Effects of Situational Loneliness on Mental Health and Sleep Health Outcomes among White Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: This study examined the cross-sectional and 2-year prospective associations between situational loneliness and health outcomes in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Data were collected using an online survey that evaluated behaviors (e.g.

The Relationship Between 10-year Changes in Cognitive Ability and Subsequent Mortality: Findings from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) Trial.

Cognitive ability and cognitive decline are related to mortality in older adults. Cognitive interventions have been found to improve cognitive performance and slow cognitive decline in later life. However, the longitudinal effects of cognitive interventions on mortality in older adults remain unclear.

Effects of Cognitive Training on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: The Moderating Role of Social Determinants of Health.

We examined whether social determinants of health (SDoH) are associated with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) risk and the effects of cognitive training over a 20-year follow-up period. Data were obtained from 1605 participants in ACTIVE. SDoH measures were created using baseline data at the individual and neighborhood level.

Associations Between Body Mass Index and Cognitive Change in the ACTIVE Study: Variations by Race and Social Determinants of Health.

The current study examines relationships between Body Mass Index (BMI) and cognitive performance and change in processing speed, memory, and reasoning, while accounting for variations by race and the influence of social determinants of health. Secondary data analysis of the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, which included participants who self-identified as African American or Black ( = 728) and White ( = 2028). Latent growth curve modeling was used to assess study aims.

Methods and operational aspects of human-centred design into research processes for individuals with multiple chronic conditions: A survey study.

Aim: To examine ways in which human-centred design was integrated into a nursing school's research processes involving individuals with multiple chronic conditions.

Design: Cross-sectional survey study.

Methods: Three surveys were sent out, with surveys 1 and 2 involving faculty who had worked closely with design strategists and survey 3 as a school-wide survey eliciting experience with human-centred design, respectively.

Development of the Mental Health Peer Support Questionnaire in colleges and vocational schools in Singapore.

Background: A nation-wide mental health peer support initiative was established in college and vocational schools in Singapore. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to develop and validate a 20-item self-report instrument, the Mental Health Peer Support Questionnaire (MHPSQ), to assess young adults' perceived knowledge and skills in mental health peer support.

Methods: We administered the questionnaire to 102 students who were trained as peer supporters, and 306 students who were not trained as peer supporters (denoted as non-peer supporters), in five college and vocational schools.

Sex Hormones, Sleep, and Memory: Interrelationships Across the Adult Female Lifespan.

As the population of older adults grows, so will the prevalence of aging-related conditions, including memory impairments and sleep disturbances, both of which are more common among women. Compared to older men, older women are up to twice as likely to experience sleep disturbances and are at a higher risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). These sex differences may be attributed in part to fluctuations in levels of female sex hormones (i.

Rural-Urban Differences in Cognition: Findings From the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly Trial.

ObjectivesWe examined associations between three geographic areas (urban, suburban, rural) and cognition (memory, reasoning, processing speed) over a 10-year period. Data were obtained from 2539 participants in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) trial. Multilevel, mixed-effects linear regression was used to estimate cognitive trajectories by geographical areas over 10 years, after adjusting for social determinants of health.

Long-Term Effects of Cognitive Training on All-Cause Mortality in US Older Adults.

Cognitive abilities have been implicated as predictors of mortality in older adults. This study examines the effects of cognitive training on mortality 20 years post-intervention. Data come from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) randomized control trial (N = 2802).

Exploring Challenges and Strategies in Partnering With Community-Based Organizations to Advance Intervention Development and Implementation With Older Adults.

Minoritized older adults face multiple health inequities and disparities, but are less likely to benefit from evidence-based health care interventions. With the increasing diversity of the U.S.

Subjective memory, objective memory, and race over a 10-year period: Findings from the ACTIVE study.

The longitudinal associations between subjective and objective memory functioning in later life remain unclear. This may be due, in part, to sociodemographic differences across studies, given the hypothesis that these associations differ across racial groups. Using data from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE; N = 2,694; 26% African American), multiple-group, parallel-process latent growth curve models were used to explore relationships between subjective and objective memory over 10 years and assess racial differences in these associations.

Engagement in Favorite Activity and Implications for Cognition, Mental Health, and Function in Persons Living With and Without Dementia.

Little is known about the impact of engagement in personally meaningful activities for older adults. Thus, this study examines the impact of engagement in one's favorite activity on cognitive, emotional, functional, and health-related outcomes in older adults with and without cognitive impairment. Data were obtained from 1,397 persons living with dementia (PLWD) and 4,719 cognitively healthy persons (CHP) who participated in wave 2 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS).

Linking openness to cognitive ability in older adulthood: The role of activity diversity.

Relatively few studies have examined the reasons older individuals participate in activities that may benefit cognition with aging. Personality traits, particularly, openness to experience, are likely to influence how activities are selected. Openness to experience has also reliably shown to relate to cognitive and intellectual capacities.

