Ageing Fast and Slow: A Longitudinal Examination of the Gap Between Subjective Age and Chronological Age and the Role of Functional Health.

Objectives: Although it is known that subjective age is strongly influenced by health, few studies have explored this relation longitudinally. This study aims to examine the longitudinal evolution of the age differential between subjective and chronological age, as well as how functional limitations and birth cohort affect this evolution.

Methods: This study analyses four waves covering 10 years (2004-2014) of the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing, making use of 35,242 observations of 14,219 participants.

Temporary Setback or Lasting Challenge? The Impact of Transient and Persistent Functional Disability on Later-Life Well-Being.

Objectives: Although most people spend the last years of their life with health limitations, these do not arise at the same time point for everyone or have the same consequences for our well-being. The aim of this study is to investigate how well-being trajectories evolve after the onset of functional disability, comparing affective, cognitive, and eudemonic dimensions, while also assessing how they are influenced by temporary functional disability, distinguishing between persistent and transient cases.

Methods: We reordered longitudinal panel data from Waves 4 to 8 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, from more than 3,500 Europeans to align on the transition from no limitation to at least 1 limitation in activities of daily living.

Ethical and methodological challenges conducting participative research with transgender and gender-diverse young people: a systematic review.

Introduction: Research with transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) young people is essential to understand their experiences and to be able to propose, implement and adapt 'services' in the broadest sense to meet their needs. However, research outside clinical settings on current experiences and needs of youth under the age of 18 is limited which hinders the development of knowledge on TGD, as well as the development of research informed support practices. Acquiring parental consent for participatory research may present ethical and logistical difficulties, as it could jeopardize the safety, well-being, or confidentiality of adolescent participants.

Integrating perspectives of transgender and gender-diverse youth, family members, and professionals to support their health and wellbeing - a mixed-method study protocol.

Background: The current literature highlights a strong link between the poor health outcomes of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals and their negative experiences in various areas of life. Most of these publications rely on adults' memories, lacking a focus on the current experiences and needs of young transgender and gender-diverse individuals. Furthermore, previous studies on support for these young people often solely consider the perspectives of TGD adults or professionals and rarely involve parents' viewpoints.

Bedtime negative affect, sleep quality and subjective health in rural China.

Background: The overall level of negative affect (NeA) has been linked to impaired health. However, whether the diurnal timing of NeA matters and whether the NeA-health relationship is mediated by sleep quality remain unclear.

Methods: Using a longitudinal dataset (2006, 2009 and 2014 waves) consisting of 1959 participants, we examined the within-person impact of both bedtime NeA and non-bedtime NeA measured by Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) on subjective health measured by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and the mediating effect of sleep quality on the NeA-health relationships by fixed effect models.

Subjective Wellbeing in Rural China: How Social Environments Influence the Diurnal Rhythms of Affect.

Although the diurnal rhythms of affect influence people's health and behavior, there is a lack of evidence from rural China, where the types and timing of social activities may differ from Western contexts. In this study, a total of 2847 Chinese rural residents from three provinces of China are interviewed using the abbreviated Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) questionnaire. Diurnal rhythms of three affective subjective wellbeing (SWB) indicators-positive affect (PoA), negative affect (NeA), and net affect are analyzed by multilevel models.

The relationship between rural to urban migration in China and risk of depression in later life: An investigation of life course effects.

Background: Migrating between rural and urban areas over the life course profoundly shapes the conditions of later life. In the Chinese context, living in urban areas with an urban Hukou is associated with socioeconomic advantage. This study attempts to investigate how migration into urban areas in China is related to these processes and the association with risk of depression in later life by focusing on the timing and the type of migration (rural-urban residential mobility and/or institutional transition of Hukou status).

Putting cumulative (dis)advantages in context: Comparing the role of educational inequality in later-life functional health trajectories in England and Germany.

Background: The cumulative (dis)advantage (CAD) perspective more and more is examined in a comparative way, to highlight the role of context in generating inequality over the life course. This study adds to this field of research by examining trajectories of activities of daily living (ADL) in later life by educational level in a country comparison of England and Germany, emphasizing differing institutional conditions.

Method: Data used are the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA; 11,352 individuals) and the German subsample of the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; 5,573 individuals).

Metabolic dysregulation in vitamin E and carnitine shuttle energy mechanisms associate with human frailty.

Global ageing poses a substantial economic burden on health and social care costs. Enabling a greater proportion of older people to stay healthy for longer is key to the future sustainability of health, social and economic policy. Frailty and associated decrease in resilience plays a central role in poor health in later life.

Age Takes Hold of Us by Surprise: Conceptualizing Vulnerabilities in Aging as the Timing of Adverse Events.

Objectives: Aging in the public eye can be distilled to a limited number of adverse events, such as loss of health, partnership and wealth. While these events are a constitutive part of "normal aging," they do not occur uniformly at the same time point in the life course. This study investigates to what extent bereavement, functional health loss, and onset of poverty are adequate markers of aging, and illustrates inequalities in their timing according to cohort, gender, class, education, and ethnicity.

New horizons in frailty: the contingent, the existential and the clinical.

In the past decade, frailty research has focused on refinement of biomedical tools and operationalisations, potentially introducing a reductionist approach. This article suggests that a new horizon in frailty lies in a more holistic approach to health and illness in old age. This would build on approaches that view healthy ageing in terms of functionality, in the sense of intrinsic capacity in interplay with social environment, whilst also emphasising positive attributes.

A Longitudinal Study of Allostatic Load in Later Life: The Role of Sex, Birth Cohorts, and Risk Accumulation.

