The Effect of Fasting on Human Metabolism and Psychological Health

Fasting is a prevalent approach to weight loss and is a feasible method for treating some diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, the effects of intermittent fasting on health, aging, and disease process are hot issues and are of concern by researchers of multiple areas, even the public. This article introduces the effects of fasting on human lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism, protein metabolism, and neuroendocrine metabolism; demonstrates the metabolic conversion caused by fasting; and describes the effects of fasting on human psychological health, the relationship between mood regulation and glucose, and the emotional enhancing effect induced by fasting.

Physical Activity vs. Redox Balance in the Brain: Brain Health, Aging and Diseases

It has been proven that physical exercise improves cognitive function and memory, has an analgesic and antidepressant effect, and delays the aging of the brain and the development of diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders. There are even attempts to use physical activity in the treatment of mental diseases. The course of most diseases is strictly associated with oxidative stress, which can be prevented or alleviated with regular exercise. It has been proven that physical exercise helps to maintain the oxidant–antioxidant balance. In this review, we present the current knowledge on redox balance in the organism and the consequences of its disruption, while focusing mainly on the brain. Furthermore, we discuss the impact of physical activity on aging and brain diseases, and present current recommendations and directions for further research in this area.

Introduction: Why a Social Representations Perspective?

This chapter introduces the social representations perspective that forms the background of the entire volume, presenting the social-psychological gaze (regard psychosocial): the acknowledgment that the knowledge of a social object necessarily requires the mediation of an Alter, a “thirdness.” From this premise, specific ways of studying change and continuity in meaning-making derive, putting change at the forefront as well as concerns about the role of the researcher along the path. After considering these features, the chapter briefly presents the various parts that compose the book and the single chapters. From a social representations stance or from cognate perspectives, several keywords and topics are encountered, both on a theoretical side and with empirical examples, addressing social issues in domains such as health, aging, inequalities, environment, and community.

Research of the Health, Aging, and Society Laboratory

This chapter describes the work being done in North-East Brazil to clarify how social issues are constructed and reconstructed in processes driven by the values, symbols, and patterns that characterize the area’s social and cultural spaces. Aging, but also care, quality of life, and work are studied, analyzing them in the process of their naturalization guided by daily communication and practices. The Lab at the Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB), in Joao Pessoa, also draws on contributions from other areas of Brazil (especially Rio de Janeiro) and focuses mainly on studying the aging process. Its work is guided by principles of interprofessionalization in the field of gerontology, especially in its critical advancements. The Aging Institute founded at the UFPB (the first in the whole country) aims to combine research and a third mission, exploiting the potential of social representations theory for engaged research.

Factors Influencing Self-Reported Medication Use in the Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Dataset

The validity of self-reported medication use in epidemiological studies is an important issue in healthcare research. Here we investigated factors influencing self-reported medication use for multiple diagnoses in the seventh wave of the Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) dataset in n = 77,261 participants (ages: mean = 68.47, standard deviation = 10.03 years). The influence of mental, physical, and sociodemographic parameters on medication self-report was analyzed with logistic regressions and mediation models. Depression, memory function, and polypharmacy influenced the self-report of medication use in distinct disorders to varying degrees. In addition, sociodemographic factors, knowledge about diagnosis, the presence of several chronic illnesses, and restrictions of daily instrumental activities explained the largest proportion of variance. In the mediation model, polypharmacy had an indirect effect via depression and memory on self-reported medication use. Factors influencing medication self-report vary between different diagnoses, highlighting the complexity of medication knowledge. Therefore, it is essential to assess the individual parameters and their effect on medication behavior. Relying solely on medication self-reports is insufficient, as there is no way to gage their reliability. Thus, self-reported medication intake should be used with caution to indicate the actual medication knowledge and use.

Age Equity: A Framework for Addressing Ageism, Stigma, and Bias

In the Covid-19 context, researchers and policy makers have turned their attention to long-standing disparities in health equity, including by race, ethnicity, poverty, sexuality, and gender. Yet, scholarship to date does not conceptualize age as a critical aspect of difference requiring an equity lens. In this presentation, we utilize an Age Equity Framework to investigate ageism based on research findings from the 2018 National Health, Aging and Sexuality/Gender Study (NHAS): Aging with Pride. Investigating ageism, stigma, and bias, we found nearly half of LGBTQ older adults feel invisible and disrespected. After adjusting for background characteristics, experiences of ageism were associated with higher rates of stigma, lifetime victimization, discrimination, lower support and community engagement, and adverse outcomes (lower mental and physical health and quality of life). The rapidly growing older adult population highlights the pressing need to consider age inequities and the importance of achieving age equity across the life course.

