WorldWideScience

Sample records for healthy ageing model

  1. Centenarians - a useful model for healthy aging?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engberg, Henriette; Oksuzyan, Anna; Jeune, Bernard

    2009-01-01

    Centenarians surpass the current human life expectancy with about 20-25 years. However, whether centenarians represent healthy aging still remains an open question. Previous studies have been hampered by a number of methodological shortcomings such as a cross-sectional design and lack...... of an appropriate control group. In a longitudinal population-based cohort, it was examined whether the centenarian phenotype may be a useful model for healthy aging. The study was based on a completefollow up of 39 945 individuals alive in the Danish 1905 birth cohort on January 1, 1977 identified through...... with 68.4% among individuals who died in their early 80s. This trend was evident in both sexes. As a result of their lower hospitalization rates and length of stay in hospital compared with their contemporaries, who died at younger ages, Danish centenarians represent healthy agers. Centenarians constitute...

  2. The Healthy Aging Research Network: Modeling Collaboration for Community Impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belza, Basia; Altpeter, Mary; Smith, Matthew Lee; Ory, Marcia G

    2017-03-01

    As the first Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention Research Centers Program thematic network, the Healthy Aging Research Network was established to better understand the determinants of healthy aging within older adult populations, identify interventions that promote healthy aging, and assist in translating research into sustainable community-based programs throughout the nation. To achieve these goals requires concerted efforts of a collaborative network of academic, community, and public health organizational partnerships. For the 2001-2014 Prevention Research Center funding cycles, the Healthy Aging Research Network conducted prevention research and promoted the wide use of practices known to foster optimal health. Organized around components necessary for successful collaborations (i.e., governance and infrastructure, shaping focus, community involvement, and evaluation and improvement), this commentary highlights exemplars that demonstrate the Healthy Aging Research Network's unique contributions to the field. The Healthy Aging Research Network's collaboration provided a means to collectively build capacity for practice and policy, reduce fragmentation and duplication in health promotion and aging research efforts, maximize the efficient use of existing resources and generate additional resources, and ultimately, create synergies for advancing the healthy aging agenda. This collaborative model was built upon a backbone organization (coordinating center); setting of common agendas and mutually reinforcing activities; and continuous communications. Given its successes, the Healthy Aging Research Network model could be used to create new and evaluate existing thematic networks to guide the translation of research into policy and practice. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Development of the Thai healthy aging model: A grounded theory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiamwong, Ladda; McManus, Michael S; Suwanno, Jom

    2013-06-01

    To develop a model of healthy aging from the perspective of Thais, a grounded theory approach, including in-depth interviews and focus groups, was used. A purposive sample of 39 community-dwelling adults aged 40-85 years old was interviewed. The Thai healthy aging model composed of three themes: normality, nature, and dharma. In Thai, they are called tham-ma-da, tham-ma-chat, and tham-ma, or "Thai 3Ts". The theme of normality encompasses subthemes of staying physically active by being involved in plenty of physical activities, and being mentally active with creative and thoughtful hobbies and work. The theme of nature encompasses subthemes of living simply and being careful with money. The theme of dharma encompasses subthemes of enjoyment through helping family and participating in community activities, staying away from stress and worries by talking openly and honestly with someone, making merit, and helping other people without expecting anything in return. A greater understanding of healthy aging is a benefit for older adults and healthcare providers in an intervention-design process. Research can contribute valuable information to shape policy for healthy aging as well. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  4. Interdisciplinary Research on Healthy Aging: Introduction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willekens, F.J.; Carey, James; Li, Qiang

    2018-01-01

    Background: This is an introduction to a Special Collection of Demographic Research on Interdisciplinary Research on Healthy Aging. The collection is an outcome of an international conference in China on biodemography and multistate modeling in healthy aging research. Causal analysis is the common

  5. Predictors of healthy ageing: public health policy targets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sowa, Agnieszka; Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Beata; Topór-Mądry, Roman; Poscia, Andrea; la Milia, Daniele Ignazio

    2016-09-05

    The public health policy agenda oriented towards healthy ageing becomes the highest priority for the European countries. The article discusses the healthy ageing concept and its possible determinants with an aim to identify behavioral patterns related to healthy ageing in selected European countries. The healthy ageing is assessed based on a composite indicator of self-assessed health, functional capabilities and life meaningfulness. The logistic regression models are used to assess the impact of the healthy lifestyle index, psycho-social index and socio-economic status on the probability of healthy ageing (i.e. being healthy at older age). The lifestyle and psychosocial indexes are created as a sum of behaviors that might be important for healthy ageing. Models are analyzed for three age groups of older people: 60-67, 68-79 and 80+ as well as for three groups of countries representing Western, Southern and Central-Eastern Europe. The lifestyle index covering vigorous and moderate physical activity, consumption of vegetables and fruits, regular consumption of meals and adequate consumption of liquids is positively related to healthy ageing, increasing the likelihood of being healthy at older age with each of the items specified in the index. The score of the index is found to be significantly higher (on average by 1 point for men and 1.1 for women) for individuals ageing healthily. The psychosocial index covering employment, outdoor social participation, indoor activities and life satisfaction is also found to be significantly related to health increasing the likelihood of healthy ageing with each point of the index score. There is an educational gradient in healthy ageing in the population below the age of 68 and in Southern and Central-Eastern European countries. In Western European countries, income is positively related to healthy ageing for females. Stimulation physical activity and adequate nutrition are crucial domains for a well-defined public health policy

  6. Healthy Aging After Age 65: A Life-Span Health Production Function Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferdows, Nasim B; Jensen, Gail A; Tarraf, Wassim

    2018-06-01

    This article examines the determinants of healthy aging using Grossman's framework of a health production function. Healthy aging, sometimes described as successful aging, is produced using a variety of inputs, determined in early life, young adulthood, midlife, and later life. A healthy aging production function is estimated using nationally representative data from the 2010 and 2012 Health and Retirement Study on 7,355 noninstitutionalized seniors. Using a simultaneous equation mediation model, we quantify how childhood factors contribute to healthy aging, both directly and indirectly through their effects on mediating adult outcomes. We find that favorable childhood conditions significantly improve healthy aging scores, both directly and indirectly, mediated through education, income, and wealth. We also find that good health habits have positive effects on healthy aging that are larger in magnitude than the effects of childhood factors. Our findings suggest that exercising, maintaining proper weight, and not smoking are likely to translate into healthier aging.

  7. Genetics of healthy aging in Europe: the EU-integrated project GEHA (GEnetics of Healthy Aging)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Franceschi, Claudio; Bezrukov, Vladyslav; Blanché, Hélène

    2007-01-01

    The aim of the 5-year European Union (EU)-Integrated Project GEnetics of Healthy Aging (GEHA), constituted by 25 partners (24 from Europe plus the Beijing Genomics Institute from China), is to identify genes involved in healthy aging and longevity, which allow individuals to survive to advanced old......DNA). The genetic analysis will be performed by 9 high-throughput platforms, within the framework of centralized databases for phenotypic, genetic, and mtDNA data. Additional advanced approaches (bioinformatics, advanced statistics, mathematical modeling, functional genomics and proteomics, molecular biology...... age in good cognitive and physical function and in the absence of major age-related diseases. To achieve this aim a coherent, tightly integrated program of research that unites demographers, geriatricians, geneticists, genetic epidemiologists, molecular biologists, bioinfomaticians, and statisticians...

  8. Changing course in ageing research: The healthy ageing phenotype.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franco, Oscar H; Karnik, Kavita; Osborne, Gabrielle; Ordovas, Jose M; Catt, Michael; van der Ouderaa, Frans

    2009-05-20

    Ageing is often associated with the aged and the diseased, nevertheless ageing is a process that starts in-uterus and is characterised by a progressive functional loss but not necessarily by the presence of disease and poor quality of life. How to meander through life without crossing the confines of major chronic disease and cognitive and physical impairment remains one of the most relevant challenges for science and humankind. Delimiting that 'immaculate' trajectory - that we dub as the 'Healthy Ageing Phenotype' - and exploring solutions to help the population to stay or return to this trajectory should constitute the core focus of scientific research. Nevertheless, current efforts on ageing research are mainly focused on developing animal models to disentangle the human ageing process, and on age-related disorders often providing merely palliative solutions. Therefore, to identify alternative perspectives in ageing research, Unilever and the Medical Research Council (MRC) UK convened a Spark workshop entitled 'The Healthy Ageing Phenotype'. In this meeting, international specialists from complementary areas related to ageing research, gathered to find clear attributes and definitions of the 'Healthy Ageing Phenotype', to identify potential mechanisms and interventions to improve healthy life expectancy of the population; and to highlight areas within ageing research that should be prioritised in the future. General agreement was reached in recognising ageing research as a disaggregated field with little communication between basic, epidemiological and clinical areas of research and limited translation to society. A more holistic, multi-disciplinary approach emanating from a better understanding of healthy ageing trajectories and centred along human biological resilience, its maintenance and the reversibility from early deviations into pathological trajectories, is urgently required. Future research should concentrate on understanding the mechanisms that permit

  9. Healthy Family 2009: Assuring Healthy Aging

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Navigation Bar Home Current Issue Past Issues Healthy Family 2009 Assuring Healthy Aging Past Issues / Winter 2009 ... for steady, modest loss. Seek emotional support from family and friends. Expect setbacks; forgive yourself. Make physical ...

  10. Selfie Aging Index: An Index for the Self-assessment of Healthy and Active Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonçalves, Judite; Gomes, Maria Isabel; Fonseca, Miguel; Teodoro, Tomás; Barros, Pedro Pita; Botelho, Maria-Amália

    2017-01-01

    Governments across Europe want to promote healthy and active aging, as a matter of both public health and economic sustainability. Designing policies focused on the most vulnerable groups requires information at the individual level. However, a measure of healthy and active aging at the individual level does not yet exist. This paper develops the Selfie Aging Index (SAI), an individual-level index of healthy and active aging. The SAI is developed thinking about a tool that would allow each person to take a selfie of her aging status. Therefore, it is based entirely on self-assessed indicators. This paper also illustrates how the SAI may look like in practice. The SAI is based on the Biopsychosocial Assessment Model (MAB), a tool for the multidimensional assessment of older adults along three domains: biological, psychological, and social. Indicators are selected and their weights determined based on an ordered probit model that relates the MAB indicators to self-assessed health, which proxies healthy and active aging. The ordered probit model predicts the SAI based on the estimated parameters. Finally, predictions are rescaled to the 0-1 interval. Data for the SAI development come from the Study of the Aging Profiles of the Portuguese Population and the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe. The selected indicators are BMI, having difficulties moving around indoors and performing the activities of daily living, feeling depressed, feeling nervous, lacking energy, time awareness score, marital status, having someone to confide in, education, type of job, exercise, and smoking status. The model also determines their weights. Results shed light on various factors that contribute significantly to healthy and active aging. Two examples are mental health and exercise, which deserve more attention from individuals themselves, health-care professionals, and public health policy. The SAI has the potential to put the individual at the center of the healthy and

  11. Healthy Aging with Go4Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... of this page please turn JavaScript on. Feature: Healthy Aging Healthy Aging with Go4Life ® Past Issues / Winter 2015 Table of ... is to make physical activity a cornerstone of healthy aging, for a simple reason. Being physically active is ...

  12. Healthy ageing, resilience and wellbeing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cosco, T D; Howse, K; Brayne, C

    2017-12-01

    The extension of life does not appear to be slowing, representing a great achievement for mankind as well as a challenge for ageing populations. As we move towards an increasingly older population we will need to find novel ways for individuals to make the best of the challenges they face, as the likelihood of encountering some form of adversity increases with age. Resilience theories share a common idea that individuals who manage to navigate adversity and maintain high levels of functioning demonstrate resilience. Traditional models of healthy ageing suggest that having a high level of functioning across a number of domains is a requirement. The addition of adversity to the healthy ageing model via resilience makes this concept much more accessible and more amenable to the ageing population. Through asset-based approaches, such as the invoking of individual, social and environmental resources, it is hoped that greater resilience can be fostered at a population level. Interventions aimed at fostering greater resilience may take many forms; however, there is great potential to increase social and environmental resources through public policy interventions. The wellbeing of the individual must be the focus of these efforts; quality of life is an integral component to the enjoyment of additional years and should not be overlooked. Therefore, it will become increasingly important to use resilience as a public health concept and to intervene through policy to foster greater resilience by increasing resources available to older people. Fostering wellbeing in the face of increasing adversity has significant implications for ageing individuals and society as a whole.

  13. Perceptions of competence: age moderates views of healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Jane M; Williams, Helen L; Thomas, Kevin D; Blair, Jamie

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Older adults have more complex and differentiated views of aging than do younger adults, but less is known about age-related perceptions of Alzheimer's disease. This study investigated age-related perceptions of competence of an older adult labeled as "in good health" (healthy) or "has Alzheimer's disease" (AD), using a person-perception paradigm. It was predicted that older adults would provide more differentiated assessments of the two targets than would younger adults. Younger (n=86; 18-36 years) and older (n=66; 61-95 years) adults rated activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and memory abilities of a female target aged 75 years, described as healthy or with AD. Data on anxiety about aging, knowledge of and experience with aging and AD, knowledge of memory aging, and positive and negative biases toward aging and AD were also collected. Older adults perceived the healthy target as more capable of cognitively effortful activities (e.g., managing finances) and as possessing better memory abilities than the AD target. As predicted, these differences were greater than differences between targets perceived by younger adults. The interaction effect remained significant after statistically controlling for relevant variables, including education and gender. Additionally, exploratory analyses revealed that older adults held less positively biased views of AD than younger adults, but negatively biased views were equivalent between age groups. The results demonstrate that mere labels of "healthy" and "Alzheimer's disease" produce significant and subtle age differences in perceived competencies of older adults, and that biases towards AD vary by age group and valence. Our findings extend the person-perception paradigm to an integrative analysis of aging and AD, are consistent with models of adult development, and complement current research and theory on stereotypes of aging. Future directions for research

  14. Healthy Aging Among Older Black and White Men: What Is the Role of Mastery?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latham-Mintus, Kenzie; Vowels, Ashley; Huskins, Kyle

    2018-01-11

    This research explores black-white differences in healthy aging and investigates whether mastery acts as a buffer against poor health for older black and white men. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (2008-2012), a series of binary logit models were created to assess healthy aging over a 2-year period. Healthy aging was defined as good subjective health and free of disability at both waves. Mastery was lagged, and analyses (n = 4,892) controlled for social and health factors. Black-white disparities in healthy aging were observed, where older black men had lower odds of healthy aging. Mastery was associated with higher odds of healthy aging, and race moderated the relationship between mastery and healthy aging. The predicted probability of healthy aging was relatively flat across all levels of mastery among black men, yet white men saw consistent gains in the probability of healthy aging with higher levels of mastery. In race-stratified models, mastery was not a significant predictor of healthy aging among black men. High levels of mastery are linked to positive health-often acting as a buffer against stressful life events. However, among older black men, higher levels of mastery did not necessarily equate to healthy aging. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Late-life factors associated with healthy aging in older men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Christina L; Chen, Randi; Masaki, Kamal; Yee, Priscilla; He, Qimei; Grove, John; Donlon, Timothy; Curb, J David; Willcox, D Craig; Poon, Leonard W; Willcox, Bradley J

    2014-05-01

    To identify potentially modifiable late-life biological, lifestyle, and sociodemographic factors associated with overall and healthy survival to age 85. Prospective longitudinal cohort study with 21 years of follow-up (1991-2012). Hawaii Lifespan Study. American men of Japanese ancestry (mean age 75.7, range 71-82) without baseline major clinical morbidity and functional impairments (N = 1,292). Overall survival and healthy survival (free from six major chronic diseases and without physical or cognitive impairment) to age 85. Factors were measured at late-life baseline examinations (1991-1993). Of 1,292 participants, 1,000 (77%) survived to 85 (34% healthy) and 309 (24%) to 95 (healthy). Late-life factors associated with survival and healthy survival included biological (body mass index, ankle-brachial index, cognitive score, blood pressure, inflammatory markers), lifestyle (smoking, alcohol use, physical activity), and sociodemographic factors (education, marital status). Cumulative late-life baseline risk factor models demonstrated that age-standardized (at 70) probability of survival to 95 ranged from 27% (no factors) to 7% (≥ 5 factors); probability of survival to 100 ranged from 4% (no factors) to 0.1% (≥ 5 factors). Age-standardized (at 70) probability of healthy survival to 90 ranged from 4% (no factors) to 0.01% (≥ 5 factors). There were nine healthy survivors at 95 and one healthy survivor at 100. Several potentially modifiable risk factors in men in late life (mean age 75.7) were associated with markedly greater probability of subsequent healthy survival and longevity. © 2014, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2014, The American Geriatrics Society.

  16. Trajectories of the healthy ageing phenotype among middle-aged and older Britons, 2004-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tampubolon, Gindo

    2016-06-01

    Since the ageing population demands a response to ensure older people remain healthy and active, we studied the dynamics of a recently proposed healthy ageing phenotype. We drew the phenotype's trajectories and tested whether their levels and rates of change are influenced by health behaviours, comorbidities and socioeconomic positions earlier in the life course. The English Longitudinal Ageing Study, a prospective, nationally representative sample of people aged ≥50 years, measured a set of eight biomarkers which make up the outcome of the healthy ageing phenotype three times over nearly a decade (N2004=5009, N2008=5301, N2013=4455). A cluster of health behaviours, comorbidities and socioeconomic positions were also measured repeatedly. We assessed the phenotype's distribution non-parametrically, then fitted linear mixed models to phenotypic change and further examined time interactions with gender and socioeconomic position. We ran additional analyses to test robustness. Women had a wider distribution of the healthy ageing phenotype than men had. The phenotype declined annually by -0.242 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.352, -0.131). However, there was considerable heterogeneity in the levels and rates of phenotypic change. Women started at higher levels, then declined more steeply by -0.293 (CI: -0.403, -0.183) annually, leading to crossover in the trajectories. Smoking and physical activity assessed on the Allied Dunbar scale were strongly associated with the trajectories. Though marked by secular decline, the trajectories of the healthy ageing phenotype showed distinct socioeconomic gradients. The trajectories were also susceptible to variations in health behaviours, strengthening the case for serial interventions to attain healthy and active ageing. Copyright © 2016 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  17. Biology of Healthy Aging and Longevity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carmona, Juan José; Michan, Shaday

    2016-01-01

    As human life expectancy is prolonged, age-related diseases are thriving. Aging is a complex multifactorial process of molecular and cellular decline that affects tissue function over time, rendering organisms frail and susceptible to disease and death. Over the last decades, a growing body of scientific literature across different biological models, ranging from yeast, worms, flies, and mice to primates, humans and other long-lived animals, has contributed greatly towards identifying conserved biological mechanisms that ward off structural and functional deterioration within living systems. Collectively, these data offer powerful insights into healthy aging and longevity. For example, molecular integrity of the genome, telomere length, epigenetic landscape stability, and protein homeostasis are all features linked to "youthful" states. These molecular hallmarks underlie cellular functions associated with aging like mitochondrial fitness, nutrient sensing, efficient intercellular communication, stem cell renewal, and regenerative capacity in tissues. At present, calorie restriction remains the most robust strategy for extending health and lifespan in most biological models tested. Thus, pathways that mediate the beneficial effects of calorie restriction by integrating metabolic signals to aging processes have received major attention, such as insulin/insulin growth factor-1, sirtuins, mammalian target of rapamycin, and 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase. Consequently, small-molecule targets of these pathways have emerged in the impetuous search for calorie restriction mimetics, of which resveratrol, metformin, and rapamycin are the most extensively studied. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie age-related deterioration and repair, and how these pathways interconnect, remains a major challenge for uncovering interventions to slow human aging while extending molecular and physiological youthfulness

  18. Adult height, dietary patterns, and healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Wenjie; Hagan, Kaitlin A; Heianza, Yoriko; Sun, Qi; Rimm, Eric B; Qi, Lu

    2017-08-01

    Background: Adult height has shown directionally diverse associations with several age-related disorders, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, decline in cognitive function, and mortality. Objective: We investigated the associations of adult height with healthy aging measured by a full spectrum of health outcomes, including incidence of chronic diseases, memory, physical functioning, and mental health, among populations who have survived to older age, and whether lifestyle factors modified such relations. Design: We included 52,135 women (mean age: 44.2 y) from the Nurses' Health Study without chronic diseases in 1980 and whose health status was available in 2012. Healthy aging was defined as being free of 11 major chronic diseases and having no reported impairment of subjective memory, physical impairment, or mental health limitations. Results: Of all eligible study participants, 6877 (13.2%) were classified as healthy agers. After adjustment for demographic and lifestyle factors, we observed an 8% (95% CI: 6%, 11%) decrease in the odds of healthy aging per SD (0.062 m) increase in height. Compared with the lowest category of height (≤1.57 m), the OR of achieving healthy aging in the highest category (≥1.70 m) was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.87; P -trend healthy aging ( P -interaction = 0.005), and among the individual dietary factors characterizing the prudent dietary pattern, fruit and vegetable intake showed the strongest effect modification ( P -interaction = 0.01). The association of greater height with reduced odds of healthy aging appeared to be more evident among women with higher adherence to the prudent dietary pattern rich in vegetable and fruit intake. Conclusions: Greater height was associated with a modest decrease in the likelihood of healthy aging. A prudent diet rich in fruit and vegetables might modify the relation. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

  19. Healthy aging – insights from Drosophila

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konstantin G Iliadi

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Human life expectancy has nearly doubled in the past century due, in part, to social and economic development, and a wide range of new medical technologies and treatments. As the number of elderly increase it becomes of vital importance to understand what factors contribute to healthy aging. Human longevity is a complex process that is affected by both environmental and genetic factors and interactions between them. Unfortunately, it is currently difficult to identify the role of genetic components in human longevity. In contrast, model organisms such as C. elegans, Drosophila and rodents have facilitated the search for specific genes that affect lifespan. Experimental evidence obtained from studies in model organisms suggests that mutations in a single gene may increase longevity and delay the onset of age-related symptoms including motor impairments, sexual and reproductive and immune dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline. Furthermore, the high degree of conservation between diverse species in the genes and pathways that regulate longevity suggests that work in model organisms can both expand our theoretical knowledge of aging and perhaps provide new therapeutic targets for the treatment of age-related disorders.

  20. Relationships between Housing and Healthy Aging in Very Old Age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oswald, Frank; Wahl, Hans-Werner; Schilling, Oliver; Nygren, Carita; Fange, Agneta; Sixsmith, Andrew; Sixsmith, Judith; Szeman, Zsuzsa; Tomsone, Signe; Iwarsson, Susanne

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this work is to examine the relationship between aspects of objective and perceived housing and aspects of healthy aging, defined as independence in daily activities and subjective well-being. Furthermore, this research examined the comparability of relationships between housing and healthy aging in the five European countries.…

  1. Whole-Genome Sequencing of a Healthy Aging Cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erikson, Galina A; Bodian, Dale L; Rueda, Manuel; Molparia, Bhuvan; Scott, Erick R; Scott-Van Zeeland, Ashley A; Topol, Sarah E; Wineinger, Nathan E; Niederhuber, John E; Topol, Eric J; Torkamani, Ali

    2016-05-05

    Studies of long-lived individuals have revealed few genetic mechanisms for protection against age-associated disease. Therefore, we pursued genome sequencing of a related phenotype-healthy aging-to understand the genetics of disease-free aging without medical intervention. In contrast with studies of exceptional longevity, usually focused on centenarians, healthy aging is not associated with known longevity variants, but is associated with reduced genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer and coronary artery disease. Additionally, healthy aging is not associated with a decreased rate of rare pathogenic variants, potentially indicating the presence of disease-resistance factors. In keeping with this possibility, we identify suggestive common and rare variant genetic associations implying that protection against cognitive decline is a genetic component of healthy aging. These findings, based on a relatively small cohort, require independent replication. Overall, our results suggest healthy aging is an overlapping but distinct phenotype from exceptional longevity that may be enriched with disease-protective genetic factors. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Healthy Aging: MedlinePlus Health Topic

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Aging National Institute on Aging Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Healthy Aging updates ... 65 Health screening - women - over 65 Related Health Topics Exercise for Seniors Nutrition for Seniors Seniors' Health ...

  3. Healthy building environments for ageing adults

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kort, Helianthe S.M.

    2017-01-01

    A healthy building environment, when looking from a gerontechnology perspective, should facilitate ageing adults' functioning, self-esteem, and prosperity. Creating healthy environments is becoming more and more relevant in society. Older adults tend to stay more indoors when compared to younger

  4. Dual regression physiological modeling of resting-state EPI power spectra: Effects of healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viessmann, Olivia; Möller, Harald E; Jezzard, Peter

    2018-02-02

    Aging and disease-related changes in the arteriovasculature have been linked to elevated levels of cardiac cycle-induced pulsatility in the cerebral microcirculation. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), acquired fast enough to unalias the cardiac frequency contributions, can be used to study these physiological signals in the brain. Here, we propose an iterative dual regression analysis in the frequency domain to model single voxel power spectra of echo planar imaging (EPI) data using external recordings of the cardiac and respiratory cycles as input. We further show that a data-driven variant, without external physiological traces, produces comparable results. We use this framework to map and quantify cardiac and respiratory contributions in healthy aging. We found a significant increase in the spatial extent of cardiac modulated white matter voxels with age, whereas the overall strength of cardiac-related EPI power did not show an age effect. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. Healthy aging and dementia: findings from the Nun Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snowdon, David A

    2003-09-02

    The Nun Study is a longitudinal study of 678 Catholic sisters 75 to 107 years of age who are members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame congregation. Data collected for this study include early and middle-life risk factors from the convent archives, annual cognitive and physical function evaluations during old age, and postmortem neuropathologic evaluations of the participants' brains. The case histories presented include a centenarian who was a model of healthy aging, a 92-year-old with dementia and clinically significant Alzheimer disease neuropathology and vascular lesions, a cognitively and physically intact centenarian with almost no neuropathology, and an 85-year-old with well-preserved cognitive and physical function despite a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer disease and an abundance of Alzheimer disease lesions. These case histories provide examples of how healthy aging and dementia relate to the degree of pathology present in the brain and the level of resistance to the clinical expression of the neuropathology.

  6. Operational Definition of Active and Healthy Ageing (AHA)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bousquet, J; Kuh, D; Bewick, M

    2015-01-01

    Health is a multi-dimensional concept, capturing how people feel and function. The broad concept of Active and Healthy Ageing was proposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the process of optimizing opportunities for health to enhance quality of life as people age. It applies to both...... individuals and population groups. A universal Active and Healthy Ageing definition is not available and it may differ depending on the purpose of the definition and/or the questions raised. While the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) has had a major impact......, a definition of Active and Healthy Ageing is urgently needed. A meeting was organised in Montpellier, France, October 20-21, 2014 as the annual conference of the EIP on AHA Reference Site MACVIA-LR (Contre les Maladies Chroniques pour un Vieillissement Actif en Languedoc Roussillon) to propose an operational...

  7. Genetics of healthy aging and longevity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks-Wilson, Angela R

    2013-12-01

    Longevity and healthy aging are among the most complex phenotypes studied to date. The heritability of age at death in adulthood is approximately 25 %. Studies of exceptionally long-lived individuals show that heritability is greatest at the oldest ages. Linkage studies of exceptionally long-lived families now support a longevity locus on chromosome 3; other putative longevity loci differ between studies. Candidate gene studies have identified variants at APOE and FOXO3A associated with longevity; other genes show inconsistent results. Genome-wide association scans (GWAS) of centenarians vs. younger controls reveal only APOE as achieving genome-wide significance (GWS); however, analyses of combinations of SNPs or genes represented among associations that do not reach GWS have identified pathways and signatures that converge upon genes and biological processes related to aging. The impact of these SNPs, which may exert joint effects, may be obscured by gene-environment interactions or inter-ethnic differences. GWAS and whole genome sequencing data both show that the risk alleles defined by GWAS of common complex diseases are, perhaps surprisingly, found in long-lived individuals, who may tolerate them by means of protective genetic factors. Such protective factors may 'buffer' the effects of specific risk alleles. Rare alleles are also likely to contribute to healthy aging and longevity. Epigenetics is quickly emerging as a critical aspect of aging and longevity. Centenarians delay age-related methylation changes, and they can pass this methylation preservation ability on to their offspring. Non-genetic factors, particularly lifestyle, clearly affect the development of age-related diseases and affect health and lifespan in the general population. To fully understand the desirable phenotypes of healthy aging and longevity, it will be necessary to examine whole genome data from large numbers of healthy long-lived individuals to look simultaneously at both common and

  8. Psychosocial factors for influencing healthy aging in adults in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, KyungHun; Lee, YunJung; Gu, JaSung; Oh, Hee; Han, JongHee; Kim, KwuyBun

    2015-03-07

    Healthy aging includes physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being in later years. The purpose of this study is to identify the psychosocial factors influencing healthy aging and examining their socio-demographic characteristics. Perceived health status, depression, self-esteem, self-achievement, ego-integrity, participation in leisure activities, and loneliness were identified as influential factors in healthy aging. 171 Korean adults aged between 45 and 77 years-old participated in the study. Self-reporting questionnaires were used, followed by descriptive statistics and multiple regressions as inferential statistical analyses. There were significant differences between participants' general characteristics: age, education, religion, housing, hobby, and economic status. The factors related to healthy aging had positive correlation with perceived health status, self-esteem, self-achievements, and leisure activities, and negative correlation with depression and loneliness. The factors influencing healthy aging were depression, leisure activities, perceived health status, ego integrity, and self-achievements. These factors were able to explain 51.9%. According to the results, depression is the factor with the greatest influence on healthy aging. Perceived health status, ego integrity, self-achievement, self-esteem, participation of leisure activities were also influential on healthy aging as beneficial factors.

  9. Healthy ageing in the Nun Study: definition and neuropathologic correlates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyas, Suzanne L; Snowdon, David A; Desrosiers, Mark F; Riley, Kathryn P; Markesbery, William R

    2007-11-01

    Although the concept of healthy ageing has stimulated considerable interest, no generally accepted definition has been developed nor has its biological basis been determined. To develop a definition of healthy ageing and investigate its association with longevity and neuropathology. Analyses were based on cognitive, physical, and post-mortem assessments from 1991 to 1998 in the Nun Study, a longitudinal study of ageing in participants 75+ years at baseline. We defined three mutually exclusive levels of healthy ageing (excellent, very good, and good) based on measures of global cognitive function, short-term memory, basic and instrumental activities of daily living, and self-rated function. Mortality analyses were based on 636 participants; neuropathologic analyses were restricted to 221 who had died and were autopsied. Only 11% of those meeting criteria for the excellent level of healthy ageing at baseline subsequently died, compared with 24% for the very good, 39% for the good, and 60% for the remaining participants. Survival curves showed significantly greater longevity with higher levels of healthy ageing. The risk of not attaining healthy ageing, adjusted for age, increased two-fold in participants with brain infarcts alone, six-fold in those with Alzheimer neuropathology alone, and more than thirteen-fold in those with both brain infarcts and Alzheimer neuropathology. The biological validity of our definition of healthy ageing is supported by its strong association with mortality and longevity. Avoiding Alzheimer and stroke neuropathology is critical to the maintenance of healthy ageing, and the presence of both pathologies dramatically decreases the likelihood of healthy ageing.

  10. Whole Genome Sequencing of a Healthy Aging Cohort

    OpenAIRE

    Erikson, Galina A.; Bodian, Dale L.; Rueda, Manuel; Molparia, Bhuvan; Scott, Erick R.; Scott-Van Zeeland, Ashley A.; Topol, Sarah E.; Wineinger, Nathan E.; Niederhuber, John E.; Topol, Eric J.; Torkamani, Ali

    2016-01-01

    Studies of long-lived individuals have revealed few genetic mechanisms for protection against age-associated disease. Therefore, we pursued genome sequencing of a related phenotype – healthy aging – to understand the genetics of disease-free aging without medical intervention. In contrast with studies of exceptional longevity, usually focused on centenarians, healthy aging is not associated with known longevity variants but is associated with reduced genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer and co...

  11. Defining and Estimating Healthy Aging in Spain: A Cross-sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Laso, Angel; McLaughlin, Sara J; Urdaneta, Elena; Yanguas, Javier

    2018-03-19

    Using an operational continuum of healthy aging developed by U.S. researchers, we sought to estimate the prevalence of healthy aging among older Spaniards, inform the development of a definition of healthy aging in Spain, and foster cross-national research on healthy aging. The ELES pilot study is a nationwide, cross-sectional survey of community-dwelling Spaniards 50 years and older. The prevalence of healthy aging was calculated for the 65 and over population using varying definitions. To evaluate their validity, we examined the association of healthy aging with the 8 foot up & go test, quality of life scores and self-perceived health using multiple linear and logistic regression. The estimated prevalence of healthy aging varied across the operational continuum, from 4.5% to 49.2%. Prevalence figures were greater for men and those aged 65 to 79 years and were higher than in the United States. Predicted mean physical performance scores were similar for 3 of the 4 definitions, suggesting that stringent definitions of healthy aging offer little advantage over a more moderate one. Similar to U.S. researchers, we recommend a definition of healthy aging that incorporates measures of functional health and limiting disease as opposed to definitions requiring the absence of all disease in studies designed to assess the effect of policy initiatives on healthy aging.

  12. Perspectives on healthy aging among Thai elderly: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thanakwang, Kattika; Soonthorndhada, Kusol; Mongkolprasoet, Jiraporn

    2012-12-01

    In this qualitative study, we provide an in-depth understanding of the views of healthy aging among Thai elderly and explore the ways that contribute to healthy aging. Data were collected using focus groups and in-depth interviews in four selected provinces of Thailand, and were analyzed using content analysis. The results revealed that Thai elderly described being healthy as the result of multiple components involving physical, mental, and social well-being. Healthy aging was viewed as an absence of serious diseases, having functional independence, a positive psycho-emotional outlook, and making a social contribution. The factors considered to contribute to healthy aging included activities promoting physical and psychological health, as well as active engagement in social activities. Understanding how the elderly define healthy aging and identifying the most important components and factors that contribute to being healthy provides insight into possible policy implications and interventions to promote health and well-being among Thai elderly. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  13. Changes in healthy food habits after transition to old age retirement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helldán, Anni; Lallukka, Tea; Rahkonen, Ossi; Lahelma, Eero

    2012-08-01

    Retirement is one of the major transitions in the life course. However, it is poorly understood how health behaviours, such as food habits, might change after retirement. This study aimed to examine whether healthy food habits change after the transition to old age retirement and whether socio-demographic or health-related factors explain the association between retirement, being continuously employed and healthy food habits at follow-up. The data were derived from the Helsinki Health Study cohort on the staff of the City of Helsinki, Finland. The baseline questionnaire survey data were collected in 2000-02 and the follow-up in 2007. We included only participants who were aged 55-60 years at baseline and entered old age retirement during the follow-up (n = 1156, 76% women) or remained continuously employed (n = 1269, 79% women). Food habits from a food frequency questionnaire included eight items formed according to the Finnish and Nordic dietary recommendations. Logistic regression models were fitted to examine the associations between retirement, being continuously employed and healthy food habits at follow-up. Healthy food habits increased more among retired women than those continuously employed (P = 0.03). At follow-up retired women had healthier food habits than continuously employed women after adjusting for baseline food habits [OR = 1.36 (1.12-1.65)]. Among men, healthy food habits were unassociated with retirement. Transition to old age retirement is likely to have beneficial effects on food habits among women. This helps prevent major diseases and supports better public health among ageing people.

  14. Influence of individual and combined healthy behaviours on successful aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabia, Séverine; Singh-Manoux, Archana; Hagger-Johnson, Gareth; Cambois, Emmanuelle; Brunner, Eric J; Kivimaki, Mika

    2012-12-11

    Increases in life expectancy make it important to remain healthy for as long as possible. Our objective was to examine the extent to which healthy behaviours in midlife, separately and in combination, predict successful aging. We used a prospective cohort design involving 5100 men and women aged 42-63 years. Participants were free of cancer, coronary artery disease and stroke when their health behaviours were assessed in 1991-1994 as part of the Whitehall II study. We defined healthy behaviours as never smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, physical activity (≥ 2.5 h/wk moderate physical activity or ≥ 1 h/wk vigorous physical activity), and eating fruits and vegetables daily. We defined successful aging, measured over a median 16.3-year follow-up, as good cognitive, physical, respiratory and cardiovascular functioning, in addition to the absence of disability, mental health problems and chronic disease (coronary artery disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes). At the end of follow-up, 549 participants had died and 953 qualified as aging successfully. Compared with participants who engaged in no healthy behaviours, participants engaging in all 4 healthy behaviours had 3.3 times greater odds of successful aging (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.1-5.1). The association with successful aging was linear, with the odds ratio (OR) per increment of healthy behaviour being 1.3 (95% CI 1.2-1.4; population-attributable risk for 1-4 v. 0 healthy behaviours 47%). When missing data were considered in the analysis, the results were similar to those of our main analysis. Although individual healthy behaviours are moderately associated with successful aging, their combined impact is substantial. We did not investigate the mechanisms underlying these associations, but we saw clear evidence of the importance of healthy behaviours for successful aging.

  15. The Old-Age Healthy Dependency Ratio in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muszyńska, Magdalena M; Rau, Roland

    2012-09-01

    The aim of this study is to answer the question of whether improvements in the health of the elderly in European countries could compensate for population ageing on the supply side of the labour market. We propose a state-of-health-specific (additive) decomposition of the old-age dependency ratio into an old-age healthy dependency ratio and an old-age unhealthy dependency ratio in order to participate in a discussion of the significance of changes in population health to compensate for the ageing of the labour force. Applying the proposed indicators to the Eurostat's population projection for the years 2010-2050, and assuming there will be equal improvements in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth, we discuss various scenarios concerning future of the European labour force. While improvements in population health are anticipated during the years 2010-2050, the growth in the number of elderly people in Europe may be expected to lead to a rise in both healthy and unhealthy dependency ratios. The healthy dependency ratio is, however, projected to make up the greater part of the old-age dependency ratio. In the European countries in 2006, the value of the old-age dependency ratio was 25. But in the year 2050, with a positive migration balance over the years 2010-2050, there would be 18 elderly people in poor health plus 34 in good health per 100 people in the current working age range of 15-64. In the scenarios developed in this study, we demonstrate that improvements in health and progress in preventing disability will not, by themselves, compensate for the ageing of the workforce. However, coupled with a positive migration balance, at the level and with the age structure assumed in the Eurostat's population projections, these developments could ease the effect of population ageing on the supply side of the European labour market.

  16. Knowledge brokering for healthy aging: a scoping review of potential approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Eerd, Dwayne; Newman, Kristine; DeForge, Ryan; Urquhart, Robin; Cornelissen, Evelyn; Dainty, Katie N

    2016-10-19

    Developing a healthcare delivery system that is more responsive to the future challenges of an aging population is a priority in Canada. The World Health Organization acknowledges the need for knowledge translation frameworks in aging and health. Knowledge brokering (KB) is a specific knowledge translation approach that includes making connections between people to facilitate the use of evidence. Knowledge gaps exist about KB roles, approaches, and guiding frameworks. The objective of the scoping review is to identify and describe KB approaches and the underlying conceptual frameworks (models, theories) used to guide the approaches that could support healthy aging. Literature searches were done in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, EBM reviews (Cochrane Database of systematic reviews), CINAHL, and SCOPUS, as well as Google and Google Scholar using terms related to knowledge brokering. Titles, abstracts, and full reports were reviewed independently by two reviewers who came to consensus on all screening criteria. Documents were included if they described a KB approach and details about the underlying conceptual basis. Data about KB approach, target stakeholders, KB outcomes, and context were extracted independently by two reviewers. Searches identified 248 unique references. Screening for inclusion revealed 19 documents that described 15 accounts of knowledge brokering and details about conceptual guidance and could be applied in healthy aging contexts. Eight KB elements were detected in the approaches though not all approaches incorporated all elements. The underlying conceptual guidance for KB approaches varied. Specific KB frameworks were referenced or developed for nine KB approaches while the remaining six cited more general KT frameworks (or multiple frameworks) as guidance. The KB approaches that we found varied greatly depending on the context and stakeholders involved. Three of the approaches were explicitly employed in the context of health aging. Common elements

  17. Healthy aging profile in octogenarians in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campos, Ana Cristina Viana; Ferreira, Efigênia Ferreira E; Vargas, Andréa Maria Duarte; Gonçalves, Lúcia Hisako Takase

    2016-08-29

    to identify the healthy aging profile in octogenarians in Brazil. this population-based epidemiological study was conducted using household interviews of 335 octogenarians in a Brazilian municipality. The decision-tree model was used to assess the healthy aging profile in relation to the socioeconomic characteristics evaluated at baseline. All of the tests used a p-value adultos mayores participantes, la mayoría eran mujeres (62,1%), edades comprendidas entre 80 y 84 años (50,4%), viudos (53,4%), analfabetos (59,1 %), con ingreso mensual inferior del salario mínimo (59,1%), jubilados (85,7%), viviendo con el cónyuge (63,8%), sin cuidador (60,3%), con dos o más hijos (82,7%), y dos o más nietos (78,8%). Los resultados indican tres grupos de edad con perfil de envejecimiento más saludable: adultos mayores de 80-84 años (55,6%), adultos mayores con 85 años o más y casados (64,9%), y adultos mayores con 85 años o más sin pareja y ni cuidador (54,2%). el perfil de envejecimiento saludable de octogenarios se puede explicar por el grupo etario, el estado civil y la presencia de un cuidador.

  18. From Survival to Healthy Aging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Evron, Lotte Orr; Wind, Gitte

    2018-01-01

    and the spouses built their mutual and individual lives focusing on their relationship and strived to return to their usual everyday life. Within three to six months the couples went from “survival” where the diagnosis dominated to “wellbeing” where healthy aging/lifestyle dominated. All eight couples led...

