Ageing and later life

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

۞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

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

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

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?’

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

حَدَّثَنَا آدَمُ بْنُ أَبِي إِيَاسٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عَدِيِّ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ يَزِيدَ الأَنْصَارِيَّ، عَنْ أَبِي مَسْعُودٍ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، فَقُلْتُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ فَقَالَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ إِذَا أَنْفَقَ الْمُسْلِمُ نَفَقَةً عَلَى أَهْلِهِ وَهْوَ يَحْتَسِبُهَا، كَانَتْ لَهُ صَدَقَةً ‏"‏‏.‏

Narrated Abu Mas`ud Al-Ansari:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When a Muslim spends something on his family intending to receive Allah's reward it is regarded as Sadaqa for him

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنْ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ، عَنِ الأَعْرَجِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ قَالَ اللَّهُ أَنْفِقْ يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ أُنْفِقْ عَلَيْكَ ‏"‏‏.‏

Narrated Abu Huraira:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Allah said, 'O son of Adam! Spend, and I shall spend on you

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا بَهْزُ بْنُ حَكِيمٍ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ جَدِّي، قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ أَبَرُّ قَالَ ‏"‏ أُمَّكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَنْ قَالَ ‏"‏ أُمَّكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَنْ قَالَ ‏"‏ أُمَّكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَنْ قَالَ ‏"‏ ثُمَّ أَبَاكَ ثُمَّ الأَقْرَبَ فَالأَقْرَبَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ وَعَائِشَةَ وَأَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَبَهْزُ بْنُ حَكِيمٍ هُوَ ابْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ حَيْدَةَ الْقُشَيْرِيُّ ‏.‏ وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ ‏.‏ وَقَدْ تَكَلَّمَ شُعْبَةُ فِي بَهْزِ بْنِ حَكِيمٍ وَهُوَ ثِقَةٌ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْحَدِيثِ وَرَوَى عَنْهُ مَعْمَرٌ وَالثَّوْرِيُّ وَحَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الأَئِمَّةِ ‏.‏

Bahz bin Hakim narrated from his father, from his grandfather who said:"I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Who most deserves(my) reverence?' He said: 'Your mother.'" He said: "I said: 'Then who?' He said: 'Your mother.'" He said: "I said: 'Then who?' He said: 'Your mother.'" He said: "I said: 'Then who?' He said: 'Then your father, then the nearest relatives, then the nearest relatives

حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، عَنِ الْمَسْعُودِيِّ، عَنِ الْوَلِيدِ بْنِ الْعَيْزَارِ، عَنْ أَبِي عَمْرٍو الشَّيْبَانِيِّ، عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَىُّ الأَعْمَالِ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ ‏"‏ الصَّلاَةُ لِمِيقَاتِهَا ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَاذَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ ‏"‏ بِرُّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَاذَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ ‏"‏ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ سَكَتَ عَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَلَوِ اسْتَزَدْتُهُ لَزَادَنِي ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ ‏.‏ رَوَاهُ الشَّيْبَانِيُّ وَشُعْبَةُ وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ عَنِ الْوَلِيدِ بْنِ الْعَيْزَارِ وَقَدْ رُوِيَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ مِنْ غَيْرِ وَجْهٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَمْرٍو الشَّيْبَانِيِّ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ ‏.‏ وَأَبُو عَمْرٍو الشَّيْبَانِيُّ اسْمُهُ سَعْدُ بْنُ إِيَاسٍ ‏.‏

Ibn Mas'ud said:"I asked the Messenger of Allah: 'O Messenger of Allah! Which is the most virtuous of deeds?' He said: 'Salat during its appropriate time.' I said: 'Then what, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Being dutiful to one's parents.' I said: 'Then what, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Jihad in the cause of Allah.' Then the messenger of Allah was silent, and if I had asked him more, he would have told me more

