Geriatrics Commons^™

Integrating Affect Perception Tasks From The New York Emotion Battery Into A Comprehensive Measure Of Neuropsychological Change Across The Lifespan, Melinda A. Cornwell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: The ability to perceive others’ emotions is a vital skill for social competency, impacting the success of personal and professional relationships (Brinton & Fujiki, 2011; Cassidy et al., 1992; Côté & Miners, 2006). According to Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST; Carstensen, 1991), human motivation develops to become more discerning in choosing milieus that yield the most gratifying return on the investment of personal resources (e.g., time, attention, and effort), perhaps explaining why some research findings indicate that older adults may demonstrate an affect perception (AP) bias described as a positivity effect (Reed et al., 2014). Moreover, AP predicts cognitive and …

Life Expectancy And Active Life Expectancy By Disability Status In Older U.S. Adults, Haomiao Jia, Erica I. Lubetkin

Publications and Research

Objectives

The Medicare Health Outcome Survey (HOS) is the largest longitudinal survey of the U.S. community-dwelling elderly population. This study estimated total life expectancy, active life expectancy (ALE), and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) by disability status among HOS participants.

Methods

Data were from the Medicare HOS Cohort 15 (baseline 2012, follow-up 2014). We included respondents aged ≥ 65 years (n = 164,597). Participants’ disability status was assessed based on the following six activities of daily living (ADL): bathing, dressing, eating, getting in or out of chairs, walking, and using the toilet. The multi-state models were used to estimate life expectancy, …

Life Expectancy And Active Life Expectancy By Marital Status Among Older U.S. Adults Results From The U.S. Medicare Health Outcome Survey (Hos), Haomiao Jia, Erica I. Lubetkin

Publications and Research

Background: Previous investigations of the relationship between marital status and life expectancy and healthy life expectancy rely on the assumption that participants will remain in a given marital status until death. This study estimated total life expectancy (TLE) and active life expectancy (ALE) for respondents by their baseline marital status using a large longitudinal sample of the U.S. community-dwelling elderly population.

Methods: Data were from the Medicare Health Outcomes Survey Cohort 15 (2012 baseline, 2014 follow-up). We included respondents aged ≥65 years (n = 164,597). Multi-state models estimated TLE and ALE by marital status to allow participants' marital status to …

Investigating A Multimodal Approach To Clinical Diagnosis Of Mild Cognitive Impairment And Alzheimer’S Disease, Sean M. Flannery

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

An estimated 5.8 million Americans suffer from dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with that number projected to grow to 13.8 million by mid-century (Alzheimer’s Association, 2019). Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) describes the stage between normal cognitive decline that comes with aging and a dementia diagnosis (Peterson, 1999). Due to a lack of a cure or particularly effective treatment, a major goal of treatment is to focus on improving quality of life (Budson & Solomon, 2016). An early and accurate diagnosis can address this goal in a variety of ways. Despite the high prevalence and immense amount of research in …

Implementation Of Post Falls Huddles In Skilled Nursing Facility, Princess Lomax

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the quality improvement project, implementation of the post fall huddle in a long-term care facility. Falls are the most common problem in adults 65 years and older. Falls in this population can have devastating effects, often leading to significant changes in morbidity or death. Adults in long term care settings have an increased risk of falling and having a subsequent fall due to an acute illness, weakness, or confusion (CDC, 2015). At the skilled facility, there has been a significant increase in hospitalizations due to injuries sustained from falls. To address this …

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Barriers Faced By Nursing Assistants And Medication Aides In The Care Of Dysphagia Residents, Lauren Kreuzberg

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Dysphagia refers to the symptom of difficulty in swallowing that accompanies several prevalent conditions in the older adult population, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease), stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, dementia, various cancers, and brain tumors (Allari, 2014). Many older adults who suffer from these conditions reside in nursing facilities, where most of their care is provided by certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and medication aides (MAs). However, the extent of these workers’ knowledge and competence in providing care to nursing home residents with dysphagia is vastly under-researched. The qualitative analysis investigates themes among interviews with fifteen CNAs and …

Will "Social Distancing" Lead To Future "Research Distancing": A Reflection On Covid-19 Impacts On Alzheimer's Disease Research, Shoshana H. Bardach, Allison K. Gibson, Elizabeth K. Rhodus, Gregory A. Jicha

