Representation of Vulnerability and the Elderly. A Total Survey Error Perspective on the VLV Survey

Contextual variation in cognitive performance of older adults: Demonstration of an age-of-examiner effect

Objective: Consistent with research on stereotype threat, when examiners' characteristics make a stereotype of the participant group salient, it can hamper participants' performance. We hypothesized that younger examiners represent a subtle element activating age stereotypes, leading older people to perform worse as examiners' age decreases. Method: We analyzed data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; NParticipants = 32768) and Vivre-Leben-Vivere studies (VLV, Nparticipants = 960), wherein older people were tested at home by examiners of different ages on eight cognitive tasks. Results: Our results indicate that participants' performance on five tasks was positively linked to examiners' age, showing that the older the examiner, the better the participants' performance. Conclusions: These findings could have implications for the current assessment of memory performance among older adults.

Validity and reliability of a food frequency questionnaire for community dwelling older adults in a Mediterranean country: Lebanon

Background

Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) is an easy and inexpensive tool that can be used to evaluate nutrient and dietary trends of groups and individuals. Few studies in the East Mediterranean region tailored FFQs to describe dietary intakes of older adults. The purpose of the study is therefore to assess the validity and reproducibility of a FFQ, designed for use with older adults living in a Mediterranean Arabic speaking country, Lebanon.

Methods

The FFQ is composed of a list of 90 food items, commonly consumed by adults above 60 years of age. Validity of the FFQ was tested using the mean of two 24-hours dietary recalls (24HDR), and reproducibility, by repeating the questionnaire within a one-month period, along the second dietary recall. Our study included 42 and 76 participants, for the repoducibility and validity analysis respectively. Subjects were randomly selected from 2 of the 8 governorates in the country.

Results

FFQ reproducibility showed a mean relative difference of 1.03% without any significant difference between all paired components of nutrients. Intra class correlation (ICC) showed good and excellent reliability for caloric intake and all macronutrients, moderate to good reliability for all remaining nutrients, except for poly-unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins A, B12 and fibers. Correlation coefficients for all nutrients were fair to strong. Both administrations of the FFQ showed good internal validity. Validation of FFQ showed a mean relative difference between FFQ and mean 24HDR at 19.5%. Agreements between the 2 methods, for classifying individuals in the same or adjacent quartile, for nutrient intake and nutrient adequacy, were 80 and 78.2% respectively. Mean Kappa coefficient was 0.56 and energy-adjusted correlations were within the recommended values for all items except for vitamin A and B12. Adjusting for nutrient-dense food intake improved the agreement for theses 2 vitamins to 0.49 and 0.56, respectively.

Conclusion

The proposed FFQ can be considered a valid tool to help describe nutrient intake of older individuals in an Arabic speaking Mediterranean country. It could serve for possible use in the East Mediterranean region for the evaluation of regular dietary intake of community-dwelling older adults.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12937-022-00788-8.

Friendship in Later Life: Thirty Years of Progress and Inequalities

Studies examining the impact of social change on individual development and aging postulate the growing importance of flexible relationships, such as friendship. Although friendship is well known as a factor of well-being in later life, the prevalence of friendship in older adult networks and its unequal distribution has been examined only in few studies. Through secondary data analysis of two cross-sectional surveys carried out in Switzerland in 1979 and 2011, respectively, the increasing presence of close friends was confirmed. Our results show that this trend was part of a broader lifestyle change after retirement, with increasing social engagements. However, this trend does not include a general decrease in social inequalities in friendship opportunities. Overall, friendship increase among older adults has contributed to a polarization of living conditions, with a majority of active, healthy persons contrasting with a minority of individuals who accumulate penalties.

Interactional Effects Between Relational and Cognitive Reserves on Decline in Executive Functioning

OBJECTIVES

The present study set out to investigate associations of cognitive reserve (as indicated by education) and relational reserve (as indicated by the family network size and indices of emotional support) to decline in executive functioning over 6 years as measured by changes in Trail Making Test (TMT) completion time in older adults and whether education and network size interacted with age and sex as covariates with respect to this longitudinal association.

METHOD

We analyzed data from 897 participants tested on TMT parts A and B in two waves 6 years apart. The mean age in the first wave was 74.33 years. Participants reported information on their family networks and their level of education.

