scholarly journals Physical and Mental Health Differences Reported by Three Age Groups of Older Adults With Diabetes

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 233372142110558
Author(s):  
Jungjoo Lee ◽  
Junhyung Kim ◽  
Richard Holden

Most studies have classified older adults with diabetes into one group despite substantial variation in health status across different stages of late adulthood. In this study, we examined difference in self-reported physical and mental health among three age groups of older adults with diabetes. Using data from the 2016 National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, Wave 3, we classified 424 individuals diagnosed with diabetes into three age groups, young-old (YO): 50–64 years; middle-old (MO): 65–74; and oldest old (OO): 75+ years. A one-way multivariate analysis of covariance was used to assess group differences, followed by univariate analyses. The results indicate that the YO group reported significantly lower physical health and higher depression than the MO group and higher levels of loneliness than the MO and OO groups. These findings indicate that physical and mental health may differ among different age groups of older adults with diabetes and suggest that the YO might be more vulnerable to diminished physical and mental health than the other age groups.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 810-811
Author(s):  
Jayant Pinto

Abstract Decline of the sense of smell with age causes a marked impact on older adults, markedly reducing quality of life. Olfactory dysfunction impairs nutrition, decreases the ability to experience pleasure, and results in depression, among other burdens. Large-scale population studies have identified impaired olfaction as a key heath indicator that predicts the development of decreased physical and mental health, reduced physical activity, weight loss, mild cognitive impairment and dementia, and mortality itself. These data have been generated via analyses of data from several aging cohorts, including the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP); the Beaver Dam cohort; the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities project; the Rush Memory and Aging Project; the Health, Aging, and Body Composition project; the Washington Heights/Inwood Columbia Aging Project; among others. In this presentation, we will review the close connection between olfaction, health, aging, including discussion of insights from these studies. We will also discuss emerging data from NSHAP on the effects of sensory function on cognition, mental health, and social interaction, which demonstrate that sensory function plays a vital role in the lives of older adults. Part of a symposium sponsored by Sensory Health Interest Group.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Luo

BACKGROUND The depression level among US adults significantly increased during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and age disparity in depression during the pandemic were reported in recent studies. Delay or avoidance of medical care is one of the collateral damages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and it can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE The present study aims to assess the prevalence of depression and delay of care among US middle-aged adults and older adults during the pandemic, as well as investigate the role of delay of care in depression among those two age groups. METHODS This cross-sectional study used the 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) COVID-19 Project (Early, Version 1.0) data. Univariate analyses, bivariate analyses, and binary logistic regression were applied. US adults older than 46 years old were included. Depression was measured by Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form (CIDI-SF). Delay of care were measured by four items: delay of surgery, delay of seeing a doctor, delay of dental care, and delay of other care. Univariate analyses, bivariate analyses, and binary logistic regression were conducted. RESULTS More than half of participants were older than 65 years old (58.23%) and 274 participants (8.75%) had depression during the pandemic. Delay of dental care was positively associated with depression among both middle-aged adults (OR=2.05, 95%CI=1.04-4.03, P<0.05) and older adults (OR=3.08, 95%CI=1.07-8.87, P<0.05). Delay of surgery was positively associated with depression among older adults (OR=3.69, 95%CI=1.06-12.90, P<0.05). Self-reported pain was positively related to depression among both age groups. Middle-aged adults who reported higher education level (some college of above) or worse self-reported health had higher likelihood to have depression. While perceived more loneliness was positively associated with depression among older adults, financial difficulty was positively associated with depression among middle-aged adults. CONCLUSIONS This study found that depression among middle-aged and older adults during the pandemic was also prevalent. The study highlighted the collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic by identifying the effect of delay of surgery and dental care on depression during the pandemic. Although surgery and dental care cannot be delivered by telehealth, telehealth services can still be provided to address patients’ concern on delay of surgery and dental care. Moreover, the implementation of tele-mental health services is also needed to address mental health symptoms among US middle-aged and older adults during the pandemic. Future research that uses more comprehensive CLINICALTRIAL N/A


