Neighborhood Features and Cognitive Function: Moderating Roles of Individual Socioeconomic Status.

Introduction: There is an interest in exploring the associations between neighborhood characteristics and individual cognitive function; however, little is known about whether these relationships can be modified by individual socioeconomic status, such as educational attainment and income.

Methods: Drawing from the 2010-2018 Health and Retirement Study, this study analyzed 10,621 older respondents (aged 65+) with a total of 33,931 person-waves. These respondents did not have dementia in 2010 and stayed in the same neighborhood throughout the study period.

The Effects of Midlife Acute and Chronic Stressors on Black-White Differences in Cognitive Decline.

Objectives: Midlife stressors may be particularly consequential for cognitive performance and disparities in cognitive decline. This study examined Black-White differences in trajectories of cognition among middle-aged adults and the effects of acute and chronic stressors on these trajectories.

Methods: Data come from 4,011 cognitively healthy individuals aged 51-64 (620 Black and 3,391 White) who participated in the 2006-2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study.

Living Alone During Old Age and the Risk of Dementia: Assessing the Cumulative Risk of Living Alone.

Objectives: This study examines the association between living alone during old age and dementia. Whereas most previous studies on this topic utilize measures of living alone status that were obtained at a single point in time, we compare this typical approach to one that measures long-term exposure to living alone among older adults and assesses whether dementia is more likely to occur within individuals with more accumulated time living alone.

Methods: Data come from the Health and Retirement Study, with a follow-up period of 2000-2018.

Is the mental health of older adults receiving care from their children related to their children's dual burden of caregiving and work stress? A linked lives perspective.

Objectives: Mental health problems are a major concern in the older population in Sweden, as is the growing number of older adults aging alone in their homes and in need of informal care. Using a linked lives perspective, this study explored if older parents' mental health is related to their children's dual burden of informal caregiving and job strain.

Methods: Data from a nationally representative Swedish survey, SWEOLD, were used.

County social isolation and opioid use disorder among older adults: A longitudinal analysis of Medicare data, 2013-2018.

This study aims to fill three knowledge gaps: (1) unclear role of ecological factors in shaping older adults' risk of opioid use disorder (OUD), (2) a lack of longitudinal perspective in OUD research among older adults, and (3) underexplored racial/ethnic differences in the determinants of OUD in older populations. This study estimates the effects of county-level social isolation, concentrated disadvantage, and income inequality on older adults' risk of OUD using longitudinal data analysis. We merged the 2013-2018 Medicare population (aged 65+) data to the American Community Survey 5-year county-level estimates to create a person-year dataset (N = 47,291,217 person-years) and used conditional logit fixed-effects modeling to test whether changes in individual- and county-level covariates alter older adults' risk of OUD.

Brazilian women's use of evidence-based practices in childbirth after participating in the Senses of Birth intervention: A mixed-methods study.

Brazil has a cesarean rate of 56% and low use of Intrapartum Evidence-based Practices (IEBP) of 3.4%, reflecting a medically centered and highly interventionist maternal health care model. The Senses of Birth (SoB) is a health education intervention created to promote normal birth, use of EBP, and reduce unnecessary c-sections.

Trends in Opioid Use Disorder Among Older Adults: Analyzing Medicare Data, 2013-2018.

Introduction: Opioid use disorder has grown rapidly over the years and is a public health crisis in the U.S. Although opioid use disorder is widely studied, relatively little is known about it among older adults.

Short-, Medium-, and Long-term Weight Changes and All-Cause Mortality in Old Age: Findings From the National Survey of the Japanese Elderly.

Background: Recent studies, predominantly in Western populations, suggest that both weight loss and weight gain are associated with an increased mortality risk in old age. However, evidence of this association in older Asian populations remains sparse. This study aimed to examine the association between weight change and all-cause mortality in a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling older Japanese people.

Does Serum Vitamin D Level Affect COVID-19 Infection and Its Severity?-A Case-Control Study.

Background: As effective medication to treat COVID-19 is currently unavailable, preventive remedies may be particularly important.

Objective: To examine the relationship between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) level and COVID-19 infection, its severity, and its clinical case characteristics.

Methods: This case-control study compared serum 25(OH)D levels and rates of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) between 80 healthy controls and 62 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and admitted to Guangxi People's Hospital, China, 2/16/2020-3/16/2020.

Older adults' physical activity-related social control and social support in the context of personal norms.

This study investigated whether perceived physical activity norms moderated the effects of physical activity-related social interactions on intentions to engage in physical activity among community-residing older adults ( = 217). Structural equation modeling tested whether two types of social support and social control interacted with personal norms in predicting intentions to be active. Emotional and informational support were associated with higher intentions, and negative social control was associated with lower intentions to engage in activity.

Trends in the Mortality Risk of Living Alone during Old Age in Sweden, 1992-2011.

This study investigates the association between living alone and mortality over a recent 19-year period (1992-2011). Data from a repeated cross-sectional, nationally representative (Sweden) study of adults ages 77 and older are analyzed in relation to 3-year mortality. Findings suggest that the mortality risk associated with living alone during old age increased between 1992 and 2011 ( = .

Changes in perceived knowledge about childbirth among pregnant women participating in the Senses of Birth intervention in Brazil: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Senses of Birth (SoB) is a health education intervention in Brazil that aims to reduce unnecessary cesareans in the country by providing information on reproductive rights, benefits and risks of childbirth, and use of intrapartum evidence-based practices (EBP) which are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve childbirth outcomes and satisfaction. This study evaluates the impact of the SoB on pregnant women's perceived knowledge about normal birth (NB), cesarean, and use of EBP.

Methods: 1287 pregnant women answered a structured survey immediately after their visit to the intervention, between March 2015 and March 2016.