RESULTS

Latent change score modeling testing for moderation effects revealed a significant interaction of network size in the first wave of data assessment with education. Specifically, for lower levels of cognitive reserve (-1 SD of education), the longitudinal association between relational reserve in the first wave and subsequent changes in executive functioning was not significant. In contrast, for higher levels of cognitive reserve (+1 SD of education), a higher relational reserve in the first wave significantly predicted a smaller subsequent increase in TMT completion time from the first to the second wave (i.e., a smaller decline in executive functioning).

DISCUSSION

The present longitudinal study provides evidence for the interaction between cognitive and relational reserves. This confirms the hypothesis that reserves from different domains are intertwined and their combined effects contribute to less cognitive decline in old age.

Social participation and life satisfaction among older adults: diversity of practices and social inequality in Switzerland

This paper examines the associations between social participation and individual life satisfaction among older adults. It specifically considers the diversity of the practices and social inequalities among this population. For analyses, we used a large survey of individuals of 65 years and older conducted in 2011 in Switzerland (N = 2,727). The first set of linear regression analyses examines Diener's Satisfaction with Life Scale and its association with various indicators of social participation. While the second set of logistic regression addresses the issue of social inequalities by evaluating the impacts of gender, age group, region and education on social participation indicators that are significantly associated with the satisfaction with life score. Our results stressed the importance of combining multiple forms of participation for life satisfaction and shows that some forms are particularly meaningful: in particular, the involvement in associations, visitation of family or visitation of friends/acquaintances and church attendance. When inequalities among older adults are considered, having rich and varied social participation, being involved in associations and maintaining private sociability with non-kin appear more elitist. While institutionalised and/or private sociability types of participation appear particularly significant for older adults’ life satisfaction, the most traditional integration forms – i.e. family and religions – are crucial for the more vulnerable. Implications for active ageing was equally discussed as well.

The longitudinal relation between social reserve and smaller subsequent decline in executive functioning in old age is mediated via cognitive reserve

OBJECTIVES

Social reserve such as having close friends helps promoting activity engagement in old age. Activity engagement in turn contributes to the accumulation of cognitive reserve and is a key predictor for maintaining executive functioning in aging. We investigated the mediating role of leisure activity engagement in the longitudinal relation between close friends and subsequent change in executive functioning as measured through performance changes in the Trail Making Test (TMT).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Longitudinal study with 897 older adults tested in two waves 6 years apart, analyzed using latent change score modeling.

MEASUREMENTS

TMT parts A and B, leisure activity engagement, and close friends.

RESULTS

A larger number of close friends in the first wave of data collection was related to a higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave. A higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave significantly predicted a smaller subsequent increase in TMT completion time from the first to the second wave (i.e. a smaller decline in executive functioning). Importantly, 41.3% of the longitudinal relation between a larger number of close friends in the first wave and a smaller subsequent increase in TMT completion time (i.e. a smaller decline in executive functioning) was mediated via a higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave.

CONCLUSIONS

Social reserve such as having close friends may help promoting activity engagement in old age. By enhancing individuals' cognitive reserve, this activity engagement may finally result in smaller subsequent decline in executive functioning in aging.

The relationship of obesity predicting decline in executive functioning is attenuated with greater leisure activities in old age

Objectives: We investigated the longitudinal relationship between obesity and subsequent decline in executive functioning over six years as measured through performance changes in the Trail Making Test (TMT). We also examined whether this longitudinal relationship differed by key markers of cognitive reserve (education, occupation, and leisure activities), taking into account age, sex, and chronic diseases as covariates.Method: We used latent change score modeling based on longitudinal data from 897 older adults tested on TMT parts A and B in two waves six years apart. Mean age in the first wave was 74.33 years. Participants reported their weight and height (to calculate BMI), education, occupation, leisure activities, and chronic diseases.Results: There was a significant interaction of obesity in the first wave of data collection with leisure activities in the first wave on subsequent latent change. Specifically, obesity in the first wave significantly predicted a steeper subsequent decline in executive functioning over six years in individuals with a low frequency of leisure activities in the first wave. In contrast, in individuals with a high frequency of leisure activities in the first wave, this longitudinal relationship between obesity and subsequent decline in executive functioning was not significant.Conclusion: The longitudinal relationship between obesity and subsequent decline in executive functioning may be attenuated in individuals who have accumulated greater cognitive reserve through an engaged lifestyle in old age. Implications for current cognitive reserve and gerontological research are discussed.

