Advances in Gerontology最新文献

This work deals with the problem of modeling the process of providing state support to elderly citizens. Its structuring is substantiated with the allocation of separate modules: functional stages and the respective specialized statuses of patients. The influence of the main groups of factors on the formation of personal packages of services, including medical, social, psychological and educational components, is considered. Implementation of the functions of systemic support for providing comprehensive medical, social and psychological care for citizens of the older generation for the identified functional stages is analyzed. The proposed technologies contribute to optimization of the system of state support to senior citizens based on the biopsychosocial approach and load distribution between departments and structures to ensure systemic unity of the process.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, elderly people (those aged 60 years and above) are more susceptible to coronavirus infection due to altered immune system response and a higher rate of underlying comorbidities. The purpose of present study was to identify of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of elderly people in Iraq toward COVID-19 disease as a vulnerable group and to found out relationship between elderlies’ KAP and their socio-demographic data. An cross-sectional study 253 elderly people was carried out, through using a designed questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics, as well as the Gamma probability distribution model via a generalized linear model. The findings of study show a low in the mean scores of KAP of the study sample was 15.96 ± 2.99, 10.38 ± 2.18 and 10.35 ± 2.05 respectively, and there was no significant difference between the genders. There was a highly significant relationship among KAP through generalized linear model with regard to participants age, level of education and marital status (p < 0.05), but no significant association between the elderly attitudes and their underlying diseases. This is one of the few studies done to investigate the KAP of elderly people in Iraq towards the coronavirus pandemic. The findings show that public health education about the seriousness of the epidemic, as well as follow-up by all responsible agencies, was not effective and that these interventions should be developed to mitigate the pandemic effects.

The Retirement Resources Inventory (RRI) created by C.S. Leung and L.K. Earl is a frequently used self-reported scale for measuring retirement resources. Since it was introduced, 10 scientific papers have been published using the full set of questions and 3 papers using only some of the questions. These have produced ambiguous and inconsistent results with considerable differences in almost all the parameters measured between countries. This paper aims to conduct a systematic review of the scale’s psychometric characteristics and examine the meta-analytic relationship to retirement adjustment, satisfaction and validation for the Slovak population. Instead of the proposed 6-factor structure, we found that different scholars had identified from 3 to 10 factors, and using a Slovak sample we found 4 factors. Internal reliability measured by Cronbach’s alpha showed high levels in all the studies (0.85–0.93). Meta-analytical relationships with RAI showed a strong random effect, r = 0.6 CI [0.35, 0.85], with the RSI, r = 0.509 CI [0.46, 0.56]. But the mean score for the specific subscales differed significantly from the original study in each of the countries it was tested in. Before the RRI is used to measure retirement resources, it should be validated on large samples and adjusted to national specifications to confirm/reject it as a psychometrically valid measure.

The aim of this work is to estimate changes in the functional state of the microvasculature and to study the peculiarities of the morphological parameters of skin by noninvasive research methods with different morphotypes of aging. The study involves 55 individuals aged 35–65 with involutional changes of the lower third of the face. Four morphotypes of aging are identified, depending on which patients are divided into the groups: the first group, 19 female patients with deformational type; second, 17 female patients with tired type; third, 8 female patients with fine-wrinkled type; and fourth, 11 female patients with mixed morphotype. Laser Doppler flowmetry and ultrasound examination of the skin (22 MHz) are used to study the state of the skin. Using the laser-Doppler-flowmetry method, significant changes are detected when comparing microcirculation indices and the ultrasound method for examination of the deformational and fine wrinkled types (p < 0.05). A predominantly atonic type of microcirculation is observed for the deformational and mixed types (9.42 ± 3.71 and 9.56 ± 2.31 perf. units, respectively); spasm type was observed for the fine-wrinkled morphotype (7.86 ± 1.6 perf. units); and for the tired morphotype, the microcirculation index was within the normal range (7.86 ± 1.6 perf. units). Data on skin ultrasound examination allows detection of the highest values of the thickness of the epidermis (125.94 ± 27.84 µm), dermis (1439 ± 118.11 µm), dermis density (12 ± 2.59 conv. units) in female patients with the deformational morphotype of aging as compared with the thickness of the epidermis (85 ± 22.01 µm), the thickness of the dermis (1130 ± 68.55 µm), and dermis density (7.87 ± 2.1 conv. units) with the fine-wrinkled morphotype of aging.

