Journal of Aging Research最新文献

Introduction: Scientific and technological advances are emphasizing biomarker-driven studies to diagnose, classify, and predict the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementias (Ds) with the development of intelligent systems during these symptom-free years.

Methods: In this study, the data of people over 65 who were diagnosed with AD/D in 2020 were retrospectively scanned, and the data of 243,073 people identified were analyzed on a total of 32 variables, 6 of which were dependent variables and 26 were independent variables.

Results: It is understood from the logistic regression (LR) models that AD/D is a multilayered and extraordinarily complex condition with biological, mental, and social dimensions rather than a single variable or parameter.

Discussion: As a main result of the study, it is understood that instead of generalized diagnostic criteria, the appearance and boundaries of AD in society can be determined with specialized technology-based smart systems.

Background/objectives: Our previous study showed that a combination of lemon myrtle (LM) leaf extract at the conventional dose (250 mg/day, 2.5 mg/day as casuarinin) and low-load resistance training using body weight led to significantly greater increases in muscle size than resistance training alone. This study aimed to determine whether LM supplementation at half the conventional dose (125 mg/day, 1.25 mg/day as casuarinin), combined with low-load resistance training, could similarly enhance muscle hypertrophy in older adults and to evaluate the persistence of these effects during a detraining period.

Methods: This was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group trial. Sixty Japanese men and women aged ≥ 65 years who were aware of age-related declines in muscle strength participated. Participants were randomly assigned to a placebo group or an LM group (receiving 125 mg/day). Both groups performed low-load, bodyweight resistance training twice weekly (three sets of four exercises). Anterior thigh muscle thickness was assessed before and after the 12-week intervention, and after a subsequent 6-week detraining period.

Results: The LM group showed a significantly greater increase in anterior thigh muscle thickness than the placebo group. However, LM supplementation did not help maintain muscle hypertrophy during the detraining period.

Conclusions: LM supplementation at half the conventional dose enhances skeletal muscle hypertrophy following 12 weeks of low-load resistance training in older adults experiencing muscle strength decline. Trial Registration: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry: UMIN000054801.

Background: Declining functional capacity is a major contributor to disability in older populations. This study aimed to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and physical function in physically active adult women.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 515 women aged 46-90 years participating in a free community-based physical activity program in Brazil. Functional capacity was assessed using handgrip strength, trunk flexibility, lower limb muscle strength (LLMS), and walking speed. Participants were classified by BMI into underweight (< 22 kg/m²), eutrophic (22-27 kg/m²), overweight (27-30 kg/m²), and obese (≥ 30 kg/m²). One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc tests and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to assess differences and associations.

Results: Overweight and obese participants represented the largest proportions (27.2% and 25.6%, respectively). Walking speed was slower in obese participants (1.0 m/s) than in the eutrophic group (1.1 m/s), but this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Trunk flexibility was significantly lower in the obese group (21.3 cm vs. 26.3 cm, p < 0.05). LLMS was significantly associated with walking performance across all BMI categories.

Conclusion: Higher BMI is associated with reduced flexibility and mobility in adult women. LLMS appears critical for maintaining functional independence.

Background: Cellular senescence might have a key role in the pathogenesis of vascular aging and atherosclerosis. However, human data directly linking cellular senescence in the vascular tissue with coronary artery disease (CAD) are limited. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the proportion of senescent cells in the ascending aorta and the complexity of CAD in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: Ascending aortic tissue samples were obtained from 112 patients during elective or urgent CABG surgery. Expressions of p16, p21, and β-galactosidase (β-gal) were evaluated as cellular senescence biomarkers using immunohistochemical analysis. The complexity of coronary lesions was quantified by the Synergy between PCI with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score. Patients were stratified into low and moderate-to-high SYNTAX score groups, and biomarker expression levels were compared between these subgroups.

Results: The proportion of p16-positive cells in the ascending aorta was significantly higher in patients with moderate-to-high SYNTAX scores, by both percentage (p = 0.015) and staining grade (p = 0.035). Similarly, p21 expression was elevated in the moderate-to-high SYNTAX group (percentage, p = 0.015; grade, p = 0.030). β-gal expression showed no significant association with CAD complexity. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, p16 expression remained an independent predictor of higher SYNTAX score (OR: 1.016; 95% CI: 1.000-1.031; p = 0.047).

