Perceived constraints in late midlife: Cohort differences in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA)

Cohort Differences in Depressive Symptoms and Life Satisfaction in 75- and 80-Year-Olds: A Comparison of Two Cohorts 28 Years Apart

Objectives: To examine birth cohort differences in depressive symptoms and life satisfaction in older men and women and the mechanisms underpinning the possible cohort differences. Methods: Two independent cohorts of Finnish men and women aged 75 and 80 were assessed in 1989-1990 (n = 617) and 2017-2018 (n = 794). They reported their depressive symptoms (CES-D), current life satisfaction, and evaluation of life until now. Results: The later-born cohort reported fewer depressive symptoms (8.6 ± 7.1 vs. 13.9 ± 8.3) and the differences were similar for the subdomains of depressive symptoms. The later-born cohort was more often mostly satisfied with life until now (90 vs. 70%) but not with the current life than the earlier-born cohort. Better self-rated health and education of the later-born cohort partly explain the cohort differences. Discussion: Older people in Finland report fewer depressive symptoms and they are more satisfied with their past life compared to their counterparts assessed 28 years ago.

Younger Than Ever? Subjective Age Is Becoming Younger and Remains More Stable in Middle-Age and Older Adults Today

Little is known about historical shifts in subjective age (i.e., how old individuals feel). Moving beyond the very few time-lagged cross-sectional cohort comparisons, we examined historical shifts in within-person trajectories of subjective age from midlife to advanced old age. We used cohort-comparative longitudinal data from middle-age and older adults in the German Ageing Survey (N = 14,928; ~50% female) who lived in Germany and were between 40 and 85 years old when entering the study. They provided up to seven observations over 24 years. Results revealed that being born later in historical time is associated with feeling younger by 2% every birth-year decade and with less intraindividual change toward an older subjective age. Women reported feeling younger than men; this gender gap widened across cohorts. The association of higher education with younger subjective age became weaker across cohorts. Potential reasons for the subjective-rejuvenation effect across cohorts are discussed.

Employment trends at older ages: policy impact or secular change?

Observed increases in retirement age are generally attributed to policies to extend working lives (PEW). In a quasi-experimental design, we examine to what extent increases in employment of older workers can be attributed to secular changes in individual characteristics as opposed to PEW. We compare two countries: one with clear PEW (the Netherlands) and one without PEW (Norway). Data come from the Dutch Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam and the NORwegian Longitudinal study on Aging and Generations. From each study, two same-age (55-64 years) samples are selected, one recruited in 2002-03, and one recruited after five (Norway) and ten years (Netherlands). In pooled regression analysis, paid work is the outcome variable, and time of measurement, the main independent variable. Individual characteristics include age, sex, educational level, self-perceived health, functional limitations, sense of mastery, and work status of partner. Employment rose in both countries, faster in the Netherlands than in Norway. Of the rise in employment, individual characteristics explained less in the Netherlands than in Norway. Accounting for these, the interaction country*time was significant, indicating an extra rise in employment of 5.2 and 7.5% points for Dutch men and women, net of individual characteristics and unobserved factors that are assumed to be similar in both countries. The extra rise in the Netherlands represents 57% of the total rise for both sexes. Thus, secular change in individual characteristics explains part of the rise in employment in both countries. In the Netherlands, other factors such as PEW may additionally explain the rise in employment.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-021-00664-0.

Trends in long-term care use among Dutch older men and women between 1995 and 2016: is the gender gap changing?

This study examines whether the gender gap in long-term care use in the Netherlands has changed between 1995 and 2016. Previous research has shown that women use more formal care services than men, while men use more informal care. In the past decades, there have been changes in the individual determinants of care use, such as health and social resources, and care provision. This raises the question of whether gender differences in care use have also changed over time. The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) involved respondents aged 70–88 in seven waves: 1995/96, 1998/99, 2002/03, 2005/06, 2008/09, 2011/12 and 2015/16 (N = 6,527 observations). Generalised estimating equations (GEE) were used to analyse changes in the impact of gender on the use of informal and formal home care, residential care and private home care, and the non-use of care. Men used more informal care provided by a partner than women, but women used other sources of care more than men. Individual social resources explained the gender gap in informal and formal home care use, and health and social resources explained the gap in residential care. In the non-use of care and, to some extent, in residential care use, the gender gap widened over the years to the disadvantage of men and was not explained by health and social resources. The persistent and even increasing gender gap in the non-use of care over time warrants an exploration of the role of gender in seeking care and access to care, and a closer examination of the role of long-term care policies in maintaining this gap.

Protein for a Healthy Future: How to Increase Protein Intake in an Environmentally Sustainable Way in Older Adults in the Netherlands

BACKGROUND

Protein intake greater than the currently recommended amount is suggested to improve physical functioning and well-being in older adults, yet it is likely to increase diet-associated greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) if environmental sustainability is not considered.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to identify dietary changes needed to increase protein intake while improving diet environmental sustainability in older adults.

METHODS

Starting from the habitual diet of 1,354 Dutch older adults (aged 56-101 y) from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam cohort, mathematical diet optimization was used to model high-protein diets with minimized departure from habitual intake in cumulative steps. First, a high-protein diet defined as that providing ≥1.2 g protein · kg body weight-1 · d-1 was developed isocalorically while maintaining or improving nutritional adequacy of the diet. Second, adherence to the Dutch food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) was imposed. Third, a stepwise 10% GHGE reduction was applied.

RESULTS

Achieving a high-protein diet aligned with the FBDG without considering GHGEs required an increase in vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains, meat/dairy alternatives, dairy, and eggs and a reduction in total meat (for men only) and discretionary products, but it resulted in a 5% increase in GHGEs in men and 9% increase in women. When a stepwise GHGE reduction was additionally applied, increases in poultry and pork (mainly for women) and decreases in beef/lamb and processed meat were accrued, with total meat staying constant until a 50-60% GHGE reduction. Increases in whole grains, nuts, and meat/dairy alternatives and decreases in discretionary products were needed to lower GHGEs.

CONCLUSIONS

A high-protein diet aligned with FBDG can be achieved in concert with reductions in GHGEs in Dutch older adults by consuming no more than the recommended 500 g meat per week while replacing beef and lamb and processed meat with poultry and pork and increasing intake of diverse plant-protein sources.

Control diversity: How across-domain control beliefs are associated with daily negative affect and differ with age

Domain-specific control beliefs typically buffer the influence stressors have on people's negative affect (affective stressor reactivity). However, little is known about the extent to which individuals' control beliefs vary across stressor types and whether such stressor-related control diversity is adaptive for affective well-being. We thus introduce a control diversity construct (a person-level summary of across-domain control beliefs) and examine how control diversity differs with age and relates to negative affect and affective stressor reactivity. We apply a multilevel model to daily diary data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE; N = 2,022; mean age = 56 years; 33-84; 57% women). Our findings indicate that above and beyond average control beliefs, people whose control is spread over fewer stressor domains (less control diversity) have lower negative affect and less affective stressor reactivity. Older adults are more likely than younger adults to have their control beliefs concentrated in one domain. Additionally, associations between control diversity and negative affect and affective stressor reactivity were age invariant. Moderation effects indicated that when people with low average control beliefs are faced with stressors, having control beliefs focused on fewer domains rather than spread broadly across many domains is associated with less negative affect. Our findings suggest that control diversity provides unique insights into how control beliefs differ across adulthood and contribute to affective well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).