Socioeconomic Differences in Trajectories of Functional Capacity Among Older Japanese: A 25-Year Longitudinal Study.

Objectives: There is limited research on long-term changes in functional capacity among older Japanese, who differ significantly from their counterparts in Western, developed nations. This study aimed to identify distinct trajectories of functional capacity over a 25-year period and to explore socioeconomic differences in trajectory-group membership probabilities, using a national sample of older Japanese.

Design: Longitudinal panel study with 8 observation points from 1987 to 2012.

Impact of Extremely Hot Days on Emergency Department Visits for Cardiovascular Disease among Older Adults in New York State.

Prior studies have reported the impact of ambient heat exposure on heat-related illnesses and mortality in summer, but few have assessed its effect on cardiovascular diseases (CVD) morbidity, and the association difference by demographics and season. This study examined how extremely hot days affected CVD-related emergency department (ED) visits among older adults from 2005-2013 in New York State. A time-stratified case-crossover design was used to assess the heat-CVD association in summer and transitional months (April-May and September-October).

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Association Between Adverse Childhood Experience, Perceived Discrimination and Body Mass Index in a National Sample of U.S. Older Adults.

The current study evaluated whether there were racial/ethnic differences in the association between childhood adverse experience (ACEs), perceived racial discrimination (PRD), and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of middle age and older adults. We used data from the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (N = 11,404; ≥55 years) that included ACE and past year experiences with PRD. Generalized linear models were stratified by race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White (NHW; n = 7337), non-Hispanic Black (NHB; n = 1960), and Hispanic (n = 1249)).

Age and gender differences in the association between body mass index and all-cause mortality among older Japanese.

Increasing evidence suggests a reverse J-shaped association between body mass index (BMI) and all-cause mortality among the older population. However, findings from non-Western societies including Japan are still sparse. Furthermore, little evidence regarding variation by age and gender in the BMI-mortality relationship in old age exists.

Who Lives Alone During Old Age? Trends in the Social and Functional Disadvantages of Sweden's Solitary Living Older Adults.

This study identifies specific social and functional disadvantages associated with living alone during old age in Sweden and assesses whether these associations have changed during recent decades. Data came from repeated cross-sectional surveys of Swedish adults aged 77+ during 1992-2014. Findings indicate that several types of disadvantage are consistently associated with the probability of living alone including financial insecurity and having never married for women and having never married and mobility impairment for men.

Does the association between leisure activities and survival in old age differ by living arrangement?

Background: Government policies to promote ageing in place have led to a growing frail population living at home in advanced old age, many of whom live alone. Living alone in old age is associated with adverse health outcomes, but we know little about whether it moderates the health impact of other risk and protective factors. Engagement in leisure activities is considered critical to successful ageing.

Heterogeneity in Trajectories of Body Mass Index and Their Associations with Mortality in Old Age: A Literature Review.

This article reviewed studies to investigate the association between trajectories of body mass index (BMI) and mortality among older adults. Investigators conducted a systematic search of published peer-reviewed literature in the PubMed database, and three articles that satisfied the inclusion criteria for the review were identified. All of these studies used group-based trajectory models to identify distinct BMI trajectories.

Changes in health behaviors and the trajectory of body mass index among older Japanese: A 19-year longitudinal study.

Aim: Although the modification of lifestyle factors might facilitate weight control, the effects of health behaviors on the trajectory of bodyweight among older adults have been understudied. We examined the effect of changes in smoking, alcohol use and physical activity on the long-term trajectory of body mass index (BMI) among older Japanese adults.

Methods: Data came from a national sample of 4869 Japanese adults aged 60 years and older at baseline, with up to seven repeated observations over a period of 19 years (1987-2006).

Ethnic differences in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by physical activity levels among older adults in the US.

Aims: This study sought to determine whether the association between varying levels of physical activity (PA) and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality differ by race/ethnicity in older adults.

Methods: The sample comprised 2520 women and 2398 men drawn from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (1988-1994) aged ≥ 60 years. We used the metabolic equivalent (MET) of self-reported PA levels to define activity groups (inactive: those who did not report any PA; active: those who reported 3-6 METs for ≥5 times/week or >6 METs, ≥3 times/week; insufficiently active: those meeting neither criteria).

Physical activity-related social control and social support in older adults: Cognitive and emotional pathways to physical activity.

A survey of 217 older adults assessed physical activity-related positive and negative social control and emotional and informational support, using structural equation modeling to investigate mediational effects of emotional responses and behavioral intentions on physical activity. There were significant indirect effects of social control and social support on intentions as mediated by positive, but not negative, emotional responses, and significant indirect effects of emotional responses on physical activity as mediated by intentions. These findings help to identify the cognitive and emotional pathways by which social control and social support may promote or detract from physical activity in later life.

Smoking and Physical Inactivity as Predictors of Mobility Impairment During Late Life: Exploring Differential Vulnerability Across Education Level in Sweden.

Objectives: To test whether older adults from high and low educational groups are differentially vulnerable to the impact of smoking and physical inactivity on the progression of mobility impairment during old age.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of older Swedish adults (n = 1,311), aged 57-76 years at baseline (1991), were followed for up to 23 years (2014). Multilevel regression was used to estimate individual trajectories of mobility impairment over the study period and to test for differences in the progression of mobility impairment on the basis of smoking status, physical activity status, and level of education.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Trajectories of Cognitive Function in Older Adults.

Objective: The objective of this study is to (a) examine racial/ethnic differences in trajectories of cognitive function and (b) evaluate the role of education and health behaviors (physical activity [PA] and smoking) as mediators of racial/ethnic differences in the rate of decline in cognitive function in older adults.

Method: Data for this study came from the Health and Retirement Study ( n = 3,424). Hierarchical linear models were used to define the trajectory of cognitive function between 2002 and 2008.