Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage and pathways to memory performance in mid to late adulthood: What matters most?

Objectives. Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage is consistently associated with lower cognitive function in later life. This study aims to distinguish the contribution of specific aspects of childhood socioeconomic disadvantage for memory performance in mid to late adulthood, with consideration for direct and indirect effects through education and occupation. Methods. Data were from adults aged 50 to 80 years who completed the life history module in the 2006/2007 wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (n = 4,553). The outcome, memory score, was based on word recall tests (range: 0–20 points). We used the g-formula to estimate direct and indirect effects of a composite variable for childhood socioeconomic disadvantage and its 4 individual components: lower-skilled occupation of the primary breadwinner, having few books in the home, overcrowding in the home, and lack of water and heating facilities in the home. Results. Few books were the most consequential component of childhood socioeconomic disadvantage for later-life memory (total effect: −0.82 points for few books; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −1.04, −0.60), with roughly half being a direct effect. The total effect of a breadwinner in lower-skilled occupations was smaller but not significantly different from a few books (−0.67 points; 95% CI: −0.88, −0.46), while it was significantly smaller with overcrowding (−0.31 points; 95% CI: −0.56, −0.06). The latter 2 total effects were mostly mediated by education and occupation. Discussion. A literate environment in the childhood home may have lasting direct effects on memory function in mid to later life, while parental occupation and overcrowding appear to influence memory primarily through educational and occupational pathways

Perceived Life Expectancy Is Associated with Colorectal Cancer Screening in England

Background: Cancer screening is a behavior that represents investment in future health. Such investment may depend on how much ‘future’ a person expects. Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the prospective association between perceived personal life expectancy and participation in fecal occult blood test screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) in a national program. Methods: Data were from interviews with 3975 men and women in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) within the eligible age range for the national screening program (60 to 74 years). Perceived life expectancy was indexed as the individual’s estimate of their chance of living another 10–15 years (exact time varied by age), assessed in 2008/2009. Participation in CRC screening from 2010 to 2012/2013 was assessed in 2012/2013. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between perceived life expectancy and screening participation, adjusted for numeracy and known mortality risk factors. Results: Overall, 71% of respondents (2817/3975) reported completing at least one fecal occult blood test (FOBt) during the follow-up. Screening uptake was 76% (1272/1683) among those who estimated their 10–15-year life expectancy as 75–100%, compared with 52% (126/243) among those who estimated theirs as 0–25% (adjusted OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.29–2.34). Conclusions: A longer perceived life expectancy is associated with greater likelihood of participating in CRC screening in England. However, half of people with a low perceived life expectancy still participated in screening. Given that CRC screening is recommended for adults with a remaining life expectancy of ≥10 years, future research should investigate how to communicate the aims of screening more effectively

Multimorbidity and Mental Health Trajectories Among Middle-Aged and Older U.S. Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Findings From the COVID-19 Coping Study

Background and Objectives This study aimed to examine the associations between multimorbidity at the COVID-19 pandemic onset and subsequent longitudinal trajectories of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and loneliness in middle-aged and older adults over a 12-month follow-up. Research Design and Methods Data were from monthly online questionnaires in the COVID-19 Coping Study of U.S. adults aged &ge;55 from April/May 2020 through April/May 2021 (N = 4,024). Multimorbidity was defined as having &ge;2 versus &lt;2 chronic conditions at baseline. Mental health outcomes were assessed monthly as depressive symptoms (8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale), anxiety symptoms (5-item Beck Anxiety Inventory), and loneliness (3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale). We used multivariable-adjusted population- and attrition-weighted mixed-effects linear models to examine the longitudinal associations between multimorbidity and mental health symptoms. Results Multimorbidity at the pandemic onset was associated with elevated depressive (b = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.16&ndash;0.59) and anxiety (b = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.15&ndash;0.62) symptoms at baseline. Changes in symptoms for all three mental health outcomes were nonlinear over time, with worsening symptoms over the first 6 months of the pandemic (April/May to September/October 2020), followed by improvement in symptoms over the subsequent 6 months (September/October 2020 to April/May 2021). Middle-aged and older adults with multimorbidity experienced faster rates of change in anxiety symptoms and loneliness than those without multimorbidity, with persistently elevated mental health symptomatology throughout the follow-up. Discussion and Implications Results highlight the unique and persistent mental health risks experienced by middle-aged and older adults with multimorbidity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The observed improvements in symptoms underscore the mental resilience of these individuals, indicating their adaptation to the ongoing pandemic. &nbsp;</p

