Does volunteering reduce epigenetic age acceleration among retired and working older adults? Results from the Health and Retirement Study.

Objectives: The current study aims to explore the relationship between the frequency of volunteering and biological aging, as measured by epigenetic age acceleration. It also investigates whether this relationship differs between retired and working older adults. Understanding this connection could inform interventions promoting healthy aging and reducing age-related chronic health conditions.

An outcome-wide analysis of the effects of diagnostic labeling of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias on social relationships.

Introduction: This study examines how receiving a dementia diagnosis influences social relationships by race and ethnicity.

Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (10 waves; 7,159 observations) of adults 70 years and older predicted to have dementia using Gianattasio-Power scores (91% accuracy), this study assessed changes in social support, engagement, and networks after a dementia diagnosis. We utilized quasi-experimental methods to estimate treatment effects and subgroup analyses by race/ethnicity.

Access to Primary Healthcare and Discussion of Memory Loss with a Healthcare Provider in Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline: Does Race/Ethnicity Matter?

Because subjective cognitive decline (SCD) manifests before the clinical and irreversible onset of dementia, efforts to address SCD are imperative for the early identification and prevention of dementia. For people who actually experience SCD, having a usual source of care may be an important catalyst for addressing memory issues. This study investigates the relationship between having a usual source of care and the discussion of SCD with healthcare providers, while taking into account racial and ethnic differences.

The Use of Preventive Health Care in Asian Americans: The Cross-level Interactions between Individual and Neighborhood Factors in the United States.

The present study explored how individual- and neighborhood-level factors contribute to predicting the use of preventive health care in a sample of Asian Americans. The cross-level interaction between individual- and neighborhood-level factors was also examined. We found a significant interaction between individual-level health insurance coverage and neighborhood health care providers' availability.

Volunteering and Changes in Cardiovascular Biomarkers: Longitudinal Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

Background And Objectives: Growing body of research shows that volunteering is beneficial for those served, the volunteers, and the larger communities. However, major challenges remain that hinder the practical implications for volunteer activity as a public health intervention, including potential selection effects, lack of longitudinal studies that adjust for baseline characteristics, and a paucity of studies that consider multiple physical health outcomes in a single model.

Research Design And Methods: Data from 2006 to 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2016) were used ( = 18,847).

Longitudinal links between behavioral activation coping strategies and depressive symptoms of U.S. adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and related physical distancing measures have posed a significant threat to the mental health of adults, particularly those living alone. Accordingly, the World Health Organization implemented the #HealthyAtHome program, encouraging people to keep in regular contact with loved ones, stay physically active, and keep a regular routine. The current study aims to examine a micro-longitudinal link between behavioral activation coping strategies (exercise, meditation, relaxation, and social connection) and depressive symptoms among adults who lived alone during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Remaining Socially Connected at 100 and Beyond Reduces Impact of Loneliness on Nutritional Status.

Background: Understanding factors influencing centenarians' nutritional status can offer insight into effective nutrition interventions to improve quality of life among this population.

Objective: This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the role of social support and loneliness on nutritional status among Oklahoma centenarians ( = 151).

Methods: Nutritional status was assessed with the Short Form Mini Nutrition Assessment (MNA-SF).

Volunteering as an Equalizer: A Quasi-Experimental Study Using Propensity Score Analysis.

Introduction: Formal volunteering in later life is beneficial for both physical and psychological well-being. However, research points to potential selection bias because older adults with key advantages, such as wealth, are more likely to volunteer and reap its benefits. Accordingly, this study addresses this selection bias by considering the characteristics of volunteers and nonvolunteers using the inverse probability of treatment weighting.

Adverse childhood experiences contribute to race/ethnic differences in post-secondary academic performance among college students.

Objective: This study explores how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) relate to race/ethnicity and academic achievement among a sample of college students.

Participants: Participants were students attending a large public university in the Southwest (n = 404). Methods: Online surveys captured ACE scores, demographics, and self-reported GPA.

Habit is the Bridge between Intention and Behavior: A Look at Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Low-Income Older Adults.

Objective: To examine the influence of habit and theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables in predicting low-income older adults' fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: A city in the southeast United States.

Lost Touch? Implications of Physical Touch for Physical Health.

Objectives: Growing research on the impact of physical touch on health has revealed links to lower blood pressure, higher oxytocin levels, and better sleep, but links to inflammation have not been fully explored. Physical touch may also buffer stress, underscoring its importance during the stressful time of living in the COVID-19 global pandemic-a time that has substantially limited social interactions and during which physical touch has been specifically advised against.

Method: We analyze nationally representative longitudinal data on older adults (N = 1,124) from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project using cross-lagged path models.

People who need people: the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and mental health among college students.

This study investigates the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mental health among a sample of college students. It also explores whether health behaviors and social support may help to explain the link between ACEs and mental health. Participants were students at a large public university in the Southwest ( 404).

The Unique Nature of Depression and Anxiety among College Students with Adverse Childhood Experiences.

It is well established that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) contribute to the development of mental disorders in adulthood. However, less is known about how childhood trauma impacts the mind and the body, whether the resulting mental disorders have different characteristics than those occurring without these antecedent conditions, and if treatment modalities need to reflect the unique nature of mental disorders rooted in trauma. Survey and biomarker data were gathered from a sample of college students ( = 93) to explore the relationship between childhood trauma and mental health.

