Home modifications and disability outcomes: A longitudinal study of older adults living in England.

Background: There is limited evidence on the protective effect of housing modifications on disability outcomes among older adults. We examined whether external and internal housing modifications reduce the risk of a range of disability outcomes among older adults living in England.

Methods: We analysed adults aged 60 and over from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, initially recruited in 2002/03.

Biological costs and benefits of social relationships for men and women in adulthood: The role of partner, family and friends.

Despite numerous studies on social relationships and health, the empirical focus has often been on middle-aged or older adults, even though young adulthood is a period of considerable change in social networks. We investigated whether the associations between social relationships and allostatic load, a multisystem physiological dysregulation index that reflects chronic stress responses, vary by type of relationship and stages of the lifecourse. Relationships with spouse/partner, immediate family and friends were assessed in terms of emotional support and social strain.

The role of workplace accommodations in explaining the disability employment gap in the UK.

There has been limited theoretical and empirical research into the role of workplace accommodations in enabling workers with and without impairments to remain in work. This study used the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model to examine (a) whether workplace accommodations enable workers, particularly those with different impairments, to remain economically active; and (b) the predictors of the onset of work accommodations. Data from two waves of a large-scale longitudinal survey of disability in Great Britain, the Life Opportunities Survey (2009-2012) were analysed.

Socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in oral health among children and adolescents living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Objectives: Although adolescence is a sensitive developmental period in oral health, the social equalization hypothesis that suggests health inequalities attenuate in adolescence has not been examined. This study analyses whether the socioeconomic gap and ethnic disadvantage in oral health among children aged 5 reduces among adolescents aged 15.

Methods: Data from the cross-sectional Children's Dental Health Survey 2013 were analysed, comprising of 8541 children aged 5, 8, 12 and 15 attending schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Does public transport use prevent declines in walking speed among older adults living in England? A prospective cohort study.

Objectives: Although there is some evidence that public transport use confers public health benefits, the evidence is limited by cross-sectional study designs and health-related confounding factors. This study examines the effect of public transport use on changes in walking speed among older adults living in England, comparing frequent users of public transport to their peers who did not use public transport because of structural barriers (poor public transport infrastructure) or through choice.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Oral health-related quality of life and loneliness among older adults.

Loneliness is a serious concern in aging populations. The key risk factors include poor health, depression, poor material circumstances, and low social participation and social support. Oral disease and tooth loss have a significant negative impact on the quality of life and well-being of older adults.

Retirement and Socioeconomic Differences in Diurnal Cortisol: Longitudinal Evidence From a Cohort of British Civil Servants.

Objectives: Early old age and the period around retirement are associated with a widening in socioeconomic inequalities in health. There are few studies that address the stress-biological factors related to this widening. This study examined whether retirement is associated with more advantageous (steeper) diurnal cortisol profiles, and differences in this association by occupational grade.

Oral Health-A Neglected Aspect of Subjective Well-Being in Later Life.

Objectives: This study examined whether oral health is a neglected aspect of subjective well-being (SWB) among older adults. The key research question was whether deterioration in oral health among dentate older adults living in England was associated with decreases in SWB, using measures of eudemonic, evaluative, and affective dimensions of well-being.

Methods: This secondary analysis used data from the third (2006-2007) and fifth (2010-2011) waves of respondents aged 50 and older from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Social Capital and Oral Health Among Adults 50 Years and Older: Results From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Objectives: This study examines the differential associations of structural and functional social capital with objective and subjective measures of oral health, and the interactions between social capital and other sociodemographic and health factors.

Methods: Secondary analysis of data on 8552 adults 50 years and older from the third wave (2006-2007) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing was conducted. Oral health outcomes were self-rated oral health, edentulousness (having no natural teeth), and Oral Impacts on Daily Performances.

Is Social Capital a Determinant of Oral Health among Older Adults? Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

There are a number of studies linking social capital to oral health among older adults, although the evidence base mainly relies on cross-sectional study designs. The possibility of reverse causality is seldom discussed, even though oral health problems could potentially lead to lower social participation. Furthermore, few studies clearly distinguish between the effects of different dimensions of social capital on oral health.

Social capital: theory, evidence, and implications for oral health.

In the last two decades, there has been increasing application of the concept of social capital in various fields of public health, including oral health. However, social capital is a contested concept with debates on its definition, measurement, and application. This study provides an overview of the concept of social capital, highlights the various pathways linking social capital to health, and discusses the potential implication of this concept for health policy.

Tooth loss associated with physical and cognitive decline in older adults.

Objectives: To examine the effect of total tooth loss (edentulousness) on decline in physical and cognitive functioning over 10 years in older adults in England.

Design: Secondary data analysis.

Setting: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a national prospective cohort study of community-dwelling people aged 50 and older.