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
176 to 200 of 1,184Jeannette Brodbeck; Thomas Berger; Hans J. and 1 others (2017)randomised controlled trialMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usTrials40 citations
An internet-based self-help intervention for older adults after marital bereavement, separation or divorce: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
BACKGROUND: Marital bereavement and separation or divorce are among the most stressful critical life events in later life. These events require a dissolution of social and emotional ties, adjustments in daily routine and changes in identity and perspectives for the future. After a normative grief or distress reaction, most individuals cope well with the loss. However, some develop a prolonged grief reaction. Internet-based self-help interventions have proved beneficial for a broad range of disorders, including complicated grief. Based on the task model and the dual-process model of coping with bereavement, we developed a guided internet-based self-help intervention for individuals who experienced marital bereavement, separation or divorce at least 6 months prior to enrolment. The intervention consists of 10 text-based self-help sessions and one supportive email a week. The primary purpos…
matched on later life (text), older adults (text)
Age effect on gray matter volume changes after sleep restriction.
Sleep deprivation disrupted functional and structural brain areas which are associated with cognition and emotion in healthy participants. However, the effect of age on the structural changes after sleep restriction remains unclear. In the current study, gray matter volume was calculated in 43 young adults and 37 old adults before and after sleep restriction. Two-way mixed analysis of variance (between-subject factor: deprivation; within-subject factor: age) was then employed to investigate differences in gray matter volume changes between young and old adults. Gaussian random field theory was applied for multiple comparison correction. Results revealed that sleep restriction decreases gray matter volume in the right thalamus, left precuneus, and postcentral gyrus. More importantly, we found a significant deprivation × age interaction effect mainly in the right dorsal/ventral anterior in…
matched on Aging (mesh)
The potential long-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on patients with non-communicable diseases in Europe: consequences for healthy ageing.
The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic have focused on containing SARS-CoV-2 infection and identifying treatment strategies. While controlling this communicable disease is of utmost importance, the long-term effect on individuals with non-communicable diseases (NCD) is significant. Although certain NCDs appear to increase the severity of COVID-19 and mortality risk, SARS-CoV-2 infection in survivors with NCDs may also affect the progression of their pre-existing clinical conditions. Infection containment measures will have substantial short- and long-term consequences; social distancing and quarantine restrictions will reduce physical activity and increase other unhealthy lifestyles, thus increasing NCD risk factors and worsening clinical symptoms. Vitamin D levels might decrease and there might be a rise in mental health disorders. Many countries have made changes to routine manageme…
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh), Frailty (mesh), healthy ageing (text)
The regulation of emotions in adolescents: Age differences and emotion-specific patterns.
Two experiments addressed the issue of age-related differences and emotion-specific patterns in emotion regulation during adolescence. Experiment 1 examined emotion-specific patterns in the effectiveness of reappraisal and distraction strategies in 14-year-old adolescents (N = 50). Adolescents were instructed to answer spontaneously or to downregulate their responses by using either distraction or cognitive reappraisal strategies before viewing negative pictures and were asked to rate their emotional state after picture presentation. Results showed that reappraisal effectiveness was modulated by emotional content but distraction was not. Reappraisal was more effective than distraction at regulating fear or anxiety (threat-related pictures) but was similar to distraction regarding other emotions. Using the same paradigm, Experiment 2 examined in 12-year-old (N = 56), 13-year-old (N = 49) …
matched on Aging (mesh)
Emotion reactivity and regulation in late-life generalized anxiety disorder: functional connectivity at baseline and post-treatment.
Objectives: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most prevalent mental disorders in the elderly, but its functional neuroanatomy is not well understood. Given the role of emotion dysregulation in GAD, we sought to describe the neural bases of emotion regulation in late-life GAD by analyzing the functional connectivity (FC) in the Salience Network and the Executive Control Network during worry induction and worry reappraisal.
Methods: The study included 28 elderly GAD and 31 non-anxious comparison participants. Twelve elderly GAD completed a 12-week pharmacotherapy trial. We used an in-scanner worry script that alternates blocks of worry induction and reappraisal. We assessed network FC, using the following seeds: anterior insula (AI), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST), and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN).
Results: GAD partici…
matched on Aging (mesh)
Using a pilot curriculum in geriatric palliative care to improve communication skills among medical students.