  19. Interdisciplinary Research on Healthy Aging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willekens, F.J.; Carey, James; Li, Qiang

    2018-01-01

    This Special Collection was edited by Frans Willekens, James R. Carey, and Qiang Li. The papers in this collection represent a small selection of papers presented at an international conference on healthy aging, held in October 2012 in Beijing and Hangzhou, China. The first part of the conference,

  20. Attentional neural networks impairment in healthy aging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vazquez-Marrufo, Manuel; Luisa Benitez, Maria; Rodriguez-Gomez, Guillermo; Galvao-Carmona, Alejandro; Fernandez-Del Olmo, Aaron; Vaquero-Casares, Encarnacion

    2011-01-01

    Introduction. Diverse evidences have shown that the process of natural aging causes a decline in different cognitive functions, including among them the attentional process. Aim. To determine how the healthy aging affects to the different attentional networks. Subjects and methods. Two groups: young

  1. Dietary flavonoid intake at midlife and healthy aging in women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samieri, Cécilia; Sun, Qi; Townsend, Mary K; Rimm, Eric B; Grodstein, Francine

    2014-12-01

    Dietary flavonoids have been related to lower risks of various chronic diseases, but it is unclear whether flavonoid intake in midlife helps to maintain good health and wellbeing in aging. We examined the relation of flavonoid intake in midlife with the prevalence of healthy aging. We included 13,818 women from the Nurses' Health Study with dietary data and no major chronic diseases in 1984-1986 when they were aged in their late 50s (median age: 59 y); all women provided information on multiple aspects of aging an average of 15 y later. Intakes of 6 major flavonoid subclasses in midlife were ascertained on the basis of averaged intakes of flavonoid-rich foods from 2 food-frequency questionnaires (1984-1986). We defined healthy compared with usual aging as of age 70 y; healthy aging was based on survival to ≥70 y with maintenance of 4 health domains (no major chronic diseases or major impairments in cognitive or physical function or mental health). Of women who survived until ≥70 y of age, 1517 women (11.0%) met our criteria for healthy aging. Compared with women in the lowest quintile of intake, women in the highest quintile of intake of several flavonoid subclasses at midlife had greater odds of healthy aging. After multivariable adjustment, ORs were as follows: flavones, 1.32 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.58); flavanone, 1.28 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.53); anthocyanin, 1.25 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.50); and flavonol, 1.18 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.42) (all P-trend ≤ 0.02). Consistently, greater intakes of major sources of these flavonoids (i.e., oranges, berries, onions, and apples) were associated with increased odds of healthy aging. We showed no association with flavan-3-ol monomers (P-trend = 0.80) or polymers (P-trend = 0.63). Higher intake of flavonoids at midlife, specifically flavones, flavanones, anthocyanins, and flavonols, is associated with greater likelihood of health and wellbeing in individuals surviving to older ages. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

  2. DNA methylation and healthy human aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Meaghan J; Goodman, Sarah J; Kobor, Michael S

    2015-12-01

    The process of aging results in a host of changes at the cellular and molecular levels, which include senescence, telomere shortening, and changes in gene expression. Epigenetic patterns also change over the lifespan, suggesting that epigenetic changes may constitute an important component of the aging process. The epigenetic mark that has been most highly studied is DNA methylation, the presence of methyl groups at CpG dinucleotides. These dinucleotides are often located near gene promoters and associate with gene expression levels. Early studies indicated that global levels of DNA methylation increase over the first few years of life and then decrease beginning in late adulthood. Recently, with the advent of microarray and next-generation sequencing technologies, increases in variability of DNA methylation with age have been observed, and a number of site-specific patterns have been identified. It has also been shown that certain CpG sites are highly associated with age, to the extent that prediction models using a small number of these sites can accurately predict the chronological age of the donor. Together, these observations point to the existence of two phenomena that both contribute to age-related DNA methylation changes: epigenetic drift and the epigenetic clock. In this review, we focus on healthy human aging throughout the lifetime and discuss the dynamics of DNA methylation as well as how interactions between the genome, environment, and the epigenome influence aging rates. We also discuss the impact of determining 'epigenetic age' for human health and outline some important caveats to existing and future studies. © 2015 The Authors. Aging Cell published by the Anatomical Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Electroencephalographic Fractal Dimension in Healthy Ageing and Alzheimer’s Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cottone, Carlo; Cancelli, Andrea; Rossini, Paolo Maria; Tecchio, Franca

    2016-01-01

    Brain activity is complex; a reflection of its structural and functional organization. Among other measures of complexity, the fractal dimension is emerging as being sensitive to neuronal damage secondary to neurological and psychiatric diseases. Here, we calculated Higuchi’s fractal dimension (HFD) in resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from 41 healthy controls (age: 20–89 years) and 67 Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients (age: 50–88 years), to investigate whether HFD is sensitive to brain activity changes typical in healthy aging and in AD. Additionally, we considered whether AD-accelerating effects of the copper fraction not bound to ceruloplasmin (also called “free” copper) are reflected in HFD fluctuations. The HFD measure showed an inverted U-shaped relationship with age in healthy people (R2 = .575, p < .001). Onset of HFD decline appeared around the age of 60, and was most evident in central-parietal regions. In this region, HFD decreased with aging stronger in the right than in the left hemisphere (p = .006). AD patients demonstrated reduced HFD compared to age- and education-matched healthy controls, especially in temporal-occipital regions. This was associated with decreasing cognitive status as assessed by mini-mental state examination, and with higher levels of non-ceruloplasmin copper. Taken together, our findings show that resting-state EEG complexity increases from youth to maturity and declines in healthy, aging individuals. In AD, brain activity complexity is further reduced in correlation with cognitive impairment. In addition, elevated levels of non-ceruloplasmin copper appear to accelerate the reduction of neural activity complexity. Overall, HDF appears to be a proper indicator for monitoring EEG-derived brain activity complexity in healthy and pathological aging. PMID:26872349

  4. Exercise Promotes Healthy Aging of Skeletal Muscle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cartee, Gregory D; Hepple, Russell T; Bamman, Marcas M

    2016-01-01

    caused by diseases and lifestyle factors. Secondary aging can exacerbate deficits in mitochondrial function and muscle mass, concomitant with the development of skeletal muscle insulin resistance. Exercise opposes deleterious effects of secondary aging by preventing the decline in mitochondrial...... respiration, mitigating aging-related loss of muscle mass and enhancing insulin sensitivity. This review focuses on mechanisms by which exercise promotes "healthy aging" by inducing modifications in skeletal muscle....

  5. Quantitative measures of healthy aging and biological age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sangkyu; Jazwinski, S. Michal

    2015-01-01

    Numerous genetic and non-genetic factors contribute to aging. To facilitate the study of these factors, various descriptors of biological aging, including ‘successful aging’ and ‘frailty’, have been put forth as integrative functional measures of aging. A separate but related quantitative approach is the ‘frailty index’, which has been operationalized and frequently used. Various frailty indices have been constructed. Although based on different numbers and types of health variables, frailty indices possess several common properties that make them useful across different studies. We have been using a frailty index termed FI34 based on 34 health variables. Like other frailty indices, FI34 increases non-linearly with advancing age and is a better indicator of biological aging than chronological age. FI34 has a substantial genetic basis. Using FI34, we found elevated levels of resting metabolic rate linked to declining health in nonagenarians. Using FI34 as a quantitative phenotype, we have also found a genomic region on chromosome 12 that is associated with healthy aging and longevity. PMID:26005669

  6. Proteasome function is not impaired in healthy aging of the lung.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caniard, Anne; Ballweg, Korbinian; Lukas, Christina; Yildirim, Ali Ö; Eickelberg, Oliver; Meiners, Silke

    2015-10-01

    Aging is the progressive loss of cellular function which inevitably leads to death. Failure of proteostasis including the decrease in proteasome function is one hallmark of aging. In the lung, proteasome activity was shown to be impaired in age-related diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, little is known on proteasome function during healthy aging. Here, we comprehensively analyzed healthy lung aging and proteasome function in wildtype, proteasome reporter and immunoproteasome knockout mice. Wildtype mice spontaneously developed senile lung emphysema while expression and activity of proteasome complexes and turnover of ubiquitinated substrates was not grossly altered in lungs of aged mice. Immunoproteasome subunits were specifically upregulated in the aged lung and the caspase-like proteasome activity concomitantly decreased. Aged knockout mice for the LMP2 or LMP7 immunoproteasome subunits showed no alteration in proteasome activities but exhibited typical lung aging phenotypes suggesting that immunoproteasome function is dispensable for physiological lung aging in mice. Our results indicate that healthy aging of the lung does not involve impairment of proteasome function. Apparently, the reserve capacity of the proteostasis systems in the lung is sufficient to avoid severe proteostasis imbalance during healthy aging.

  7. A proposed panel of biomarkers of healthy ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara, Jose; Cooper, Rachel; Nissan, Jack; Ginty, Annie T; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Deary, Ian J; Lord, Janet M; Kuh, Diana; Mathers, John C

    2015-09-15

    There is no criterion reference for assessing healthy ageing and this creates difficulties when conducting and comparing research on ageing across studies. A cardinal feature of ageing is loss of function which translates into wide-ranging consequences for the individual and for family, carers and society. We undertook comprehensive reviews of the literature searching for biomarkers of ageing on five ageing-related domains including physical capability and cognitive, physiological and musculoskeletal, endocrine and immune functions. Where available, we used existing systematic reviews, meta-analyses and other authoritative reports such as the recently launched NIH Toolbox for assessment of neurological and behavioural function, which includes test batteries for cognitive and motor function (the latter described here as physical capability). We invited international experts to comment on our draft recommendations. In addition, we hosted an experts workshop in Newcastle, UK, on 22-23 October 2012, aiming to help capture the state-of-the-art in this complex area and to provide an opportunity for the wider ageing research community to critique the proposed panel of biomarkers. Here we have identified important biomarkers of healthy ageing classified as subdomains of the main areas proposed. Cardiovascular and lung function, glucose metabolism and musculoskeletal function are key subdomains of physiological function. Strength, locomotion, balance and dexterity are key physical capability subdomains. Memory, processing speed and executive function emerged as key subdomains of cognitive function. Markers of the HPA-axis, sex hormones and growth hormones were important biomarkers of endocrine function. Finally, inflammatory factors were identified as important biomarkers of immune function. We present recommendations for a panel of biomarkers that address these major areas of function which decline during ageing. This biomarker panel may have utility in epidemiological

  8. Identifying transportation solutions that promote healthy aging for Texas : final report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-09-01

    As the population of Texans who are aging continues to grow, the role that transportation plays in the promotion of healthy aging is useful information for policy makers to plan and provide for the safe and healthy aging of Texass population. Tran...

  9. Development of a Healthy Aging Score in the Population-Based Rotterdam Study: Evaluating Age and Sex Differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaspers, Loes; Schoufour, Josje D; Erler, Nicole S; Darweesh, Sirwan K L; Portegies, Marileen L P; Sedaghat, Sanaz; Lahousse, Lies; Brusselle, Guy G; Stricker, Bruno H; Tiemeier, Henning; Ikram, M Arfan; Laven, Joop S E; Franco, Oscar H; Kavousi, Maryam

    2017-03-01

    To develop a healthy aging score (HAS), to assess age and sex differences in HAS, and to evaluate the association of the HAS with survival. Prospective population-based cohort. Inhabitants of Ommoord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. A total of 1405 men and 2122 women, mean (standard deviation) age 75.9 (6.4) years. We included 7 domains in the total score of HAS: chronic diseases, mental health, cognitive function, physical function, pain, social support, and quality of life; each scored 0, 1, or 2 in each domain. A total score (range 0-14) was constructed and was assessed continuously and in tertiles (13-14: healthy aging, 11-12: intermediate aging, 0-10: poor aging). Sex-specific change in the mean HAS was computed for the age categories of 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, and ≥85 years. The association between HAS and mortality was assessed with Cox proportional hazards models. Mean follow-up was 8.6 (3.4) years. Men had poorer scores in the chronic disease domain than women. However, women had poorer mental health, worse physical function, more pain, and lower quality of life compared with men. The prevalence of healthy aging was higher in men (n = 396, 28.2%), than in women (n = 526, 24.8%). The mean (standard deviation) HAS was 11.1 (2.2) in men and 10.7 (2.3) in women. Mean HAS was higher in men than in women for all age categories. The β for change in mean HAS across the 5 increasing age categories was -0.55 (-0.65 to -0.45) in men and -0.65 (-0.73 to -0.57) in women. The age-adjusted hazard ratio per unit increase in HAS with mortality was 0.86 (0.83-0.89) in men, and 0.89 (0.87-0.91) in women. Levels of HAS were lower in women compared with men, in all age categories. The HAS declined with increasing age for both sexes, albeit slightly steeper in women. The HAS was strongly associated with mortality in both sexes. A better understanding of population healthy aging and sex differences in this regard could aid to implement strategies for sustainable

  10. Nutritional Cognitive Neuroscience: Innovations for Healthy Brain Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Karolina Zamroziewicz

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Nutritional cognitive neuroscience is an emerging interdisciplinary field of research that seeks to understand nutrition’s impact on cognition and brain health across the life span. Research in this burgeoning field demonstrates that many aspects of nutrition – from entire diets to specific nutrients – affect brain structure and function, and therefore have profound implications for understanding the nature of healthy brain aging. The aim of this Focused Review is to examine recent advances in nutritional cognitive neuroscience, with an emphasis on methods that enable discovery of nutrient biomarkers that predict healthy brain aging. We propose an integrative framework that calls for the synthesis of research in nutritional epidemiology and cognitive neuroscience, incorporating: (i methods for the precise characterization of nutritional health based on the analysis of nutrient biomarker patterns, along with (ii modern indices of brain health derived from high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. By integrating cutting-edge techniques from nutritional epidemiology and cognitive neuroscience, nutritional cognitive neuroscience will continue to advance our understanding of the beneficial effects of nutrition on the aging brain and establish effective nutritional interventions to promote healthy brain aging.

  11. Insufficient DNA methylation affects healthy aging and promotes age-related health problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Liang; van Groen, Thomas; Kadish, Inga; Li, Yuanyuan; Wang, Deli; James, Smitha R; Karpf, Adam R; Tollefsbol, Trygve O

    2011-08-01

    DNA methylation plays an integral role in development and aging through epigenetic regulation of genome function. DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1) is the most prevalent DNA methyltransferase that maintains genomic methylation stability. To further elucidate the function of Dnmt1 in aging and age-related diseases, we exploited the Dnmt1+/- mouse model to investigate how Dnmt1 haploinsufficiency impacts the aging process by assessing the changes of several major aging phenotypes. We confirmed that Dnmt1 haploinsufficiency indeed decreases DNA methylation as a result of reduced Dnmt1 expression. To assess the effect of Dnmt1 haploinsufficiency on general body composition, we performed dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry analysis and showed that reduced Dnmt1 activity decreased bone mineral density and body weight, but with no significant impact on mortality or body fat content. Using behavioral tests, we demonstrated that Dnmt1 haploinsufficiency impairs learning and memory functions in an age-dependent manner. Taken together, our findings point to the interesting likelihood that reduced genomic methylation activity adversely affects the healthy aging process without altering survival and mortality. Our studies demonstrated that cognitive functions of the central nervous system are modulated by Dnmt1 activity and genomic methylation, highlighting the significance of the original epigenetic hypothesis underlying memory coding and function.

  12. Dietary quality, lifestile factors and healthy ageing in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haveman-Nies, A.

    2001-01-01

    Keywords: dietary quality, dietary patterns, lifestyle factors, smoking, physical activity, elderly, mortality, Mediterranean Diet Score, Healthy Diet Indicator, healthy ageing, self-rated health, functional status


    The contribution

  13. Structural hippocampal network alterations during healthy aging: A multi-modal MRI study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amandine ePelletier

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available While hippocampal atrophy has been described during healthy aging, few studies have examined its relationship with the integrity of White Matter (WM connecting tracts of the limbic system. This investigation examined WM structural damage specifically related to hippocampal atrophy in healthy aging subjects (n=129, using morphological MRI to assess hippocampal volume and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI to assess WM integrity. Subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI or dementia were excluded from the analysis. In our sample, increasing age was significantly associated with reduced hippocampal volume and reduced Fractional Anisotropy (FA at the level of the fornix and the cingulum bundle. The findings also demonstrate that hippocampal atrophy was specifically associated with reduced FA of the fornix bundle, but it was not related to alteration of the cingulum bundle. Our results indicate that the relationship between hippocampal atrophy and fornix FA values is not due to an independent effect of age on both structures. A recursive regression procedure was applied to evaluate sequential relationships between the alterations of these two brain structures. When both hippocampal atrophy and fornix FA values were included in the same model to predict age, fornix FA values remained significant whereas hippocampal atrophy was no longer significantly associated with age. According to this latter finding, hippocampal atrophy in healthy aging could be mediated by a loss of fornix connections. Structural alterations of this part of the limbic system, which have been associated with neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease, result at least in part from the aging process.

  14. Centenarians' offspring as a model of healthy aging: a reappraisal of the data on Italian subjects and a comprehensive overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucci, Laura; Ostan, Rita; Cevenini, Elisa; Pini, Elisa; Scurti, Maria; Vitale, Giovanni; Mari, Daniela; Caruso, Calogero; Sansoni, Paolo; Fanelli, Flaminia; Pasquali, Renato; Gueresi, Paola; Franceschi, Claudio; Monti, Daniela

    2016-03-01

    Within the scenario of an increasing life expectancy worldwide it is mandatory to identify determinants of healthy aging. Centenarian offspring (CO) is one of the most informative model to identify trajectories of healthy aging and their determinants (genetic and environmental), being representative of elderly in their 70th whose lifestyle can be still modified to attain a better health. This study is the first comprehensive investigation of the health status of 267 CO (mean age: 70.2 years) and adopts the innovative approach of comparing CO with 107 age-matched offspring of non-long-lived parents (hereafter indicated as NCO controls), recruited according to strict inclusion demographic criteria of Italian population. We adopted a multidimensional approach which integrates functional and cognitive assessment together with epidemiological and clinical data, including pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and adipokines, lipid profile, and insulin resistance. CO have a lower prevalence of stroke, cerebral thrombosis-hemorrhage, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and other minor diseases, lower BMI and waist circumference, a better functional and cognitive status and lower plasma level of FT4 compared to NCO controls. We conclude that a multidimensional approach is a reliable strategy to identify the health status of elderly at an age when interventions to modify their health trajectory are feasible.

  15. Serum profiling of healthy aging identifies phospho- and sphingolipid species as markers of human longevity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montoliu, Ivan; Scherer, Max; Beguelin, Fiona; DaSilva, Laeticia; Mari, Daniela; Salvioli, Stefano; Martin, Francois-Pierre J; Capri, Miriam; Bucci, Laura; Ostan, Rita; Garagnani, Paolo; Monti, Daniela; Biagi, Elena; Brigidi, Patrizia; Kussmann, Martin; Rezzi, Serge; Franceschi, Claudio; Collino, Sebastiano

    2014-01-01

    As centenarians well represent the model of healthy aging, there are many important implications in revealing the underlying molecular mechanisms behind such successful aging. By combining NMR metabonomics and shot-gun lipidomics in serum we analyzed metabolome and lipidome composition of a group of centenarians with respect to elderly individuals. Specifically, NMR metabonomics profiling of serum revealed that centenarians are characterized by a metabolic phenotype distinct from that of elderly subjects, in particular regarding amino acids and lipid species. Shot- gun lipidomics approach displays unique changes in lipids biosynthesis in centenarians, with 41 differently abundant lipid species with respect to elderly subjects. These findings reveal phospho/sphingolipids as putative markers and biological modulators of healthy aging, in humans. Considering the particular actions of these metabolites, these data are suggestive of a better counteractive antioxidant capacity and a well-developed membrane lipid remodelling process in the healthy aging phenotype.

  16. Developmental aspects of a life course approach to healthy ageing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, C.; Aihie Sayer, A.; Eendebak, R. J.; Clough, G. F.; Beard, J. R.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract We examine the mechanistic basis and wider implications of adopting a developmental perspective on human ageing. Previous models of ageing have concentrated on its genetic basis, or the detrimental effects of accumulated damage, but also have raised issues about whether ageing can be viewed as adaptive itself, or is a consequence of other adaptive processes, for example if maintenance and repair processes in the period up to reproduction are traded off against later decline in function. A life course model places ageing in the context of the attainment of peak capacity for a body system, starting in early development when plasticity permits changes in structure and function induced by a range of environmental stimuli, followed by a period of decline, the rate of which depends on the peak attained as well as the later life conditions. Such path dependency in the rate of ageing may offer new insights into its modification. Focusing on musculoskeletal and cardiovascular function, we discuss this model and the possible underlying mechanisms, including endothelial function, oxidative stress, stem cells and nutritional factors such as vitamin D status. Epigenetic changes induced during developmental plasticity, and immune function may provide a common mechanistic process underlying a life course model of ageing. The life course trajectory differs in high and low resource settings. New insights into the developmental components of the life course model of ageing may lead to the design of biomarkers of later chronic disease risk and to new interventions to promote healthy ageing, with important implications for public health. PMID:26518329

  17. Community Nurses' Experiences Regarding the Meaning and Promotion of Healthy Aging in Northeastern Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manasatchakun, Pornpun; Choowattanapakorn, Tassana; Roxberg, Åsa; Asp, Margareta

    2018-03-01

    Describe community nurses' experiences regarding the meaning and promotion of healthy aging in northeastern Thailand. Data were collected through five focus group interviews with 36 community nurses in northeastern Thailand. Latent content analysis was conducted to analyze the data. Healthy aging was characterized by the interconnection of older persons, older persons' family members, and the community. Healthy aging was associated with two themes: "being strong" and "being a supporter and feeling supported." The nurses' experiences in promoting healthy aging were described by the themes "providing health assessment," "sharing knowledge," and "having limited resources." The findings of this study provide a deeper understanding of the meaning of healthy aging from a holistic viewpoint. Community nurses must pay attention to older persons and their surroundings when planning how to promote healthy aging. Person-centeredness should be applied in practice to promote healthy aging. The current findings contribute useful information that should help policy makers develop healthy aging strategies in Thailand.

  18. Nutritional Considerations for Healthy Aging and Reduction in Age-Related Chronic Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shlisky, Julie; Bloom, David E; Beaudreault, Amy R; Tucker, Katherine L; Keller, Heather H; Freund-Levi, Yvonne; Fielding, Roger A; Cheng, Feon W; Jensen, Gordon L; Wu, Dayong; Meydani, Simin N

    2017-01-01

    A projected doubling in the global population of people aged ≥60 y by the year 2050 has major health and economic implications, especially in developing regions. Burdens of unhealthy aging associated with chronic noncommunicable and other age-related diseases may be largely preventable with lifestyle modification, including diet. However, as adults age they become at risk of "nutritional frailty," which can compromise their ability to meet nutritional requirements at a time when specific nutrient needs may be high. This review highlights the role of nutrition science in promoting healthy aging and in improving the prognosis in cases of age-related diseases. It serves to identify key knowledge gaps and implementation challenges to support adequate nutrition for healthy aging, including applicability of metrics used in body-composition and diet adequacy for older adults and mechanisms to reduce nutritional frailty and to promote diet resilience. This review also discusses management recommendations for several leading chronic conditions common in aging populations, including cognitive decline and dementia, sarcopenia, and compromised immunity to infectious disease. The role of health systems in incorporating nutrition care routinely for those aged ≥60 y and living independently and current actions to address nutritional status before hospitalization and the development of disease are discussed. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

  19. Healthy ageing - from molecules to hormesis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rattan, Suresh

    2012-01-01

    Ageing can be understood at various levels, from evolutionary and biological levels to psychological and sociological levels. At the molecular biological level ageing is characterized by the stochastic occurrence and progressive accumulation of molecular damage. Failure of homeodynamics, increased...... molecular heterogeneity, altered cellular functioning and reduced stress tolerance are the determinants of health status, probability of diseases and the duration of survival. The inefficiency and imperfection of the maintenance and repair systems underlie the biological basis of ageing. Two major issues...... life style alterations are examples of ageing interventions. A promising healthy-ageing approach is that of hormesis by strengthening the homeodynamic ability of self-maintenance through transient and repetitive mild stress-inducing hormetins. Achieving the goal of extended health-span will depend...

  20. Healthy aging: The ultimate preventative medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaeberlein, Matt; Rabinovitch, Peter S; Martin, George M

    2015-12-04

    Age is the greatest risk factor for nearly every major cause of mortality in developed nations. Despite this, most biomedical research focuses on individual disease processes without much consideration for the relationships between aging and disease. Recent discoveries in the field of geroscience, which aims to explain biological mechanisms of aging, have provided insights into molecular processes that underlie biological aging and, perhaps more importantly, potential interventions to delay aging and promote healthy longevity. Here we describe some of these advances, along with efforts to move geroscience from the bench to the clinic. We also propose that greater emphasis should be placed on research into basic aging processes, because interventions that slow aging will have a greater effect on quality of life compared with disease-specific approaches. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  1. A model of care for healthy menopause and ageing : EMAS position statement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stute, Petra; Ceausu, Iuliana; Depypere, Herman; Lambrinoudaki, Irene; Mueck, Alfred; Pérez-López, Faustino R.; van der Schouw, Yvonne T.; Senturk, Levent M.; Simoncini, Tommaso; Stevenson, John C.; Rees, Margaret

    2016-01-01

    Worldwide, the number of menopausal women is increasing. They present with complex medical issues that lie beyond the traditional scope of gynaecologists and general practitioners (GPs). The European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) therefore provides a holistic model of care for healthy

  2. Healthy Aging: What's On Your Plate? | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... of this page please turn JavaScript on. Feature: Healthy Aging What's On Your Plate? Past Issues / Winter 2015 ... What's On Your Plate? Smart Food Choices for Healthy Aging www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/whats-your- ...

  3. Nutrition and healthy ageing: the key ingredients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiefte-de Jong, Jessica C; Mathers, John C; Franco, Oscar H

    2014-05-01

    Healthy longevity is a tangible possibility for many individuals and populations, with nutritional and other lifestyle factors playing a key role in modulating the likelihood of healthy ageing. Nevertheless, studies of effects of nutrients or single foods on ageing often show inconsistent results and ignore the overall framework of dietary habits. Therefore, the use of dietary patterns (e.g. a Mediterranean dietary pattern) and the specific dietary recommendations (e.g. dietary approaches to stop hypertension, Polymeal and the American Healthy Eating Index) are becoming more widespread in promoting lifelong health. A posteriori defined dietary patterns are described frequently in relation to age-related diseases but their generalisability is often a challenge since these are developed specifically for the population under study. Conversely, the dietary guidelines are often developed based on prevention of disease or nutrient deficiency, but often less attention is paid to how well these dietary guidelines promote health outcomes. In the present paper, we provide an overview of the state of the art of dietary patterns and dietary recommendations in relation to life expectancy and the risk of age-related disorders (with emphasis on cardiometabolic diseases and cognitive outcomes). According to both a posteriori and a priori dietary patterns, some key 'ingredients' can be identified that are associated consistently with longevity and better cardiometabolic and cognitive health. These include high intake of fruit, vegetables, fish, (whole) grains and legumes/pulses and potatoes, whereas dietary patterns rich in red meat and sugar-rich foods have been associated with an increased risk of mortality and cardiometabolic outcomes.

  4. Demographic Changes and the Challenge for a Healthy Ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossini, Paolo Maria; Marra, Camillo

    2014-01-01

    Demographic changes bring about a wide range of new research fields including policy topics, health, social welfare, work & productivity, urban & rural development, communication tools, and mobility. This new situation requires a new multi-disciplinary approach bringing together different research programs in order to provide solutions for the upcoming challenges. National Health services are now facing a huge shift in the population structure with a predominance of older generations in the total number of citizens. Good health is the most important factor to live independently in old age. A better understanding of ageing processes and the related "plasticity" of individual performance for environmental adaptation, the prevention for age-related illnesses and healthcare strategies are the basis for keeping very old people healthy and active throughout the course of their lives. We will face mainly the biological, cognitive and psychological dimensions of ageing. Afterwards, we will focus on the relationships linking various biological and lifestyle factors - such as nutrition - that are crucial to obtain a comprehensive picture of ageing and to promote preventing strategies against degenerative neurological diseases. Finally we will investigate which interventions - nutritional and physical - could help in keeping people healthy, in particular which factors could promote people's physical, social and psychological functional abilities and the systemic multilevel consequences induced by a healthy ageing.

  5. Exercise Promotes Healthy Aging of Skeletal Muscle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartee, Gregory D; Hepple, Russell T; Bamman, Marcas M; Zierath, Juleen R

    2016-06-14

    Primary aging is the progressive and inevitable process of bodily deterioration during adulthood. In skeletal muscle, primary aging causes defective mitochondrial energetics and reduced muscle mass. Secondary aging refers to additional deleterious structural and functional age-related changes caused by diseases and lifestyle factors. Secondary aging can exacerbate deficits in mitochondrial function and muscle mass, concomitant with the development of skeletal muscle insulin resistance. Exercise opposes deleterious effects of secondary aging by preventing the decline in mitochondrial respiration, mitigating aging-related loss of muscle mass and enhancing insulin sensitivity. This review focuses on mechanisms by which exercise promotes "healthy aging" by inducing modifications in skeletal muscle. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. [Active ageing and success: A brief history of conceptual models].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petretto, Donatella Rita; Pili, Roberto; Gaviano, Luca; Matos López, Cristina; Zuddas, Carlo

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to analyse and describe different conceptual models of successful ageing, active and healthy ageing developed in Europe and in America in the 20° century, starting from Rowe and Kahn's original model (1987, 1997). A narrative review was conducted on the literature on successful ageing. Our review included definition of successful ageing from European and American scholars. Models were found that aimed to describe indexes of active and healthy ageing, models devoted to describe processes involved in successful ageing, and additional views that emphasise subjective and objective perception of successful ageing. A description is also given of critiques on previous models and remedies according to Martin et al. (2014) and strategies for successful ageing according to Jeste and Depp (2014). The need is discussed for the enhancement of Rowe and Kahn's model and other models with a more inclusive, universal description of ageing, incorporating scientific evidence regarding active ageing. Copyright © 2015 SEGG. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  7. Personality Plasticity, Healthy Aging, and Interventions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mroczek, Daniel K.

    2014-01-01

    This commentary on the special section on conscientiousness and healthy aging focuses on several topics brought up in this collection of articles. One is the promise of personality interventions. Despite skepticism on the part of some, such interventions may ultimately prove successful. This is in part because of similarities between personality…

  8. Resting-state slow wave power, healthy aging and cognitive performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlahou, Eleni L; Thurm, Franka; Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana; Schlee, Winfried

    2014-05-29

    Cognitive functions and spontaneous neural activity show significant changes over the life-span, but the interrelations between age, cognition and resting-state brain oscillations are not well understood. Here, we assessed performance on the Trail Making Test and resting-state magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings from 53 healthy adults (18-89 years old) to investigate associations between age-dependent changes in spontaneous oscillatory activity and cognitive performance. Results show that healthy aging is accompanied by a marked and linear decrease of resting-state activity in the slow frequency range (0.5-6.5 Hz). The effects of slow wave power on cognitive performance were expressed as interactions with age: For older (>54 years), but not younger participants, enhanced delta and theta power in temporal and central regions was positively associated with perceptual speed and executive functioning. Consistent with previous work, these findings substantiate further the important role of slow wave oscillations in neurocognitive function during healthy aging.

  9. Developmental aspects of a life course approach to healthy ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, M A; Cooper, C; Aihie Sayer, A; Eendebak, R J; Clough, G F; Beard, J R

    2016-04-15

    We examine the mechanistic basis and wider implications of adopting a developmental perspective on human ageing. Previous models of ageing have concentrated on its genetic basis, or the detrimental effects of accumulated damage, but also have raised issues about whether ageing can be viewed as adaptive itself, or is a consequence of other adaptive processes, for example if maintenance and repair processes in the period up to reproduction are traded off against later decline in function. A life course model places ageing in the context of the attainment of peak capacity for a body system, starting in early development when plasticity permits changes in structure and function induced by a range of environmental stimuli, followed by a period of decline, the rate of which depends on the peak attained as well as the later life conditions. Such path dependency in the rate of ageing may offer new insights into its modification. Focusing on musculoskeletal and cardiovascular function, we discuss this model and the possible underlying mechanisms, including endothelial function, oxidative stress, stem cells and nutritional factors such as vitamin D status. Epigenetic changes induced during developmental plasticity, and immune function may provide a common mechanistic process underlying a life course model of ageing. The life course trajectory differs in high and low resource settings. New insights into the developmental components of the life course model of ageing may lead to the design of biomarkers of later chronic disease risk and to new interventions to promote healthy ageing, with important implications for public health. © 2015 The Authors. The Journal of Physiology © 2015 The Physiological Society.

  10. Promoting Healthy Aging in Adults with Developmental Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heller, Tamar; Sorensen, Amy

    2013-01-01

    This article reviews the research on health promotion for adults aging with developmental disabilities. First, it examines barriers to healthy aging, including health behaviors and access to health screenings and services. Second, it reviews the research on health promotion interventions, including physical activity interventions, health education…

  11. Healthy ageing and home: the perspectives of very old people in five European countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sixsmith, J; Sixsmith, A; Fänge, A Malmgren; Naumann, D; Kucsera, C; Tomsone, S; Haak, M; Dahlin-Ivanoff, S; Woolrych, R

    2014-04-01

    This paper reports on in-depth research, using a grounded theory approach, to examine the ways in which very old people perceive healthy ageing in the context of living alone at home within urban settings in five European countries. This qualitative study was part of a cross-national project entitled ENABLE-AGE which examined the relationship between home and healthy ageing. Interviews explored the notion of healthy ageing, the meaning and importance of home, conceptualisations of independence and autonomy and links between healthy ageing and home. Data analysis identified five ways in which older people constructed healthy ageing: home and keeping active; managing lifestyles, health and illness; balancing social life; and balancing material and financial circumstances. Older people reflected on their everyday lives at home in terms of being engaged in purposeful, meaningful action and evaluated healthy ageing in relation to the symbolic and practical affordances of the home, contextualised within constructions of their national context. The research suggests that older people perceive healthy ageing as an active achievement, created through individual, personal effort and supported through social ties despite the health, financial and social decline associated with growing older. The physicality and spatiality of home provided the context for establishing and evaluating the notion of healthy ageing, whilst the experienced relationship between home, life history and identity created a meaningful space within which healthy ageing was negotiated. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. An examination of healthy aging across a conceptual continuum: prevalence estimates, demographic patterns, and validity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLaughlin, Sara J; Jette, Alan M; Connell, Cathleen M

    2012-06-01

    Although the notion of healthy aging has gained wide acceptance in gerontology, measuring the phenomenon is challenging. Guided by a prominent conceptualization of healthy aging, we examined how shifting from a more to less stringent definition of healthy aging influences prevalence estimates, demographic patterns, and validity. Data are from adults aged 65 years and older who participated in the Health and Retirement Study. We examined four operational definitions of healthy aging. For each, we calculated prevalence estimates and examined the odds of healthy aging by age, education, gender, and race-ethnicity in 2006. We also examined the association between healthy aging and both self-rated health and death. Across definitions, the prevalence of healthy aging ranged from 3.3% to 35.5%. For all definitions, those classified as experiencing healthy aging had lower odds of fair or poor self-rated health and death over an 8-year period. The odds of being classified as "healthy" were lower among those of advanced age, those with less education, and women than for their corresponding counterparts across all definitions. Moving across the conceptual continuum--from a more to less rigid definition of healthy aging--markedly increases the measured prevalence of healthy aging. Importantly, results suggest that all examined definitions identified a subgroup of older adults who had substantially lower odds of reporting fair or poor health and dying over an 8-year period, providing evidence of the validity of our definitions. Conceptualizations that emphasize symptomatic disease and functional health may be particularly useful for public health purposes.

  13. Nutritional Considerations for Healthy Aging and Reduction in Age-Related Chronic Disease12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shlisky, Julie; Bloom, David E; Beaudreault, Amy R; Tucker, Katherine L; Keller, Heather H; Freund-Levi, Yvonne; Fielding, Roger A; Cheng, Feon W; Jensen, Gordon L; Wu, Dayong; Meydani, Simin N

    2017-01-01

    A projected doubling in the global population of people aged ≥60 y by the year 2050 has major health and economic implications, especially in developing regions. Burdens of unhealthy aging associated with chronic noncommunicable and other age-related diseases may be largely preventable with lifestyle modification, including diet. However, as adults age they become at risk of “nutritional frailty,” which can compromise their ability to meet nutritional requirements at a time when specific nutrient needs may be high. This review highlights the role of nutrition science in promoting healthy aging and in improving the prognosis in cases of age-related diseases. It serves to identify key knowledge gaps and implementation challenges to support adequate nutrition for healthy aging, including applicability of metrics used in body-composition and diet adequacy for older adults and mechanisms to reduce nutritional frailty and to promote diet resilience. This review also discusses management recommendations for several leading chronic conditions common in aging populations, including cognitive decline and dementia, sarcopenia, and compromised immunity to infectious disease. The role of health systems in incorporating nutrition care routinely for those aged ≥60 y and living independently and current actions to address nutritional status before hospitalization and the development of disease are discussed. PMID:28096124

  14. Decreases in Human Semen Quality with Age Among Healthy Men

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eskenazi, B.; Wyrobek, A.J.; Kidd, S.A.; Moore, L.; Young, S.S.; Moore, D.

    2001-12-01

    The objective of this report is to characterize the associations between age and semen quality among healthy active men after controlling for identified covariates. Ninety-seven healthy, nonsmoking men between 22 and 80 years without known fertility problems who worked for or retired from a large research laboratory. There was a gradual decrease in all semen parameters from 22-80 years of age. After adjusting for covariates, volume decreased 0.03 ml per year (p = 0.001); sperm concentration decreased 2.5% per year (p = 0.005); total count decreased 3.6% per year of age (p < 0.001); motility decreased 0.7% per year (P < 0.001); progressive motility decreased 3.1% per year (p < 0.001); and total progressively motile sperm decreased 4.8% per year (p < 0.001). In a group of healthy active men, semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, and sperm motility decrease continuously between 22-80 years of age, with no evidence of a threshold.

  15. Influence of the Self-Perception of Old Age on the Effect of a Healthy Aging Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza-Núñez, Víctor Manuel; Sarmiento-Salmorán, Elia; Marín-Cortés, Regulo; Martínez-Maldonado, María de la Luz; Ruiz-Ramos, Mirna

    2018-05-07

    It has been shown that health programs are useful for the prevention and control of chronic diseases in community-dwelling older people; however, a negative self-perception of old age could have an effect on the results. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the effect of a healthy aging program linked to self-perception of old age in Mexican community-dwelling older people. A pre-test/post-test single-group design study was conducted in a convenience sample of 64 older people who undertook the entire healthy aging program workshop (five months’ duration). We measured self-perception of old age, efficacy of self-care, blood glucose concentration, anthropometric measures, and blood pressure before and after the workshop. A statistically significant decrease in blood glucose concentration was observed (baseline 136 ± 50 vs. post-intervention, 124 ± 45 ± 29 mg/dL, p self-perception, we found that this difference was only maintained in the subgroup of older adults with a positive self-perception of old age. Our findings suggest that the self-perception of old age influences the effect of healthy aging programs on the health of community-dwelling older people.

  16. Social cognition in schizophrenia and healthy aging: differences and similarities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver, Henry; Bilker, Warren B

    2014-12-01

    Social cognition is impaired in schizophrenia but it is not clear whether this is specific for the illness and whether emotion perception is selectively affected. To study this we examined the perception of emotional and non-emotional clues in facial expressions, a key social cognitive skill, in schizophrenia patients and old healthy individuals using young healthy individuals as reference. Tests of object recognition, visual orientation, psychomotor speed, and working memory were included to allow multivariate analysis taking into account other cognitive functions Schizophrenia patients showed impairments in recognition of identity and emotional facial clues compared to young and old healthy groups. Severity was similar to that for object recognition and visuospatial processing. Older and younger healthy groups did not differ from each other on these tests. Schizophrenia patients and old healthy individuals were similarly impaired in the ability to automatically learn new faces during the testing procedure (measured by the CSTFAC index) compared to young healthy individuals. Social cognition is distinctly impaired in schizophrenia compared to healthy aging. Further study is needed to identify the mechanisms of automatic social cognitive learning impairment in schizophrenia patients and healthy aging individuals and determine whether similar neural systems are affected. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Brain energy metabolism and blood flow differences in healthy aging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aanerud, Joel; Borghammer, Per; Chakravarty, M Mallar

    2012-01-01

    Cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO(2)), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) are important indices of healthy aging of the brain. Although a frequent topic of study, changes of CBF and CMRO(2) during normal aging are still controversial, as some authors......, and in the temporal cortex. Because of the inverse relation between OEF and capillary oxygen tension, increased OEF can compromise oxygen delivery to neurons, with possible perturbation of energy turnover. The results establish a possible mechanism of progression from healthy to unhealthy brain aging, as the regions...

  18. Comparing Volume Loss in Neuroanatomical Regions of Emotion versus Regions of Cognition in Healthy Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pressman, Peter S; Noniyeva, Yuliana; Bott, Nick; Dutt, Shubir; Sturm, Virginia; Miller, Bruce L; Kramer, Joel H

    2016-01-01

    Many emotional functions are relatively preserved in aging despite declines in several cognitive domains and physical health. High levels of happiness exist even among centenarians. To address the hypothesis of whether preservation of emotional function in healthy aging may relate to different rates of age-related volume loss across brain structures, we performed two volumetric analyses on structural magnetic resonance neuroimaging of a group of healthy aging research participants using Freesurfer version 5.1. Volumes selected as supporting cognition included bilateral midfrontal and lateral frontal gyri, lateral parietal and temporal cortex, and medial temporal lobes. Volumes supporting emotion included bilateral amygdala, rostral anterior cingulate, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens. A cross-sectional analysis was performed using structural MRI scans from 258 subjects. We found no difference in proportional change between groups. A longitudinal mixed effects model was used to compare regional changes over time in a subset of 84 subjects. Again, there was no difference in proportional change over time. While our results suggest that aging does not collectively target cognitive brain regions more than emotional regions, subgroup analysis suggests relative preservation of the anterior cingulate cortex, with greater volume loss in the nucleus accumbens. Implications of these relative rates of age-related volume loss in healthy aging are discussed and merit further research.

  19. [Age-related changes of sensory peripheral nerve system in healthy subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voitenkov, V B; Ekusheva, E V; Komancev, V N; Skripchenko, N V; Grigoryev, S G; Klimkin, A V; Aksenova, A I

    2017-01-01

    Our aim was to present and evaluate age-related changes of peripheral nerves of limbs on a huge population of healthy subjects of different ages. In 2009-2016 subjects aged from 1months to 90 years were studied by nerve conduction velocity studies (NCV). Data of those confirmed healthy was included in our study. In total there were 372 healthy subjects. NCV for nn. Medianus et Ulnaris was registered, with NCV and amplitude of compound sensory action potential (CSAP) being analyzed. There were significant differences on both these parameters between different age groups. Since the childhood the improvement of conduction (which was reflected in rising of CSAP amplitudes and NCV quickening) was registered; from 40-50 years steady decline of both these parameters were observed in both nerves. Conduction studies of peripheral nerves may be implemented in gerontology for early detection of neurophysiology patterns reflecting physiological aging. Also our results may be implemented for accelerated aging detection.

  20. Age Effects on Upper Limb Kinematics Assessed by the REAplan Robot in Healthy School-Aged Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilliaux, Maxime; Dierckx, Floriane; Vanden Berghe, Lola; Lejeune, Thierry M; Sapin, Julien; Dehez, Bruno; Stoquart, Gaëtan; Detrembleur, Christine

    2015-05-01

    The use of kinematics is recommended to quantitatively evaluate upper limb movements. The aims of this study were to determine the age effects on upper limb kinematics and establish norms in healthy children. Ninety-three healthy children, aged 3-12 years, participated in this study. Twenty-eight kinematic indices were computed from four tasks. Each task was performed with the REAplan, a distal effector robotic device that allows upper limb displacements in the horizontal plane. Twenty-four of the 28 indices showed an improvement during childhood. Indeed, older children showed better upper limb movements. This study was the first to use a robotic device to show the age effects on upper limb kinematics and establish norms in healthy children.

  1. Ataxia rating scales are age-dependent in healthy children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brandsma, Rick; Spits, Anne H.; Kuiper, Marieke J.; Lunsing, Roelinka J.; Burger, Huibert; Kremer, Hubertus P.; Sival, Deborah A.; Barisic, N.; Baxter, P.; Brankovic-Sreckovic, V.; Calabrò, G. E.; Catsman-Berrevoets, C.; de Coo, Ifm; Craiu, D.; Dan, B.; Gburek-Augustat, J.; Kammoun-Feki, F.; Kennedy, C.; Mancini, F.; Mirabelli-Badenier, M.; Nemeth, A.; Newton, R.; Poll-The, B. T.; Steinlin, M.; Synofzik, M.; Topcu, M.; Triki, C.; Valente, E. M.

