Cohorts, and Risk Accumulation

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 419-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana van Deurzen ◽  
Bram Vanhoutte
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Allostatic Load ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The Body ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Wear And Tear ◽  
The Life Course

Are challenging life courses associated with more wear and tear on the biological level? This study investigates this question from a life-course perspective by examining the influence of life-course risk accumulation on allostatic load (AL), considering the role of sex and birth cohorts. Using biomarker data collected over three waves (2004, 2008, and 2012) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing ( N = 3,824) in a growth curve framework, AL trajectories over a period of 8 years are investigated. Our results illustrate that AL increases substantially in later life. Men have higher AL than women, but increases are similar for both sexes. Older cohorts have both higher levels and a steeper increase of AL over time. Higher risk accumulation over the life course goes hand in hand with higher AL levels and steeper trajectories, contributing to the body of evidence on cumulative (dis)advantage processes in later life.

scholarly journals Relationship Between Periodontal Disease and Obesity: The Role of Life-Course Events

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo G. Nascimento ◽  
Fábio R. Leite ◽  
Marcos B. Correa ◽  
Bernardo L. Horta ◽  
Marco A. Peres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Periodontal Disease ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Periodontal Health ◽  
Life Course Epidemiology

Periodontal disease is ranked among the 10 most prevalent chronic diseases worldwide, and is considered a major public health problem. Its etiology has been associated with local and general conditions that could interfere in the host immune response. Obesity, like periodontal disease, has emerged as a prevalent chronic disease in high-, low- and medium-income countries, recognized as risk factor for cardiovascular disease and cancer. A relationship between periodontal health and obesity may exist, but the mechanism that would explain this association remains unclear. Life-course epidemiology could be a useful instrument to investigate a casual association between early exposures and later outcomes, being appropriate for understanding the establishment of chronic conditions. This approach comprehends different theories, considering the time, the duration and the intensity of early exposition, and its impact on the development of chronic diseases in later life. Thus, the aim of this study is to hypothesize the different life-course epidemiology theories to explain the possible association between periodontal health and nutritional status in adulthood.

scholarly journals Factors associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in five cohorts of community-based older people: the HALCyon (Healthy Ageing across the Life Course) Programme

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 2057-2073 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Gale ◽  
A. Aihie Sayer ◽  
C. Cooper ◽  
E. M. Dennison ◽  
J. M. Starr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Physical Function ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Life Course

BackgroundSymptoms of anxiety and depression are common in older people, but the relative importance of factors operating in early and later life in influencing risk is unclear, particularly in the case of anxiety.MethodWe used data from five cohorts in the Healthy Ageing across the Life Course (HALCyon) collaborative research programme: the Aberdeen Birth Cohort 1936, the Caerphilly Prospective Study, the Hertfordshire Ageing Study, the Hertfordshire Cohort Study and the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921. We used logistic regression to examine the relationship between factors from early and later life and risk of anxiety or depression, defined as scores of 8 or more on the subscales of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and meta-analysis to obtain an overall estimate of the effect of each.ResultsGreater neuroticism, poorer cognitive or physical function, greater disability and taking more medications were associated in cross-sectional analyses with an increased overall likelihood of anxiety or depression. Associations between lower social class, either in childhood or currently, history of heart disease, stroke or diabetes and increased risk of anxiety or depression were attenuated and no longer statistically significant after adjustment for potential confounding or mediating variables. There was no association between birth weight and anxiety or depression in later life.ConclusionsAnxiety and depression in later life are both strongly linked to personality, cognitive and physical function, disability and state of health, measured concurrently. Possible mechanisms that might underlie these associations are discussed.

scholarly journals The potential role of epigenetic responses to diet in ageing

2011 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne Ford ◽  
Laura J. Ions ◽  
Fatema Alatawi ◽  
Luisa A. Wakeling
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Dietary Restriction ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Sirtuin 1 ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Epigenetic Effects ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Improve Health

Epigenetic changes may be causal in the ageing process and may be influenced by diet, providing opportunities to improve health in later life. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of several areas of research relevant to this topic and to explore a hypothesis relating to a possible role of epigenetic effects, mediated by sirtuin 1, in the beneficial effects of dietary restriction, including increased lifespan. Epigenetic features of ageing include changes in DNA methylation, both globally and at specific loci, which differ between individuals. A major focus of research on dietary influences on epigenetic status has been on nutrition in utero, because the epigenome is probably particularly malleable during this life-course window and because epigenetic marking by early exposures is a compelling mechanism underlying effects on lifelong health. We explore the potential of diet during adulthood, including the practice of dietary restriction, to affect the epigenetic architecture. We report progress with respect to deriving data to support our hypothesis that sirtuin 1 may mediate some of the effects of dietary restriction through effects on DNA methylation and note observations that resveratrol affects DNA methylation and other epigenetic features. Disentangling cause and effect in the context of epigenetic change and ageing is a challenge and requires better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and also the development of more refined experimental tools to manipulate the epigenetic architecture, to facilitate hypothesis-driven research to elucidate these links and thus to exploit them to improve health across the full life-course through dietary measures.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document