Associations Between Functional Biological Age and Cognition Among Older Adults in Rural Bangladesh: Comparisons With Chronological Age.

Objectives: We constructed a functional biological age (fBioAge) indicator by using four functional variables: grip strength, forced expiratory lung volume, visual acuity, and hearing. Our aim was to compare how chronological age (ChronAge) and fBioAge are related to cognitive abilities in older adults.

Method: We used data from the Poverty and Health in Aging project, Bangladesh.

Sex-specific associations between self-reported sleep duration, depression, anxiety, fatigue and daytime sleepiness in an older community-dwelling population.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore whether associations between self-reported sleep duration, depressive symptoms, anxiety, fatigue and daytime sleepiness differed in older community-dwelling men and women.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Methods: A community-dwelling sample of 675 older men and women (mean age 77.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Longitudinal Trajectories of Functional Biological Age: Comparisons Across Gender.

We used an alternate age variable, functional biological age (fBioAge), which was based on performance on functional body measures. The aim was to examine development of fBioAge across the adult life span, and to also examine potential gender differences and genetic and environmental influences on change with age. We used longitudinal data (n = 740; chronological age (ChronAge) range 45-85 at baseline) from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging.

Sex-Specific Associations Between Self-reported Sleep Duration, Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, and Mortality in an Elderly Population.

Background: Both short and long sleep durations have been associated to increased mortality. Knowledge about sex-specific differences among elderly regarding associations between sleep duration, cardiovascular health, and mortality is sparse.

Objective: The aims of this study are to examine the association between self-reported sleep duration and mortality and to investigate whether this association is sex specific and/or moderated by cardiovascular morbidity, and also to explore potential mediators of sleep duration effects on mortality.

Cognitive function did not improve after initiation of natalizumab treatment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. A prospective one-year dual control group study.

Background: Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) is common and has severe implications. Natalizumab (NZ) has documented effects on relapse rate and radiological disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) but studies regarding its specific effects on cognitive functioning are few. Previous studies have reported improvement, however, often lacking relevant control groups.

Non-Verbal and Verbal Fluency in Prodromal Huntington's Disease.

Background: This study examines non-verbal (design) and verbal (phonemic and semantic) fluency in prodromal Huntington's disease (HD). An accumulating body of research indicates subtle deficits in cognitive functioning among prodromal mutation carriers for HD.

Methods: Performance was compared between 32 mutation carriers and 38 non-carriers in order to examine the magnitude of impairment across fluency tasks.

Different Context but Similar Cognitive Structures: Older Adults in Rural Bangladesh.

Most research in cognitive aging is based on literate participants from high-income and Western populations. The extent to which findings generalize to low-income and illiterate populations is unknown. The main aim was to examine the structure of between-person differences in cognitive functions among elderly from rural Bangladesh.

Event related potential and response time give evidence for a physiological reserve in cognitive functioning in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in multiple sclerosis (MS). Different factors may moderate the degree of cognitive deficit. The aim of the present study was to distinguish different mechanisms for cognitive reserve in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).

P300 amplitude and response speed relate to preserved cognitive function in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To explore if cognitive impairment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is associated with abnormal neural function and if there is evidence of neural compensatory mechanisms.

Methods: Seventy-two RRMS patients and 89 healthy control subjects were included in a cross-sectional study. Event-related brain potential (P300) and response time (RT) were recorded with visual and auditory choice reaction tasks.

Prevalence of dementia and factors associated with dementia in rural Bangladesh: data from a cross-sectional, population-based study.

Background: There are currently no published reports of dementia prevalence or factors associated with dementia occurrence in Bangladesh. The aims are to report the prevalence of definite and questionable dementia in rural Bangladesh, and examine factors potentially associated with dementia occurrence, including sociodemographic, clinical, social, and nutritional factors.

Methods: We used data from a population-based, cross-sectional study from Matlab, in rural Bangladesh, on 471 persons aged 60+ years.

Cognitive impairment has a strong relation to nonsomatic symptoms of depression in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

It is unclear how cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) is influenced by physical disability, fatigue, and depression. Our aim was to identify the strongest clinical predictors for cognitive impairment in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients. The clinical risk factors included in the analysis were physical disability (EDSS), fatigue (FSS), the somatic and nonsomatic components of depression (BDI), disease progression rate [Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS)], and psychotropic medication.

