Loneliness, social network size and mortality in older adults: a meta-analysis.

Unlabelled: Loneliness and social network size have been found to be predictors of mortality in older adults. The objective of this study was to investigate whether loneliness and small social network size are associated with an increased mortality risk and to review the evidence for either network size, or loneliness that constitutes the higher mortality risk. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE and PsychInfo in January/February 2018 and March/April 2021.

Determinants and consequences of polypharmacy in patients with a depressive disorder in later life.

Objectives: Polypharmacy and late-life depression often congregate in the geriatric population. The primary objective is to identify determinants of polypharmacy in patients with depression, and second to examine polypharmacy in relation to various clinical phenotypes of depression and its course.

Methods: A longitudinal observational study using data of the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older persons (NESDO) including 375 patients with depression 60 years and 132 non-depressed comparisons.

The Association Between Loneliness and Psychiatric Symptomatology in Older Psychiatric Outpatients.

Purpose: Loneliness in adults increases with age. Although loneliness has been found to be associated with psychiatric disorders and dementia, no information is available on prevalence of loneliness in older psychiatric patients. The aims of this study were to examine prevalence of loneliness in older psychiatric outpatients, including gender differences and associations with psychiatric disorders and social isolation.

Association of Thyroid Dysfunction With Cognitive Function: An Individual Participant Data Analysis.

Importance: In clinical guidelines, overt and subclinical thyroid dysfunction are mentioned as causal and treatable factors for cognitive decline. However, the scientific literature on these associations shows inconsistent findings.

Objective: To assess cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of baseline thyroid dysfunction with cognitive function and dementia.

Anxiety and depression in patients who receive anti-VEGF treatment and the usability and feasibility of e-mental health support: the E-PsEYE pilot study.

Purpose: E-PsEYE is an internet-based, guided self-help course, following the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy, to reduce anxiety and depression in patients with retinal exudative diseases who receive anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and related factors of anxiety and depression in this population and evaluate the usability and feasibility of E-PsEYE.

Methods: Symptoms of anxiety and depression and related factors were determined in 90 patients (mean age 77 years, 58% female), based on multiple logistic regression analysis.

Frailty as a Predictor of Mortality in Late-Life Depression: A Prospective Clinical Cohort Study.

Objective: Frailty is a clinical phenotype that predicts negative health outcomes, including mortality, and is increasingly used for risk stratification in geriatric medicine. Similar to frailty, late-life depression is also associated with increased mortality rates. Therefore, we examined whether frailty and frailty-related biomarkers predict mortality among depressed older patients.

Anxiety in Late-Life Depression: Determinants of the Course of Anxiety and Complete Remission.

Objective: Studies on the course of depression often ignore comorbid anxiety disorders or anxiety symptoms. We explored predictors of complete remission (no depression nor anxiety diagnoses at follow-up) and of the course of comorbid anxiety symptoms. We additionally tested the hypothesis that the course of anxiety disorders and symptoms in depressed patients is explained by negative life-events in the presence of high neuroticism or a low sense of mastery.

Sleep characteristics across the lifespan in 1.1 million people from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

We aimed to obtain reliable reference charts for sleep duration, estimate the prevalence of sleep complaints across the lifespan and identify risk indicators of poor sleep. Studies were identified through systematic literature search in Embase, Medline and Web of Science (9 August 2019) and through personal contacts. Eligible studies had to be published between 2000 and 2017 with data on sleep assessed with questionnaires including ≥100 participants from the general population.

Loneliness, social network size, and mortality in older adults and the role of cortisol.

Background: Loneliness and social isolation have both been found to be associated with increased mortality in previous studies. One potential underlying mechanism is via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between social network size and cortisol, to analyze the associations between both loneliness and social network size and mortality, and to examine to what extent the association between network size and/or loneliness and mortality is mediated by cortisol.

The Association Between High-Molecular-Weight Adiponectin, Ghrelin and Leptin and Age-Related Cognitive Decline: Results From Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam.

Background: Age-related cognitive decline has large-scale functional and economic consequences and understanding its' pathophysiological mechanisms is therefore essential. Previous research has suggested associations between hormones adiponectin, ghrelin and leptin and neurodegenerative disease. However, their association with age-related cognitive decline has not been fully described.

Are Apathy and Depressive Symptoms Related to Vascular White Matter Hyperintensities in Severe Late Life Depression?

Objective: Apathy symptoms are defined as a lack of interest and motivation. Patients with late-life depression (LLD) also suffer from lack of interest and motivation and previous studies have linked apathy to vascular white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of the brain in depressed and nondepressed patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between apathy symptoms, depressive symptoms, and WMH in LLD.

Measuring social support in psychiatric patients and controls: Validation and reliability of the shortened Close Persons Questionnaire.

Although previous studies have underlined the protective role of social support for physical and psychological health, no self-report questionnaires are validated for measuring social support in large-scale psychiatric epidemiological studies. In the current study, we aim to validate the shortened version of the Close Persons Questionnaire (CPQ), a self-report questionnaire that is administered twice to measure social support received from the partner (CPQ-p) as well as from a close friend/family member (CPQ-f). Data of psychiatric patients (n = 1891) and controls (n = 1872) from three Dutch epidemiological studies that assessed determinants of psychopathology were used to validate the shortened CPQ.

