Cohort and gender differences in the association between childlessness and social exclusion in old age.

Social exclusion (SE) and its detrimental health outcomes are a key concern in European policies. This study investigates whether childless older adults face a higher risk of SE compared to those with children, how these potential differences have evolved, and whether SE among childless older men differs from that experienced by childless older women. Children are perceived in most cultures as an insurance of social integration in old age.

Early-life circumstances and late life loneliness trajectories among Finnish older adults.

Background: Later life loneliness has become a significant public health concern worldwide. Research has focused on the prevalence, risk factors and consequences of loneliness in different age groups. This study aimed to advance the understanding of the impact of early-life circumstances on later life loneliness by examining the associations between adversities in childhood and youth and loneliness trajectories in Finnish older adults.

Loneliness prevalence of community-dwelling older adults and the impact of the mode of measurement, data collection, and country: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the prevalence of loneliness in many countries worldwide which have different ways of assessing it.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Setting: We searched seven electronic databases for English peer-reviewed studies published between 1992 and 2021.

Lonely societies: low trust societies? Further explanations for national variations in loneliness among older Europeans.

Cross-national studies in Europe reveal sharp regional differences in the prevalence of loneliness among older adults, with the highest prevalence of loneliness in Eastern European countries. In this study, we investigate an alternative explanation for differences in loneliness prevalence based on differences in trust. Many of the Eastern European countries were ruled by totalitarian regimes that undermined people's trust in other people and in the system, potentially leading to higher loneliness prevalence.

Exclusion from social relations in later life: on the gendered associations of social networks with mental wellbeing.

This study addresses the gendered risks of loneliness and depression in later life from a social exclusion perspective. Exclusion from social relations (ESR) in older age is an unwanted situation associated with increased loneliness and depressive symptoms, with gender differences in the perception of solitude, and the evaluation of existing social networks, potentially accounting for the increased susceptibility of older women. Secondary analyses was conducted in a sample of 60,918 participants in the Survey on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).

Life-course income trajectories of men and women in Norway: implications for self-rated health in later life.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in health are well-established, but studies addressing lagged effects of income or of fluctuations in income over the life course are relatively rare. The current study aims to (i) identify and describe life-course income trajectories for men and women who are currently in later life; and (ii) assess the association of income trajectories with self-rated health in older adults.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 1625 men and 1634 women born between 1937 and 1955 who participated in the third wave of the Norwegian Life course, Ageing and Generation Study.

Network and solitude satisfaction as modifiers of disadvantages in the quality of life of older persons who are challenged by exclusion from social relations: a gender stratified analysis.

This study examined from a gender-sensitive perspective the associations of exclusion from social relations (ESR) with the quality of life (QoL) of excluded older persons. Being satisfied with existing relations (i.e.

How Welfare Regimes Moderate the Associations Between Cognitive Aging, Education, and Occupation.

Objectives: Previous studies have shown the importance of individual markers of cognitive reserve, such as education and occupation, for cognitive health in old age. However, there has been only little investigation so far on how this relationship varies across contexts.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe, using second-order latent growth models, to assess the moderating role of welfare regimes on the relationship between education and occupation skill level in explaining overall cognitive functioning and decline in old age.

Exclusion from Social Relations in Later Life: Micro- and Macro-Level Patterns and Correlations in a European Perspective.

Older adults face particular risks of exclusion from social relationships (ESR) and are especially vulnerable to its consequences. However, research so far has been limited to specific dimensions, countries, and time points. In this paper, we examine the prevalence and micro- and macro-level predictors of ESR among older adults (60+) using two waves of data obtained four years apart across 14 European countries in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).

eV-Scale Sterile Neutrino Search Using Eight Years of Atmospheric Muon Neutrino Data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

The results of a 3+1 sterile neutrino search using eight years of data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory are presented. A total of 305 735 muon neutrino events are analyzed in reconstructed energy-zenith space to test for signatures of a matter-enhanced oscillation that would occur given a sterile neutrino state with a mass-squared differences between 0.01 and 100  eV^{2}.

Characteristics of the Diffuse Astrophysical Electron and Tau Neutrino Flux with Six Years of IceCube High Energy Cascade Data.

We report on the first measurement of the astrophysical neutrino flux using particle showers (cascades) in IceCube data from 2010-2015. Assuming standard oscillations, the astrophysical neutrinos in this dedicated cascade sample are dominated (∼90%) by electron and tau flavors. The flux, observed in the sensitive energy range from 16 TeV to 2.

Do Welfare Regimes Moderate Cumulative Dis/advantages Over the Life Course? Cross-National Evidence from Longitudinal SHARE Data.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the cumulative disadvantage of different forms of childhood misfortune and adult-life socioeconomic conditions (SEC) with regard to trajectories and levels of self-rated health in old age and whether these associations differed between welfare regimes (Scandinavian, Bismarckian, Southern European, and Eastern European).

Method: The study included 24,004 respondents aged 50-96 from the longitudinal SHARE survey. Childhood misfortune included childhood SEC, adverse childhood experiences, and adverse childhood health experiences.

A critical review and development of a conceptual model of exclusion from social relations for older people.

Social exclusion is complex and dynamic, and it leads to the non-realization of social, economic, political or cultural rights or participation within a society. This critical review takes stock of the literature on exclusion of social relations. Social relations are defined as comprising social resources, social connections and social networks.

Time-Integrated Neutrino Source Searches with 10 Years of IceCube Data.

This Letter presents the results from pointlike neutrino source searches using ten years of IceCube data collected between April 6, 2008 and July 10, 2018. We evaluate the significance of an astrophysical signal from a pointlike source looking for an excess of clustered neutrino events with energies typically above ∼1  TeV among the background of atmospheric muons and neutrinos. We perform a full-sky scan, a search within a selected source catalog, a catalog population study, and three stacked Galactic catalog searches.

Are there educational disparities in health and functioning among the oldest old? Evidence from the Nordic countries.

With the ageing of the population and recent pressures on important welfare state arrangements, updated knowledge on the linkage between socioeconomic status and health in old age is pertinent for shedding light on emerging patterns of health inequalities in the Nordic countries. This study examined self-rated health (SRH), mobility and activities of daily living (ADL) according to level of education in the three oldest old age groups 75-84, 85-94, and 95+, in four Nordic countries. Altogether, 6132 individuals from Danish Longitudinal Study of Ageing, Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation study, Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old, the 5-Country Oldest Old (Sweden) and Vitality 90 + Study were analysed.

Life-Course Circumstances and Frailty in Old Age Within Different European Welfare Regimes: A Longitudinal Study With SHARE.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess whether cumulative disadvantage in childhood misfortune and adult-life socioeconomic conditions influence the risk of frailty in old age and whether welfare regimes influence these associations.

Method: Data from 23,358 participants aged 50 years and older included in the longitudinal SHARE survey were used. Frailty was operationalized according to Fried's phenotype as presenting either weakness, shrinking, exhaustion, slowness, or low activity.

Attrition in an Online Loneliness Intervention for Adults Aged 50 Years and Older: Survival Analysis.

Background: Online interventions can be as effective as in-person interventions. However, attrition in online intervention is high and potentially biases the results. More importantly, high attrition rates might reduce the effectiveness of online interventions.

The Social Support-Health Link Unraveled: Pathways Linking Social Support to Functional Capacity in Later Life.

Despite evidence that social support is strongly related to health, very little is known about the mechanisms underlying this association. This study investigates whether physical activity, depressive symptoms, and chronic diseases mediate the associations between social support and functional capacity. Data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam on 954 participants, aged 75 and older, covering 9 years, are analyzed with latent growth mediation models.