Genetic and environmental influences on alcohol consumption in middle to late life.

Objective: Alcohol use is common in older adults and linked to poor health and aging outcomes. Studies have demonstrated genetic and environmental contributions to the quantity of alcohol consumption in mid-to-late life, but less is known about whether these influences are moderated by sociodemographic factors such as age, sex, and educational attainment. This study sought to better understand sociodemographic trends in alcohol consumption across the second half of the life course and their underlying genetic and environmental influences.

Greater locus coeruleus integrity predicts less accumulation of plasma pTau231 and GFAP over time.

Background: The locus coeruleus (LC) is one of the earliest sites of tau accumulation and integrity of the rostral‐middle LC may be a particularly early marker of AD‐related changes. LC dysfunction may also promote further pathological accumulation. We examined relationships between LC integrity and plasma phospho‐tau (pTau) and the astrocytic marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and whether baseline LC integrity moderates subsequent change in biomarker levels.

Association of Chronic pain with Alzheimer’s‐related brain structure and plasma biomarkers in older men.

Background: Chronic pain leads to tau accumulation and hippocampal atrophy in mice. Tau accumulation in the locus coeruleus (LC) precedes medial temporal accumulation in humans. Here we provide one of the first human studies examining the association of chronic pain with hippocampal volume, LC integrity, and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)‐related plasma biomarkers.

Multisite Chronic Pain Accelerates Cognitive Decline Particularly in APOE e4 Allele Carriers.

Background: Chronic pain is a predictor of cognitive decline and dementia, but whether risk is related to a specific site of pain versus multisite pain is unclear. Multisite chronic pain is theorized to involve hyper‐excitability in pain receptors and pain‐processing brain regions, possibly caused by neuroinflammation. These factors may increase vulnerability to cognitive decline, particularly in those at elevated risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Neuroimaging predictors of cognitive resilience in the presence of Alzheimer’s disease pathology.

Background: Structural brain measures derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are commonly used to quantify Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression, though their relationships with cognitive performance are highly heterogeneous. Some individuals demonstrate greater cognitive resilience—the ability to maintain cognitive performance despite adverse brain‐related changes—through as yet unknown mechanisms. We examined whether cortical thickness in specific regions confers resilience cross‐sectionally and/or longitudinally by moderating the relationships between established markers of AD risk and cognitive performance in amyloid‐positive adults.

Multisite Chronic Pain Accelerates Cognitive Decline Particularly in APOE e4 Allele Carriers.

Background: Chronic pain is a predictor of cognitive decline and dementia, but whether risk is related to a specific site of pain versus multisite pain is unclear. Multisite chronic pain is theorized to involve hyper‐excitability in pain receptors and pain‐processing brain regions, possibly caused by neuroinflammation. These factors may increase vulnerability to cognitive decline, particularly in those at elevated risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Association of Chronic pain with Alzheimer’s‐related brain structure and plasma biomarkers in older men.

Background: Chronic pain leads to tau accumulation and hippocampal atrophy in mice. Tau accumulation in the locus coeruleus (LC) precedes medial temporal accumulation in humans. Here we provide one of the first human studies examining the association of chronic pain with hippocampal volume, LC integrity, and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)‐related plasma biomarkers.

Elevated C-Reactive Protein in Older Men With Chronic Pain: Association With Plasma Amyloid Levels and Hippocampal Volume.

Background: Chronic pain leads to tau accumulation and hippocampal atrophy, which may be moderated through inflammation. In older men, we examined associations of chronic pain with Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related plasma biomarkers and hippocampal volume as moderated by systemic inflammation.

Methods: Participants were men without dementia.

A twin analysis to estimate genetic and environmental factors contributing to variation in weighted gene co-expression network module eigengenes.

Multivariate network-based analytic methods such as weighted gene co-expression network analysis are frequently applied to human and animal gene-expression data to estimate the first principal component of a module, or module eigengene (ME). MEs are interpreted as multivariate summaries of correlated gene-expression patterns and network connectivity across genes within a module. As such, they have the potential to elucidate the mechanisms by which molecular genomic variation contributes to individual differences in complex traits.

Probable chronic pain, brain structure, and Alzheimer's plasma biomarkers in older men.

Chronic pain leads to tau accumulation and hippocampal atrophy in mice. In this study, we provide one of the first assessments in humans, examining the associations of probable chronic pain with hippocampal volume, integrity of the locus coeruleus (LC)-an upstream site of tau deposition-and Alzheimer's Disease-related plasma biomarkers. Participants were mostly cognitively unimpaired men.

Social and Neighborhood Context Moderates the Associations Between Processing Speed and Driving Mobility: A 10-year Analysis of the ACTIVE Study.

Processing speed is essential to functional independence in later life, such as driving a vehicle. Few studies have examined processing speed and driving mobility in the context of racial differences and social determinants of health (SDoH). This study characterized the longitudinal association between processing speed and driving mobility, and how it varied by race and SDoH.

Higher cortical thickness/volume in Alzheimer's-related regions: protective factor or risk factor?

Some evidence suggests a biphasic pattern of changes in cortical thickness wherein higher, rather than lower, thickness is associated with very early Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. We examined whether integrating information from AD brain signatures based on mean diffusivity (MD) can aid in the interpretation of cortical thickness/volume as a risk factor for future AD-related changes. Participants were 572 men in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging who were cognitively unimpaired at baseline (mean age = 56 years; range = 51-60).