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has dramatically altered everyday life, including the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. This perspective article explores some of the ways in which COVID-19 has already impacted the field, anticipates some of the long-lasting effects, and explores strategies for addressing current and future needs. Areas of impact include study integrity, regulatory and industry issues, and participant engagement. Proposed strategies for addressing these challenges include analytic methods to deal with large degrees of missing data and development of patient-centered, user-friendly, remote data collection tools and assessments. We also highlight the importance of maintaining participant well-being as a …

Post-Acquisition Processing Confounds In Brain Volumetric Quantification Of White Matter Hyperintensities, Ahmed A. Bahrani, Omar M. Al-Janabi, Erin L. Abner, Shoshana H. Bardach, Richard J. Kryscio, Donna M. Wilcock, Charles D. Smith, Gregory A. Jicha

Neurology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Disparate research sites using identical or near-identical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition techniques often produce results that demonstrate significant variability regarding volumetric quantification of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in the aging population. The sources of such variability have not previously been fully explored.

NEW METHOD: 3D FLAIR sequences from a group of randomly selected aged subjects were analyzed to identify sources-of-variability in post-acquisition processing that can be problematic when comparing WMH volumetric data across disparate sites. The methods developed focused on standardizing post-acquisition protocol processing methods to develop a protocol with less than 0.5% inter-rater variance.

RESULTS: A series …

Boomers And Fraudsters: A Closer Look At The Financial Elder Abuse Cycle In America, Ryan E. Brown

Marriott Student Review

In 2011, a landmark study was published by the Metlife Mature Market Institute claiming that nearly $3 billion disappears from the wallets and bank accounts of senior citizens annually. More surprising is that a similar study reported that figure could be as high as $36 billion. Because so many seniors let incidents of fraud or financial deceit go unreported, there is a huge discrepancy in annual reporting. This contributes to the overall lack of understanding we have of elder financial abuse, or why seniors continue to lose to fraudsters and scam artists. In a brief overview of financial elder abuse …

Hospitalization-Associated Change In Gait Speed And Risk Of Functional Limitations For Older Adults, Wei Duan-Porter, Tien N. Vo, Kristen Ullman, Lisa Langsetmo, Elsa S. Strotmeyer, Brent C. Taylor, Adam J. Santanasto, Peggy M. Cawthon, Anne B. Newman, Eleanor M. Simonsick, Teresa M. Waters, Kristine E. Ensrud

Health Management and Policy Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Hospitalization-associated functional decline is a common problem for older adults, but it is unclear how hospitalizations affect physical performance measures such as gait speed. We sought to determine hospitalization-associated change in gait speed and likelihood of new limitations in mobility and activities of daily living (ADLs).

METHODS: We used longitudinal data over 5 years from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study, a prospective cohort of black and white community-dwelling men and women, aged 70-79 years, who had no limitations in mobility (difficulty walking 1/4 mile or climbing 10 steps) or ADLs (transferring, bathing, dressing, and eating) at baseline. …

La Ciudad Versus El Campo: La Calidad De Vida De Los Adultos Mayores Aymara Entre Arica Y Putre, Clare Rogowski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The elderly population in Chile is increasing rapidly. In indigenous villages in the interior of Chile, like Putre, the younger generation is leaving to pursue education and employment opportunities in cities, in this case Arica. In many cases no one stays to take care of the elders. As the elderly begin to grow older and require greater support, the younger generation seeks to move their family members to the city so that they can care for them. While this provides for greater connection to family and access to medical care for the elderly relatives, the elderly loses their connection to …

Factors Associated With Food Insecurity Among Individuals, Aged Sixty And Older, In Clark County, Nv, Lisa M. Segler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. In Nevada, an estimated 80,000 individuals, aged 60 years or older, were food insecure in 2016. The primary aim of this study was to identify factors that are associated with food insecurity in older adults, aged sixty and older, in Clark County, NV. The secondary aim of this study was to identify which factors interact with each other to explain food insecurity among individuals aged sixty and older, in Clark County, NV. A secondary data analysis was conducted using data collected by …

Internamente Solo: Escuchando Y Resistiendo La Soledad De Adultos Mayores En La Araucanía, Chile / Internally Alone: Hearing And Resisting The Loneliness Of Seniors In La Araucanía, Chile, Grace Ellrodt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: Which current patterns drive or diminish loneliness among seniors of the Region of the Araucanía in the city of Temuco and surrounding rural communes?

