Growing old, frailty, and care of the elderly.
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Qurʾān
القرآن6 shownVerses named for this subject by hand come first. The rest are found by the subject’s own Arabic and English senses and are shown as lexical matches, not as anchors anyone has confirmed.
Qur'ān 16:70English sense: old age | Arabic sense: ارذل العمر
وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمۡ ثُمَّ يَتَوَفَّىٰكُمۡۚ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَرۡذَلِ ٱلۡعُمُرِ لِكَيۡ لَا يَعۡلَمَ بَعۡدَ عِلۡمࣲ شَيۡـًٔاۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمࣱ قَدِيرࣱ
It is God who has created you and in time will cause you to die. Some of you will be reduced, in old age, to a most abject state, so that, after having knowledge, they will know nothing at all: God is truly all knowing and all powerful
Qur'ān 30:54Arabic sense: شيب | English sense: grey hair
۞ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن ضَعۡفࣲ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ ضَعۡفࣲ قُوَّةࣰ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ قُوَّةࣲ ضَعۡفࣰ ا وَشَيۡبَةࣰۚ يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ ٱلۡقَدِيرُ
It is God who creates you weak, then gives you strength, then weakness after strength, together with your grey hair: He creates what He will; He is the All Knowing, the All Powerful
Qur'ān 22:5Arabic sense: ارذل العمر
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِن كُنتُمۡ فِي رَيۡبࣲ مِّنَ ٱلۡبَعۡثِ فَإِنَّا خَلَقۡنَٰكُم مِّن تُرَابࣲ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطۡفَةࣲ ثُمَّ مِنۡ عَلَقَةࣲ ثُمَّ مِن مُّضۡغَةࣲ مُّخَلَّقَةࣲ وَغَيۡرِ مُخَلَّقَةࣲ لِّنُبَيِّنَ لَكُمۡۚ وَنُقِرُّ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡحَامِ مَا نَشَآءُ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلࣲ مُّسَمࣰّ ى ثُمَّ نُخۡرِجُكُمۡ طِفۡلࣰ ا ثُمَّ لِتَبۡلُغُوٓاْ أَشُدَّكُمۡۖ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُتَوَفَّىٰ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَرۡذَلِ ٱلۡعُمُرِ لِكَيۡلَا يَعۡلَمَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ عِلۡمࣲ شَيۡـࣰٔ اۚ وَتَرَى ٱلۡأَرۡضَ هَامِدَةࣰ فَإِذَآ أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهَا ٱلۡمَآءَ ٱهۡتَزَّتۡ وَرَبَتۡ وَأَنۢبَتَتۡ مِن كُلِّ زَوۡجِۭ بَهِيجࣲ
People, [remember,] if you doubt the Resurrection, that We created you from dust, then a drop of fluid, then a clinging form, then a lump of flesh, both shaped and unshaped: We mean to make Our power clear to you. Whatever We choose We cause to remain in the womb for an appointed time, then We bring you forth as infants and then you grow and reach maturity. Some die young and some are left to live on to such an age that they forget all they once knew. You sometimes see the earth lifeless, yet when We send down water it stirs and swells and produces every kind of joyous growth
Qur'ān 14:39English sense: old age
ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِي وَهَبَ لِي عَلَى ٱلۡكِبَرِ إِسۡمَٰعِيلَ وَإِسۡحَٰقَۚ إِنَّ رَبِّي لَسَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ
Praise be to God, who has granted me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age: my Lord hears all requests
Qur'ān 15:54English sense: old age
قَالَ أَبَشَّرۡتُمُونِي عَلَىٰٓ أَن مَّسَّنِيَ ٱلۡكِبَرُ فَبِمَ تُبَشِّرُونَ
He said, ‘How can you give me such news when old age has come to me? What sort of news is this?’
Qur'ān 2:266English sense: old age
أَيَوَدُّ أَحَدُكُمۡ أَن تَكُونَ لَهُۥ جَنَّةࣱ مِّن نَّخِيلࣲ وَأَعۡنَابࣲ تَجۡرِي مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ لَهُۥ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ وَأَصَابَهُ ٱلۡكِبَرُ وَلَهُۥ ذُرِّيَّةࣱ ضُعَفَآءُ فَأَصَابَهَآ إِعۡصَارࣱ فِيهِ نَارࣱ فَٱحۡتَرَقَتۡۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمُ ٱلۡأٓيَٰتِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ
Would any of you like to have a garden of palm trees and vines, graced with flowing streams and all kinds of produce, which, when you are afflicted with old age and feeble offspring, is struck by a fiery whirlwind and burnt down? In this way God makes His messages clear to you, so that you may reflect on them
Tafsīr
التفسير6 shownCommentary on the verses above, at most two editions per verse.
en-al-jalalayn on 16:70en-al-jalalayncommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced
And God has created you when you were nothing then He takes you in death when your terms of life are concluded; and there are some among you who are relegated to the most abject stage of life that is the most diminished because of old-age and senility so that he knows nothing after having possessed some knowledge. ‘Ikrima said ‘Whoever recites the Qur’ān will not come to such a predicament’. God is Knowing of how to manage the affairs of His creation Powerful in doing what He will.
en-tafisr-ibn-kathir on 16:70en-tafisr-ibn-kathircommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced
And Allah created you and then He will cause you to die; and among you there are some who are sent back to senility, so that they know nothing after having known (much). Truly, Allah is Knowing, capable of all things (70)
In Man there is a Lesson
Allah tells us that He is controlling the affairs of His servants. He is the One Who created them out of nothing, then He will cause them to die. But there are some of them that He allows to grow old, which is a physical weakness, as Allah says:
اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن ضَعْفٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِن بَعْدِ ضَعْفٍ قُوَّةً
(Allah is He Who created you in (a state of) weakness, then gave you strength after weakness, then after strength gave (you) weakness)(30:54)
لِكَيْ لَا يَعْلَمَ بَعْدَ عِلْمٍ شَيْئًا
(so that they know nothing after having known.) meaning, after he knew things, he will reach a stage where he knows nothing because of weakn
en-asbab-al-nuzul-by-al-wahidi on 22:5en-asbab-al-nuzul-by-al-wahidicommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced
O people, if you are in doubt about the Uprising, surely We created you of dust, then of a sperm drop, then of a blood clot, then of a lump of flesh, fully created and not fully created, that We might make clear to you. The composition of the Adamic body in the first creation is a clear argument against the deniers of the Uprising. He is saying, “I am the Lord who created a body and figure with such comeliness, a stature and form with such beauty, from that feeble sperm drop in that firm settledness. He says, “Did We not create you of feeble water, then put it in a firm settledness?” [77:20-21]. If you ponder this body, you will find an exemplar of all the created and newly arrived things in the celestial and terrestrial worlds. Just as He arranged the seven spheres in heaven, so also He composed seven parts in this body-water and dust, and then flesh, skin, veins, sinews, and bones. Jus
en-al-jalalayn on 30:54en-al-jalalayncommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced
God is the One Who created you from a state of weakness from a ‘base fluid’ cf. Q. 328 then He ordained after a second weakness which is the weakness of the period of childhood strength that is the strength of youth then after strength He appointed weakness again and grey hair the weakness of old age and the grey hairs of decrepitude read vocalised as du‘f ‘weakness’ in all three places. He creates what He will of weakness and strength youth and grey hairs and He is the Knower of how to manage His creatures the Omnipotent.
en-tafisr-ibn-kathir on 30:54en-tafisr-ibn-kathircommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced
Allah is He Who created you in weakness, then gave you strength after weakness, then after strength gave (you) weakness and grey hair. He creates what He wills. And He is the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful (54)
The Different Stages of Man
Here Allah points out how man passes through different stages of creation, one phase after another. He is originally created from dust, then from a Nutfah, then from a clot, then from a lump of flesh. Then he becomes bones, then the bones are clothed with flesh, then the soul is breathed into him. Then he emerges from his mother's womb, weak and thin and powerless. Then he grows up little by little, until he becomes a child, then he reaches the stage of puberty, then he becomes a young man, which is strength after weakness. Then he starts to get older, reaching middle age, then old age and senility, weakness after strength, so he loses his resolve, pow
en-al-jalalayn on 22:5en-al-jalalayncommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced
O mankind in other words O people of Mecca if you are in doubt about the Resurrection then lo! consider that We have created you that is We have created your origin — Adam — from dust then We created his progeny from a drop a sperm-drop then from a clot congealed blood then from a little lump of flesh mudgha a piece of flesh the size of what one would be able to chew mā yumdagh partly formed shaped complete in form and partly unformed that is uncomplete in form that We may make clear to you the perfect nature of Our power that you might then infer from this initial act of creation the reality of its future restoration. And We establish nuqirru marks a new grammatically independent sentence in the wombs whatever We will for a specified time that is until the time for it to come out then We bring you forth from the bellies of your mothers as infants and then We extend your life that you ma
Research library, full list
776 to 800 of 1,184Plasticity of executive functioning in young and older adults: immediate training gains, transfer, and long-term maintenance.
The authors investigated immediate training gains, transfer effects, and 18-month maintenance after 5 weeks of computer-based training in updating of information in working memory in young and older subjects. Trained young and older adults improved significantly more than controls on the criterion task (letter memory), and these gains were maintained 18 months later. Transfer effects were in general limited and restricted to the young participants, who showed transfer to an untrained task that required updating (3-back). The findings demonstrate substantial and durable plasticity of executive functioning across adulthood and old age, although there appear to be age-related constraints in the ability to generalize the acquired updating skill.
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Factors underlying tiredness in older adults.
Background and aims: The purpose of the present study was to examine for factors related to tiredness, cross-sectionally at the age of 75 years, and factors related to subsequent onset of tiredness, from age 75 to 80 in a non-disabled community-living population.
Methods: The study is part of the prospective Nordic Research on Aging Study (NORA) on the 1914 cohort in Jyväskylä, Finland and Glostrup, Denmark. In total, 546 non-disabled older men and women participated in the cross-sectional study at age 75, and 299 persons without tiredness and disability at baseline took part in the follow-up study, from age 75 to 80. Tiredness was measured by a validated scale based on the following items: using the toilet, washing and dressing lower body, and cutting toenails. Independent variables were: social position measured by housing tenure and income, chronic diseases, use of medicine, pain, mus…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
[Loneliness interventions among older adults: sense or nonsense?].
This article focuses on the most important findings of a unique evaluation study of loneliness interventions among older adults. Eighteen interventions have recently been carried out and closely monitored in various parts of the Netherlands. In ten of these interventions the number of participants was sufficiently large to quantitatively determine the effect of the intervention on loneliness. It does not appear to be easy to overcome loneliness: no more than two of the ten interventions resulted in a reduction in loneliness among participants that may be attributed to the intervention. Two other interventions may have had a preventive effect: whereas loneliness increased among members of the control group, it remained more or less constant over time among participants. The effect measurements were followed by process evaluations in an effort to gain insight into the possible reasons why …
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Age-related decline of sleep-dependent consolidation.
Sleep-dependent memory consolidation is observed following motor skill learning: Performance improvements are greater over a 12-h period containing sleep relative to an equivalent interval without sleep. Here we examined whether older adults exhibit sleep-dependent consolidation on a sequence learning task. Participants were trained on one of two sequence learning tasks. Performance was assessed after a 12-h break that included sleep and after a 12-h break that did not include sleep. Older and younger adults showed similar degrees of initial learning. However, performance of the older adults did not improve following sleep, providing evidence that sleep-dependent consolidation is diminished with age.
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Age differences in deactivation: a link to cognitive control?
The network of regions shown by functional imaging studies to be deactivated by experimental tasks relative to nominally more passive baselines (task < baseline) may reflect processes engaged during the resting state or "default mode." Deactivation may result when attention and resources are diverted from default-mode processes toward task processes. Aging is associated with altered patterns of deactivation which may be related to declining resources, difficulties with resource allocation, or both. These possibilities predict that greater task demand, which increases deactivation levels in younger adults, should exacerbate age-related declines in allocating resources away from the default mode. The present study investigated the magnitude and temporal properties of deactivations in young and older adults during tasks that varied in their demand for cognitive control. Two versions of a ve…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
The relationship between pain, neuropsychological performance, and physical function in community-dwelling older adults with chronic low back pain.
Objective: Chronic pain and cognitive impairment are prevalent and disabling in older adults (OA), but their interrelationship has not been rigorously tested. We did so in OA with chronic low back pain (CLBP).
Design: A total of 323 OA (160 pain-free, 163 CLBP; mean age 73.5 years, 45% female) had neuropsychological (NP) testing with the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, Trail Making Test, and the Grooved Pegboard Test. Pain intensity was measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire Short Form. Physical performance (gait speed, functional reach, chair rise, trunk rotation, and static/dynamic lifting), psychosocial disruption (Geriatric Depression Scale, the Short Form-36 Mental Health and Role Limitations-Emotional Composite scale), and self-reported disability (Functional Status Index, the Short From-36 Physical Functioning/Role-Physical Composite scale)…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Age, anger regulation and well-being.
Emotion regulation has been argued to be an important factor in well-being. The current study investigated the effects of adult aging on emotional expression, emotional control and rumination about emotional events, focusing on an emotion which is particularly important in social interaction: anger. Measures of anger regulation and well-being were obtained in a sample of 286 adults aged between 18 and 88. Older adults expressed anger outwardly less often, and reported more inner control of anger using calming strategies compared to their younger counterparts. These age differences were not explained by variance in social desirability of responding. Age improvements in negative affect and anxiety were partly explained by age differences in anger regulation suggesting an important role for anger management in good mental health amongst older adults. Further, age improvements in quality of …
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Quality of Life in Australian Adults Aged 50 Years and Over: Data Using the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life (SEIQOL-DW).
Objectives: This study explored unique and personal domains associated with quality of life (QOL) in 153 mid-aged and older Australian adults over age 50, using an innovative measure of individualized QOL, the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life (SEIQOL-DW).
Methods: Demographic measures as well as the SEIQOL-DW were administered. The qualitative responses on this scale were analyzed by Leximancer, a text analysis program that extracts semantic meaning and relational information automatically from text.
Results: For the sample as a whole, the most important QOL domain was found to be Relationships, followed by Family, Health, Activities, Community, Security, Beliefs, Independence and finally Wellbeing. When the sample was broken down into age bands for analysis, the most important domain theme was Family (50-59 year olds), Relationships (60-69 year olds), Relationsh…
matched on Aging (keyword), healthy ageing (text), later life (text)
Multidimensional predictors of physical frailty in older people: identifying how and for whom they exert their effects.
Physical frailty in older people is an escalating health and social challenge. We investigate its physical, psychological, and social predictors, including how and for whom these conditions exert their effects. For 4638 respondents aged 65-89 years from wave 2 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, we examine prediction of future physical frailty by physical, psychological, and social conditions using latent growth curve analysis with multiple indicators. In addition, we explore their indirect effects through disease and physiologic decline, and repeat these analyses after stratification by gender, age group, and selected conditions which are possible moderators. We find that chronic disease, allostatic load, low physical activity, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, and poor social support all predict future physical frailty. Furthermore, chronic disease and allostatic load…
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh)
Collerton J, Martin-Ruiz C, Davies K, Hilkens CM, Isaacs J, Kolenda C, Parker C, Dunn M, Catt M, Jagger C, von Zglinicki T, Kirkwood TB (2012)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usMechanisms of ageing and development306 citations Frailty and the role of inflammation, immunosenescence and cellular ageing in the very old: cross-sectional findings from the Newcastle 85+ Study.
Age-related frailty is an increasing societal challenge with growing emphasis on identifying its underlying pathophysiology and prospects for intervention. We report findings from the first comprehensive study of frailty and biomarkers of inflammation, immunosenescence and cellular ageing in the very old. Using cross-sectional data from the Newcastle 85+ Study (n=845, aged 85), frailty was operationalized by the Fried and Rockwood models and biomarker associations explored using regression analysis. We confirmed the importance of inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNF-alpha, CRP, neutrophils) in frailty in the very old, previously established only in younger-old populations. Limited evidence was found for immunosenescence in frailty; although total lymphocyte count was inversely related, no association was found with the immune risk profile and the inverse associations observed with memory/naïv…
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh)
Frail older persons' experiences of interinstitutional relocation.
This study examined the effects and experiences of an interinstitutional relocation on older persons' quality of life, wellbeing, and perceived person-centeredness. A pre-test/post-test mixed method design, with an equivalent reference group, was used to examine relationships between variables and to explore personal meaning. Results indicate a significantly larger deterioration in perceived person centeredness among those cognitively intact residents that moved compared to the non-movers. Interviews with moving residents revealed that the relocation was experienced as uncontrollable, un-affectable, and uncertain. However, no significant relocation effects were found from the proxy ratings of the cognitively impaired residents. Nursing interventions that involve, inform, and prepare older persons prior to interinstitutional relocation to enhance their sense of control of the move might m…
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh)
Association between cultural factors and the caregiving burden for Chinese spousal caregivers of frail elderly in Hong Kong.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between cultural factors and the caregiving burden of Chinese spousal caregivers who provided care to their frail partners.
Method: A sample consisting of 102 Chinese caregivers for frail elderly spouses was recruited from home care services across various districts in Hong Kong. Structured interviews were conducted with the participants in their homes, measuring demographics, the functional status of the spouse, the degree of assistance required in daily care, perceived health, the caregiver's orientation to traditional Chinese family values, social support, coping, and caregiver burden.
Results: Findings of regression analysis indicated that gender, activities of daily living (ADL) status, orientation to traditional Chinese family values, passive coping, and marital satisfaction associated with caregiver burden. Being fe…
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh)
Coping with the caregiving role: differences between primary and secondary caregivers of dependent elderly people.
Objectives: The topic of how primary informal caregivers cope with their caregiving demands has generated significant research. However, little is known about secondary informal caregivers, who often share caregiving responsibilities. This cross-sectional study aims to analyse and compare the use and effectiveness of coping strategies of primary and secondary informal caregivers of dependent elderly people, living at home.
Method: A sample of 180 informal caregivers of dependent elderly people - 90 primary and 90 secondary caregivers - was obtained. The study was conducted in the district of Aveiro (Portugal). The Portuguese version of Caregivers' Assessment Management Index - CAMI (Nolan, Keady, & Grant, 1995) was administrated to both sub-samples.
Results: Findings suggest that emotion-cognitive strategies are less efficient for secondary caregivers (e.g. drawing on personal or religio…
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh)
Family caregivers' strains: comparative analysis of cancer caregiving with dementia, diabetes, and frail elderly caregiving.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of cancer from family caregivers' perspective, based on a comparative analysis of caregiving burden and distress, among four types of caregivers.
Methods: The sample included caregivers of persons with cancer, dementia, diabetes, or frail elderly from a nationally representative sample of 606 caregivers.
Results: Although the four different types of caregivers were comparable in most sociodemographic characteristics, caregiving involvement and caregiving outcomes differed among the caregiving groups. Both cancer and dementia caregivers reported greater levels of physical burden and psychological distress than other caregivers, after controlling for sociodemographic and caregiving involvement (i.e., level of burden and caregiving duration) factors.
Discussion: The comparative analysis provided a systematic review of cancer caregiving i…
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh)
Aging, disability, and frailty: implications for universal design.
Throughout the world all populations are seeing burgeoning numbers of "elders", defined as persons aged 65 year and older. In many countries, including Japan, the United States, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, those aged over 65 are at or approaching 15% of the population. As their numbers have increased, so have their health care expenses, leading to extensive research on the health, well being, and life expectancy of these increasingly older elders. Today this group is further sub-divided: the young-old ages 65-74, the old-old ages 75-84, and the oldest-old ages 85+, for both health care and research purposes. However broad variation still characterizes even these groupings. Rates of frailty and disability increase with increasing age among these elders. For example, inabilities to complete at least one activity of daily living increased from about 5-7% at ages 65-69 years to ab…
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh)
Pereira B, Mazzitelli M, Milinkovic A, Casley C, Rubio J, Channa R, Girometti N, Asboe D, Pozniak A, Boffito M (2022)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usAIDS research and human retroviruses38 citations Evaluation of a Clinic Dedicated to People Aging with HIV at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital: Results of a 10-Year Experience.
Successful management of HIV infection as a chronic condition has resulted in a demographic shift where the proportion of people living with HIV (PLWH) older than 50 years is steadily increasing. A dedicated clinic to PLWH older than 50 years was established at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in January 2009 and then extended to HIV services across the directorate. We report the results of a service evaluation reviewing 10 years of activities of this clinic between January 2009 and 2019. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of major noninfectious comorbidities, polypharmacy (≥5 medications), and multimorbidity (≥2 non-HIV-related comorbidities) and describe algorithms devised for use in HIV outpatient clinics across the directorate. A cohort of 744 PLWH older than 50 years attending this service were analyzed (93% male; mean age of 56 ± 5.5 years; 84% white ethnicity); 97.7% were on anti…
matched on Aging (mesh), Frailty (keyword)
Marital separation, reconciliation, and repartnering in later life.
Objective: The growth in gray divorce raises new questions about the marital dissolution process experienced by older adults. Our goal was to assess patterns of reconciliation among couples following marital separation, treating forming a union with a new partner as a competing risk.
Background: Repartnering after a gray divorce is common, particularly among men. However, the extent to which older adults reconcile with their spouses is unknown. In line with the few prior studies on marital reconciliation among younger people, we anticipated that spouses with fewer resources and more marital-specific capital would be more likely to reconcile.
Method: Using the 1998-2018 Health and Retirement Study, we tracked women and men who experienced a marital separation after age 50 to evaluate their propensities to reconcile with their spouse versus form a coresidential union (i.e., cohabitation or…
matched on Aging (keyword), later life (text), older adults (text)
Dickerson F, Dilmore AH, Godoy-Vitorino F, Nguyen TT, Paulus M, Pinto-Tomas AA, Moya-Roman C, Zuniga-Chaves I, Severance EG, Jeste DV (2023)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usCurrent topics in behavioral neurosciences7 citations The Microbiome and Mental Health Across the Lifespan.
Introduction: The combined genetic material of the microorganisms in the human body, known as the microbiome, is being increasingly recognized as a major determinant of human health and disease. Although located predominantly on mucosal surfaces, these microorganisms have profound effects on brain functioning through the gut-brain axis.
Method: The content of the chapter is based on a study group session at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). The objective was to discuss the emerging relationship between the human microbiome and mental health as relevant to ACNP's interests in developing and evaluating novel neuropsychiatric treatment strategies. The focus is on specific brain disorders, such as schizophrenia, substance use, and Alzheimer's disease, as well as on broader clinical issues such as suicidality, loneliness and wisdom in old age, and l…
matched on Aging (keyword), healthy ageing (text), older adults (text)
Van Orden KA, Conwell Y, Chapman BP, Buttaccio A, VanBergen A, Beckwith E, Santee A, Rowe J, Palumbos D, Williams G, Messing S, Sörensen S, Tu X (2022)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usContemporary clinical trials communications6 citations The helping older people engage (HOPE) study: Protocol & COVID modifications for a randomized trial.
Objectives: Evidence-based strategies to reduce loneliness in later life are needed because loneliness impacts all domains of health, functioning, and quality of life. Volunteering is a promising strategy, as a large literature of observational studies documents associations between volunteering and better health and well-being. However, relatively few studies have used randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to examine benefits of volunteering, and none have examined loneliness. The primary objective of the Helping Older People Engage (HOPE) study is to examine the social-emotional benefits of a social volunteering program for lonely older adults. This manuscript describes the rationale and design of the trial.
Methods: We are randomly assigning adults aged 60 or older (up to 300) who report loneliness to 12 months of either AmeriCorps Seniors volunteering program or an active control (self…
matched on Aging (keyword), later life (text), older adults (text)
Vicinanza R, Bersani FS, D'Ottavio E, Murphy M, Bernardini S, Crisciotti F, Frizza A, Mazza V, Biondi M, Troisi G, Cacciafesta M (2020)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usArchives of gerontology and geriatrics30 citations Adherence to Mediterranean diet moderates the association between multimorbidity and depressive symptoms in older adults.
Aim: Adherence to Mediterranean Diet (Med-Diet) has been associated with a lower incidence of chronic diseases and may be associated with lower risk for depression. The aim of the present study was to investigate (i) the association of adherence to Med-Diet with depressive symptoms and multimorbidity in a cohort of geriatric medical outpatients, and (ii) the role of Med-Diet in mediating the association between depressive symptoms and multimorbidity.
Methods: A total of 143 geriatric patients (mean age: 73.1 ± 8.35) were included. Adherence to Med-Diet was evaluated using a validated 14-item questionnaire; depressive and cognitive symptoms were assessed through the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) respectively; multimorbidity was evaluated using the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics (CIRSG-SI).
Results: Significant association…
matched on Aging (keyword), healthy ageing (text), older adults (text)
Social isolation and loneliness in later life: A parallel convergent mixed-methods case study of older adults and their residential contexts in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, USA.
Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly prevalent among older adults in the United States, with implications for morbidity and mortality risk. Little research to date has examined the complex person-place transactions that contribute to social well-being in later life. This study aimed to characterize personal and neighborhood contextual influences on social isolation and loneliness among older adults. Interviews were conducted with independent-dwelling men and women (n = 124; mean age 71 years) in the Minneapolis metropolitan area (USA) from June to October, 2015. A convergent mixed-methods design was applied, whereby quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in parallel to gain simultaneous insights into statistical associations and in-depth individual perspectives. Logistic regression models predicted self-reported social isolation and loneliness, adjusted for age, ge…
matched on Aging (keyword), later life (text), older adults (text)
Prefrontal-limbic connectivity during worry in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder.
Objectives: Although generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders in older adults, very little is known about the neurobiology of worry, the hallmark symptom of GAD in adults over the age of 60. This study investigated the neurobiology and neural circuitry of worry in older GAD patients and controls.
Method: Twenty older GAD patients and 16 age-matched controls (mean age = 67.88) were compared on clinical measures and neural activity during worry using functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Results: As expected, worry elicited activation in frontal regions, amygdala, and insula within the GAD group, with a similar but less prominent frontal pattern was observed in controls. Effective connectivity analyses revealed a positive directional circuit in the GAD group extending from ventromedial through dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, converging on the amy…
matched on Aging (keyword), later life (text), older adults (text)
Unforgiveness, depression, and health in later life: the protective factor of forgivingness.
Objectives: Feeling unforgiven by others has been linked to poor health outcomes. The current study examined whether feeling unforgiven by others is associated with depression and self-rated health among older adults in the United States. The potential moderating roles of forgiving others and self-forgiveness in the association between unforgiveness and both depression and self-rated health was also assessed along with gender differences.
Method: Data were drawn from a sample of 1009 adults in Wave 2 of the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, a national sample of adults aged over 67. Depression was measured using the eight item short form from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Self-rated health was assessed with a one-item indicator.
Results: Analyses indicated that higher levels of self-forgiveness ameliorated the relationship between unforgiveness by others…
matched on Aging (keyword), later life (text), older adults (text)
Cornwell B (2015)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences58 citations Social disadvantage and network turnover.
Objectives: Research shows that socially disadvantaged groups--especially African Americans and people of low socioeconomic status (SES)--experience more unstable social environments. I argue that this causes higher rates of turnover within their personal social networks. This is a particularly important issue among disadvantaged older adults, who may benefit from stable networks. This article, therefore, examines whether social disadvantage is related to various aspects of personal network change.
Method: Social network change was assessed using longitudinal egocentric network data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a study of older adults conducted between 2005 and 2011. Data collection in Wave 2 included a technique for comparing respondents' confidant network rosters between waves. Rates of network losses, deaths, and additions were modeled using multivariate P…
matched on Aging (keyword), later life (text), older adults (text)
Self-Compassion and Well-being among Older Adults.
Two studies assessed the role of self-compassion as a moderator of the relationship between physical health and subjective well-being in the elderly. In Study 1, 132 participants, ranging in age from 67-90 years, completed a questionnaire that assessed their perceptions of their physical health, self-compassion, and subjective well-being. Participants who were in good physical health had high subjective well-being regardless of their level of self-compassion. However, for participants with poorer physical health, self-compassion was associated with greater subjective well-being. In Study 2, 71 participants between the ages of 63 and 97 completed a questionnaire assessing self-compassion, well-being, and their willingness to use assistance for walking, hearing, and memory. Self-compassionate participants reported being less bothered by the use of assistance than those low in self-compassi…
matched on Aging (keyword), later life (text), older adults (text)