Conclusion: Increased expression of p16 and p21 in ascending aortic tissue is significantly associated with higher coronary atherosclerosis complexity in patients undergoing CABG. Among these biomarkers, p16 serves as an independent predictor of complex CAD, highlighting its potential role in vascular aging and atherosclerosis progression.

Background and objectives: Retirement represents a critical life change and is accompanied by the blocking of professional goals. We assume that the individual capability to adapt goals to changed conditions has a palliative effect on well-being. The aim of the present study was to assess interindividual differences in goal adjustment and to analyse the predictive value of these goal adjustments for personal well-being.

Research design and methods: 206 pastors participated in a self-report online study. We assessed their current working status, individual preparedness for flexible goal adjustment (FGA), and the current importance of private and professional goals. Furthermore, their well-being and self-esteem were measured.

Results: Our data showed that retired individuals rated professional, but not private, goals as less important than working individuals. Additionally, FGA predicted self-esteem and well-being for both working and retired individuals.

Discussion and implications: While there was no correlation between FGA and the importance of professional goals, the results still indicate that goal adjustment can help maintain well-being in retirement.

This study investigates how older adults in Guangzhou navigate a rapidly digitalizing city through the lens of Bourdieu's habitus and capital. The study draws on semistructured interviews with 25 smartphone-owning adults aged 60+. Guangzhou's older adults follow path-dependent adaptation. Many use smartphones to continue familiar habits, while others adopt new routines. Yet, resistance persists when low education, limited resources, or fear of fraud reduce confidence. Adaptation is partial and uneven, with new practices layered onto old ones and strongly shaped by social position and intergenerational support. We conceptualize digital habitus as embodied dispositions toward technology and digital capital as access plus competencies that convert into economic (time/money savings), social (maintained/expanded networks), and cultural (media engagement) capital. Intergenerational support was a key strategy to bridge exclusion. The study contributes to Bourdieu's habitus theory by specifying when and how later-life dispositions adapt in digital fields. The study's originality also situates digital aging in urban China's smart-city governance. Findings inform inclusive design and training that build on existing routines to widen meaningful digital benefits.

Aim: This study examined the relationship between attending baseball games at a home stadium and team identification (including role team identification, group team identification, and fan community identification) with a professional Japanese baseball team, as well as subjective well-being (comprising positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) among middle-aged and older fans of the Chunichi Dragons.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted to collect data from 675 Japanese middle-aged and older fans of the Chunichi Dragons (334 men and 341 women; mean age = 59.34 ± 10.79 years) residing in any of three Tokai prefectures (Aichi, Gifu, and Mie). The analysis items included the frequency of attending baseball games at the Vantelin Dome Nagoya (VDN), overall satisfaction with watching baseball games at VDN, team identification, and subjective well-being.

Results: Regression analysis revealed an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationship between life satisfaction and role team identification (squared term B = -0.092, p = 0.039), a positive relationship between fan community identification and life satisfaction (B = 0.278, p < 0.001), and a positive relationship between group team identification and negative affect (B = 0.240, p < 0.001). General satisfaction with watching baseball games at VDN was related to life satisfaction (B = 0.112, p = 0.043), positive affect (B = 0.138, p < 0.001), and negative affect (B = -0.079, p = 0.042); however, the frequency of attending baseball games at VDN was not associated with subjective well-being.

Conclusion: Spectator satisfaction was positively associated with subjective well-being, whereas the relationship between team identification and subjective well-being varies based on the types of team identification.

Objectives: This study investigated gender disparity in quality of life (QOL) and social support among older adults in West Bengal, India.

Methods: The study was conducted among 200 older people. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and the MSPSS scale were used to measure the respondents' QOL and social support, respectively. Bivariate correlation and binary logistic regression were performed.

