Midpoint of sleep is associated with sleep quality in older adults with and without symptomatic Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Disrupted sleep is common in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may be a marker for AD risk. The timing of sleep affects sleep-wake activity and is also associated with AD, but little is known about links between sleep architecture and the midpoint of sleep in older adults. In this study, we tested if the midpoint of sleep is associated with different measures of sleep architecture, AD biomarkers, and cognitive status among older adults with and without symptomatic AD.

Vision difficulty and dementia: economic hardships among older adults and their caregivers.

Introduction: Limited research has examined the economic impact of vision difficulty (VD) and dementia on older adults and their caregivers. We aimed to determine whether older adults with VD and/or dementia, and their caregivers, face more economic hardships than their counterparts without VD or dementia.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2015 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a population-based survey of Medicare beneficiaries, linked to their family/unpaid caregivers from the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC).

Chronotype is Associated with Sleep Quality in Older Adults.

Introduction: Disrupted sleep is common in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may be a marker for AD risk. The timing of sleep or chronotype affects sleep-wake activity and is also associated with AD, but little is known about links between sleep and chronotype in older adults. In this study, we tested if different measures of sleep and chronotype are associated among older adults even after adjusting for multiple potentially confounding variables.

Productive Social Engagement as a Vehicle to Promote Activity and Neuro-Cognitive Health in Later Adulthood.

Objective: We have witnessed two key findings that shift our understanding of human brain aging in new directions. First, we learned that the adult brain remains plastic beyond childhood development, generating new neurons in response to activity and new experiences, particularly in regions that integrate memories in social contexts. The second emerging finding is the importance of physical activity and social engagement to cognitive aging.

Association Between Receipt of Cancer Screening and All-Cause Mortality in Older Adults.

Importance: Guidelines recommend against routine breast and prostate cancer screenings in older adults with less than 10 years' life expectancy. One study using a claims-based prognostic index showed that receipt of cancer screening itself was associated with lower mortality, suggesting that the index may misclassify individuals when used to inform cancer screening, but this finding was attributed to residual confounding because the index did not account for functional status.

Objective: To examine whether cancer screening remains significantly associated with all-cause mortality in older adults after accounting for both comorbidities and functional status.

Quality of care assessment for people with multimorbidity.

Multimorbidity, the simultaneous presence of multiple health conditions in an individual, is an increasingly common phenomenon globally. The systematic assessment of the quality of care delivered to people with multimorbidity will be key to informing the organization of services for meeting their complex needs. Yet, current assessments tend to focus on single conditions and do not capture the complex processes that are required for providing care for people with multimorbidity.

Influence of Age, Health, and Function on Cancer Screening in Older Adults with Limited Life Expectancy.

Background/objectives: We examined the relationship between cancer screening and life expectancy predictors, focusing on the influence of age versus health and function, in older adults with limited life expectancy.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study SETTING: National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) with linked Medicare claims.

Participants: Three cohorts of adults 65+ enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare were constructed: women eligible for breast cancer screening (n = 2043); men eligible for prostate cancer screening (n = 1287); men and women eligible for colorectal cancer screening (n = 3759).

The effect of frailty on short-term outcomes after head and neck cancer surgery.

Objective: To determine the relationship between frailty and comorbidity, in-hospital mortality, postoperative complications, length of hospital stay (LOS), and costs in head and neck cancer (HNCA) surgery.

Study Design: Cross-sectional analysis.

Methods: Discharge data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for 159,301 patients who underwent ablative surgery for a malignant oral cavity, laryngeal, hypopharyngeal, or oropharyngeal neoplasm in 2001 to 2010 was analyzed using cross-tabulations and multivariate regression modeling.

The Baltimore HEARS Pilot Study: An Affordable, Accessible, Community-Delivered Hearing Care Intervention.

Purpose Of The Study: Age-related hearing loss negatively affects health outcomes, yet disparities in hearing care, such as hearing aid use, exist based on race/ethnicity and socioeconomic position. Recent national efforts highlight reduction of hearing care disparities as a public health imperative. This study a) describes a community engagement approach to addressing disparities, b) reports preliminary outcomes of a novel intervention, and c) discusses implementation processes and potential for wide-scale testing and use.

Diabetes, hyperglycemia, and the burden of functional disability among older adults in a community-based study.

Background: There is a need for continued surveillance of diabetes-related functional disability. In the present study, we examined associations between diabetes, hyperglycemia, and the burden of functional disability in a community-based population.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of 5035 participants who attended Visit 5 (2011-13) of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.

Analgesic Access for Acute Abdominal Pain in the Emergency Department Among Racial/Ethnic Minority Patients: A Nationwide Examination.

Background: Prior studies of acute abdominal pain provide conflicting data regarding the presence of racial/ethnic disparities in the emergency department (ED).

Objective: To evaluate race/ethnicity-based differences in ED analgesic pain management among a national sample of adult patients with acute abdominal pain based on a uniform definition.

Research Design/subjects/measures: The 2006-2010 CDC-NHAMCS data were retrospectively queried for patients 18 years and above presenting with a primary diagnosis of nontraumatic acute abdominal pain as defined by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

Pain and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults Living in the Community.

Background: Pain related to many age-related chronic conditions is a burdensome problem in elderly adults and may also interfere with cognitive functioning. The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-sectional relationship between measures of pain severity and pain interference and cognitive performance in community-living older adults.

Methods: We studied 765 participants in the Maintenance of Balance Independent Living Intellect and Zest (MOBILIZE) Boston Study, a population-based study of persons aged 70 and older.

Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Disparities in Hearing Health Care Among Older Americans.

Objective: Hearing impairment is highly prevalent, but little is known about hearing health care among older minority adults.

Method: We analyzed nationally representative, cross-sectional data from 1,544 older adults ≥ 70 years with audiometry and hearing care data from the 2005-2006 and 2009-2010 National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys.

Results: After adjusting for age and speech frequency pure tone average, Blacks (odds ratio [OR] = 1.

Impact of anemia and cardiovascular disease on frailty status of community-dwelling older women: the Women's Health and Aging Studies I and II.

Background: The physiological basis of the geriatric syndrome of frailty, a clinical state of increased vulnerability to adverse outcomes such as disability and mortality, remains to be better characterized. We examined the cross-sectional relationship between hemoglobin (Hb) and a recently-validated measure of frailty in community-dwelling older women, and whether this relationship was modified by cardiovascular disease (CVD) status.

Methods: Data were pooled from women 70-80 years old participating in the Women's Health and Aging Studies I and II (Baltimore, MD, 1992-1996) with known frailty status and Hb > or = 10 g/dL (n = 670).