scholarly journals The impact of life events on later life: a latent class analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
O O Enwo ◽  
E Player ◽  
N Steel ◽  
J A Ford
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Functional Ability ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Older Age ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Lca Groups ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Background Inequalities in life events can lead to inequalities in older age. This research aimed to explore associations between life events reported by older people and quality of life (QoL) and functional ability. Methods Participants were grouped according to eight life events: parental closeness, educational opportunities in childhood, financial hardship, loss of an unborn child, bereavement due to war, involvement in conflict, violence and experiencing a natural disaster. Linear and logistic regressions were used to explore associations between these groups and the main outcomes of functional ability and QoL. Results 7555 participants were allocated to four LCA groups: ‘few life events’ (n = 6,250), ‘emotionally cold mother’ (n = 724), ‘violence in combat’ (n = 274) and ‘many life events’ (n = 307). Reduced QoL was reported in the ‘many life events’ (coefficient − 5.33, 95%CI −6.61 to −4.05), ‘emotionally cold mother’ (−1.89, −2.62 to 1.15) and ‘violence in combat’ (−1.95, −3.08 to −0.82) groups, compared to the ‘few life events’ group. The ‘many life events’ group also reported more difficulty with activities of daily living. Conclusions Policies aimed at reducing inequalities in older age should consider events across the life course.

scholarly journals A139 IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE AFTER ENDOSCOPIC THERAPY FOR BARRETT’S ESOPHAGUS AND EARLY ESOPHAGEAL CANCER IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 125-126
Author(s):  
T Jeyalingam ◽  
M Woo ◽  
S E Congly ◽  
J David ◽  
P J Belletrutti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Linear Regression ◽  
Multiple Linear Regression ◽  
Barrett’S Esophagus ◽  
Barrett's Esophagus ◽  
Endoscopic Therapy ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Older Age ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background In patients with Barrett’s esophagus (BE), endoscopic therapy reduces the risk of progression to invasive esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Data on the impact of endoscopic therapy on patient quality of life (QoL) is limited. Aims We aimed to assess: (1) change in QoL during the course of endoscopic therapy for BE, (2) factors which predict this change, (3) whether achieving complete remission of dysplasia (CRD) or intestinal metaplasia (CRIM) affect the degree of change. Methods We conducted a retrospective observational study using a prospectively maintained database of BE patients treated in Calgary, Alberta from 2013–2020 containing data on demographics, BE disease characteristics and therapeutics, QoL, and follow-up. QoL was determined prior to initiation of therapy and after each treatment session using a validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were calculated and change in QoL was compared using a Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Backwards multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine predictors of change in QoL. Results Of 130 BE patients, 112 (86.1%) were male and 104 (80%) had dysplastic histology or intramucosal carcinoma on index endoscopy. Mean (SD) age was 65.6 (12.0) years. At time of analysis, 76 patients (58.5%) had completed endoscopic therapy, of whom 69 (90.8%) achieved CRIM; 54 patients (41.5%) were still undergoing treatment. There was significant improvement in all QoL measures during the treatment course except for “depression” (Table 1). Patients with CRIM or CRD had reductions in “sleep difficulty” and “negative impact on life” to a significantly greater degree vs patients not achieving CRIM (Δ sleep -0.45 vs 0.0, P=0.002; Δ negative impact -0.4 vs -0.05, P=0.014) or CRD (Δ sleep -0.40 vs +0.60, P=0.002; Δ negative impact -0.40 vs +0.20, P=0.04). Multiple linear regression revealed older age (B=-0.03, P=0.008) and fewer number of EMR sessions (B=0.254, P=0.008) were correlated with greater improvement in QoL. Conclusions Endoscopic therapy improves QoL in BE patients, especially in those achieving CRIM/CRD. Older age and fewer EMRs are correlated with greater improvement in QoL. These results further reinforce the role of endoscopic therapy as the first line treatment of BE and early EAC. Funding Agencies None

Religious Transitions Among Baby Boomers From Young Adulthood to Later Life: Associations with Psychological Well-Being Over 45 Years

2021 ◽  
pp. 009141502110298
Author(s):  
Woosang Hwang ◽  
Xiaoyan Zhang ◽  
Maria T. Brown ◽  
Sara A. Vasilenko ◽  
Merril Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
Baby Boomers ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Baby Boom ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Transition Analysis ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Gender Interactions

We used classification analysis to examine change in religiosity among baby boomers from young adulthood to early old age and how religiosity transition patterns are associated with psychological well-being in later life. In addition, we tested the gender difference in the above association. We applied latent class and latent transition analysis to 392 baby boomers who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Generations in Wave-1 (1971) and Wave-9 (2016). We identified three classes describing religiosity at each wave (strongly religious, doctrinally religious, and weakly religious), and considered five types of change or stability in religious class membership from Wave-1 to Wave-9. Multiple regression with gender interactions revealed that men who stayed strongly religious over the period reported better psychological well-being compared to men who declined in their religiosity; no such pattern was found for women. Our findings suggest that maintaining strong religiosity over the life course was beneficial for baby boom men in later life.