1992 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley C. Courtenay ◽  
Leonard W. Poon ◽  
Peter Martin ◽  
Gloria M. Clayton ◽  
Mary Ann Johnson

Previous research has yielded mixed results with respect to the relationship between religiosity and adaptation in older adults. Most studies show that religiosity is stable over the life span, but that religiosity may or may not be related to such factors as physical and mental health, life satisfaction, and coping. This study adds to earlier investigations by including centenarians among the sample. The preliminary results of this research project support earlier findings that religiosity does not change significantly as one ages, although there is a trend in the results that suggests otherwise. The results also indicate a significant relationship between religiosity and physical health but no significant relationship between religiosity and mental health and life satisfaction. Religiosity and coping are strongly related, and there is the suggestion that religious coping mechanisms might be more important in the oldest-old.


2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 811-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Wu ◽  
Margaret J. Penning ◽  
Michael S. Pollard ◽  
Randy Hart

Using data from the 1994-95 (Canadian) National Population Health Survey (6,494 women, 5,368 men), we investigated the impact of cohabitation on a range of physical and mental health indicators, controlling for self-selection into cohabitation and other relevant factors. Uncontrolled results indicate that the physical and mental health of cohabitors tends to fall between that of the married and the divorced/separated, widowed, and single/never married. However, when other factors are controlled, health differences between cohabitors and the currently married become nonsignificant. Self-selection, into cohabitation and into marriage, initially appears to play a significant role in accounting for variations in health, but with controls added to the models, selection mostly becomes nonsignificant. We concluded that self-selection at most may explain a small proportion of the variation in health but that protection effects are more likely to explain the positive health advantages of marriage and cohabitation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 855-855
Author(s):  
Ying Ma ◽  
Patrick Leung

Abstract Older adults in extreme poverty refer to “three-noes people”: no working ability, no income source, and no children or legal supporters. They are eligible for a government-funded welfare system called “Five Guarantee system”. The majority of residents in rural welfare institutes are male older adults in extreme poverty. Research demonstrates that resilience is a critical factor in shaping health. This study aims to examine the association between resilience and mental health for male older adults in extreme poverty, and its differences in young-old (60-69 years), old-old (70-79 years), and oldest-old groups (≥80 years). A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,427 eligible subjects in rural long-term care facilities from Anhui province in China during 2019, with a response rate of 77.4%. Resilience was measured by the Chinese version of Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, including three subscales of optimism, strength and tenacity. Mental health was assessed using General Health Questionnaire-12. A MANOVA test revealed a significant difference among age groups on three subscales of resilience [Pillai’s Trace=.023, F (6,1486) =2.709, p=.013, ηp2=.012]. Tukey Post hoc indicated the oldest reported significantly lower levels of strength, optimism, and tenacity compared to the other two groups. A multiple logistic regression identified a significant negative association between resilience and mental disorder for the old-old (OR=0.95, 95%CI:0.93-0.97) and oldest-old (OR=0.93, 95%CI: 0.88-0.99) groups. Our findings identified th differences in the link between resilience and mental health within the three different age groups. Resilience-training programs to improve mental health would require targeting specific subscales of resilience for each group.


2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-170
Author(s):  
Emma E. Poulsen ◽  
David Sibbritt ◽  
Deirdre McLaughlin ◽  
Jon Adams ◽  
Nancy A. Pachana

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use has been researched widely; however, studies with older adults and Australian populations are limited. The profile of Australian women CAM users has been mapped using the 1996 data from the ALSWH (Adamset al., 2003). Mid-age adults were frequent CAM users (28%) followed by young adults (19%) and older adults (15%). No consistent characteristics of CAM users across age groups were identified. Generally, CAM users lived in non-urban settings, and reported poorer physical and mental health. Predictors of CAM use for Australian women have not yet been explored.