The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of an elective geriatric palliative care course on medical students' attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors regarding communication with terminally ill patients. Surveys were administered at the beginning and end of the elective. Despite a significant increase in knowledge about geriatric and palliative medicine (F=24.80; P<.001), there were no significant changes in students' self-reported behaviors when applying curriculum-based communication strategies. However, the qualitative analysis of open-ended questions showed that the curriculum intervention did result in an improvement in empowering message strategies for breaking bad news. The evaluation of the end-of-life curriculum needs to exceed the measurement of attitudes and knowledge and include behavioral assessment of end-of-life communication skills.
matched on Geriatrics (mesh)
Characteristics of resonance in heart rate variability stimulated by biofeedback.
As we previously reported, resonant frequency heart rate variability biofeedback increases baroreflex gain and peak expiratory flow in healthy individuals and has positive effects in treatment of asthma patients. Biofeedback readily produces large oscillations in heart rate, blood pressure, vascular tone, and pulse amplitude via paced breathing at the specific natural resonant frequency of the cardiovascular system for each individual. This paper describes how resonance properties of the cardiovascular system mediate the effects of heart rate variability biofeedback. There is evidence that resonant oscillations can train autonomic reflexes to provide therapeutic effect. The paper is based on studies described in previous papers. Here, we discuss the origin of the resonance phenomenon, describe our procedure for determining an individual's resonant frequency, and report data from 32 adult…
matched on Aging (mesh)
Assessment and management of nutrition in older people and its importance to health.
Nutrition is an important element of health in the older population and affects the aging process. The prevalence of malnutrition is increasing in this population and is associated with a decline in: functional status, impaired muscle function, decreased bone mass, immune dysfunction, anemia, reduced cognitive function, poor wound healing, delayed recovery from surgery, higher hospital readmission rates, and mortality. Older people often have reduced appetite and energy expenditure, which, coupled with a decline in biological and physiological functions such as reduced lean body mass, changes in cytokine and hormonal level, and changes in fluid electrolyte regulation, delay gastric emptying and diminish senses of smell and taste. In addition pathologic changes of aging such as chronic diseases and psychological illness all play a role in the complex etiology of malnutrition in older peop…
matched on Aging (mesh), Geriatrics (mesh)
Self-perceptions of aging and cognitive function: the mediating role of volunteering and intergenerational activities.
Objectives: According to stereotype embodiment theory (SET), negative self-perceptions of aging (SPA) affect health across the lifespan. Research indicates that both positive and negative SPA are associated with various health outcomes, including cognitive function. SET postulates three pathways through which SPA can affect health: psychological, behavioral, and physiological. The behavioral pathway suggests that older adults with negative SPA are less likely to engage in a healthy lifestyle, viewing such efforts as futile. Although studies have explored the relationship between SPA and cognitive function, limited research has examined activities that may mediate this relationship. Volunteering and intergenerational activities are potential pathways, as past interventions have shown improvements in memory, attention, and cognitive function. This study investigated the associations of SPA…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Tanaka T, Hirano H, Ikebe K, Ueda T, Iwasaki M, Minakuchi S, Arai H, Akishita M, Kozaki K, Iijima K (2024)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usGeriatrics & gerontology international50 citations Consensus statement on "Oral frailty" from the Japan Geriatrics Society, the Japanese Society of Gerodontology, and the Japanese Association on Sarcopenia and Frailty.
The concept of oral frailty was first proposed in Japan in 2014 by the "Joint Working Committee on Oral Frailty," consisting of three academic societies-the Japan Geriatrics Society, the Japanese Society of Gerodontology, and the Japanese Association on Sarcopenia and Frailty-to enhance public understanding of oral frailty. Oral frailty is a state between robust oral function (a "healthy mouth") and its decline, characterized by slight declines in oral function, including tooth loss and difficulties in eating and communicating, which increase the risk of impaired oral functional capacity but can be reversed with proper intervention and treatment. Oral frailty can be assessed using the Oral Frailty 5-item Checklist (OF-5) without the need for a dental health professional. Oral frailty is defined as having at least two of the following components: (i) fewer teeth, (ii) difficulty chewing, …
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh), Geriatrics (mesh), Frailty (mesh), Geriatric Assessment (mesh), older adults (text)
Social isolation and loneliness as risk factors for hospital admissions for respiratory disease among older adults.