Environment and ageing biology

2017 ◽  
pp. 317-322
Author(s):  
Arun S. Karlamangla ◽  
Teresa E. Seeman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Functional Status ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Allostatic Load ◽  
The Body ◽  
Major Life Events ◽  
Major Life ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Psychosocial factors over the life course and major life events are associated with the health, functional status, and survival of older adults. This chapter discusses the biological mechanisms through which these influences are thought to operate, and how life stresses might accelerate the usual ageing of biological systems. It starts with a brief description of psychosocial determinants of health and functioning before elaborating on the allostatic mechanisms by which the body adapts its internal physiological milieu in response to perceived stressors. The price paid for frequent and recurring adaptation is eventual dysregulation of the mediators of allostasis, or allostatic load. We close with a brief discussion of allostatic load links to health outcomes in older adults and potential interventions that might ameliorate the impact of psychosocial adversities on health.

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.

scholarly journals PREDICTORS OF SELF-CONTINUITY IN LATER LIFE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S308-S308
Author(s):  
Charikleia Lampraki ◽  
Dario Spini ◽  
Daniela Jopp
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Future Expectations ◽  
Critical Life Events ◽  
Multilevel Hierarchical Models ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Self-continuity is an identity mechanism that inter-connects past and present experiences with future expectations, creating a coherent whole. However, research is limited regarding inter-individual differences and life course determinants of change in self-continuity. Using a life-course perspective on vulnerability, we investigate how the accumulation of resources (e.g., social, hopeful attitude) and the occurrence of critical life events (e.g., childhood adversity, divorce) across the life course may affect changes in self-continuity. Data derived from the LIVES Intimate Partner Loss Study conducted in Switzerland from 2012 to 2016 (3 waves). The sample consisted of individuals having experienced divorce (N = 403, Mage = 55.43) or bereavement (N = 295, Mage = 69.91) in the second half of life, using a continuously married group as a reference (N = 535, Mage = 65.60). Multilevel hierarchical models were used. Results indicated that as individuals grew older they experienced more self-continuity. More childhood adversity was negatively associated with inter-individual differences in self-continuity for all groups. Divorcees with more childhood adverse events felt significantly less self-continuity as they grew older than divorcees with less childhood adversity. In the bereaved group, more childhood adversity and less hope was linked to lower levels of self-continuity. More hopeful married individuals felt more self-continuity as they grew older than less hopeful ones. In sum, findings demonstrate that self-continuity changes as a function of age, but also differs with regard to the critical life events experienced across the life course and the availability of resources.

scholarly journals CONTINUITY OF CAREER OVER THE LIFE COURSE ON LIFE SATISFACTION AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN LATER LIFE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S128-S129
Author(s):  
Melanie S Hill ◽  
James E Hill ◽  
Stephanie Richardson ◽  
Jessica Brown ◽  
Jeremy B Yorgason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Identity scholars have suggested that having a unified sense of past, present, and future is related to positive well-being outcomes (Whitbourne, Sneed & Skultety, 2009). One’s occupation can have a profound influence on an individual’s identity throughout the life course (Nazar & van der Heijden, 2012). Research has looked at career mobility among younger age groups (Baiyun, Ramkissoon, Greenwood, & Hoyte, 2018); however, less is known about the impact of career stability later in life. Consistency in career choice over the life course may have positive outcomes down the line as career becomes part of an individual's identity. The current study uses the Life and Family Legacies dataset, a longitudinal state-representative sample of 3,348, to examine individual’s careers at three points in the life course: high school (projected career choice), early adulthood, and later life. Results revealed that a match of desired career in high school and actual career in early adulthood was not predictive of life satisfaction or depressive symptoms in later life. However, a match of career in early adulthood and later life was significantly related to better life satisfaction and less depressive symptoms, which was explained through higher levels of job satisfaction. This study highlights the importance of acquiring and maintaining a career that is fulfilling to the individual over the course of early adulthood to later life.

The ‘elected’ and the ‘excluded’: sociological perspectives on the experience of place and community in old age

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRIS PHILLIPSON
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Community Change ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Social Divisions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Community Attachments

This article explores various issues concerned with belonging and identity in the context of community change and residential location. It examines the changing nature of community attachments in later life, and their impacts on the quality of old age lives. It also notes the increased importance of environmental perspectives within gerontology, not least because environments are being transformed through the diverse social, cultural and economic changes associated with globalisation. The argument is developed that globalisation offers a new approach to thinking about community and environmental relationships in later life, and that the impact of global change at a local level has become an important dimension of sociological aspects of community change. It is argued that it is especially important to apply these perspectives to older people, given that many have resided in the same locality for long periods. At the same time, globalisation also gives rise to new types of movement in old age, and is constructing an expanding mix of spaces, communities and lifestyle settings. A key argument of the article, however, is that global processes are generating new social divisions, as between those able to choose residential locations consistent with their biographies and life histories, and those who experience rejection or marginalisation from their locality.

scholarly journals Editorial: Ageing & Society in its majority

2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-6
Author(s):  
TONY WARNES
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Editorial Policy ◽  
Ageing Society ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Past twenty-one years of age, a striking new cover and a new editor: is Ageing & Society about to be radically transformed? Not at all, but over the next five years it will aim to be even better at the things it has been doing well. To stretch the life course analogy, having reached a ‘mature age’ and with an accomplished juvenilia, the paths that promise most are well defined. The achievement to date has been impressive, and the strong foundation creates a larger potential. It is in this context and spirit that I take up the editorship in succession to Bill Bytheway. The editorial policy will of course be frequently re-examined and refined, but neither the editorial board nor I wish to see the journal's core ambitions and values change. My aims are to help authors achieve these to an even higher standard, and particularly to raise the title's reputation for originality, for the quality of the research that it reports, and for its standards of communication. The goal is to raise the ‘impact’ of Ageing & Society, in citation indicators and, more importantly, in its contributions to understanding and to the formation of opinion and policy.

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