ورضواني وجنتي امكثوا فيها خالدين مخلدين ثم يقول لأهل النار كم لبثتم في الأرض عدد سنين قالوا لبثنا يوما أو بعض يوم فيقول بئسما اتجرتم في يوم أو بعض يوم سخطي ومعصيتي وناري امكثوا فيها خالدين مخلدين وخرج الحاكم من حديث عبد الجبار بن وهب أنبأنا سعيد بن طارق عن أبيه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال نعمت الدار الدنيا لمن تزود منها لآخرته حتى يرضي ربه وبئست الدار لمن صدته عن آخرته وقصرت به عن رضا ربه وإذا قال العبد قبح الله الدنيا قالت الدنيا قبح الله أعصانا لربه وقال صحيح الإسناد وخرجه العقيلي وقال عبد الجبار بن وهب مجهول وحديثه غير محفوظ قال وهذا الكلام يروي عن علي من قوله وقول علي خرجه ابن أبي الدنيا عنه بإسناد فيه نظر أن عليا سمع رجلا يسب الدنيا فقال إنها لدار صدق لمن صدقها ودار عافية لمن فهم عنها ودار غني لمن تزود منها مسجد أحباب الله ومهبط وحيه ومصلى ملائكته ومتجر أوليائه اكتسبوا فيها الرحمة وربحوا فيها الجنة فمن ذا يذم الدنيا وقد آذنت بفراقها ونادت بعيبها نعت نفسها وأهلها فمثلت ببلائها ال

وقال مالك رحمه الله ما كان رجل صادقا في حديثه ولا يكذب إلا متع بعقله ولم يصبه مع الهرم آفة ولا خرف

وأما الفدية فتجب على الحامل والمرضع إذا أفطرتا خوفا على ولديهما لكل يوم مد حنطة لمسكين واحد مع القضاء والشيخ الهرم إذا لم يصم تصدق عن كل يوم مدا

وفي وصية لقمان لابنه يا بني اتق المرأة السوء فإنها تشيبك قبل الشيب واتق شرار النساء فإنهن لا يدعون إلى خير وكن من خيارهن على حذر

النوع الثاني من إزالة الفضلات: أجزاء تحذف، مثل قص الشارب، ونتف الإبط، وحلق العانة، وقص الأظافر. ويكره نتف الشيب، ويستحب خضابه.

فإن بقيت رأيت الشيب راغمة % وفي التفرق ما يقضي من العبر

A randomized study of a multidisciplinary program to intervene on geriatric syndromes in vulnerable older people who live at home (Dutch EASYcare Study).: Background: The effectiveness of community-based geriatric intervention models for vulnerable older adults is controversial. We evaluated a problem-based multidisciplinary intervention targeting vulnerable older adults at home that promised efficacy through better timing and increased commitment of patients and primary care physicians. This study compared the effects of this new model to usual care. Methods: Primary care physicians referred older people for problems with cognition, nutrition, be

Elder abuse: a systematic review of risk factors in community-dwelling elders.: Objective: to undertake a systematic literature review of risk factors for abuse in community-dwelling elders, as a first step towards exploring the clinical utility of a risk factor framework. Search strategy and selection criteria: a search was undertaken using the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases for articles published in English up to March 2011, to identify original studies with statistically significant risk factors for abuse in community-dwelling elders. Studies concerning s

A Multicomponent Exercise Intervention that Reverses Frailty and Improves Cognition, Emotion, and Social Networking in the Community-Dwelling Frail Elderly: A Randomized Clinical Trial.: Background: Frailty can be an important clinical target to reduce rates of disability. Objective: To ascertain if a supervised-facility multicomponent exercise program (MEP) when performed by frail older persons can reverse frailty and improve functionality; cognitive, emotional, and social networking; as well as biological biomarkers of frailty, when compared with a controlled population that received no training. Design: This is an interventional, controlled, simple randomized study. Researche

Interventions to Reduce Ageism Against Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.: Background. Research has found a strong link between ageism, in the form of negative stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination toward older people, and risks to their physical and mental health. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of strategies to reduce ageism. Objectives. To assess the relative effects of 3 intervention types designed to reduce ageism among youths and adults-education, intergenerational contact, and combined education and intergenerational contact-by conducting