    2014-01-01

    To investigate ataxia rating scales in children for reliability and the effect of age and sex. Three independent neuropaediatric observers cross-sectionally scored a set of paediatric ataxia rating scales in a group of 52 healthy children (26 males, 26 females) aged 4 to 16 years (mean age 10y 5mo

  2. Patterns of frontoparietal activation as a marker for unsuccessful visuospatial processing in healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drag, Lauren L; Light, Sharee N; Langenecker, Scott A; Hazlett, Kathleen E; Wilde, Elisabeth A; Welsh, Robert; Steinberg, Brett A; Bieliauskas, Linas A

    2016-09-01

    Visuospatial abilities are sensitive to age-related decline, although the neural basis for this decline (and its everyday behavioral correlates) is as yet poorly understood. fMRI was employed to examine age-related differences in patterns of functional activation that underlie changes in visuospatial processing. All participants completed a brief neuropsychological battery and also a figure ground task (FGT) assessing visuospatial processing while fMRI was recorded. Participants included 16 healthy older adults (OA; aged 69-82 years) and 16 healthy younger adults (YA; aged 20-35 years). We examined age-related differences in behavioral performance on the FGT in relation to patterns of fMRI activation. OA demonstrated reduced performance on the FGT task and showed increased activation of supramarginal parietal cortex as well as increased activation of frontal and temporal regions compared to their younger counterparts. Performance on the FGT related to increased supramarginal gyrus activity and increased medial prefrontal activity in OAs, but not YAs. Our results are consistent with an anterior-posterior compensation model. Successful FGT performance requires the perception and integration of multiple stimuli and thus it is plausible that healthy aging may be accompanied by changes in visuospatial processing that mimic a subtle form of dorsal simultanagnosia. Overall, decreased visuospatial processing in OA relates to an altered frontoparietal neurobiological signature that may contribute to the general phenomenon of increasingly fragmented execution of behavior associated with normal aging.

  3. Evaluating aging in cats: How to determine what is healthy and what is disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellows, Jan; Center, Sharon; Daristotle, Leighann; Estrada, Amara H; Flickinger, Elizabeth A; Horwitz, Debra F; Lascelles, B Duncan X; Lepine, Allan; Perea, Sally; Scherk, Margie; Shoveller, Anna K

    2016-07-01

    Many of the changes that occur with aging are not considered pathologic and do not negatively affect overall wellness or quality of life. Ruling out disease is essential, however, when attempting to determine whether an aged cat can be considered 'healthy'. A clear understanding of the normal and abnormal changes that are associated with aging in cats can help practitioners make decisions regarding medical management, feeding interventions and additional testing procedures for their aged patients. It can be difficult to determine if a cat is displaying changes that are appropriate for age. For example, healthy aged cats may have hematologic or serum biochemistry changes that differ from those of the general feline population. Assessment of behavioral health and cognitive changes, as well as auditory, olfactory and visual changes, can also be challenging in the aged patient. This is the second of two review articles in a Special Issue devoted to feline healthy aging. The goals of the project culminating in these publications included developing a working definition for healthy aging in feline patients and identifying clinical methods that can be used to accurately classify healthy aged cats. This second review proposes criteria for assessing 'healthy aged cats'. There is a paucity of research in feline aging. The authors draw on expert opinion and available data in both the cat and other species. © The Author(s) 2016.

  4. Healthy ageing in Isan-Thai culture--A phenomenographic study based on older persons' lived experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manasatchakun, Pornpun; Chotiga, Pleumjit; Roxberg, Åsa; Asp, Margareta

    2016-01-01

    Healthy ageing is a concept that concerns older persons' quality of life and is a key factor in promoting well-being. The older population in Thailand is growing. Isan (a region of north-eastern Thailand) has been reported as having one of the most rapidly increasing older populations in the country. In order to care for and promote the health of older people, healthcare providers should understand how healthy ageing is perceived by this target group. Although healthy ageing has been studied in different contexts as well as perspectives, no studies have previously focused on older persons' experiences of healthy ageing from a lifeworld perspective in Isan-Thai. Therefore, the aim of this study is to describe older persons' qualitatively different conceptions of healthy ageing in Isan-Thai culture. A phenomenographic approach with an epistemological base in lifeworld theory was used to disclose the various ways to conceptualize healthy ageing. Individual, qualitative interviews were conducted with 17 people aged 60 and above who live in Isan-Thai. The findings of this study revealed three categories of descriptions: "being independent in dependence," "being at peace," and "being a valuable person." This study also found family members, friends, healthcare providers, and religion important to healthy ageing in the Isan-Thai culture. Understanding how older people conceptualize healthy ageing is valuable for healthcare providers. They can apply these findings regarding healthy ageing in their fieldwork when caring for older people.

  5. Cortical 11C-PIB Uptake is Associated with Age, APOE Genotype, and Gender in "Healthy Aging"

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scheinin, Noora M; Wikman, Kristina; Jula, Antti

    2014-01-01

    with the amyloid tracer 11C-PIB, in 64 cognitively healthy subjects (54-89 years). In addition to PET, magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological testing, and APOE genotyping was performed. The results were assessed with a statistical general linear model as well as with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM......). Results: The effects of age (p gender (p = 0.001) on composite cortical 11C-PIB uptake were all significant. The effect of educational level was non-significant (p = 0.37). No significant interactions were found between any of the factors. Cortical 11C....... In this sample of cognitively healthy elderly individuals, men exhibited higher 11C-PIB uptake than women. Possible gender differences in Aβ accumulation have not been addressed in detail in previous studies, and deeper evaluation in the future is warranted....

  6. 'Healthy Ageing' policies and anti-ageing ideologies and practices: on the exercise of responsibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardona, Beatriz

    2008-12-01

    This paper explores how the exercise of the ethics of 'responsibility' for health care advanced through 'healthy ageing' and 'successful ageing' narratives in Western countries animates an array of 'authorities', including the 'anti-ageing medicine' movement as a strategy to address the anxieties of growing old in Western societies and as a tool to exercise the ethos of 'responsibility'. The choice of this type of authority as a source of guidance for self-constitution and the exercise of the 'responsible self', this paper will argue, enables the enactment of a type of late modernity notion of citizenship for ageing individuals based on principles of agelessness, health, independence and consumption power. Through interviews with anti-ageing consumers, however, it is also possible to argue the existence of tensions and contradictions that such a rigid model of self-constitution in later life produces, and the potential forms of resistance and contestations that may emerge as a result. In this way the current 'war on anti-ageing medicine' (Vincent 2003) becomes also symptomatic of bigger 'wars' taking place not only between institutions competing for control over knowledge and management of ageing, but between those in favour and against the homogenisation of life under the language of universal science, reason and market rationality.

  7. Effects of growth and aging on the reference values of pulmonary nitric oxide dynamics in healthy subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Högman, M; Thornadtsson, A; Liv, P; Hua-Huy, T; Dinh-Xuan, A T; Tufvesson, E; Dressel, H; Janson, C; Koskela, K; Oksa, P; Sauni, R; Uitti, J; Moilanen, E; Lehtimäki, L

    2017-09-13

    The lung just like all other organs is affected by age. The lung matures by the age of 20 and age-related changes start around middle age, at 40-50 years. Exhaled nitric oxide (F E NO) has been shown to be age, height and gender dependent. We hypothesize that the nitric oxide (NO) parameters alveolar NO (C A NO), airway flux (J aw NO), airway diffusing capacity (D aw NO) and airway wall content (C aw NO) will also demonstrate this dependence. Data from healthy subjects were gathered by the current authors from their earlier publications in which healthy individuals were included as control subjects. Healthy subjects (n = 433) ranged in age from 7 to 78 years. Age-stratified reference values of the NO parameters were significantly different. Gender differences were only observed in the 20-49 age group. The results from the multiple regression models in subjects older than 20 years revealed that age, height and gender interaction together explained 6% of variation in F E NO at 50 ml s -1 (F E NO 50 ), 4% in J aw NO, 16% in C aw NO, 8% in D aw NO and 12% in C A NO. In conclusion, in this study we have generated reference values for NO parameters from an extended NO analysis of healthy subjects. This is important in order to be able to use these parameters in clinical practice.

  8. Ataxia rating scales are age-dependent in healthy children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brandsma, Rick; Spits, Anne H.; Kuiper, Marieke J.; Lunsing, Roelinka J.; Burger, Huibert; Kremer, Hubertus P.; Sival, Deborah A.

    AIM: To investigate ataxia rating scales in children for reliability and the effect of age and sex. METHOD: Three independent neuropaediatric observers cross-sectionally scored a set of paediatric ataxia rating scales in a group of 52 healthy children (26 males, 26 females) aged 4 to 16 years (mean

  9. The Quadruple Helix-Based Innovation Model of Reference Sites for Active and Healthy Ageing in Europe: The Ageing@Coimbra Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malva, João O; Amado, Alda; Rodrigues, Alexandra; Mota-Pinto, Anabela; Cardoso, Ana F; Teixeira, Ana M; Todo-Bom, Ana; Devesa, António; Ambrósio, António F; Cunha, António L; Gomes, Bárbara; Dantas, Carina; Abreu, Cidalina; Santana, Isabel; Bousquet, Jean; Apóstolo, João; Santos, Lúcia; Meneses de Almeida, Lúcio; Illario, Maddalena; Veríssimo, Rafaela; Rodrigues, Vitor; Veríssimo, Manuel T

    2018-01-01

    Challenges posed by demographic changes and population aging are key priorities for the Horizon 2020 Program of the European Commission. Aligned with the vision of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA), the development, exchange, and large-scale adoption of innovative good practices is a key element of the responses required to ensure all European citizens remain as active and healthy as possible as they age. Urged by the need of developing scalable disruptive innovation across Europe, the European Commission and the EIP on AHA created the Reference Sites; local coalition of partners that develop good practices to support AHA. Ageing@Coimbra is an example of how this can be achieved at a regional level. The consortium comprises over 70 institutions that develop innovative practices to support AHA in Portugal. Ageing@Coimbra partners support a regional network of stakeholders that build a holistic ecosystem in health and social care, taking into consideration the specificities of the territories, living environments and cultural resources (2,243,934 inhabitants, 530,423 aged 65 or plus live in the Centre Region of Portugal). Good practices in reducing the burden of brain diseases that affect cognition and memory impairment in older people and tackling social isolation in urban and rural areas are among the top priorities of Ageing@Coimbra. Profiting from the collaborative work of academia, business companies, civil society, and authorities, the quadruple helix of Ageing@Coimbra supports: early diagnosis of frailty and disease; care and cure; and active, assisted, and independent living. This paper describes, as a Community Case Study, the creation of a Reference Site of the EIP on AHA, Ageing@Coimbra, and its impact in Portugal. This Reference Site can motivate other regions to develop innovative formulas to federate stakeholders and networks, building consortia at regional level. This growing movement, across Europe, is

  10. The Quadruple Helix-Based Innovation Model of Reference Sites for Active and Healthy Ageing in Europe: The Ageing@Coimbra Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João O. Malva

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Challenges posed by demographic changes and population aging are key priorities for the Horizon 2020 Program of the European Commission. Aligned with the vision of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA, the development, exchange, and large-scale adoption of innovative good practices is a key element of the responses required to ensure all European citizens remain as active and healthy as possible as they age. Urged by the need of developing scalable disruptive innovation across Europe, the European Commission and the EIP on AHA created the Reference Sites; local coalition of partners that develop good practices to support AHA. Ageing@Coimbra is an example of how this can be achieved at a regional level. The consortium comprises over 70 institutions that develop innovative practices to support AHA in Portugal. Ageing@Coimbra partners support a regional network of stakeholders that build a holistic ecosystem in health and social care, taking into consideration the specificities of the territories, living environments and cultural resources (2,243,934 inhabitants, 530,423 aged 65 or plus live in the Centre Region of Portugal. Good practices in reducing the burden of brain diseases that affect cognition and memory impairment in older people and tackling social isolation in urban and rural areas are among the top priorities of Ageing@Coimbra. Profiting from the collaborative work of academia, business companies, civil society, and authorities, the quadruple helix of Ageing@Coimbra supports: early diagnosis of frailty and disease; care and cure; and active, assisted, and independent living. This paper describes, as a Community Case Study, the creation of a Reference Site of the EIP on AHA, Ageing@Coimbra, and its impact in Portugal. This Reference Site can motivate other regions to develop innovative formulas to federate stakeholders and networks, building consortia at regional level. This growing movement

  11. Sleep-dependent memory consolidation in healthy aging and mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pace-Schott, Edward F; Spencer, Rebecca M C

    2015-01-01

    Sleep quality and architecture as well as sleep's homeostatic and circadian controls change with healthy aging. Changes include reductions in slow-wave sleep's (SWS) percent and spectral power in the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG), number and amplitude of sleep spindles, rapid eye movement (REM) density and the amplitude of circadian rhythms, as well as a phase advance (moved earlier in time) of the brain's circadian clock. With mild cognitive impairment (MCI) there are further reductions of sleep quality, SWS, spindles, and percent REM, all of which further diminish, along with a profound disruption of circadian rhythmicity, with the conversion to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Sleep disorders may represent risk factors for dementias (e.g., REM Behavior Disorder presages Parkinson's disease) and sleep disorders are themselves extremely prevalent in neurodegenerative diseases. Working memory , formation of new episodic memories, and processing speed all decline with healthy aging whereas semantic, recognition, and emotional declarative memory are spared. In MCI, episodic and working memory further decline along with declines in semantic memory. In young adults, sleep-dependent memory consolidation (SDC) is widely observed for both declarative and procedural memory tasks. However, with healthy aging, although SDC for declarative memory is preserved, certain procedural tasks, such as motor-sequence learning, do not show SDC. In younger adults, fragmentation of sleep can reduce SDC, and a normative increase in sleep fragmentation may account for reduced SDC with healthy aging. Whereas sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and narcolepsy can impair SDC in the absence of neurodegenerative changes, the incidence of sleep disorders increases both with normal aging and, further, with neurodegenerative disease. Specific features of sleep architecture, such as sleep spindles and SWS are strongly linked to SDC. Diminution of these features with healthy aging

  12. Musculoskeletal system in the old age and the demand for healthy ageing biomarkers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collino, Sebastiano; Martin, François-Pierre; Karagounis, Leonidas G; Horcajada, Marie Noelle; Moco, Sofia; Franceschi, Claudio; Kussmann, Martin; Offord, Elizabeth

    2013-01-01

    Population ageing has emerged as a major demographic trend worldwide due to improved health and longevity. This global ageing phenomenon will have a major impact on health-care systems worldwide due to increased morbidity and greater needs for hospitalization/institutionalization. As the ageing population increases worldwide, there is an increasing awareness not only of increased longevity but also of the importance of "healthy ageing" and "quality of life". Yet, the age related chronic inflammation is believed to be pathogenic with regards to its contribution to frailty and degenerative disorders. In particular, the frailty syndrome is increasingly being considered as a key risk indicator of adverse health outcomes. In addition, elderly may be also prone to be resistant to anabolic stimuli which is likely a key factor in the loss of skeletal muscle mass with ageing. Vital to understand these key biological processes is the development of biological markers, through system biology approaches, aiding at strategies for tailored therapeutic and personalized nutritional program. Overall aim is to prevent or attenuate decline of key physiological functions required to live an active, independent life. This review focus on core indicators of health and functions in older adults, where nutrition and tailored personalized programs could exhibit preventive roles, and where the aid of metabolomics technologies are increasingly displaying potential in revealing key molecular mechanisms/targets linked to specific ageing and/or healthy ageing processes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Healthy eating habits among the population of Serbia: gender and age differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jovičić, Ana Đ

    2015-03-01

    The purpose of the study is to examine healthy eating habits of the population of Serbia through three dimensions: knowledge, problems, and feelings as well as to determine whether there are any differences between genders and among different age-groups. The research instrument was an Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ) which consisted of 35 items. There were 382 respondents involved in the study. The reliability and factor structure of the questionnaire were verified by using factor analysis. The results of MANOVA showed that there is a significant difference in the habits concerning healthy eating between men and women [F (3,378)=4.26, p=0.006; Wilks' Lambda=0.97]. When the results for the dependent variables (knowledge, problems, and feelings) were considered separately, it was determined that there is no significant difference between men and women, which confirms the results of the t-test. The effect of age on the three dimensions of healthy eating habits was examined within three age-groups, by using ANOVA. The results showed that knowledge about healthy eating increases with age [F (2,379)=6.14, p=0.002] as well as positive feelings which occur as a result of healthy eating [F (2,379)=3.66, p=0.027]. Unlike ANOVA, MANOVA showed difference among the age-groups only when it came to the 'knowledge' variable. This study is important as it shows the current state of awareness on healthy eating habits in the researched populace and may be the basis for further research in this field in Serbia.

  14. Peak expiratory flow rate in healthy children aged 6-17 years

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Høst, A; Høst, A H; Ibsen, T

    1994-01-01

    Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was measured in a cross-sectional study in 861 healthy Danish schoolchildren aged 6-17 years using a Mini Wright peak flowmeter. We found a strong correlation between PEFR and height, age and sex. The results were comparable with those from previous studies using...... a Wright peak flowmeter. The equation for prediction of PEFR in boys was calculated as (3.8 x height) + (10.6 x age) - 313.2 (p age) - 143.9 (p ... coefficient in this large sample. Among healthy children without previous asthma, earlier episodes of recurrent wheezing were reported in 8.8% and a significantly lower PEFR was found in this group....

  15. Features of gas exchange of healthy people of working age

    OpenAIRE

    Noreiko S.B.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to improve the accuracy of determining the basal metabolism of healthy people. Comparative studies of basal metabolism of healthy men and women on probation and respiratory physical factors are considered. Surveyed 30 healthy men and women aged 21-56 years. Determination of the volume of absorbed oxygen and produces carbon dioxide carried by the gas analyzer "Spirolit-2" were defined. Calculate the actual respiratory rate. It is established that the actual value ...

  16. Allergy immunotherapy across the life cycle to promote active and healthy ageing: From research to policies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calderon, M A; Demoly, P; Casale, T

    2016-01-01

    group of AIRWAYS integrated care pathways for airways diseases, the model of chronic respiratory diseases of the European Innovation Partnership on active and healthy ageing (DG CONNECT and DG Santé). It considered (1) the political background, (2) the rationale for allergen immunotherapy across...... the life cycle, (3) the unmet needs for the treatment, in particular in preschool children and old age adults, (4) the strategic framework and the practical approach to synergize current initiatives in allergen immunotherapy, its mechanisms and the concept of active and healthy ageing. © 2016 The Author(s).......Allergic diseases often occur early in life and persist throughout life. This life-course perspective should be considered in allergen immunotherapy. In particular it is essential to understand whether this al treatment may be used in old age adults. The current paper was developed by a working...

  17. Modeling practice effects in healthy middle-aged participants of the Alzheimer and Families parent cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Benavides, Gonzalo; Gispert, Juan D; Fauria, Karine; Molinuevo, José Luis; Gramunt, Nina

    2016-01-01

    Repetitive administration of neuropsychological tests can lead to performance improvement merely due to previous exposure. The magnitude of such practice effects (PEs) may be used as a marker of subtle cognitive impairment because they are diminished in healthy individuals subsequently developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). To explore the relationship between sociodemographic factors, AD family history (FH), and APOE ε4 status, and the magnitude of PE, four subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV were administered twice to 400 middle-aged healthy individuals, most of them first-degree descendants of AD patients. PEs were observed in all measures. Sociodemographic variables did not show a uniform effect on PE. Baseline score was the strongest predictor of change, being inversely related to PE magnitude. Significant effects of the interaction term APOE ε4 ∗ Age in processing speed and working memory were observed. PEs exert a relevant effect in cognitive outcomes at retest and, accordingly, they must be taken into consideration in clinical trials. The magnitude of PE in processing speed and working memory could be of special interest for the development of cognitive markers of preclinical AD.

  18. Overgeneral autobiographical memory in healthy young and older adults: Differential age effects on components of the capture and rumination, functional avoidance, and impaired executive control (CaRFAX) model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ros, Laura; Latorre, Jose M; Serrano, Juan P; Ricarte, Jorge J

    2017-08-01

    The CaRFAX model (Williams et al., 2007) has been used to explain the causes of overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM; the difficulty to retrieve specific autobiographical memories), a cognitive phenomenon generally related with different psychopathologies. This model proposes 3 different mechanisms to explain OGM: capture and rumination (CaR), functional avoidance (FA) and impaired executive functions (X). However, the complete CaRFAX model has not been tested in nonclinical populations. This study aims to assess the usefulness of the CaRFAX model to explain OGM in 2 healthy samples: a young sample and an older sample, to test for possible age-related differences in the underlying causes of OGM. A total of 175 young (age range: 19-36 years) and 175 older (age range: 53-88 years) participants completed measures of brooding rumination (CaR), functional avoidance (FA), and executive tasks (X). Using structural equation modeling, we found that memory specificity is mainly associated with lower functional avoidance and higher executive functions in the older group, but only with executive functions in young participants. We discuss the different roles of emotional regulation strategies used by young and older people and their relation to the CaRFAX model to explain OGM in healthy people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. Do Aging and Tactile Noise Stimulation Affect Responses to Support Surface Translations in Healthy Adults?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius Dettmer

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Appropriate neuromuscular responses to support surface perturbations are crucial to prevent falls, but aging-related anatomical and physiological changes affect the appropriateness and efficiency of such responses. Low-level noise application to sensory receptors has shown to be effective for postural improvement in a variety of different balance tasks, but it is unknown whether this intervention may have value for improvement of corrective postural responses. Ten healthy younger and ten healthy older adults were exposed to sudden backward translations of the support surface. Low-level noise (mechanical vibration to the foot soles was added during random trials and temporal (response latency and spatial characteristics (maximum center-of-pressure excursion and anterior-posterior path length of postural responses were assessed. Mixed-model ANOVA was applied for analysis of postural response differences based on age and vibration condition. Age affected postural response characteristics, but older adults were well able to maintain balance when exposed to a postural perturbation. Low-level noise application did not affect any postural outcomes. Healthy aging affects some specific measures of postural stability, and in high-functioning older individuals, a low-level noise intervention may not be valuable. More research is needed to investigate if recurring fallers and neuropathy patients could benefit from the intervention in postural perturbation tasks.

  20. Kidney growth in 717 healthy children aged 0-18 months

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Ida M; Main, Katharina M; Damgaard, Ida N

    2004-01-01

    Kidney size is an important parameter in the evaluation of children with renal disease. However, reference materials for kidney size in healthy children have been limited beyond the neonatal period. We performed a longitudinal cohort study of 717 healthy children born at term with normal birth...... weight. Kidney size and shape were determined by ultrasonography and related to gender, age, and body size (weight, length, body surface area, skinfold thickness) at 0, 3, and 18 months of age. Gender-differentiated reference charts were established. Boys had significantly larger kidney volumes than...... girls ( Page. The best single predictor of gender-differentiated kidney volume was weight. Relative kidney volume changed with increasing age and height in a two-phase pattern: an initial...

  1. Lipid and Alzheimer's disease genes associated with healthy aging and longevity in healthy oldest-old.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tindale, Lauren C; Leach, Stephen; Spinelli, John J; Brooks-Wilson, Angela R

    2017-03-28

    Several studies have found that long-lived individuals do not appear to carry lower numbers of common disease-associated variants than ordinary people; it has been hypothesized that they may instead carry protective variants. An intriguing type of protective variant is buffering variants that protect against variants that have deleterious effects. We genotyped 18 variants in 15 genes related to longevity or healthy aging that had been previously reported as having a gene-gene interaction or buffering effect. We compared a group of 446 healthy oldest-old 'Super-Seniors' (individuals 85 or older who have never been diagnosed with cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes or major pulmonary disease) to 421 random population-based midlife controls. Cases and controls were of European ancestry. Association tests of individual SNPs showed that Super-Seniors were less likely than controls to carry an APOEε4 allele or a haptoglobin HP2 allele. Interactions between APOE/FOXO3, APOE/CRYL1, and LPA/CRYL1 did not remain significant after multiple testing correction. In a network analysis of the candidate genes, lipid and cholesterol metabolism was a common theme. APOE, HP, and CRYL1 have all been associated with Alzheimer's Disease, the pathology of which involves lipid and cholesterol pathways. Age-related changes in lipid and cholesterol maintenance, particularly in the brain, may be central to healthy aging and longevity.

  2. Mobile Health Applications to Promote Active and Healthy Ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helbostad, Jorunn L; Vereijken, Beatrix; Becker, Clemens; Todd, Chris; Taraldsen, Kristin; Pijnappels, Mirjam; Aminian, Kamiar; Mellone, Sabato

    2017-03-18

    The European population is ageing, and there is a need for health solutions that keep older adults independent longer. With increasing access to mobile technology, such as smartphones and smartwatches, the development and use of mobile health applications is rapidly growing. To meet the societal challenge of changing demography, mobile health solutions are warranted that support older adults to stay healthy and active and that can prevent or delay functional decline. This paper reviews the literature on mobile technology, in particular wearable technology, such as smartphones, smartwatches, and wristbands, presenting new ideas on how this technology can be used to encourage an active lifestyle, and discusses the way forward in order further to advance development and practice in the field of mobile technology for active, healthy ageing.

  3. Modeling cognitive reserve in healthy middle-aged and older adults: the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, David D; Summers, Mathew J; Saunders, Nichole L; Vickers, James C

    2015-04-01

    Cognitive reserve (CR) is a protective factor that supports cognition by increasing the resilience of an individual's cognitive function to the deleterious effects of cerebral lesions. A single environmental proxy indicator is often used to estimate CR (e.g. education), possibly resulting in a loss of the accuracy and predictive power of the investigation. Furthermore, while estimates of an individual's prior CR can be made, no operational measure exists to estimate dynamic change in CR resulting from exposure to new life experiences. We aimed to develop two latent measures of CR through factor analysis: prior and current, in a sample of 467 healthy older adults. The prior CR measure combined proxy measures traditionally associated with CR, while the current CR measure combined variables that had the potential to reflect dynamic change in CR due to new life experiences. Our main finding was that the analyses uncovered latent variables in hypothesized prior and current models of CR. The prior CR model supports multivariate estimation of pre-existing CR and may be applied to more accurately estimate CR in the absence of neuropathological data. The current CR model may be applied to evaluate and explore the potential benefits of CR-based interventions prior to dementia onset.

  4. Healthy Ageing in People with Intellectual Disabilities from Managers' Perspective: A Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johansson, Maria; Björne, Petra; Runesson, Ingrid; Ahlström, Gerd

    2017-08-18

    An increasing number of people with intellectual disability (ID) are reaching older ages today although they experience more health problems than the older population without ID. Leaders in intellectual disability services can greatly influence the conditions for a healthy ageing, and the aim of the present study was to explore healthy ageing in this group from the perspective of the leaders. Interviews with 20 leaders were subjected to qualitative content analysis. The findings gave rise to the overall theme ageing in dependence, which emerged from the following six categories: Supporting self-determination; Inaccessible activities after retirement; Signs of decline; Increased and specific needs for support and care; A non-question of gender; Aspects concerning the end of life and death. A prerequisite for healthy ageing in the case of people with ID is, according to the leaders, that they can live the life according to their preferences and make independent choices whilst at the same time receiving adequate support. With the shrinking of their social network after retirement, they become increasingly dependent on staff and leaders in the group home, who need to know what healthy ageing implies.

  5. Conceptions of Healthy Aging Held by Relatives of Older Persons in Isan-Thai Culture: A Phenomenographic Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manasatchakun, Pornpun; Roxberg, Åsa; Asp, Margareta

    2018-01-01

    In Thailand, family nurses are expected to provide support for older persons and their family members to promote healthy aging. Family bonds are strong, and relatives are expected to take care of their older family members. However, there is limited research on how older persons' family members perceive healthy aging. This study aimed to describe the conceptions of healthy aging held by the children and grandchildren of older persons in northeast Thailand. In a phenomenographic study, 14 interviews were performed to qualitatively analyze different conceptions of healthy aging. Four descriptive categories emerged: being independent, not being afflicted by diseases or illnesses, being a giver and a receiver, and being wise. The conceptions of healthy aging entail both autonomy and interdependence. The relative's perspective needs to be considered when policies relating to healthy aging are implemented in the community and when family nurses provide support to families to promote healthy aging.

  6. Decline of functional capacity in healthy aging workers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Soer, Remko; Brouwer, Sandra; Geertzen, Jan H; van der Schans, Cees; Groothoff, Johan W.; Reneman, Michiel F

    2012-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: (1) To study the natural decline in functional capacity (FC) of healthy aging workers; (2) to compare FC to categories of workload; and (3) to study the differences in decline between men and women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design. SETTING: A rehabilitation center at a university medical

  7. Healthy Ageing and the importance of physical activity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hobbelen, Hans

    2014-01-01

    Wereldwijd zien we de trend dat de bevolking vergrijst. Dit vraagt om verdieping in het verouderingsproces en in het voorkomen van gezondheidsproblemen. Deze dag van de summerschool Healthy Ageing van de Universiteit Utrecht richt zich met name op de praktische kennis en vaardigheden op het gebied

  8. Design, recruitment, logistics, and data management of the GEHA (Genetics of Healthy Ageing) project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skytthe, A; Valensin, S; Jeune, B

    2011-01-01

    In 2004, the integrated European project GEHA (Genetics of Healthy Ageing) was initiated with the aim of identifying genes involved in healthy ageing and longevity. The first step in the project was the recruitment of more than 2500 pairs of siblings aged 90years or more together with one younger...

  9. Conceptions of Healthy Aging Held by Relatives of Older Persons in Isan-Thai Culture: A Phenomenographic Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pornpun Manasatchakun

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In Thailand, family nurses are expected to provide support for older persons and their family members to promote healthy aging. Family bonds are strong, and relatives are expected to take care of their older family members. However, there is limited research on how older persons’ family members perceive healthy aging. This study aimed to describe the conceptions of healthy aging held by the children and grandchildren of older persons in northeast Thailand. In a phenomenographic study, 14 interviews were performed to qualitatively analyze different conceptions of healthy aging. Four descriptive categories emerged: being independent, not being afflicted by diseases or illnesses, being a giver and a receiver, and being wise. The conceptions of healthy aging entail both autonomy and interdependence. The relative’s perspective needs to be considered when policies relating to healthy aging are implemented in the community and when family nurses provide support to families to promote healthy aging.

  10. A novel multi-tissue RNA diagnostic of healthy ageing relates to cognitive health status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sood, Sanjana; Gallagher, Iain J; Lunnon, Katie; Rullman, Eric; Keohane, Aoife; Crossland, Hannah; Phillips, Bethan E; Cederholm, Tommy; Jensen, Thomas; van Loon, Luc J C; Lannfelt, Lars; Kraus, William E; Atherton, Philip J; Howard, Robert; Gustafsson, Thomas; Hodges, Angela; Timmons, James A

    2015-09-07

    Diagnostics of the human ageing process may help predict future healthcare needs or guide preventative measures for tackling diseases of older age. We take a transcriptomics approach to build the first reproducible multi-tissue RNA expression signature by gene-chip profiling tissue from sedentary normal subjects who reached 65 years of age in good health. One hundred and fifty probe-sets form an accurate classifier of young versus older muscle tissue and this healthy ageing RNA classifier performed consistently in independent cohorts of human muscle, skin and brain tissue (n = 594, AUC = 0.83-0.96) and thus represents a biomarker for biological age. Using the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men birth-cohort (n = 108) we demonstrate that the RNA classifier is insensitive to confounding lifestyle biomarkers, while greater gene score at age 70 years is independently associated with better renal function at age 82 years and longevity. The gene score is 'up-regulated' in healthy human hippocampus with age, and when applied to blood RNA profiles from two large independent age-matched dementia case-control data sets (n = 717) the healthy controls have significantly greater gene scores than those with cognitive impairment. Alone, or when combined with our previously described prototype Alzheimer disease (AD) RNA 'disease signature', the healthy ageing RNA classifier is diagnostic for AD. We identify a novel and statistically robust multi-tissue RNA signature of human healthy ageing that can act as a diagnostic of future health, using only a peripheral blood sample. This RNA signature has great potential to assist research aimed at finding treatments for and/or management of AD and other ageing-related conditions.

  11. Healthy Aging Promotion through Neuroscientific Information-Based Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seinfeld, Sofia; Sanchez-Vives, Maria V

    2015-09-28

    To ensure the well-being of a rapidly growing elderly population, it is fundamental to find strategies to foster healthy brain aging. With this intention, we designed a program of scientific-based lectures aimed at dissemination by established neuroscientists about brain function, brain plasticity and how lifestyle influences the brain. We also carried out a pilot study on the impact of the lectures on attendees. The objective was to provide information to elderly people in order to encourage them to identify unhealthy and healthy daily habits, and more importantly, to promote behavioral changes towards healthy brain aging. Here we report on our experience. In order to determine the impact of the lectures in the daily routine of the attendees, we asked them to fill out questionnaires. Preliminary results indicate that neuroscientific information-based strategies can be a useful method to have a positive impact on the lives of elderly, increase their awareness on how to improve brain function and promote positive lifestyle modifications. Furthermore, based on self-reported data, we also found that through this strategy it is possible to promote behavioral changes related to nutrition, sleep, and realization of physical and cognitively stimulating activities. Finally, based on the results obtained, the importance of promoting self-efficacy and the empowerment of the older populations is highlighted.

  12. Healthy Aging Promotion through Neuroscientific Information-Based Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofia Seinfeld

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available To ensure the well-being of a rapidly growing elderly population, it is fundamental to find strategies to foster healthy brain aging. With this intention, we designed a program of scientific-based lectures aimed at dissemination by established neuroscientists about brain function, brain plasticity and how lifestyle influences the brain. We also carried out a pilot study on the impact of the lectures on attendees. The objective was to provide information to elderly people in order to encourage them to identify unhealthy and healthy daily habits, and more importantly, to promote behavioral changes towards healthy brain aging. Here we report on our experience. In order to determine the impact of the lectures in the daily routine of the attendees, we asked them to fill out questionnaires. Preliminary results indicate that neuroscientific information-based strategies can be a useful method to have a positive impact on the lives of elderly, increase their awareness on how to improve brain function and promote positive lifestyle modifications. Furthermore, based on self-reported data, we also found that through this strategy it is possible to promote behavioral changes related to nutrition, sleep, and realization of physical and cognitively stimulating activities. Finally, based on the results obtained, the importance of promoting self-efficacy and the empowerment of the older populations is highlighted.

  13. The effects of healthy aging on cerebral hemodynamic responses to posture change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edlow, Brian L; Greenberg, Joel H; Detre, John A; Kim, Meeri N; Durduran, Turgut; Zhou, Chao; Yodh, Arjun G; Putt, Mary E

    2010-01-01

    Aging is associated with an increased incidence of orthostatic hypotension, impairment of the baroreceptor reflex and lower baseline cerebral blood flow. The effect of aging on cerebrovascular autoregulation, however, remains to be fully elucidated. We used a novel optical instrument to assess microvascular cerebral hemodynamics in the frontal lobe cortex of 60 healthy subjects ranging from ages 20–78. Diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) were used to measure relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF), total hemoglobin concentration (THC), oxyhemoglobin concentration (HbO 2 ) and deoxyhemoglobin concentration (Hb). Cerebral hemodynamics were monitored for 5 min at each of the following postures: head-of-bed 30°, supine, standing and supine. Supine-to-standing posture change caused significant declines in rCBF, THC and HbO 2 , and an increase in Hb, across the age continuum (p < 0.01). Healthy aging did not alter postural changes in frontal cortical rCBF (p = 0.23) and was associated with a smaller magnitude of decline in HbO 2 (p < 0.05) during supine-to-standing posture change. We conclude that healthy aging does not alter postural changes in frontal cortical perfusion

  14. Enhancing healthy ageing through music | Ekong | UJAH: Unizik ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    UJAH: Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 16, No 2 (2015) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register. Enhancing healthy ageing through music.

  15. Exercise Is Key to Healthy Aging | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... this page please turn JavaScript on. NIH Research Exercise Is Key to Healthy Aging Past Issues / Winter ... to exercise regularly—at any age! Why is exercise so important? Exercise is perhaps the best demonstrated ...

  16. Healthy aging diets other than the Mediterranean: a focus on the Okinawan diet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willcox, Donald Craig; Scapagnini, Giovanni; Willcox, Bradley J

    2014-01-01

    The traditional diet in Okinawa is anchored by root vegetables (principally sweet potatoes), green and yellow vegetables, soybean-based foods, and medicinal plants. Marine foods, lean meats, fruit, medicinal garnishes and spices, tea, alcohol are also moderately consumed. Many characteristics of the traditional Okinawan diet are shared with other healthy dietary patterns, including the traditional Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, and Portfolio diet. All these dietary patterns are associated with reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, among other age-associated diseases. Overall, the important shared features of these healthy dietary patterns include: high intake of unrefined carbohydrates, moderate protein intake with emphasis on vegetables/legumes, fish, and lean meats as sources, and a healthy fat profile (higher in mono/polyunsaturated fats, lower in saturated fat; rich in omega-3). The healthy fat intake is likely one mechanism for reducing inflammation, optimizing cholesterol, and other risk factors. Additionally, the lower caloric density of plant-rich diets results in lower caloric intake with concomitant high intake of phytonutrients and antioxidants. Other shared features include low glycemic load, less inflammation and oxidative stress, and potential modulation of aging-related biological pathways. This may reduce risk for chronic age-associated diseases and promote healthy aging and longevity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Number skills are maintained in healthy ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cappelletti, Marinella; Didino, Daniele; Stoianov, Ivilin; Zorzi, Marco

    2014-03-01

    Numerical skills have been extensively studied in terms of their development and pathological decline, but whether they change in healthy ageing is not well known. Longer exposure to numbers and quantity-related problems may progressively refine numerical skills, similar to what happens to other cognitive abilities like verbal memory. Alternatively, number skills may be sensitive to ageing, reflecting either a decline of number processing itself or of more auxiliary cognitive abilities that are involved in number tasks. To distinguish between these possibilities we tested 30 older and 30 younger participants on an established numerosity discrimination task requiring to judge which of two sets of items is more numerous, and on arithmetical tasks. Older participants were remarkably accurate in performing arithmetical tasks although their numerosity discrimination (also known as 'number acuity') was impaired. Further analyses indicate that this impairment was limited to numerosity trials requiring inhibiting information incongruent to numerosity (e.g., fewer but larger items), and that this also correlated with poor inhibitory processes measured by standard tests. Therefore, rather than a numerical impairment, poor numerosity discrimination is likely to reflect elderly's impoverished inhibitory processes. This conclusion is supported by simulations with a recent neuro-computational model of numerosity perception, where only the specific degradation of inhibitory processes produced a pattern that closely resembled older participants' performance. Numeracy seems therefore resilient to ageing but it is influenced by the decline of inhibitory processes supporting number performance, consistent with the 'Inhibitory Deficit' Theory. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Social capital and healthy ageing in Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Junran; Rammohan, Anu

    2016-07-22

    A large international literature has found a positive association between social capital and measures of physical and mental health. However, there is a paucity of research on the links between social capital and healthy ageing in a developing country environment, where universal social security coverage is absent and health infrastructure is poor. In this paper, we develop and empirically test a model of the linkages between social capital and the health outcomes for older adults in Indonesia, using data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey-East (IFLS-East), conducted in 2012. Using multivariate regression analysis, we examine whether social capital plays a role in mitigating poor health among older individuals aged 50 years and above in Indonesia's most vulnerable provinces. We test the robustness of these social capital variables across different health measures (self-assessed health, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), measures of chronic illness and mental health measures), as well as across different demographic groups, after controlling for an array of socio-economic, demographic and geographic characteristics. Our findings show that access to better social capital (using measures of neighbourhood trust and community participation) is associated with a higher degree of physical mobility, independence, and mental well-being among older individuals but has no influence on chronic illnesses. These results are consistent when we estimate samples disaggregated by gender, rural/urban residence, and by age categories. From a policy perspective these results point to the importance of social capital measures in moderating the influence of poor health, particularly in the Activities of Daily Living.

  19. What factors influence healthy aging? A person-centered approach among older adults in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Li-Fan; Su, Pei-Fang

    2017-05-01

    The present study aimed to identify the health profiles of older adults by using latent class analysis to investigate health heterogeneity and to determine what factors predicted healthy aging among an oldest-old sample cohort that was followed up for 14 years in Taiwan. Data were drawn from five waves (carried out in 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007) of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging to examine the changes in health heterogeneity in a nationally representative oldest-old cohort of Taiwanese. Overall, data from a total of 11 145 observations of 3155 older adults were considered. The influential factors predicting health changes were analyzed by using a generalized estimating equation. The results showed that four health profiles were identified among the aging population observed in the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging. With increasing age, the combined effects of the physical functioning, cognitive and emotional health, and comorbidities of older adults significantly impact their health changes. Apart from health deteriorating with age and sex disparities, educational and economic status, health behaviors, and social participation at the individual level were found to be the robust factors in predicting healthy aging. In considering what factors impact healthy aging, we suggest that a person-centered approach would be useful and critical for policy makers to understand the compositions of health profiles and the influencing factors in view of a life-course perspective. Based on the factors identified as influencing healthy aging at the individual level, it is imperative from a policy-making perspective to maximize opportunities for healthy aging. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 697-707. © 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  20. Using CForest to Analyze Diffusion Tensor Imaging Data: A Study of White Matter Integrity in Healthy Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McWhinney, Sean R; Tremblay, Antoine; Chevalier, Thérèse M; Lim, Vanessa K; Newman, Aaron J

    2016-12-01

    Healthy aging has been associated with a global reduction in white matter integrity, which is thought to reflect cognitive decline. The present study aimed to investigate this reduction over a broad range of the life span, using diffusion tensor imaging analyzed with conditional inference random forest modeling (CForest). This approach is sensitive to subtle and potentially nonlinear effects over the age continuum and was used to characterize the progression of decline in greater detail than has been possible in the past. Data were collected from 45 healthy individuals ranging in age from 19 to 67 years. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was estimated using probabilistic tractography for a number of major tracts across the brain. Age coincided with a nonlinear decrease in FA, with onset beginning at ∼30 years of age and the steepest declines occurring later in life. However, several tracts showed a transient increase before this decline. The progression of decline varied by tract, with steeper but later decline occurring in more anterior tracts. Finally, strongly right-handed individuals demonstrated relatively preserved FA until more than a decade following the onset of decline of others. These results demonstrate that using a novel, nonparametric analysis approach, previously reported reductions in FA with healthy aging were confirmed, while at the same time, new insight was provided into the onset and progression of decline, with evidence suggesting increases in integrity continuing into adulthood.

