later life
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2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Langford ◽  
Alisha Davies ◽  
Laura Howe ◽  
Christie Cabral

Abstract Background Educational attainment is a key social determinant of health. Health and education are linked by multiple pathways, many of which are not well understood. One such pathway is the association between being above a healthy weight and lower academic achievement. While various explanations have been put forward to explain this relationship, evidence for causal pathways is sparse and unclear. This study addresses that evidence gap. Methods We interviewed 19 adults (late 20s; 14 female, 5 male) and one young person (14 years, male) from the UK in 2019/2020. Participants were recruited from the ALSPAC 1990s birth cohort, sampled to ensure diversity in socio-economic status and educational attainment, and a community-based weight management group for young people. Interviews focused on experiences of being above a healthy weight during secondary school and how this may have affected their learning and achievement. Interviews were face-to-face, digitally recorded, and transcribed verbatim. We analysed the data thematically. Results We identified key pathways through which higher body weight may negatively impact educational performance and showed how these are linked within a novel theoretical model. Because larger body size is highly stigmatised, participants engaged in different strategies to minimise their exposure to negative attention. Participants sought to increase their social acceptance or become less socially visible (or a combination of both). A minority navigated this successfully; they often had many friends (or the ‘right’ friends), experienced little or no bullying at school and weight appeared to have little effect on their achievement at school. For most however, the behaviours resulting from these strategies (e.g. disruptive behaviour, truanting, not working hard) or the physical, social or mental impacts of their school experiences (e.g. hungry, tired, self-conscious, depressed) made it difficult to concentrate and/or participate in class, which in turn affected how teachers viewed them. Conclusions Action to combat weight stigma, both within schools and in wider society, is urgently required to help address these educational disparities that in turn can impact health in later life.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srinivas Goli ◽  
Somya Arora ◽  
Neha Jain ◽  
TV Sekher

In multi-level and multi-layered foundations of gendered approaches for understanding the kinship system, son preferences, and male-skewed child sex ratios in India; patriarchy, and patrilineality have received greater attention than patrilocality. To fill this gap, in this study, we construct a measure of patrilocality and examine its association with skewed child sex ratios. We hypothesize that households practice sex selection and daughter discrimination because of patrilocal norms that dictate the later life co-residence between parents and sons. Our findings reveal that the child sex ratio, the sex ratio at birth, and the sex ratio at last birth are positively correlated with the patrilocality rates across states and districts of India. The relationship holds across the multiple robustness checks. Findings, although not surprising, emerge from the robust empirical analyses at a time when child sex ratios continue to worsen in India, notwithstanding the country’s socio-economic progress. We conclude that in the absence of strong social security measures and lack of preference for old-age homes amidst the accepted practice of patrilocality coupled with increasing lower fertility norms, the dependency on sons will continue and further lead to the continuation of sex selection in India.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Paulina ◽  
Louise A Donnelly ◽  
Ewan R Pearson

Author(s):  
Liam Foster

AbstractExtending working lives (EWLs) has been a key policy response to the challenges presented by an ageing population in the United Kingdom (UK). This includes the use of pension policies to encourage working longer. However, opportunities and experiences of EWLs are not equal. While much has been written about EWLs more broadly, limited attention has been paid to connecting those EWLs policies associated with pensions and their potentially unequal impact on women. This article aims to address this gap, taking a feminist political-economy perspective to explore the structural constraints that shape EWLs and pensions. Initially it briefly introduces the EWLs agenda, before focussing on pension developments and their implications for EWLs, considering the gendered nature of these policies. Finally, it touches upon potential policy measures to mitigate the impact of these developments on women. It demonstrates how women’s existing labour market and pension disadvantages have been largely overlooked in the development of EWLs policy, perpetuating or expanded many women’s financial inequalities in later life. It highlights the need for a greater focus on gendered pension differences in developing EWLs policy to ensure women’s circumstances are not adversely impacted on.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Chivers ◽  
Mohammed Shaffiullah

There are currently no licensed pharmacological treatments for Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder. This case report describes a 50-year-old male who two years previously had been brought to the attention of psychiatric services following an overdose with intention to end his life. He was subsequently diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD) and, following further suicide attempts and trials of mainstream pharmacological treatments, responded to flupenthixol IM 20 mg fortnightly, experiencing complete remission from his suicidal ideation. Clinicians should be aware of EUPD presenting in later life and should consider the role of typical antipsychotics, including flupenthixol, in the treatment of suicidal ideation in patients with EUPD. Age-specific guidance on EUPD management would be of use to clinicians, especially in the management of older patients, as current guidance is based on findings within a narrow age group.