Cognitive function prior to systemic therapy and subsequent well‐being in older breast cancer survivors: Longitudinal findings from the Thinking and Living with Cancer Study

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationships between self‐reported and objectively measured cognitive function prior to systemic therapy and subsequent well‐being outcomes over 24 months in older breast cancer survivors.MethodsData were from 397 women aged 60 to 98 diagnosed with non‐metastatic breast cancer in the Thinking and Living with Cancer Study recruited from 2010‐2016. Cognitive function was measured at baseline (following surgery, prior to systemic therapy) using neuropsychological assessments of attention, processing speed, and executive function (APE), learning and memory (LM), and the self‐reported FACT‐Cog scale. Well‐being was measured using the FACT‐G functional, physical, social, and emotional well‐being domain scales at baseline and 12 and 24 months later, scaled from 0 (low) to 100 (high). Linear mixed‐effects models assessed the relationships between each of baseline APE, LM, and FACT‐Cog quartiles with well‐being scores over 24 months, adjusted for confounding variables.ResultsAt baseline, older survivors in the lowest APE, LM, and FACT‐Cog score quartiles experienced poorer global well‐being than those in the highest quartiles. At 24 months, older survivors tended to improve in well‐being, and there were no differences according to baseline APE or LM scores. At 24 months, mean global well‐being was 80.3 (95% CI: 76.2‐84.3) among those in the lowest vs 86.6 (95% CI: 83.1‐90.1) in the highest FACT‐cog quartile, a clinically meaningful difference of 6.3 points (95% CI: 1.5‐11.1).ConclusionsAmong older breast cancer survivors, self‐reported, but not objective cognitive impairments, were associated with lower global well‐being over the first 2 years of survivorship.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155908/1/pon5376.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155908/2/pon5376_am.pd

Text-message Reminders in Colorectal Cancer Screening (TRICCS): a randomised controlled trial

Background: We investigated the effectiveness of a text-message reminder to improve uptake of the English Bowel Cancer Screening programme in London. Methods: We performed a randomised controlled trial across 141 general practices in London. Eight thousand two hundred sixty-nine screening-eligible adults (aged 60–74 years) were randomised in a 1 : 1 ratio to receive either a text-message reminder (n=4134) or no text-message reminder (n=4135) if they had not returned their faecal occult blood test kit within 8 weeks of initial invitation. The primary outcome was the proportion of adults returning a test kit at the end of an 18-week screening episode (intention-to-treat analysis). A subgroup analysis was conducted for individuals receiving an invitation for the first time. Results: Uptake was 39.9% in the control group and 40.5% in the intervention group. Uptake did not differ significantly between groups for the whole study population of older adults (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.94–1.12; P=0.56) but did vary between the groups for first-time invitees (uptake was 34.9% in the control and 40.5% in the intervention; adjusted OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.04–1.58; P=0.02). Conclusions: Although text-message reminders did not significantly increase uptake of the overall population, the improvement among first-time invitees is encouraging

Broadband velocity modulation spectroscopy of HfF^+: towards a measurement of the electron electric dipole moment

Precision spectroscopy of trapped HfF^+ will be used in a search for the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron (eEDM). While this dipole moment has yet to be observed, various extensions to the standard model of particle physics (such as supersymmetry) predict values that are close to the current limit. We present extensive survey spectroscopy of 19 bands covering nearly 5000 cm^(-1) using both frequency-comb and single-frequency laser velocity-modulation spectroscopy. We obtain high-precision rovibrational constants for eight electronic states including those that will be necessary for state preparation and readout in an actual eEDM experiment.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 3 table

Pre-treatment psychoneurological symptoms and their association with longitudinal cognitive function and quality of life in older breast cancer survivors