  1. Parenting clinically anxious versus healthy control children aged 4-12 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluis, C M; van Steensel, F J A; Bögels, S M

    2015-05-01

    This study investigated whether parenting behaviors differed between parents of 68 clinically anxious children and 106 healthy control children aged 4-12 years. The effects of parent gender, child gender and child age on parenting were explored. Mothers and fathers completed a questionnaire to assess parenting behaviors in for children hypothetically anxious situations. Results showed that parents of clinically anxious children reported more anxiety-enhancing parenting (reinforcement of dependency and punishment) as well as more positive parenting (positive reinforcement). For the clinical sample, fathers reported using more modeling/reassurance than mothers, and parents reported using more force with their 4-7-year-olds than with their 8-12-year-olds. No interaction effects were found for child gender with child anxiety status on parenting. Results indicate that for intervention, it is important to measure parenting behaviors, and to take into account father and mother differences and the age of the child. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Operative definition of active and healthy ageing (AHA) : Meeting report. Montpellier October 20-21, 2014

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bousquet, J.; Kuh, D.; Bewick, M.; Strandberg, T.; Farrell, J.; Pengelly, R.; Joel, M. E.; Manas, L. Rodriguez; Mercier, J.; Bringer, J.; Camuzat, T.; Bourret, R.; Bedbrook, A.; Kowalski, M. L.; Samolinski, B.; Bonini, S.; Brayne, C.; Michel, J. P.; Venne, J.; Viriot-Durandal, P.; Alonso, J.; Avignon, A.; Bousquet, P. J.; Combe, B.; Cooper, R.; Hardy, R.; Iaccarino, G.; Keil, T.; Kesse-Guyot, E.; Momas, I.; Ritchie, K.; Robine, J. M.; Thijs, C.; Tischer, C.; Vellas, B.; Zaidi, A.; Alonso, F.; Ranberg, K. Andersen; Andreeva, V.; Ankri, J.; Arnavielhe, S.; Arshad, S. H.; Auge, P.; Berr, C.; Bertone, P.; Blain, H.; Blasimme, A.; Buijs, G. J.; Caimmi, D.; Carriazo, A.; Cesario, A.; Coletta, J.; Cosco, T.; Criton, M.; Cuisinier, F.; Demoly, P.; Fernandez-Nocelo, S.; Fougere, B.; Garcia-Aymerich, J.; Goldberg, M.; Guldemond, N.; Gutter, Z.; Harman, D.; Hendry, A.; Heve, D.; Illario, M.; Jeandel, C.; Krauss-Etschmann, S.; Krys, O.; Kula, D.; Laune, D.; Lehmann, S.; Maier, D.; Malva, J.; Matignon, P.; Melen, E.; Mercier, G.; Moda, G.; Nizinkska, A.; Nogues, M.; O'Neill, M.; Pelissier, J. Y.; Poethig, D.; Porta, D.; Postma, D.; Puisieux, F.; Richards, M.; Robalo-Cordeiro, C.; Romano, V.; Roubille, F.; Schulz, H.; Scott, A.; Senesse, P.; Slagter, S.; Smit, H. A.; Somekh, D.; Stafford, M.; Suanzes, J.; Todo-Bom, A.; Touchon, J.; Traver-Salcedo, V.; Van Beurden, M.; Varraso, R.; Vergara, I.; Villalba-Mora, E.; Wilson, N.; Wouters, E.; Zins, M.

    The broad concept of Active and Healthy Ageing was proposed by WHO as the process of optimizing opportunities for health to enhance quality of life as people age. It applies to both individuals and population groups. A universal active and healthy ageing definition is not available and may differ

  3. The power of personality in discriminating between healthy aging and early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duchek, Janet M; Balota, David A; Storandt, Martha; Larsen, Randy

    2007-11-01

    This study examined differences in personality in the earliest stages of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) relative to healthy aging, and the power of personality in discriminating healthy aging from early-stage DAT. Four groups of participants (middle-aged controls, older controls, persons with very mild DAT, and persons with mild DAT) and their families were administered Costa and McCrae's NEO Five-Factor Inventory. On the basis of both self-report and informant report, there was an increase in neuroticism and a decrease in conscientiousness in persons with very mild DAT relative to healthy individuals without it, and in persons with mild DAT relative to those with very mild DAT. Moreover, informant reports of neuroticism and conscientiousness capture substantial unique variance in discriminating healthy aging and very mild DAT, above and beyond standard neuropsychological tests. Discussion focuses on the importance of personality traits as a noncognitive indicator of early-stage DAT.

  4. Cognitive Reserve in Healthy Aging and Alzheimer's Disease: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colangeli, Stefano; Boccia, Maddalena; Verde, Paola; Guariglia, Paola; Bianchini, Filippo; Piccardi, Laura

    2016-08-01

    Cognitive reserve (CR) has been defined as the ability to optimize or maximize performance through differential recruitment of brain networks. In the present study, we aimed at providing evidence for a consistent brain network underpinning CR in healthy and pathological aging. To pursue this aim, we performed a coordinate-based meta-analysis of 17 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies on CR proxies in healthy aging, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We found that different brain areas were associated with CR proxies in healthy and pathological aging. A wide network of areas, including medial and lateral frontal areas, that is, anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, as well as precuneus, was associated with proxies of CR in healthy elderly patients. The CR proxies in patients with AD and amnesic-MCI were associated with activation in the anterior cingulate cortex. These results were discussed hypothesizing the existence of possible compensatory mechanisms in healthy and pathological aging. © The Author(s) 2016.

  5. Lymphocyte maintenance during healthy aging requires no substantial alterations in cellular turnover

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Westera, Liset; van Hoeven, Vera; Drylewicz, Julia; Spierenburg, Gerrit; van Velzen, Jeroen F.; de Boer, Rob J.; Tesselaar, Kiki; Borghans, José A M

    2015-01-01

    In healthy humans, lymphocyte populations are maintained at a relatively constant size throughout life, reflecting a balance between lymphocyte production and loss. Given the profound immunological changes that occur during healthy aging, including a significant decline in T-cell production by the

  6. Alpha-synuclein levels in blood plasma decline with healthy aging.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niklas K U Koehler

    Full Text Available There is unequivocal evidence that alpha-synuclein plays a pivotal pathophysiological role in neurodegenerative diseases, and in particular in synucleinopathies. These disorders present with a variable extent of cognitive impairment and alpha-synuclein is being explored as a biomarker in CSF, blood serum and plasma. Considering key events of aging that include proteostasis, alpha-synuclein may not only be useful as a marker for differential diagnosis but also for aging per se. To explore this hypothesis, we developed a highly specific ELISA to measure alpha-synuclein. In healthy males plasma alpha-synuclein levels correlated strongly with age, revealing much lower concentrations in older (avg. 58.1 years compared to younger (avg. 27.6 years individuals. This difference between the age groups was enhanced after acidification of the plasmas (p<0.0001, possibly reflecting a decrease of alpha-synuclein-antibody complexes or chaperone activity in older individuals. Our results support the concept that alpha-synuclein homeostasis may be impaired early on, possibly due to disturbance of the proteostasis network, a key component of healthy aging. Thus, alpha-synuclein may be a novel biomarker of aging, a factor that should be considered when analyzing its presence in biological specimens.

  7. Impaired acquisition of goal-directed action in healthy aging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Wit, S.; van de Vijver, I.; Ridderinkhof, K.R.

    2014-01-01

    According to dual-system theories, instrumental learning is supported by dissociable goal-directed and habitual systems. Previous investigations of the dual-system balance in healthy aging have yielded mixed results. To further investigate this issue, we compared performance of young (17-24 years)

  8. Reprint of: Musculoskeletal system in the old age and the demand for healthy ageing biomarkers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collino, Sebastiano; Martin, François-Pierre; Karagounis, Leonidas G; Horcajada, Marie Noelle; Moco, Sofia; Franceschi, Claudio; Kussmann, Martin; Offord, Elizabeth

    2014-01-01

    Population ageing has emerged as a major demographic trend worldwide due to improved health and longevity. This global ageing phenomenon will have a major impact on health-care systems worldwide due to increased morbidity and greater needs for hospitalization/institutionalization. As the ageing population increases worldwide, there is an increasing awareness not only of increased longevity but also of the importance of "healthy ageing" and "quality of life". Yet, the age related chronic inflammation is believed to be pathogenic with regards to its contribution to frailty and degenerative disorders. In particular, the frailty syndrome is increasingly being considered as a key risk indicator of adverse health outcomes. In addition, elderly may be also prone to be resistant to anabolic stimuli which is likely a key factor in the loss of skeletal muscle mass with ageing. Vital to understand these key biological processes is the development of biological markers, through system biology approaches, aiding at strategies for tailored therapeutic and personalized nutritional program. Overall aim is to prevent or attenuate decline of key physiological functions required to live an active, independent life. This review focus on core indicators of health and functions in older adults, where nutrition and tailored personalized programs could exhibit preventive roles, and where the aid of metabolomics technologies are increasingly displaying potential in revealing key molecular mechanisms/targets linked to specific ageing and/or healthy ageing processes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Social capital and healthy ageing in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junran Cao

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A large international literature has found a positive association between social capital and measures of physical and mental health. However, there is a paucity of research on the links between social capital and healthy ageing in a developing country environment, where universal social security coverage is absent and health infrastructure is poor. Method In this paper, we develop and empirically test a model of the linkages between social capital and the health outcomes for older adults in Indonesia, using data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey-East (IFLS-East, conducted in 2012. Using multivariate regression analysis, we examine whether social capital plays a role in mitigating poor health among older individuals aged 50 years and above in Indonesia’s most vulnerable provinces. We test the robustness of these social capital variables across different health measures (self-assessed health, Activities of Daily Living (ADL, measures of chronic illness and mental health measures, as well as across different demographic groups, after controlling for an array of socio-economic, demographic and geographic characteristics. Results Our findings show that access to better social capital (using measures of neighbourhood trust and community participation is associated with a higher degree of physical mobility, independence, and mental well-being among older individuals but has no influence on chronic illnesses. These results are consistent when we estimate samples disaggregated by gender, rural/urban residence, and by age categories. Conclusion From a policy perspective these results point to the importance of social capital measures in moderating the influence of poor health, particularly in the Activities of Daily Living.

  10. Lymphocyte maintenance during healthy aging requires no substantial alterations in cellular turnover.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westera, Liset; van Hoeven, Vera; Drylewicz, Julia; Spierenburg, Gerrit; van Velzen, Jeroen F; de Boer, Rob J; Tesselaar, Kiki; Borghans, José A M

    2015-04-01

    In healthy humans, lymphocyte populations are maintained at a relatively constant size throughout life, reflecting a balance between lymphocyte production and loss. Given the profound immunological changes that occur during healthy aging, including a significant decline in T-cell production by the thymus, lymphocyte maintenance in the elderly is generally thought to require homeostatic alterations in lymphocyte dynamics. Surprisingly, using in vivo (2) H2 O labeling, we find similar dynamics of most lymphocyte subsets between young adult and elderly healthy individuals. As the contribution of thymic output to T-cell production is only minor from young adulthood onward, compensatory increases in peripheral T-cell division rates are not required to maintain the T-cell pool, despite a tenfold decline in thymic output. These fundamental insights will aid the interpretation of further research into aging and clinical conditions related to disturbed lymphocyte dynamics. © 2015 The Authors. Aging Cell published by the Anatomical Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Parenting clinically anxious versus healthy control children aged 4-12 years

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Sluis, C.M.; van Steensel, F.J.A.; Bögels, S.M.

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated whether parenting behaviors differed between parents of 68 clinically anxious children and 106 healthy control children aged 4-12 years. The effects of parent gender, child gender and child age on parenting were explored. Mothers and fathers completed a questionnaire to

  12. Study healthy ageing and intellectual disabilities : Recruitment and design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hilgenkamp, Thessa I. M.; Bastiaanse, Luc P.; Hermans, Heidi; Penning, Corine; van Wijck, Ruud; Evenhuis, Heleen M.

    2011-01-01

    Problems encountered in epidemiologic health research in older adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) are how to recruit a large-scale sample of participants and how to measure a range of health variables in such a group. This cross-sectional study into healthy ageing started with founding a

  13. Positivity effect in healthy aging in observational but not active feedback-learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellebaum, Christian; Rustemeier, Martina; Daum, Irene

    2012-01-01

    The present study investigated the impact of healthy aging on the bias to learn from positive or negative performance feedback in observational and active feedback learning. In active learning, a previous study had already shown a negative learning bias in healthy seniors older than 75 years, while no bias was found for younger seniors. However, healthy aging is accompanied by a 'positivity effect', a tendency to primarily attend to stimuli with positive valence. Based on recent findings of dissociable neural mechanisms in active and observational feedback learning, the positivity effect was hypothesized to influence older participants' observational feedback learning in particular. In two separate experiments, groups of young (mean age 27) and older participants (mean age 60 years) completed an observational or active learning task designed to differentially assess positive and negative learning. Older but not younger observational learners showed a significant bias to learn better from positive than negative feedback. In accordance with previous findings, no bias was found for active learning. This pattern of results is discussed in terms of differences in the neural underpinnings of active and observational learning from performance feedback.

  14. Age differences in the motor control of speech: An fMRI study of healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tremblay, Pascale; Sato, Marc; Deschamps, Isabelle

    2017-05-01

    Healthy aging is associated with a decline in cognitive, executive, and motor processes that are concomitant with changes in brain activation patterns, particularly at high complexity levels. While speech production relies on all these processes, and is known to decline with age, the mechanisms that underlie these changes remain poorly understood, despite the importance of communication on everyday life. In this cross-sectional group study, we investigated age differences in the neuromotor control of speech production by combining behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Twenty-seven healthy adults underwent fMRI while performing a speech production task consisting in the articulation of nonwords of different sequential and motor complexity. Results demonstrate strong age differences in movement time (MT), with longer and more variable MT in older adults. The fMRI results revealed extensive age differences in the relationship between BOLD signal and MT, within and outside the sensorimotor system. Moreover, age differences were also found in relation to sequential complexity within the motor and attentional systems, reflecting both compensatory and de-differentiation mechanisms. At very high complexity level (high motor complexity and high sequence complexity), age differences were found in both MT data and BOLD response, which increased in several sensorimotor and executive control areas. Together, these results suggest that aging of motor and executive control mechanisms may contribute to age differences in speech production. These findings highlight the importance of studying functionally relevant behavior such as speech to understand the mechanisms of human brain aging. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2751-2771, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Operational definition of Active and Healthy Ageing (AHA) : A conceptual framework

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bousquet, J.; Kuh, D.; Bewick, M.; Standberg, T.; Farrell, J.; Pengelly, R.; Joel, M. E.; Rodriguez Manas, L.; Mercier, J.; Bringer, J.; Camuzat, T.; Bourret, R.; Bedbrook, A.; Kowalski, M. L.; Samolinski, B.; Bonini, S.; Brayne, C.; Michel, J. P.; Venne, J.; Viriot-Durandal, P.; Alonso, J.; Avignon, A.; Ben-Shlomo, Y.; Bousquet, P. J.; Combe, B.; Cooper, R.; Hardy, R.; Iaccarino, G.; Keil, T.; Kesse-Guyot, E.; Momas, I.; Ritchie, K.; Robine, J. M.; Thijs, C.; Tischer, C.; Vellas, B.; Zaidi, A.; Alonso, F.; Ranberg, K. Andersen; Andreeva, V.; Ankri, J.; Arnavielhe, S.; Arshad, H.; Auge, P.; Berr, C.; Bertone, P.; Blain, H.; Blasimme, A.; Buijs, G. J.; Caimmi, D.; Carriazo, A.; Cesario, A.; Coletta, J.; Cosco, T.; Criton, M.; Cuisinier, F.; Demoly, P.; Fernandez-Nocelo, S.; Fougere, B.; Garcia-Aymerich, J.; Goldberg, M.; Guldemond, N.; Gutter, Z.; Harman, D.; Hendry, A.; Heve, D.; Illario, M.; Jeandel, C.; Krauss-Etschmann, S.; Krys, O.; Kula, D.; Laune, D.; Lehmann, S.; Maier, D.; Malva, J.; Matignon, P.; Melen, E.; Mercier, G.; Moda, G.; Nizinkska, A.; Nogues, M.; O'Neill, M.; Pelissier, J. Y.; Poethig, D.; Porta, D.; Postma, D.; Puisieux, F.; Richards, M.; Robalo-Cordeiro, C.; Romano, V.; Roubille, F.; Schulz, H.; Scott, A.; Senesse, P.; Slagter, S.; Smit, H. A.; Somekh, D.; Stafford, M.; Suanzes, J.; Todo-Bom, A.; Touchon, J.; Traver-Salcedo, V.; Van Beurden, M.; Varraso, R.; Vergara, I.; Villalba-Mora, E.; Wilson, N.; Wouters, E.; Zins, M.

    2015-01-01

    Health is a multi-dimensional concept, capturing how people feel and function. The broad concept of Active and Healthy Ageing was proposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the process of optimizing opportunities for health to enhance quality of life as people age. It applies to both

  16. Corneal clarity measurements in healthy volunteers across different age groups: Observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alzahrani, Khaled; Carley, Fiona; Brahma, Arun; Morley, Debbie; Hillarby, M Chantal

    2017-11-01

    The aim of this study was to standardize and investigate the changes in corneal clarity with age. Densitometry software for the Oculus Pentacam was used to examine corneal clarity at different age groups.A total of 192 eyes from 97 healthy participants were included in this cohort comparative nonrandomized, cross-sectional study. An Oculus Pentcam was used to image the cornea of healthy participants grouped by age (between 10 and 70 years old). Data from the densitometry output have been used to determine clarity in concentric zones and different depths of the cornea.Corneal densitometry (CD) across all ages showed significant differences between groups when divided into the following layers: anterior, central, and posterior or divided into 0 to 2, 2 to 6, and 6 to 10 mm concentric zones (P age in all 3 layers of the periphery (6-10 mm) (P age group had lower clarity than the 20 to 30-age group (P age is differed when the cornea is divided into layers and zones. This study suggests that there are other factors that may play an essential role in corneal clarity as well as age.

  17. On the normative model of a healthy lifestyle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riza Akhmedzakievich Kasimov

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The formation of a healthy lifestyle among the educational process subjects is one of the main functions of health-saving educational space. This function can be implemented effectively only if the executive bodies in the sphere of education, other agencies, the public and the subjects of the educational process take active part in this process. Such cooperation requires a common understanding in the issues to promote health of all pedagogical process participants, but to date the concept “healthy lifestyle” has not been clearly defined and the effective and optimized pedagogical models for its formation, according to the cross-cutting principle, have not been elaborated. The article analyzes different points of view on this issue. A healthy lifestyle is considered as a complex pedagogical technology to create health culture. Taking into account the scholars’ attitudes to the concept “healthy lifestyle” the author identifies three main components of a healthy lifestyle: health culture, health-saving activity and conditions that ensure a healthy lifestyle. The article argues that health saving needs of a person predetermine his/her health-saving activities. It reveals the main strategic sub-components of a healthy lifestyle: physical, environmental, medical, psychological and spiritual-moral activities. The work presents the normative model of a healthy lifestyle and its structure. It defines a healthy lifestyle as a model of health-saving behavior model. The author proves that the proposed normative model of a healthy lifestyle can be successfully used for the formation of health-saving educational space on the principles of inter-sectoral collaboration

  18. Age differences in striatal delay sensitivity during intertemporal choice in healthy adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregory R Samanez-Larkin

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Intertemporal choices are a ubiquitous class of decisions that involve selecting between outcomes available at different times in the future. We investigated the neural systems supporting intertemporal decisions in healthy younger and older adults. Using functional neuroimaging, we find that aging is associated with a shift in the brain areas that respond to delayed rewards. Although we replicate findings that brain regions associated with the mesolimbic dopamine system respond preferentially to immediate rewards, we find a separate region in the ventral striatum with very modest time dependence in older adults. Activation in this striatal region was relatively insensitive to delay in older but not younger adults. Since the dopamine system is believed to support associative learning about future rewards over time, our observed transfer of function may be due to greater experience with delayed rewards as people age. Identifying differences in the neural systems underlying these decisions may contribute to a more comprehensive model of age-related change in intertemporal choice.

  19. Resting-state slow wave power, healthy aging and cognitive performance

    OpenAIRE

    Eleni L. Vlahou; Franka Thurm; Iris-Tatjana Kolassa; Winfried Schlee

    2014-01-01

    Cognitive functions and spontaneous neural activity show significant changes over the life-span, but the interrelations between age, cognition and resting-state brain oscillations are not well understood. Here, we assessed performance on the Trail Making Test and resting-state magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings from 53 healthy adults (18–89 years old) to investigate associations between age-dependent changes in spontaneous oscillatory activity and cognitive performance. Results show tha...

  20. Gender- and Age-Specific REE and REE/FFM Distributions in Healthy Chinese Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Cheng

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Basic data on the resting energy expenditure (REE of healthy populations are currently rare, especially for developing countries. The aims of the present study were to describe gender- and age-specific REE distributions and to evaluate the relationships among glycolipid metabolism, eating behaviors, and REE in healthy Chinese adults. This cross-sectional survey included 540 subjects (343 women and 197 men, 20–79 years old. REE was measured by indirect calorimetry and expressed as kcal/day/kg total body weight. The data were presented as the means and percentiles for REE and the REE to fat-free mass (FFM ratio; differences were described by gender and age. Partial correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlations between REE, tertiles of REE/FFM, and glycolipid metabolism and eating behaviors. In this study, we confirmed a decline in REE with age in women (p = 0.000 and men (p = 0.000, and we found that men have a higher REE (p = 0.000 and lower REE/FFM (p = 0.021 than women. Furthermore, we observed no associations among glycolipid metabolism, eating behaviors, and REE in healthy Chinese adults. In conclusion, the results presented here may be useful to clinicians and nutritionists for comparing healthy and ill subjects and identifying changes in REE that are related to aging, malnutrition, and chronic diseases.

  1. Gender- and Age-Specific REE and REE/FFM Distributions in Healthy Chinese Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Yu; Yang, Xue; Na, Li-Xin; Li, Ying; Sun, Chang-Hao

    2016-09-01

    Basic data on the resting energy expenditure (REE) of healthy populations are currently rare, especially for developing countries. The aims of the present study were to describe gender- and age-specific REE distributions and to evaluate the relationships among glycolipid metabolism, eating behaviors, and REE in healthy Chinese adults. This cross-sectional survey included 540 subjects (343 women and 197 men, 20-79 years old). REE was measured by indirect calorimetry and expressed as kcal/day/kg total body weight. The data were presented as the means and percentiles for REE and the REE to fat-free mass (FFM) ratio; differences were described by gender and age. Partial correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlations between REE, tertiles of REE/FFM, and glycolipid metabolism and eating behaviors. In this study, we confirmed a decline in REE with age in women (p = 0.000) and men (p = 0.000), and we found that men have a higher REE (p = 0.000) and lower REE/FFM (p = 0.021) than women. Furthermore, we observed no associations among glycolipid metabolism, eating behaviors, and REE in healthy Chinese adults. In conclusion, the results presented here may be useful to clinicians and nutritionists for comparing healthy and ill subjects and identifying changes in REE that are related to aging, malnutrition, and chronic diseases.

  2. Sleep Duration and Sleep Disturbances as Predictors of Healthy and Chronic Disease-Free Life Expectancy between Ages 50 and 75

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stenholm, Sari; Head, Jenny; Kivimäki, Mika

    2018-01-01

    Background: The aim of this study was to examine the associations of sleep duration and sleep disturbances with healthy and chronic disease-free life expectancy (LE) between ages 50 and 75. Methods: Data were drawn from repeated waves of three occupational cohort studies in England, Finland...... and Sweden (n=55,494) and the follow-up ranged from 6 to 18 years. Self-reported sleep duration was categorized into healthy LE based on years in good self-rated health...... and chronic disease-free LE based on years without chronic diseases. Multistate life table models were used to estimate healthy and chronic disease-free LE from age 50 to 75 years for each category of sleep measures in each cohort. Fixed-effects meta-analysis was used to pool the cohort-specific results...

  3. Aging models of acute seizures and epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Kevin M

    2010-01-01

    Aged animals have been used by researchers to better understand the differences between the young and the aged brain and how these differences may provide insight into the mechanisms of acute seizures and epilepsy in the elderly. To date, there have been relatively few studies dedicated to the modeling of acute seizures and epilepsy in aged, healthy animals. Inherent challenges to this area of research include the costs associated with the purchase and maintenance of older animals and, at times, the unexpected and potentially confounding comorbidities associated with aging. However, recent studies using a variety of in vivo and in vitro models of acute seizures and epilepsy in mice and rats have built upon early investigations in the field, all of which has provided an expanded vision of seizure generation and epileptogenesis in the aged brain. Results of these studies could potentially translate to new and tailored interventional approaches that limit or prevent the development of epilepsy in the elderly.

  4. Healthy Adult Ageing: Multitasking Abilities and the Impact of Interruptions

    OpenAIRE

    Nevay, Robyn

    2013-01-01

    The ability to multitask plays a significant role within everyday life. This experiment investigated whether multitasking abilities are impaired in healthy adult ageing. Neuropsychological literature has shown that patients with frontal lobe damage are impaired in their ability to multitask on tests designed to assess cognitive functions used in real-life multitasking situations. Age-related reductions in brain volume are most pronounced in the frontal lobes. Therefore, it’s assumed that olde...

  5. Assessment of bone age in prepubertal healthy Korean children: Comparison among the Korean standard bone age chart, Greulich-Pyle method, and Tanner-Whitehouse method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim Jeong Rye; Lee, Young Seok; Yu, Jee Suk

    2015-01-01

    To compare the reliability of the Greulich-Pyle (GP) method, Tanner-Whitehouse 3 (TW3) method and Korean standard bone age chart (KS) in the evaluation of bone age of prepubertal healthy Korean children. Left hand-wrist radiographs of 212 prepubertal healthy Korean children aged 7 to 12 years, obtained for the evaluation of the traumatic injury in emergency department, were analyzed by two observers. Bone age was estimated using the GP method, TW3 method and KS, and was calculated in months. The correlation between bone age measured by each method and chronological age of each child was analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient, scatterplot. The three methods were compared using one-way analysis of variance. Significant correlations were found between chronological age and bone age estimated by all three methods in whole group and in each gender (R2 ranged from 0.87 to 0.9, p < 0.01). Although bone age estimated by KS was slightly closer to chronological age than those estimated by the GP and TW3 methods, the difference between three methods was not statistically significant (p > 0.01). The KS, GP, and TW3 methods show good reliability in the evaluation of bone age of prepubertal healthy Korean children without significant difference between them. Any are useful for evaluation of bone age in prepubertal healthy Korean children.

  6. Dietary quality, lifestyle factors and healthy ageing in Europe: the SENECA study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haveman-Nies, A.; Groot, de C.P.G.M.; Staveren, van W.A.

    2003-01-01

    Objective: to identify dietary and lifestyle factors that contribute to healthy ageing. Subjects: for the analyses, data of the longitudinal SENECA study were used. The study population consisted of 1091 men and 1109 women aged 70-75 years from Belgium, France, Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands,

  7. Static postural balance in healthy individuals: Comparisons between three age groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanne Salviano Pereira

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to compare static postural balance of healthy individuals of three age groups in different conditions of support and vision. Seventy one individuals, divided into 3 groups, were analyzed: young group (YG: 22.2 ± 2.1 years, middle aged group (MAG: 50.7 ± 5.7 years and older individuals group (EG: 66.8 ± 5.4 years. Their balance was tested on a force platform, under 3 support and 3 visual conditions. Measures included: total (TD, anterior-posterior (APD and mediolateral displacement (MLD of the center of pressure (CoP. ANOVA revealed significant differences for interactions between group X support conditions and group X visual conditions for the 3 variables (p<0.01, with greater displacements for the MAG and EG groups during single-leg stance with partial and occluded vision (p<0.05. Static postural balance decreased over time in healthy individuals, and conditions of support and visual negatively affected balance with the increment of age.

  8. Promoting Cognitive Health: A Formative Research Collaboration of the Healthy Aging Research Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laditka, James N.; Beard, Renee L.; Bryant, Lucinda L.; Fetterman, David; Hunter, Rebecca; Ivey, Susan; Logsdon, Rebecca G.; Sharkey, Joseph R.; Wu, Bei

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: Evidence suggests that healthy lifestyles may help maintain cognitive health. The Prevention Research Centers Healthy Aging Research Network, 9 universities collaborating with their communities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is conducting a multiyear research project, begun in 2005, to understand how to translate this…

  9. Healthy Aging and Compensation of Sentence Comprehension Auditory Deficits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcela Lima Silagi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. To analyze the effect of aging on sentence auditory comprehension and to study the relationship between this language skill and cognitive functions (attention, working memory, and executive functions. Methods. A total of 90 healthy subjects were divided into three groups: adults (50–59 years, young-old (60–69 years, and old-old (70–80 years. Subjects were assessed using the Revised Token Test. The measures used for performance analysis were number of correct answers (accuracy and execution time of commands on the different subtests. Results. Regarding accuracy, groups showed similar performance on the first blocks, but the young-old and old-old performed worse than adults on blocks 9 and 10. With respect to execution time, groups differed from block 2 (i.e., the groups differed for all blocks, except for block 1, with the worst performance observed in the old-old group, followed by that of the young-old group. Therefore, the elderly required more time to attain performance similar to that of adults, showing that time measurements are more sensitive for detecting the effects of age. Sentence comprehension ability is correlated with cognitive test performance, especially for global cognition and working memory tests. Conclusions. Healthy aging is characterized by the ability to compensate for difficulties in linguistic processing, which allows the elderly to maintain functional communication.

  10. Age Effects on Upper Limb Kinematics Assessed by the REAplan Robot in Healthy Subjects Aged 3 to 93 Years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilliaux, Maxime; Lejeune, Thierry M; Sapin, Julien; Dehez, Bruno; Stoquart, Gaëtan; Detrembleur, Christine

    2016-04-01

    Kinematics is recommended for the quantitative assessment of upper limb movements. The aims of this study were to determine the age effects on upper limb kinematics and establish normative values in healthy subjects. Three hundred and seventy healthy subjects, aged 3-93 years, participated in the study. They performed two unidirectional and two geometrical tasks ten consecutive times with the REAplan, a distal effector robotic device that allows upper limb displacements in the horizontal plane. Twenty-six kinematic indices were computed for the four tasks. For the four tasks, nineteen of the computed kinematic indices showed an age effect. Seventeen indices (the accuracy, speed and smoothness indices and the reproducibility of the accuracy, speed and smoothness) improved in young subjects aged 3-30 years, showed stabilization in adults aged 30-60 years and declined in elderly subjects aged 60-93 years. Additionally, for both geometrical tasks, the speed index exhibited a decrease throughout life. Finally, a principal component analysis provided the relations between the kinematic indices, tasks and subjects' age. This study is the first to assess age effects on upper limb kinematics and establish normative values in subjects aged 3-93 years.

  11. Developmental Trajectories From Birth to School Age in Healthy Term-Born Children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roze, E.; Meijer, Lisethe; Van Braeckel, K.N.J.A.; Ruiter, S.A.J.; Bruggink, J.L.M.; Bos, A.F.

    OBJECTIVE: To determine the stability of the scores obtained on tests of motor development from birth until school age in healthy, term singletons and to determine if early motor scores are associated with more complex cognitive functions at school age, such as attention and memory. PATIENTS AND

  12. Distinguishing rhythmic from non-rhythmic brain activity during rest in healthy neurocognitive aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caplan, Jeremy B; Bottomley, Monica; Kang, Pardeep; Dixon, Roger A

    2015-05-15

    Rhythmic brain activity at low frequencies (healthy neurocognitive aging are mixed. Here we address two reasons conventional spectral analyses may have led to inconsistent results. First, spectral-power measures are compared to a baseline condition; when resting activity is the signal of interest, it is unclear what the baseline should be. Second, conventional methods do not clearly differentiate power due to rhythmic versus non-rhythmic activity. The Better OSCillation detection method (BOSC; Caplan et al., 2001; Whitten et al., 2011) avoids these problems by using the signal's own spectral characteristics as a reference to detect elevations in power lasting a few cycles. We recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) signal during rest, alternating eyes open and closed, in healthy younger (18-25 years) and older (60-74 years) participants. Topographic plots suggested the conventional and BOSC analyses measured different sources of activity, particularly at frequencies, like delta (1-4Hz), at which rhythms are sporadic; topographies were more similar in the 8-12Hz alpha band. There was little theta-band activity meeting the BOSC method's criteria, suggesting prior findings of theta power in healthy aging may reflect non-rhythmic signal. In contrast, delta oscillations were present at higher levels than theta in both age groups. In summary, applying strict and standardized criteria for rhythmicity, slow rhythms appear present in the resting brain at delta and alpha, but not theta frequencies, and appear unchanged in healthy aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Genetics and pharmacology of longevity: the road to therapeutics for healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo-Quan, Jorge Iván; Kinghorn, Kerri J; Bjedov, Ivana

    2015-01-01

    Aging can be defined as the progressive decline in tissue and organismal function and the ability to respond to stress that occurs in association with homeostatic failure and the accumulation of molecular damage. Aging is the biggest risk factor for human disease and results in a wide range of aging pathologies. Although we do not completely understand the underlying molecular basis that drives the aging process, we have gained exceptional insights into the plasticity of life span and healthspan from the use of model organisms such as the worm Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Single-gene mutations in key cellular pathways that regulate environmental sensing, and the response to stress, have been identified that prolong life span across evolution from yeast to mammals. These genetic manipulations also correlate with a delay in the onset of tissue and organismal dysfunction. While the molecular genetics of aging will remain a prosperous and attractive area of research in biogerontology, we are moving towards an era defined by the search for therapeutic drugs that promote healthy aging. Translational biogerontology will require incorporation of both therapeutic and pharmacological concepts. The use of model organisms will remain central to the quest for drug discovery, but as we uncover molecular processes regulated by repurposed drugs and polypharmacy, studies of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, drug-drug interactions, drug toxicity, and therapeutic index will slowly become more prevalent in aging research. As we move from genetics to pharmacology and therapeutics, studies will not only require demonstration of life span extension and an underlying molecular mechanism, but also the translational relevance for human health and disease prevention. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Non-coding genomic regions possessing enhancer and silencer potential are associated with healthy aging and exceptional survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sangkyu; Welsh, David A; Myers, Leann; Cherry, Katie E; Wyckoff, Jennifer; Jazwinski, S Michal

    2015-02-28

    We have completed a genome-wide linkage scan for healthy aging using data collected from a family study, followed by fine-mapping by association in a separate population, the first such attempt reported. The family cohort consisted of parents of age 90 or above and their children ranging in age from 50 to 80. As a quantitative measure of healthy aging, we used a frailty index, called FI34, based on 34 health and function variables. The linkage scan found a single significant linkage peak on chromosome 12. Using an independent cohort of unrelated nonagenarians, we carried out a fine-scale association mapping of the region suggestive of linkage and identified three sites associated with healthy aging. These healthy-aging sites (HASs) are located in intergenic regions at 12q13-14. HAS-1 has been previously associated with multiple diseases, and an enhancer was recently mapped and experimentally validated within the site. HAS-2 is a previously uncharacterized site possessing genomic features suggestive of enhancer activity. HAS-3 contains features associated with Polycomb repression. The HASs also contain variants associated with exceptional longevity, based on a separate analysis. Our results provide insight into functional genomic networks involving non-coding regulatory elements that are involved in healthy aging and longevity.

  15. DNA methylation age is elevated in breast tissue of healthy women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sehl, Mary E; Henry, Jill E; Storniolo, Anna Maria; Ganz, Patricia A; Horvath, Steve

    2017-07-01

    Limited evidence suggests that female breast tissue ages faster than other parts of the body according to an epigenetic biomarker of aging known as the "epigenetic clock." However, it is unknown whether breast tissue samples from healthy women show a similar accelerated aging effect relative to other tissues, and what could drive this acceleration. The goal of this study is to validate our initial finding of advanced DNA methylation (DNAm) age in breast tissue, by directly comparing it to that of peripheral blood tissue from the same individuals, and to do a preliminary assessment of hormonal factors that could explain the difference. We utilized n = 80 breast and 80 matching blood tissue samples collected from 40 healthy female participants of the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center who donated these samples at two time points spaced at least a year apart. DNA methylation levels (Illumina 450K platform) were used to estimate the DNAm age. DNAm age was highly correlated with chronological age in both peripheral blood (r = 0.94, p < 0.0001) and breast tissues (r = 0.86, p < 0.0001). A measure of epigenetic age acceleration (age-adjusted DNAm Age) was substantially increased in breast relative to peripheral blood tissue (p = 1.6 × 10 -11 ). The difference between DNAm age of breast and blood decreased with advancing chronologic age (r = -0.53, p = 4.4 × 10 -4 ). Our data clearly demonstrate that female breast tissue has a higher epigenetic age than blood collected from the same subject. We also observe that the degree of elevation in breast diminishes with advancing age. Future larger studies will be needed to examine associations between epigenetic age acceleration and cumulative hormone exposure.

  16. Life style and longevity among initially healthy middle-aged men: prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heir, Trond; Erikssen, Jan; Sandvik, Leiv

    2013-09-11

    Few studies have examined how various lifestyle factors in midlife predict longevity, and none of these studies have examined the impact of physical fitness. The present study aimed to examine longevity in relation to smoking, overweight and physical fitness. We prospectively studied longevity (defined as reaching at least 85 years of age) in relation to smoking status, body mass index and physical fitness in 821 healthy men between 51 and 59 years of age. Of these, 369 were smokers, 320 were overweight, and 31 were obese. The associations were adjusted for age, systolic blood pressure and cholesterol level, using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Deaths were registered until the 31st of December, 2006. Physical fitness was measured as the total work performed in a maximal exercise tolerance bicycle test. 252 men survived to the age of 85 years (30.7%). Smoking status was significantly and independently related to longevity; 37.2% of the non-smokers survived to the age of 85, and 22.8% of the smokers. Among non-smokers, overweight and physical fitness were significantly and independently related to longevity after adjustment for age, blood pressure and cholesterol level, but not among smokers. Among non-smokers with high physical fitness, 48.8% reached the age of 85 years, compared to 27.9% among non-smokers with low physical fitness. Lifestyle variables appear to be strong and independent predictors of longevity in initially healthy middle-aged men. The probability of longevity may be a useful concept when informing the general public about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

  17. Exercise participation and diet monitoring in pursuit of healthy aging ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study examined the level of exercise participation and diet monitoring in pursuit of healthy aging. Descriptive survey research design and self-structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. Proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select two hundred ...

  18. Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression in Individuals With Schizophrenia and Healthy Aging: Testing the Accelerated Aging Hypothesis of Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, Farhana; Mulsant, Benoit H; Voineskos, Aristotle N; Rajji, Tarek K

    2017-07-01

    Schizophrenia has been hypothesized to be a syndrome of accelerated aging. Brain plasticity is vulnerable to the normal aging process and affected in schizophrenia: brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an important neuroplasticity molecule. The present review explores the accelerated aging hypothesis of schizophrenia by comparing changes in BDNF expression in schizophrenia with aging-associated changes. Individuals with schizophrenia show patterns of increased overall mortality, metabolic abnormalities, and cognitive decline normally observed later in life in the healthy population. An overall decrease is observed in BDNF expression in schizophrenia compared to healthy controls and in older individuals compared to a younger cohort. There is a marked decrease in BDNF levels in the frontal regions and in the periphery among older individuals and those with schizophrenia; however, data for BDNF expression in the occipital, parietal, and temporal cortices and the hippocampus is inconclusive. Accelerated aging hypothesis is supported based on frontal regions and peripheral studies; however, further studies are needed in other brain regions.

  19. Fat Replacement of Paraspinal Muscles with Aging in Healthy Adults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahlqvist, Julia R; Vissing, Christoffer R; Hedermann, Gitte

    2017-01-01

    also tested for association with sex, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, and lower back pain. RESULTS: Both paraspinal and leg fat fractions correlated directly with age (P ages, fat fraction was higher in paraspinal than leg muscles. The age-related increase in fat fraction...... was associated with lumbar paraspinal fat fraction (P activity or lower back pain. CONCLUSION: The paraspinal muscles were more susceptible to age-related changes than leg muscles. Further, men had......PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to investigate the age-related changes in fatty replacement and cross-sectional area (CSA) of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar paraspinal muscles versus leg muscles in healthy adults and to test for association between muscle fat fraction and lifestyle factors...

  20. Healthy Aging in Community for Older Lesbians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradford, Judith B; Putney, Jennifer M; Shepard, Bonnie L; Sass, Samantha E; Rudicel, Sally; Ladd, Holly; Cahill, Sean

    2016-04-01

    In Boston and Outer Cape, Massachusetts, we explored the expectations of lesbians 60 years and older regarding healthy aging and community importance. Focus groups were conducted with participants after completing an anonymous demographic questionnaire. Thematic analysis was used to generate themes and identify how they varied by urban versus rural settings. Group discussions focused on community, finances, housing, and healthcare. Primary concerns included continued access to supportive and lesbian communities as a source of resilience during aging. Concerns about discrimination and isolation mirror themes found in national research. The study findings suggest a need for more research into the housing and transportation needs of lesbians approaching later life, with a focus on how those needs relate to affordability, accessibility, and proximity to social support and healthcare. These findings also suggest the need for substantial investments in strengthening the LGBT-related cultural competence of providers of services for the elderly.

  1. The role of income and occupation in the association of education with healthy aging: results from a population-based, prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Christine M; St John, Philip D; Cheverie, Madelon R; Iraniparast, Maryam; Tyas, Suzanne L

    2015-11-25

    The beneficial effects of higher education on healthy aging are generally accepted, but the mechanisms are less well understood. Education may influence healthy aging through improved employment opportunities that enhance feelings of personal control and reduce hazardous exposures, or through higher incomes that enable individuals to access better health care or to reside in better neighbourhoods. Income and occupation have not been explored extensively as potential mediators of the effect of education on healthy aging. This study investigates the role of income and occupation in the association between education and healthy aging including potential effect modification by gender. Logistic regression was used to explore the association of education, income (perceived income adequacy, life satisfaction with finances) and occupation (occupational prestige) with healthy aging five years later in 946 community-dwelling adults 65+ years from a population-based, prospective cohort study in Manitoba, Canada. Higher levels of education generally increased the likelihood of healthy aging. After adjusting for education, both income measures, but not occupation, predicted healthy aging among men; furthermore, the association between education and healthy aging was no longer significant. Income and occupation did not explain the significant association between education and healthy aging among women. Perceived income adequacy and life satisfaction with finances explained the beneficial effects of higher education on healthy aging among men, but not women. Identifying predictors of healthy aging and the mechanisms through which these factors exert their effects can inform strategies to maximize the likelihood of healthy aging.

  2. Work, eat and sleep : towards a healthy ageing at work program offshore

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Riethmeister, Vanessa; Brouwer, Sandra; van der Klink, Jac; Bültmann, Ute

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Health management tools need to be developed to foster healthy ageing at work and sustain employability of ageing work-forces. The objectives of this study were to 1) perform a needs assessment to identify the needs of offshore workers in the Dutch Continental Shelf with regard to

  3. Effects of ageing on serotonin transporters in healthy females

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuikka, J.T.; Tammela, L.; Karhunen, L.; Uusitupa, M.; Bergstroem, K.A.; Tiihonen, J.