The dysregulation of transposable elements plays a key role in human carcinogenesis. Physiological aging in humans is also caused by the deregulation of transposons. Moreover, aging is associated with the development of cancer. We present the results of an analysis of data on the presence of common epigenetic changes during aging and carcinogenesis, associated with changes in the expression of microRNAs derived from transposons. We find that aging is characterized by changes in the expression of 21 specific transposon-derived microRNAs associated with the development of malignant neoplasms. Before us, evidence similar to ours on the relationship between the mechanisms of aging and carcinogenesis at the epigenetic level has not been presented. We hypothesize that one of the key mechanisms of aging is an imbalance in the programmed activation of mobile genetic elements, which is reflected in changes in the body’s epigenetic regulation and leads to an increased risk of cancer. Since microRNA precursors can be translated with the formation of functional molecules, peptides used in gerontology can be considered as potential anticancer drugs.

This paper considers grandparenthood as a mechanism for effective implementation of the resource potential of older people. We develop and implement a methodology for forecasting the number of Russian grandparents. It consists of two parts: a method for forecasting the number of grandparents in general and active grandparents (participating in the care for and upbringing of grandchildren) in particular. The two parts of the methodology use different sources of information and have specific characteristics described in detail in the paper. The application of these methods allow us to forecast a growth in the number of both grandparents and active grandparents in Russia. The methodological value of the study lies in the development of demographic forecasting, while the practical value lies in the potential demand for these results to enhance informational support for the national project “Demography.”

Negative attitudes toward older people persist, leading to the neglect and marginalization of older adults’ will. The social group of older people is often perceived as being overly associated with disease, and disease avoidance is related to negative attitudes. Meanwhile, people with higher disease avoidance tend to avoid others, not just older adults. Therefore, whether disease avoidance and attitudes toward older people have a significant relationship should be examined, even after controlling for attitudes toward general others (i.e., younger people) and other personality determinants of social interactions (i.e., extroversion, general trust). We conducted an online survey of Japanese participants (n = 962). The results showed that the relationship between higher disease avoidance and ageist attitudes was significant, even after controlling for the above variables. Psychological interventions that weaken the cognitive link between older adults and disease would effectively reduce ageism. The limitations and future directions of this study are discussed.

This study was performed to clarify the transfer and final end of lipofuscin substances that have been formed in cardiomyocytes. The hearts of BALB/c mice were obtained for resin embedding and ultra-thin sectioning. The specimens were observed under a transmission electron microscope, and the images were acquired using an XR401 side-insertion device. Lipofuscin granules are found abundantly in myocardial cells. Cardiomyocytes can excrete lipofuscin granules into the myocardial interstitium using capsule-like protrusions that are formed on the sarcolemma. These granules enter the myocardial interstitium and can be de-aggregated to form membrane-like garbage, which can pass from the myocardial stroma into the lumen of the vessel through its walls. Smaller lipofuscin granules can pass through the walls of the vessels and enter the blood vessel lumen through the capillary endothelial cells. When the extended cytoplasmic end of macrophages and fibroblasts fuse with the endothelial cells, the lipofuscin granules or clumps in the myocardial interstitium are transported to the capillary walls, and then, are released into the lumen of the blood vessel by the endothelial cells. The myocardial tissues of mice may have the ability to eliminate the lipofuscin produced in the cardiomyocytes into the myocardial blood circulation.

This article examines the phenomenon of “intrauterine programming,” which largely determines the further life cycle and the likelihood of developing a number of age-associated pathological processes. The possibility of the formation of pathological (accelerated) aging at various stages of ontogenesis is discussed with the use of a large amount of published material from the standpoint of modern science. The reasons, mechanisms and phenotypic manifestations of accelerated aging and the possibilities of the earliest, its diagnosis starting from the perinatal period, and prediction of age-associated pathologies are discussed in close interrelation.

This work presents data on the problem of ischemic heart disease, surgical myocardial revascularization, as well as the risk of developing acute cerebrovascular accident (ACVA) in elderly patients with coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG). We conducted a study to identify risk factors for the development of ACVA in elderly patients. Predictors of ACVA development in the operative and early postoperative periods are identified. It is proven that the time of extubation, increased PCO₂ levels, and hyperlactatemia are reliable intraoperative and early postoperative predictors of ACVA in elderly patients with CABG. The practical significance of the study lies in the application of its results to predict the development of perioperative stroke in elderly patients with CABG.