The Contribution of Set Switching and Working Memory to Sentence Processing in Older Adults

This study evaluates the involvement of switching skills and working memory capacity in auditory sentence processing in older adults. The authors examined 241 healthy participants, aged 55 to 88 years, who completed four neuropsychological tasks and two sentence-processing tasks. In addition to age and the expected contribution of working memory, switching ability, as measured by the number of perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, emerged as a strong predictor of performance on both sentence-processing tasks. Individuals with both low working-memory spans and more perseverative errors achieved the lowest accuracy scores. These findings are consistent with compensatory accounts of successful performance in older age

Long-term Outcomes of Military Service in Aging and the Life Course: A Positive Re-envisioning

Most research on military service focuses on its short-term negative consequences, especially the mental and physical injuries of those deployed in warzones. However, studies of long-term outcomes reveal surprisingly positive effects of military service—both those early in adulthood that grow over time and others that can emerge later in life. These multidomain effects have been found in veterans of World War II and the Korean War and are now being seen in veterans of the Vietnam War. Although some are directly attributable to public policies such as the GI Bill, which facilitate educational and economic gains, there are personal developmental gains as well, including autonomy, emotional maturity and resilience, mastery, and leadership skills, that lead to better health and well-being in later life. These long-term effects vary across persons, change over time within persons, and often reflect processes of cumulative advantage and disadvantage. We propose a life-span model of the effects of military service that provides a perspective for probing both long-term positive and negative outcomes for aging veterans. We further explicate the model by focusing on both sociocultural dynamics and individual processes. We identify public-use data that can be examined to evaluate this model, and offer a set of questions that can be used to assess military service. Finally, we outline an agenda for dedicated inquiry into such effects and consider policy implications for the health and well-being of aging veterans in later life

A Life-span Perspective on Combat Exposure and PTSD Symptoms in Later Life: Findings From the VA Normative Aging Study

Purpose of the Study: We tested a life-span model of combat exposure on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in later life, examining the direct and indirect effects of prewar, warzone, and postwar factors. Design and Methods: The sample included 947 male World War II and Korean War veterans from the VA Normative Aging Study (Mage = 65, SD = 7). They completed mail surveys on childhood family environment, military service and postwar experience, stressful life events, and PTSD symptoms (response rates > 80%). Results: We constructed an initial path model testing cumulative advantage and disadvantage pathways. Although all hypothesized relationships were significant, the model was not a good fit to the data. Subsequent models showed that all three life-span periods had both direct and indirect effects on PTSD symptoms and that there were interesting cross-links between the two sets of pathways. Implications: The life-span perspective provides a useful heuristic to model various developmental effects on later-life outcomes. A supportive childhood family environment can have lifelong protective effects, whereas a conflictual one can set up lifelong patterns of pessimistic appraisals.Keywords: Homecoming, PTSD symptoms, Childhood family environment, Social support, Combat exposur

Do hassles and uplifts trajectories predict mortality? Longitudinal findings from the VA Normative Aging Study

We examined whether longitudinal patterns of hassles and uplifts trajectories predicted mortality, using a sample of 1315 men from the VA Normative Aging Study (mean age = 65.31, SD = 7.6). In prior work, we identified different trajectory classes of hassles and uplifts exposure and intensity scores over a period of 16 years. In this study, we used the probabilities of these exposure and intensity class memberships to examine their ability to predict mortality. Men with higher probabilities of high hassle intensity trajectory class and high uplift intensity class had higher mortality risks. In a model combining the probabilities of hassle and uplift intensities, the probability of high intensity hassle class membership significantly increased the risk of mortality. This suggests that appraisals of hassles intensity are better predictors of mortality than simple exposure measures, and that uplifts have no independent effects.Keywords: Hassles, Uplifts, Longitudinal, Aging, Mortalit

Do Hassles and Uplifts Change with Age? Longitudinal Findings from the NAS

To examine emotion regulation in later life, we contrasted the modified hedonic treadmill theory with developmental theories, using hassles and uplifts to assess emotion regulation in context. The sample was 1,315 men from the VA Normative Aging Study aged 53 to 85 years, who completed 3,894 observations between 1989 and 2004. We computed three scores for both hassles and uplifts: intensity (ratings reflecting emotion regulation), exposure (count), and summary (total) scores. Computing growth curves over age showed marked differences in trajectory patterns for intensity and exposure scores. Although exposure to hassles and uplifts decreased in later life, intensity scores increased. Growth mixture models (GMM) showed individual differences in patterns of hassles and uplifts intensity and exposure, with relative stability in uplifts intensity, normative non-linear changes in hassles intensity, and complex patterns of individual differences in exposure for both hassles and uplifts. Analyses with the summary scores showed that emotion regulation in later life is a function of both developmental change and contextual exposure, with different patterns emerging for hassles and uplifts. Thus, support was found for both hedonic treadmill and development change theories, reflecting different aspects of change in emotion regulation with age.This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by American Psychological Association and can be found at: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/pag/index.aspx. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.Keywords: emotion regulation, stress, hedonic treadmill, affect, agin

