Advances in Gerontology最新文献

The world’s population is aging, and intergenerational conflicts between older adults and young people are becoming more serious. This study focused on ageism as a cause of intergenerational conflicts and older adults’ diminished mental health status. We conducted an online survey of older Japanese participants (n = 1.096). Our results indicated that older adults who perceived more ageism directed toward them (1) had more negative attitudes toward young people and (2) had lower life satisfaction, which persisted even after controlling for variables such as old age identity and depressive tendencies. Accordingly, we suggest that ageism may reinforce intergenerational conflicts between older adults and young people and compromise older adults’ mental health status. The findings of this study can aid gerontological and psychological research aimed at reducing ageism.

The review analyzes the published data of some studies on redox homeostasis in women with age-related physiological menopause. Despite the ambiguity of the presented results on the oxidative modification of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates, most studies allow us to consider this age period as one of the factors in the development of carbonyl stress, which is an integral part of aging. The presence of hyperglycemia and free-radical pathology are presented as the main causes of the development of carbonyl stress; age-related deficiency of estrogens, taking into account their antioxidant properties, is considered as one of the triggers for the development of this condition, and the glutathione system is defined as one of its main inhibitors.

Sleep disorders have a significant impact on physical and mental health. This study was aimed to determine the effect of physical activity (PA) on sleep outcomes in older adults living in Birjand, Iran. This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 1740 individuals, ≥60 years in urban and rural regions of Birjand. The Longitudinal Ageing Study Amsterdam Physical Activity Questionnaire (LAPAQ), a sociodemographic and a sleep status questionnaire were used to collect data. Analyses of variance (ANOVA), univariate, multiple linear and logistic regressions were used to analyze the data. The average age of the participants was 69.73 ± 7.56 years. About 54.08% of participants had low physical activity. People with moderate to high physical activity had higher sleep quality, sleep satisfaction and sleep efficiency compared to inactive people (p < 0.05). Physical activity was also significantly inversely related to sleep duration. According to univariate linear regression model, both low and moderate to high physical activity were good predictors of sleep quality and sleep efficiency. Moderate to high physical activity predicted high sleep satisfaction and sleep duration in the participants (p < 0.05). The study findings showed that physical activity, particularly at moderate to high levels, resulted in higher quality, satisfaction and efficiency of sleep in older adults. The most influential factor on the relationship between physical activity and sleep was depressed mood.

The role of neuronal inflammation developing during the formation of amyloid plaques and Lewy bodies is investigated. The influence of various exogenous and endogenous factors on the development of neuroinflammation is established, but the role of various infectious agents in the development of this process is much less studied. Today, the existence of a universal trigger mechanism of the neurodegenerative process is obvious: a specific pathogen of a bacterial or viral nature (including long-term persistent in nervous tissue in a latent state), reactivating, penetrates into certain cerebral structures, where it is influenced by either Aβ or resident macrophages of the central nervous system, which, in turn, are activated and induce the release of proinflammatory cytokines, leading to the development of neuronal inflammation, autophagy and neurodegeneration. The reactivation of latent infection, such as herpes, in APOE4 carriers significantly increases the risk of development of Alzheimer’s disease. Class-II genes of the HLA locus (HLA II) may be related to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. An increase in iron levels in the glia is induced by inflammation, which leads to neurodegeneration. Disruption of the homeostasis of redox-active metals, iron and copper, is an integral part of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The developing neuroinflammation leads to intensification of the processes of peroxidation, oxidation of metals and the development of ferroptosis.

The purpose of this study was to identify the determinants of, and relationship between, subjective loneliness, general health and quality of life (QoL) among lonely community-dwelling older adults. A cross-sectional study was carried out among a sample of lonely (i.e. live alone without any assistance) older adults living in Gorgan city, Iran. The older adults were invited through a census sampling technique to complete six questionnaires, namely a 20-item UCLA loneliness scale, a six-item Lubben Social Network Scale, a 12-item Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, a 17-item Self-care Ability Scale for the Elderly (SASE), a General Health Questionnaire-12, and a Control, Autonomy, Self-Realization and Pleasure (CASP-19) questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were done with subjective loneliness and QoL as outcome variables. In total, 213 (91% females) lonely older adults (mean age: 68.2 ± 6.2) participated. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions yield socio-demographic characteristics (p < 0.001), predictor group 1 (p < 0.001), predictor group 2 (p < 0.001) explained 12.5, 13.5 and 46.6% of the observed variance in loneliness, respectively. Moreover, socio-demographic characteristics (p < 0.001), predictor group 1 (p < 0.001), predictor group 2 (p < 0.001) and feeling of loneliness (p < 0.001) accounted for 16.9, 21.1, 48.6 and 55.3% of the observed variance in quality of life, respectively. Both subjective loneliness and QoL were moderate in our sample. We suggest the presence of a probable causal inference between subjective loneliness, general health, and QoL; implying the need of population strategies for correcting subjective loneliness for its own sake as well as to help have an improved general health and QoL among older adults. Beside several non-modifiable factors (such as age, ethnic groups), we suggest that corrective measures should be based on social support and networking, self-care behavior, leisure activities, adapted for age, literacy and racial specifications. Given its population health relevance, there should be increased research and intervention on loneliness among older adults.