Objectives: Understand and interpret the roots and the antidotes of the loneliness phenomenon experienced by seniors in Temuco and surrounding communes in the present moment.

Identify and analyze the drivers of pathological elder loneliness in structural, intermediary, and proximal factors.

Highlight the perspectives and narratives of seniors, community leaders, and health resources with respect to strategies to reduce the crisis.

Background: Currently, the population of seniors has risen and will continue to rise in …

Is Technology The Key To Prevention Of Falls Among The Elderly In Rapidly Aging Societies? A Case Study Of Kunming, China, Phoebe Kiburi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the aging society rapidly becomes more dominant in the world, there is a pressing need for different stakeholders to tend to the needs of the aging sufficiently. This is crucial in ensuring the robustness of the healthcare system as a whole; given that it can only be as strong as its weakest link. This study focuses on one of the areas of need of the ageing society: fall prevention.

Numerous studies have been done on interventions by the government, private entities, elderly people and their caregivers to prevent occurrence and recurrence of falls. However, most of these have been …

Octo- And Nonagenarians' Outlook On Life And Death When Living With An Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator: A Cross-Sectional Survey, Ingela Thylén, Debra K. Moser, Anna Strömberg

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Elderly individuals are increasingly represented among patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), but data describing life with an ICD are scarse among octo- and nonagenarians. Moreover, few studies have reported those elderly patients’ perspective on timly discussions concerning what shock deactivation involves, preferences on battery replacement, and their attitudes about turning off the ICD nearing end-of-life. Consequently, the aim of the study was to describe outlooks on life and death in octo- and nonagenarian ICD-recipients.

Methods: Participants were identified via the Swedish Pacemaker- and ICD-registry, with 229 octo- and nonagenarians (82.0 ± 2.2 years, 12% female) completing the survey …

Older Adults' Health Care Utilization A Year After Experiencing Fear Or Distress From Hurricane Sandy, Laura P Sands, Yimeng Xie, Rachel Pruchno, Allison Heid, Yili Hong

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether self-reports of disaster-related psychological distress predict older adults' health care utilization during the year after Hurricane Sandy, which hit New Jersey on October 29, 2012.

METHODS: Respondents were from the ORANJ BOWL Study, a random-digit dialed sample from New Jersey recruited from 2006 to 2008. Medicare hospital, emergency department (ED) and outpatient claims data from 2012 and 2013 were matched to 1607 people age 65 and older in 2012 who responded to follow-up surveys conducted from July 2013 to July 2015 to determine their hurricane-related experiences.

RESULTS: In total, 7% (107) of respondents reported they experienced …

Adult Day Service Providers: Untapped Potential For Care Coordination, Nicole Ruggiano, Ellen L. Brown, Karen L. Fortuna

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Adult Day Services (ADS) have become increasingly available for community-dwelling older adults who are often experiencing multiple chronic conditions and/or dementia. ADS providers spend a significant amount of time with their clients and offer the opportunity for a wealth of clinical information that can be used by primary care providers and specialists for decision-making about patient care. There are also opportunities for hospitals to coordinate care transitions with ADS providers by involving them with discharge planning with appropriate patients who require post-hospital care. However, ADS providers are often viewed as social service providers, and there is little known about the …

A New Measure For End Of Life Planning, Preparation, And Preferences In Huntington Disease: Hdqlife End Of Life Planning, Noelle E Carlozzi, E A Hahn, S A Frank, J S Perlmutter, N D Downing, M K Mccormack, S Barton, M A Nance, S G Schilling, Hdqlife Site Investigators And Coordinators

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Huntington disease is a fatal inherited neurodegenerative disease. Because the end result of Huntington disease is death due to Huntington disease-related causes, there is a need for better understanding and caring for individuals at their end of life.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to develop a new measure to evaluate end of life planning.