Factors associated with frailty in older people: an umbrella review.: Background: The number of frail older people is increasing worldwide, and all countries will be confronted with their growing needs for healthcare and social support. The aim of this umbrella review was to summarize the evidence on the factors associated with frailty in older people, using a socioecological approach. Methods: PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Hinari (research4life), and the Trip database were systematically searched up to April 2023. Systematic reviews of

Iridescent Life Course: LGBTQ Aging Research and Blueprint for the Future - A Systematic Review.: Background: LGBTQ* (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer) older adults are demographically diverse and growing populations. In an earlier 25-year review of the literature on sexual orientation and aging, we identified four waves of research that addressed dispelling negative stereotypes, psychosocial adjustment to aging, identity development, and social and community-based support in the lives of LGBTQ older adults. Objectives: The current review was designed to develop an evidence base for

Childhood adversities are associated with shorter telomere length at adult age both in individuals with an anxiety disorder and controls.

Accelerated leukocyte telomere shortening has been previously associated to self-perceived stress and psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and mood disorders. We set out to investigate whether telomere length is affected in patients with anxiety disorders in which stress is a known risk factor. We also studied the effects of childhood and recent psychological distress on telomere length. We utilized samples from the nationally representative population-based Health 2000 Survey that was carried out between 2000-2001 in Finland to assess major public health problems and their determinants. We measured the relative telomere length of the peripheral blood cells by quantitative real-time PCR from 321 individuals with DSM-IV anxiety disorder or subthreshold diagnosis and 653 matched controls aged 30-87 years, who all had undergone the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Whi…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Doing it my way: old women, technology and wellbeing.

This article focuses on women in their nineties (nonagenarians) who are ageing in place - or ageing at home - in upstate New York. I analyse these old women's use of everyday technological tools to care for themselves and construct meaning. I argue that despite what we may expect, nonagenarian women can be and are technogenarians in their active and creative uses of everyday technologies. Old women utilise lifelong care work repertoires to identify, adjust, use and reject old and new technologies for their own everyday mobility, communication, nourishment, and physiological health. Perhaps most importantly techno-savvy elders can maintain and achieve health and wellbeing, associated here with bodily comfort, social networks, self-efficacy and intellectual life, in and beyond their homes. In these ways, nonagenarians can teach us how household technologies can be health and ageing technol…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Humor as a character strength among the elderly: empirical findings on age-related changes and its contribution to satisfaction with life.

Background: Positive psychology studies what is best in people. In their classification of strengths and virtues, Peterson and Seligman [11] assign humor to the virtue of transcendence. Thus far, there is no specific study that deals with age-related changes in humor (as a strength of character) across a lifespan and its relation to well-being in the elderly. Participants and methods: A total of n=42,964 participants completed an online questionnaire on humor as a strength of character. Participants also completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Orientations to Happiness Scale. Results: In a cross-sectional design, the scores for humor decreased until the age of 50. Men between 51 and 62 years had higher scores; there was a trend for women older than 70 to score higher (but this was not statistically significant). Humor was robustly positively correlated with life satisfaction, …

matched on Aging (mesh)

Good things come to those who wait: attenuated discounting of delayed rewards in aged Fischer 344 rats.

The ability to make advantageous choices among outcomes that differ in magnitude, probability, and delay until their arrival is critical for optimal survival and well-being across the lifespan. Aged individuals are often characterized as less impulsive in their choices than their young adult counterparts, demonstrating an increased ability to forgo immediate in favor of delayed (and often more beneficial) rewards. Such "wisdom" is usually characterized as a consequence of learning and life experience. However, aging is also associated with prefrontal cortical dysfunction and concomitant impairments in advantageous choice behavior. Animal models afford the opportunity to isolate the effects of biological aging on decision-making from experiential factors. To model one critical component of decision-making, young adult and aged Fischer 344 rats were trained on a two-choice delay discountin…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Chronic high-fat diet in fathers programs β-cell dysfunction in female rat offspring.