Rising hospital admissions due to respiratory disease (RD) are a major challenge to hospitals. This study explored modifiable social risk factors among 4478 older adults from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Data were linked with administrative hospital records and mortality registry data (follow-up 9.6 years) and analysed using survival analysis accounting for competing risks. Living alone and social disengagement but not social contact or loneliness were associated with an increased risk of RD admissions, independent of socio-demographic, health and behaviour factors. Providing support for disengaged adults living alone who are at risk of RD admissions should be explored.
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
McCrory C, Fiorito G, McLoughlin S, Polidoro S, Cheallaigh CN, Bourke N, Karisola P, Alenius H, Vineis P, Layte R, Kenny RA (2020)cohort or longitudinalMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences49 citations Epigenetic Clocks and Allostatic Load Reveal Potential Sex-Specific Drivers of Biological Aging.
Allostatic load (AL) and epigenetic clocks both attempt to characterize the accelerated aging of biological systems, but at present it is unclear whether these measures are complementary or distinct. This study examines the cross-sectional association of AL with epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) in a subsample of 490 community-dwelling older adults participating in The Irish Longitudinal study on Aging (TILDA). A battery of 14 biomarkers representing the activity of four different physiological systems: immunological, cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, was used to construct the AL score. DNA methylation age was computed according to the algorithms described by Horvath, Hannum, and Levine allowing for estimation of whether an individual is experiencing accelerated or decelerated aging. Horvath, Hannum, and Levine EAA correlated 0.05, 0.03, and 0.21 with AL, respectively. Disaggregation by …
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Lee J, Cagle JG (2017)cohort or longitudinalMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry51 citations Validating the 11-Item Revised University of California Los Angeles Scale to Assess Loneliness Among Older Adults: An Evaluation of Factor Structure and Other Measurement Properties.
Objective: To examine the measurement properties and factor structure of the short version of the Revised University of California Los Angeles (R-UCLA) loneliness scale from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS).
Methods: Based on data from 3,706 HRS participants aged 65 + who completed the 2012 wave of the HRS and its Psychosocial Supplement, the measurement properties and factorability of the R-UCLA were examined by conducting an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on randomly split halves.
Results: The average score for the 11-item loneliness scale was 16.4 (standard deviation: 4.5). An evaluation of the internal consistency produced a Cronbach's α of 0.87. Results from the EFA showed that two- and three-factor models were appropriate. However, based on the results of the CFA, only a two-factor model was determined to be suitable because there …
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Genther DJ, Betz J, Pratt S, Kritchevsky SB, Martin KR, Harris TB, Helzner E, Satterfield S, Xue QL, Yaffe K, Simonsick EM, Lin FR, Health ABC Study (2015)cohort or longitudinalMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences106 citations Association of hearing impairment and mortality in older adults.
Background: Hearing impairment (HI) is highly prevalent in older adults and is associated with social isolation, depression, and risk of dementia. Whether HI is associated with broader downstream outcomes is unclear. We undertook this study to determine whether audiometric HI is associated with mortality in older adults.
Methods: Prospective observational data from 1,958 adults ≥70 years of age from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression. Participants were followed for 8 years after audiometric examination. Mortality was adjudicated by obtaining death certificates. Hearing was defined as the pure-tone average of hearing thresholds in decibels re: hearing level (dB HL) at frequencies from 0.5 to 4kHz. HI was defined as pure-tone average >25 dB HL in the better ear.
Results: Of the 1,146 participants with HI, 492 (42.9%) died c…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Wilson VK, Houston DK, Kilpatrick L, Lovato J, Yaffe K, Cauley JA, Harris TB, Simonsick EM, Ayonayon HN, Kritchevsky SB, Sink KM, Health, Aging and Body Composition Study (2014)cohort or longitudinalMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usJournal of the American Geriatrics Society49 citations Relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D and cognitive function in older adults: the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.
Objectives: To examine the relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and cognitive performance over time in older adults in the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study.
Design: Prospective cohort study.
Setting: Community-dwelling participants in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Memphis, Tennessee.
Participants: Well-functioning adults aged 70 to 79 at baseline with serum 25(OH)D measured at the 12-month follow-up visit and cognitive function measured at baseline and 4-year follow-up visit (N = 2,777).