Association of Hearing Impairment With Higher Level Physical Functioning and Walking Endurance

The longitudinal associations between hearing impairment and higher-level functional measures and the potential confounding role of vestibular function have not been assessed. We investigated these associations in 831 participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (2012–2019). Hearing was measured using pure-tone audiometry and categorized using WHO standards. Physical function was assessed with the Health Aging and Body Composition Physical Performance Battery (HABCPPB, higher=better) and walking endurance with time to walk 400 meters. Multivariable regression models tested the hypotheses that participants with hearing impairment have poorer physical outomes. In a subset, we further adjusted for vestibular function. Hearing impairment was associated with decrements in higher-level physical performance and walking endurance, and faster decline over time, regardless of vestibular function. Among participants with any hearing impairment, hearing aid users were faster in the 400-m walk. Early screening for higher-level functional loss among older adults with hearing loss is warranted.

Persistent polypharmacy and fall injury risk: the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study

Background Older adults receive treatment for fall injuries in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The effect of persistent polypharmacy (i.e. using multiple medications over a long period) on fall injuries is understudied, particularly for outpatient injuries. We examined the association between persistent polypharmacy and treated fall injury risk from inpatient and outpatient settings in community-dwelling older adults. Methods The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study included 1764 community-dwelling adults (age 73.6 ± 2.9 years; 52% women; 38% black) with Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) claims at or within 6 months after 1998/99 clinic visit. Incident fall injuries (N = 545 in 4.6 ± 2.9 years) were defined as the initial claim with an ICD-9 fall E-code and non-fracture injury, or fracture code with/without a fall code from 1998/99 clinic visit to 12/31/08. Those without fall injury (N = 1219) were followed for 8.1 ± 2.6 years. Stepwise Cox models of fall injury risk with a time-varying variable for persistent polypharmacy (defined as ≥6 prescription medications at the two most recent consecutive clinic visits) were adjusted for demographics, lifestyle characteristics, chronic conditions, and functional ability. Sensitivity analyses explored if persistent polypharmacy both with and without fall risk increasing drugs (FRID) use were similarly associated with fall injury risk. Results Among 1764 participants, 636 (36%) had persistent polypharmacy over the follow-up period, and 1128 (64%) did not. Fall injury incidence was 38 per 1000 person-years. Persistent polypharmacy increased fall injury risk (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.31 [1.06, 1.63]) after adjusting for covariates. Persistent polypharmacy with FRID use was associated with a 48% increase in fall injury risk (95%CI: 1.10, 2.00) vs. those who had non-persistent polypharmacy without FRID use. Risks for persistent polypharmacy without FRID use (HR: 1.22 [0.93, 1.60]) and non-persistent polypharmacy with FRID use (HR: 1.08 [0.77, 1.51]) did not significantly increase compared to non-persistent polypharmacy without FRID use. Conclusions Persistent polypharmacy, particularly combined with FRID use, was associated with increased risk for treated fall injuries from inpatient and outpatient settings. Clinicians may need to consider medication management for FRID and other fall prevention strategies in community-dwelling older adults with persistent polypharmacy to reduce fall injury risk.

Approaching Multimorbidity From a Translational Geroscience Perspective

Multimorbidity describes the accumulated burden of chronic disease. Multimorbidity erodes physiologic reserve, increasing the risk of frailty, disability and death. Most older adults have at least one chronic health condition by age 65. Once established, many age-related conditions progress and accumulate with age. Geroscience holds that there are key biologic pathways that explain the increase with age in multimorbidity, frailty and disability Translation of geroscience principles to human studies requires careful assessment of biomarkers of these pathways and multisystem outcomes. In this symposium, translational researchers in geriatric medicine and gerontology will present current work to elucidate biologic underpinnings of aging and potential intervention targets. We will address whether blood biomarkers of aging processes are prognostic using combinatorial techniques and explore the potential for proteomics to identify novel pathways for health aging. New insights into the role of inflammation will be discussed with an emphasis on its relationship to multimorbidity. Brain aging will be considered with respect to the interactions between external stressors and resilience evaluating the role of ketone bodies which have immunomodulatory effects particularly on innate immune cells. Finally, the role of multimorbidity as an intervention target and potential intermediate outcomes including biomarkers will be presented with discussion of next steps needed to realize the potential for translational geroscience clinical trials to improve health span.