The global prevalence of obesity is increasing across most ages in both sexes. This is contributing to the early emergence of type 2 diabetes and its related epidemic. Having either parent obese is an independent risk factor for childhood obesity. Although the detrimental impacts of diet-induced maternal obesity on adiposity and metabolism in offspring are well established, the extent of any contribution of obese fathers is unclear, particularly the role of non-genetic factors in the causal pathway. Here we show that paternal high-fat-diet (HFD) exposure programs β-cell 'dysfunction' in rat F(1) female offspring. Chronic HFD consumption in Sprague-Dawley fathers induced increased body weight, adiposity, impaired glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Relative to controls, their female offspring had an early onset of impaired insulin secretion and glucose tolerance that worsened with …

matched on Aging (mesh)

Age differences in affective decision making as indexed by performance on the Iowa Gambling Task.

Contemporary perspectives on age differences in risk taking, informed by advances in developmental neuroscience, have emphasized the need to examine the ways in which emotional and cognitive factors interact to influence decision making. In the present study, a diverse sample of 901 individuals between the ages of 10 and 30 were administered a modified version of the Iowa Gambling Task, which is designed to measure affective decision making. Results indicate that approach behaviors (operationalized as the tendency to play increasingly from the advantageous decks over the course of the task) display an inverted U-shape relation to age, peaking in mid- to late adolescence. In contrast, avoidance behaviors (operationalized as the tendency to refrain from playing from the disadvantageous decks) increase linearly with age, with adults avoiding disadvantageous decks at higher rates than both p…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Adolescent risky decision-making: neurocognitive development of reward and control regions.

Recent models hypothesize that adolescents' risky behavior is the consequence of increased sensitivity to rewards in the ventral medial (VM) prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the ventral striatum (VS), paired with immature cognitive control abilities due to slow maturation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and lateral PFC. We tested this hypothesis with fMRI using a gambling task in which participants chose between Low-Risk gambles with a high probability of obtaining a small reward (1 Euro) and High-Risk gambles with a smaller probability of obtaining a higher reward (2, 4, 6, or 8 Euro). We examined neural responses during choice selection and outcome processing in participants from 4 age groups (pre-pubertal children, early adolescents, older adolescents and young adults). High-Risk choices increased with rewards for all ages, but risk-taking decreased with age for low reward ga…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Life satisfaction, anxiety, depression and resilience across the life span of men.

Objective: To determine (a) the relationship between life satisfaction, anxiety, depression and ageing in the male community and (b) to identify the impact of vulnerability factors, personal and social resources on life satisfaction and distress. Design: A stratified random sample of the German male population (N = 2144) was investigated by standardized questionnaires of life satisfaction (FLZ(M)), depression, anxiety (PHQ), resilience (RS-11) and self-esteem (RSS). Results: No age-related change was found regarding overall life satisfaction. Satisfaction with health decreased in midlife (51-60 years), while the importance of health increased. Importance of and satisfaction with partnership and sexuality were only reduced in the oldest group (70+). Anxiety was highest around midlife (51-60 years), accompanied by reduced resilience and self-esteem. No clear age-related change was found re…

matched on Aging (mesh)

A dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking.

It has been hypothesized that reward-seeking and impulsivity develop along different timetables and have different neural underpinnings, and that the difference in their timetables helps account for heightened risk-taking during adolescence. In order to test these propositions, age differences in reward-seeking and impulsivity were examined in a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 935 individuals between the ages of 10 and 30, using self-report and behavioral measures of each construct. Consistent with predictions, age differences in reward-seeking follow a curvilinear pattern, increasing between preadolescence and mid-adolescence, and declining thereafter. In contrast, age differences in impulsivity follow a linear pattern, with impulsivity declining steadily from age 10 on. Heightened vulnerability to risk-taking in middle adolescence may be due to the combination of rel…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Environmental volunteering and health outcomes over a 20-year period.

