Household crowding in childhood and trajectories of depressive symptoms in mid-life and older age

AIMS

We aimed to investigate the association of household crowding in childhood with trajectories of depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS

We studied 47,010 participants (56 % women, 63 years at baseline) from SHARE. Using multinomial logistic regression, we estimated odds ratio (OR) with 95 % confidence interval (CI) for the association of household crowding in childhood (number of household members/number of rooms at the age of 10) with trajectories of depressive symptoms (EURO-D scale), which were generated with growth mixture modeling. We adjusted for resources in childhood, sociodemographic and health-related characteristics in mid-life and older age and tested effect modification by sex.

RESULTS

We identified four trajectories of depressive symptoms: constantly low (n = 33,969), decreasing (n = 5595), increasing (n = 5574) and constantly high (n = 1872). When compared to the those with constantly low depressive symptoms and adjusting for all covariates, household crowding in childhood was associated with greater odds of constantly high (OR 1.12; 95 % CI 1.08-1.17), decreasing (OR 1.11; 95 % CI 1.07-1.15) and increasing (OR 1.09; 95 % CI 1.06-1.13) depressive symptoms. The associations were stronger in women than in men.

CONCLUSIONS

Prevention of household crowding in childhood may ameliorate the development of constant as well as transient depressive symptoms during ageing. The effect can be stronger in women than in men.

Individual Differences in How Desirable People Think They Are as a Mate

Mate value is an important concept in mate choice research although its operationalization and understanding are limited. Here, we reviewed and evaluated previously established conceptual and methodological approaches measuring mate value and presented original research using individual differences in how people view themselves as a face-valid proxy for mate value in long- and short-term contexts. In data from 41 nations (N = 3895, Mage = 24.71, 63% women, 47% single), we tested sex, age, and relationship status effects on self-perceived mate desirability, along with individual differences in the Dark Triad traits, life history strategies, peer-based comparison of desirability, and self-reported mating success. Both sexes indicated more short-term than long-term mate desirability; however, men reported more long-term mate desirability than women, whereas women reported more short-term mate desirability than men. Further, individuals who were in a committed relationship felt more desirable than those who were not. Concerning the cross-sectional stability of mate desirability across the lifespan, in men, short- and long-term desirability rose to the age of 40 and 50, respectively, and decreased afterward. In women, short-term desirability rose to the age of 38 and decreased afterward, whereas long-term desirability remained stable over time. Our results suggest that measuring long- and short-term self-perceived mate desirability reveals predictable correlates.

Between-person and within-person effects in the temporal relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function

BACKGROUND

e aimed to disentangle within-person and between-person effects in the temporal relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function.

METHODS

We performed a prospective population-based cohort study on participants of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Cognitive function was assessed by tests on verbal fluency, immediate recall and delayed recall. Depressive symptoms were measured with EURO-D scale. To determine the temporal order of the association between cognitive function and depressive symptoms, we employed the fully saturated cross-lagged panel model (between-person effects), and random intercept cross-lagged panel model (within-person effects).

RESULTS

In 59,311 participants (mean age 65, ranging 46-100), between-person effects showed a bi-directional relationship that could be seen in three stages: First, the effect of cognitive function on depressive symptoms was initially slightly stronger than vice versa. Second, the effect of depressive symptoms on cognitive function became stronger during the follow-up. Third, all effects were small and no direction dominated. Within-person effects, however, revealed a dominant effect from depressive symptoms on cognitive function. Some effects from cognitive function on depressive symptoms were apparent only in older adults, in particular men. All effects were small and strongest for individuals aged 65 years and above.

LIMITATIONS

The sample is healthier than general population and thus not fully representative. A comprehensive cognitive battery was not available.

CONCLUSIONS

Long-term relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function is bi-directional. However, to achieve improvement in an individual in the short-term, the focus should be on decreasing depressive symptoms to improve cognitive function.

