Research on Aging最新文献

Layoffs can have lasting effects on the bodyweight trajectories of both genders. However, prior studies usually overlook the nuanced gender differences in health impacts. This study investigates the differential impact of layoffs from State-Owned Enterprises in China on body mass index (BMI) trajectories in men and women over a span of two decades. Our results indicate that being laid-off was associated with higher BMI at mid-age and accelerated BMI growth in women, contrasting with a slower BMI growth in men as they aged. The diverging trends were primarily driven by women and men who were back on the job market and re-employed. Women with post-layoff childcare responsibilities had the least healthy mid-life BMI, and a faster BMI growth compared to their job retainer counterparts. This study emphasizes the importance of considering gendered life course perspectives to understand the health impacts of job loss.

Loneliness in later life is a significant global public health issue that negatively impacts well-being, life satisfaction, and mental health. This study investigates how material, health, and social vulnerabilities contribute to loneliness among older adults using a welfare regime framework. It examines the link between vulnerability and loneliness in the United States, Korea, Sweden, Spain, and Germany using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) alongside its international sister studies, encompassing both Western and East Asian welfare states. Findings indicate that older adults in less generous welfare regimes experience higher levels of loneliness and material vulnerability. A multidimensional approach reveals that the most urgently vulnerable population is the multiply vulnerable group. Vulnerable groups are more likely to experience loneliness, with divergent associations emerging across countries. Cross-national variations demonstrate how institutional arrangements can either mitigate or exacerbate the relationship between vulnerability and loneliness.

This study aimed to compare levels of happiness of older women and men living in conventional dwellings (CD) and independent living facilities (ILF), and examine happiness' associations with thriving, social participation, community integration and ageism (self-directed and discrimination). A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a random sample of 509 older adults in CD and 470 in ILF in Quebec, Canada. Participants' mean age was 82.22 ± 5.35, and two-thirds were women. Levels of happiness were similar in both sexes and settings. Greater happiness was associated with greater thriving for all (β = 0.28-1.48), social participation for women in CD (β = 0.67), community integration in CD (β = 0.42 for women and 1.18 for men), and reduced ageism, i.e., discrimination for women in CD (β = -1.02) and men in ILF (β = -0.28), and self-directed for men in CD (β = -0.21). The findings demonstrate that happiness was associated with factors related to the living environment and could be enhanced through targeted interventions.

This study prospectively examined the extent to which intergenerational care potential translated into parent's care receipt. Data were from 510 parents (aged 70-97 years at baseline) who reported on their 1496 adult children in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, with seven observations over ten years. Joint care potential considered the number of children and their care potential types. Children with high care potential lived nearby, had frequent contact, and had significant emotional and instrumental support exchanges with their parent. For unpartnered parents, each additional child increased the likelihood of receiving intergenerational care. Having children with high care potential further increased this likelihood. For partnered parents, receiving care was more likely if all children had medium or high care potential; an additional child only contributed under this condition. Policies and practice should not assume that older parents will receive care solely based on having multiple children or a child living nearby.

Ageing populations foreground understanding how retirement affects quality of life. The inconclusive findings on retirement's quality of life impacts encourage further analyses of this association's complexity. Using waves 4 (2011) and 6 (2015) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N = 9249) and conditional change multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions, this study investigates how changes in three measures of social network involvement (size of close social network, frequency of contact with one's close social network, and emotional closeness with one's close social network) moderate how retirement is associated with quality of life. Our findings show that increased social network involvement concurrent with entry into retirement predicts a more beneficial retirement transition. These results are interpreted through role theory. Consequently, this study encourages societal and clinical attention to retirees' social network involvement. It also recommends further study of the nuances that affect how retirement is associated with quality of life.

Engagement in the arts has shown promise as a nonpharmacological approach for mitigating age-related cognitive decline. In this study, we report on feasibility and acceptability of a remote and self-administered observational drawing intervention that deliberately engages cognition, including spatial reasoning, hand-eye coordination, and awareness of the present moment. Thirty-four participants aged 65-87 completed our randomized controlled trial. The training consisted of 10 online lessons and daily practice in which participants acquired drawing techniques that improved their drawing skills by > 0.5 SD (d = 1.27). Over 80% who completed the course rated it positively and found the online format accessible, although we observed considerable attrition (47%). Baseline drawing skills were related to mental transformation (r = 0.47), yet transfer to cognitive stills at post-test was limited. Intervention-related improvements emerged in mindfulness (d(net) = 0.81). Our study illustrates that drawing skills can be improved in older adulthood and highlights the potential of visual arts training in promoting cognition and wellbeing.

The death of a family member is one of the life's most emotionally distressing experiences, yet its impact on self-perceptions of aging remains understudied. This study examines the relationship between the death of a family member and self-perceptions of aging among middle-aged and older adults using data from the 2014-2016 Health and Retirement Study (n = 11,416). Four types of family death (father death, mother death, spousal death, and child death) were analyzed. Linear regression models with Generalized Estimating Equations were estimated to examine the association between the death of a family member and self-perceptions of aging, as well as the moderation effect of gender. Results indicated that the death of a mother or a spouse is associated with less positive self-perceptions of aging compared to those not bereaved. No significant gender differences were observed in the association between the death of a family member and self-perceptions of aging. Interventions and support are necessary to help the bereaved navigate the bereavement process and maintain a positive outlook on aging in the face of loss.

This study tests associations between purpose in life and coping, and whether coping mediates the association between purpose and cognitive function. Longitudinal data from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study were used to investigate associations between purpose at MIDUS I and coping at MIDUS II (N = 2386). Emotion-focused and problem-focused coping were tested as mediators between purpose and cognitive function (memory, executive function, global cognition) at MIDUS III. Higher purpose was associated with more problem-focused and less emotion-focused coping. Coping partially mediated the association between purpose and cognitive function. Emotion-focused coping partially mediated (14.3%) the effect of purpose on cognitive function. Problem-focused coping partially mediated (16.7%) the association of purpose on episodic memory, but not executive function or global cognition. These findings provide new evidence for links between purpose and coping and suggest coping is one mechanism linking purpose with better cognitive function.

With Asia's rapid population aging, intergenerational exchanges between older adults and children are becoming increasingly important for old-age support. However, the relationship between older adults' marital quality and intergenerational support remains underexplored, particularly in multi-ethnic and developing settings. To address this, we examine a subsample of currently married older adults (60+) with at least one child (n = 1575) from Wave 1 (2018) of the Malaysian Aging and Retirement Survey. Using latent class analysis, we identify intergenerational support patterns among older Malaysians. Multinomial logistic regression is employed to investigate how older adults' marital experiences relate to these support patterns. Findings show positive marital experiences are associated with support patterns involving mutual exchange or high receipt of support, while negative marital experiences are linked to patterns characterized by a downward transfer of support to children. Policymakers in developing settings should thus pay more attention to family dynamics when aiming to strengthen intergenerational support.

This study compared equal age groups from two cohorts from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study surveyed at different times to characterize societal changes in measures of subjective age and age threshold. Two successive MIDUS cohorts were utilized (1995-1996 and 2011-2014; age range 25-74). Outcomes included subjective age (felt age and desired age) and age threshold. Following multiple imputations of missing data and balancing methods, weighted linear regression measured associations between subjective age outcomes and cohort, sex, and chronological age. Individuals of the later MIDUS cohort reported older felt age and younger desired age in middle age groups (35-64 years old). An increase in age threshold was observed only in older age groups (65+). Possible underlying historical changes in health and societal age stereotypes are explored to explain the observed trend toward older felt age and age threshold, but a younger desired age.