Measurements: Vitamin D status was categorized as 25(OH)D levels of less than 20.0 ng/mL, 20.0 to 29.9 ng/mL, or 30.0 ng/mL or greater. Cognition was measured using the modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Linear regression models adjusting for multiple covariates, including age, education, sex, race, site, seaso…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Li YP, Chen YM, Chen CH (2013)cohort or longitudinalMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences14 citations Volunteer transitions and physical and psychological health among older adults in Taiwan.
Objectives: This study examines the relationship between transitions in volunteering activity and physical and psychological health outcomes among older adults in Taiwan.
Method: We used 3 waves of a longitudinal survey from Taiwan (1999, 2003, and 2007) including 1,847 older adults aged 58-74. We categorized volunteer activity over time into 5 categories and used generalized estimating equations to examine the relationship between volunteer transition group membership and health outcomes.
Results: Approximately, 3% of older volunteers kept volunteering and 7% stopped or started their volunteering over time. Engaging in any volunteering, including continuous volunteering, discrete volunteering, active-to-inactive volunteering, and inactive-to-active volunteering, was significantly associated with better self-rated health and higher life satisfaction when compared with the nonvolunteering…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Age-related changes in frequency of mind-wandering and task-related interferences during memory encoding and their impact on retrieval.
During the performance of cognitive tasks such as memory encoding, attention can become decoupled from the external environment and instead focused on internal thoughts related to the appraisal of the current task (task-related interferences; TRI), or personal thoughts unrelated to the task at hand (mind-wandering; MW). However, the association between the frequency of these thoughts experienced at encoding and retrieval accuracy in young and older adults remains poorly understood. In this study young and older adults encoded lists of words using one of two encoding tasks: judging whether words are man-made/natural (objective task), or whether they are pleasant/neutral (subjective task). We measured the frequency of TRI and MW at encoding, and related them to retrieval accuracy in both age groups. We found that encoding task influenced the type of internal thoughts experienced by young, …
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Forecasting life satisfaction across adulthood: benefits of seeing a dark future?
Anticipating one's future self is a unique human capacity that contributes importantly to adaptation and health throughout adulthood and old age. Using the adult life span sample of the national German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP; N > 10,000, age range 18 to 96 years), we investigated age-differential stability, correlates, and outcomes of accuracy in anticipation of future life satisfaction across 6 subsequent 5-year time intervals. As expected, we observed few age differences in current life satisfaction but stronger age differences in future expectations: Younger adults anticipated improved future life satisfaction, overestimating their actual life satisfaction 5 years later. By contrast, older adults were more pessimistic about the future, generally underestimating their actual life satisfaction after 5 years. Such age differences persisted above and beyond the effects of self-rated h…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Cornwell B (2011)cohort or longitudinalMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences88 citations Independence through social networks: bridging potential among older women and men.
Objectives: Most studies of older adults' social networks focus on their access to dense networks that yield access to social support. This paper documents gender differences in the extent to which older adults maintain a related, but distinct, form of social capital-bridging potential, which involves serving as a tie between two unconnected parties and thus boosts independence and control of everyday social life.
Methods: I use egocentric social network data from a national sample of 3,005 older adults--collected in 2005-2006 by the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project--to compare older men's and women's network bridging potential using multivariate regression analysis.
Results: Older women are more likely than older men to have bridging potential in their networks-between both kin and non-kin contacts. These gender differences increase with age. Older women are also more lik…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Salivary alpha-amylase stress reactivity across different age groups.
tract Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) increases rapidly in response to psychosocial stress in young adults, but no direct comparisons between different age groups across the life span have been made. Secretion of sAA and cortisol was assessed in children, young adults, and older adults after exposure to the Trier Social Stress Test. Additionally, cardiovascular activity was measured in both adult groups. Older adults showed attenuated sAA, heart rate (HR), and heart rate variability (HRV) responses. Furthermore, we found higher sAA but lower cortisol at baseline as well as lower sAA and cortisol responses in children. Age x sex interactions were observed only for cortisol with higher responses in older male participants. No associations between the parameters were found. These results implicate sAA as an alternative or additional sympathetic stress marker throughout the life span, with mark…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Friedman DB, Laditka JN, Hunter R, Ivey SL, Wu B, Laditka SB, Tseng W, Corwin SJ, Liu R, Mathews AE (2009)cohort or longitudinalMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe Gerontologist46 citations Getting the message out about cognitive health: a cross-cultural comparison of older adults' media awareness and communication needs on how to maintain a healthy brain.