Motivation as a Mediator of the Relation Between Cognitive Reserve and Cognitive Performance

OBJECTIVES

Interindividual differences in cognitive aging may be explained by differences in cognitive reserve (CR) that are built up across the life span. A plausible but underresearched mechanism for these differences is that CR helps compensating cognitive decline by enhancing motivation to cope with challenging cognitive situations. Theories of motivation on cognition suggest that perceived capacity and intrinsic motivation may be key mediators in this respect.

METHOD

In 506 older adults, we assessed CR proxies (education, occupation, leisure activities), motivation (perceived capacity, intrinsic motivation), and a global measure of cognitive functioning.

RESULTS

Perceived capacity, but not intrinsic motivation, significantly mediated the relation between CR and cognitive performance.

DISCUSSION

Complementary with neurobiological and cognitive processes, our results suggest a more comprehensive view of the role of motivational aspects built up across the life span in determining differences in cognitive performance in old age.

Lower executive functioning predicts steeper subsequent decline in well-being only in young-old but not old-old age

Objectives:

From a longitudinal perspective, the direction of the relationship between cognitive functioning and well-being in old age, both conceptually and empirically, is still under debate. Therefore, we aimed to disentangle the different longitudinal relationship patterns proposed and whether those differed between young-old and old-old adults.

Methods:

We used latent change score modeling based on longitudinal data from 1,040 older adults ( M = 74.54 years at Time 1 [T1], median = 73 years) to analyze reciprocal lead–lag relationships over 6 years in executive functioning (trail making test [TMT] completion time) and well-being (life satisfaction), taking into account chronological age, sex, education, leisure activities, and chronic diseases.

Results:

In young-old adults (<73 years), longer TMT completion time at T1 (i.e., lower executive functioning status) significantly predicted steeper subsequent decline in well-being. This was not the case for old-old adults (≥73 years), for whom this relationship was significantly different from that of the young-old (moderation effect). In either group, well-being status at T1 did not predict changes in TMT completion time.

Discussion:

Lower executive functioning may predict a subsequent decline in well-being in young-old adults only. Wider implications in a context of promotion of healthy aging are discussed.

Internet use in old age predicts smaller cognitive decline only in men

Internet use provides cognitive stimulation and thereby may contribute to the accumulation of cognitive reserve that is proposed to be instrumental for maintaining cognitive health in ageing. As the first study so far, we examined possible gender differences in the relationship between Internet use and subsequent cognitive decline over six years assessed through changes in Trail Making Test (TMT) accomplishment time in 897 older adults. Latent change score modelling (taking into account baseline cognitive level, chronic diseases, age, and central contributions to cognitive reserve through education, profession, and leisure engagement) revealed a significant interaction of frequency of Internet use and gender. More frequent Internet use in the first wave of data collection significantly predicted a smaller subsequent augmentation in TMT accomplishment time (i.e., a smaller subsequent cognitive decline) only in men, but not in women. In conclusion, frequent Internet use may contribute to the accumulation of cognitive reserve. The gender difference noted highlights an advantage for males. While this finding could be interpreted as gender-specific, it may be that the Internet activities males engage in differ from those of females, calling for a fine-grained investigation of Internet-based activities in future studies.

Cognitive Reserve Mediates the Relation between Openness to Experience and Smaller Decline in Executive Functioning

AIMS

We investigated the mediating role of leisure activity engagement in the longitudinal relation between openness to experience and subsequent change in executive functioning over 6 years as measured through performance changes in the Trail Making Test (TMT).

METHODS

We analyzed longitudinal data from 897 older adults (mean = 74.33 years in the first wave) tested on TMT parts A and B in two waves 6 years apart. Participants reported information on leisure activity engagement and openness to experience.

RESULTS

Latent change score modeling revealed that 37.2% of the longitudinal relation between higher openness to experience in the first wave of data collection and a smaller subsequent increase in TMT completion time from the first to the second wave (i.e., a smaller decline in executive functioning) was mediated via a higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave.

CONCLUSION

Individuals with higher openness to experience show greater activity engagement in old age. By enhancing their cognitive reserve, this activity engagement may finally result in smaller subsequent decline in executive functioning.

