Changes in vitamin D levels and depressive symptoms in later life in England.

Inadequate vitamin D levels have been associated with increased risk of depression. However, most of these studies are cross-sectional and failed to investigate the effect of changes in vitamin D levels. This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal association of changes in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels with depressive symptoms in 3365 participants of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a large nationally-representative study of older adults.

Childhood experiences of parenting and cancer risk at older ages: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Objectives: Despite the importance of childhood experiences for adult health and psychosocial factors for cancer development, parenting, a key childhood psychosocial exposure, has yet to be studied in relation to cancer risk at older ages. We examined whether childhood experiences of poor-quality parenting are associated with an increased risk of cancer at older ages.

Methods: We used a sample of 4471 community dwellers aged ≥ 55 years in 2007.

Subjective social status and mortality: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Self-perceptions of own social position are potentially a key aspect of socioeconomic inequalities in health, but their association with mortality remains poorly understood. We examined whether subjective social status (SSS), a measure of the self-perceived element of social position, was associated with mortality and its role in the associations between objective socioeconomic position (SEP) measures and mortality. We used Cox regression to model the associations between SSS, objective SEP measures and mortality in a sample of 9972 people aged ≥ 50 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing over a 10-year follow-up (2002-2013).

Associations Between Vitamin D Levels and Depressive Symptoms in Later Life: Evidence From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Background: A possible role of vitamin D in depression has received considerable attention, especially given the significant disability, mortality, and healthcare costs associated to depression and the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency.

Methods: We investigated the cross-sectional associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels and depressive symptoms (CES-D) in 5,607 older adults from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Results: Overall, there was a significant association between low 25OHD levels and elevated depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 1.

Vitamin D and inflammatory markers: cross-sectional analyses using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Recent evidence suggests that low vitamin D concentrations are associated with increased levels of inflammatory markers. However, there are limited studies investigating associations between vitamin D levels and inflammatory markers in the general population and much of this evidence in older adults is inconclusive. Therefore, this study investigates the cross-sectional association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels with inflammatory markers in 5870 older English adults from wave 6 (2012-2013) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

The association of ferritin with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in community-dwellers: The English longitudinal study of ageing.

Background: Ferritin constitutes a sensitive iron-storage index and multi-functional protein. Evidence on its association with mortality in general population is scarce and conflicting. We investigated the sex-specific associations of ferritin levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a population-based cohort.

Wealth and mortality at older ages: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Despite the importance of socioeconomic position for survival, total wealth, which is a measure of accumulation of assets over the life course, has been underinvestigated as a predictor of mortality. We investigated the association between total wealth and mortality at older ages.

Methods: We estimated Cox proportional hazards models using a sample of 10,305 community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 50 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

All cause mortality and the case for age specific alcohol consumption guidelines: pooled analyses of up to 10 population based cohorts.

Objectives: To examine the suitability of age specific limits for alcohol consumption and to explore the association between alcohol consumption and mortality in different age groups.

Design: Population based data from Health Survey for England 1998-2008, linked to national mortality registration data and pooled for analysis using proportional hazards regression. Analyses were stratified by sex and age group (50-64 and ≥ 65 years).

English Longitudinal Study of Aging: can Internet/E-mail use reduce cognitive decline?

Background: Cognitive decline is a major risk factor for disability, dementia, and death. The use of Internet/E-mail, also known as digital literacy, might decrease dementia incidence among the older population. The aim was to investigate whether digital literacy might be associated with decreased cognitive decline in older adulthood.

Is gonorrhea becoming untreatable?

An estimated 498 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections occur worldwide annually. Of these, 106 million are gonococcal infections, rendering gonorrhea the second most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection after chlamydia. A decline in susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins, as well as treatment failures, have been identified worldwide.

Risk factors for depressed mood amongst a community dwelling older age population in England: cross-sectional survey data from the PRO-AGE study.

Background: The Quality and Outcomes Framework in the United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service previously highlighted case finding of depression amongst patients with diabetes or coronary heart disease. However, depression in older people remains under-recognized. Comprehensive data for analyses of the association of depression in older age with other health and functional measures, and demographic factors from community populations within England, are lacking.

Cohort profile: the health survey for England.

To monitor the health of the public in England, UK, the Central Health Monitoring Unit within the UK Department of Health commissioned an annual health examination survey, which became known as the Health Survey for England (HSE). The first survey was completed in 1991. The HSE covers all of England and is a nationally representative sample of those residing at private residential addresses.