Gerontology ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Pildoo Sung ◽  
Rahul Malhotra ◽  
Grand H.-L. Cheng ◽  
Angelique Wei-Ming Chan

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> Network typology studies have identified heterogeneous types of older adults’ social networks. However, little is known about stability and change in social network types over time. We investigate transitions in social network types among older adults, aged 60 years and older, and factors associated with such transitions. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We used data on 1,305 older adults, participating in 2 waves of a national, longitudinal survey, conducted in 2016–2017 and 2019, in Singapore. Latent transition analysis identified the distinct types of social networks and their transition patterns between the waves. Multinomial logistic regression examined the association of baseline and change in physical, functional, and mental health and baseline sociodemographic characteristics with network transitions into more diverse or less diverse types. <b><i>Results:</i></b> We found 5 social network types at both waves, representing the most to the least diverse types – diverse, unmarried and diverse, extended family, immediate family, and restricted. Between waves, about 57% of respondents retained their social network type, whereas 24% transitioned into more diverse types and 19% into less diverse types. Those who were older and less educated and those with worsening functional and mental health were more likely to transition into less diverse types versus remaining in the same type. <b><i>Discussion:</i></b> The findings capture the dynamics in social network composition among older adults in the contemporary aging society. We highlight sociodemographic and health disparities contributing to later life social network diversity.


Author(s):  
N. Keating

AbstractThe mission of UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020–2030) is to improve the lives of older people, their families and their communities. In this paper, we create a conceptual framework and research agenda for researchers to knowledge to address the Decade action items. The framework builds on the main components of healthy ageing: Environments (highlighting society and community) across life courses (of work and family) toward wellbeing (of individuals, family members and communities). Knowledge gaps are identified within each area as priority research actions. Within societal environments, interrogating beliefs about ageism and about familism are proposed as a way to illustrate how macro approaches to older people influence their experiences. We need to interrogate the extent to which communities are good places to grow old; and whether they have sufficient resources to be supportive to older residents. Further articulation of trajectories and turning points across the full span of work and of family life courses is proposed to better understand their diversities and the extent to which they lead to adequate financial and social resources in later life. Components of wellbeing are proposed to monitor improvement in the lives of older people, their families and communities. Researcher priorities can be informed by regional and national strategies reflecting Decade actions.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Szewei Wang ◽  
Bing-Long Wang ◽  
Yu-Ni Huang ◽  
Thomas T.H. Wan

Abstract Factors which are associated with cognitive decline among elders include physical activity and the intake of fruit and vegetable, however, long-term effects and the concurrence of physical activity and fruit-vegetable intake are unknown. The present study explores this potential synergy for the mitigation of cognitive decline among a cohort of older Taiwanese in a 16-year longitudinal study. Five population-based surveys from the Taiwan Longitudinal Survey on Aging (1995–2015) involving 4,440 respondents over 53 years old in 1999 were studied. Trends in decrease of cognitive decline were observed for 16 years. Cognitive function was assessed using the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ). Adjustments made on regression analysis included demographic, socioeconomic, health behavioral, and disease status covariates. The risk of cognitive decline decreased 63% when high physical activity group and high intake of fruit-vegetable group were combined (OR :0.37, 95% CI: 0.23–0.59). More physical activity was combined with greater fruit-vegetable intake, cognitive decline among older Taiwanese was mitigated. This indicates that there may be a synergistic effect of physical activity and fruit-vegetable intake on mitigating cognitive decline. Synergistic personal behavior is a safe, effective, and economical approach to health in later life.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Jane Ferguson ◽  
Martina De Lillo ◽  
Andrew Martin

Understanding others is a key component of successful social interactions, and declines in social abilities during later life can lead to social isolation and loneliness. We investigated the relationship between different sub-components of social cognition and loneliness in a large sample of older adults. We tested perspective-taking and mentalizing skills, alongside self-reported loneliness and social functioning. Results revealed a significant effect of loneliness on older adults’ ability to resist egocentric interference when taking others’ perspectives. However, this effect was eliminated when age was added to models, which suggests that egocentric tendencies increase with age, and people experience increasing levels of loneliness and feelings of social isolation with increasing age. Mentalizing and interference from others’ perspectives were not influenced by loneliness or age.


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