Trends across 20 years in multiple indicators of functioning among older adults in the Netherlands.

Background: Monitoring of trends in functioning of older adults provides indispensable information for health care policy. This study examined trends in multiple indicators of functioning among Dutch older adults across a period of 20 years.

Methods: Data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were used.

Sarcopenic obesity predicts nonremission of late-life depression.

Background/objectives: Aging-related physiological changes like metabolic dysregulation and physical frailty are associated with depression and worsen its prognosis. Since central obesity is a key component of the metabolic syndrome and sarcopenia of physical frailty, we examined the association of sarcopenic obesity with depression cross-sectional and over time.

Methods: Cohort study of depressed patients and a nondepressed comparison group.

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and cognitive capability at older ages: individual participant meta-analysis of five cohorts.

Evidence on the association between functioning of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and cognitive capability at older ages is mixed. We undertook a systematic review (until October 2016) and individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to test if dysregulation of the HPA axis is associated with worse cognitive capability. Five cohort studies were included in the IPD meta-analysis of diurnal cortisol patterns with crystallised and fluid cognitive ability.

A longitudinal study of the impact of social network size and loneliness on cognitive performance in depressed older adults.

To examine the association of social network size and loneliness with cognitive performance and -decline in depressed older adults. A sample of 378 older adults [70.7 (7.

Long-Term Exposure to Anticholinergic and Sedative Medications and Cognitive and Physical Function in Later Life.

Background: Anticholinergic and sedative medications are frequently prescribed to older individuals. These medications are associated with short-term cognitive and physical impairment, but less is known about long-term associations. We therefore examined whether over 20 years cumulative exposure to these medications was related to poorer cognitive and physical functioning.

Associations between testosterone and metabolic syndrome in depressed and non-depressed older men and women.

Objectives: Older age and major depressive disorder (MDD) are both risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Testosterone has been associated with MDD and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in men, although associations in women are less clear. Therefore, we investigated whether testosterone is associated with MetS and whether this association is different for depressed and non-depressed older men and women.

Vitamin D deficiency and course of frailty in a depressed older population.

To study the association between vitamin D levels and frailty, its components and course in a depressed sample. Baseline and two-year follow-up data from the depressed sample of the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older persons (NESDO), a prospective observational cohort study, were analyzed. The 378 participants (aged 60-93) had a diagnosis of depression according to DSM-IV criteria.

Metabolic syndrome rates in older patients with severe mental illness after five years of follow-up and the association with mortality.

Objectives: To establish the course of metabolic syndrome (MS) rates in older patients with severe mental illness (SMI) after 5-year follow-up and evaluate whether MS at baseline is associated with mortality or diabetes at follow-up.

Methods: Patients (>60 years of age) with SMI (N = 100) were included at a specialized mental health outpatient clinic. Metabolic parameters were collected from patients' medical files at baseline and after 5-year follow-up.

23-Year Trends in Life Expectancy in Good and Poor Physical and Cognitive Health at Age 65 Years in the Netherlands, 1993-2016.

Objectives: To examine 23-year trends in both physically and cognitively healthy life expectancy from age 65 years in the Netherlands.

Methods: We used 8 waves between 1993 and 2016 from the nationally representative Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (12 948 observations). We calculated physically and cognitively healthy life expectancies by using the Sullivan life table method and tested prevalence trends over time by using generalized estimating equations.

Spousal Loss and Change in Cognitive Functioning: An Examination of Temporal Patterns and Gender Differences.

Objectives: The study investigates whether the disadvantaged position of men in the adverse consequences of widowhood for health and mortality also exists for changes in cognitive health.

Methods: We used data of up to 1,269 men and women aged 65 years and older who participated in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam in 3-yearly assessments between 1992 and 2012 (5,123 person-observations). All were married and without cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination ≥ 24) at baseline and up to 419 lost their spouse.

The relationship between cognitive and social functioning in older patients with bipolar disorder.

Objectives: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) show specific cognitive impairments, especially in the domains of attention, executive functioning and memory. Social and occupational problems seem to exist in 30-60% of BD patients. This study analysed the relationship between cognitive and social functioning in older age BD (OABD) patients.

Leucocyte telomere length is no molecular marker of physical frailty in late-life depression.

Background: Although average life-expectancy is still increasing worldwide, ageing processes markedly differ between individuals, which has stimulated the search for biomarkers of biological ageing.

Objectives: Firstly, to explore the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between leucocyte telomere length (LTL) as molecular marker of ageing and the physical frailty phenotype (PFP) as a clinical marker of ageing and secondly, to examine whether these associations are moderated by the presence of a depressive disorder, as depression can be considered a condition of accelerated ageing.

Methods: Among 378 depressed older patients (according to DSM-IV criteria) and 132 non-depressed older persons participating in the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older persons, we have assessed the physical frailty phenotype and LTL.