    2001-01-01

    The effect of ageing on brain serotonin transporters was evaluated in 19 healthy female volunteers (age range 22-74 years) using single-photon emission tomography and [ 123 I] nor-β-CIT. The study subjects were scanned 0.3, 3, 6 and 23 h after injection of 185 MBq of [ 123 I] nor-β-CIT. The ratio of the distribution volume for tracer in the midbrain to that in the cerebellum minus 1 was used as an index for serotonin transporter binding. An age-related decline of 2% per decade (r=-0.47; P 123 I] nor-β-CIT binding in the serotonin transporter-rich area is much less than that in dopamine transporters in the striatum (6% per decade). (orig.)

  4. Positive Technology for Healthy Living and Active Ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riva, Giuseppe; Gaggioli, Andrea; Villani, Daniela; Cipresso, Pietro; Repetto, Claudia; Serino, Silvia; Triberti, Stefano; Brivio, Eleonora; Galimberti, Carlo; Graffigna, Guendalina

    2014-01-01

    Information and communication technologies are widely and rapidly spreading in people's daily lives. But what is the possible role of the mass proliferation of digital devices in supporting healthy living and active ageing? Are they useful in fostering personal growth and individual integration of the elderly, by promoting satisfaction, opportunities for action, and self-expression? Rather, do they enhance automation, impose constraints on personal initiative, and result in compulsive consumption of information? In this chapter, we suggest that possible answers to these questions will be offered by the "Positive Technology" approach, i.e., the scientific and applied approach to using technology so that it improves the quality of our personal experiences through its structuring, augmentation, and/or replacement. First, we suggest that it is possible to use technology to manipulate the quality of experience with the goal of increasing wellness and generating strengths and resilience in individuals, organizations, and society. Then, we classify positive technologies according to their effects on these three features of personal experience - Hedonic: technologies used to induce positive and pleasant experiences; Eudaimonic: technologies used to support individuals in reaching engaging and self-actualizing experiences; Social/Interpersonal: technologies used to support and improve the connectedness between individuals, groups, and organizations. Finally, we discuss the possible role of positive technologies for healthy living and active ageing by presenting different practical applications of this approach.

  5. Clinical and laboratory characteristics of active and healthy aging (AHA) in octogenarian men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rantanen, Kirsi K; Strandberg, Timo E; Stenholm, Sari S; Strandberg, Arto Y; Pitkälä, Kaisu H; Salomaa, Veikko V; Tilvis, Reijo S

    2015-10-01

    To investigate clinical and laboratory variables associated with good subjective and objective health ("active and healthy aging", AHA) in a cohort of octogenarian men. Cross-sectional analyses of a longitudinal study. The Helsinki Businessmen Study in Finland. A socioeconomically homogenous cohort of men (baseline n = 3293), born in 1919-1934, has been followed up from the 1960s. From 2000, the men have been regularly sent mailed questionnaires and mortality has been retrieved from national registers. In 2010 survey, AHA was defined as independently responding to the mailed survey, feeling happy without cognitive or functional impairments and without major diseases. In 2010/11, a random subgroup men was clinically investigated and survivors with healthy and nonhealthy aging were compared. By 2010, 1788 men of the baseline cohort had died, and 894 men responded to the mailed survey. 154 (17.2 %) of those fulfilled the present AHA criteria. Increasing number of criteria were negatively (P active and healthy aging over their life course, which was significantly related to markers of frailty but not to the traditional vascular risk factors.

  6. A holistic approach to healthy ageing: how can people live longer, healthier lives?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calder, P C; Carding, S R; Christopher, G; Kuh, D; Langley-Evans, S C; McNulty, H

    2018-06-03

    Although lifespan is increasing, there is no evidence to suggest that older people are experiencing better health in their later years than previous generations. Nutrition, at all stages of life, plays an important role in determining health and wellbeing. A roundtable meeting of UK experts on nutrition and ageing considered key aspects of the diet-ageing relationship and developed a consensus position on the main priorities for research and public health actions that are required to help people live healthier lives as they age. The group consensus highlighted the requirement for a life course approach, recognising the multifactorial nature of the impact of ageing. Environmental and lifestyle influences at any life stage are modified by genetic factors and early development. The response to the environment at each stage of life can determine the impact of lifestyle later on. There are no key factors that act in isolation to determine patterns of ageing and it is a combination of environmental and social factors that drives healthy or unhealthy ageing. Too little is known about how contemporary dietary patterns and sedentary lifestyles will impact upon healthy ageing in future generations and this is a priority for future research. There is good evidence to support change to lifestyle (i.e. diet, nutrition and physical) activity in relation to maintaining or improving body composition, cognitive health and emotional intelligence, immune function and vascular health. Lifestyle change at any stage of life may extend healthy lifespan, although the impact of early changes appears to be greatest. © 2018 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

  7. Normative perceptual estimates for 91 healthy subjects age 60-75

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wilms, Inge Linda; Nielsen, Simon

    2014-01-01

    Visual perception serves as the basis for much of the higher level cognitive processing as well as human activity in general. Here we present normative estimates for the following components of visual perception: the visual perceptual threshold, the visual short-term memory capacity and the visual...... perceptual encoding/decoding speed (processing speed) of visual short-term memory based on an assessment of 91 healthy subjects aged 60-75. The estimates are presented at total sample level as well as at gender level. The estimates were modelled from input from a whole-report assessment based on A Theory...... speed of Visual Short-term Memory (VTSM) but not the capacity of VSTM nor the visual threshold. The estimates will be useful for future studies into the effects of various types of intervention and training on cognition in general and visual attention in particular....

  8. Scaling up strategies of the chronic respiratory disease programme of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bousquet, J; Farrell, J; Crooks, G

    2016-01-01

    Action Plan B3 of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) focuses on the integrated care of chronic diseases. Area 5 (Care Pathways) was initiated using chronic respiratory diseases as a model. The chronic respiratory disease action plan includes (1) AIRWAYS ...

  9. Reading in Healthy Aging: Selective Use of Information Structuring Cues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Jessica M.; Sanford, Anthony J.

    2018-01-01

    Previous research has shown that information referring to a named character or to information in the main clause of a sentence is more accessible and facilitates the processing of anaphoric references. We investigated whether the use of such cues are maintained in healthy aging. We present two experiments investigating whether information…

  10. Cranberry interacts with dietary macronutrients to promote healthy aging in Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Cecilia; Yolitz, Jason; Alberico, Thomas; Laslo, Mara; Sun, Yaning; Wheeler, Charles T; Sun, Xiaoping; Zou, Sige

    2014-08-01

    Botanicals possess numerous bioactivities, and some promote healthy aging. Dietary macronutrients are major determinants of life span. The interaction between botanicals and macronutrients that modulates life span is not well understood. Here, we investigated the effect of a cranberry-containing botanical on life span and the influence of macronutrients on the longevity-related effect of cranberry in Drosophila. Flies were supplemented with cranberry on three dietary conditions: standard, high sugar-low protein, and low sugar-high protein diets. We found that cranberry slightly extended life span in males fed with the low sugar-high protein diet but not with other diets. Cranberry extended life span in females fed with the standard diet and more prominently the high sugar-low protein diet but not with the low sugar-high protein diet. Life-span extension was associated with increased reproduction and higher expression of oxidative stress and heat shock response genes. Moreover, cranberry improved survival of sod1 knockdown and dfoxo mutant flies but did not increase wild-type fly's resistance to acute oxidative stress. Cranberry slightly extended life span in flies fed with a high-fat diet. These findings suggest that cranberry promotes healthy aging by increasing stress responsiveness. Our study reveals an interaction of cranberry with dietary macronutrients and stresses the importance of considering diet composition in designing interventions for promoting healthy aging. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America 2013.

  11. Predictors of Long-Term Healthy Arterial Aging: Coronary Artery Calcium Nondevelopment in the MESA Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whelton, Seamus P; Silverman, Michael G; McEvoy, John W; Budoff, Matthew J; Blankstein, Ron; Eng, John; Blumenthal, Roger S; Szklo, Moyses; Nasir, Khurram; Blaha, Michael J

    2015-12-01

    This study sought to determine the predictors of healthy arterial aging. Long-term nondevelopment of coronary artery calcification (persistent CAC = 0) is a marker of healthy arterial aging. The predictors of this phenotype are not known. We analyzed 1,850 participants from MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) with baseline CAC = 0 who underwent a follow-up CAC scan at visit 5 (median 9.6 years after baseline). We examined the proportion with persistent CAC = 0 and calculated multivariable relative risks and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for prediction of this healthy arterial aging phenotype. We found that 55% of participants (n = 1,000) had persistent CAC = 0, and these individuals were significantly more likely to be younger, female, and have fewer traditional risk factors (RF). Participants with an ASCVD (Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score) risk score healthy arterial aging than were participants with an ASCVD score ≥7.5%. There was no significant association between the Healthy Lifestyle variables (body mass index, physical activity, Mediterranean diet, and never smoking) and persistent CAC = 0. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve incorporating age, sex, and ethnicity was 0.65, indicating fair to poor discrimination. No single traditional RF or combination of other risk factors increased the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve by more than 0.05. Whereas participants free of traditional cardiovascular disease RF were significantly more likely to have persistent CAC = 0, there was no single RF or specific low-risk RF phenotype that markedly improved the discrimination of persistent CAC = 0 over demographic variables. Therefore, we conclude that healthy arterial aging may be predominantly influenced by the long-term maintenance of a low cardiovascular disease risk profile or yet to be determined genetic factors rather than the absence of any specific RF cluster identified

  12. Towards measurement of the Healthy Ageing Phenotype in lifestyle-based intervention studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara, Jose; Godfrey, Alan; Evans, Elizabeth; Heaven, Ben; Brown, Laura J E; Barron, Evelyn; Rochester, Lynn; Meyer, Thomas D; Mathers, John C

    2013-10-01

    Given the biological complexity of the ageing process, there is no single, simple and reliable measure of how healthily someone is ageing. Intervention studies need a panel of measures which capture key features of healthy ageing. To help guide our research in this area, we have adopted the concept of the "Healthy Ageing Phenotype" (HAP) and this study aimed to (i) identify the most important features of the HAP and (ii) identify/develop tools for measurement of those features. After a comprehensive assessment of the literature we selected the following domains: physiological and metabolic health, physical capability, cognitive function, social wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing which we hoped would provide a reasonably holistic characterisation of the HAP. We reviewed the literature and identified systematic reviews and/or meta-analysis of cohort studies, and clinical guidelines on outcome measures of these domains relevant to the HAP. Selection criteria for these measures included: frequent use in longitudinal studies of ageing; expected to change with age; evidence for strong association with/prediction of ageing-related phenotypes such as morbidity, mortality and lifespan; whenever possible, focus on studies measuring these outcomes in populations rather than on individuals selected on the basis of a particular disease; (bio)markers that respond to (lifestyle-based) intervention. Proposed markers were exposed to critique in a Workshop held in Newcastle, UK in October 2012. We have selected a tentative panel of (bio)markers of physiological and metabolic health, physical capability, cognitive function, social wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing which we propose may be useful in characterising the HAP and which may have utility as outcome measures in intervention studies. In addition, we have identified a number of tools which could be applied in community-based intervention studies designed to enhance healthy ageing. We have proposed, tentatively, a panel

  13. The Mediterranean Lifestyle as a Non-Pharmacological and Natural Antioxidant for Healthy Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyriazoula Chatzianagnostou

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Oxidative stress has been suggested to affect age-associated physiological dysfunction. Therefore, it is speculated that antioxidant supplements could have a potential role in preventing age-related diseases and death. Among different dietary habits, the highly antioxidant Mediterranean dietary pattern, which includes high vegetable and fruit intake, consumption of legumes, cereals, and fish, low intake of meat and dairy derivatives, moderate red wine consumption, and use of extra-virgin olive oil, is characterized by other aspects than food, such as conviviality, sensory stimulation, socialization, biodiversity, and seasonality that can reinforce the Mediterranean diet’s (MeD beneficial effects on wellbeing, quality of life, and healthy aging. The present review aims to discuss available data on the relationship between oxidative stress and aging, biomarkers of oxidative stress status, protective effects of the MeD, and the adoption of the Mediterranean lifestyle as a non-pharmacological and natural tool to cope with oxidative stress damage for a longer life span, and—even more important—healthy aging beyond the biological, psychological, and social challenges that old age entails.

  14. Changes in the Muscle strength and functional performance of healthy women with aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roghayeh Mousavikhatir

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background: Lower limbs antigravity muscles weakness and decreased functional ability have significant role in falling. The aim of this study was to find the effects of aging on muscle strength and functional ability, determining the range of decreasing strength and functional ability and relationship between them in healthy women. Methods: Across-section study was performed on 101 healthy women aged 21-80 years. The participants were divided into six age groups. The maximum isometric strength of four muscle groups was measured using a hand-held dynamometer bilaterally. The functional ability was measured with functional reach (FR, timed get up and go (TGUG, single leg stance (SLS, and stairs walking (SW tests. Results: Muscle strength changes were not significant between 21-40 years of age, but decreased significantly thereafter. Also, there was a significant relationship between muscle strength and functional ability in age groups. Conclusion: Both muscle strength and functional ability is reduced as a result of aging, but the decrease in functional ability can be detected earlier.

  15. Age dependent white matter lesions and brain volume changes in healthy volunteers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, P; Larsson, H B; Thomsen, C

    1994-01-01

    The brain of 142 healthy volunteers aged 21 to 80 years were investigated using MR imaging. The number and size of the white matter hyperintensity lesions (WMHL) in the cerebral hemispheres were determined. Furthermore, the volume of the cerebral hemispheres and of the lateral ventricles was meas......The brain of 142 healthy volunteers aged 21 to 80 years were investigated using MR imaging. The number and size of the white matter hyperintensity lesions (WMHL) in the cerebral hemispheres were determined. Furthermore, the volume of the cerebral hemispheres and of the lateral ventricles...... was measured. An almost linear increase in the number of volunteers with WMHL was seen with aging for males and females. With aging a significant decrease in the volume of the cerebral hemispheres was found for males, and a significant increase in the volume of the lateral ventricles was seen for both males...... and females. Our results suggest that with aging central atrophy increases more (relatively) than cortical atrophy. No correlation was found between the decreasing volume of the cerebral hemispheres and the increasing number and size of WMHL, nor between the increasing volume of the lateral ventricles...

  16. Failing to Focus on Healthy Aging: A Frailty of Our Discipline?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Susan M; Shah, Krupa; Hall, William J

    2015-07-01

    The academic geriatrics community has provided outstanding leadership in addressing frailty and complexity in older adults, but a minority of older adults are frail. Although resources to treat older adults are limited, and it is appropriate to focus clinical efforts on those with frailty and multimorbidity, there is also important expertise that can be brought to bear on the health of ALL older adults. A review of the literature suggests that attention to healthy or successful aging has failed to keep pace with the focus on frailty. By providing leadership to promote successful aging, the quality of life of older adults across the spectrum can be improved and transitions to frailty reduced. The template that leaders have established in understanding frailty-defining and operationalizing it, understanding outcomes, identifying pathophysiology-can be used as an approach to successful aging. Several community-based programs have been successful in promoting successful aging. These are potentially highly scalable and could have a substantial effect on the aging population, but their essential components need to be better understood. The geriatrics community is uniquely positioned to take on this role. This is a critical time to work together to make the lives of all older adults as healthy and fulfilling as possible. © 2015, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2015, The American Geriatrics Society.

  17. Association of 10-year C-reactive protein trajectories with markers of healthy aging: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lassale, Camille; Batty, G David; Steptoe, Andrew; Cadar, Dorina; Akbaraly, Tasnime N; Kivimäki, Mika; Zaninotto, Paola

    2018-02-15

    Elevated systematic inflammation is a hallmark of aging, but the association of long-term inflammation trajectories with subsequent aging phenotypes has been little examined. We assessed inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) repeatedly over time and examined whether long-term changes predicted aging outcomes. A total of 2,437 men and women aged 47-87 years at baseline (1998-2001) who were participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing had CRP measured on two or three occasions between 1998 and 2009. Inflammation trajectories were computed using latent-class growth mixture modelling and were related to aging outcomes measured in 2012/2013: physical functioning, cardiometabolic, respiratory, mental health, and a composite "healthy aging" outcome. Four CRP trajectories were identified: 'stable-low' (71% of the sample) with baseline mean 1.33mg/L remaining <3mg/L; 'medium-to-high' (14%) with baseline 2.7mg/L rising to 5.3mg/L; 'high-to-medium' (10%) with baseline 6.6mg/L decreasing to 2.4mg/L; 'stable-high' (5%) with levels from 5.7 to 7.5mg/L. Relative to the stable-low trajectory, individuals in the medium-to-high had a higher risk of limitations in basic activities of daily living (ADL, Odds Ratio; 95% Confidence Interval: 2.09; 1.51,2.88), instrumental ADL (1.62; 1.15,2.30), impaired balance (1.59; 1.20,2.11) and walking speed (1.61; 1.15,2.24), arthritis (1.55; 1.16,2.06), hypertension (1.57; 1.21,2.04), obesity (1.95; 1.36,2.80), poor respiratory function (1.84; 1.36,2.50), and depression (1.55; 1.13,2.12). A lower odds of healthy aging was observed in people in the medium-to-high (0.57; 0.40,0.79) and stable-high (0.50; 0.27,0.91) trajectories. Older people who displayed an elevation in CRP levels over a decade experienced an increased risk of adverse aging outcomes.

  18. Analysis of longitudinal diffusion-weighted images in healthy and pathological aging: An ADNI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruggel, Frithjof; Masaki, Fumitaro; Solodkin, Ana

    2017-02-15

    The widely used framework of voxel-based morphometry for analyzing neuroimages is extended here to model longitudinal imaging data by exchanging the linear model with a linear mixed-effects model. The new approach is employed for analyzing a large longitudinal sample of 756 diffusion-weighted images acquired in 177 subjects of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging initiative (ADNI). While sample- and group-level results from both approaches are equivalent, the mixed-effect model yields information at the single subject level. Interestingly, the neurobiological relevance of the relevant parameter at the individual level describes specific differences associated with aging. In addition, our approach highlights white matter areas that reliably discriminate between patients with Alzheimer's disease and healthy controls with a predictive power of 0.99 and include the hippocampal alveus, the para-hippocampal white matter, the white matter of the posterior cingulate, and optic tracts. In this context, notably the classifier includes a sub-population of patients with minimal cognitive impairment into the pathological domain. Our classifier offers promising features for an accessible biomarker that predicts the risk of conversion to Alzheimer's disease. Data used in preparation of this article were obtained from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database (adni.loni.usc.edu). As such, the investigators within the ADNI contributed to the design and implementation of ADNI and/or provided data but did not participate in analysis or writing of this report. A complete listing of ADNI investigators can be found at: http://adni.loni.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/how to apply/ADNI Acknowledgement List.pdf. Significance statement This study assesses neuro-degenerative processes in the brain's white matter as revealed by diffusion-weighted imaging, in order to discriminate healthy from pathological aging in a large sample of elderly subjects. The analysis of time

  19. Evaluation of the thyroid blood flow with Doppler ultrasonography in healthy school-aged children

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yazici, Burhan; Simsek, Enver; Erdogmus, Besir; Bahcebasi, Talat; Aktas, Alev; Buyukkaya, Ramazan; Uzun, Hakan; Safak, Alp Alper

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To determine the relationship between thyroid blood flow and anthropometric measurements, pubertal stage, and thyroid and gonadotropic hormones. Materials and methods: We examined 123 healthy school-aged children prospectively (69 boys (56.1%) and 54 girls (43.9%), 7-17 years old). Their sex, age, body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and pubertal stage were determined. Serum thyrotropin, free thyroxine, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone were measured in both genders, along with testosterone in boys and estradiol in girls. The peak systolic velocity (PSV), resistance index (RI), and pulsatility index (PI) of the superior thyroid artery were determined. The correlations between the Doppler parameters and these factors were investigated. Results: There were no differences in age, weight, height, BMI, thyroid volume, PSV, RI, or PI between boys and girls (P > 0.05). The PSV and PI showed strong correlations with age, height, weight, puberty stage, thyroid volume, and BMI. The RI showed a strong inverse correlation with age, height, weight, puberty stage, and thyroid volume and a weak inverse correlation with the BMI. Conclusion: Determination of the thyroid arterial flow in normal healthy children is important during a Doppler ultrasound (US) examination. Doppler US parameters and their percentiles should be described in healthy children from different age groups, and these percentiles will aid in interpreting Doppler US in children

  20. Evaluation of the thyroid blood flow with Doppler ultrasonography in healthy school-aged children

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yazici, Burhan [Department of Radiology, Duzce University School of Medicine, Konuralp, Duzce 81620 (Turkey)], E-mail: dryazici@yahoo.com; Simsek, Enver [Department of Pediatrics, Duzce University School of Medicine, Konuralp, Duzce (Turkey); Erdogmus, Besir [Department of Radiology, Duzce University School of Medicine, Konuralp, Duzce 81620 (Turkey); Bahcebasi, Talat [Department of Public Health, Duzce University School of Medicine, Konuralp, Duzce (Turkey); Aktas, Alev [Department of Pediatrics, Duzce University School of Medicine, Konuralp, Duzce (Turkey); Buyukkaya, Ramazan [Department of Radiology, Duzce University School of Medicine, Konuralp, Duzce 81620 (Turkey); Uzun, Hakan [Department of Pediatrics, Duzce University School of Medicine, Konuralp, Duzce (Turkey); Safak, Alp Alper [Department of Radiology, Duzce University School of Medicine, Konuralp, Duzce 81620 (Turkey)

    2007-08-15

    Objective: To determine the relationship between thyroid blood flow and anthropometric measurements, pubertal stage, and thyroid and gonadotropic hormones. Materials and methods: We examined 123 healthy school-aged children prospectively (69 boys (56.1%) and 54 girls (43.9%), 7-17 years old). Their sex, age, body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and pubertal stage were determined. Serum thyrotropin, free thyroxine, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone were measured in both genders, along with testosterone in boys and estradiol in girls. The peak systolic velocity (PSV), resistance index (RI), and pulsatility index (PI) of the superior thyroid artery were determined. The correlations between the Doppler parameters and these factors were investigated. Results: There were no differences in age, weight, height, BMI, thyroid volume, PSV, RI, or PI between boys and girls (P > 0.05). The PSV and PI showed strong correlations with age, height, weight, puberty stage, thyroid volume, and BMI. The RI showed a strong inverse correlation with age, height, weight, puberty stage, and thyroid volume and a weak inverse correlation with the BMI. Conclusion: Determination of the thyroid arterial flow in normal healthy children is important during a Doppler ultrasound (US) examination. Doppler US parameters and their percentiles should be described in healthy children from different age groups, and these percentiles will aid in interpreting Doppler US in children.

  1. Working memory in healthy aging and in Parkinson's disease: evidence of interference effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Rosa, Elisa; Pischedda, Doris; Cherubini, Paolo; Mapelli, Daniela; Tamburin, Stefano; Burigo, Michele

    2017-05-01

    Focusing on relevant information while suppressing the irrelevant one are critical abilities for different cognitive processes. However, their functioning has been scarcely investigated in the working memory (WM) domain, in both healthy and pathological conditions. The present research aimed to study these abilities in aging and Parkinson's disease (PD), testing three groups of healthy participants (young, older and elderly) and one of PD patients, employing a new experimental paradigm. Results showed that the transient storing of irrelevant information in WM causes substantial interference effects, which were remarkable in elderly individuals on both response latency and accuracy. Interestingly, PD patients responded faster and were equally accurate compared to a matched control group. Taken together, findings confirm the existence of similar mechanisms for orienting attention inwards to WM contents or outwards to perceptual stimuli, and suggest the suitability of our task to assess WM functioning in both healthy aging and PD.

  2. Coupling between skeletal muscle fiber size and capillarization is maintained during healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnouin, Yoann; McPhee, Jamie S; Butler-Browne, Gillian; Bosutti, Alessandra; De Vito, Giuseppe; Jones, David A; Narici, Marco; Behin, Anthony; Hogrel, Jean-Yves; Degens, Hans

    2017-08-01

    As muscle capillarization is related to the oxidative capacity of the muscle and the size of muscle fibres, capillary rarefaction may contribute to sarcopenia and functional impairment in older adults. Therefore, it is important to assess how ageing affects muscle capillarization and the interrelationship between fibre capillary supply with the oxidative capacity and size of the fibres. Muscle biopsies from healthy recreationally active young (22 years; 14 men and 5 women) and older (74 years; 22 men and 6 women) people were assessed for muscle capillarization and the distribution of capillaries with the method of capillary domains. Oxidative capacity of muscle fibres was assessed with quantitative histochemistry for succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity. There was no significant age-related reduction in muscle fibre oxidative capacity. Despite 18% type II fibre atrophy (P = 0.019) and 23% fewer capillaries per fibre (P age and sex. Based on SDH, the maximal oxygen consumption supported by a capillary did not differ significantly between young and old people. The similar quantitative and qualitative distribution of capillaries within muscle from healthy recreationally active older people and young adults indicates that the age-related capillary rarefaction, which does occur, nevertheless maintains the coupling between skeletal muscle fibre size and capillarization during healthy ageing. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders.

  3. Theta power is reduced in healthy cognitive aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cummins, Tarrant D R; Finnigan, Simon

    2007-10-01

    The effects of healthy cognitive aging on electroencephalographic (EEG) theta (4.9-6.8 Hz) power were examined during performance of a modified Sternberg, S., 1966. High-speed scanning in human memory. Science 153, 652-654.) word recognition task. In a sample of fourteen young (mean age 21.9 years, range=18-27) and fourteen older (mean age 68.4 years, range=60-80) participants, theta power was found to be significantly lower in older adults during both the retention and recognition intervals. This theta power difference was greatest at the fronto-central midline electrode and occurred in parallel with a small, non-significant decrease in recognition accuracy in the older sample. A significant decrease in older adults' mean theta power was also observed in resting EEG, however, it was of substantially smaller magnitude than the task-related theta difference. It is proposed that a neurophysiological measure(s), such as task-specific frontal midline theta (fmtheta) power, may be a more sensitive marker of cognitive aging than task performance measures. Furthermore, as recent research indicates that fmtheta is generated primarily in the anterior cingulate cortex, the current findings support evidence that the function of brain networks incorporating this structure may be affected in cognitive aging.

  4. Uncovering the Mechanisms Responsible for Why Language Learning May Promote Healthy Cognitive Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Antoniou

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available One of the great challenges facing humankind in the 21st century is preserving healthy brain function in our aging population. Individuals over 60 are the fastest growing age group in the world, and by 2050, it is estimated that the number of people over the age of 60 will triple. The typical aging process involves cognitive decline related to brain atrophy, especially in frontal brain areas and regions that subserve declarative memory, loss of synaptic connections, and the emergence of neuropathological symptoms associated with dementia. The disease-state of this age-related cognitive decline is Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, which may cause older adults to lose their independence and rely on others to live safely, burdening family members and health care systems in the process. However, there are two lines of research that offer hope to those seeking to promote healthy cognitive aging. First, it has been observed that lifestyle variables such as cognitive leisure activities can moderate the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, which has led to the development of plasticity-based interventions for older adults designed to protect against the adverse effects of cognitive decline. Second, there is evidence that lifelong bilingualism acts as a safeguard in preserving healthy brain function, possibly delaying the incidence of dementia by several years. In previous work, we have suggested that foreign language learning programs aimed at older populations are an optimal solution for building cognitive reserve because language learning engages an extensive brain network that is known to overlap with the regions negatively affected by the aging process. Here, we will outline potential future lines of research that may uncover the mechanism responsible for the emergence of language learning related brain advantages, such as language typology, bi- vs. multi-lingualism, age of acquisition, and the elements that are likely to result in the largest

  5. Uncovering the Mechanisms Responsible for Why Language Learning May Promote Healthy Cognitive Aging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antoniou, Mark; Wright, Sarah M.

    2017-01-01

    One of the great challenges facing humankind in the 21st century is preserving healthy brain function in our aging population. Individuals over 60 are the fastest growing age group in the world, and by 2050, it is estimated that the number of people over the age of 60 will triple. The typical aging process involves cognitive decline related to brain atrophy, especially in frontal brain areas and regions that subserve declarative memory, loss of synaptic connections, and the emergence of neuropathological symptoms associated with dementia. The disease-state of this age-related cognitive decline is Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, which may cause older adults to lose their independence and rely on others to live safely, burdening family members and health care systems in the process. However, there are two lines of research that offer hope to those seeking to promote healthy cognitive aging. First, it has been observed that lifestyle variables such as cognitive leisure activities can moderate the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, which has led to the development of plasticity-based interventions for older adults designed to protect against the adverse effects of cognitive decline. Second, there is evidence that lifelong bilingualism acts as a safeguard in preserving healthy brain function, possibly delaying the incidence of dementia by several years. In previous work, we have suggested that foreign language learning programs aimed at older populations are an optimal solution for building cognitive reserve because language learning engages an extensive brain network that is known to overlap with the regions negatively affected by the aging process. Here, we will outline potential future lines of research that may uncover the mechanism responsible for the emergence of language learning related brain advantages, such as language typology, bi- vs. multi-lingualism, age of acquisition, and the elements that are likely to result in the largest gains. PMID:29326636

  6. Measurements of exhaled nitric oxide in healthy subjects age 4 to 17 years

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buchvald, Frederik; Baraldi, Eugenio; Carraro, Silvia

    2005-01-01

    to almost 100% from the age of 10 years. The repeatability of 3 approved measurements was 1.6 ppb (95% CI, 1.49-1.64 ppb). CONCLUSION: FE NO in healthy children is below 15 to 25 ppb depending on age and self-reported atopy. Measurement of FE NO by NIOX is simple and safe and has a good repeatability...... NO was measured in healthy subjects of 4 to 17 years according to American Thoracic Society guidelines (single breath online, exhalation flow 50 mL/s) with a chemiluminescence analyzer (NIOX Exhaled Nitric Oxide Monitoring System, Aerocrine, Sweden) in 3 European and 2 US centers. Each child performed 3...... NO in 405 children was 9.7 ppb, and the upper 95% confidence limit was 25.2 ppb. FE NO increased significantly with age, and higher FE NO was seen in children with self-reported rhinitis/conjunctivitis or hay fever. The success rate was age-dependent and improved from 40% in the children 4 years old...

  7. Circulating miRNAs and miRNA shuttles as biomarkers: Perspective trajectories of healthy and unhealthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olivieri, Fabiola; Capri, Miriam; Bonafè, Massimiliano; Morsiani, Cristina; Jung, Hwa Jin; Spazzafumo, Liana; Viña, Jose; Suh, Yousin

    2017-07-01

    Human aging is a lifelong process characterized by a continuous trade-off between pro-and anti-inflammatory responses, where the best-adapted and/or remodeled genetic/epigenetic profile may develop a longevity phenotype. Centenarians and their offspring represent such a phenotype and their comparison to patients with age-related diseases (ARDs) is expected to maximize the chance to unravel the genetic makeup that better associates with healthy aging trajectories. Seemingly, such comparison is expected to allow the discovery of new biomarkers of longevity together with risk factor for the most common ARDs. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and their shuttles (extracellular vesicles in particular) are currently conceived as those endowed with the strongest ability to provide information about the trajectories of healthy and unhealthy aging. We review the available data on miRNAs in aging and underpin the evidence suggesting that circulating miRNAs (and cognate shuttles), especially those involved in the regulation of inflammation (inflamma-miRs) may constitute biomarkers capable of reliably depicting healthy and unhealthy aging trajectories. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Healthy adult aging and decision-making:Is it all downhill from here?

    OpenAIRE

    Hinvest, Neal

    2015-01-01

    As we age there are significant changes to our brain structure and cognitive functioning. There is a substantial body of literature exploring changes to memory and attention during healthy adult aging. There has been considerably less focus on the impact of aging on other areas of cognition, specifically, decision-making. This is surprising given that choices are ubiquitous in daily life across the lifespan. For example, older adults still face many significant decisions including those conce...

  9. Alpha-synuclein levels in blood plasma decline with healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koehler, Niklas K U; Stransky, Elke; Meyer, Mirjam; Gaertner, Susanne; Shing, Mona; Schnaidt, Martina; Celej, Maria S; Jovin, Thomas M; Leyhe, Thomas; Laske, Christoph; Batra, Anil; Buchkremer, Gerhard; Fallgatter, Andreas J; Wernet, Dorothee; Richartz-Salzburger, Elke

    2015-01-01

    There is unequivocal evidence that alpha-synuclein plays a pivotal pathophysiological role in neurodegenerative diseases, and in particular in synucleinopathies. These disorders present with a variable extent of cognitive impairment and alpha-synuclein is being explored as a biomarker in CSF, blood serum and plasma. Considering key events of aging that include proteostasis, alpha-synuclein may not only be useful as a marker for differential diagnosis but also for aging per se. To explore this hypothesis, we developed a highly specific ELISA to measure alpha-synuclein. In healthy males plasma alpha-synuclein levels correlated strongly with age, revealing much lower concentrations in older (avg. 58.1 years) compared to younger (avg. 27.6 years) individuals. This difference between the age groups was enhanced after acidification of the plasmas (phealthy aging. Thus, alpha-synuclein may be a novel biomarker of aging, a factor that should be considered when analyzing its presence in biological specimens.

  10. Nutrition across the lifespan for healthy aging: proceedings of a workshop--in brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    On September 13-14, 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine, and Medicine's Food Forum convened a workshop in Washington DC, to (1) examine trends and patterns in aging and factors related to healthy aging in the United States with a focus on nutrition; (2) examine how nutri...

  11. Association of Healthy Habits Beliefs and Mortality in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Mexican Health and Aging Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez-Villa, Julio M; Marquez, David X; Sanchez-Garrido, Natalia; Perez-Zepeda, Mario U; Gonzalez-Lara, Mariana

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this article is to establish the association between beliefs about healthy habits and mortality in a group of Mexican older adults. This is an 11-year follow-up secondary analysis of the Mexican Health and Aging Study. There was a significant difference ( p healthy habits have the potential to improve health compared with those who did not. After adjustment for confounders, Cox regression models showed a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.17 (95% confidence interval [CI] [0.07, 0.38], p healthy habits. Although the mechanism is not completely clear, according to our results, believing that healthy habits can improve health was associated with lower rates of mortality. Further research should elucidate potential strategies for changing beliefs in older adults with the goal of improving their overall health.

  12. The rate of change in declining steroid hormones: a new parameter of healthy aging in men?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walther, Andreas; Philipp, Michel; Lozza, Niclà; Ehlert, Ulrike

    2016-09-20

    Research on healthy aging in men has increasingly focused on age-related hormonal changes. Testosterone (T) decline is primarily investigated, while age-related changes in other sex steroids (dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA], estradiol [E2], progesterone [P]) are mostly neglected. An integrated hormone parameter reflecting aging processes in men has yet to be identified. 271 self-reporting healthy men between 40 and 75 provided both psychometric data and saliva samples for hormone analysis. Correlation analysis between age and sex steroids revealed negative associations for the four sex steroids (T, DHEA, E2, and P). Principal component analysis including ten salivary analytes identified a principal component mainly unifying the variance of the four sex steroid hormones. Subsequent principal component analysis including the four sex steroids extracted the principal component of declining steroid hormones (DSH). Moderation analysis of the association between age and DSH revealed significant moderation effects for psychosocial factors such as depression, chronic stress and perceived general health. In conclusion, these results provide further evidence that sex steroids decline in aging men and that the integrated hormone parameter DSH and its rate of change can be used as biomarkers for healthy aging in men. Furthermore, the negative association of age and DSH is moderated by psychosocial factors.

  13. Age-related changes assessed by peripheral QCT in healthy Italian women

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guglielmi, G.; Serio, A. de; Cammisa, M.; Fusilli, S.; Scillitani, A.; Chiodini, I.; Torlontano, M.

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe the normal cross-sectional pattern of radial bone loss associated with aging in healthy women and to generate a normative database using peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). Subjects with suspected conditions affecting bone metabolism or receiving any drugs affecting bone mineralization were excluded. The trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) and the total bone density of the ultradistal radius at the nondominant forearm was measured using the Norland-Stratec XCT-960 pQCT scanner in 386 healthy pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal females aged 15-81 years. The long-term in vivo precision error was 1.6% CV (coefficient of variation) for trabecular and 0.8% CV for total BMD measurements. The highest value of trabecular and total BMD measured was observed at the age group 15-39 years. Beyond these ages both trabecular and total BMD showed a linear decline with aging, decreasing by an overall slope of -1.28 and -0.55 mg/cm 3 per year for total and trabecular BMD measurements, respectively. The test of parallelism between the regression slopes of the peri- and postmenopausal women showed a statistically significant difference for total BMD measurement (p=0.003). Measurement of total and trabecular BMD was not influenced by weight, height or body mass index, but it was correlated with natural logarithm of years since menopause. We conclude that pQCT of the ultradistal radius is a precise method for measuring the true volumetric BMD and for detecting age-related bone loss in the trabecular and total bone of female subjects encompassing the adult age range and menopausal status. (orig.)

  14. Age-related changes assessed by peripheral QCT in healthy Italian women

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guglielmi, G.; Serio, A. de; Cammisa, M. [Scientific Institute Hospital ' ' Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza' ' , San Giovanni Rotondo (Italy). Dept. of Radiology; Fusilli, S. [Scientific Institute Hospital ' ' Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza' ' , San Giovanni Rotondo (Italy). Dept. of Clinical Pathology; Scillitani, A.; Chiodini, I.; Torlontano, M. [Scientific Institute Hospital ' ' Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza' ' , San Giovanni Rotondo (Italy). Division of Endocrinology

    2000-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe the normal cross-sectional pattern of radial bone loss associated with aging in healthy women and to generate a normative database using peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). Subjects with suspected conditions affecting bone metabolism or receiving any drugs affecting bone mineralization were excluded. The trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) and the total bone density of the ultradistal radius at the nondominant forearm was measured using the Norland-Stratec XCT-960 pQCT scanner in 386 healthy pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal females aged 15-81 years. The long-term in vivo precision error was 1.6% CV (coefficient of variation) for trabecular and 0.8% CV for total BMD measurements. The highest value of trabecular and total BMD measured was observed at the age group 15-39 years. Beyond these ages both trabecular and total BMD showed a linear decline with aging, decreasing by an overall slope of -1.28 and -0.55 mg/cm{sup 3} per year for total and trabecular BMD measurements, respectively. The test of parallelism between the regression slopes of the peri- and postmenopausal women showed a statistically significant difference for total BMD measurement (p=0.003). Measurement of total and trabecular BMD was not influenced by weight, height or body mass index, but it was correlated with natural logarithm of years since menopause. We conclude that pQCT of the ultradistal radius is a precise method for measuring the true volumetric BMD and for detecting age-related bone loss in the trabecular and total bone of female subjects encompassing the adult age range and menopausal status. (orig.)

  15. What a man wants: understanding the challenges and motivations to physical activity participation and healthy eating in middle-aged Australian men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caperchione, Cristina M; Vandelanotte, Corneel; Kolt, Gregory S; Duncan, Mitch; Ellison, Marcus; George, Emma; Mummery, W Kerry

    2012-11-01

    Little attention has been paid to the physical activity (PA) and nutrition behaviors of middle-aged men; thus, the aim of this study was to gather information and gain insight into the PA and nutrition behaviors of these men. Six focus group sessions were undertaken with middle-aged men (N = 30) from regional Australia to explore the challenges and motivations to PA participation and healthy eating. Men had a good understanding of PA and nutrition; however, this was sometimes confounded by inconsistent media messages. Work commitments and family responsibilities were barriers to PA, while poor cooking skills and abilities were barriers to healthy eating. Disease prevention, weight management, and being a good role model were motivators for PA and healthy eating. By understanding what a man wants, PA and nutrition interventions can be designed and delivered to meet the needs of this hard-to-reach population.

  16. Policy initiatives to promote healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Infeld, Donna Lind; Whitelaw, Nancy

    2002-08-01

    An overwhelming array of policies and programs can be used to help older people (and future older people) maintain healthy lifestyles. How can clinicians help ensure that their patients take advantage of these opportunities? How can these broad-scope policies, educational and information initiatives, and direct service programs be turned into tools to help older people maximize health and independence? First, physicians do not need to do it all themselves. They need to know where to send their patients. For example, case managers in local aging service organizations and social workers, nurses, and discharge planners in hospitals can help connect elderly patients to appropriate benefits and services. Physicians play a critical role in creating a bridge between patients and the array of programs and information that can help them change their individual patterns of behavior. A serious lack of integration exists between what is known about healthy behaviors and lifestyles and what is really happening and available to older people today. From the earlier articles in this issue we know that much can be done to prevent many types of age-related disease and disability. This article provides examples of mechanisms that can be used to broadly disseminate knowledge about effective behavior and treatment changes and create mechanisms to turn this knowledge into real and widespread client-level, practice-level, health system, and community-wide interventions. Second, physicians need to understand that they are not merely subject to these policies and initiatives. They can help formulate and shape them. This political involvement includes active participation in policy initiatives of professional associations, involvement in research and demonstration activities, keeping informed about policy proposals at the federal and state levels, and helping advance ideas for improving health behaviors by speaking up and working toward change. These changes go beyond health initiatives to

  17. Metabonomics of ageing - Towards understanding metabolism of a long and healthy life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Francois-Pierre J; Montoliu, Ivan; Kussmann, Martin

    2017-07-01

    Systems biology approaches have been increasingly employed in clinical studies to enhance our understanding of the role of genetics, environmental factors and their interactions on nutritional, health and disease status. Amongst the new omics technologies, metabonomics has emerged as a robust platform to capture metabolic and nutritional requirements by enabling, in a minimally invasive fashion, the monitoring of a wide range of biochemical compounds. Their variations reflect comprehensively the various molecular regulatory processes, which are tightly controlled and under the influence of genetics, diet, gut microbiota and other environmental factors. They are providing key insights into complex metabolic phenomena as well as into differences and specificities at individual and population level. The aim of this review is to evaluate promising metabolic insights towards understanding metabolism of a long and healthy life from pre-clinical and clinical metabonomics studies. We will also discuss analytical approaches to enable data integration, with an emphasis on the longitudinal component. Herein, we will illustrate current examples, challenges and perspectives in the applications of metabonomics monitoring and modelling approaches in the context of healthy ageing research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Yogurt: role in healthy and active aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Abbadi, Naglaa Hani; Dao, Maria Carlota; Meydani, Simin Nikbin

    2014-05-01

    Yogurt consumption has been associated with health benefits in different populations. Limited information, however, is available on nutritional and health attributes of yogurt in older adults. Yogurt is abundant in calcium, zinc, B vitamins, and probiotics; it is a good source of protein; and it may be supplemented with vitamin D and additional probiotics associated with positive health outcomes. Aging is accompanied by a wide array of nutritional deficiencies and health complications associated with under- and overnutrition, including musculoskeletal impairment, immunosenescence, cardiometabolic diseases, and cognitive impairment. Furthermore, yogurt is accessible and convenient to consume by the older population, which makes yogurt consumption a feasible approach to enhance older adults' nutritional status. A limited number of studies have specifically addressed the impact of yogurt on the nutritional and health status of older adults, and most are observational. However, those reported thus far and reviewed here are encouraging and suggest that yogurt could play a role in improving the nutritional status and health of older adults. In addition, these reports support further investigation into the role of yogurt in healthy and active aging.