In addition to the rapid spread of the pandemic in waves across the globe today, there is a growing problem called “long-COVID-19,” a term that describes the long-term effects of the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19. How the disease proceeds after “recovery,” including long-term physical and psychological health consequences, and the future of COVID-19 survivors remains largely unclear. This is especially true for older age groups. This article summarizes the experience of foreign studies aimed at determining the duration and clarifying the nature of multi-organ complications after suffering from COVID-19, as well as ways of the long-term rehabilitation of patients in older age groups with post-COVID syndrome.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a serious and worldwide impact. The increase in psychopathological symptomatology has affected people regardless of their age but has been observed mainly in the elderly population due to the characteristics of the virus. This study aimed to analyze and compare the psychological impact, as measured by the presence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, in a group of young and older adults at three-time points during the pandemic. Virtual surveys were used to measure participants’ symptomatology and collect socio-demographic information. The results showed a significant increase in anxiety and depression in the general population. However, when comparing the two groups, statistical differences were observed. Younger adults showed higher mean anxiety and depression than older adults, which was sustained across the three times for both groups. Nevertheless, the increase in depressive symptomatology slows in young people between the second and third waves, while it continues to increase in older adults. Those results are a contribution to the study of individual differences in the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study seeks to investigate the factor influencing post-retirement employment among the Iranian older adults. The participants consisted of 1280 elderly people over 60 years old in Tehran in 2020 and data analysis was done by using odds ratio, Logit and Probit regression as well as effect analysis. The results indicate that the job seeking behavior varies among older adults with different individual and social characteristics. The odds of working after retirement for the younger old adults and participants with better socio-economic status are more than other subgroups. While being female and having social insurance coverage negatively affect the odds of working after retirement. The marginal effect of variables show that having a university degree had the greatest negative effect on the likelihood of post-retirement employment. In addition, job setting have played a significant role in the job search behavior of Iranian seniors. In this way, the young and educated workers in Iran, crowding the older adults out of the labor market, that can be problematic in terms of experience and knowledge transfer. Another issue that needs to be addressed is the housewives older adults whose are not covered by pension schemes, whilst these people have a very high poverty rate and are among the most disadvantaged groups in various social indicators.

The aim of the research is to study the structure, innervation, and state of epicardial adipose tissue of the aortic-pulmonary region of the heart in rats at the age of 3–4 and 18–23 months using neural immunohistochemical markers. Using a complex of histological and immunohistochemical methods, different nervous apparatuses (ganglia, clusters of chromaffin cells, nerve trunks, nerve-fiber bundles, nerve plexuses, synaptic endings) with different mediators are detected in lobules of white and brown adipose tissue of the base of the rat heart. It is established that parasympathetic and sympathetic postganglionic nerve fibers are involved in the innervation of white and brown adipose tissue. They penetrate into the lobules as a part of Remak’s cords of varicose axons along arterial vessels, form terminal synaptic plexuses of the en-passant type, and are involved in the innervation of adipocytes of both types of epicardial adipose tissue. It is established that PGP 9.5+ cholinergic terminal nerve fibers prevail over catecholaminergic ones in mature rats. In the process of aging, common neurodegenerative, involutive (desimatization), and destructive pathological changes are noted in the epicardial adipose tissue of the studied animals.

The work is devoted to analyzing the negative effects of digitalizing education and considering the possibilities for their prevention. The urgency of this problem under the current conditions of combating the novel-coronavirus-infection pandemic and moving a significant part of education and leisure to the virtual space is noted. A significant increase in the frequency of mental and physical maladjustment symptoms, a decrease in performance indicators and a deterioration of the biological-age parameters are recorded in participants in the experiment against the background of a deficit in physical activity and an increase in the duration of information consumption. The geroprotective effect of correcting the lifestyle of students with an emphasis on the use of such health-preserving elements of behavior as informational hygiene, strict compliance with recommendations for optimizing sleep, rest, motor and nutritional regimens, in terms of qualitative and quantitative indicators (with the exception of bad habits and excessive entertainment), is shown.