Are challenging life courses associated with more wear and tear on the biological level? This study investigates this question from a life-course perspective by examining the influence of life-course risk accumulation on allostatic load (AL), considering the role of sex and birth cohorts. Using biomarker data collected over three waves (2004, 2008, and 2012) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing ( N = 3,824) in a growth curve framework, AL trajectories over a period of 8 years are investigated. Our results illustrate that AL increases substantially in later life.

Genome-wide scan of depressive symptomatology in two representative cohorts in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Unlike the diagnosed Major Depressive Disorder, depressive symptomatology in the general population has received less attention in genome-wide association scan (GWAS) studies. Here we report a GWAS study on depressive symptomatology using a discovery-replication design and the following approaches: To improve the robustness of the phenotypic measure, we used longitudinal data and calculated mean scores for at least 3 observations for each individual. To maximize replicability, we used nearly identical genotyping platforms and identically constructed phenotypic measures in both the Discovery and Replication samples.

Does Pain Predict Frailty in Older Men and Women? Findings From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Background: Pain has been suggested to act as a stressor during aging, potentially accelerating declines in health and functioning. Our objective was to examine the longitudinal association between self-reported pain and the development, or worsening, of frailty among older men and women.

Methods: The study population consisted of 5,316 men and women living in private households in England, mean age 64.

Life-history data.

Life-history data are quantitative, retrospective and autobiographical data collected through event-history calendars. By mimicking the structure of our memories, these instruments can gather reliable information on different dimensions of the lifecourse. Life-history data enable the duration, timing and ordering of events to be brought to the foreground of analysis.

Life Course Pathways to Later Life Wellbeing: A Comparative Study of the Role of Socio-Economic Position in England and the U.S.

The influence of early life, accumulation and social mobility on wellbeing in later life in the U.S. and England is investigated.

Sexual Health and Positive Subjective Well-Being in Partnered Older Men and Women.

Objectives: We examine the associations between different patterns of sexual behavior and function and three indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) covering eudemonic, evaluative, and affective well-being in a representative sample of partnered older people.

Method: Using data from a Sexual Relationships and Activities Questionnaire (SRA-Q) in Wave 6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, latent class analysis identified groups characterized by distinctive patterns of sexual behavior and function and then examined their link to SWB. Eudemonic SWB was measured using a revised 15-item version of the CASP-19, evaluative SWB using the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and affective SWB using the 8-item version of the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale.

Comparison of hypertension healthcare outcomes among older people in the USA and England.

Background: The USA and England have very different health systems. Comparing hypertension care outcomes in each country enables an evaluation of the effectiveness of each system.

Method: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and the Health and Retirement Survey are used to compare the prevalence of controlled, uncontrolled and undiagnosed hypertension within the hypertensive population (diagnosed or measured within the survey data used) aged 50 years and above in the USA and in England.

Genetic variant of Interleukin-18 gene is associated with the Frailty Index in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Background: The term frailty refers to a condition of increased vulnerability to stressors among older people, leading to a decline in homeostatic reserve. Frailty often leads to falls, hospitalisation and mortality, hence its importance for the delivery of health care to older adults. The pathophysiological mechanisms behind frailty are not well understood, but the decreased steroid-hormone production and elevated chronic systemic inflammation of older people appear to be major contributors.

Cohort differences in the levels and trajectories of frailty among older people in England.

Background: The level of frailty in the older population across age cohorts and how this changes is a factor in determining future care costs and may also influence the extent of socioeconomic and gender inequalities in frailty.

Methods: We model cohort-specific trajectories in frailty among the community dwelling population older than 50 years, using five waves (2002-2010) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We stratify our analysis by wealth and gender and use a frailty index, based on accumulation of 'deficits'.

The Multidimensional Structure of Subjective Well-Being In Later Life.

Subjective well-being can be measured in different ways, depending on the conceptual perspective one adopts. Hedonic well-being, emphasising emotions and evaluation, is often contrasted with eudemonic well-being, stressing self-actualisation and autonomy. In this paper we investigate the background, structure and compatibility of empirical measures of hedonic and eudemonic well-being in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Cognitive, affective and eudemonic well-being in later life: Measurement equivalence over gender and life stage.

The hedonic view on well-being, consisting of both cognitive and affective aspects, assumes that through maximizing pleasurable experiences, and minimizing suffering, the highest levels of well-being can be achieved. The eudemonic approach departs from the concept of a good life that is not just about pleasure and happiness, but involves developing one-self, being autonomous and realizing one's potential. While these approaches are often positioned against each other on theoretical grounds, this paper investigates the empirical plausibility of this two dimensional view on subjective well-being.

Does the level of wealth inequality within an area influence the prevalence of depression amongst older people?

This paper considers whether the extent of inequality in house prices within neighbourhoods of England is associated with depressive symptoms in the older population using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We consider two competing hypotheses: first, the wealth inequality hypothesis which proposes that neighbourhood inequality is harmful to health and, second, the mixed neighbourhood hypothesis which suggests that socially mixed neighbourhoods are beneficial for health outcomes. Our results are supportive of the mixed neighbourhood hypothesis, we find a significant association between neighbourhood inequality and depression with lower levels of depression amongst older people in neighbourhoods with greater house price inequality after controlling for individual socio-economic and area correlates of depression.

Aging and subjective well-being in later life.

Objectives: This paper examines age-related changes in subjective well-being (SWB) in later life using multiple measures that cover eudemonic, evaluative, and affective dimensions of well-being.

Method: Using data from 5 waves of respondents aged 50 and older from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2002-11), we fit multilevel linear growth curve models to examine the cohort differences and individual aging effects on quality of life, depressive symptomatology, and life satisfaction.

Results: Older cohorts are shown to have equivalent or better SWB than younger cohorts for each well-being measure.