Demographic Effects on Longitudinal Semantic Processing, Working Memory, and Cognitive Speed

OBJECTIVES To better understand and compare effects of aging and education across domains of language and cognition, we investigated whether 1) these domains show different associations with age and education, 2) these domains show similar patterns of age-related change over time, and 3) education moderates the rate of decline in these domains. METHODS We analyzed data from 306 older adults aged 55-85 at baseline of whom 116 returned for follow-up 4-8 years later. An exploratory factor analysis identified domains of language and cognition across a range of tasks. A confirmatory factor analysis analyzed cross-sectional associations of age and education with these domains. Subsequently, mixed linear models analyzed longitudinal change as a function of age and moderation by education. RESULTS Two language domains, i.e., semantic control and semantic memory efficiency, and two cognitive domains, i.e., working memory and cognitive speed, were identified. Older age negatively affected all domains, but semantic memory efficiency and higher education positively affected all domains except cognitive speed at baseline. In language domains, a steeper age-related decline was observed after age 73-74 compared to younger ages, while cognition declined linearly with age. Greater educational attainment did not protect the rate of decline over time in any domain. DISCUSSION Separate domains show varying effects of age and education at baseline, language versus cognitive domains show dissimilar patterns of age-related change over time, and education does not moderate the rate of decline in these domains. These findings broaden our understanding of age effects on cognitive and language abilities by placing observed age differences in context.Objectives: To better understand and compare effects of aging and education across domains of language and cognition, we investigated whether (a) these domains show different associations with age and education, (b) these do- mains show similar patterns of age-related change over time, and (c) education moderates the rate of decline in these domains. Method: We analyzed data from 306 older adults aged 55–85 at baseline of whom 116 returned for follow-up 4–8 years later. An exploratory factor analysis identified domains of language and cognition across a range of tasks. A confirmatory factor analysis analyzed cross-sectional associations of age and education with these domains. Subsequently, mixed linear models analyzed longitudinal change as a function of age and moderation by education. Results: We identified 2 language domains, that is, semantic control and semantic memory efficiency, and 2 cognitive domains, that is, working memory and cognitive speed. Older age negatively affected all domains except semantic memory efficiency, and higher education positively affected all domains except cognitive speed at baseline. In language domains, a steeper age-related decline was observed after age 73–74 compared to younger ages, while cognition declined linearly with age. Greater educational attainment did not protect the rate of decline over time in any domain. Discussion: Separate domains show varying effects of age and education at baseline, language versus cognitive domains show dissimilar patterns of age-related change over time, and education does not moderate the rate of decline in these domains. These findings broaden our understanding of age effects on cognitive and language abilities by placing observed age differences in context.Peer reviewe

Do hassles mediate between life events and mortality in older men? Longitudinal findings from the VA Normative Aging Study

We investigated whether hassles mediated the effect of life events on mortality in a sample of 1293 men (M[subscript age] = 65.58, SD = 7.01), participants in the VA Normative Aging Study. We utilized measures of stressful life events (SLE) and hassles from 1989 to 2004, and men were followed for mortality until 2010. For life events and hassles, previous research identified three and four patterns of change over time, respectively, generally indicating low, moderate, and high trajectories, with one moderate, non-linear pattern for hassles (shallow U curve). Controlling for demographics and health behaviors, we found that those with moderate SLE trajectories (38%) more likely to die than those with low SLE trajectories, HR = 1.42, 95% CI [1.16, 3.45]. Including the hassles classes showed that those with the moderate non-linear hassles trajectory were 63% more likely to die than those with low hassles trajectory, HR = 1.63, 95% CI [1.19, 2.23], while those with consistently high hassles trajectory were over 3 times more likely to die, HR = 3.30, 95% CI [1.58, 6.89]. However, the HR for moderate SLE trajectory decreased only slightly to 1.38, 95% CI [1.13, 1.68], suggesting that the two types of stress have largely independent effects on mortality. Research is needed to determine the physiological and behavioral pathways through which SLE and hassles differentially affect mortality.Keywords: Aging, Stressful life events, Trajectories, Hassles, MortalityKeywords: Aging, Stressful life events, Trajectories, Hassles, Mortalit