Purpose: This study tested the hypothesis that volunteering in environmental organizations in midlife is associated with greater physical activity and improved mental and physical health over a 20-year period. Design and methods: The study used data from two waves (1974 and 1994) of the Alameda County Study, a longitudinal study of health and mortality that has followed a cohort of 6,928 adults since 1965. Using logistic and multiple regression models, we examined the prospective association between environmental and other volunteerism and three outcomes (physical activity, self-reported health, and depression), with 1974 volunteerism predicting 1994 outcomes, controlling for a number of relevant covariates. Results: Midlife environmental volunteering was significantly associated with physical activity, self-reported health, and depressive symptoms. Implications: This population-based st…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Effects of aging on mindreading ability through the eyes: an fMRI study.

Theory of Mind--ToM, the capacity to understand one's own and other people's mental states and to refer to them to foresee and explain the behaviour--relies upon a circumscribed neural system: the posterior end of the superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), the adjacent temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), the temporal pole (TP), the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the adjacent paracingulate cortex. To our knowledge, the neural basis of mentalizing has not yet been studied in a developmental perspective covering old age, so the aim of this work is to compare the neural basis of a specific aspect of ToM, the mindreading ability through the eyes, in healthy young and old subjects. Two groups of healthy adults (young: 25.2 years; old: 65.2 years) were submitted to an fMRI scanning while performing the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test, which requires the attribution of a mental state to the other …

matched on Aging (mesh)

Prenatal social stress in the rat programmes neuroendocrine and behavioural responses to stress in the adult offspring: sex-specific effects.

Stress exposure during pregnancy can 'programme' adult behaviour and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress responsiveness. In the present study, we utilised an ethologically relevant social stressor to model the type of stress that pregnant women may experience. We investigated the effects of social defeat by a resident lactating rat over 5 days during the last week of pregnancy on the pregnant intruder rat HPA axis, and on HPA responsivity to stress and anxiety-related behaviour in the adult offspring of the socially-defeated intruder rats. HPA axis responses after social defeat were attenuated in the pregnant rats compared to virgin females. In the adult offspring, systemic interleukin (IL)-1beta or restraint increased adrenocorticotrophic hormone and corticosterone secretion in male and female control rats; however, in prenatally stressed (PNS) offspring, HPA responses were…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Multivitamin use and telomere length in women.

Background: Telomere length may be a marker of biological aging. Multivitamin supplements represent a major source of micronutrients, which may affect telomere length by modulating oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. Objective: The objective was to examine whether multivitamin use is associated with longer telomeres in women. Design: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from 586 early participants (age 35-74 y) in the Sister Study. Multivitamin use and nutrient intakes were assessed with a 146-item food-frequency questionnaire, and relative telomere length of leukocyte DNA was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: After age and other potential confounders were adjusted for, multivitamin use was associated with longer telomeres. Compared with nonusers, the relative telomere length of leukocyte DNA was on average 5.1% longer among daily multivitamin…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Changes in hippocampal morphology and neuroplasticity induced by adolescent THC treatment are associated with cognitive impairment in adulthood.

Marijuana and hashish are the illicit drugs most frequently used by human adolescents. Given the continued neurodevelopment throughout adolescence, adolescents may be more vulnerable than adults to certain neural consequences of heavy marijuana use. This study aimed to assess whether an experimental model of adolescent chronic exposure to Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), may induce lasting effects on learning and memory. Adolescent rats have been treated with THC or its vehicle from 35 to 45 postnatal days (PND) and left undisturbed until their adulthood (75 PND) when aversive and spatial memory was assessed using the passive avoidance and radial maze tasks. No alteration was found in aversive memory, but in the radial maze THC pretreated animals exhibited a worse performance than vehicles, suggesting a deficit in spatial working memory. To correlate memory impairment to altered neurop…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Stress and resilience in the oral histories of rural older women.