DESIGN: We conducted qualitative focus groups, solicited expert input, and completed a literature review to develop a 16-item measure to evaluate important aspects of end of life planning for Huntington disease. Item response theory and differential item functioning analyses were utilized to examine …

The Effects Of A Cognitive Training Program For Cognitively Intact Older Adults, Caroline Kinskey

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Cognitive training is a term used to describe programs that provide guided practice on tasks requiring different cognitive abilities such as memory or language. It is assumed that regular practice will improve or maintain functioning in a particular cognitive domain (e.g., memory) and those results will generalize beyond the context of training. Results have been mixed in the existing literature that has evaluated the potential benefits of cognitive training on cognitive and emotional functioning in cognitively intact older adults. This study investigated the effectiveness of a cognitive training program for older adults with no to very minimal cognitive decline. Nine …

Hyperhomocysteinemia-Induced Gene Expression Changes In The Cell Types Of The Brain, Erica M. Weekman, Abigail E. Woolums, Tiffany L. Sudduth, Donna M. Wilcock

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

High plasma levels of homocysteine, termed hyperhomocysteinemia, are a risk factor for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia, which is the second leading cause of dementia. While hyperhomocysteinemia induces microhemorrhages and cognitive decline in mice, the specific effect of hyperhomocysteinemia on each cell type remains unknown. We took separate cultures of astrocytes, microglia, endothelial cells, and neuronal cells and treated each with moderate levels of homocysteine for 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr. We then determined the gene expression changes for cell-specific markers and neuroinflammatory markers including the matrix metalloproteinase 9 system. Astrocytes had decreased levels of several astrocytic end feet …

Cerebrovascular Pathology In Down Syndrome And Alzheimer Disease, Elizabeth Head, Michael J. Phelan, Eric Doran, Ronald C. Kim, Wayne W. Poon, Frederick A. Schmitt, Ira T. Lott

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

People with Down syndrome (DS) are at high risk for developing Alzheimer disease (AD) with age. Typically, by age 40 years, most people with DS have sufficient neuropathology for an AD diagnosis. Interestingly, atherosclerosis and hypertension are atypical in DS with age, suggesting the lack of these vascular risk factors may be associated with reduced cerebrovascular pathology. However, because the extra copy of APP leads to increased beta-amyloid peptide (Aβ) accumulation in DS, we hypothesized that there would be more extensive and widespread cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) with age in DS relative to sporadic AD. To test this hypothesis CAA, …

A New Opportunity For Memri, Ryan Cloyd, Moriel H. Vandsburger, Jose F. Abisambra

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pro-Angiogenesis Therapy And Aging: A Mini-Review, Charles T. Ambrose

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Apart from major illnesses and chronic afflictions, the elderly experience lesser ailments, such as muscle weakness, cold intolerance, and transient memory lapses. Physical signs in the aged include wrinkled skin and the slow healing of skin abrasions. These ailments and signs are grouped together because they may be due in part to an age-linked, waning microcirculation. A reduced capillary density (CD) throughout the body of aged people and animals has been reported in over 40 papers. The reduced CD is due in turn to declining levels of angiogenic growth factors (AGFs) throughout the body during old age, as documented in …

A Descriptive Study Of The Elderly In California Substance Abuse Treatment Programs, David Berenschot

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As gerontologists may know, there are a great deal of studies and a variety of academic literature on the misuse of alcohol and prescription medication amongst the elderly population. While there is a plethora of information on alcohol and prescription misuse, there is little reported data about the prevalence of other substance misuse experienced by this population. This study aims to help to fill that gap in the data by using quantitative methods to describe the scope of substance abuse of individuals 55-years or older. This study utilizes data from the Treatment Data Set Admission (TEDS-A). The TEDS-A is a …

Retention Of Normal Glia Function By An Isoform-Selective Protein Kinase Inhibitor Drug Candidate That Modulates Cytokine Production And Cognitive Outcomes, Zhengqiu Zhou, Adam D. Bachstetter, Claudia B. Späni, Saktimayee M. Roy, D. Martin Watterson, Linda J. Van Eldik

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Background: Brain p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), a potential therapeutic target for cognitive dysfunction based on the neuroinflammation-synaptic dysfunction cycle of pathophysiology progression, offers an innovative pharmacological strategy via inhibiting the same activated target in both glia and neurons, thereby enhancing the possibility for efficacy. The highly selective, brain-penetrant p38αMAPK inhibitor MW150 attenuates cognitive dysfunction in two distinct Alzheimer's disease (AD)-relevant models and avoids the problems encountered with previous mixed-kinase inhibitor drug candidates. Therefore, it is essential that the glial effects of this CNS-active kinase inhibitor be addressed in order to anticipate future use in clinical investigations.