Impact of Military Service in Vietnam on Coping and Health Behaviors of Aging Veterans During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Many Vietnam War veterans who experienced military trauma still exhibit PTSD symptomatology. Little is known about how new stressful situations, like the COVID-19 pandemic, affect previously traumatized people or whether they will react differently to them. We explore whether military combat experiences in Vietnam affect veterans’ perceived abilities to cope with COVID-19 and whether current PTSD symptoms and later-adulthood reengagement with trauma memories are related to coping. We examine the extent that current PTSD symptoms and trauma reengagement relate to preventive practices. Participants were part of a randomly sampled cohort of American Legionnaires who responded to two previous surveys (1984, 1998), were born 1945-1953 and deployed to Vietnam 1963-1973, thus representing an aging veteran population. A survey supplement assessed coping with the pandemic and adherence to public health guidelines. The response rate was 74% (N = 507); 422 (61.6%) completed the COVID-19 supplement. Military experiences were found to affect coping with 41.4% reporting they affected ability to cope with COVID-19. Medium- and high-combat veterans were more likely to report that military experience affected coping than low-combat (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.51–3.96; 2.6, 95% CI 1.41–4.61, respectively). Those with high PTSD scores had 7.7-fold (95% CI 4.3–13.17) increased likelihood of reporting that their coping was affected, compared to low-PTSD scorers. Few adopted social distancing (4%), staying at home (17%), or ceasing usual activities (32%); high-combat veterans were least likely to stay home. Veterans who practiced handwashing, sanitizer use, mask-wearing, and surface disinfection had significantly higher PTSD scores than those who did not. Veterans with higher scores on the LOSS-SF (late onset) scale associated more reengagement with trauma memories and were more likely to engage in personal preventive strategies. Analysis of open-ended responses supported these findings. Fifty years after returning from Vietnam, PTSD scores were high for high-combat veterans, suggestive of PTSD diagnosis. Military experiences affected coping with COVID both positively and negatively, and may have helped instill useful personal health behaviors. Veterans, especially those with PTSD symptomatology, may have special needs during stressful times, like the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting compliance with recommended practices, as well as their overall health and well-being

Effects of hypertension and diabetes on sentence comprehension in aging

Objectives. To assess the impact of hypertension and diabetes mellitus on sentence comprehension in older adults. Method. Two hundred and ninety-five adults aged 55 to 84 (52% men) participated in this study. Self-report mail survey combined with medical evaluations were used to determine eligibility. Multiple sources were used to determine whether hypertension and diabetes were present or absent and controlled or uncontrolled. Sentence comprehension was evaluated with two tasks: embedded sentences (ES) and sentences with multiple negatives (MN). Outcome measures were percent accuracy and mean reaction time of correct responses on each task. Results. Regression models adjusted for age, gender, and education showed that the presence of hypertension impaired comprehension on the multiple negatives task (p \u3c .01), whereas the presence of diabetes impaired the comprehension of embedded sentences (p \u3c .05). Uncontrolled diabetes significantly impaired accurate comprehension of sentences with multiple negatives (p \u3c .05). No significant patterns were found for reaction time. Discussion. The presence of hypertension and diabetes adversely affected sentence comprehension, but the relative contribution of each was different. These findings support the researchers’ earlier speculations on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of hypertension and diabetes on language and cognition in aging. Uncontrolled disease status demonstrated more complicated age-related effects on sentence processing, highlighting the clinical importance for cognitive aging of identifying and managing vascular risk factors

Do Stress Trajectories Predict Mortality in Older Men? Longitudinal Findings from the VA Normative Aging Study

We examined long-term patterns of stressful life events (SLE) and their impact on mortality contrasting two theoretical models: allostatic load (linear relationship) and hormesis (inverted U relationship) in 1443 NASmen (aged 41–87 in 1985; M = 60.30, SD = 7.3) with at least two reports of SLEs over 18 years (total observations = 7,634). Using a zero-inflated Poisson growth mixture model, we identified four patterns of SLE trajectories, three showing linear decreases over time with low, medium, and high intercepts, respectively, and one an inverted U, peaking at age 70. Repeating the analysis omitting two health-related SLEs yielded only the first three linear patterns. Compared to the low-stress group, both the moderate and the high-stress groups showed excess mortality, controlling for demographics and health behavior habits, HRs = 1.42 and 1.37, ps < .01 and < .05. The relationship between stress trajectories and mortality was complex and not easily explained by either theoretical model