Result: This study showed that being female (AOR: 2.53; CI: 1.32-4.86), low social support (AOR: 5.18; CI: 1.98-13.57), moderate social support (AOR: 4.17; CI: 2.05-8.49), functionally impaired (AOR: 2.25; CI: 1.04-4.86), and being widowed (AOR: 2.95; CI: 1.29-6.73) were significantly associated with poorer QOL of older adults. The interaction effect showed that the QOL of older men would experience a greater improvement than that of older women as a result of increased social support.

Conclusion: Due to inadequate research on the relationship between QOL and social support with special emphasis on gender in India, this study will provide insight for planning interventions to improve older individuals' QOL.

Background: Nutritional assessment during the perioperative period is critical, particularly for older patients at high risk for complications. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (e.g., InBody) is commonly used to assess skeletal muscle mass via the skeletal muscle index (SMI). However, its use is limited in patients with contraindications, including implantable cardiac devices.

Objective: Therefore, this study explored a noninvasive alternative: assessing the relationship between salivary metabolites and SMI to identify potential biomarkers associated with muscle mass.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from male preoperative patients who had both InBody analysis and salivary metabolomics data collected between January 2021 and March 2024. Salivary metabolites, including butyrate and hexanoate, were quantified using capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CE-TOF MS). Body composition parameters, including SMI, and blood nutritional indicators, were obtained. Volcano plot analysis identified metabolites significantly differing between patients with SMI ≥ 7.0 and < 7.0 kg/m². Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis evaluated the discriminatory ability of individual variables. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses identified factors associated with SMI status.

Results: Patients with low SMI were significantly older than those with high SMI. While body composition indices differed significantly, general nutritional blood markers remained comparable. Volcano plot analysis showed significantly higher salivary butyrate and hexanoate levels in patients with SMI ≥ 7.0 kg/m² compared to those with SMI < 7.0 kg/m². ROC curve analysis demonstrated significant discriminatory ability for butyrate, hexanoate, and age. Univariate analysis identified age as significantly associated with SMI status based on odds ratio. Multivariate analysis using stepwise variable selection retained age (OR: 1.155, p-value = 0.070) and hexanoate (OR: 0.980, p-value = 0.269) in the final model.

Conclusions: This exploratory study suggests that salivary metabolites, particularly butyrate and hexanoate, along with age, may serve as potential indicators for discriminating SMI status. These findings suggest the potential utility of salivary metabolites as noninvasive biomarkers for assessing muscle mass in the perioperative setting. This could enable early sarcopenia detection and enhanced nutritional management in older patients, particularly those with contraindications. Trial Registration: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry: UMIN000057185.

Background: Dual-task and single-task interventions are strategies to enhance physical and cognitive function in older adults, but their effectiveness in comparison is not well understood. Understanding their effects on cognitive benefits, balance, and overall physical performance is important for developing effective interventions to support aging populations.

Objective: This scoping review aims to identify and synthesize current evidence on dual-task and single-task interventions for older adults, categorizing intervention types, study populations, and measured outcomes.

Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched. A comprehensive literature search identified studies involving dual-task and single-task interventions from 2014 to July 2024 involving adults aged 60 and older. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Studies were categorized based on task type: motor-cognitive dual-task, motor-motor dual-task, single-motor task, or single cognitive task. Extracted data included intervention characteristics, outcome measures, and key findings.

Results: A total of 31 studies met the inclusion criteria with participants being community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and above. Intervention durations ranged from 6 weeks to 12 months, with most studies implementing sessions 2-3 times per week. Outcome measures commonly included assessments of balance, cognitive function, and gait performance. Dual-task interventions demonstrated greater improvements in gait, dynamic balance, and cognitive function compared to single-task interventions with motor-cognitive dual-task training being particularly effective in enhancing balance and mobility in older adults.

Conclusion: This review provides a comprehensive comparison of dual-task and single-task interventions, highlighting the superior efficacy of dual-task training in improving both cognitive and physical outcomes. While single-task interventions offer benefits, they lack the comprehensive improvements observed in dual-task training. Future research should explore long-term outcomes, refine intervention protocols, and assess the applicability of combined approaches to maximize benefits for aging populations. And, studies must prioritize reporting effect sizes and minimum clinically important differences (MCID) to ensure findings are clinically relevant.