Association Between Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Risks of Early and Recurrent Admissions Among Patients With Newly Diagnosed Heart Failure.

Background: Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with greater risks of hospital readmission and mortality among patients with heart failure (HF). However, it is less clear whether socioeconomic disadvantage has an immediate and lasting impact on the risk of admissions after the diagnosis of HF.

Methods: We used electronic health record data of patients aged 65 years and older with newly diagnosed HF between January 2015 and July 2018 in the Duke University Health System, with up to 8 years of follow-up.

Research Agenda and Applications for Preliminarily Validated Measures of d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Stigma.

In this special supplement of Ear and Hearing, we have presented preliminarily validated measures for stigma related to being d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/DHH) in the United States and Ghana. In this concluding article, we suggest avenues for the future refinement and use of these measures. First, the measures should be further validated.

Preliminary Validation of Hearing Device-Related Stigma Measures in Four United States Populations.

Objectives: Although hearing devices such as cochlear implants and hearing aids often improve communication, many people who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/DHH) choose not to use them. Hearing device-related stigma, or negative societal beliefs about people who use hearing devices, often drives this decision. Although much research has documented the negative effects of hearing device-related stigma, no widely accepted, validated measure to quantify such stigma across populations currently exists.

Development and Preliminary Validation of Stigma Measures for Care Partners of Persons Who Are d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

Objectives: A great deal of literature documents the significant demands, both physical and psychosocial, that care partners experience when providing care to persons with a range of health conditions. There is, however, far less research available on care partners of adult persons who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/DHH). In response to this gap, the authors developed measures of d/DHH stigma among care partners as part of the work of the Lancet Commission on Hearing Loss' Measures, Models, and Stigma Reduction Subgroup.

Development of Measures for d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Stigma: Introduction to the Special Supplement on Stigma Measurement Tools.

People who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/DHH) often experience stigma and discrimination in their daily lives. Qualitative research describing their lived experiences has provided useful, in-depth insights into the pervasiveness of stigma. Quantitative measures could facilitate further investigation of the scope of this phenomenon.

A parallel-arm, randomized trial of Behavioral Activation Therapy for anhedonia versus mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for adults with anhedonia.

Background: Anhedonia, deficits in motivation and pleasure, is a transdiagnostic symptom of psychopathology and negative prognostic marker.

Methods: In this randomized, parallel-arm clinical trial, a novel intervention, Behavioral Activation Treatment for Anhedonia (BATA), was compared to an individually administered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in a transdiagnostic cohort of adults with clinically significant anhedonia (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers NCT02874534 and NCT04036136).

Country Differences in Older Men's Hearing Difficulty Disadvantage.

Hearing difficulty is prevalent in older adulthood and projected to increase via global aging, particularly among men. Currently, there is limited research on how this gender disparity might vary by country. Using 2018 data ( = 29,480) from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) international family of studies, we investigate gender disparities in hearing difficulty among respondents ages 55-89 from the United States ( = 12,566), Mexico ( = 10,762), and Korea ( = 6152) with country-specific ordinal logistic regression models that progressively adjust for demographic, social, and health indicators.

Functionalized nanowires for miRNA-mediated therapeutic programming of naïve T cells.

Cellular programming of naïve T cells can improve the efficacy of adoptive T-cell therapy. However, the current ex vivo engineering of T cells requires the pre-activation of T cells, which causes them to lose their naïve state. In this study, cationic-polymer-functionalized nanowires were used to pre-program the fate of primary naïve CD8 T cells to achieve a therapeutic response in vivo.

A Pragmatic Clinical Trial of Hearing Screening in Primary Care Clinics: Effect of Setting and Provider Encouragement.

Objectives: The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age. Untreated hearing loss is associated with poorer communication abilities and negative health consequences, such as increased risk of dementia, increased odds of falling, and depression. Nonetheless, evidence is insufficient to support the benefits of universal hearing screening in asymptomatic older adults.

Association between perceived risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and cognitive function among U.S. older adults.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to assess factors associated with the perceived risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and how the perceived risk of ADRD was related to cognitive function.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using 5 waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study (2012-2022) that included adults aged 65 years or older with no previous diagnosis of ADRD at baseline. Cognitive function was measured at baseline and over time using a summary score that included immediate/delayed word recall, serial 7's test, objective naming test, backwards counting, recall of the current date, and naming the president/vice-president (range = 0-35).

To Make and Keep Friends: The Role of Health Status in Adolescent Network Tie Formation and Persistence.

Health status may shape network structure through network dynamics (tie formation and persistence) and direction (sent and received ties), net of typical network processes. We apply Separable Temporal Exponential Random Graph Models (STERGMs) to National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health survey data (n = 1,779) to differentiate how health status shapes network sent and received tie formation and persistence. Results indicate that networks are shaped by withdrawal of adolescents experiencing poor health, highlighting the importance of separating distinct and directed processes of friendship formation and persistence when considering how health relates to adolescent social life.

