The "long arm" of childhood health: linking childhood disability to late midlife mental health

A growing body of research underscores the early origins of health in later life; however, relatively little is known about the relationship between childhood physical health and adult mental health. This research explores the relationship between childhood disability and depressive symptoms among a nationally representative sample of late midlife adults (N = 3,572). Using data from Waves 8-10 (2006-2010) of the Health and Retirement Study, a series of ordinary least squares regression models were created to assess the number of depressive symptoms. Childhood disability was significantly associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms; however, late midlife social and health factors accounted for differences between those with and without childhood disability. Late midlife physical health appeared to be a particularly salient mediator. Individuals who experience childhood disability may accumulate more physical impairment over the life course, thus experiencing worse mental health such as greater depressive symptoms in late midlife

Does neighborhood disorder predict recovery from mobility limitation? Findings from the Health and Retirement Study

Objective: This research explores whether perceptions of physical neighborhood disorder predict recovery from mobility limitation over a 2-year period and examines whether psychosocial factors (i.e., depressive symptomology and mastery) and physical activity are salient mediators. Method: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS): Participant Lifestyle Questionnaire (2008-2010), odds ratio estimates of recovery were ascertained using binary logistic regression, and post hoc Sobel tests were conducted to formally assess mediation. Results: Net of demographic characteristics and socioeconomic status, increased neighborhood disorder was associated with lower odds of recovery. However, both psychosocial indicators and physical activity were significant individual partial mediators, which suggest neighborhood disorder influences recovery from physical impairment via psychosocial processes and barriers to physical activity. Discussion: Reducing neighborhood disorder may enhance older residents’ psychosocial well-being and improve participation in physical activity, thus increasing recovery from mobility limitation and preventing subsequent disability

SOCIAL COHESION, TRANSPORTATION, AND PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AMONG OLDER ADULTS

Objectives: The purpose of this research is to examine the role that social cohesion and access (conceptualized as mobility and transportation) plays on participation in social activities (i.e., visiting friends/family, attending religious services, participating in organizations, and going out for enjoyment). Participation in valued, social activities promotes of well-being through social interactions and the maintenance of personally meaningful relationships and lifestyles. Methods: Data from the National Health and Aging Trends (NHATS) study were used. The NHATS is representative of U.S. Medicare recipients ages 65 and older. The NHATS collects information on health and participation as well as detailed environmental measures, which makes it well suited for this research. Results: Higher ratings of social cohesion were associated with higher cumulative odds of participating in social activities among older adults, net of sociodemographic characteristics, personal network size, neighborhood disorder, and health factors. Taking public transportation services and walking places were associated with higher cumulative odds of participating in social activities. An interaction between social cohesion and walking places was significant (p=0.002). Older adults who reported high levels of social cohesion and walked to get around their community were more likely to participate in social activities compared with those reporting low social cohesion and walking as a transportation. Discussion: This research provides evidence that socially cohesive neighborhoods enable greater access to social activities through transportation services. Offering a range of transportation services is only piece of creating an age-friendly community—older adults must also feel comfortable using these options

Who Cares for the Kids? Parenting and Caregiving in Disney Films

Disney is recognized as producing powerful cultural products that make major contributions to many forms of children’s media. While it has been suggested that mothers are marginalized in Disney films, there has been no extensive research exploring alternate caregivers, including other-parents. Given the minimal roles of mothers in Disney films and the cultural relevance of biological mothers as primary caregivers, we ask “who cares for the kids?” in these carefully crafted family films with adolescent protagonists. Utilizing a feminist approach, this study explores narrative subtexts surrounding parenting and caregiving by systematically examining feature-length, animated Disney films. A sample of 15 films was analyzed; the films were purposefully sampled using specific family-related criteria. Results reiterate that mothers are marginalized either through their absence or their relatively minor roles. However, fathers and other-parents are significant caregivers in the majority of the films. The use of created kinship was particularly striking

CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, MUSCLE WEAKNESS, AND MOBILITY LIMITATION

Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased mobility limitation. Prior research has documented that peripheral nerve abnormalities occur early in CKD and progressively worsen. Loss of balance, impaired muscle strength, and slow gait predispose older adults to falls and frailty. However, the current literature is limited by a lack of nationally representative data that includes objective measures of kidney disease and physical functioning. Thus, this research examines whether CKD is associated with muscle strength, balance, gait, and self-reported mobility limitations. Methods: Data come from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Estimated GFR, a measure of kidney functioning derived from creatinine levels in the blood, was used to classify CKD (i.e, eGFR<45 or Stage 3b CKD). Logistic and linear regression models were generated to examine the association of CKD with physical functioning, net of demographic characteristics (i.e., age, sex, race, and education) and comorbidities (i.e., obesity, pain, and number of diagnosed medical conditions). Results: In unadjusted models, CKD was significantly associated (p<0.05) with more mobility limitations, slower walking speeds, stronger grip strengths, and non-participation in balance tests. After adjusting for covariates, CKD (β=-1.43, p=0.01) was negatively associated with grip strength. In sex-stratified models, CKD was associated with slower walking speeds among men, whereas CKD was associated with more mobility limitations among women. Discussion: In a nationally representative sample of older adults, CKD was associated with poorer physical functioning on multiple measures. After adjusting for demographic characteristics and comorbidities, CKD was associated with increased muscle weakness