  19. On the preservation of vigilant attention to semantic information in healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomson, David R; Hasher, Lynn

    2017-07-01

    Despite decades of research on younger adults, little is known about the way in which vigilant attention is affected by healthy aging, and the small body of work that does exist has yielded mixed findings. Prior examinations of aging and vigilant attention have focused almost exclusively on sensory/perceptual tasks despite the fact that many real-world vigilance tasks are semantic in nature and it has been shown that older adults exhibit memory and attention deficits in semantic tasks in other domains. Here, we present the first empirical investigation of vigilant attention to verbal stimuli in healthy normal aging. In Experiment 1 we find that older adults are just as able as younger adults to identify critical targets defined by category membership (both overall and over time). In Experiment 2, we increase the difficulty of the task by changing the target category from one block to the next, but again find no age-group effects in accuracy. Response time data, however, show that older adults respond more slowly and subjective ratings indicate that older adults experience higher workload and arousal compared to their younger counterparts. The practical as well as theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

  20. Gastrointestinal mean transit times in young and middle-aged healthy subjects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Graff, J; Brinch, K; Madsen, Jan Lysgård

    2001-01-01

    To investigate the effects of age and gender on gastric, small intestinal and colonic mean transit times, a study was conducted in 32 healthy volunteers: eight young women (22-30 years), eight young men (20-28 years), eight middle-aged women (43-51 years) and eight middle-aged men (38-53 years......, small intestinal and colonic mean transit times were calculated. The gastric, small intestinal and colonic mean transit times were significantly longer in women. Ageing was shown to accelerate the gastric and small intestinal transit significantly. In the group of men the colonic mean transit time...... was unaffected by age, but middle-aged women had a significantly slower colonic transit than young women. We therefore conclude that both age and gender have to be considered when reference values for gastric, small intestinal and colonic mean transit times have to be established....

  1. Impaired information sampling in mild dementia of Alzheimer's type but not in healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamarian, Laura; Benke, Thomas; Brand, Matthias; Djamshidian, Atbin; Delazer, Margarete

    2015-05-01

    It is unknown whether aging affects predecisional processing, that is, gathering information and evaluating options before making a decision. Here, we investigated information sampling in mild Dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT) and healthy aging by using the Information Sampling Task (IST). In a first investigation, we compared patients with mild DAT (n = 20) with healthy controls (n = 20) on the IST and several neuropsychological background tests. In a second investigation, healthy older adults (n = 30) were compared with younger adults (n = 30) on the IST and executive-function tasks. Results of the first investigation demonstrated that, in the IST, patients gathered significantly less information, made riskier and less accurate decisions, and showed less reward sensitivity relative to controls. We found a significant correlation between performance on the IST and performance on tests of verbal fluency, working memory, and recognition in patients but not in controls. Results of the second investigation indicated a largely similar performance pattern between healthy older adults and younger adults. There were no significant correlations for both groups between the IST and executive-function tasks. There are no relevant changes with healthy aging in predecisional processing. In contrast, mild DAT significantly affects predecisional information sampling. Thus, the problems shown in patients with mild DAT in decision making might be related to the patients' difficulties in predecisional processing. Decision-making performance in mild DAT might be improved by helping the patients at a predecisional stage to gather sufficient information and evaluate options more accurately. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. Differing Patterns of Altered Slow-5 Oscillations in Healthy Aging and Ischemic Stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    La, Christian; Mossahebi, Pouria; Nair, Veena A; Young, Brittany M; Stamm, Julie; Birn, Rasmus; Meyerand, Mary E; Prabhakaran, Vivek

    2016-01-01

    The 'default-mode' network (DMN) has been investigated in the presence of various disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Autism spectrum disorders. More recently, this investigation has expanded to include patients with ischemic injury. Here, we characterized the effects of ischemic injury in terms of its spectral distribution of resting-state low-frequency oscillations and further investigated whether those specific disruptions were unique to the DMN, or rather more general, affecting the global cortical system. With 43 young healthy adults, 42 older healthy adults, 14 stroke patients in their early stage (system disruption may differ between healthy aging and following the event of an ischemic stroke. The stroke group in the later stage demonstrated a global reduction in the amplitude of the slow-5 oscillations (0.01-0.027 Hz) in the DMN as well as in the primary visual and sensorimotor networks, two 'task-positive' networks. In comparison to the young healthy group, the older healthy subjects presented a decrease in the amplitude of the slow-5 oscillations specific to the components of the DMN, while exhibiting an increase in oscillation power in the task-positive networks. These two processes of a decrease DMN and an increase in 'task-positive' slow-5 oscillations may potentially be related, with a deficit in DMN inhibition, leading to an elevation of oscillations in non-DMN systems. These findings also suggest that disruptions of the slow-5 oscillations in healthy aging may be more specific to the DMN while the disruptions of those oscillations following a stroke through remote (diaschisis) effects may be more widespread, highlighting a non-specificity of disruption on the DMN in stroke population. The mechanisms underlying those differing modes of network disruption need to be further explored to better inform our understanding of brain function in healthy individuals and following injury.

  3. Hypercapnic evaluation of vascular reactivity in healthy aging and acute stroke via functional MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raut, Ryan V; Nair, Veena A; Sattin, Justin A; Prabhakaran, Vivek

    2016-01-01

    Functional MRI (fMRI) is well-established for the study of brain function in healthy populations, although its clinical application has proven more challenging. Specifically, cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), which allows the assessment of the vascular response that serves as the basis for fMRI, has been shown to be reduced in healthy aging as well as in a range of diseases, including chronic stroke. However, the timing of when this occurs relative to the stroke event is unclear. We used a breath-hold fMRI task to evaluate CVR across gray matter in a group of acute stroke patients (< 10 days from stroke; N = 22) to address this question. These estimates were compared with those from both age-matched (N = 22) and younger (N = 22) healthy controls. As expected, young controls had the greatest mean CVR, as indicated by magnitude and extent of fMRI activation; however, stroke patients did not differ from age-matched controls. Moreover, the ipsilesional and contralesional hemispheres of stroke patients did not differ with respect to any of these measures. These findings suggest that fMRI remains a valid tool within the first few days of a stroke, particularly for group fMRI studies in which findings are compared with healthy subjects of similar age. However, given the relatively high variability in CVR observed in our stroke sample, caution is warranted when interpreting fMRI data from individual patients or a small cohort. We conclude that a breath-hold task can be a useful addition to functional imaging protocols for stroke patients.

  4. Acoustic radiation force impulse elastography of the spleen in healthy dogs of different ages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maronezi, M C; Feliciano, M A R; Crivellenti, L Z; Simões, A P R; Bartlewski, P M; Gill, I; Canola, J C C; Vicente, W R R

    2015-06-01

    To determine the elastographic characteristics of splenic parenchyma in clinically healthy dogs of various ages in order to establish preliminary qualitative and quantitative standards/reference intervals for this technique. Thirty three healthy dogs categorized as young, adult and elderly were used. Splenic echotexture, echogenicity, size and ages were assessed with B-mode ultrasonography. Using qualitative elastography, the spleen (head, body and tail) was examined for homogeneity and presence of deformities. Shear velocities in different splenic segments were then quantitatively evaluated. All splenic segments visualised with the B-mode ultrasonography appeared normal. Different splenic segments examined with qualitative elastography were free of any detectable malformations and the images appeared as homogeneous dark areas. The mean shear velocity values were 2 · 32 m/s for head, 2 · 16 m/s for body and 2 · 25 m/s for tail of the spleen (P = 0 · 40), and they did not vary between the different age groups (P > 0 · 05). Quantitative and qualitative ARFI elastography of the spleen in clinically healthy dogs differing in age could be easily performed, and it may aid in the diagnosis and evaluation of splenic abnormalities routinely assessed in veterinary practice with B-mode ultrasonography. © 2015 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

  5. Effects of Ageism on Individual and Health Care Providers' Responses to Healthy Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Lynda D.

    1996-01-01

    Reviews literature to support the contention that misconceptions about the aging process have a detrimental effect on healthy aging. Seeks to demonstrate how stereotyping can affect the shape and nature of programs for elderly people. Argues that for long-lasting change to occur, service providers need to target these negative attitudes in…

  6. Effects of combined healthy lifestyle factors on functional vascular aging: the Rotterdam Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karimi, Leila; Mattace-Raso, Francesco U S; van Rosmalen, Joost; van Rooij, Frank; Hofman, Albert; Franco, Oscar H

    2016-05-01

    To evaluate whether components of a healthy lifestyle, combined and individually, are associated with arterial stiffness as a marker of functional vascular aging. We included 3235 participants aged 61-96 years from the Rotterdam Study. Measures of arterial stiffness included: aortic pulse wave velocity and carotid distensibility coefficient. Participants were scored one point for each of healthy lifestyle factors: consumption of five or more of fruits and/or vegetables per day, 75 min or more vigorous physical activity per week, 18.5 ≤ BMI ≤ 24. 9, never smoked and light-to-moderate alcohol intake (maximum seven glasses for women and 14 glasses for men) per week. Also a combined score (0-5) was computed by adding the five factors. Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of healthy lifestyle and measures of arterial stiffness adjusting for confounders. Participants had -0.113 [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.196, -0.029] difference in mean aortic pulse wave velocity m/s per unit increment of the lifestyle factors score, independent of cardiovascular risk factors. Higher fruit and vegetable consumption -0.221 (95% CI: -0.409, -0.034) and physical activity -0.239 (95% CI: -0.433, -0.044) were also significantly associated with reduced aortic pulse wave velocity. The corresponding estimates in carotid distensibility coefficient lacked statistical significance when we adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors. Combining multiple healthy lifestyle factors is associated with reduced aortic stiffness, a measure of functional vascular aging and independent of cardiovascular risk factors.

  7. Physical activity, healthy diet and good cognitive functioning: findings from the longitudinal aging study Amsterdam

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijholt, Willemke; Jager-Wittenaar, Harriët; Visser, M.; Hobbelen, Hans

    2014-01-01

    Background. In an ageing society cognitive decline is expected to become an important health problem. Previous studies showed that a healthy lifestyle, i.e. sufficient physical activity and a healthy diet,can benefit cognitive function. In this study, we aimed to assess the (synergistic) association

  8. Genotype by sex and genotype by age interactions with sedentary behavior: the Portuguese Healthy Family Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel M V Santos

    Full Text Available Sedentary behavior (SB expression and its underlying causal factors have been progressively studied, as it is a major determinant of decreased health quality. In the present study we applied Genotype x Age (GxAge and Genotype x Sex (GxSex interaction methods to determine if the phenotypic expression of different SB traits is influenced by an interaction between genetic architecture and both age and sex. A total of 1345 subjects, comprising 249 fathers, 327 mothers, 334 sons and 325 daughters, from 339 families of The Portuguese Healthy Family Study were included in the analysis. SB traits were assessed by means of a 3-d physical activity recall, the Baecke and IPAQ questionnaires. GxAge and GxSex interactions were analyzed using SOLAR 4.0 software. Sedentary behaviour heritability estimates were not always statistically significant (p>0.05 and ranged from 3% to 27%. The GxSex and GxAge interaction models were significantly better than the single polygenic models for TV (min/day, EEsed (kcal/day, personal computer (PC usage and physical activty (PA tertiles. The GxAge model is also significantly better than the polygenic model for Sed (min/day. For EEsed, PA tertiles, PC and Sed, the GxAge interaction was significant because the genetic correlation between SB environments was significantly different from 1. Further, PC and Sed variance heterogeneity among distinct ages were observed. The GxSex interaction was significant for EEsed due to genetic variance heterogeneity between genders and for PC due to a genetic correlation less than 1 across both sexes. Our results suggest that SB expression may be influenced by the interactions between genotype with both sex and age. Further, different sedentary behaviors seem to have distinct genetic architectures and are differentially affected by age and sex.

  9. Brain metabolism and memory in age differentiated healthy adults

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riege, W.H.; Metter, E.J.; Kuhl, D.E.; Phelps, M.E.

    1984-01-01

    The [F-18]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) scan method with positron emission tomography was used to determine age differences in factors underlying both the performances on 18 multivariate memory tests and the rates of cerebral glucose utilization in 9 left and 9 right hemispheric regions of 23 healthy adults in the age range of 27-78 years. Young persons below age 42 had higher scores than middle-aged (age 48-65 yrs) or old (age 66-78 yrs) persons on two of seven factors, reflecting memory for sequences of words or events together with metabolic indices of Broca's (and its mirror region) and Thalamic areas. Reliable correlations (critical r = 0.48, p<0.02) indicated that persons with high Superior Frontal and low Caudate-Thalamic metabolic measures were the same who performed well in tests of memory for sentences, story, designs, and complex patterns; while metabolic indices of Occipital and Posterior Temporal regions were correlated with the decision criteria adopted in testing. The mean metabolic ratio (b = -0.033, F = 5.47, p<0.03) and those of bilateral Broca's regions (b = -0.002, F = 13.65, p<0.001) significantly declined with age. The functional interrelation of frontal-subcortical metabolic ratios with memory processing was more prominent in younger persons under study and implicates decreasing thalamo-frontal interaction with age

  10. Diet-microbiota-health interactions in older subjects: implications for healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, D B; Jeffery, I B; Cusack, S; O'Connor, E M; O'Toole, P W

    2015-01-01

    With modern medicine and an awareness of healthy lifestyle practices, people are living longer and generally healthier lives than their ancestors. These successes of modern medicine have resulted in an increasing proportion of elderly in society. Research groups around the world have investigated the contribution of gut microbial communities to human health and well-being. It was established that the microbiota composition of the human gut is modulated by lifestyle factors, especially diet. The microbiota composition and function, acting in concert with direct and indirect effects of habitual diet, is of great importance in remaining healthy and active. This is not a new concept, but until now the scale of the potential microbiota contribution was not appreciated. There are an estimated ten times more bacteria in an individual than human cells. The bacterial population is relatively stable in adults, but the age-related changes that occur later in life can have a negative impact on host health. This loss of the adult-associated microbiota correlates with measures of markers of inflammation, frailty, co-morbidity and nutritional status. This effect may be greater than that of diet or in some cases genetics alone. Collectively, the recent studies show the importance of the microbiota and associated metabolites in healthy aging and the importance of diet in its modulation. 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  11. Effects of Healthy Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment on a Real-Life Decision-Making Task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pertl, Marie-Theres; Benke, Thomas; Zamarian, Laura; Delazer, Margarete

    2017-01-01

    In this study, we investigated the effects of age and of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on decision making under risk by adopting a task representing real-life health-related situations and involving complex numerical information. Moreover, we assessed the relationship of real-life decision making to other cognitive functions such as number processing, executive functions, language, memory, and attention. For this reason, we compared the performance of 19 healthy, relatively younger adults with that of 18 healthy older adults and the performance of the 18 healthy older adults with that of 17 patients with MCI. Results indicated difficulties in real-life decision making for the healthy older adults compared with the healthy, relatively younger adults. Difficulties of patients with MCI relative to the healthy older adults arose in particular in difficult items requiring processing of frequencies and fractions. Significant effects of age and of MCI in processing frequencies were also evident in a ratio number comparison task. Decision-making performance of healthy participants and of the patient group correlated significantly with number processing. There was a further significant correlation with executive functions for the healthy participants and with reading comprehension for the patients. Our results suggest that healthy older individuals and patients with MCI make less advantageous decisions when the information is complex and high demands are put on executive functions and numerical abilities. Moreover, we show that executive functions and numerical abilities are not only essential in laboratory gambling tasks but also in more realistic and ecological decision situations within the health context.

  12. How does healthy aging impact on the circadian clock?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popa-Wagner, Aurel; Buga, Ana-Maria; Dumitrascu, Dinu Iuliu; Uzoni, Adriana; Thome, Johannes; Coogan, Andrew N

    2017-02-01

    Circadian rhythms are recurring patterns in a host of physiological and other parameters that recur with periods of near 24 h. These rhythms reflect the temporal organization of an organism's homeostatic control systems and as such are key processes in ensuring optimal physiological performance. Dysfunction of circadian processes is linked with adverse health conditions. In this review we highlight the evidence that normal, healthy aging is associated with changes in the circadian system; we examine the molecular mechanisms through which such changes may arise, discuss whether more robust circadian function is a predictor of longevity and highlight the role of circadian rhythms in age-related diseases. Overall, the literature shows that aging is associated with marked changes in circadian processes, both at the behavioral and molecular levels, and the molecular mechanisms through which such changes arise remain to be elucidated, but may involve inflammatory process, redox homeostasis and epigenetic modifications. Understanding the nature of age-related circadian dysfunction will allow for the design of chronotherapeutic intervention strategies to attenuate circadian dysfunction and thus improve health and quality of life.

  13. Can Functional Cardiac Age be Predicted from ECG in a Normal Healthy Population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlegel, Todd; Starc, Vito; Leban, Manja; Sinigoj, Petra; Vrhovec, Milos

    2011-01-01

    In a normal healthy population, we desired to determine the most age-dependent conventional and advanced ECG parameters. We hypothesized that changes in several ECG parameters might correlate with age and together reliably characterize the functional age of the heart. Methods: An initial study population of 313 apparently healthy subjects was ultimately reduced to 148 subjects (74 men, 84 women, in the range from 10 to 75 years of age) after exclusion criteria. In all subjects, ECG recordings (resting 5-minute 12-lead high frequency ECG) were evaluated via custom software programs to calculate up to 85 different conventional and advanced ECG parameters including beat-to-beat QT and RR variability, waveform complexity, and signal-averaged, high-frequency and spatial/spatiotemporal ECG parameters. The prediction of functional age was evaluated by multiple linear regression analysis using the best 5 univariate predictors. Results: Ignoring what were ultimately small differences between males and females, the functional age was found to be predicted (R2= 0.69, P ECGs, functional cardiac age can be estimated by multiple linear regression analysis of mostly advanced ECG results. Because some parameters in the regression formula, such as QTcorr, high frequency QRS amplitude and P-wave width also change with disease in the same direction as with increased age, increased functional age of the heart may reflect subtle age-related pathologies in cardiac electrical function that are usually hidden on conventional ECG.

  14. The Healthy Aging Research Network: Resources for Building Capacity for Public Health and Aging Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilcox, Sara; Altpeter, Mary; Anderson, Lynda A.; Belza, Basia; Bryant, Lucinda; Jones, Dina L.; Leith, Katherine H.; Phelan, Elizabeth A.; Satariano, William A.

    2015-01-01

    There is an urgent need to translate science into practice and help enhance the capacity of professionals to deliver evidence-based programming. We describe contributions of the Healthy Aging Research Network in building professional capacity through online modules, issue briefs, monographs, and tools focused on health promotion practice, physical activity, mental health, and environment and policy. We also describe practice partnerships and research activities that helped inform product development and ways these products have been incorporated into real-world practice to illustrate possibilities for future applications. Our work aims to bridge the research-to-practice gap to meet the demands of an aging population. PMID:24000962

  15. A healthy aging program for older adults: effects on self-efficacy and morale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scult, Matthew; Haime, Vivian; Jacquart, Jolene; Takahashi, Jonathan; Moscowitz, Barbara; Webster, Ann; Denninger, John W; Mehta, Darshan H

    2015-01-01

    As of 2012, 810 million people worldwide were older than 60 y, accounting for 11% of the population. That number is expected to rise to 2 billion by 2050 or to 22% of the overall population. As a result, a growing need exists to understand the factors that promote mental and physical health in older populations. The purpose of this study was to develop a healthy aging program for older adults and to measure the changes from baseline to the end of the program in participants' relevant psychosocial outcomes (ie, self-efficacy and morale). The study's healthy aging mind-body intervention (MBI) was adapted from the Relaxation Response Resiliency Program (3RP) at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, which incorporates elements from the fields of stress management, cognitive behavioral therapy, and positive psychology. That program was modified with examples and exercises targeted to an older population and evaluated in the current single-arm pilot study. The program took place at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The 9-wk healthy aging MBI was developed for participants aged 65 y and older. Fifty-one older adults from the surrounding community participated in the study's groups. A new intervention group began the program every 3 mo, with a maximum of 12 individuals per group. For each group, the MBI consisted of weekly 90-min sessions for 9 consecutive wk, directed by a psychologist. The program included sessions that taught participants (1) a variety of methods to elicit the relaxation response (RR), (2) the practice of adaptive coping and cognitions, (3) behaviors necessary to create a healthy lifestyle, and (4) methods of building social support. The research team chose to focus on 2 psychological variables of interest for aging populations: morale and self-efficacy. The study used 2 questionnaires to measure those outcomes, the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS), a multidimensional measure of the psychological state of older

  16. Healthy brain ageing assessed with 18F-FDG PET and age-dependent recovery factors after partial volume effect correction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonte, Stijn [IBiTech, Ghent, (Belgium); Ghent University, iMinds - Medical Image and Signal Processing (MEDISIP), Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent (Belgium); University Hospital, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Ghent (Belgium); Vandemaele, Pieter; Deblaere, Karel; Goethals, Ingeborg [University Hospital, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Ghent (Belgium); Verleden, Stijn; Audenaert, Kurt [University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Ghent (Belgium); Holen, Roel van [Ghent University, iMinds - Medical Image and Signal Processing (MEDISIP), Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent (Belgium)

    2017-05-15

    The mechanisms of ageing of the healthy brain are not entirely clarified to date. In recent years several authors have tried to elucidate this topic by using {sup 18}F-FDG positron emission tomography. However, when correcting for partial volume effects (PVE), divergent results were reported. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate these methods in the presence of atrophy due to ageing. In this paper we first evaluate the performance of two PVE correction techniques with a phantom study: the Rousset method and iterative deconvolution. We show that the ability of the latter method to recover the true activity in a small region decreases with increasing age due to brain atrophy. Next, we have calculated age-dependent recovery factors to correct for this incomplete recovery. These factors were applied to PVE-corrected {sup 18}F-FDG PET scans of healthy subjects for mapping the agedependent metabolism in the brain. Many regions in the brain show a reduced metabolism with ageing, especially in grey matter in the frontal and temporal lobe. An increased metabolism is found in grey matter of the cerebellum and thalamus. Our study resulted in age-dependent recovery factors which can be applied following standard PVE correction methods. Cancelling the effect of atrophy, we found regional changes in {sup 18}F-FDG metabolism with ageing. A decreasing trend is found in the frontal and temporal lobe, whereas an increasing metabolism with ageing is observed in the thalamus and cerebellum.

  17. Structural and Functional Changes in Human Kidneys with Healthy Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hommos, Musab S; Glassock, Richard J; Rule, Andrew D

    2017-10-01

    Aging is associated with significant changes in structure and function of the kidney, even in the absence of age-related comorbidities. On the macrostructural level, kidney cortical volume decreases, surface roughness increases, and the number and size of simple renal cysts increase with age. On the microstructural level, the histologic signs of nephrosclerosis (arteriosclerosis/arteriolosclerosis, global glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, and tubular atrophy) all increase with age. The decline of nephron number is accompanied by a comparable reduction in measured whole-kidney GFR. However, single-nephron GFR remains relatively constant with healthy aging as does glomerular volume. Only when glomerulosclerosis and arteriosclerosis exceed that expected for age is there an increase in single-nephron GFR. In the absence of albuminuria, age-related reduction in GFR with the corresponding increase in CKD (defined by an eGFRage-standardized mortality risk or ESRD. These findings raise the question of whether disease labeling of an age-related decline in GFR is appropriate. These findings also emphasize the need for a different management approach for many elderly individuals considered to have CKD by current criteria. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of Nephrology.

  18. Hypercapnic evaluation of vascular reactivity in healthy aging and acute stroke via functional MRI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan V. Raut

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Functional MRI (fMRI is well-established for the study of brain function in healthy populations, although its clinical application has proven more challenging. Specifically, cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR, which allows the assessment of the vascular response that serves as the basis for fMRI, has been shown to be reduced in healthy aging as well as in a range of diseases, including chronic stroke. However, the timing of when this occurs relative to the stroke event is unclear. We used a breath-hold fMRI task to evaluate CVR across gray matter in a group of acute stroke patients (<10 days from stroke; N = 22 to address this question. These estimates were compared with those from both age-matched (N = 22 and younger (N = 22 healthy controls. As expected, young controls had the greatest mean CVR, as indicated by magnitude and extent of fMRI activation; however, stroke patients did not differ from age-matched controls. Moreover, the ipsilesional and contralesional hemispheres of stroke patients did not differ with respect to any of these measures. These findings suggest that fMRI remains a valid tool within the first few days of a stroke, particularly for group fMRI studies in which findings are compared with healthy subjects of similar age. However, given the relatively high variability in CVR observed in our stroke sample, caution is warranted when interpreting fMRI data from individual patients or a small cohort. We conclude that a breath-hold task can be a useful addition to functional imaging protocols for stroke patients.

  19. Life course vaccination and healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gusmano, Michael K; Michel, Jean-Pierre

    2009-06-01

    The authors notice the low vaccine coverage rate among European citizens and inventory the multiple reasons leading to the non-use of preventable infectious diseases vaccines in adults whose mortality consequences represent an important and unexpected burden of diseases. These facts are in close relation with the disruption of vaccine recommendations after the childhood vaccine program, the poor literacy knowledge concerning vaccines among the general population, but also unfortunately among physicians and other health care workers. Popular beliefs, fear of side-effects, fear of needles facilitated the constitution of active non-vaccine groups which conduct to the reappearance in non-vaccinated adults and with dramatic consequences of preventable childhood infectious diseases. This careful analysis of the current preventable infectious disease vaccine coverage in old adults leads to propose a life course vaccine programme including adult vaccinations as part of healthy aging as well as old adults' vaccine guidelines integrated in health prevention programs.

  20. Cognitive Vulnerability in Aging May Be Modulated by Education and Reserve in Healthy People

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María D. Roldán-Tapia

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Aging is related to a deterioration of cognitive performance and to multiple alterations in the brain. Even before the beginning of a noticeable cognitive decline, the framework which holds cognitive function experiences these alterations. From a system-vulnerability point of view of cognition, the deterioration associated with age would be the collection of repercussions during a life. Brain function and structure are modified in a multidimensional way, which could concern different aspects like structural integrity, functional activity, connectivity, or glucose metabolism. From this point of view, the effects of aging could affect the most brain systems and their functional activity. In this study, we analyze the functional development of three cognitive domains in relation to aging, educational level, and cognitive reserve (CR. A total of 172 healthy subjects were divided into two age groups (young and old, and completed a battery of classic neuropsychological tests. The tests were organized and analyzed according to three cognitive domains: working memory and flexibility, visuoconstructive functions, and declarative memory. Subjects also completed a questionnaire on CR. Results showed that the performance in all cognitive domains decreased with age. In particular, tests related to working memory, flexibility, and visuoconstructive abilities were influenced by age. Nevertheless, this effect was attenuated by effects of education, mainly in visuoconstructive domain. Surprisingly, visual as well as verbal memory tests were not affected either by aging, education, or CR. Brain plasticity plays a prominent role in the aging process, but, as other studies have shown, the plasticity mechanism is quite different in healthy vs. pathological brains. Moreover, this plasticity brain mechanism could be modulated by education and CR. Specially, cognitive domains as working memory, some executive functions and the visuoconstructive abilities seem to be

  1. Short sleep duration is associated with poor performance on IQ measures in healthy school-age children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruber, Reut; Laviolette, Rachelle; Deluca, Paolo; Monson, Eva; Cornish, Kim; Carrier, Julie

    2010-03-01

    To examine the associations between habitual sleep duration and intellectual functioning in healthy, well-rested, school-age children. The study group consisted of 39 healthy children, aged 7-11 years old. Nightly actigraphic sleep recordings were taken for four consecutive nights to determine habitual week-night sleep duration in the home environment. Objective measures of cognitive functioning and sleepiness were used to measure daytime functioning. Longer habitual sleep duration in healthy school-age participants was associated with better performance on measures of perceptual reasoning and overall IQ, as measured by the WISC-IV, and on reported measures of competence and academic performance. No association between sleep duration and the studied behavioral measures was found. These findings support the hypothesis that sleep duration is differentially related to some components of cognitive functioning, even in the absence of evidence for sleep deprivation or attention deficits. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Ageing Is Associated with Decreases in Appetite and Energy Intake—A Meta-Analysis in Healthy Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giezenaar, Caroline; Chapman, Ian; Luscombe-Marsh, Natalie; Feinle-Bisset, Christine; Horowitz, Michael; Soenen, Stijn

    2016-01-01

    It is not well recognized that in the elderly weight loss is more common than weight gain. The aim of this analysis was to determine the effect of ageing on appetite (hunger/fullness) and energy intake, after overnight fasting and in a postprandial state, by meta-analyses of trials that included at least two age groups (>18 years). We hypothesized that appetite and energy intake would be less in healthy older compared with younger adults. Following a PubMed-database systematic search up to 30 June 2015, 59 studies were included in the random-effects-model meta-analyses. Energy intake was 16%–20% lower in older (n = 3574/~70 years/~71 kg/~25 kg/m2) than younger (n = 4111/~26 years/~69 kg/~23 kg/m2) adults (standardized mean difference: −0.77 (95% confidence interval −0.90 to −0.64)). Hunger was 25% (after overnight fasting; weighted mean difference (WMD): −17 (−22 to −13) mm) to 39% (in a postprandial state; WMD: −14 (−19 to −9) mm) lower, and fullness 37% (after overnight fasting; WMD: 6 mm (95% CI: 1 to 11 mm)) greater in older than younger adults. In conclusion, appetite and energy intake are less in healthy older than younger adults, suggesting that ageing per se affects food intake. PMID:26751475

  3. The relationship between age and brain response to visual erotic stimuli in healthy heterosexual males.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Y; Jeong, B; Kim, J-W; Choi, J

    2010-01-01

    The various changes of sexuality, including decreased sexual desire and erectile dysfunction, are also accompanied with aging. To understand the effect of aging on sexuality, we explored the relationship between age and the visual erotic stimulation-related brain response in sexually active male subjects. Twelve healthy, heterosexual male subjects (age 22-47 years) were recorded the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals of their brain activation elicited by passive viewing erotic (ERO), happy-faced (HA) couple, food and nature pictures. Mixed effect analysis and correlation analysis were performed to investigate the relationship between the age and the change of brain activity elicited by erotic stimuli. Our results showed age was positively correlated with the activation of right occipital fusiform gyrus and amygdala, and negatively correlated with the activation of right insula and inferior frontal gyrus. These findings suggest age might be related with functional decline in brain regions being involved in both interoceptive sensation and prefrontal modulation while it is related with the incremental activity of the brain region for early processing of visual emotional stimuli in sexually healthy men.

  4. Differing Patterns of Altered Slow-5 Oscillations in Healthy Aging and Ischemic Stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian eLa

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The ‘default-mode’ network (DMN has been investigated in the presence of various disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Autism spectrum disorders. More recently, this investigation has expanded to include patients with ischemic injury. Here, we characterized the effects of ischemic injury in terms of its spectral distribution of resting-state low-frequency oscillations and further investigated whether those specific disruptions were unique to the DMN, or rather more general, affecting the global cortical system. With 43 young healthy adults, 42 older healthy adults, 14 stroke patients in their early stage (< 7 days after stroke onset, and 16 stroke patients in their later stage (between 1-6 months after stroke onset, this study showed that patterns of cortical system disruption may differ between healthy aging and following the event of an ischemic stroke. The stroke group in the later stage demonstrated a global reduction in the amplitude of the slow-5 oscillations (0.01-0.027 Hz in the DMN as well as in the primary visual and sensorimotor networks, two ‘task-positive’ networks. In comparison to the young healthy group, the older healthy subjects presented a decrease in the amplitude of the slow-5 oscillations specific to the components of the DMN, while exhibiting an increase in oscillation power in the task-positive networks. These two processes of a decrease DMN and an increase in ‘task-positive’ slow-5 oscillations may potentially be related, with a deficit in DMN inhibition, leading to an elevation of oscillations in non-DMN systems. These findings also suggest that disruptions of the slow-5 oscillations in healthy aging may be more specific to the DMN while the disruptions of those oscillations following a stroke through remote (diaschisis effects may be more widespread, highlighting a non-specificity of disruption on the DMN in stroke population. The mechanisms underlying those differing modes of network disruption need

  5. Similar verbal memory impairments in schizophrenia and healthy aging. Implications for understanding of neural mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver, Henry; Bilker, Warren B

    2015-03-30

    Memory is impaired in schizophrenia patients but it is not clear whether this is specific to the illness and whether different types of memory (verbal and nonverbal) or memories in different cognitive domains (executive, object recognition) are similarly affected. To study relationships between memory impairments and schizophrenia we compared memory functions in 77 schizophrenia patients, 58 elderly healthy individuals and 41 young healthy individuals. Tests included verbal associative and logical memory and memory in executive and object recognition domains. We compared relationships of memory functions to each other and to other cognitive functions including psychomotor speed and verbal and spatial working memory. Compared to the young healthy group, schizophrenia patients and elderly healthy individuals showed similar severe impairment in logical memory and in the ability to learn new associations (NAL), and similar but less severe impairment in spatial working memory and executive and object memory. Verbal working memory was significantly more impaired in schizophrenia patients than in the healthy elderly. Verbal episodic memory impairment in schizophrenia may share common mechanisms with similar impairment in healthy aging. Impairment in verbal working memory in contrast may reflect mechanisms specific to schizophrenia. Study of verbal explicit memory impairment tapped by the NAL index may advance understanding of abnormal hippocampus dependent mechanisms common to schizophrenia and aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The effects of the serotonin transporter polymorphism and age on frontal white matter integrity in healthy adult women.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rune eJonassen

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Studies of populations at genetic risk have the potential to explore the underlying structural and functional mechanisms in the development of psychological disorders. The polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR in the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4 has been associated with major depression (Caspi et al., 2003. In healthy women, variation in the human brain white matter microstructure integrity in the uncinate fascicule (UF has been suggested as an endophenotypes in the development of major depression (MDD. Pacheco et al. (2009 found a unique effect of age and 5-HTTLPR within the left frontal UF. The present study examined whether these associations persist along the adult life span. Thirty-seven right-handed healthy women between 21 and 61 years of age were invited for a diffusion MRI study. The functional polymorphism 5-HTTLPR located in the promoter region of the SLC6A4 gene was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction (PCR. Fractional anisotropy (FA was generated for the UF based on Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS. Models of emotion regulation circuitry suggest that working memory is important in conscious emotion regulation (Price and Drevets, 2010. To explore if 5-HTTLPR is related to this aspects of emotion processing, a working memory pathway, the superior longitudinal fascicule (SLF was included. The results demonstrate that age may explain the hypothesized association between 5-HTTLPR and frontal uncinate fascicule white matter integrity in healthy adult women. Both white matter changes associated with the aging process and those associated with growth and development may explain why the earlier reported unique effects of genotype in frontal UF FA do not persist into adulthood.

  7. Putting age-related task activation into large-scale brain networks: A meta-analysis of 114 fMRI studies on healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hui-Jie; Hou, Xiao-Hui; Liu, Han-Hui; Yue, Chun-Lin; Lu, Guang-Ming; Zuo, Xi-Nian

    2015-10-01

    Normal aging is associated with cognitive decline and underlying brain dysfunction. Previous studies concentrated less on brain network changes at a systems level. Our goal was to examine these age-related changes of fMRI-derived activation with a common network parcellation of the human brain function, offering a systems-neuroscience perspective of healthy aging. We conducted a series of meta-analyses on a total of 114 studies that included 2035 older adults and 1845 young adults. Voxels showing significant age-related changes in activation were then overlaid onto seven commonly referenced neuronal networks. Older adults present moderate cognitive decline in behavioral performance during fMRI scanning, and hypo-activate the visual network and hyper-activate both the frontoparietal control and default mode networks. The degree of increased activation in frontoparietal network was associated with behavioral performance in older adults. Age-related changes in activation present different network patterns across cognitive domains. The systems neuroscience approach used here may be useful for elucidating the underlying network mechanisms of various brain plasticity processes during healthy aging. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Environmental, Behavioral, and Cultural Factors That Influence Healthy Eating in Rural Women of Childbearing Age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Mabry

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite increasing recognition of the role nutrition plays in the health of current and future generations, many women struggle to eat healthy. We used the PhotoVoice method to engage 10 rural women in identifying perceived barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in their homes and community. They took 354 photographs, selected and wrote captions for 62 images, and explored influential factors through group conversation. Using field notes and participant-generated captions, the research team categorized images into factors at the individual, relational, community/organizational, and societal levels of a socioecological model. Barriers included limited time, exposure to marketing, and the high cost of food. Facilitators included preparing food in advance and support from non-partners; opportunities to hunt, forage, and garden were also facilitators, which may be amplified in this rural environment. Nutritional interventions for rural women of childbearing age should be multi-component and focus on removing barriers at multiple socioecological levels.

  9. Main biomarkers associated with age-related plasma zinc decrease and copper/zinc ratio in healthy elderly from ZincAge study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giacconi, R; Costarelli, L; Piacenza, F; Basso, A; Rink, L; Mariani, E; Fulop, T; Dedoussis, G; Herbein, G; Provinciali, M; Jajte, J; Lengyel, I; Mocchegiani, E; Malavolta, M

    2017-12-01

    Zinc (Zn) plays an essential role in many biological processes including immune response. Impaired Zn status promotes immune dysfunction, and it has been associated with enhanced chronic inflammation during aging. It has been suggested that the measurement of circulating Zn by itself could not reflect the real Zn status of an individual. It is therefore necessary to identify other determinants associated with plasma Zn to better understanding how physiopathological conditions during aging may affect the concentration of this metal. We have investigated the association between Zn levels and some biomarkers in 1090 healthy elderly from five European countries to increase the accuracy in the assessment of the Zn status. Stepwise multivariate linear regression models were used to analyze the influence of factors such as age, dietary intake, inflammatory mediators, laboratory parameters and polymorphisms previously associated with Zn homeostasis. Plasma Zn decrement was most strongly predicted by age, while positive correlations were found with albumin, RANTES and Zn intake after adjustment for multiple confounders. HSP70 +1267 AA genotype was an independent factor associated with Zn plasma concentrations. Cu/Zn ratio was positively associated with markers of systemic inflammation and age and negatively associated with albumin serum levels. Our findings show the most important independent determinants of plasma Zn concentration and Cu/Zn ratio variability in elderly population and suggest that the decline with age of Zn circulating levels is more dependent on physiopathological changes occurring with aging rather than to its nutritional intake.

  10. Allergy immunotherapy across the life cycle to promote active and healthy ageing: from research to policies: An AIRWAYS Integrated Care Pathways (ICPs) programme item (Action Plan B3 of the European Innovation Partnership on active and healthy ageing) and the Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD), a World Health Organization GARD research demonstration project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calderon, M A; Demoly, P; Casale, T; Akdis, C A; Bachert, C; Bewick, M; Bilò, B M; Bohle, B; Bonini, S; Bush, A; Caimmi, D P; Canonica, G W; Cardona, V; Chiriac, A M; Cox, L; Custovic, A; De Blay, F; Devillier, P; Didier, A; Di Lorenzo, G; Du Toit, G; Durham, S R; Eng, P; Fiocchi, A; Fox, A T; van Wijk, R Gerth; Gomez, R M; Haathela, T; Halken, S; Hellings, P W; Jacobsen, L; Just, J; Tanno, L K; Kleine-Tebbe, J; Klimek, L; Knol, E F; Kuna, P; Larenas-Linnemann, D E; Linneberg, A; Matricardi, M; Malling, H J; Moesges, R; Mullol, J; Muraro, A; Papadopoulos, N; Passalacqua, G; Pastorello, E; Pfaar, O; Price, D; Del Rio, P Rodriguez; Ruëff, R; Samolinski, B; Scadding, G K; Senti, G; Shamji, M H; Sheikh, A; Sisul, J C; Sole, D; Sturm, G J; Tabar, A; Van Ree, R; Ventura, M T; Vidal, C; Varga, E M; Worm, M; Zuberbier, T; Bousquet, J

    2016-01-01

    Allergic diseases often occur early in life and persist throughout life. This life-course perspective should be considered in allergen immunotherapy. In particular it is essential to understand whether this al treatment may be used in old age adults. The current paper was developed by a working group of AIRWAYS integrated care pathways for airways diseases, the model of chronic respiratory diseases of the European Innovation Partnership on active and healthy ageing (DG CONNECT and DG Santé). It considered (1) the political background, (2) the rationale for allergen immunotherapy across the life cycle, (3) the unmet needs for the treatment, in particular in preschool children and old age adults, (4) the strategic framework and the practical approach to synergize current initiatives in allergen immunotherapy, its mechanisms and the concept of active and healthy ageing.

  11. The Role of Psychogeriatrics in Healthy Living and Active Ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molinari, Enrico; Spatola, Chiara; Pietrabissa, Giada; Pagnini, Francesco; Castelnuovo, Gianluca

    2014-01-01

    A healthy and active life is a key issue for elderly citizens, above all when psychological complications such as depression and anxiety disorders, late delusion or loneliness can be observed. Moreover, medical pathologies in elderly patients often have a multi-factorial etiology and many psychopathological dimensions and psychosocial risk factors are underestimated. From the perspective of clinical health psychology, psychogeriatrics could play an important role in promoting active ageing and a healthy lifestyle in elderly persons through tailored clinical approaches based on specific research and advanced professional training in this area. More research is needed in order to study which determinants affect the process of an active and functional ageing. Possible research ageing areas are: 1) evaluation of psychosocial risk-protective factors related to the individual's biography and personality. 2) Evaluation of enrichment programs and clinical protocols focused on the management of different topics such as health system areas, behavioral areas, social and physical environment areas, psychological factors and economic determinants. The goal of Psychogeriatrics endeavors to develop and evaluate interventions designed to stimulate improvement in friendship, self-esteem and subjective well-being, as well as to reduce loneliness among older citizens. 3) Evaluation of self-management programs in chronic disease conditions (such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, alcohol abuse and tobacco smoking), that could enhance risk factors for health in elderly citizens. Typical key elements of self-management, such as decision making, problem solving, motivation, self-efficacy, resource utilization, and citizen's empowerment have to be studied.

  12. The Influence of Age on Hemodynamic Parameters During Rest and Exercise in Healthy Individuals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wolsk, Emil; Bakkestrøm, Rine; Thomsen, Jacob H

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: The authors sought to obtain hemodynamic estimates across a wide age span and in both sexes for future reference and compare these estimates with current guideline diagnostic hemodynamic thresholds for abnormal filling pressure and pulmonary hypertension. BACKGROUND: At present....... METHODS: Sixty-two healthy participants, evenly distributed with respect to age (20 to 80 years) and sex (32 women/30 men), were prospectively enrolled in the study. Participants were all deemed healthy by medical history, echocardiography, exercise test, spirometry, blood tests, and electrocardiogram....... Participants had hemodynamic parameters measured using right heart catheterization during rest, passive leg raise, and incremental exercise. RESULTS: During rest, all hemodynamic parameters were similar between age groups, apart from blood pressure. During leg raise and incremental exercise...

