Circadian as well as circannual rhythms of circulating aldosterone have decreased amplitude in aging women.

Age differences in the characteristics of the circadian rhythm in circulating radioimmunoassayable aldosterone were studied on nine 20 to 26 year-old and ten 70 to 78 year-old women and ten 23 to 26 year old and ten 70 to 80 year old men in Würzburg, West Germany. These diurnally active-nocturnally resting subjects were sampled every 3 hours for 15 hours. A classical analysis of variance and a multivariate analysis of rhythm characteristics revealed major effects of age exerted on the circadian aldosterone amplitude in women (p = 0.003) but not in concomitantly sampled men. These observations complement the study of circadian and circannual rhythms in 8 young adults (15-21 years), 10 mature adults (29-36 years) and 10 post-menopausal (44-59 years) North American women, sampled at 100 minute intervals for 24 hours, once in each season, and document that the adrenocortical aldosterone-producing system remains rhythmic with at least two frequencies up to the late decades of human life, although in women it may be characterized by a reduction in the extent of spectral change after 70 years of age

Overactive, overwrought or overdrawn? the role of personality in undergraduate financial knowledge, decision-making and debt

The financial situation of undergraduate students remains a high-profile issue within the UK higher education sector, not least due to its perceived relationship with retention, well-being and success. This article probes this question from a new direction, using concepts and approaches from the field of applied psychology to examine how students use various forms of credit and whether personality impacts on borrowing behaviour. The sample in this study comprised 604 undergraduate students at a large UK university. Data were collected by online questionnaire on demographic background, borrowing history, borrowing intentions, financial literacy, personality type and attitudes to money. Using a series of regression analyses, it was found that a tendency towards extraversion was particularly associated with the use of overdrafts and borrowing from family members and that this led to higher anticipated debts on graduation. Neuroticism was found not to have any significant relationship to borrowing behaviour, but it was a significant predictor for student anxiety about money management. The article also reports related findings concerning students' learned borrowing behaviour; the acceleration of student use of commercial borrowing during their course of studies; and the construction and implications of financial literacy. © 2011 UCU