Staying Connected: Alternative Transportation Use, Neighborhoods, and Social Participation Among Older Americans

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A wealth of empirical evidence documents improved health among older adults who participate in social activities. Alternative transportation can serve as a bridge linking older adults to social activities and improving person-environment fit. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using Waves 1-8 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study, this research examines whether alternative transportation use is associated with participation in diverse social activities among a sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older. Additionally, this research explores whether the effect of transportation use varies across neighborhood environments. We analyzed individual trajectories of participation in social activities by estimating 2-level growth curve models. RESULTS: The use of public transportation, paratransit, getting a ride, or walking/using wheelchair/scooter to get places was associated with participating in more types of social activities. Respondents who used alternative transportation had less steep declines in participation. The effect of getting rides and using paratransit services was more pronounced among respondents living in disordered neighborhoods. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This research underscores the importance of alternative transportation use and the neighborhood context for participation among older adults. Age-friendly initiatives aimed at fostering greater community engagement should think broadly about the role of multiple forms of transportation

Linked Lives: Does Disability and Marital Quality Influence Risk of Marital Dissolution among Older Couples?

Using fourteen waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal panel survey with respondents in the United States, this research explores whether marital quality—as measured by reports of enjoyment of time together—influences risk of divorce or separation when either spouse acquires basic care disability. Discrete-time event history models with multiple competing events were estimated using multinomial logistic regression. Respondents were followed until they experienced the focal event (i.e., divorce or separation) or right-hand censoring (i.e., a competing event or were still married at the end of observation). Disability among wives was predictive of divorce/separation in the main effects model. Low levels of marital quality (i.e., enjoy time together) were associated with marital dissolution. An interaction between marital quality and disability yielded a significant association among couples where at least one spouse acquired basic care disability. For couples who acquired disability, those who reported low enjoyment were more likely to divorce/separate than those with high enjoyment; however, the group with the highest predicted probability were couples with low enjoyment, but no acquired disability

Racial differences in cumulative disadvantage among women and its relation to health: Development and preliminary validation of the CSI-WE

Background: Cumulative disadvantage (CD) is a measure of accumulated social, economic, and person-related stressors due to unequal access to resources and opportunities, which increases a person's biological risk for disease. The purpose of this research was to develop an instrument tailored to women's experiences that had intervention and translational potential. In addition, we explored whether CD contributed to racial health disparities among black and white women. Methods: In-depth life course interviews were used to assess stressful experiences of 15 black and 15 white women. Using information from the interviews, we developed the Cumulative Stress Inventory of Women's Experiences (CSI-WE) as a quantitative instrument to measure stressful life experiences from childhood to adulthood. The CSI-WE was then administered to the original 30 women for validation and feedback. Results: Qualitative and quantitative assessments were highly correlated, which suggested that the CSI-WE reliably captured the experiences of the interviewed women. Black participants reported significantly higher numbers of childhood and adult stressors, more acute adulthood and lifetime stressors, and worse adult physical self-rated health. Conclusions: This study supports the preliminary validity of an instrument that once fully validated may be used in future studies to elucidate the experiences of CD among black and white women and examines how these experiences relate to perceived and objective health status

Measurement of the Λ0b→ J/ψΛ angular distribution and the Λ0b polarisation in pp collisions

This paper presents an analysis of the Λ0b→ J/ψΛ angular distribution and the transverse production polarisation of Λ0b baryons in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV. The measurements are performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb−1, collected with the LHCb experiment. The polarisation is determined in a fiducial region of Λ0b transverse momentum and pseudorapidity of 1 < pT< 20 GeV/c and 2 < η < 5, respectively. The data are consistent with Λ0b baryons being produced unpolarised in this region. The parity-violating asymmetry parameter of the Λ → pπ− decay is also determined from the data and its value is found to be consistent with a recent measurement by the BES III collaboration

Measurement of the mass and lifetime of the Ωb−\Omega_b^- baryon

A proton-proton collision data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{-1}$ collected by LHCb at $\sqrt{s}=7$ and 8 TeV, is used to reconstruct $63\pm9$ $\Omega_b^-\to\Omega_c^0\pi^-$, $\Omega_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+$ decays. Using the $\Xi_b^-\to\Xi_c^0\pi^-$, $\Xi_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+$ decay mode for calibration, the lifetime ratio and absolute lifetime of the $\Omega_b^-$ baryon are measured to be \begin{align*} \frac{\tau_{\Omega_b^-}}{\tau_{\Xi_b^-}} &= 1.11\pm0.16\pm0.03, \\ \tau_{\Omega_b^-} &= 1.78\pm0.26\pm0.05\pm0.06~{\rm ps}, \end{align*} where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic and from the calibration mode (for $\tau_{\Omega_b^-}$ only). A measurement is also made of the mass difference, $m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-}$, and the corresponding $\Omega_b^-$ mass, which yields \begin{align*} m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-} &= 247.4\pm3.2\pm0.5~{\rm MeV}/c^2, \\ m_{\Omega_b^-} &= 6045.1\pm3.2\pm 0.5\pm0.6~{\rm MeV}/c^2. \end{align*} These results are consistent with previous measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-008.htm