Geographic Dispersion and the Well-Being of the Elderly

Perhaps the largest problem confronting our aging population is the rising cost of health care, particularly the costs borne by Medicare and Medicaid. A chief component of this expense is long-term care. Much of this care for an unmarried (mostly widowed) mother is currently provided by adult children. The provision of family care depends importantly on the geographic dispersion of family members. In this study we provide preliminary evidence on the geographic dispersion of adult children and their older unmarried mother. Coresidence is less likely for married adult children, those who are parents and the highly educated and more likely for those who are not working or only employed part time and for black and Hispanic adult children. Close proximity is more common for married children who are parents but less common for the highly educated. When we look at transitions between one wave of data collection and the next (a 2-year interval), about half of adult children live more than 10 miles away at both points, a little less than one quarter live within 10 miles at both points, and 8 percent are coresident at both points in time. Among the 17 percent who make a transition, about half of the changes result in greater distance between the adult child and mother and half bring them into closer proximity. The needs of both generations are likely reflected in these transitions. In fact, a mother’s health is not strongly related to most transitions and if anything, distance tends to be greater for older mothers relative to those mothers in their early 50s.

"Living Apart Together" relationships in the United States

We use two surveys to describe the demographic and attitudinal correlates of being in “Living Apart Together†(LAT), cohabiting, and marital relationships for heterosexuals, lesbians, and gay men. About one third of U.S. adults not married or cohabiting are in LAT relationships – these individuals would be classified as “single†in conventional studies that focus on residential unions. Gay men are somewhat more likely than heterosexual men to be in LAT relationships. For heterosexuals and lesbians, LAT relationships are more common among younger people. Heterosexuals in LAT unions are less likely to expect to marry their partners, but more likely to say that couples should be emotionally dependent than are cohabiters. Regardless of sexual orientation, people in LAT relationships perceive similar amounts of emotional support from partners, but less instrumental support than cohabiters perceive.attitude(s), cohabitation, gay, homosexual, LAT, lesbian, living apart together (LAT), marriage, non-residential partnership, same-sex couples, second demographic transition, social support

Divorce and Child Development

Divorce has become commonplace in the United States. Most Americans are likely to feel its effects directly either from the dissolution of their parents\u27 marriage, their own marriage, or the marriage of one of their offspring. Two recent studies using data from national surveys have estimated that close to half of all children borne in the late 1970s, when the divorce rate reached its peak, will witness the breakup of their family before they reach the age of 16 (Bumpass, 1984; Furstenberg et al., 1983). These startling figures have stimulated a tremendous amount of concern about the impact of divorce on the socialization process. The question of how divorce affects children has interested researchers for more than half a century, and hundreds of studies addressing this question have appeared in psychological and sociological journals. At first glance, it appears that the existing literature tells us very little, for it is rife with inconclusive and even contradictory results. Yet, if we go beyond the specific findings reported in any particular study and look at the larger pattern of results, the data assume a more consistent form, indicating some promising directions for future research

Geographic Dispersion and the Well-Being of the Elderly

Perhaps the largest problem confronting our aging population is the rising cost of health care, particularly the costs borne by Medicare and Medicaid. A chief component of this expense is long-term care. Much of this care for an unmarried (mostly widowed) mother is currently provided by adult children. The provision of family care depends importantly on the geographic dispersion of family members. In this study we provide preliminary evidence on the geographic dispersion of adult children and their older unmarried mother. Coresidence is less likely for married adult children, those who are parents and the highly educated and more likely for those who are not working or only employed part time and for black and Hispanic adult children. Close proximity is more common for married children who are parents but less common for the highly educated. When we look at transitions between one wave of data collection and the next (a 2-year interval), about half of adult children live more than 10 miles away at both points, a little less than one quarter live within 10 miles at both points, and 8 percent are coresident at both points in time. Among the 17 percent who make a transition, about half of the changes result in greater distance between the adult child and mother and half bring them into closer proximity. The needs of both generations are likely reflected in these transitions. In fact, a mother’s health is not strongly related to most transitions and if anything, distance tends to be greater for older mothers relative to those mothers in their early 50s.Social Security Administrationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78351/1/wp234.pd