Methods: …

A Medical Student Foray Into The Depths Of Public Health: An Exploratory Investigation Toward A Community Dashboard Characterizing The Experiences Of Frailty In Order To Guide Improvement, An Harmanli, Danielle Fahoome, Burton Masem, Ellen Massey, Beverly Lunsford, Joanne Lynn, Elizabeth Cobbs

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

While it is known that there are many shortcomings in the care of the elderly, their rate and impact on the community and the elderly themselves is not well understood. In exploring the possibilities for using existing data and available informants, a dashboard could be created that would enable a geographic community to understand the experience of living with disabilities in old age, to prioritize problems, and to test improvements.

The methods included a literature review to understand what and how easily information could be accessed, gathered, and presented. In regards to literature on data collection, CMS claims data, MDS, …

Csf Protein Changes Associated With Hippocampal Sclerosis Risk Gene Variants Highlight Impact Of Grn/Pgrn, David W. Fardo, Yuriko Katsumata, John S. K. Kauwe, Yuetiva Deming, Oscar Harari, Carlos Cruchaga, Alzheimer’S Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Peter T. Nelson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Objective—Hippocampal sclerosis of aging (HS-Aging) is a common cause of dementia in older adults. We tested the variability in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins associated with previously identified HS-Aging risk single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Methods—Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort (ADNI; n=237) data, combining both multiplexed proteomics CSF and genotype data, were used to assess the association between CSF analytes and risk SNPs in four genes (SNPs): GRN (rs5848), TMEM106B (rs1990622), ABCC9 (rs704180), and KCNMB2 (rs9637454). For controls, non-HS-Aging SNPs in APOE (rs429358/rs7412) and MAPT (rs8070723) were also analyzed against Aβ1-42 and total tau CSF analytes.

Results—The GRN risk …

Tuning Up The Old Brain With New Tricks: Attention Training Via Neurofeedback, Yang Jiang, Reza Abiri, Xiaopeng Zhao

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Neurofeedback (NF) is a form of biofeedback that uses real-time (RT) modulation of brain activity to enhance brain function and behavioral performance. Recent advances in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) and cognitive training (CT) have provided new tools and evidence that NF improves cognitive functions, such as attention and working memory (WM), beyond what is provided by traditional CT. More published studies have demonstrated the efficacy of NF, particularly for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. In contrast, there have been fewer studies done in older adults with or without cognitive impairment, with some notable exceptions. The focus of this …

Adverse Events And Treatment Discontinuations Of Antimuscarinics For The Treatment Of Overactive Bladder In Older Adults: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Scott Martin Vouri, Clark D. Kebodeaux, Paul M. Stranges, Besu F. Teshome

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

Introduction

Antimuscarinics should be used with caution in older adults with overactive bladder (OAB) due to anticholinergic adverse events (AEs). Systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) have analyzed safety-related outcomes but have not specified risk in the elderly, the population at highest risk for AEs. The aim of this review is to explore and evaluate AEs and treatment discontinuations in adults 65 or older taking antimuscarinics for OAB.

Methods

Keywords were searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) along with sub-analyses and pooled analyses that compared antimuscarinics to placebo or another antimuscarinic …

Reliability And Validity Of The Hd-Pro-Triadtm, A Health-Related Quality Of Life Measure Designed To Assess The Symptom Triad Of Huntington's Disease., Nicholas R Boileau, Julie C Stout, Janes S Paulsen, David Cella, Michael K Mccormack, Martha A Nance, Samuel Frank, Jin-Shei Lai, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Huntington's disease (HD), is a neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments that diminish health related quality of life (HRQOL). The HD-PRO-TRIADTM is a quality of life measure that assesses health concerns specific to individuals with HD. Preliminary psychometric characterization was limited to a convenience sample of HD participants who completed measures at home so clinician-ratings were unavailable.

OBJECTIVES: The current study evaluates the reliability and validity of the HD-PRO-TRIADTM in a well-characterized sample of individuals with HD.

METHODS: Four-hundred and eighty-two individuals with HD (n = 192 prodromal, n = 193 early, and n …