Oral history research has seldom focused on the reflections of rural older women. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify: (a) stresses associated with major historical events that affected the lives of rural older women, and (b) strategies they used to deal with those stresses. Oral histories were gathered from a cross-section of 25 older women living in a small rural Midwestern community and analyzed using the method of constant comparison (Glaser & Straus, 1967). Content analysis revealed that economic hardship, disruption of family life, and fears and uncertainties were stressors associated with the Great Depression and world wars of the 20th century. Resilience was demonstrated by frugality, reliance on social supports, and acceptance. Implications for intervention with rural older women are discussed.

matched on Aging (mesh)

Student-teacher relationship stability across early school years for children with intellectual disability or typical development.

Student-teacher relationships of 37 children with moderate to borderline intellectual disability and 61 with typical cognitive development were assessed from child ages 6-8 years. Student-teacher relationship quality was moderately stable for the typical development group, but less so for the intellectual disability group. At each assessment these relationships were poorer for children with intellectual disability. Child behavior problems consistently predicted more conflict, whereas social skills predicted more closeness. Accounting for these child characteristics reduced the status group difference to nonsignificance. Earlier student-teacher relationships predicted subsequent changes in child behavior problems and social skills. Student-teacher relationships in the intellectual disability group were significantly lower for children in regular than special classes by age 8.

matched on Aging (mesh)

What matters, and what matters most, for change in life satisfaction in the oldest-old? A study over 6 years among individuals 80+.

Objectives: The study investigates whether markers of life satisfaction identified in a cross-sectional study-quality of social network, self-rated health, depressive symptoms, locus of control and widowhood, in addition to financial satisfaction and the personality traits of extraversion and neuroticism-predict change in life satisfaction (LSI-Z) across four measurement occasions during a 6-year period in individuals aged 80+. Method: Data were drawn from the Swedish OCTO-Twin-study of individuals aged 80 and older. Results: Growth curve analysis showed a relatively consistent significant linear decline in life satisfaction, but certain markers predicted change in life satisfaction. The loss of spouse, in particular in men, and higher levels of depressive symptoms were related to lower levels of life satisfaction over time. Conclusion: The results from the study question the notion of a…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Loneliness in old age: longitudinal changes and their determinants in an Israeli sample.

Background: There is a paucity of past research concerning longitudinal changes in loneliness in old age and in the factors that correlate with loneliness in older persons. This study examines (a) whether loneliness increases with age, (b) characteristics of the lonely older population, and (c) predictors of becoming lonely in old age. Methods: Data are from the Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study, a national longitudinal study on the health, mental, and social status of people aged 75 and older living in Israel. Loneliness was measured as the frequency at which participants had felt lonely during the last month (range: 0-3). The analysis included two waves of data, with an average gap of 3.5 years between them, with 1147 participants at wave 1 and 588 participants at wave 2. Results: Data showed an increase in the mean level of loneliness over time, rising from 0.62 to 0.80, p<…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Age-associated cognitive decline.

Introduction: Age-associated cognitive decline-or normal (non-pathological, normative, usual) cognitive ageing-is an important human experience which differs in extent between individuals. The determinants of the differences in age-related cognitive decline are not fully understood. Progress in the field is taking place across many areas of biomedical and psychosocial sciences. Areas of agreement and controversy: The phenotype of normal cognitive ageing is well described. Some mental capabilities are well maintained into old age. From early adulthood, there are declines in mental domains such as processing speed, reasoning, memory and executive functions, some of which is underpinned by a decline in a general cognitive factor. There are contributions to understanding individual differences in normal cognitive ageing from genetics, general health and medical disorders such as atherosclero…

matched on Aging (mesh)

We can work it out: age differences in relational pronouns, physiology, and behavior in marital conflict.