Spatial Distance Between Parents and Adult Children in the United States

ObjectiveThis brief report presents contemporary national estimates of the spatial distance between residences of parents and adult children in the United States, including distance to one’s nearest parent or adult child and whether one lives near all of their parents and adult children.BackgroundThe most recent national estimates of parent–child spatial proximity come from data for the early 1990s. Moreover, research has rarely assessed the spatial clustering of all parents and adult children.MethodData are from the 2013 Panel Study of Income Dynamics on residential locations of adults aged 25 years and older and each of their parents and adult children. The following two measures of spatial proximity were estimated: the share of adults who have their nearest parent or adult child at a given distance and the share of adults who have all parents and/or all adult children at a given distance. Sociodemographic and geographic differences were examined for both measures.ResultsAmong the adults with at least one living parent or adult child, a significant majority (74.8%) had their nearest parent or adult child within 30 miles, and about one third (35.5%) had all parents and adult children living that close. Spatial proximity differed substantially among sociodemographic groups, with those who were disadvantaged more likely to have their parents or adult children nearby. In most cases, sociodemographic disparities were much higher when spatial proximity was measured by proximity to all parents and all adult children instead of to the nearest parent or nearest adult child.ConclusionDisparities in having all parents and/or adult children nearby may be a result of family solidarity and also may affect family solidarity. This report sets the stage for new investigations of the spatial dimension of family cohesion.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154398/1/jomf12606_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154398/2/jomf12606.pd

Disparities in Vulnerability to Severe Complications from COVID-19 in the United States

Preexisting health conditions increase vulnerability to severe complications from COVID-19. Among middle-aged and older Americans, vulnerability to severe COVID-19 complications based on preexisting conditions is 2-3 times greater for those with low versus high income. Vulnerability is about 40% higher for middle-aged and older adults with a high school degree or less than adults with a four-year college degree. In every age group, Blacks are more vulnerable than Whites, but Hispanics are at lower risk based on fewer preexisting health conditions

Long-term effects od neonatal hypoxia on anxiety-related behaviors and hormonal response to acute stress

Neonatal lesions in the brain have less severe effects than in adults due to the neuronal plasticity of the developing nervous system, although they can cause cognitive and behavioral sequelae. Previously, we found that neonatal hypoxia (NH) transiently affected the expression of proteins associated with synaptogenesis in certain brain areas. The intermingled neural circuits controlling both stress and anxiety suggest a strong relationship between stress experiences and anxiety in both healthy and pathological conditions. We evaluated the long-term effects of NH on anxiety parameters and in stress-induced hormone release in adult female (estrous day of rat cycle) and male rats. Sprague Dawley rats at 4 Post-Natal Day (PND) were exposed to an atmosphere of low oxygen level (6.5% O2 and 93.5% N2) for 70 min. 4PND control pups were exposed to normal oxygen levels (Co) for 70 min. The humidity and temperature conditions were controlled. Pups were then returned with their mother until weaned, and then they were allowed to grow. At 3 months of age, both groups of rats were subjected to two tests, Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) to measure anxiety parameters and a stressful challenge to determine hormone response to acute stress (exposure to ether vapors for 2 min). EPM reflected an unconditional aversion to heights and open spaces, an anxiogenic behavior. The hormonal response to stress included the release of pituitary prolactin (PRL), adrenal progesterone (P4), and adrenal corticosterone (CORT). Blood samples were collected before and after 5 min of stress exposure for serum hormone determinations by RIA. In the EPM test, both female and male hypoxic rats increased the number of entries to the open arms (OA) and the time spent in the OA compared to Co (P<0.05). The results obtained indicated an anxiolytic-related behavior induced by NH, that was higher in female than in male hypoxic rats. Basal levels (unstressed) of PRL and P4 in NH rats remained similar to Co ones in both sexes. Only in female rats, NH increased the basal levels of CORT compared Co rats (P<0.05). In female and male rats, the hormonal release of PRL, P4, and CORT induced by stress, were differentially affected by NH. Hypoxia attenuated the stress-induced PRL secretion in female rats (P<0.05) while this response was blocked in males. The release of CORT by stress was blunted in both sexes by NH. The release of P4 by stress was inhibited in NH female but it was preserved in male rats. In conclusion, the long-term effects of NH were influenced by sex. NH altered the anxiety levels and the hormonal response to stress in adulthood. The alterations caused by NH at the brain level could be influencing the appropriate response to situations of stress and anxiety in adulthood.Fil: Neira, Flavia Judith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Torrecilla, Norma Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Pennacchio, Gisela Erika. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Soaje, Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Jahn, Graciela Alma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Seltzer, Alicia Mabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Villa Mercedes. Escuela de Cs. de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Valdez, Susana Ruth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaXXXVII Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de CuyoSan LuisArgentinaSociedad de Biología de Cuy

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder