Subjective Wellbeing, Health and Ageing

Life satisfaction dips around middle age and rises in older age in high-income, English-speaking countries, but that is not a universal pattern, according to a new report. In contrast, residents of other regions -- such as the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa -- grow increasingly less satisfied as they age. The study -- conducted by researchers from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Stony Brook University and University College London -- highlights how residents of different regions across the world experience varying life-satisfaction levels and emotions as they age

Association between low functional health literacy and mortality in older adults: longitudinal cohort study

Objective To investigate the association between low functional health literacy (ability to read and understand basic health related information) and mortality in older adults

Adverse childhood experiences and diurnal cortisol patterns in older people in England

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are associated with HPA axis dysregulation at younger ages, but there is scarcity of evidence for this association at older ages. To add to our knowledge of the lifetime impact of ACE on HPA axis function, we examined whether ACE were associated with diurnal cortisol patterns in a national sample of 587 participants (356 women) aged 55-79 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). We conducted descriptive analyses and estimated sex-specific robust regression models of the associations between the 8-item summary ACE score and four measurements of salivary cortisol over a 24-h cycle (upon waking, 30 min later, at 7 pm, and at bedtime) as well as the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and the diurnal cortisol slope. Our models were adjusted for age, then for childhood socioeconomic position and finally for adult socioeconomic position. In men, we found significant differences that were independent of covariates, with more ACE being associated with lower salivary cortisol levels on waking, a greater CAR, and a flatter diurnal cortisol slope. In women, we observed a graded association between ACE and increased 7 pm salivary cortisol levels. Our findings indicate that childhood adversity is related to HPA axis in older people, especially men. The chronological distance (on average >50 years) between ACE and salivary cortisol levels suggests the existence of a lifelong association between childhood adversity and HPA axis and neuroendocrine function. Notwithstanding sex differences, based on our findings we suggest that HPA axis dysregulation could be a pathway that mediates the association between ACE and chronic disease later in life

The shared genetic architecture of smoking behaviours and psychiatric disorders: evidence from a population-based longitudinal study in England

BACKGROUND: Considering the co-morbidity of major psychiatric disorders and intelligence with smoking, to increase our understanding of why some people take up smoking or continue to smoke, while others stop smoking without progressing to nicotine dependence, we investigated the genetic propensities to psychiatric disorders and intelligence as determinants of smoking initiation, heaviness of smoking and smoking cessation in older adults from the general population. RESULTS: Having utilised data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), our results showed that one standard deviation increase in MDD-PGS was associated with increased odds of being a moderate-heavy smoker (odds ratio [OR] = 1.11, SE = 0.04, 95%CI = 1.00-1.24, p = 0.028). There were no other significant associations between SZ-PGS, BD-PGS, or IQ-PGS and smoking initiation, heaviness of smoking and smoking cessation in older adults from the general population in the UK. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking is a behaviour that does not appear to share common genetic ground with schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and intelligence in older adults, which may suggest that it is more likely to be modifiable by smoking cessation interventions. Once started to smoke, older adults with a higher polygenic predisposition to major depressive disorders are more likely to be moderate to heavy smokers, implying that these adults may require targeted smoking cessation services

Association between depressive symptoms and pericardial fat in healthy older men and women

Depressive symptoms are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and inflammation may contribute to this relationship. Pericardial fat, a highly metabolically active fat depot, is implicated in the pathogenesis of CVD, but its association with depressive symptoms is unclear. This study examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between depressive symptoms and pericardial fat over a three-year period. Participants were 543 healthy men and women (mean age = 62.9 years) without history or objective signs of coronary heart disease from the Whitehall II cohort. In men, depressive symptoms were positively associated with pericardial fat at baseline after adjustment for sociodemographics, waist to hip ratio and conventional cardiovascular risk factors. Inflammation, indexed by plasma interleukin 6 concentration, accounted for 17% of this association. Longitudinally, depressive symptoms did not predict pericardial fat three years later in men once baseline levels of pericardial fat were accounted for. No significant associations between depressive symptoms and pericardial fat were found in women. Overall, our findings suggest that greater pericardial fat might be a mechanism by which depressive symptoms are associated with increased risk for CVD in men, and inflammation may also lie on this pathway

Internet use and psychological wellbeing among older adults in England: a difference-in-differences analysis over the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Longitudinal evidence on how Internet use affects the psychological wellbeing of older adults has been mixed. As policymakers invest in efforts to reduce the digital divide, it is important to have robust evidence on whether encouraging Internet use among older adults is beneficial, or potentially detrimental, to their wellbeing. METHODS: We observe depressive symptoms and loneliness of adults aged 50 + in the nationally representative English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, from before (2018/19) to during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (June/July and November/December 2020). Our quasi-experimental difference-in-differences strategy compares within-individual wellbeing changes between older adults who desired to use the Internet more but experienced barriers including lack of skills, access, and equipment, with regular Internet users who did not desire to use the Internet more. To reduce selection bias, we match both groups on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics that are predictive of Internet use. We assume that in the absence of COVID-19 - a period of increased reliance on the Internet - the wellbeing trajectories of both groups would have followed a common trend. RESULTS: Compared with matched controls (N = 2983), participants reporting barriers to Internet use (N = 802) experienced a greater increase in the likelihood of depressive symptoms from before to during the pandemic, but not worse loneliness levels. This effect was stronger for women, those aged above 65 years, and those from lower-income households. CONCLUSIONS: Besides enabling access to digital services, efforts to ensure older adults continue to be engaged members of an increasingly digital society could deliver returns in terms of a buffer against psychological distress

Changes in Internet use patterns among older adults in England from before to after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about an increased reliance on the Internet for various daily activities. Given the known digital divide, it is important to understand whether older adults changed their Internet use patterns, but current evidence is limited to cross-sectional studies. This study documents changes in frequency and types of Internet use among older adults from before to shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (2018/2019 to June/July 2020), and the factors predicting regular use during these early days of the pandemic. Using data on 6,840 adults aged 50 + from the nationally representative English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, we apply longitudinal fixed-effects models to examine within-individual changes in Internet use behaviour. There was no change in the likelihood of daily Internet use between 2018/2019 and June/July 2020, despite the increased digitalisation of services over the pandemic. Daily use in June/July 2020 was negatively related to age, neighbourhood deprivation, and loneliness, and positively related to partnership status, education, employment, income, and organisation membership. Using the Internet for making calls and getting information about Government services increased, which was important given the social restrictions and overall uncertainty. However, Internet use for finding health-related information decreased. As the world moves towards digital alternatives post-pandemic, it is important to continually ensure older adults are not at risk of exclusion

Pericardial fat, socioeconomic status and biological responses to acute mental stress

OBJECTIVE: Central adiposity is associated with impaired biological responses to mental stress, and socioeconomic status (SES) might moderate this relationship. However, evidence for associations between pericardial fat, a fat depot implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with cardiovascular and inflammatory responses to mental stress is lacking, and moderation by SES is unknown. METHODS: The sample was 473 healthy men and women (mean age 62.8 years) from the Whitehall II study. Cardiovascular and inflammatory responses to laboratory-induced mental stress, consisting of a five minute Stroop task and five minute mirror tracing task, were assessed. Pericardial fat volume was measured using electron bean computed tomography and adjusted for body surface area. SES was defined by grade of employment within the British civil service (higher/intermediate/lower). RESULTS: Pericardial fat was associated with lower heart rate variability, raised heart rate, plasma interleukin-6, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein at baseline. Furthermore, greater pericardial fat was associated with lower systolic blood pressure reactivity to mental stress, independent of sociodemographics, smoking status, waist to hip ratio and baseline systolic blood pressure. There were no interactions between pericardial fat and SES for any outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Greater pericardial fat was associated with numerous cardiovascular and inflammatory factors implicated in CVD. It was also related to reduced systolic blood pressure reactivity to acute mental stress, independent of central adiposity and baseline systolic blood pressure. This association did not vary by SES. Reduced systolic blood pressure reactivity to mental stress might contribute to the association between greater pericardial fat and CVD

Peripheral inflammation is associated with altered substantia nigra activity and psychomotor slowing in humans

BACKGROUND: Systemic infections commonly cause sickness symptoms including psychomotor retardation. Inflammatory cytokines released during the innate immune response are implicated in the communication of peripheral inflammatory signals to the brain. METHODS: We used functional magnetic resonance brain imaging (fMRI) to investigate neural effects of peripheral inflammation following typhoid vaccination in 16 healthy men, using a double-blind, randomized, crossover-controlled design. RESULTS: Vaccination had no global effect on neurovascular coupling but markedly perturbed neural reactivity within substantia nigra during low-level visual stimulation. During a cognitive task, individuals in whom typhoid vaccination engendered higher levels of circulating interleukin-6 had significantly slower reaction time responses. Prolonged reaction times and larger interleukin-6 responses were associated with evoked neural activity within substantia nigra. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide mechanistic insights into the interaction between inflammatio