Association Between Hearing Handicap and Life-Space Mobility in a Patient Population.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between self-reported hearing handicap and life-space mobility utilizing the Life-Space Questionnaire (LSQ). Life-space mobility reflects how an individual moves through their daily physical and social environment, and the role of hearing loss in life-space mobility is not fully understood. We hypothesized that those with higher self-reported hearing handicap would be more likely to demonstrate restricted life-space mobility.

The impact of hearing loss on trajectories of depressive symptoms in married couples.

Hearing loss is a prevalent chronic stressor among older adults and is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes. The life course principle of linked lives highlights that an individual's stressors can impact the health and well-being of others; however, there are limited large-scale studies examining hearing loss within marital dyads. Using 11 waves (1998-2018) of the Health and Retirement Study (n = 4881 couples), we estimate age-based mixed models to examine how 1) one's own hearing, 2) one's spouse's hearing, or 3) both spouses' hearing influence changes in depressive symptoms.

Corrigendum to "Overcrowding and COVID-19 mortality across U.S. counties: Are disparities growing over time?" [SSM-Population Health 15 (2021) 100845].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.

Building a More Diverse and Inclusive Science: Mindfulness-Based Approaches for Latinx Individuals.

Objectives: This article represents a call to action for the mindfulness field to be more diverse and inclusive of Latinx individuals. Building a diverse and inclusive science around mindfulness-based approaches (MBAs) that considers important group-level cultural and contextual information is an important public health challenge in need of innovative solutions.

Methods: We describe ways that the Latinx population is poised to benefit from MBAs.

Self-reported hearing loss, hearing aid use, and cognitive function among U.S. older adults.

There has been increasing attention to the role of hearing loss as a potentially modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. However, more nationally-representative studies are needed to understand the co-occurring changes in hearing loss and cognitive function in older adults over time, and how hearing aid use might influence this association. The purpose of this report is to examine how age-related changes in hearing loss and hearing aid use are associated with trajectories of cognitive function in a nationally-representative sample of U.

The Long-Term Impact of Childhood Disability on Mental Health Trajectories in Mid- to Late-Life.

Objectives: We draw from the life course and stress process frameworks to examine how experiencing disability in early life influences mental health in adulthood.

Methods: Data come from the Health and Retirement Study Cross-Wave Childhood Health and Family Aggregated Data file (2008-2018, = 15,289). Childhood disability status is a retrospective self-report of whether respondents were disabled for six months or more because of a health problem before the age of 16 ( = 581).

Disaggregating Heterogeneity among Non-Hispanic Whites: Evidence and Implications for U.S. Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities.

Research has made strides in disaggregating health data among racial/ethnic minorities, but less is known about the extent of diversity among Whites. Using logistic regression modeling applied to data on respondents aged 40+ from the 2008 to 2016 American Community Survey, we disaggregated the non-Hispanic White population by ancestry and other racial/ethnic groups (non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Asian, and Hispanic) by common subgroupings and examined heterogeneity in disability. Using logistic regression models predicting six health outcome measures, we compared the spread of coefficients for each of the large racial/ethnic groups and all subgroupings within these large categories.

U.S. regional differences in physical distancing: Evaluating racial and socioeconomic divides during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health varies by U.S. region of residence.

Impact of Hearing Aid Use on Falls and Falls-Related Injury: Results From the Health and Retirement Study.

Objectives: Falls are considered a significant public health issue and falls risk increases with age. There are many age-related physiologic changes that occur that increase postural instability and the risk for falls (i.e.

Overcrowding and COVID-19 mortality across U.S. counties: Are disparities growing over time?

A growing line of research underscores that sociodemographic factors may contribute to disparities in the impact of COVID-19. Further, stages of disease theory suggests that disparities may grow as the pandemic unfolds and more advantaged areas are better able to apply growing knowledge and mitigation strategies. In this paper, we focus on the role of county-level household overcrowding on disparities in COVID-19 mortality in U.

Yoga v. health education for attentional processes relevant to major depressive disorder.

Objectives: Research has shown that yoga may be an effective adjunctive treatment for persistent depression, the benefits of which may accumulate over time. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the following in a sample of persistently depressed individuals: whether yoga increases mindfulness and whether yoga attenuates rumination. Rumination and mindfulness both represent attentional processes relevant for onset and maintenance of depressive episodes.

Demographic and Socioeconomic Disparities in Life Expectancy With Hearing Impairment in the United States.

Objectives: Hearing impairment is one of the most common disabilities among older people, and its prevalence will increase as the U.S. population ages.