Purpose: Evidence suggests that physical activity and healthy diets may help to maintain cognitive function, reducing risks of developing Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Using a cross-cultural focus, we describe older adults' awareness about cognitive health, and their ideas about how to inform and motivate others to engage in activities that may maintain brain health.
Design and methods: Nineteen focus groups were conducted in 3 states (California, North Carolina, South Carolina) with 177 adults aged 50 years and older. Six groups were with African Americans (AAs), 4 with Chinese, 3 with Vietnamese, 4 with non-Hispanic Whites, and 2 with American Indians (AIs). A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted.
Results: Many participants did not recall reading or hearing about brain health in the media. Participants recommended a multimedia approach to inform others about brain h…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Cheng ST, Yim YK (2008)cohort or longitudinalMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usPsychology and aging27 citations Age differences in forgiveness: the role of future time perspective.
This study investigated whether the age trend in forgiveness is partly attributable to age differences in time perspective. Eighty-nine younger and 91 older adults were randomized into 3 experimental conditions: time-expanded, time-limited, and neutral. They responded to hypothetical offensive scenarios and rated the degree to which they would forgive the perpetrator. Results showed that older adults were more forgiving than younger adults, but regardless of age, those in the time-limited condition were more forgiving than those in the time-expanded or the neutral condition. An Age x Time perspective interaction showed that only in older adults did a time-expanded manipulation lead to lower forgiveness than the neutral condition.
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Better or worse than expected? Aging, learning, and the ERN.
This study examined age differences in error processing and reinforcement learning. We were interested in whether the electrophysiological correlates of error processing, the error-related negativity (ERN) and the feedback-related negativity (FRN), reflect learning-related changes in younger and older adults. To do so, we applied a probabilistic learning task in which we manipulated the validity of feedback. The results of our study showed that learning-related changes were much more pronounced (a) in a response-locked positivity for correct trials compared to the ERN and (b) in a feedback-locked positivity for positive feedback compared to the FRN. These findings provide an important extension to recent theoretical accounts [Holroyd, C. B., & Coles, M. G. H. (2002). The neural basis of human error processing: Reinforcement learning, dopamine, and the error-related negativity. Psychologi…
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Urry HL, van Reekum CM, Johnstone T, Kalin NH, Thurow ME, Schaefer HS, Jackson CA, Frye CJ, Greischar LL, Alexander AL, Davidson RJ (2006)cohort or longitudinalMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience749 citations Amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex are inversely coupled during regulation of negative affect and predict the diurnal pattern of cortisol secretion among older adults.
Among younger adults, the ability to willfully regulate negative affect, enabling effective responses to stressful experiences, engages regions of prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala. Because regions of PFC and the amygdala are known to influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, here we test whether PFC and amygdala responses during emotion regulation predict the diurnal pattern of salivary cortisol secretion. We also test whether PFC and amygdala regions are engaged during emotion regulation in older (62- to 64-year-old) rather than younger individuals. We measured brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging as participants regulated (increased or decreased) their affective responses or attended to negative picture stimuli. We also collected saliva samples for 1 week at home for cortisol assay. Consistent with previous work in younger samples, increasing nega…
matched on Aging (mesh), older adults (text)
Biological Processes and Biomarkers Related to Frailty in Older Adults: A State-of-the-Science Literature Review.
The objectives of this literature review were to (1) synthesize biological processes linked to frailty and their corresponding biomarkers and (2) identify potential associations among these processes and biomarkers. In September 2016, PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched. Studies examining biological processes related to frailty in older adults (≥60 years) were included. Studies were excluded if they did not employ specific measures of frailty, did not report the association between biomarkers and frailty, or focused on nonelderly samples (average age < 60). Review articles, commentaries, editorials, and non-English articles were also excluded. Fifty-two articles were reviewed, reporting six biological processes related to frailty and multiple associated biomarkers. The processes (biomarkers) include brain changes (neurotrophic…
matched on Frail Elderly (mesh), Frailty (mesh), older adults (text)