  13. Influence of ageing on quantitative contrast-enhanced ultrasound of the kidneys in healthy cats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stock, Emmelie; Paepe, Dominique; Daminet, Sylvie; Duchateau, Luc; Saunders, Jimmy H; Vanderperren, Katrien

    2018-05-05

    The degenerative effects of ageing on the kidneys have been extensively studied in humans. However, only recently interest has been focused on renal ageing in veterinary medicine. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound allows non-invasive evaluation of renal perfusion in conscious cats. Renal perfusion parameters were obtained in 43 healthy cats aged 1-16 years old, and the cats were divided in four age categories: 1-3 years, 3-6 years, 6-10 years and over 10 years. Routine renal parameters as serum creatinine, serum urea, urine-specific gravity, urinary protein:creatinine ratio and systolic blood pressure were also measured. No significant differences in any of the perfusion parameters were observed among the different age categories. A trend towards a lower peak enhancement and wash-in area under the curve with increasing age, suggestive for a lower blood volume, was detected when comparing the cats over 10 years old with the cats of 1-3 years old. Additionally, no significant age-effect was observed for the serum and urine parameters, whereas a higher blood pressure was observed in healthy cats over 10 years old. © British Veterinary Association (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  14. Adherence to a healthy Nordic food index and risk of myocardial infarction in middle-aged Danes: the diet, cancer and health cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunge, V B; Andersen, I; Kyrø, C; Hansen, C P; Dahm, C C; Christensen, J; Tjønneland, A; Olsen, A

    2017-05-01

    For decades, the Mediterranean diet has been in focus regarding healthy eating as it has been associated with reduced risk of non-communicable diseases. Less interest has been given to health benefits of other regional diets. The aim of the present study was to assess whether adherence to a healthy Nordic food index was associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction (MI) among middle-aged Danes. Data were obtained from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort study of 57 053 men and women aged 50-64 years recruited between 1993 and 1997. The healthy Nordic food index comprised healthy Nordic food items selected a priori (fish, cabbage, rye bread, oatmeal, apple and pears and root vegetables). Information on incident MI was ascertained through linkage with national registries. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated from sex-specific Cox proportional hazard models. In total, 1669 men and 653 women developed MI during follow-up (13.6 median years). In adjusted models, those with an index score of 5-6 points (highest scores) had significantly lower MI risk (men: HR=0.77, 95% CI=0.62, 0.97; women: HR=0.55, 95% CI=0.37, 0.82) relative to those scoring 0 points in the index (lowest score). A significantly lower MI risk was found per 1-point increment in the index in both men (HR=0.95, 95% CI=0.92, 0.99) and women (HR=0.93, 95% CI=0.88, 0.98). A healthy Nordic diet is associated with lower MI risk among middle-aged Danes, suggesting that Nordic diets should be considered in recommendations for dietary changes in the promotion of coronary health.

  15. Spatiotemporal and plantar pressure patterns of 1000 healthy individuals aged 3-101 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKay, Marnee J; Baldwin, Jennifer N; Ferreira, Paulo; Simic, Milena; Vanicek, Natalie; Wojciechowski, Elizabeth; Mudge, Anita; Burns, Joshua

    2017-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to establish normative reference values for spatiotemporal and plantar pressure parameters, and to investigate the influence of demographic, anthropometric and physical characteristics. In 1000 healthy males and females aged 3-101 years, spatiotemporal and plantar pressure data were collected barefoot with the Zeno™ walkway and Emed ® platform. Correlograms were developed to visualise the relationships between widely reported spatiotemporal and pressure variables with demographic (age, gender), anthropometric (height, mass, waist circumference) and physical characteristics (ankle strength, ankle range of motion, vibration perception) in children aged 3-9 years, adolescents aged 10-19 years, adults aged 20-59 years and older adults aged over 60 years. A comprehensive catalogue of 31 spatiotemporal and pressure variables were generated from 1000 healthy individuals. The key findings were that gait velocity was stable during adolescence and adulthood, while children and older adults walked at a comparable slower speed. Peak pressures increased during childhood to older adulthood. Children demonstrated highest peak pressures beneath the rearfoot whilst adolescents, adults and older adults demonstrated highest pressures at the forefoot. Main factors influencing spatiotemporal and pressure parameters were: increased age, height, body mass and waist circumference, as well as ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion strength. This study has established whole of life normative reference values of widely used spatiotemporal and plantar pressure parameters, and revealed changes to be expected across the lifespan. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Genome-Wide Association Study and Linkage Analysis of the Healthy Aging Index

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Minster, Ryan L; Sanders, Jason L; Singh, Jatinder

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The Healthy Aging Index (HAI) is a tool for measuring the extent of health and disease across multiple systems. METHODS: We conducted a genome-wide association study and a genome-wide linkage analysis to map quantitative trait loci associated with the HAI and a modified HAI weighted...

  17. Adherence to a healthy Nordic food index and risk of myocardial infarction in middle-aged Danes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gunge, V B; Andersen, I; Kyrø, C

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: For decades, the Mediterranean diet has been in focus regarding healthy eating as it has been associated with reduced risk of non-communicable diseases. Less interest has been given to health benefits of other regional diets. The aim of the present study was to assess whether...... adherence to a healthy Nordic food index was associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction (MI) among middle-aged Danes. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Data were obtained from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort study of 57 053 men and women aged 50 − 64 years recruited between 1993 and 1997. The healthy.......55, 95% CI = 0.37, 0.82) relative to those scoring 0 points in the index (lowest score). A significantly lower MI risk was found per 1-point increment in the index in both men (HR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.92, 0.99) and women (HR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.88, 0.98). CONCLUSIONS: A healthy Nordic diet is associated...

  18. From Entry to Practice to Advanced Nurse Practitioner - The Progression of Competencies and How They Assist in Delivery of eHealth Programs for Healthy Ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodger, Daragh; Hussey, Pamela

    2017-01-01

    Most of the health issues encountered in persons of older age are the result of one or more chronic diseases. The evidence base reports that chronic diseases can be prevented or delayed by engaging in healthy behaviors. Education provides a cost effective intervention on both economic grounds in addition to delivery of optimal patient outcomes. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) increasingly is viewed as a critical utility in eHealth delivery, providing scope for expanding online education facilities for older persons. Developing nursing competencies in the delivery of eHealth solutions to deliver user education programs therefore makes sense. This chapter discusses nursing competencies on the development of targeted eHealth programs for healthy ageing. The role of Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Ireland and its associated competency set identifies how a strong action learning model can be designed to deliver eHealth educational programs for effective delivery of healthy ageing in place.

  19. Relationship Between the Remaining Years of Healthy Life Expectancy in Older Age and National Income Level, Educational Attainment, and Improved Water Quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jong In; Kim, Gukbin

    2016-10-01

    The remaining years of healthy life expectancy (RYH) at age 65 years can be calculated as RYH (65) = healthy life expectancy-aged 65 years. This study confirms the associations between socioeconomic indicators and the RYH (65) in 148 countries. The RYH data were obtained from the World Health Organization. Significant positive correlations between RYH (65) in men and women and the socioeconomic indicators national income, education level, and improved drinking water were found. Finally, the predictors of RYH (65) in men and women were used to build a model of the RYH using higher socioeconomic indicators (R(2 )= 0.744, p educational attainment, national income level, and improved water quality influenced the RYH at 65 years. Therefore, policymaking to improve these country-level socioeconomic factors is expected to have latent effects on RYH in older age. © The Author(s) 2016.

  20. The change of longitudinal relaxation rate in oxygen enhanced pulmonary MRI depends on age and BMI but not diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide in healthy never-smokers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Sven Ivan Kindvall

    Full Text Available Oxygen enhanced pulmonary MRI is a promising modality for functional lung studies and has been applied to a wide range of pulmonary conditions. The purpose of this study was to characterize the oxygen enhancement effect in the lungs of healthy, never-smokers, in light of a previously established relationship between oxygen enhancement and diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide in the lung (DL,CO in patients with lung disease.In 30 healthy never-smoking volunteers, an inversion recovery with gradient echo read-out (Snapshot-FLASH was used to quantify the difference in longitudinal relaxation rate, while breathing air and 100% oxygen, ΔR1, at 1.5 Tesla. Measurements were performed under multiple tidal inspiration breath-holds.In single parameter linear models, ΔR1 exhibit a significant correlation with age (p = 0.003 and BMI (p = 0.0004, but not DL,CO (p = 0.33. Stepwise linear regression of ΔR1 yields an optimized model including an age-BMI interaction term.In this healthy, never-smoking cohort, age and BMI are both predictors of the change in MRI longitudinal relaxation rate when breathing oxygen. However, DL,CO does not show a significant correlation with the oxygen enhancement. This is possibly because oxygen transfer in the lung is not diffusion limited at rest in healthy individuals. This work stresses the importance of using a physiological model to understand results from oxygen enhanced MRI.

  1. High-dimensional analysis of the aging immune system: verification of age-associated differences in immune signaling responses in healthy donors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longo, Diane M; Louie, Brent; Ptacek, Jason; Friedland, Greg; Evensen, Erik; Putta, Santosh; Atallah, Michelle; Spellmeyer, David; Wang, Ena; Pos, Zoltan; Marincola, Francesco M; Schaeffer, Andrea; Lukac, Suzanne; Railkar, Radha; Beals, Chan R; Cesano, Alessandra; Carayannopoulos, Leonidas N; Hawtin, Rachael E

    2014-06-21

    Single-cell network profiling (SCNP) is a multiparametric flow cytometry-based approach that simultaneously measures evoked signaling in multiple cell subsets. Previously, using the SCNP approach, age-associated immune signaling responses were identified in a cohort of 60 healthy donors. In the current study, a high-dimensional analysis of intracellular signaling was performed by measuring 24 signaling nodes in 7 distinct immune cell subsets within PBMCs in an independent cohort of 174 healthy donors [144 elderly (>65 yrs); 30 young (25-40 yrs)]. Associations between age and 9 immune signaling responses identified in the previously published 60 donor cohort were confirmed in the current study. Furthermore, within the current study cohort, 48 additional immune signaling responses differed significantly between young and elderly donors. These associations spanned all profiled modulators and immune cell subsets. These results demonstrate that SCNP, a systems-based approach, can capture the complexity of the cellular mechanisms underlying immunological aging. Further, the confirmation of age associations in an independent donor cohort supports the use of SCNP as a tool for identifying reproducible predictive biomarkers in areas such as vaccine response and response to cancer immunotherapies.

  2. Neurological abnormalities and neurocognitive functions in healthy elder people: A structural equation modeling analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chan Raymond CK

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background/Aims Neurological abnormalities have been reported in normal aging population. However, most of them were limited to extrapyramidal signs and soft signs such as motor coordination and sensory integration have received much less attention. Very little is known about the relationship between neurological soft signs and neurocognitive function in healthy elder people. The current study aimed to examine the underlying relationships between neurological soft signs and neurocognition in a group of healthy elderly. Methods One hundred and eighty healthy elderly participated in the current study. Neurological soft signs were evaluated with the subscales of Cambridge Neurological Inventory. A set of neurocognitive tests was also administered to all the participants. Structural equation modeling was adopted to examine the underlying relationship between neurological soft signs and neurocognition. Results No significant differences were found between the male and female elder people in neurocognitive function performances and neurological soft signs. The model fitted well in the elderly and indicated the moderate associations between neurological soft signs and neurocognition, specifically verbal memory, visual memory and working memory. Conclusions The neurological soft signs are more or less statistically equivalent to capture the similar information done by conventional neurocognitive function tests in the elderly. The implication of these findings may serve as a potential neurological marker for the early detection of pathological aging diseases or related mental status such as mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

  3. Older-Adult Playfulness: An Innovative Construct and Measurement for Healthy Aging Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yarnal, Careen; Qian, Xinyi

    2011-01-01

    Few studies of adult playfulness exist, but limited research on older adults and playfulness suggests that playfulness in later life improves cognitive, emotional, social, and psychological functioning and healthy aging overall. Older adults represent a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, underscoring the need to understand the aging…

  4. Aerobic exercise and other healthy lifestyle factors that influence vascular aging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos-Parker, Jessica R.; LaRocca, Thomas J.

    2014-01-01

    Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of death in the United States and other modern societies. Advancing age is the major risk factor for CVD, primarily due to stiffening of the large elastic arteries and the development of vascular endothelial dysfunction. In contrast, regular aerobic exercise protects against the development of large elastic artery stiffness and vascular endothelial dysfunction with advancing age. Moreover, aerobic exercise interventions reduce arterial stiffness and restore vascular endothelial function in previously sedentary middle-aged/older adults. Aerobic exercise exerts its beneficial effects on arterial function by modulating structural proteins, reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, and restoring nitric oxide bioavailability. Aerobic exercise may also promote “resistance” against factors that reduce vascular function and increase CVD risk with age. Preventing excessive increases in abdominal adiposity, following healthy dietary practices, maintaining a low CVD risk factor profile, and, possibly, selective use of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals also play a major role in preserving vascular function with aging. PMID:25434012

  5. Aerobic exercise and other healthy lifestyle factors that influence vascular aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos-Parker, Jessica R; LaRocca, Thomas J; Seals, Douglas R

    2014-12-01

    Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of death in the United States and other modern societies. Advancing age is the major risk factor for CVD, primarily due to stiffening of the large elastic arteries and the development of vascular endothelial dysfunction. In contrast, regular aerobic exercise protects against the development of large elastic artery stiffness and vascular endothelial dysfunction with advancing age. Moreover, aerobic exercise interventions reduce arterial stiffness and restore vascular endothelial function in previously sedentary middle-aged/older adults. Aerobic exercise exerts its beneficial effects on arterial function by modulating structural proteins, reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, and restoring nitric oxide bioavailability. Aerobic exercise may also promote "resistance" against factors that reduce vascular function and increase CVD risk with age. Preventing excessive increases in abdominal adiposity, following healthy dietary practices, maintaining a low CVD risk factor profile, and, possibly, selective use of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals also play a major role in preserving vascular function with aging. Copyright © 2014 The American Physiological Society.

  6. An Empirical Comparison of Different Models of Active Aging in Canada: The International Mobility in Aging Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bélanger, Emmanuelle; Ahmed, Tamer; Filiatrault, Johanne; Yu, Hsiu-Ting; Zunzunegui, Maria Victoria

    2017-04-01

    Active aging is a concept that lacks consensus. The WHO defines it as a holistic concept that encompasses the overall health, participation, and security of older adults. Fernández-Ballesteros and colleagues propose a similar concept but omit security and include mood and cognitive function. To date, researchers attempting to validate conceptual models of active aging have obtained mixed results. The goal of this study was to examine the validity of existing models of active aging with epidemiological data from Canada. The WHO model of active aging and the psychological model of active aging developed by Fernández-Ballesteros and colleagues were tested with confirmatory factor analysis. The data used included 799 community-dwelling older adults between 65 and 74 years old, recruited from the patient lists of family physicians in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec and Kingston, Ontario. Neither model could be validated in the sample of Canadian older adults. Although a concept of healthy aging can be modeled adequately, social participation and security did not fit a latent factor model. A simple binary index indicated that 27% of older adults in the sample did not meet the active aging criteria proposed by the WHO. Our results suggest that active aging might represent a human rights policy orientation rather than an empirical measurement tool to guide research among older adult populations. Binary indexes of active aging may serve to highlight what remains to be improved about the health, participation, and security of growing populations of older adults. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Predicting healthy lifestyle patterns among retirement age older adults in the WELL study: a latent class analysis of sex differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Södergren, Marita; Wang, Wei Chun; Salmon, Jo; Ball, Kylie; Crawford, David; McNaughton, Sarah A

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of retirement age older adults with respect to their lifestyle patterns of eating, drinking, smoking, physical activity and TV viewing behaviors, and to examine the association between these patterns and socio-demographic covariates. The sample consisted of 3133 older adults aged 55-65 years from the Wellbeing, Eating and Exercise for a Long Life (WELL) study, 2010. This study used latent class analysis (stratified by sex), with a set of lifestyle indicators and including socio-demographic covariates. Statistical analyses were performed by generalized linear latent and mixed models in Stata. Two classes of lifestyle patterns were identified: Healthy (53% men and 72% women) and less healthy lifestyles. Physical activity, TV-viewing time, and fruit intake were good indicators distinguishing the "Healthier" class, whereas consumption of vegetables, alcohol (men) and fast food (women) could not clearly discriminate older adults in the two classes. Class membership was associated with education, body mass index, and self-rated health. This study contributes to the literature on lifestyle behaviors among older adults, and provides evidence that there are meaningful sex differences in lifestyle behaviors between subgroups of older adults. From a policy perspective, understanding indicators or "markers" of healthy and less healthy lifestyle patterns is important for identifying target groups for interventions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. MRI of the brain in neurologically healthy middle-aged and elderly individuals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salonen, O.; Autti, T.; Raininko, R.; Ylikoski, A.; Erkinjuntti, T.

    1997-01-01

    Our purpose was to document the MRI appearances of the brain in healthy middle-aged to elderly subjects. T2- and proton density-weighted axial slices were obtained in 61 volunteers, 30-86 years of age. After visual inspection, signal intensities of brain structures were measured on T2-weighted images. Age-related changes became increasingly apparent after age 50. The main findings were that signal intensity of the white matter increased concomitantly with widening of the cerebrospinal fluid spaces; that basal ganglia remained stable; that high-signal foci in white matter increased in number and size after the age of 50 years; that periventricular high-signal foci were constant after the age of 65 years. Our visual impression of a decrease in signal intensity of the central grey matter with age seems to be mistaken. Pathological processes should be suspected if periventricular foci are found in middle-aged or young subjects. (orig.). With 9 figs., 1 tab

  9. The effect of age and speed on foot and ankle kinematics assessed using a 4-segment foot model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hoeve, Sander; Leenstra, Bernard; Willems, Paul; Poeze, Martijn; Meijer, Kenneth

    2017-09-01

    The effects of age and speed on foot and ankle kinematics in gait studies using foot models are not fully understood, whereas this can have significant influence. We analyzed these variables with the 4-segment Oxford foot model. Twenty-one healthy subjects (aged 20-65 years) were recruited for gait analysis. The effect of speed on foot and ankle kinematics was assessed by comparing results during slow walking and fast walking. To assess the effect of age, a group of 13 healthy young adults (aged 20-24 years) were compared with a group of 8 older adults (aged 53-65 years). Also, the interaction between age and speed was analyzed. Regarding speed, there was a significant difference between forefoot/hindfoot motion in the sagittal plane (flexion/extension) during both loading- and push-off phase (P = .004, P < .001). Between hindfoot/tibia, there was a significant difference for all parameters except for motion in the sagittal plane (flexion/extension) during push-off phase (P = .5). Age did not significantly influence kinematics. There was no interaction between age and speed. Our analysis found that speed significantly influenced the kinematic outcome parameters. This was more pronounced in the ankle joint. In contrast, no significant differences were found between younger and older healthy subjects.

  10. The effect of age and speed on foot and ankle kinematics assessed using a 4-segment foot model

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hoeve, Sander; Leenstra, Bernard; Willems, Paul; Poeze, Martijn; Meijer, Kenneth

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background: The effects of age and speed on foot and ankle kinematics in gait studies using foot models are not fully understood, whereas this can have significant influence. We analyzed these variables with the 4-segment Oxford foot model. Methods: Twenty-one healthy subjects (aged 20–65 years) were recruited for gait analysis. The effect of speed on foot and ankle kinematics was assessed by comparing results during slow walking and fast walking. To assess the effect of age, a group of 13 healthy young adults (aged 20–24 years) were compared with a group of 8 older adults (aged 53–65 years). Also, the interaction between age and speed was analyzed. Results: Regarding speed, there was a significant difference between forefoot/hindfoot motion in the sagittal plane (flexion/extension) during both loading- and push-off phase (P = .004, P push-off phase (P = .5). Age did not significantly influence kinematics. There was no interaction between age and speed. Conclusion: Our analysis found that speed significantly influenced the kinematic outcome parameters. This was more pronounced in the ankle joint. In contrast, no significant differences were found between younger and older healthy subjects. PMID:28858109

  11. Age-specific MRI brain and head templates for healthy adults from twenty through eighty-nine years of age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul T Fillmore

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This study created and tested a database of adult, age-specific MRI brain and head templates. The participants included healthy adults from 20 through 89 years of age. The templates were done in 5-year, 10-year, and multi-year intervals from 20 through 89 years, and consist of average T1W for the head and brain, and segmenting priors for GM, WM, and CSF. It was found that age-appropriate templates provided less biased tissue classification estimates than age-inappropriate reference data and reference data based on young adult templates. This database is available for use by other investigators and clinicians for their MRI studies, as well as other types of neuroimaging and electrophysiological research (http://jerlab.psych.sc.edu/NeurodevelopmentalMRIDatabase/.

  12. Healthy lifestyle and normal waist circumference are associated with a lower 5-year risk of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and elderly individuals: Results from the healthy aging longitudinal study in Taiwan (HALST).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chu-Chih; Liu, Kiang; Hsu, Chih-Chen; Chang, Hsing-Yi; Chung, Hsiao-Chun; Liu, Jih-Shin; Liu, Yo-Hann; Tsai, Tsung-Lung; Liaw, Wen-Jin; Lin, I-Ching; Wu, Hsi-Wen; Juan, Chung-Chou; Chiu, Hou-Chang; Lee, Marion M; Hsiung, Chao A

    2017-02-01

    Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is known to be closely associated with lifestyle and obesity and has a prevalence that increases with age. This study aimed to assess the short-term composite effect of diet, physical activity, psychosocial health, and waist circumference (WC) on the incidence of DM in the elderly and to provide a lifestyle-based predictive index.We used baseline measurements (2009-2013) of 5349 community-dwelling participants (aged 55 years and older, 52% female) of the Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan (HALST) for fasting plasma glucose, HbA1C, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressures, WC, and outcomes of home-visit questionnaire. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify participants with a healthy lifestyle (HLF: higher diet, physical activity, and psychosocial scores) and a lower WC, with cutoffs determined by the receiver-operating characteristics. A Cox regression model was applied to 3424 participants without DM at baseline by linking to their National Health Insurance records (median follow-up of 3.1 years).In total, 247 new DM cases (7.2%) were identified. The HLF and lower WC group had a relative risk (RR) of DM of 0.54 (95% CI 0.35-0.82) compared to the non-HLF and higher WC group. When stratified by the presence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or metabolic syndrome (MS), only participants with IGT/MS showed significant risks (RR 0.55; 95% CI 0.33-0.92). However, except for WC, the individual lifestyle factors were nonsignificant in the overall model without PCA.A composite protective effect of HLF and normal WC on DM within 5 years was observed, especially in those with IGT or MS. Psychosocial health constituted an important lifestyle factor in the elderly. The cutoffs identified could be used as a lifestyle-based risk index for DM. Maintaining an HLF to prevent DM is especially important for the elderly.

  13. A Healthy Dietary Pattern at Midlife, Combined with a Regulated Energy Intake, Is Related to Increased Odds for Healthy Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assmann, Karen E; Lassale, Camille; Andreeva, Valentina A; Jeandel, Claude; Hercberg, Serge; Galan, Pilar; Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle

    2015-09-01

    Few studies have investigated the long-term impact of overall dietary patterns (DPs) on healthy aging (HA), and current findings are inconsistent. Our study's objective was to investigate the association between empirically derived DPs in midlife and HA after 13 y of follow-up. Baseline dietary data from repeated 24-h dietary records (on average, 10 records per participant) of a subsample of the SU.VI.MAX (SUpplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux AntioXydants) study allowed extraction of 2 DPs with the use of principal components analysis on 37 food groups. HA was assessed in 2007-2009 among 2796 participants of the SU.VI.MAX study aged 45-60 y at baseline (1994-1995), who were initially free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. HA was defined as not developing any major chronic disease, good physical and cognitive functioning, no limitations in instrumental activities of daily living, no depressive symptoms, no health-related limitations in social life, good overall self-perceived health, and no function-limiting pain. The association between DPs (in tertiles) and HA was evaluated by using multivariable logistic regression, and a potential interaction with energy intake was investigated. A "Western" and a "healthy" DP were identified. After adjustment for a large number of potential confounders, there was no significant association between the Western DP and HA. Moreover, the healthy pattern was not associated with HA among subjects with high (i.e., greater than or equal to the median) energy intake. Among subjects with low (i.e., less than the median) energy intake, on the other hand, higher scores on the healthy DP were related to higher odds of HA (OR for tertile 3 vs. tertile 1: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.11, 2.00; P-trend = 0.01). Adherence to a healthy diet in midlife that provides micronutrients, fiber, and antioxidants while regulating energy intake may help to promote HA. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

  14. Preparing the Workforce for Healthy Aging Programs: The Skills for Healthy Aging Resources and Programs (SHARP) Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, Janet C.; Altpeter, Mary; Damron-Rodriguez, JoAnn; Driggers, Joann; Lachenmayr, Susan; Manning, Colleen; Martinez, Dana M.; Price, Rachel M.; Robinson, Patricia

    2014-01-01

    Current public health and aging service agency personnel have little training in gerontology, and virtually no training in evidence-based health promotion and disease management programs for older adults. These programs are rapidly becoming the future of our community-based long-term care support system. The purpose of this project was to develop…

  15. Feast and famine: Adipose tissue adaptations for healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lettieri Barbato, Daniele; Aquilano, Katia

    2016-07-01

    Proper adipose tissue function controls energy balance with favourable effects on metabolic health and longevity. The molecular and metabolic asset of adipose tissue quickly and dynamically readapts in response to nutrient fluctuations. Once delivered into cells, nutrients are managed by mitochondria that represent a key bioenergetics node. A persistent nutrient overload generates mitochondrial exhaustion and uncontrolled reactive oxygen species ((mt)ROS) production. In adipocytes, metabolic/molecular reorganization is triggered culminating in the acquirement of a hypertrophic and hypersecretory phenotype that accelerates aging. Conversely, dietary regimens such as caloric restriction or time-controlled fasting endorse mitochondrial functionality and (mt)ROS-mediated signalling, thus promoting geroprotection. In this perspective view, we argued some important molecular and metabolic aspects related to adipocyte response to nutrient stress. Finally we delineated hypothetical routes by which molecularly and metabolically readapted adipose tissue promotes healthy aging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Development of an educational intervention to promote healthy eating and physical activity in Mexican school-age children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amaya-Castellanos, Claudia; Shamah-Levy, Teresa; Escalante-Izeta, Ericka; Morales-Ruán, María Del Carmen; Jiménez-Aguilar, Alejandra; Salazar-Coronel, Araceli; Uribe-Carvajal, Rebeca; Amaya-Castellanos, Alejandra

    2015-10-01

    Mexico has the highest and most alarming rates of childhood obesity worldwide. A study conducted in the State of Mexico revealed that one of every three children presents overweight or obesity. The objective of this paper is to provide a step-by-step description of the design and implementation of an educational intervention to promote healthy eating and physical activity called "Healthy Recess". The educational intervention was designed using the six stages of the Health Communication Process. This methodological model allowed identifying the needs of school-age children on information and participation in activities. In order to improve the strategy, adjustments were made to the print and audiovisual materials as well as to assessment tools. Typography was modified as well as the color of the images in student's workbook and facilitator's; special effects of the videos were increased; the narration of the radio spots was improved and common words and phrases were included. The Health Communication Process is an effective tool for program planners to design interventions aimed at managing prevalent health problems such as overweight and obesity in school-age children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. MACVIA-LR (Fighting Chronic Diseases for Active and Healthy Ageing in Languedoc-Roussillon): A Success Story of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bousquet, J; Bourret, R; Camuzat, T; Augé, P; Bringer, J; Noguès, M; Jonquet, O; de la Coussaye, J E; Ankri, J; Cesari, M; Guérin, O; Vellas, B; Blain, H; Arnavielhe, S; Avignon, A; Combe, B; Canovas, G; Daien, C; Dray, G; Dupeyron, A; Jeandel, C; Laffont, I; Laune, D; Marion, C; Pastor, E; Pélissier, J Y; Galan, B; Reynes, J; Reuzeau, J C; Bedbrook, A; Granier, S; Adnet, P A; Amouyal, M; Alomène, B; Bernard, P L; Berr, C; Caimmi, D; Claret, P G; Costa, D J; Cristol, J P; Fesler, P; Hève, D; Millot-Keurinck, J; Morquin, D; Ninot, G; Picot, M C; Raffort, N; Roubille, F; Sultan, A; Touchon, J; Attalin, V; Azevedo, C; Badin, M; Bakhti, K; Bardy, B; Battesti, M P; Bobia, X; Boegner, C; Boichot, S; Bonnin, H Y; Bouly, S; Boubakri, C; Bourrain, J L; Bourrel, G; Bouix, V; Bruguière, V; Cade, S; Camu, W; Carre, V; Cavalli, G; Cayla, G; Chiron, R; Coignard, P; Coroian, F; Costa, P; Cottalorda, J; Coulet, B; Coupet, A L; Courrouy-Michel, M C; Courtet, P; Cros, V; Cuisinier, F; Danko, M; Dauenhauer, P; Dauzat, M; David, M; Davy, J M; Delignières, D; Demoly, P; Desplan, J; Dujols, P; Dupeyron, G; Engberink, O; Enjalbert, M; Fattal, C; Fernandes, J; Fouletier, M; Fraisse, P; Gabrion, P; Gellerat-Rogier, M; Gelis, A; Genis, C; Giraudeau, N; Goucham, A Y; Gouzi, F; Gressard, F; Gris, J C; Guillot, B; Guiraud, D; Handweiler, V; Hayot, M; Hérisson, C; Heroum, C; Hoa, D; Jacquemin, S; Jaber, S; Jakovenko, D; Jorgensen, C; Kouyoudjian, P; Lamoureux, R; Landreau, L; Lapierre, M; Larrey, D; Laurent, C; Léglise, M S; Lemaitre, J M; Le Quellec, A; Leclercq, F; Lehmann, S; Lognos, B; Lussert, Cj M; Makinson, A; Mandrick, K; Mares, P; Martin-Gousset, P; Matheron, A; Mathieu, G; Meissonnier, M; Mercier, G; Messner, P; Meunier, C; Mondain, M; Morales, R; Morel, J; Mottet, D; Nérin, P; Nicolas, P; Nouvel, F; Paccard, D; Pandraud, G; Pasdelou, M P; Pasquié, J L; Patte, K; Perrey, S; Pers, Y M; Portejoie, F; Pujol, J L E; Quantin, X; Quéré, I; Ramdani, S; Ribstein, J; Rédini-Martinez, I; Richard, S; Ritchie, K; Riso, J P; Rivier, F; Robine, J M; Rolland, C; Royère, E; Sablot, D; Savy, J L; Schifano, L; Senesse, P; Sicard, R; Stephan, Y; Strubel, D; Tallon, G; Tanfin, M; Tassery, H; Tavares, I; Torre, K; Tribout, V; Uziel, A; Van de Perre, P; Venail, F; Vergne-Richard, C; Vergotte, G; Vian, L; Vialla, F; Viart, F; Villain, M; Viollet, E; Ychou, M; Mercier, J

    2016-01-01

    The Région Languedoc Roussillon is the umbrella organisation for an interconnected and integrated project on active and healthy ageing (AHA). It covers the 3 pillars of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA): (A) Prevention and health promotion, (B) Care and cure, (C) and (D) Active and independent living of elderly people. All sub-activities (poly-pharmacy, falls prevention initiative, prevention of frailty, chronic respiratory diseases, chronic diseases with multimorbidities, chronic infectious diseases, active and independent living and disability) have been included in MACVIA-LR which has a strong political commitment and involves all stakeholders (public, private, patients, policy makers) including CARSAT-LR and the Eurobiomed cluster. It is a Reference Site of the EIP on AHA. The framework of MACVIA-LR has the vision that the prevention and management of chronic diseases is essential for the promotion of AHA and for the reduction of handicap. The main objectives of MACVIA-LR are: (i) to develop innovative solutions for a network of Living labs in order to reduce avoidable hospitalisations and loss of autonomy while improving quality of life, (ii) to disseminate the innovation. The three years of MACVIA-LR activities are reported in this paper.

  18. Gastrointestinal mean transit times in young and middle-aged healthy subjects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Graff, J; Brinch, K; Madsen, Jan Lysgård

    2001-01-01

    To investigate the effects of age and gender on gastric, small intestinal and colonic mean transit times, a study was conducted in 32 healthy volunteers: eight young women (22-30 years), eight young men (20-28 years), eight middle-aged women (43-51 years) and eight middle-aged men (38-53 years......). After ingestion of a meal containing 111Indium-labelled water and 99mTechnetium-labelled omelette imaging of the abdomen was performed at intervals of 30 min until all radioactivity was located in the colon and henceforth at intervals of 24 h until all radioactivity had cleared from the colon. Gastric......, small intestinal and colonic mean transit times were calculated. The gastric, small intestinal and colonic mean transit times were significantly longer in women. Ageing was shown to accelerate the gastric and small intestinal transit significantly. In the group of men the colonic mean transit time...

  19. Motor development in 3-month-old healthy term-born infants is associated with cognitive and behavioural outcomes at early school age

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hitzert, Marrit; Roze, Elise; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N. J. A.; Bos, Arend F.

    AIM To determine whether motor development at 3 months of age is associated with cognitive, motor, and behavioural outcomes in healthy children at early school age. METHOD In this cohort study, we included 74 term-born, healthy children (44 males, 30 females; median gestational age 40.1wks, range

  20. Genetic design of pigs as experimental models in the combat between chronic diseases and healthy aging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bolund, Lars

    2012-01-01

    with and without intervention. The genome of different pig breeds have been sequenced, revealing that the pig is genetically more similar to man than conventional laboratory animals - in agreement with the similarities in organ development, physiology and metabolism. Genetically designed minipigs (Göttingen...... pigs. We can also produce clones of pigs, some disease prone and some fluorescing, to perform experiments in regenerative medicine where the fate of healthy fluorescent cells can be followed in the, basically identical, disease prone animals. It is also our hope that our pig models can contribute...

  1. Social Determinants of Active Aging: Differences in Mortality and the Loss of Healthy Life between Different Income Levels among Older Japanese in the AGES Cohort Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroshi Hirai

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We examined the relationship between income, mortality, and loss of years of healthy life in a sample of older persons in Japan. We analyzed 22,829 persons aged 65 or older who were functionally independent at baseline as a part of the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES. Two outcome measures were adopted, mortality and loss of healthy life. Independent variables were income level and age. The occurrence of mortality and need for care during these 1,461 days were tracked. Cox regressions were used to calculate the hazard ratio for mortality and loss of healthy life by income level. We found that people with lower incomes were more likely than those with higher incomes to report worse health. For the overall sample, using the governmental administrative data, the hazard ratios of mortality and loss of healthy life-years comparing the lowest to the highest income level were 3.50 for men and 2.48 for women for mortality and 3.71 for men and 2.27 for women for loss of healthy life. When only those who responded to questions about income on the mail survey were included in the analysis, the relationships became weaker and lost statistical significance.

  2. Faecal calprotectin concentrations in apparently healthy children aged 0-12 years in urban Kampala, Uganda: a community-based survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grahnquist Lena

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Calprotectin is a calcium and zinc binding protein, abundant in neutrophils and is extremely stable in faeces. Faecal calprotectin is used as a non-specific marker for gastrointestinal inflammation. It has a good diagnostic precision to distinguish between irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. Studies have established normal concentrations in healthy children; all these studies have been performed in high-income countries. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of faecal calprotectin in apparently healthy children aged 0-12 years in urban Kampala, Uganda. Method We tested 302 apparently healthy children aged, age 0-12 years (162 female, 140 male in urban Kampala, Uganda. The children were recruited consecutively by door-to-door visits. Faecal calprotectin was analyzed using a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Faeces were also tested for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori antigen, for growth of enteropathogens and microscopy was performed to assess protozoa and helminths. A short standardized interview with socio-demographic information and medical history was obtained to assess health status of the children. Results In the different age groups the median faecal calprotectin concentrations were 249 mg/kg in 0 H. pylori or having other pathogens in the stool. Conclusion Concentrations of faecal calprotectin among healthy children, living in urban Ugandan, a low-income country, are comparable to those in healthy children living in high-income countries. In children older than 4 years, the faecal calprotectin concentration is low. In healthy infants faecal calprotectin is high. The suggested cut-off concentrations in the literature can be used in apparently healthy Ugandan children. This finding also shows that healthy children living under poor circumstances do not have a constant inflammation in the gut. We see an opportunity to use this relatively inexpensive test for

  3. Lower-Extremity Function in Cognitively Healthy Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer's Disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eggermont, Laura H.; Gavett, Brandon E.; Volkers, Karin M.; Blankevoort, Christiaan G.; Scherder, Erik J.; Jefferson, Angela L.; Steinberg, Eric; Nair, Anil; Green, Robert C.; Stern, Robert A.

    Eggermont LH, Gavett BE, Volkers KM, Blankevoort CG, Scherder EJ, Jefferson AL, Steinberg E, Nair A, Green RC, Stern RA. Lower-extremity function in cognitively healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2010;91:584-8. Objective: To examine differences

  4. Scaling up strategies of the chronic respiratory disease programme of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (Action Plan B3: Area 5).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bousquet, J; Farrell, J; Crooks, G; Hellings, P; Bel, E H; Bewick, M; Chavannes, N H; de Sousa, J Correia; Cruz, A A; Haahtela, T; Joos, G; Khaltaev, N; Malva, J; Muraro, A; Nogues, M; Palkonen, S; Pedersen, S; Robalo-Cordeiro, C; Samolinski, B; Strandberg, T; Valiulis, A; Yorgancioglu, A; Zuberbier, T; Bedbrook, A; Aberer, W; Adachi, M; Agusti, A; Akdis, C A; Akdis, M; Ankri, J; Alonso, A; Annesi-Maesano, I; Ansotegui, I J; Anto, J M; Arnavielhe, S; Arshad, H; Bai, C; Baiardini, I; Bachert, C; Baigenzhin, A K; Barbara, C; Bateman, E D; Beghé, B; Kheder, A Ben; Bennoor, K S; Benson, M; Bergmann, K C; Bieber, T; Bindslev-Jensen, C; Bjermer, L; Blain, H; Blasi, F; Boner, A L; Bonini, M; Bonini, S; Bosnic-Anticevitch, S; Boulet, L P; Bourret, R; Bousquet, P J; Braido, F; Briggs, A H; Brightling, C E; Brozek, J; Buhl, R; Burney, P G; Bush, A; Caballero-Fonseca, F; Caimmi, D; Calderon, M A; Calverley, P M; Camargos, P A M; Canonica, G W; Camuzat, T; Carlsen, K H; Carr, W; Carriazo, A; Casale, T; Cepeda Sarabia, A M; Chatzi, L; Chen, Y Z; Chiron, R; Chkhartishvili, E; Chuchalin, A G; Chung, K F; Ciprandi, G; Cirule, I; Cox, L; Costa, D J; Custovic, A; Dahl, R; Dahlen, S E; Darsow, U; De Carlo, G; De Blay, F; Dedeu, T; Deleanu, D; De Manuel Keenoy, E; Demoly, P; Denburg, J A; Devillier, P; Didier, A; Dinh-Xuan, A T; Djukanovic, R; Dokic, D; Douagui, H; Dray, G; Dubakiene, R; Durham, S R; Dykewicz, M S; El-Gamal, Y; Emuzyte, R; Fabbri, L M; Fletcher, M; Fiocchi, A; Fink Wagner, A; Fonseca, J; Fokkens, W J; Forastiere, F; Frith, P; Gaga, M; Gamkrelidze, A; Garces, J; Garcia-Aymerich, J; Gemicioğlu, B; Gereda, J E; González Diaz, S; Gotua, M; Grisle, I; Grouse, L; Gutter, Z; Guzmán, M A; Heaney, L G; Hellquist-Dahl, B; Henderson, D; Hendry, A; Heinrich, J; Heve, D; Horak, F; Hourihane, J O' B; Howarth, P; Humbert, M; Hyland, M E; Illario, M; Ivancevich, J C; Jardim, J R; Jares, E J; Jeandel, C; Jenkins, C; Johnston, S L; Jonquet, O; Julge, K; Jung, K S; Just, J; Kaidashev, I; Kaitov, M R; Kalayci, O; Kalyoncu, A F; Keil, T; Keith, P K; Klimek, L; Koffi N'Goran, B; Kolek, V; Koppelman, G H; Kowalski, M L; Kull, I; Kuna, P; Kvedariene, V; Lambrecht, B; Lau, S; Larenas-Linnemann, D; Laune, D; Le, L T T; Lieberman, P; Lipworth, B; Li, J; Lodrup Carlsen, K; Louis, R; MacNee, W; Magard, Y; Magnan, A; Mahboub, B; Mair, A; Majer, I; Makela, M J; Manning, P; Mara, S; Marshall, G D; Masjedi, M R; Matignon, P; Maurer, M; Mavale-Manuel, S; Melén, E; Melo-Gomes, E; Meltzer, E O; Menzies-Gow, A; Merk, H; Michel, J P; Miculinic, N; Mihaltan, F; Milenkovic, B; Mohammad, G M Y; Molimard, M; Momas, I; Montilla-Santana, A; Morais-Almeida, M; Morgan, M; Mösges, R; Mullol, J; Nafti, S; Namazova-Baranova, L; Naclerio, R; Neou, A; Neffen, H; Nekam, K; Niggemann, B; Ninot, G; Nyembue, T D; O'Hehir, R E; Ohta, K; Okamoto, Y; Okubo, K; Ouedraogo, S; Paggiaro, P; Pali-Schöll, I; Panzner, P; Papadopoulos, N; Papi, A; Park, H S; Passalacqua, G; Pavord, I; Pawankar, R; Pengelly, R; Pfaar, O; Picard, R; Pigearias, B; Pin, I; Plavec, D; Poethig, D; Pohl, W; Popov, T A; Portejoie, F; Potter, P; Postma, D; Price, D; Rabe, K F; Raciborski, F; Radier Pontal, F; Repka-Ramirez, S; Reitamo, S; Rennard, S; Rodenas, F; Roberts, J; Roca, J; Rodriguez Mañas, L; Rolland, C; Roman Rodriguez, M; Romano, A; Rosado-Pinto, J; Rosario, N; Rosenwasser, L; Rottem, M; Ryan, D; Sanchez-Borges, M; Scadding, G K; Schunemann, H J; Serrano, E; Schmid-Grendelmeier, P; Schulz, H; Sheikh, A; Shields, M; Siafakas, N; Sibille, Y; Similowski, T; Simons, F E R; Sisul, J C; Skrindo, I; Smit, H A; Solé, D; Sooronbaev, T; Spranger, O; Stelmach, R; Sterk, P J; Sunyer, J; Thijs, C; To, T; Todo-Bom, A; Triggiani, M; Valenta, R; Valero, A L; Valia, E; Valovirta, E; Van Ganse, E; van Hage, M; Vandenplas, O; Vasankari, T; Vellas, B; Vestbo, J; Vezzani, G; Vichyanond, P; Viegi, G; Vogelmeier, C; Vontetsianos, T; Wagenmann, M; Wallaert, B; Walker, S; Wang, D Y; Wahn, U; Wickman, M; Williams, D M; Williams, S; Wright, J; Yawn, B P; Yiallouros, P K; Yusuf, O M; Zaidi, A; Zar, H J; Zernotti, M E; Zhang, L; Zhong, N; Zidarn, M; Mercier, J

    2016-01-01

    Action Plan B3 of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) focuses on the integrated care of chronic diseases. Area 5 (Care Pathways) was initiated using chronic respiratory diseases as a model. The chronic respiratory disease action plan includes (1) AIRWAYS integrated care pathways (ICPs), (2) the joint initiative between the Reference site MACVIA-LR (Contre les MAladies Chroniques pour un VIeillissement Actif) and ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma), (3) Commitments for Action to the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing and the AIRWAYS ICPs network. It is deployed in collaboration with the World Health Organization Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD). The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing has proposed a 5-step framework for developing an individual scaling up strategy: (1) what to scale up: (1-a) databases of good practices, (1-b) assessment of viability of the scaling up of good practices, (1-c) classification of good practices for local replication and (2) how to scale up: (2-a) facilitating partnerships for scaling up, (2-b) implementation of key success factors and lessons learnt, including emerging technologies for individualised and predictive medicine. This strategy has already been applied to the chronic respiratory disease action plan of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing.