Distinct effects of cognitive versus somatic anxiety on cognitive performance in old age: the role of working memory capacity

Objective: The adverse effects of anxiety on cognition are widely recognized. According to Attentional Control Theory, worry (i.e. facet of cognitive anxiety) is the component that is responsible for these effects, and working memory capacity (WMC) plays an important role in regulating them. Despite the increasing importance of this problem with aging, little is known about how these mechanisms interact in old age. In this study, we explored the distinct contributions of the somatic and cognitive components of anxiety to neuropsychological performance, and the potential moderating role of WMC.Method: We administered cognitive tasks testing processing speed, cognitive flexibility and working memory to 605 older adults, who also underwent depression and test anxiety assessments (data from VLV study).Results: Multiple regression analyses showed that cognitive (but not somatic) aspects of anxiety affected cognitive flexibility. The effect of cognitive anxiety on processing speed was moderated by WMC: the anxiety-performance association was lower for participants with greater WMC.Conclusion: Results confirmed the specific role of worry in the anxiety-performance relationship in old age and supported the hypothesis that working memory resources regulates its deleterious effect on cognition. The absence of a moderation effect in the more costly switching task may reflect a limitation of resources with aging.

The Longitudinal Relationship of Perceived Stress Predicting Subsequent Decline in Executive Functioning in Old Age Is Attenuated in Individuals with Greater Cognitive Reserve

BACKGROUND

Cognitively stimulating activities contribute to the accumulation of cognitive reserve that is proposed to be instrumental for maintaining cognitive functioning in aging. Adopting a novel, more general conceptual perspective including models of vulnerability, we argue that cognitive reserve may modify the longitudinal association between perceived stress and the rate of subsequent decline in executive functioning.

OBJECTIVE

The present study set out to investigate the longitudinal relationship between perceived stress and subsequent decline in executive functioning over 6 years as measured through performance changes in the Trail Making Test (TMT) and whether this longitudinal relationship differed by key markers of cognitive reserve (education, occupation, and leisure activities), taking into account age, sex, and chronic diseases as covariates.

METHODS

We used latent change score modeling based on longitudinal data from 897 older adults tested on TMT parts A and B in two waves 6 years apart. Mean age in the first wave was 74.33 years. Participants reported information on perceived stress, education, occupation, leisure activities, and chronic diseases.

RESULTS

The longitudinal relationship between greater perceived stress in the first wave of data collection and steeper subsequent decline in executive functioning over 6 years was significantly reduced in individuals who had pursued a higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave.

CONCLUSION

The longitudinal relationship between perceived stress and subsequent decline in executive functioning may be attenuated in individuals who have accumulated greater cognitive reserve through an engaged lifestyle. Implications for current cognitive reserve and gerontological research are discussed.

The relation of close friends to cognitive performance in old age: the mediating role of leisure activities

ABSTRACTBackground:From a conceptual point of view, close friends are an important resource for promoting activity engagement in old age. Leisure activity engagement in turn is a key predictor of cognitive performance. Empirically, it remains unclear so far whether leisure activity engagement mediates between having close friends on the one hand and cognitive performance on the other, which we investigated in a large sample of older adults.

METHODS

We assessed cognitive performance (Mill Hill vocabulary scale and Trail Making Test (TMT) parts A and B) in 2,812 older adults. Participants reported information on leisure activity engagement and close friends.

RESULTS

A larger number of leisure activities and a larger number of close friends were significantly related to better cognitive performance in the Mill Hill vocabulary scale and TMT parts A and B. A larger number of close friends were significantly related to a larger number of leisure activities. The number of leisure activities mediated more than half of the relation of the number of close friends to performance in all three cognitive measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Having close friends may be helpful to stimulate and promote activity participation in old age. By enhancing individuals' cognitive reserve, this may finally preserve their cognitive performance level in old age.

Conflict Structures in Family Networks of Older Adults and Their Relationship With Health-Related Quality of Life

This study explores the interrelationships between health-related quality of life and conflict structures in family networks of older adults. Data were derived from a sample of 2,858 elders (aged 65 years and older) from the Vivre/Leben/Vivere study, a large survey addressing family life and health conditions of older people in Switzerland. Conflict density in family networks and the betweenness centrality of respondents in family conflict are significantly associated with health-related quality of life measures. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that conflict-health associations are mediated by the level of perceived individual stress where psychological health is concerned. Family conflict structures depend to a large extent on family composition and age. This study stresses the importance of older adults actively shaping the composition of their family contexts in ways that promote both conflict and stress avoidance.