A Traitlike Dimension of Subjective Memory Concern Over 30 Years Among Adult Male Twins.

Importance: Subjective memory concern has long been considered a state-related indicator of impending cognitive decline or dementia. The possibility that subjective memory concern may itself be a heritable trait is largely ignored, yet such an association would substantially confound its use in clinical or research settings.

Objective: To assess the heritability and traitlike dimensions of subjective memory concern and its clinical correlates.

Rostral-middle locus coeruleus integrity and subjective cognitive decline in early old age.

Objectives: Abnormal tau, a hallmark Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, may appear in the locus coeruleus (LC) decades before AD symptom onset. Reports of subjective cognitive decline are also often present prior to formal diagnosis. Yet, the relationship between LC structural integrity and subjective cognitive decline has remained unexplored.

Erectile Function, Sexual Satisfaction, and Cognitive Decline in Men From Midlife to Older Adulthood.

Background And Objectives: Vascular theories of cognitive aging have focused on macrovascular changes and cognitive decline. However, according to the artery-size hypothesis, microvascular changes, such as those that underlie changes in erectile function, may also play an important role in contributing to cognitive decline. Thus, we examined associations between erectile function, sexual satisfaction, and cognition starting in middle age because this represents a transition period where declines in these areas emerge.

Longitudinal associations of pain and cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults.

Pain is inversely associated with cognitive function in older adults, but the effects of pain on cognitive decline are not fully clear. This study examined the associations of baseline pain, pain persistence, and incident pain with changes in cognition across 10 years in a sample of healthy community-dwelling older adults ( = 688; = 74, = 6.05) from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) trial.

Increasing Pain Interference Is Associated With Cognitive Decline Over Four Years Among Older Puerto Rican Adults.

Background: Pain is associated with cognitive decline among older adults, but few studies have investigated bidirectional associations between pain and cognitive decline, especially in older Hispanic populations. Our objective was to assess the bidirectional association between pain interference and cognitive performance in a sample of older Puerto Rican adults.

Methods: Data came from baseline and 4-year follow-up of the Puerto Rican Elderly: Health Conditions Study, a longitudinal representative study of Puerto Rican older adults aged 60 and older.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Structural and Diffusion-Based Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Signatures Across Midlife and Early Old Age.

Background: Composite scores of magnetic resonance imaging-derived metrics in brain regions associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), commonly termed AD signatures, have been developed to distinguish early AD-related atrophy from normal age-associated changes. Diffusion-based gray matter signatures may be more sensitive to early AD-related changes compared with thickness/volume-based signatures, demonstrating their potential clinical utility. The timing of early (i.

Pain associates with subjective memory problems and cognition in older Puerto Rican adults.

This study examined whether pain is associated with subjective memory problems or cognition in Puerto Rican older adults. Participants came from the Puerto Rican Elderly Health Conditions (PREHCO) study, aged 60 and over ( = 2,144). Analyses examined concurrent and longitudinal associations of pain with subjective memory problems and cognition using a cognitive screener.

Parental dementia and subjective memory impairment in the health and retirement study.

Objectives: To examine relationships between subjective memory impairment (SMI) and parental dementia among in older adults while considering the interactive influence of depressive symptoms, ethnicity, and race.

Method: The sample was drawn from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal study of aging ( = 3,809; = 66.09;  = 1.

The Factor Structure of Items Assessing Subjective Memory: Between-Persons and Within-Persons across Time.

Introduction: Current understanding of the psychometric properties of items intended to assess the multidimensional construct of subjective memory (SM) is limited, as longitudinal studies of aging commonly use single items or brief sets of items to assess SM. Investigating how SM items cluster within individuals over time would increase the understanding of how combining these items impacts their utility as an early indicator of cognitive change in the aging trajectory. To address this need, the current study examined the factor structure of a brief set of SM items in an existing longitudinal study focused on cognitive aging at both the within-person and between-person levels.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Falls and Motor Vehicle Crashes in Older Drivers.

To assess the longitudinal association between fall history reported at a driver's license screening visit and the likelihood of subsequent vehicle crashes. A total of 1,127 older adults were recruited from Maryland State Motor Vehicle Administration sites and interviewed annually over 15 years. Individuals who reported a previous fall were more likely to be female, perform worse on physical functioning and divided attention tasks, and report more situational driving avoidance compared with non-fallers at baseline.

Combined Influences of Dementia Exposure and Personality on Self-Reported Memory Problems.

The current study investigated whether having a first-degree relative with dementia influenced older adults' self-reported memory, if personality traits moderated these associations, and whether these associations differed by the type of item asked (ie, frequency of memory problems vs perceived memory decline). Data drawn from the Einstein Aging study included 454 older adults ( = 76.64, standard deviation = 4.

Memory complaints and depressive symptoms over time: a construct-level replication analysis.

Background: Memory complaints and depressive symptoms are frequently associated in older adults and both serve as potential indicators of future cognitive decline. However, the temporal ordering of the development of these two symptoms remains unclear. The goal of the current study was to examine concurrent and temporal relationships between memory complaints and depressive symptoms in older adults.