This study examined the relationship that personal pronouns spoken during a marital conversation have with the emotional qualities of those interactions and with marital satisfaction. Middle-aged and older couples (N = 154) engaged in a 15-min conflict conversation during which physiology and emotional behavior were continuously monitored. Verbatim transcripts of the conversations were coded into 2 lexical categories: (a) we-ness (we-words), pronouns that focus on the couple; (b) separateness (me/you-words), pronouns that focus on the individual spouses. Analyses revealed that greater we-ness was associated with a number of desirable qualities of the interaction (lower cardiovascular arousal, more positive and less negative emotional behavior), whereas greater separateness was associated with a less desirable profile (more negative emotional behavior, lower marital satisfaction). In term…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Race/ethnicity and telomere length in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Telomere length has emerged as a marker of exposure to oxidative stress and aging. Race/ethnic differences in telomere length have been infrequently investigated. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) was assessed 981 white, black and Hispanic men and women aged 45-84 years participating in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Direct measurement and questionnaire were used to assess covariates. Linear regression was used to estimate associations of LTL with race/ethnicity and age after adjustment for sex, income, education, smoking, physical activity, diet and body mass index. On average blacks and Hispanics had shorter telomeres than whites [adjusted mean differences (standard error) in T/S ratio compared to whites: -0.041 (0.018) for blacks and -0.044 (0.018) for Hispanics]. Blacks and Hispanics showed greater differences in telomere length associated with age than whites (adjusted mea…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Interoceptive awareness declines with age.

Aging has been shown to increase sensory thresholds for a variety of exteroceptive and proprioceptive stimuli. However, the influence of aging on interoceptive awareness has received relatively little empirical attention. Here we report an inverse association between aging and interoception, as indexed by the ability to sense the heartbeat at rest. In a group of 59 participants ranging in age from 22 to 63 years, age inversely predicted heartbeat detection ability, both within and across several measurement sessions. On average, age accounted for 30% of the variance in heartbeat detection accuracy. Other attribute variables including body mass index and sex were not related to heartbeat detection ability. These findings provide clear empirical evidence that interoception, much like exteroception and proprioception, declines with age.

matched on Aging (mesh)

Age, socioeconomic status and obesity growth.

We use panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to examine how body weight changes with age for a cohort moving through early adulthood, to investigate how the age-obesity gradient differs with socioeconomic status (SES) and to study channels for these SES disparities. Our results show first that weight increases with age and is inversely related to SES during childhood. Second, the obesity gradient widens over the lifecycle, consistent with research on other health outcomes. Third, a substantial portion of the "effect" of early life conditions operates through race/ethnicity and the translation of advantaged family backgrounds during childhood into higher levels of subsequent education. By contrast, little of the SES gap appears to propagate through household composition, family income or health behaviors. Fourth, adult SES has independent effects after controlli…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Life satisfaction, distress, and resiliency across the life span of women.

Objective: This study aimed to determine (1) the relationship between life satisfaction, mental disorders, and aging in the female community and (2) to identify the impact of vulnerability factors, personal (resilience, self-esteem), and social resources on life satisfaction and distress. Methods: A stratified random sample of the German female population (N = 2,540) was investigated using standardized questionnaires of life satisfaction (Questions on Life Satisfaction), depression, anxiety (Patient Health Questionnaire), resilience scale (RS-11), and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). Results: When participants were divided into six age groups (18-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, and >70 y), we found lower life satisfaction, satisfaction with partnership, and sexuality beyond the age of 50 years. Satisfaction with health was decreased already at early adulthood. Although the impo…

matched on Aging (mesh)

Childhood ADHD and conduct disorder as independent predictors of male alcohol dependence at age 40.

Objective: The Danish Longitudinal Study on Alcoholism was designed to identify antecedent predictors of adult male alcoholism. The influence of premorbid behaviors consistent with childhood conduct disorder (CD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the development of alcohol misuse was examined. Method: Subjects were selected from a Danish birth cohort (9,125), which included 223 sons of alcoholic fathers (high risk) and 106 matched sons of nonalcoholic fathers (low risk). These subjects have been studied systematically over the past 40 years. They were evaluated in their teens (n=238), later as adults at age 30 (n=241), and more recently at age 40 (n=202). At 19-year/20-year follow-ups, an ADHD scale was derived from teacher ratings and a CD scale was derived from a social worker interview. At 30-year and 40-year follow-ups, a psychiatrist used structured interviews a…

matched on Aging (mesh)