Table_1_Stress, depression, and anxiety: psychological complaints across menopausal stages.docx

IntroductionWith the number of menopausal women projected estimated to reach 1.2 billion by 2030 worldwide, it is critically important to understand how menopause may affect women’s emotional well-being and how many women are affected by this. This study aimed to explore (i) the relationship between psychological complaints (depression, anxiety, poor memory) across different menopausal stages and (ii) investigate the correlation between resilience, self-efficacy, and perceived stress levels, with psychological complaints and whether this was associated with menopausal stage and/or age.Methods287 respondents completed the Menopausal Quality of Life (MenQoL), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), and General Self-efficacy (GSE) scales. Parametric and non-parametric analysis were used to analyse how bothered women were by self-reported poor memory and feelings of depression and anxiety, alongside perceived stress, resilience, and self-efficacy between women in different menopausal stages using STRAW criteria. The association between protective factors (self-efficacy and resilience) and psychological complaints was analysed with partial correlation analysis controlling for menopausal stages and/or age.ResultsA significant difference was found between the levels of perceived stress, and how bothered women were by feelings of depression and anxiety between early-perimenopausal and post-menopausal women. However, with the inclusion of age as a covariate, menopausal stage no longer predicted the level of self-reported stress and anxiety in menopausal women. There was also no difference between poor self-reported memory, or of self-efficacy or resilience between women in different menopausal stages. However, self-efficacy and resilience were associated with how bothered women were by feelings of depression and anxiety, and the experience of stress. Stress was the only variable to be associated with poor self-reported memory independent of age and/or menopausal status.DiscussionEarly perimenopausal women experienced the highest level of stress and were more severely bothered by feelings of depression and anxiety, with the poorest overall self-reported psychosocial quality of life. Post-menopausal women, however, reported to have similar experiences as premenopausal women. Age explained the associations between menopausal stage, stress and anxiety, but not between depression and different menopausal stages. Resilience and self-efficacy were associated with psychological complaints independent of menopausal stage and age, suggesting that therapies focusing on increasing resilience and self-efficacy may be beneficial to help target these psychological complaints at any time.</p

Assessing online screening tests of health (Goodwin et al., 2022)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which validated online screening measures of cognitive impairment, psychosocial well-being, and cardiovascular health are associated with a validated hearing screener in a sample of adults based in the United Kingdom.Method: Sixty-one adults (43 female; Mage = 44.7 years) participated in a cross-sectional study delivered remotely. Participants completed the hearWHO smartphone application, a digits-in-noise hearing screener, and the Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-M), a screening tool for cognitive impairment. Psychosocial well-being (social isolation and loneliness) and cardiovascular health were assessed through self-report.Results: Separate independent analyses of variance, with age, gender, and education as covariates, demonstrated participants who failed the hearWHO screener had poorer scores on the TICS-M, engaged in less physical activity, and reported more sedentary behavior and greater social isolation. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that lower TICS-M scores, having obtained less education, identifying as female, and reporting greater sedentary behavior and social isolation were the strongest predictors of lower hearWHO scores.Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that poorer hearing, as measured by the hearWHO screener, is independently associated with having worse cognitive function, more time spent being sedentary, and greater social isolation. Thus, this study demonstrates the potential of online screening measures to identify additional health conditions that confer risk to chronic disease as hearing loss manifests. This could help to inform the development of tailored treatment and support to improve an individual’s readiness to seek help for and manage both their general and hearing health.Supplemental Material S1. Demographic characteristics of the total sample, with comparisons for younger (18–39 years) and older (≥ 40 years) adults.Goodwin, M. V., Hogervorst, E., & Maidment, D. W. (2022). Test your health at home: Comparing online screening tests of hearing, cognition, and cardiovascular health. American Journal of Audiology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJA-21-00199Publisher Note: This article is part of the Special Issue: Internet and Audiology 2021.</div

Hearing difficulties and memory problems: the mediating role of physical health and psychosocial wellbeing

To investigate whether the association between hearing difficulties and self-reported memory problems is mediated by physical health and psychosocial wellbeing. A cross-sectional study. Path analyses were used to test potential theoretical models (psychosocial-cascade, common cause) of the association between hearing difficulties and memory problems, adjusting for age. A sample of 479 adults (18–87 years) completed self-reported outcome measures. Half the participants reported clinically significant hearing difficulties and 30% self-reported memory problems. In the direct model, reporting hearing difficulties was associated with a greater likelihood of reporting memory problems (β = 0.17, p = 0.007, 95% Confidence Intervals [CI] = 0.00, 0.01). Hearing difficulties were also associated with poorer physical health, but this did not mediate the association with memory. Psychosocial factors, however, fully mediated the relationship between hearing difficulties and memory problems (β = 0.03, p = 0.019, 95% CI = 0.00, 0.01). Adults with hearing difficulties may be more likely to self-report memory problems, irrespective of age. This study supports the psychosocial-cascade model, as the association between self-reported hearing and memory problems was explained entirely by psychosocial factors. Future studies should investigate these associations using behavioural measures, as well as explore whether interventions can reduce the risk of developing memory problems in this population.</p

Pre-adult IQ test scores by test used.

Box plot (median, quartiles, minimum, maximum) of IQ test scores by test used (Pinter Cunningham A (N = 22), Pinter Durost A(N = 29), Otis Intermedio (N = 35), Pinter General Intermedio (N = 28), and Otis Superior (N = 34).</p

Overview of the different rationales for choosing pre-adult test scores for their stability and predictive ability.

Overview of the different rationales for choosing pre-adult test scores for their stability and predictive ability.</p

Correlations of pre-adult IQ scores and later life test scores.

Correlations of pre-adult IQ scores and later life test scores.</p

Large within subject variance in childhood cognitive ability scores of Guatemalan high SES individuals born 1943-1953 [Poster]

Large within subject variance in childhood cognitive ability scores of Guatemalan high SES individuals born 1943-1953 [Poster

Correlations of pre-adult IQ tests scores.

Correlations of pre-adult IQ tests scores.</p

IQ tests used in the study.

IQ tests used in the study.</p