Context Symptoms affect quality of life (QOL), functional status, and cognitive function in cancer survivors, but older survivors are understudied. Objectives To identify prototypical pre-systemic therapy psychoneurological symptom clusters among older breast cancer survivors, and determine whether these symptom clusters predicted cognition and QOL over time. Methods Women with newly diagnosed non-metastatic breast cancer (n=319) and matched non-cancer controls (n=347) aged 60+ completed questionnaires and neuropsychological tests before systemic therapy and 12- and 24-months later. Latent class analysis identified clusters of survivors based upon their pre-therapy depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and pain. Linear mixed-effects models examined changes in objective cognition, perceived cognition, and functional status (instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) disability, functional well-being, and breast cancer-specific QOL) by group, controlling for covariates. Results Nearly one-fifth of older survivors were classified as having a high pre-therapy symptoms (n=51; 16%); the remainder had a low symptoms (n=268; 84%); both groups improved over time on all outcomes. However, compared to the low symptom group and controls, survivors with high symptoms had lower baseline objective cognition and lower perceived cognition at baseline and 24-months, lower functional well-being at baseline and 12-months, greater IADL disability at baseline, and lower breast cancer-specific QOL at all time points (all p<0.05). Conclusion Nearly one-fifth of older breast cancer survivors had high psychoneurological symptoms at diagnosis, which, predict clinically meaningful decrements in perceived cognition and function in the first 24 months post-diagnosis. Pre-treatment psychoneurological symptom clusters could identify survivors for monitoring or intervention

Pre-M Phase-promoting Factor Associates with Annulate Lamellae in Xenopus Oocytes and Egg Extracts

We have used complementary biochemical and in vivo approaches to study the compartmentalization of M phase-promoting factor (MPF) in prophase Xenopus eggs and oocytes. We first examined the distribution of MPF (Cdc2/CyclinB2) and membranous organelles in high-speed extracts of Xenopus eggs made during mitotic prophase. These extracts were found to lack mitochondria, Golgi membranes, and most endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but to contain the bulk of the pre-MPF pool. This pre-MPF could be pelleted by further centrifugation along with components necessary to activate it. On activation, Cdc2/CyclinB2 moved into the soluble fraction. Electron microscopy and Western blot analysis showed that the pre-MPF pellet contained a specific ER subdomain comprising "annulate lamellae" (AL): stacked ER membranes highly enriched in nuclear pores. Colocalization of pre-MPF with AL was demonstrated by anti-CyclinB2 immunofluorescence in prophase oocytes, in which AL are positioned close to the vegetal surface. Green fluorescent protein-CyclinB2 expressed in oocytes also localized at AL. These data suggest that inactive MPF associates with nuclear envelope components just before activation. This association may explain why nuclei and centrosomes stimulate MPF activation and provide a mechanism for targeting of MPF to some of its key substrates

Cancer-Related Cognitive Outcomes Among Older Breast Cancer Survivors in the Thinking and Living With Cancer Study

Purpose To determine treatment and aging-related effects on longitudinal cognitive function in older breast cancer survivors. Methods Newly diagnosed nonmetastatic breast cancer survivors (n = 344) and matched controls without cancer (n = 347) 60 years of age and older without dementia or neurologic disease were recruited between August 2010 and December 2015. Data collection occurred during presystemic treatment/control enrollment and at 12 and 24 months through biospecimens; surveys; self-reported Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function; and neuropsychological tests that measured attention, processing speed, and executive function (APE) and learning and memory (LM). Linear mixed-effects models tested two-way interactions of treatment group (control, chemotherapy with or without hormonal therapy, and hormonal therapy) and time and explored three-way interactions of ApoE (ε4+ v not) by group by time; covariates included baseline age, frailty, race, and cognitive reserve. Results Survivors and controls were 60 to 98 years of age, were well educated, and had similar baseline cognitive scores. Treatment was related to longitudinal cognition scores, with survivors who received chemotherapy having increasingly worse APE scores (P = .05) and those initiating hormonal therapy having lower LM scores at 12 months (P = .03) than other groups. These group-by-time differences varied by ApoE genotype, where only ε4+ survivors receiving hormone therapy had short-term decreases in adjusted LM scores (three-way interaction P = .03). For APE, the three-way interaction was not significant (P = .14), but scores were significantly lower for ε4+ survivors exposed to chemotherapy (−0.40; 95% CI, −0.79 to −0.01) at 24 months than ε4+ controls (0.01; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.18; P < .05). Increasing age was associated with lower baseline scores on all cognitive measures (P < .001); frailty was associated with baseline APE and self-reported decline (P < .001). Conclusion Breast cancer systemic treatment and aging-related phenotypes and genotypes are associated with longitudinal decreases in cognitive function scores in older survivors. These data could inform treatment decision making and survivorship care planning