A cross-cultural perspective on aging and memory: Comparisons between Bangladesh and Sweden.

Most studies on cognitive aging have been conducted in high-income countries (mainly on Western populations). The main aim of this study was to compare the relative importance of predictors of episodic and semantic memory performance in older people (≥60 years) from Bangladesh (n = 400) and Sweden (n = 1,098). Hierarchical regression models were used in order to study the importance of some commonly used predictors in the two countries.

A principal component model of medical health: implications for cognitive deficits and decline among adults in a population-based sample.

Longitudinal blood- and cognitive data from 879 adults were analyzed to extract a multidimensional health structure for prediction of cognitive change. Six health components were identified and replicated at two waves. Following, cognitive outcomes were regressed on the health components.

Prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity among elderly people in rural Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study.

Data on multimorbidity among the elderly people in Bangladesh are lacking. This paper reports the prevalence and distribution patterns of multimorbidity among the elderly people in rural Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted among persons aged > or = 60 years in Matlab, Bangladesh.

The metabolic syndrome: prevalence, associated factors, and impact on survival among older persons in rural Bangladesh.

Objectives: To describe the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) among older persons in rural Bangladesh, to investigate whether the prevalence varies by age, sex, literacy, marital status, nutritional status and socio-economic status, and to assess the impact of MetS on survival.

Methods: The study consisted of 456 persons who were aged ≥60 years living in a rural area of Bangladesh during July 2003-March 2004. Data were collected through interview, clinical examination, and laboratory tests, and their survival status until 30(th) June 2009 was ascertained through the Matlab surveillance system.

Post polio syndrome: fatigued patients a specific subgroup?

Objectives: To examine the characteristics of fatigued and non-fatigued post-polio patients and to define potential subgroups across the fatigue continuum.

Design: Multi-centre study.

Subjects: A total of 143 post-polio patients were subdivided on the basis of percentile distribution into a fatigue group, a intermediate group, and a non-fatigue group, using the Multi Fatigue Inventory 20 general fatigue ratings.

Hearing loss is negatively related to episodic and semantic long-term memory but not to short-term memory.

Purpose: To test the relationship between degree of hearing loss and different memory systems in hearing aid users.

Method: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to study the relationship between auditory and visual acuity and different cognitive and memory functions in an age-hetereogenous subsample of 160 hearing aid users without dementia, drawn from the Swedish prospective cohort aging study known as Betula (L.-G.

Effects of intensified metabolic control on CNS function in type 2 diabetes.

The mild cognitive decline associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) has been suggested to be reversible with improved glycemic control. In order to characterise this cognitive decline and study the effects of improved glycemic control we have studied patients with T2DM (N=28) and healthy control subjects (N=21). One group of patients with diabetes (N=15) were given a 2-month treatment of intensified glycemic control, whereas the other group (N=13) maintained their regular treatment.

Nutritional status and cognitive function in community-living rural Bangladeshi older adults: data from the poverty and health in ageing project.

Objectives: To investigate the association between nutritional status and general and specific (fluid and crystallized) cognitive functioning in a group of older people living in a rural area in Bangladesh.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Matlab, Bangladesh.

Earning their keep: the productivity of older women and men in rural Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, being active and able to participate in productive activities is often essential to ensure ongoing health and survival. This study aims to describe and explore the patterns of participation in productive activities by older people in Matlab, a rural area of Bangladesh. Data from a cross sectional survey of people over 60 years of age was utilised.

Examination of the common cause account in a population-based longitudinal study with narrow age cohort design.

Background: The common cause account suggests that there is a third factor causing aging effects in both sensory and cognitive functioning, hypothesized to be the integrity of the central nervous system [Lindenberger and Baltes; Psychol Aging 1994;9:339-355]. Importantly, the common cause account was developed based on cross-sectional data, which are especially biased by cohort effects. However, cohort effects can be controlled for in narrow age cohort (NAC) designs and by longitudinal examination.

Thyroid stimulating hormone and prospective memory functioning in old age.

Alterations of thyroid functioning are common in old age. Even among persons free from thyroid disorders, subclinical variations in thyroid functioning may affect cognitive performance. However, it is unknown whether prospective memory (ProM) is related to thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) variations.