Digital Commons Network^™

Neurobiological Differences Between Aggression And Agitation In Persons With Dementiaaffiliation, Ladislav Volicer

Aging Studies Faculty Publications

Background: Controversy exists about definition of agitation and especially about inclusion of aggression as a part of agitation in people with dementia.

Methods: Papers describing neurobiological indices related to behavioral symptoms of dementia were reviewed. Papers comparing indices in persons exhibiting aggression and persons exhibiting agitation were selected for this review.

Results: The survey found seven papers which compared neuroanatomical indices and three papers which compared neurochemical indices. The neuroanatomical indices differentiating agitation and aggression included changes in brain perfusion, sizes of brain areas, distribution of neurofibrillary tangles, and white matter changes. The neurochemical indices differentiating agitation and aggression included …

Correlates Of Life Satisfaction Among Middle-Aged And Older Black Adults, Shyuan Ching Tan, Alyssa Gamaldo, Angie L. Sardina, Ross Andel

Aging Studies Faculty Publications

This study explored satisfaction across life domains (e.g., family, daily life, health, finances, city of residence) and correlates of satisfaction across domains. Black adults (n=93, age range=55-80) completed the domains of life satisfaction scale and measures of sociodemographic factors, personality, and mental/physical health. Participants’ satisfaction was highest for home condition, but lowest for health. Univariate analyses of variance demonstrated better life satisfaction in the oldest-old (80+) than the youngest-old (55-64; p<.05), particularly in the domains of daily life/leisure, current financial situation, and total household income. Linear regression models suggested that higher satisfaction was associated with less education, less financial strain, lower depressive symptoms, and better self-rated physical health, although the pattern of results varied by domain. Satisfaction may increase with advancing old age, at least in some life domains. It can also vary across life domains and unique factors likely relate to satisfaction in each life domain.

Psychological And Social Factors Associated With Sleep Health Across Adulthood, Soomi Lee, Orfeu M. Buxton

Aging Studies Faculty Publications

Sleep is associated with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, as well as daily social interactions and productivity. Studies often have focused on sleep duration only, lacking the ability to comprehensively understand the importance of age-related changes in varied facets of sleep health. Moreover, psychological and social factors that may be associated with sleep health in adulthood are still poorly understood. This symposium showcases contemporary endeavors towards understanding how diverse indicators of sleep health relate to psychological and social factors across adulthood. Paper 1 uses perceived job discrimination as a social stressor to test associations between perceived job discrimination and …

The Examination Of Determinants And Barriers To End-Of-Life Decision Making And Planning, Brittany E. Gaines, Debra J. Dobbs

Aging Studies Faculty Publications

As individuals are living longer, in many cases with chronic diseases, there is an increased focus on end-of-life (EOL) planning and decision making. This includes a broad spectrum of choices including advance care planning (ACP) and turning to palliative care or hospice care. Although there has been an increase in palliative and hospice care enrollment and ACP engagement over the past decade, participation remains low for certain subgroups of the population. The purpose of this symposium is to offer insight into reasons for these varying rates of engagement by exploring determinants and barriers to EOL decision making and planning and …

Personality And Self-Reported And Actigraphy-Measured Sleep Health In Adulthood, Nasreen A. Sadeq, Soomi Lee, Alyssa Gamaldo, David M. Almeida

Aging Studies Faculty Publications

Personality may be associated with sleep health, however, the majority of existing studies rely on self-reported measures of sleep (often focusing on sleep duration). The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between Big Five personality traits and self-reported and actigraphy measured sleep. This study included 3928 participants and a subsample of 441 participants from the Midlife in the United States study. Linear regressions were used to analyze the relationships between personality traits and sleep. Neuroticism was associated with more frequent actigraphy-measured waking after sleep onset, and several self-reported measures of sleep quality, including shorter sleep duration, longer …

The Use Of Mobility Devices And Personal Assistance: A Joint Modeling Approach, Hongdao Meng, Lindsay J. Peterson, Lijuan Feng, Debra Dobbs, Kathryn Hyer

Aging Studies Faculty Publications

Objective: To examine whether mobility device use substitutes for personal assistance among U.S. older adults.

Method: Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study, we identified 3,211 community-living older adults (aged 65 and older) who reported mobility difficulties at baseline. We used recursive bivariate probit models to simultaneously estimate the effect of covariates on the likelihood of using (a) mobility devices and (b) personal assistance to accommodate mobility difficulty. Independent variables included age, gender, race, physical/mental health status, cognition, and comorbidities.

Results: Predictors of the use of personal assistance and mobility devices exhibit important similarities and differences. Device use reduced …