Volunteering, Subjective Sleep Quality, and Chronic Inflammation: A 5-Year Follow-Up of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.

Studies indicate that the benefits of volunteering may extend to biological risk factors in disease development including chronic inflammation, though the pathway through which volunteer activity predicts chronic inflammation remains unclear. The current project focuses on the link between volunteering and C-reactive protein (CRP) as a measure of chronic inflammation, while paying a particular attention to sleep quality as a pathway. Using panel data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project ( = 1,124), the present study examined whether sleep quality operates indirectly linking volunteer activity and CRP (indirect pathway), compensates for the lack of volunteerism (moderation-compensation), or regulates the benefits of volunteering on CRP (moderation-regulation).

Generativity in Creative Storytelling: Evidence From a Dementia Care Community.

Background And Objectives: Creative group storytelling as utilized in TimeSlips is a social activity that focuses on communication, improvisation, and creativity among its participants with dementia. A collective narrative is a channel through which participants express themselves, and it thus signifies clues about their identities, values, and experiences. No study to date, however, has examined the contents of the stories.

Trends in Internet Use Among Older Adults in the United States, 2011-2016.

The present study examined the trends in internet use among older adults (60+ years) in the United States from 2011 to 2016 by considering not only the entire study sample as a whole but also specific subgroups by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education. Using data from 107,500 older adults in the California Health Interview Survey between 2011 and 2016, the significance of linear trends was tested by including the survey year as a continuous variable in the logistic regression. Findings confirm the general knowledge that an increased number of the older U.

Adverse childhood experiences and neuroinflammatory biomarkers-The role of sex.

Despite the growing interest in adverse childhood experiences and biomarkers, less attention has been paid to multiple biomarkers as representing interrelated systems among college students. Guided by the neuroinflammatory pathway hypothesis, the current project takes the initial step in examining the link between three types of childhood adversity and biomarkers of neuroplasticity (brain-derived neurotropic factor [BDNF]) and low-grade inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP]) in an overarching model and whether this link may differ in men and women. Undergraduate students (n = 85) were recruited through multiple departments from a state university.

Is cupping therapy effective in patients with neck pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Neck pain is a significant condition that is second only to depression as a cause of years lived with disability worldwide. Thus, identifying and understanding effective treatment modalities for neck pain is of heightened importance. This systematic review aimed to investigate the effects of cupping on neck pain from the current literature.

Poor Nutritional Status among Low-Income Older Adults: Examining the Interconnection between Self-Care Capacity, Food Insecurity, and Depression.

Background: Understanding of the mechanisms of how food insecurity and poor physical and mental health status are interrelated with nutritional status among older adults is needed due to their unique health and social needs.

Objective: To examine the complex relationships between self-care capacity, depressive symptoms, food insecurity, and nutritional status among low-income older adults.

Design: The cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2017 to May 2017.

Association between temporomandibular disorders, chronic diseases, and ophthalmologic and otolaryngologic disorders in Korean adults: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are common musculoskeletal conditions in the maxillofacial area. Although strong relationships between TMDs and other pain and diseases exist, few studies have comprehensively assessed the association between chronic diseases, ophthalmologic and otolaryngologic disorders and TMD.

Methods: Of 25,534 individuals included in the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012), 17,575 aged ≥20 years who completed survey items on TMD symptoms were included for cross-sectional analysis.

Direct and Indirect Pathways From Social Support to Health?

Objectives: We aimed to investigate potential direct and indirect pathways linking social support and health, while considering mental health and chronic inflammation as inter-related outcomes. The study also contributes to the literature through testing potential bidirectional relationships between social support, mental health, and chronic inflammation.

Methods: This study uses Structural Equation Modeling and two waves of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), including 1,124 community-living older adults aged 57-85 years at Wave 1 (2005).

Health benefits of religion among Black and White older adults? Race, religiosity, and C-reactive protein.

The study investigates potential health benefits of religiosity to protect against chronic inflammation associated with the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The study uses longitudinal data from a representative survey of adults 57-85 years old at the beginning of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. Linear regression models were used to analyze the association between religiosity, as measured by affiliation, attendance, and having a clergy confidant, and logged values of C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration (mg/L).

Do productive activities reduce inflammation in later life? Multiple roles, frequency of activities, and C-reactive protein.

Purpose Of The Study: The study investigates whether productive activities by older adults reduce bodily inflammation, as indicated by C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomeasure associated with the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Design And Methods: The study uses a representative survey of adults aged 57-85 from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (N = 1,790). Linear regression models were used to analyze the effects of multiple roles (employment, volunteering, attending meetings, and caregiving) and the frequency of activity within each role on log values of CRP concentration (mg/L) drawn from assayed blood samples.

Differential effects of perceptions of mothers' and fathers' favoritism on sibling tension in adulthood.

Objectives: We examine the differential effects of perceived maternal and paternal favoritism in adulthood on sibling tension in adulthood.

Method: Data used in the analysis were collected from 341 adult children nested within 137 later-life families as part of the Within-Family Differences Study.

Results: Adult children's perceptions that their fathers currently favored any offspring in the family predicted reports of tension with their siblings, whereas perceptions of mothers' favoritism did not.