Author(s):  
Gagan Chooramani ◽  
Barre Vijaya Prasad ◽  
Shamsi Akbar

This chapter describes the prevalence of obesity which is rising in all age groups. The World Health Organization declared obesity as a Global epidemic. There has been the abundance of research in all over the world that provides evidence for physical and mental health consequences of obesity. Obesity is considered as one of the leading cause of various non-communicable diseases. Higher body mass index and abdominal obesity are considered to be an independent risk factor that significantly contribute to the increased prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, metabolic disorders along with various mental health problems among elderly. Geriatric obesity further affects the treatment process, outcome, quality and quantity of life older adults. It also increases the risk of disability among older adults.


2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-409

Background: Being married is related to better physical and mental health compared to being single or in an unmarried relationship. For those in long-distance relationship (LDR), there are mixed findings in psychological and physical health outcomes when compared to individuals in proximal relationship (PR). Objective: To explore the health differences between those in LDRs and PRs in a larger and non-Western sample with more health behaviors than had been previously assessed. Materials and Methods: The present study analyzed the data from the East Asian Social Survey (EASS) comparing health variables and health habits between LDR and PR participants. There were 7,145 respondents including 2,750 in LDR and 4,395 in PR. Physical and mental health were measured using SF-12 version 2, while, the frequency of smoking, drinking alcohol, and engaging in physical activity were used to assess health habits. Univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to control the confounding effect. Results: The results suggested that PR participants reported better overall mental health, while those in LDRs were healthier in terms of less alcohol use. The overall physical health did not differ across the groups. Moreover, the present study uncovered an unexpected number of LDR couples in China compared to the other countries assessed. Conclusion: The present study provided further understanding of the connection between LDR and health in a large sample across the countries. Keywords: Health status, Health behavior, Marital relationship, Marital status, Long-distance relationship


2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1072-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seoyoun Kim ◽  
Patricia A Thomas

Abstract Objectives We aimed to investigate potential direct and indirect pathways linking social support and health, while considering mental health and chronic inflammation as inter-related outcomes. The study also contributes to the literature through testing potential bidirectional relationships between social support, mental health, and chronic inflammation. Methods This study uses Structural Equation Modeling and two waves of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), including 1,124 community-living older adults aged 57–85 years at Wave 1 (2005). Results Analyses show that social support influenced mental health indirectly through better self-esteem. Moreover, social support was associated with lower levels of chronic inflammation but chronic inflammation did not influence social support. Discussion The growing number of older adults with an aging population urgently calls for a greater understanding of factors influencing their physical and mental health. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of social support in older adults’ health, while specifically focusing on understudied indirect pathways from social support to health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 539-539
Author(s):  
Laura Finch ◽  
Louise Hawkley

Abstract Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing has been emphasized for older adults because of their greater physical health risks. Using data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), we examined how older adults may have changed their frequency of contact with others via various modes (i.e., in-person, phone calls, messages, and video calls) since the pandemic started, and how these choices may be impacting their mental health. From September 2020 through January 2021, NSHAP respondents (N=2,554 age 50-94 with data from 2015-16) completed a survey via web, phone, or paper-and-pencil. Although some older adults reported reducing their in-person contact with out-of-household family (38%) and friends (40%) since the pandemic started, some also increased contact with them via remote modes such as phone calls (25% and 16% with family and friends respectively); emails, texts, or social media messages (26 and 21%); and video calls (24 and 18%). Net of demographics, living alone, survey mode, and 2015-16 levels of the respective mental health variables, those who decreased in-person contact with family were less happy (B=-0.12, SE=0.06, p=.035), had higher loneliness scores (B=0.23, SE=0.09, p=.011), and more frequently felt depressed (B=0.10, SE=0.05, p=.055). In the presence of decreased in-person contact, increases in remote modes of contact had no net remediating impact—a pattern also found when analyzing contact with friends. Results indicate a persistent adverse effect of reduced in-person contact on mental health despite increased contact with family and friends via remote means.


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