Parental education, cognition and functional connectivity of the salience network

The aim was to investigate the association of parental education at birth with cognitive ability in childhood and young adulthood and determine, whether functional connectivity of the salience network underlies this association. We studied participants of the Czech arm of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood who underwent assessment of their cognitive ability at age 8 (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) and 28/29 years (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) and measurement with resting state functional MRI at age 23/24. We estimated the associations of parental education with cognitive ability and functional connectivity between the seeds in the salience network and other voxels in the brain. We found that lower education of both mothers and fathers was associated with lower verbal IQ, performance IQ and full-scale IQ of the offspring at age 8. Only mother´s education was associated with performance IQ at age 28/29. Lower mother´s education correlated with greater functional connectivity between the right rostral prefrontal cortex and a cluster of voxels in the occipital cortex, which, in turn, was associated with lower performance IQ at age 28/29. We conclude that the impact of parental education, particularly father´s, on offspring´s cognitive ability weakens during the lifecourse. Functional connectivity between the right rostral prefrontal cortex and occipital cortex may be a biomarker underlying the transmission of mother´s education on performance IQ of their offspring.

Physical activity partly mediates the association between cognitive function and depressive symptoms

Cognitive function, physical activity, and depressive symptoms are intertwined in later life. Yet, the nature of the relationship between these three variables is unclear. Here, we aimed to determine which of physical activity or cognitive function mediated this relationship. We used large-scale longitudinal data from 51,191 adults 50 years of age or older (mean: 64.8 years, 54.7% women) from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Results of the longitudinal mediation analyses combined with autoregressive cross-lagged panel models showed that the model with physical activity as a mediator better fitted the data than the model with cognitive function as a mediator. Moreover, the mediating effect of physical activity was 8-9% of the total effect of cognitive function on depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that higher cognitive resources favor the engagement in physical activity, which contributes to reduced depressive symptoms.

Season of birth has no effect on symptoms of depression and anxiety in older adults

There remains a lack of conclusive evidence as to the merit of season of birth as a predictor of mental illness across contexts. We studied 72,370 individuals (55% women; mean age 66) from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Depressive symptoms were assessed with EURO-D scale and symptoms of anxiety with modified Beck Anxiety Inventory. Multilevel modeling was used to assess the association of season of birth as well as month of birth with symptoms of depression and anxiety, by sex and region. Adjusting for sex and age, month of birth explained only 0.01% to 0.07% of anxiety and depressive symptoms with non-significant improvement in the overall models; using season of birth instead of month of birth added 0.00% to 0.04% of explained variance. When stratified by sex and European region, age explained 0.23% to 5.19% of anxiety and depressive symptoms; the addition of month of birth or season of birth improved the models by negligible amount. Season of birth and month of birth are not reliable predictors of anxiety and depression across the life course.

Association between physical-activity trajectories and cognitive decline in adults 50 years of age or older

Aims

To investigate the associations of physical-activity trajectories with the level of cognitive performance and its decline in adults 50 years of age or older.

Methods

We studied 38729 individuals (63 ± 9 years; 57% women) enrolled in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Physical activity was self-reported and cognitive performance was assessed based on immediate recall, verbal fluency, and delayed recall. Physical-activity trajectories were estimated using growth mixture modelling and linear mixed effects models were used to investigate the associations between the trajectories and cognitive performance.

Results

The models identified two physical-activity trajectories of physical activity: constantly-high physical activity (N=27634: 71%) and decreasing physical activity (N=11095; 29%). Results showed that participants in the decreasing physical-activity group exhibited a lower level of cognitive performance compared to the high physical-activity group (immediate recall: ß=0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.92 to 0.95; verbal fluency: ß=0.98; 95% CI=0.97 to 0.98; delayed recall: ß=0.95; 95% CI=0.94 to 0.97). Moreover, compared with participants in the constantly-high physical-activity group, participants in the decreasing physical-activity group showed a steeper decline in all cognitive measures (immediate recall: ß=-0.04; 95% CI=-0.05 to -0.04; verbal fluency: ß=-0.22; 95% CI=-0.24 to -0.21; delayed recall: ß=-0.04; 95% CI=-0.05 to -0.04).

