Psychosocial Factors Associated with Longevity in the United States: Age Differences between the Old and Oldest-Old in the Health and Retirement Study

Recent growth in the number of adults surviving to advanced ages raises questions about the quality of life associated with increased longevity. Psychosocial factors have received relatively little attention in research on quality of life among the oldest-old. This study uses nationally representative data on older US adults to examine how social relationships, feelings of loneliness, and satisfaction with life and the aging experience differ between the oldest-old, those who have survived to age 90 or older, and older adults in their 70s. We find that the oldest-old are able to maintain social relationships with family and friends and receive more social support than younger elderly adults. Yet, the oldest-old are more likely to feel lonely due to their greater rates of widowhood. Satisfaction with life was higher among the oldest-old, but the oldest-old had more negative perceptions of the aging experience. Psychosocial dimensions of longevity should be considered in research on quality of life among the oldest-old

BMI Trajectories During the Transition to Older Adulthood: Persistent, Widening, or Diminishing Disparities by Ethnicity and Education?

Previous research has produced inconsistent results on whether education and ethnic disparities in BMI persist, widen, or diminish over time. We investigate how education and ethnicity, independently and conditionally, influence BMI trajectories during the transition to older adulthood. Employing random coefficient modeling, we analyzed 8 biennial waves of data (1992-2006) from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal study of individuals born between 1931 and 1941. After adjusting for health behaviors and health status, education and ethnic disparities in BMI persisted for most groups, but narrowed between high-educated white men and both low-educated Hispanic men and high-educated black men. As such, our findings generally support the persistent inequality interpretation. Therefore, even though interventions targeted at earlier points in the life course may be effective in reducing BMI disparities in later life, social and health policies directed at reducing obesity among older adults is also warranted

Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome: Prevalence and Cognitive Performance. A cross-sectional study

Background Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome (MCR) is a predementia stage where slow gait speed and subjective memory complaints are present. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of MCR and assess its relationship with sociodemographic factors and chronic conditions. Methods This is a secondary analysis of the SABE Colombia study conducted in 2015. The analytic sample consisted of 17·577 participants. After determining MCR prevalence, logistic regression was performed to examine the correlates of MCR. Findings The prevalence of MCR was 10·71 %. The median age was 71 years and women composed 74·63 % of the MCR group. After adjusting for confounding variables MCR was associated with increasing age (OR 1·69, CI 1·43 - 1·92), no or low education (OR 1·99, CI 1·67- 2·37), MMSE (OR 0·93, CI 0·91 - 0·95) and chronic conditions such as mental disorders (OR 1·36, CI 1·11-1·67), history of myocardial infarction (OR 1·24, CI 1·04 - 1·47), hypertension (OR 1·23, CI 1·08 - 1·40) and diabetes (OR 1.18, CI 1.01 – 1.37). Interpretation This study found a prevalence of 10·71 % of MCR in Colombian older adults. Additionally, MCR was associated with chronic conditions and sociodemographic factors identified in prior studies. These results increase the awareness of a novel predementia stage whose identification can be performed by clinicians in the outpatient clinic, minimizing the cost of a full neuropsychologic evaluation performed in a memory clinic.publishedVersio

Dried blood spots: Effects of less than optimal collection, shipping time, heat, and humidity

ObjectivesThis study investigates how factors related to collection, storage, transport time, and environmental conditions affect the quality and accuracy of analyses of dried blood spot (DBS) samples.MethodsData come from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) DBS laboratory reports and the HRS merged with the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Global Historical Climate Network Daily (NCDC GHCN‐Daily) and the NCDC Local Climatological Data, by zip code. We ran regression models to examine the associations between assay values based on DBS for five analytes (total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), C‐reactive protein (CRP), and cystatin C) and the characteristics of DBS cards and drops, shipping time, and temperature, and humidity at the time of collection.ResultsWe found cholesterol measures to be sensitive to many factors including small spots, shipping time, high temperature and humidity. Small spots in DBS cards are related to lower values across all analytes. Longer DBS transit time before freezing is associated with lower values of total and HDL cholesterol and cystatin C. Results were similar whether or not venous blood sample values were included in equations.ConclusionsSmall spots, long shipping time, and exposure to high temperature and humidity need to be avoided if possible. Quality of spots and cards and information on shipping time and conditions should be coded with the data to make adjustments in values when necessary. The different results across analytes indicate that results cannot be generalized to all DBS assays.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162768/2/ajhb23390_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162768/1/ajhb23390.pd

Body mass index trajectories from adolescence to midlife: Differential effects of parental and respondent education by race/ethnicity and gender

Objectives: Race/ethnicity and education are among the strongest social determinants of body mass index (BMI) throughout the life course, yet we know relatively little about how these social factors both independently and interactively contribute to the rate at which BMI changes from adolescence to midlife. The purpose of this study is to 1) examine variation in trajectories of BMI from adolescence to midlife by mothers\u27 and respondents\u27 education, and 2) determine if the effects of mothers\u27 and respondents\u27 education on BMI trajectories differ by race/ethnicity and gender. Design: We used nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79). Our sample included White (n=4,433), Black (n=2,420) and Hispanic (n=1,501) respondents. Self-reported height and weight were collected on 16 occasions from 1981-2008. We employed two-level linear growth models to specify BMI trajectories. Results: Mothers\u27 education was inversely associated with BMI and BMI change among women. Among men, mothers\u27 education was inversely associated with BMI; these educational disparities persisted for Whites, diminished for Blacks, and widened for Hispanics. Respondents\u27 education was inversely associated with BMI among women, but was positively associated with the rate of BMI change among Black women. Respondents\u27 education was inversely associated with BMI among White and Hispanic men, and positively associated with BMI among Black men. These educational disparities widened for White and Black men, but narrowed for Hispanic men. Conclusions: Our results suggest that by simultaneously considering multiple sources of stratification, we can more fully understand how the unequal distribution of advantages or disadvantages across social groups affects BMI across the life course

Understanding unequal ageing: towards a synthesis of intersectionality and life course analyses

Intersectionality has received an increasing amount of attention in health inequalities research in recent years. It suggests that treating social characteristics separately—mainly age, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic position—does not match the reality that people simultaneously embody multiple characteristics and are therefore potentially subject to multiple forms of discrimination. Yet the intersectionality literature has paid very little attention to the nature of ageing or the life course, and gerontology has rarely incorporated insights from intersectionality. In this paper, we aim to illustrate how intersectionality might be synthesised with a life course perspective to deliver novel insights into unequal ageing, especially with respect to health. First we provide an overview of how intersectionality can be used in research on inequality, focusing on intersectional subgroups, discrimination, categorisation, and individual heterogeneity. We cover two key approaches—the use of interaction terms in conventional models and multilevel models which are particularly focussed on granular subgroup differences. In advancing a conceptual dialogue with the life course perspective, we discuss the concepts of roles, life stages, transitions, age/cohort, cumulative disadvantage/advantage, and trajectories. We conclude that the synergies between intersectionality and the life course hold exciting opportunities to bring new insights to unequal ageing and its attendant health inequalities