Comparing Web-Based and Classroom-Based Memory Training for Older Adults: The ACTIVE Memory Works™ Study.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of a web-based versus a classroom-based memory training program in enhancing cognition and everyday functioning in older adults, and program satisfaction and acceptability.

Method: Participants (N = 208; mean age = 71.1) were randomly assigned to a web-based or classroom-based training, or to a wait-list control condition.

Impact of Experience Corps® Participation on Children's Academic Achievement and School Behavior.

This article reports on the impact of the Experience Corps® (EC) Baltimore program, an intergenerational, school-based program aimed at improving academic achievement and reducing disruptive school behavior in urban, elementary school students in Kindergarten through third grade (K-3). Teams of adult volunteers aged 60 and older were placed in public schools, serving 15 h or more per week, to perform meaningful and important roles to improve the educational outcomes of children and the health and well-being of volunteers. Findings indicate no significant impact of the EC program on standardized reading or mathematical achievement test scores among children in grades 1-3 exposed to the program.

Valued activities among individuals with and without functional impairments: Findings from the National Health and Aging Trends study (NHATS).

Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), we examined baseline activity and functional status. Respondents were classified as High (n=1,662), Moderate (n=1,973), or Low (n=989) Function and rated importance of and actual participation in four activities. Transportation and health were also examined.

Engagement in Enriching Early-Life Activities Is Associated With Larger Hippocampal and Amygdala Volumes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Objectives: Numerous studies show benefits of mid- and late-life activity on neurocognitive health. Yet, few studies have examined how engagement in enriching activities during childhood, when the brain is most plastic, may confer long-term neurocognitive benefits that may be especially important to individuals raised in low-income settings. We examined associations between enriching early-life activities (EELAs) and hippocampal and amygdala volumes in a sample of predominantly African-American, community-dwelling older adults.

Variety of Enriching Early-Life Activities Linked to Late-Life Cognitive Functioning in Urban Community-Dwelling African Americans.

Objectives: The early environment is thought to be a critical period in understanding the cognitive health disparities African Americans face today. Much is known about the positive role enriching environments have in mid- and late-life and the negative function adverse experiences have in childhood; however, little is known about the relationship between enriching childhood experiences and late-life cognition. The current study examines the link between a variety of enriching early-life activities and late-life cognitive functioning in a sample of sociodemographic at-risk older adults.

Association of physical functioning of persons with dementia with caregiver burden and depression in dementia caregivers: an integrative data analysis.

Objectives: To determine whether caregiver relationship and race modify associations between physical functioning of persons with dementia (PWD) and their caregiver's burden and general depressive symptoms.

Method: We pooled data from four behavioral intervention trials (N = 1,211). Using latent growth modeling, we evaluated associations of PWD physical functioning with the level and rate of change in caregiver burden and caregivers' general depressive symptoms and stratified these associations by caregiver relationship and race.

Napping Characteristics and Restricted Participation in Valued Activities Among Older Adults.

Background: Napping is associated with both positive and negative health outcomes among older adults. However, the association between particular napping characteristics (eg, frequency, duration, and whether naps were intentional) and daytime function is unclear.

Methods: Participants were 2,739 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years from the nationally representative National Health and Aging Trends Study.

E pluribus unum: Harmonization of physical functioning across intervention studies of middle-aged and older adults.

Common scales for physical functioning are not directly comparable without harmonization techniques, complicating attempts to pool data across studies. Our aim was to provide a standardized metric for physical functioning in adults based on basic and instrumental activities of daily living scaled to NIH PROMIS norms. We provide an item bank to compare the difficulty of various physical functioning activities.

Motivators, Barriers, and Facilitators to Weight Loss and Behavior Change Among African American Adults in Baltimore City: A Qualitative Analysis.

Background: African American adults achieve smaller amounts of weight loss than their white counterparts when exposed to the same intervention and are more likely to regain weight during long-term follow-up.

Objective: To identify perceived motivators, barriers, and facilitators to weight loss and behavior change among African American adults.

Methods: Two focus groups were conducted between April and May 2015 at an urban community health center in Baltimore City, Maryland.

Valuation of Life as outcome and mediator of a depression intervention for older African Americans: the Get Busy Get Better Trial.

Objective: Previously, we showed that Get Busy Get Better (GBGB), a 10-session multicomponent home-based, behavioral intervention, reduced depressive symptom severity in older African Americans. As appraising the value of life is associated with depressive symptoms, this study examined whether GBGB enhanced positive appraisals of life and if, in turn, this mediated treatment effects on depressive symptoms.

Methods: Data were from a single-blind parallel randomized trial involving 208 African Americans (≥55 years old) with depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9 ≥5).