Conclusions

Physical-activity trajectories are associated with the level and evolution of cognitive performance in adults over 50 years. Specifically, our findings suggest that a decline in physical activity over multiple years is associated with a lower level and a steeper decline in cognitive performance.

Trajectories of depressive symptoms and associated patterns of cognitive decline

The aim was to investigate the pattern and rate of cognitive decline across distinctive trajectories of depressive symptoms in older adults. In this prospective multinational cohort study on 69,066 participants (on average 64 years at baseline, 55% women), assessments of cognitive functions (immediate recall, delayed recall, verbal fluency) and depressive symptoms (EURO-D scale) were conducted at 2-year intervals. The trajectories of depressive symptoms were obtained using latent growth mixture modelling, cognitive decline was assessed using smoothing splines and linear mixed effects models. Four distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms were identified: constantly low (n = 49,660), constantly high (n = 2999), increasing (n = 6828) and decreasing (n = 9579). Individuals with increasing and constantly high depressive symptoms showed linear cognitive decline, while those with constantly low and decreasing depressive symptoms had fluctuating cognition. Participants with increasing depressive symptoms had the fastest decline, while those with decreasing symptoms were spared from decline in cognition. This study suggests that the pattern as well as the rate of cognitive decline co-occurs with specific patterns of changes in depressive symptoms over time. The most pronounced cognitive decline is present in individuals, in whom depressive symptoms increase late in life. Unique mechanisms of cognitive decline may exist for subgroups of the population, and are associated with the trajectory of depressive symptoms.

The treatment gap for mental disorders and associated factors in the Czech Republic

OBJECTIVES

To assess the extent of the treatment gap for mental disorders in the Czech Republic, determine factors associated with the utilization of mental health services and explore what influences willingness to seek mental health care.

METHODS

Data from the CZEch Mental health Study, a nationally representative study of community-dwelling adults in the Czech Republic were used. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview assessed the presence of mental disorders. 659 participants with current affective, anxiety, alcohol use and substance use disorders were studied.

RESULTS

The treatment gap for mental disorders ranged from 61% for affective to 93% for alcohol use disorders. Mental health service use was associated with greater disability (OR 1.04; 95% CI 1.02-1.05; p < 0.001), female gender (OR 3.31; 95% CI 1.97-5.57; p < 0.001), urban residence (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.12-3.04; p < 0.05) and a higher number of somatic diseases (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.03-1.67; p < 0.05). Self-identification as having a mental illness was associated with greater willingness to seek a psychiatrist and a psychologist.

CONCLUSIONS

The treatment gap for mental disorders is alarmingly high in the Czech Republic. Interventions to decrease it should target in particular rural areas, men and people with low self-identification as having a mental illness.

Self-Perceived Mate Value Is Poorly Predicted by Demographic Variables

Mate value is a construct that can be measured in various ways, ranging from complex but difficult-to-obtain ratings all the way to single-item self-report measures. Due to low sample sizes in previous studies, little is known about the relationship between mate value and demographic variables. In this article, we tested the Mate Value Scale, a relatively new, short, 4-item self-report measure in two large samples. In the first sample of over 1,000, mostly college-age participants, the scale was found to be reliable and correlated with criterion variables in expected ways. In the second, larger sample, which included over 21,000 participants, we have tested for differences across demographics. Contrary to theoretical expectations and previous findings with smaller samples, the differences were either very small (sexual orientation, age, education) or small (sex, socioeconomic status, relationship status) in terms of their effect size. This suggests that the scale is not measuring "objective" mate value (as understood either in terms of fitness or actual mating decisions by potential partners on the "market"), but a self-perception of it, open to social comparison, relative standards, possibly even biases, raising questions about measuring self-perceived versus objective mate value.