  5. Free and protein-bound cobalamin absorption in healthy middle-aged and older subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Asselt, D Z; van den Broek, W J; Lamers, C B; Corstens, F H; Hoefnagels, W H

    1996-08-01

    To study free- and protein-bound cobalamin absorption and the correlation with atrophic gastritis in healthy middle-aged and older subjects. A cross-sectional study. Fifty-two healthy subjects, aged 26 to 87 years, apparently free from conditions known to influence the cobalamin status. Middle-aged subjects were defined as those younger than 65 years of age (median age 57 years) and older subjects as those 65 years and older (median age 75 years). Protein-bound cobalamin absorption was assessed by 48-hour urinary excretion method following oral administration of scrambled egg yolk, labeled in vivo with 57 Co-cobalamin by injecting a hen with 57 Co-cyanocobalamin. The percentage of 57 Co-cobalamin bound to protein was 65%. Free cobalamin absorption was assessed by 48-hour urinary excretion method following oral administration of crystalline 57 Co-cyanocobalamin. Plasma cobalamin, folate and fasting plasma gastrin, and pepsinogen A and C concentrations were determined. The median urinary excretion of egg yolk 57 Co-cobalamin in middle-aged subjects was 12.3% (25th and 75th percentiles 10.5%-14.5%) compared with 11.7% (25th and 75th percentiles 9.8%-13.6%) in older subjects (P = .283). The median urinary excretion after administration of free 57 Co-cobalamin in middle-aged subjects was 25.7% (25th and 75th percentiles 20.6%-30.7%) compared with 27.9% (25th and 75th percentiles 21.4%-34.5%) in older subjects (P = .694). Neither egg yolk nor free 57 Co-cobalamin excretion correlated with age. A ratio of pepsinogen A to pepsinogen C less than 1.6, indicating atrophic gastritis, was found in 13 subjects. Within the atrophic gastritis group, 11 subjects had a pepsinogen A concentration greater than or equal to 17 micrograms/L, indicating mild to moderate atrophic gastritis, and two subjects had a pepsinogen A concentration less than 17 micrograms/L, indicating severe atrophic gastritis or gastric atrophy. All subjects had normal fasting plasma gastrin concentrations. Free

  6. Distribution of coronary calcium score in healthy middle-aged Korean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choe, Kyu Ok; Kim, Min Jung; Choi, Byoung Wook; Kim, Jung Ho; Noh, Ki Suh; Kim, Si Yon; Ko, Heung Kyu; Suh, Il

    1999-01-01

    To determine the prevalence and degree of CAC (coronary artery calcification) in appearently healthy middle-aged Koreans, and the relation of CAC to risk factors for atherosclerosis. A total of 289 apparently healthy personnel at Yonsei University (male: 170, female:119, age: mean(SD=54.9±7.1 years) underwent EBT (electron bean tomography). The risk factors for athero-sclerosis, which included diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking, a family history of precocious onset, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and high intraperitoneal fat, were scrutinized. One hundred and sixty-eight subjects (58%) had at least one risk factor. The CAC score was calculated for all subjects and for each coronary artery separately and was then analyzed by age and sex and in relation to the risk factors. The prevalence of CAC was 40% in men and 18.5% in women (mean score:29.7 vs. 9.9). The number of individuals who had one, two, or more than two risk factors was 141,41, and 19, respectively. The number of risk factors and the prevalence and score of CAC were significantly correlated (p=0.01, 0.02 respectively). The number of individuals with no risk factor, with without CAC, was 58(20.1%) and 103(35.6%), respectively, while the number with some risk factor, with or without CAC, was 38(13.1%) and 90(31.1%), respectively. The CAC score was significantly higher in the presence of hypertension, low HDL, or obesity(p=0.001, 0.049, and 0.068, respectively). Smoking appeared to have a borderline effect on the calcium score(p=0.118). This study should provide useful information for interpreting CAC scores and establishing a treatment strategy for Koreans. The comparison of our results with other studies will enable a better understanding of the process and risk factors of atherosclerosis in Koreans

  7. Distribution of coronary calcium score in healthy middle-aged Korean

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choe, Kyu Ok; Kim, Min Jung; Choi, Byoung Wook; Kim, Jung Ho; Noh, Ki Suh; Kim, Si Yon; Ko, Heung Kyu; Suh, Il [Yonsei Univ. College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1999-11-01

    To determine the prevalence and degree of CAC (coronary artery calcification) in appearently healthy middle-aged Koreans, and the relation of CAC to risk factors for atherosclerosis. A total of 289 apparently healthy personnel at Yonsei University (male: 170, female:119, age: mean(SD=54.9{+-}7.1 years)) underwent EBT (electron bean tomography). The risk factors for athero-sclerosis, which included diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking, a family history of precocious onset, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and high intraperitoneal fat, were scrutinized. One hundred and sixty-eight subjects (58%) had at least one risk factor. The CAC score was calculated for all subjects and for each coronary artery separately and was then analyzed by age and sex and in relation to the risk factors. The prevalence of CAC was 40% in men and 18.5% in women (mean score:29.7 vs. 9.9). The number of individuals who had one, two, or more than two risk factors was 141,41, and 19, respectively. The number of risk factors and the prevalence and score of CAC were significantly correlated (p=0.01, 0.02 respectively). The number of individuals with no risk factor, with without CAC, was 58(20.1%) and 103(35.6%), respectively, while the number with some risk factor, with or without CAC, was 38(13.1%) and 90(31.1%), respectively. The CAC score was significantly higher in the presence of hypertension, low HDL, or obesity(p=0.001, 0.049, and 0.068, respectively). Smoking appeared to have a borderline effect on the calcium score(p=0.118). This study should provide useful information for interpreting CAC scores and establishing a treatment strategy for Koreans. The comparison of our results with other studies will enable a better understanding of the process and risk factors of atherosclerosis in Koreans.

  8. Behavioral determinants of healthy aging: good news for the baby boomer generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartman-Stein, Paula E; Potkanowicz, Edward S

    2003-01-01

    The first of the Baby Boomer generation will officially enter the beginning of old age in 2011 by turning 65. Recent research findings suggest that if the members of this cohort group engage in certain healthy behaviors and thought patterns in their middle years, they will experience a vital, satisfying life in their 70s and beyond. This article reviews the existing literature, including the results of longitudinal studies showing variables that predicted successful aging. Focusing on a lifespan psychology perspective of aging, the authors provide behavioral recommendations for middle age individuals that are likely to prevent disease-related disability, cognitive impairment, and late life depression. These include regular physical exercise, engaging in cognitively stimulating activities, maintaining an optimistic mental outlook, and finding meaning in life. The good news for the Baby Boomers is that there is increasing evidence that their behavior at age 50 will impact how they feel at age 80.

  9. Exploring opportunities for healthy aging among older persons with a history of homelessness in Toronto, Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldbrook, Natalie

    2015-03-01

    Within the areas of literature on both population aging and health and homelessness, little attention has been given to the opportunities and barriers to healthy aging among older persons with a history of homelessness. Set in the context of inner-city Toronto, Canada, this article reports on the findings from qualitative interviews with 29 formerly homeless older persons. The findings illustrate participants' experiences of positive health change since moving into a stable housing environment and the aspects of housing they perceive to have improved their health and wellbeing. The qualitative findings also draw attention to the ongoing barriers to healthy aging that can be experienced among older persons with a history of homelessness. Overall, this study draws on the lived experiences of formerly homeless older persons to offer a better understanding of the long-term effects of homelessness on health, wellbeing, and aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. NF-κB Immunity in the Brain Determines Fly Lifespan in Healthy Aging and Age-Related Neurodegeneration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilias Kounatidis

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available During aging, innate immunity progresses to a chronically active state. However, what distinguishes those that “age well” from those developing age-related neurological conditions is unclear. We used Drosophila to explore the cost of immunity in the aging brain. We show that mutations in intracellular negative regulators of the IMD/NF-κB pathway predisposed flies to toxic levels of antimicrobial peptides, resulting in early locomotor defects, extensive neurodegeneration, and reduced lifespan. These phenotypes were rescued when immunity was suppressed in glia. In healthy flies, suppressing immunity in glial cells resulted in increased adipokinetic hormonal signaling with high nutrient levels in later life and an extension of active lifespan. Thus, when levels of IMD/NF-κB deviate from normal, two mechanisms are at play: lower levels derepress an immune-endocrine axis, which mobilizes nutrients, leading to lifespan extension, whereas higher levels increase antimicrobial peptides, causing neurodegeneration. Immunity in the fly brain is therefore a key lifespan determinant.

  11. [Construction of a physiological aging scale for healthy people based on a modified Delphi method].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Yao; Zhou, Xuan; Deng, Pengfei; Liao, Xiong; Wu, Lei; Zhou, Jianming; Huang, Helang

    2016-04-01

    To build a physiological aging scale for healthy people.
 We collected age-related physiologic items through literature screening and expert interview. Two rounds of Delphi were implemented. The importance, feasibility and the degree of authority for the physiological index system were graded. Using analytic hierarchy process, we determined the weight of dimensions and items.
 Using Delphy mothod, 17 physiological and other professional experts offered the results as follow: coefficient of expert authorities Cr was 0.86±0.03, coordination coefficients for the first and second round were 0.264(χ2=229.691, Paging scale for healthy people included 3 dimensions, namely physical form, feeling movement and functional status. Each dimension had 8 items. The weight coefficients for the 3 dimensions were 0.54, 0.16, and 0.30, respectively. The Cronbach's α coefficient of the scale was 0.893, the reliability was 0.796, and the variance of the common factor was 58.17%.
 The improved Delphi method or physiological aging scale is satisfied, which can provide reference for the evaluation of aging.

  12. Normative data for the Clock Drawing Test for French-Quebec mid- and older aged healthy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turcotte, Valérie; Gagnon, Marie-Eve; Joubert, Sven; Rouleau, Isabelle; Gagnon, Jean-François; Escudier, Frédérique; Koski, Lisa; Potvin, Olivier; Macoir, Joël; Hudon, Carol

    2018-05-09

    The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is frequently used to screen for cognitive impairment, however, normative data for Rouleau et al.'s scoring system are scarce. The present study aims to provide norms for Rouleau et al.'s scoring system that are tailored to Quebec French-speaking mid- and older aged healthy adults. Six researchers from various research centers across the Province of Quebec (Canada) sent anonymous data for 593 (391 women) healthy community-dwelling volunteers (age range: 43-93 years; education range: 5-23 years) who completed the CDT 'drawing on command' version. This command version (setting the clock hands to 11:10, without a pre-drawn circle) was administrated as part of a more extensive neuropsychological assessment, or along with cognitive screening instruments. Each drawn clock was scored according to the quantitative criteria set by Rouleau et al.'s scoring system. CDT scores were significantly correlated with age (r(592) = -.132, p = .001) and years of education (r(592) = .116, p = .005), but not with sex (r(592) = .065, p = .112). Since data were skewed towards higher test scores, the percentiles method was used for analysis. Percentile ranks stratified by age and education are presented. These normative data for Rouleau et al.'s scoring system will contribute towards adequately screening for cognitive decline in Quebec French-speaking healthy adults, by also taking into account individual characteristics such as age and education.

  13. Predictive Factors for Verbal Memory Performance Over Decades of Aging: Data from the Women's Healthy Ageing Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szoeke, Cassandra; Lehert, Philippe; Henderson, Victor W; Dennerstein, Lorraine; Desmond, Patricia; Campbell, Stephen

    2016-10-01

    Abnormalities in brain structure and function can occur several decades prior to the onset of cognitive decline. It is in the preceding decades that an intervention is most likely to be effective, when informed by an understanding of factors contributing to the disease prodrome. Few studies, however, have sufficient longitudinal data on relevant risks to determine the optimum targets for interventions to improve cognition in aging. In this article we examine the timing and exposure of factors contributing to verbal memory performance in later life. 387 participants from the population-based Women's Healthy Ageing Project, mean age at baseline of 49.6 years (range: 45-55 years), had complete neuropsychiatric assessments, clinical information, physical measures, and biomarkers collected at baseline, with at least three follow-up visits that included at least one cognitive reassessment. Mixed linear models were conducted to assess the significance of risk factors on later-life verbal memory. We explored the influence of early, contemporaneous, and cumulative exposures. Younger age and better education were associated with baseline memory test performance (CERAD). Over the 20 years of study follow-up, cumulative mid- to late-life physical activity had the strongest effect on better later life verbal memory (0.136 [0.058, 0.214]). The next most likely contributors to verbal memory in late life were the negative effect of cumulative hypertension (-0.033 [-0.047, -0.0.18] and the beneficial effect of HDL cholesterol (0.818 [0.042, 1.593]). Findings suggest that midlife interventions focused on physical activity, hypertension control, and achieving optimal levels of HDL cholesterol will help maintain later-life verbal memory skills. Copyright © 2016 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. The AGE-RAGE axis in an Arab population: The United Arab Emirates Healthy Futures (UAEHFS) pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inman, Claire K; Aljunaibi, Abdullah; Koh, Hyunwook; Abdulle, Abdishakur; Ali, Raghib; Alnaeemi, Abdullah; Al Zaabi, Eiman; Oumeziane, Naima; Al Bastaki, Marina; Al-Houqani, Mohammed; Al-Maskari, Fatma; Al Dhaheri, Ayesha; Shah, Syed M; Abdel Wareth, Laila; Al Mahmeed, Wael; Alsafar, Habiba; Al Anouti, Fatme; Al Hosani, Ayesha; Haji, Muna; Galani, Divya; O'Connor, Matthew J; Ahn, Jiyoung; Kirchhoff, Tomas; Sherman, Scott; Hayes, Richard B; Li, Huilin; Ramasamy, Ravichandran; Schmidt, Ann Marie

    2017-12-01

    The transformation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from a semi-nomadic to a high income society has been accompanied by increasing rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. We examined if the AGE-RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation endproducts) axis is associated with obesity and diabetes mellitus in the pilot phase of the UAE Healthy Futures Study (UAEHFS). 517 Emirati subjects were enrolled and plasma/serum levels of AGE, carboxy methyl lysine (CML)-AGE, soluble (s)RAGE and endogenous secretory (es)RAGE were measured along with weight, height, waist and hip circumference (WC/HC), blood pressure, HbA1c, Vitamin D levels and routine chemistries. The relationship between the AGE-RAGE axis and obesity and diabetes mellitus was tested using proportional odds models and linear regression. After covariate adjustment, AGE levels were significantly associated with diabetes status. Levels of sRAGE and esRAGE were associated with BMI and levels of sRAGE were associated with WC/HC. The AGE-RAGE axis is associated with diabetes status and obesity in this Arab population. Prospective serial analysis of this axis may identify predictive biomarkers of obesity and cardiometabolic dysfunction in the UAEHFS.

  15. Influence of Age and Other Factors on Cytokine Expression Profiles in Healthy Children—A Systematic Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Luise Decker

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Cytokines have attracted much attention as diagnostic biomarkers for infectious and inflammatory diseases in recent years. However, understanding of maturation and normal age-associated values is limited. This review summarizes evidence on the influence of age and other factors on expression profiles of soluble and intracellular cytokines in healthy children. IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α are the most frequently investigated cytokines, of which an age-associated increase was shown consistently for IFN-γ and TNF-α. An age-associated decrease of IL-13 was seen in resource-limited settings. For other cytokines, including IL-1RA, IL-2, and IL-10, uni- or bimodal curves have been described, and results were influenced by study setting. To conclude, despite limited current understanding of the development of cytokine expression, age clearly influences expression profiles in healthy children. Dynamics of cytokine expression in childhood need to be considered when these are measured in diagnostic assays or as biomarkers. In addition, cytokine-targeting agents may require adjustment for normal values when used in children.

  16. The AGE-RAGE axis in an Arab population: The United Arab Emirates Healthy Futures (UAEHFS pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire K. Inman

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Aims: The transformation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE from a semi-nomadic to a high income society has been accompanied by increasing rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. We examined if the AGE-RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation endproducts axis is associated with obesity and diabetes mellitus in the pilot phase of the UAE Healthy Futures Study (UAEHFS. Methods: 517 Emirati subjects were enrolled and plasma/serum levels of AGE, carboxy methyl lysine (CML-AGE, soluble (sRAGE and endogenous secretory (esRAGE were measured along with weight, height, waist and hip circumference (WC/HC, blood pressure, HbA1c, Vitamin D levels and routine chemistries. The relationship between the AGE-RAGE axis and obesity and diabetes mellitus was tested using proportional odds models and linear regression. Results: After covariate adjustment, AGE levels were significantly associated with diabetes status. Levels of sRAGE and esRAGE were associated with BMI and levels of sRAGE were associated with WC/HC. Conclusions: The AGE-RAGE axis is associated with diabetes status and obesity in this Arab population. Prospective serial analysis of this axis may identify predictive biomarkers of obesity and cardiometabolic dysfunction in the UAEHFS. Keywords: Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs, Receptor for AGE (RAGE, Cohort study, Diabetes mellitus, Obesity

  17. The use of urinary proteomics in the assessment of suitability of mouse models for ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nkuipou-Kenfack, Esther; Schanstra, Joost P; Bajwa, Seerat; Pejchinovski, Martin; Vinel, Claire; Dray, Cédric; Valet, Philippe; Bascands, Jean-Loup; Vlahou, Antonia; Koeck, Thomas; Borries, Melanie; Busch, Hauke; Bechtel-Walz, Wibke; Huber, Tobias B; Rudolph, Karl L; Pich, Andreas; Mischak, Harald; Zürbig, Petra

    2017-01-01

    Ageing is a complex process characterised by a systemic and progressive deterioration of biological functions. As ageing is associated with an increased prevalence of age-related chronic disorders, understanding its underlying molecular mechanisms can pave the way for therapeutic interventions and managing complications. Animal models such as mice are commonly used in ageing research as they have a shorter lifespan in comparison to humans and are also genetically close to humans. To assess the translatability of mouse ageing to human ageing, the urinary proteome in 89 wild-type (C57BL/6) mice aged between 8-96 weeks was investigated using capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS). Using age as a continuous variable, 295 peptides significantly correlated with age in mice were identified. To investigate the relevance of using mouse models in human ageing studies, a comparison was performed with a previous correlation analysis using 1227 healthy subjects. In mice and humans, a decrease in urinary excretion of fibrillar collagens and an increase of uromodulin fragments was observed with advanced age. Of the 295 peptides correlating with age, 49 had a strong homology to the respective human age-related peptides. These ortholog peptides including several collagen (N = 44) and uromodulin (N = 5) fragments were used to generate an ageing classifier that was able to discriminate the age among both wild-type mice and healthy subjects. Additionally, the ageing classifier depicted that telomerase knock-out mice were older than their chronological age. Hence, with a focus on ortholog urinary peptides mouse ageing can be translated to human ageing.

  18. Aging and Vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alavi, Marcel V

    2016-01-01

    Aging involves defined genetic, biochemical and cellular pathways that regulate lifespan. These pathways are called longevity pathways and they have relevance for many age-related diseases. In the eye, longevity pathways are involved in the major blinding diseases, cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy. Pharmaceutical targeting of longevity pathways can extend healthy lifespan in laboratory model systems. This offers the possibility of therapeutic interventions to also delay onset or slow the progression of age-related eye diseases. I suggest that retinal degeneration may be viewed as accelerated aging of photoreceptors and that interventions extending healthy lifespan may also slow the pace of photoreceptor loss.

  19. Familial Longevity Is Not Associated with Major Differences in the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Gonadal Axis in Healthy Middle-Aged Men

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van der Spoel, Evie; Roelfsema, Ferdinand; Jansen, Steffy W.

    2016-01-01

    longevity and controls. Design: We frequently sampled blood over 24 h in 10 healthy middle-aged male offspring of nonagenarian participants from the Leiden Longevity Study together with 10 male age-matched controls. Individual 24-h luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone concentration profiles were....../feedback regulation within the HPG axis were similar between offspring of long-lived families and controls. Conclusion: This relatively small study suggests that in healthy male middle-aged participants, familial longevity is not associated with major differences in the HPG axis. Selection on both fertility...

  20. Voxel-based analysis of whole-brain effects of age and gender on dopamine transporter SPECT imaging in healthy subjects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eusebio, Alexandre; Azulay, Jean-Philippe; Ceccaldi, Mathieu; Girard, Nadine; Mundler, Olivier; Guedj, Eric

    2012-01-01

    Several studies have shown age- and gender-related differences in striatal dopamine transporter (DaT) binding. These studies were based on a striatal region on interest approach that may have underestimated these effects and could not evaluate extrastriatal regions. Our aim was to determine the effects at the voxel level of age and gender on whole-brain DaT distribution using [ 123 I]FP-CIT SPECT in healthy subjects. We performed a whole-brain [ 123 I]FP-CIT SPECT voxel-based analysis using SPM8 and a standardized normalization template (p < 0.05, corrected using the false discovery rate method) in 51 healthy subjects aged from 21 to 79 years. We found an age-related DaT binding decrease in the striatum, anterior cingulate/medial frontal cortices and insulo-opercular cortices. Also DaT binding ratios were higher in women than men in the striatum and opercular cortices. This study showed both striatal and extrastriatal age-related and gender-related differences in DaT binding in healthy subjects using a whole-brain voxel-based non-a priori approach. These differences highlight the need for careful age and gender matching in DaT analyses of neuropsychiatric disorders. (orig.)

  1. Voxel-based analysis of whole-brain effects of age and gender on dopamine transporter SPECT imaging in healthy subjects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eusebio, Alexandre; Azulay, Jean-Philippe [APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service de Neurologie et Pathologie du Mouvement, Marseille (France); CNRS, Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Marseille (France); Ceccaldi, Mathieu [APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service de Neurologie et de Neuropsychologie, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille Univ, UMR Inserm 1106, Institut de Neurosciences des Systemes, Marseille (France); Girard, Nadine [APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service de Neuroradiologie diagnostique et interventionnelle, Marseille (France); Mundler, Olivier [APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service Central de Biophysique et Medecine Nucleaire, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille Univ, CERIMED, Marseille (France); Guedj, Eric [CNRS, Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Marseille (France); APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service Central de Biophysique et Medecine Nucleaire, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille Univ, CERIMED, Marseille (France)

    2012-11-15

    Several studies have shown age- and gender-related differences in striatal dopamine transporter (DaT) binding. These studies were based on a striatal region on interest approach that may have underestimated these effects and could not evaluate extrastriatal regions. Our aim was to determine the effects at the voxel level of age and gender on whole-brain DaT distribution using [{sup 123}I]FP-CIT SPECT in healthy subjects. We performed a whole-brain [{sup 123}I]FP-CIT SPECT voxel-based analysis using SPM8 and a standardized normalization template (p < 0.05, corrected using the false discovery rate method) in 51 healthy subjects aged from 21 to 79 years. We found an age-related DaT binding decrease in the striatum, anterior cingulate/medial frontal cortices and insulo-opercular cortices. Also DaT binding ratios were higher in women than men in the striatum and opercular cortices. This study showed both striatal and extrastriatal age-related and gender-related differences in DaT binding in healthy subjects using a whole-brain voxel-based non-a priori approach. These differences highlight the need for careful age and gender matching in DaT analyses of neuropsychiatric disorders. (orig.)

  2. Lifelong Learning and Healthy Ageing : The Significance of Music as an Agent of Change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smilde, Rineke; Bisschop Boele, Evert

    2016-01-01

    This chapter gives an overview on the Healthy Ageing research portfolio of the research group Lifelong Learning in Music (Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, the Netherlands). Lifelong learning enables musicians to respond to the continuously changing context in which they are working

  3. Wearable Learning for Healthy Ageing through Creative Learning: A Conceptual Framework in the project “Fitness MOOC” (fMOOC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilona Buchem

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Physical activity is one of the key factors of ageing healthy and at the same time one of the key motivational challenges for the elderly. Supporting healthy ageing through physical fitness requires interventions that promote healthy levels of physical activity as part of the daily routine. Although wearable devices, such as activity trackers or smart wristbands, have been used by younger adopters to optimize physical fitness, little is known so far about how such emerging technologies may be used to improve well-being and overall health of senior users. In this paper we present the conceptual framework and the architecture of wearable-technology enhanced learning for healthy ageing as part of an R&D project called “Fitness MOOC - interaction of seniors with wearable fitness trackers in the fitness MOOC (fMOOC”, founded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF. The fMOOC project is a cooperation between Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin and the Geriatrics Research Group, Charité - one of the largest medical universities in Europe. The project aims at developing a wearable-technology enhanced learning solution combining the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course approach with embodied and creative learning experience with support of activity trackers. fMOOC integrates an LMS backend with wearable fitness trackers, mobile user interface, gamification and analytics to promote healthy ageing through learning and interacting with senior users.

  4. Investigation on the average serum E2 level and menopausal age in healthy women in Wuhan area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Huilin; Lan Jian; Zhang Yangyang; Li Fei; Zhang Yuanji

    2008-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the average serum E 2 level and menopausal age of healthy women in Wuhan area and assess the appropriateness of hormone replacement therapy in these women. Methods: Serum E 2 levels were measured with RIA in 2020 healthy women (26-75 yr old) in Wuhan area. Results: (1) Serum E 2 levels reached peak in 31-35yr group, significantly dropped in 46-50yr group and reached menopausal level in 51-55 yr group. (2) The average menopausal age in Wuhan area was rather early-48.08yr. Conclusion: The average menopausal age in Wuhan area was 2.3yr earlier than the nationwide 1989 screening result, which should be a concern for the maternity health workers. (authors)

  5. Portal Vein Dopplerflowmetry in healthy sheep according to age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra F. Belotta

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Pulsed Doppler ultrasound was used to evaluate portal blood flow, portal velocity and portal congestion index in 24 healthy sheep divided into groups (lambs, yearlings and ewes, according to age. Measurements were performed at the 11th right intercostal space using ideal insonation angle and uniform insonation method. Mean values obtained in each group were compared with one-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey post-hoc test. Portal velocity and portal blood flow were statistically similar between the groups (P>0.05. Mean portal velocity were 17.75; 17.13 and 16.75; while mean portal blood flow were 26.65; 31.04 and 24.32 for lambs, yearlings and ewes, respectively. Portal congestion index was statistically distinct between the groups and values for lambs, yearlings and ewes were 0.009; 0.058 and 0.09, respectively (P<0.01. Statistical differences were observed in portal vein diameter, portal vein area and portal congestion index between the groups, presumably due to influence of weight and not to age.

  6. Linear and curvilinear correlations of brain gray matter volume and density with age using voxel-based morphometry with the Akaike information criterion in 291 healthy children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taki, Yasuyuki; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Thyreau, Benjamin; Sassa, Yuko; Takeuchi, Hikaru; Wu, Kai; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nouchi, Rui; Asano, Michiko; Asano, Kohei; Fukuda, Hiroshi; Kawashima, Ryuta

    2013-08-01

    We examined linear and curvilinear correlations of gray matter volume and density in cortical and subcortical gray matter with age using magnetic resonance images (MRI) in a large number of healthy children. We applied voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and region-of-interest (ROI) analyses with the Akaike information criterion (AIC), which was used to determine the best-fit model by selecting which predictor terms should be included. We collected data on brain structural MRI in 291 healthy children aged 5-18 years. Structural MRI data were segmented and normalized using a custom template by applying the diffeomorphic anatomical registration using exponentiated lie algebra (DARTEL) procedure. Next, we analyzed the correlations of gray matter volume and density with age in VBM with AIC by estimating linear, quadratic, and cubic polynomial functions. Several regions such as the prefrontal cortex, the precentral gyrus, and cerebellum showed significant linear or curvilinear correlations between gray matter volume and age on an increasing trajectory, and between gray matter density and age on a decreasing trajectory in VBM and ROI analyses with AIC. Because the trajectory of gray matter volume and density with age suggests the progress of brain maturation, our results may contribute to clarifying brain maturation in healthy children from the viewpoint of brain structure. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. NutrimiRAging: Micromanaging Nutrient Sensing Pathways through Nutrition to Promote Healthy Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Micó, Víctor; Berninches, Laura; Tapia, Javier; Daimiel, Lidia

    2017-04-26

    Current sociodemographic predictions point to a demographic shift in developed and developing countries that will result in an unprecedented increase of the elderly population. This will be accompanied by an increase in age-related conditions that will strongly impair human health and quality of life. For this reason, aging is a major concern worldwide. Healthy aging depends on a combination of individual genetic factors and external environmental factors. Diet has been proved to be a powerful tool to modulate aging and caloric restriction has emerged as a valuable intervention in this regard. However, many questions about how a controlled caloric restriction intervention affects aging-related processes are still unanswered. Nutrient sensing pathways become deregulated with age and lose effectiveness with age. These pathways are a link between diet and aging. Thus, fully understanding this link is a mandatory step before bringing caloric restriction into practice. MicroRNAs have emerged as important regulators of cellular functions and can be modified by diet. Some microRNAs target genes encoding proteins and enzymes belonging to the nutrient sensing pathways and, therefore, may play key roles in the modulation of the aging process. In this review, we aimed to show the relationship between diet, nutrient sensing pathways and microRNAs in the context of aging.

  8. NutrimiRAging: Micromanaging Nutrient Sensing Pathways through Nutrition to Promote Healthy Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Víctor Micó

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Current sociodemographic predictions point to a demographic shift in developed and developing countries that will result in an unprecedented increase of the elderly population. This will be accompanied by an increase in age-related conditions that will strongly impair human health and quality of life. For this reason, aging is a major concern worldwide. Healthy aging depends on a combination of individual genetic factors and external environmental factors. Diet has been proved to be a powerful tool to modulate aging and caloric restriction has emerged as a valuable intervention in this regard. However, many questions about how a controlled caloric restriction intervention affects aging-related processes are still unanswered. Nutrient sensing pathways become deregulated with age and lose effectiveness with age. These pathways are a link between diet and aging. Thus, fully understanding this link is a mandatory step before bringing caloric restriction into practice. MicroRNAs have emerged as important regulators of cellular functions and can be modified by diet. Some microRNAs target genes encoding proteins and enzymes belonging to the nutrient sensing pathways and, therefore, may play key roles in the modulation of the aging process. In this review, we aimed to show the relationship between diet, nutrient sensing pathways and microRNAs in the context of aging.

  9. NF-κB Immunity in the Brain Determines Fly Lifespan in Healthy Aging and Age-Related Neurodegeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kounatidis, Ilias; Chtarbanova, Stanislava; Cao, Yang; Hayne, Margaret; Jayanth, Dhruv; Ganetzky, Barry; Ligoxygakis, Petros

    2017-04-25

    During aging, innate immunity progresses to a chronically active state. However, what distinguishes those that "age well" from those developing age-related neurological conditions is unclear. We used Drosophila to explore the cost of immunity in the aging brain. We show that mutations in intracellular negative regulators of the IMD/NF-κB pathway predisposed flies to toxic levels of antimicrobial peptides, resulting in early locomotor defects, extensive neurodegeneration, and reduced lifespan. These phenotypes were rescued when immunity was suppressed in glia. In healthy flies, suppressing immunity in glial cells resulted in increased adipokinetic hormonal signaling with high nutrient levels in later life and an extension of active lifespan. Thus, when levels of IMD/NF-κB deviate from normal, two mechanisms are at play: lower levels derepress an immune-endocrine axis, which mobilizes nutrients, leading to lifespan extension, whereas higher levels increase antimicrobial peptides, causing neurodegeneration. Immunity in the fly brain is therefore a key lifespan determinant. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Approaches in methodology for population-based longitudinal study on neuroprotective model for healthy longevity (TUA) among Malaysian Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahar, Suzana; Omar, Azahadi; Vanoh, Divya; Hamid, Tengku Aizan; Mukari, Siti Zamratol Mai-Sarah; Din, Normah Che; Rajab, Nor Fadilah; Mohammed, Zainora; Ibrahim, Rahimah; Loo, Won Hui; Meramat, Asheila; Kamaruddin, Mohd Zul Amin; Bagat, Mohamad Fazdillah; Razali, Rosdinom

    2016-12-01

    A number of longitudinal studies on aging have been designed to determine the predictors of healthy longevity, including the neuroprotective factors, however, relatively few studies included a wide range of factors and highlighted the challenges faced during data collection. Thus, the longitudinal study on neuroprotective model for healthy longevity (LRGS TUA) has been designed to prospectively investigate the magnitude of cognitive decline and its risk factors through a comprehensive multidimensional assessment comprising of biophysical health, auditory and visual function, nutrition and dietary pattern and psychosocial aspects. At baseline, subjects were interviewed for their status on sociodemographic, health, neuropsychological test, psychosocial and dietary intake. Subjects were also measured for anthropometric and physical function and fitness. Biospecimens including blood, buccal swap, hair and toenail were collected, processed and stored. A subsample was assessed for sensory function, i.e., vision and auditory. During follow-up, at 18 and 36 months, most of the measurements, along with morbidity and mortality outcomes will be collected. The description of mild cognitive impairment, successful aging and usual aging process is presented here. A total 2322 respondents were recruited in the data analysis at baseline. Most of the respondents were categorized as experiencing usual aging (73 %), followed by successful aging (11 %) and mild cognitive impairment (16 %). The LRGS TUA study is the most comprehensive longitudinal study on aging in Malaysia, and will contribute to the understanding of the aging process and factors associated with healthy aging and mental well-being of a multiethnic population in Malaysia.

  11. Age-Specific Normal Reference Range for Serum Anti-Müllerian Hormone in Healthy Chinese Han Women: A nationwide Population-Based Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Xiaofang; Ding, Ting; Zhang, Hanwang; Zhang, Cuilian; Ma, Wenmin; Zhong, Ying; Qu, Wenyu; Zheng, Jie; Liu, Yi; Li, Zhiying; Huang, Kecheng; Deng, Song; Ma, Lanfang; Yang, Jun; Jiang, Jingjing; Yang, Shuhong; Huang, Jia; Wu, Meng; Fang, Li; Lu, Yunping; Luo, Aiyue; Wang, Shixuan

    2016-08-01

    The increasing use of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in clinic has raised concerns regarding the reliable reference range for this test. However, the reference range for AMH in normal Chinese female population has not been established. Furthermore, relationship between AMH and other clinical markers such as body mass index (BMI) and antral follicle counts (AFCs) and other sex-related hormones have not been examined in normal population-based women. We aimed to determine the age-specific reference range for serum AMH in healthy Chinese women throughout reproductive age to menopause and to estimate relationship between AMH and other clinical markers in healthy women. In this multicenter and nationwide study, advertisements were used to recruit 2055 women, aged 20 to 55 years, from 6 different regions in China; 1590 (77.37%) women met the inclusion criteria for the reference range population. We measured the baseline serum AMH levels using new Beckman Coulter Gen II assay. Serum concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), prolactin (PRL), progesterone (PRG), and AFCs were also determined in the follicular phase. The AMH-Age nomogram and AMH levels of different age-groups and the relationship between AMH and other clinical markers. Serum AMH concentrations declined progressively with age. A quadratic model defined as log (AMH) = (-1.970 + 0.296 × Age - 0.006 × Age(2)) fitted best the decline of AMH with age. The median AMH levels were 6.23, 5.65, 4.55, 3.74, 2.78, and 1.09 ng/mL for the 20 ≤ age women. © The Author(s) 2016.

  12. Is an absolute level of cortical beta suppression required for proper movement? Magnetoencephalographic evidence from healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinrichs-Graham, Elizabeth; Wilson, Tony W

    2016-07-01

    Previous research has connected a specific pattern of beta oscillatory activity to proper motor execution, but no study to date has directly examined how resting beta levels affect motor-related beta oscillatory activity in the motor cortex. Understanding this relationship is imperative to determining the basic mechanisms of motor control, as well as the impact of pathological beta oscillations on movement execution. In the current study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and a complex movement paradigm to quantify resting beta activity and movement-related beta oscillations in the context of healthy aging. We chose healthy aging as a model because preliminary evidence suggests that beta activity is elevated in older adults, and thus by examining older and younger adults we were able to naturally vary resting beta levels. To this end, healthy younger and older participants were recorded during motor performance and at rest. Using beamforming, we imaged the peri-movement beta event-related desynchronization (ERD) and extracted virtual sensors from the peak voxels, which enabled absolute and relative beta power to be assessed. Interestingly, absolute beta power during the pre-movement baseline was much stronger in older relative to younger adults, and older adults also exhibited proportionally large beta desynchronization (ERD) responses during motor planning and execution compared to younger adults. Crucially, we found a significant relationship between spontaneous (resting) beta power and beta ERD magnitude in both primary motor cortices, above and beyond the effects of age. A similar link was found between beta ERD magnitude and movement duration. These findings suggest a direct linkage between beta reduction during movement and spontaneous activity in the motor cortex, such that as spontaneous beta power increases, a greater reduction in beta activity is required to execute movement. We propose that, on an individual level, the primary motor cortices have an

  13. Body mass index, chronological age and hormonal status are better predictors of biological skin age than arm skin autofluorescence in healthy women who have never smoked

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Randag, A. C.; Graaff, R.; Dreise, M. M.; Vierkoetter, A.; Werker, P. M. N.; Stenekes, M. W.

    Background As life expectancy is increasing and healthy ageing becomes more and more important, skin ageing is a growing topic of interest from both a medical and a commercial point of view. The urgency to unravel the causes of skin ageing is rising. However, there is a lack of objective, simple,

  14. Body mass index, chronological age and hormonal status are better predictors of biological skin age than arm skin autofluorescence in healthy women who have never smoked

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Randag, A. C.; Graaff, R.; Dreise, M. M.; Vierkoetter, A.; Werker, P. M. N.; Stenekes, M. W.

    2015-01-01

    Background As life expectancy is increasing and healthy ageing becomes more and more important, skin ageing is a growing topic of interest from both a medical and a commercial point of view. The urgency to unravel the causes of skin ageing is rising. However, there is a lack of objective, simple,

  15. A Parental Health Education Model of Children's Food Consumption: Influence on Children's Attitudes, Intention, and Consumption of Healthy and Unhealthy Foods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lwin, May O; Shin, Wonsun; Yee, Andrew Z H; Wardoyo, Reidinar Juliane

    2017-05-01

    This study proposes that parental mediation of television advertising and parental guidance of food consumption differentially influence children's attitude, intention, and behavior toward the consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods. Structural equation modeling based on a survey of 1,119 children aged 9-12 supported our model, revealing that parental education strategies influence children's food consumption in a complex manner that is highly context-dependent. Parental guidance of food consumption enhanced children's healthy food attitude and intention to consume, while reducing the intention to consume unhealthy food. However, parental mediation of television advertising influenced unhealthy food attitude to a greater extent than healthy food attitude. Implications for health promotion and education, as well as parents and policy makers are discussed.

  16. Hypovitaminosis D in a healthy female population, aged from 40 to 85 years, in the west of Ireland.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Lardner, E

    2012-01-31

    BACKGROUND: Increasing attention has been focused on diseases associated with ageing, as the mean age of the population in developed countries increases. Vitamin D and parathyroid hormone play key roles in calcium homeostasis, which is integral to skeletal health. AIMS: To assess the vitamin D status of healthy, community dwelling, middle-aged and older females. METHODS: General biochemistry and bone profiles, including ALP, PTH and 25(OH)D, were determined. RESULTS: Of 143 healthy white women receiving no supplementation or bone modifying treatments, 47% were vitamin D insufficient (<50 nmol\\/L) and only 4% were sufficient for the time of year. There was no statically significant correlation between age and 25(OH)D concentrations; neither was there a statistically significant seasonal variation in 25(OH)D levels noted. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D status should be assessed more often in middle-aged and older females. Expected age-related and seasonal variations in 25(OH)D levels were not confirmed in this study.

  17. The association between serum uric acid and blood pressure in different age groups in a healthy Chinese cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Wenjuan; Wen, Shiling; Wang, Yutang; Qian, Zhiping; Tan, Yuyao; Li, Hongying; Hou, Yueli; Hu, Haiyang; Golledge, Jonathan; Yang, Guang

    2017-12-01

    High serum uric acid (sUA) has been reported to be a risk factor for hypertension however, whether this is the case for all age groups is not clear. We examined the association between sUA concentrations and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) in different age groups in a cohort of healthy Chinese participants.A total of 1082 healthy participants aged from 41 to 70 years were included. sUA concentration was measured by the uricase-peroxidase method. SBP and DBP were assessed using mercury sphygmomanometry. Hypertension was defined as SBP ≥140 mm Hg or DBP ≥90 mm Hg. Hyperuricemia (HUA) was defined as sUA concentration of >7 mg/dL in men and >6 mg/dL in women. The association between sUA concentration and SBP and DBP was examined using Pearson's correlation test, multivariate linear regression, and logistic regression analysis.The prevalence of hypertension and HUA increased with age (P age, sex, total cholesterol, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and fasting plasma glucose). HUA was also a risk factor for hypertension in this age group (odds ratio 1.425, 95% confidence interval, 1.217-1.668, P age groups.In this population of healthy Chinese participants, sUA concentration was positively associated with hypertension only in the 41- to 50-year-old group. Lowering uric acid in this age group may help to reduce the incidence of hypertension. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Motor excitability measurements: the influence of gender, body mass index, age and temperature in healthy controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casanova, I; Diaz, A; Pinto, S; de Carvalho, M

    2014-04-01

    The technique of threshold tracking to test axonal excitability gives information about nodal and internodal ion channel function. We aimed to investigate variability of the motor excitability measurements in healthy controls, taking into account age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and small changes in skin temperature. We examined the left median nerve of 47 healthy controls using the automated threshold-tacking program, QTRAC. Statistical multiple regression analysis was applied to test relationship between nerve excitability measurements and subject variables. Comparisons between genders did not find any significant difference (P>0.2 for all comparisons). Multiple regression analysis showed that motor amplitude decreases with age and temperature, stimulus-response slope decreases with age and BMI, and that accommodation half-time decrease with age and temperature. The changes related to demographic features on TRONDE protocol parameters are small and less important than in conventional nerve conduction studies. Nonetheless, our results underscore the relevance of careful temperature control, and indicate that interpretation of stimulus-response slope and accommodation half-time should take into account age and BMI. In contrast, gender is not of major relevance to axonal threshold findings in motor nerves. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  19. Difference in adherence to and influencing factors of a healthy lifestyle between middle-aged and elderly people in Korea: A multilevel analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Ki Young; Park, Sang Min; Lee, Juhyun; Kim, Chang Yup

    2015-06-01

    Comprehensive research for factors related to healthy lifestyles of the elderly is limited. The present study aimed to elucidate the factors associated with adherence to a healthy lifestyle by age groups. The present study was based on data from the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We calculated crude proportions and adjusted proportions of cigarette smokers, problem alcohol drinkers, and physically inactive people in two age groups (40-59 years and ≥60 years). We carried out multilevel analysis to elucidate factors associated with healthy lifestyles. Of 3194 respondents included in the analysis, 1154 (36.13%) were aged 60 years or older. Older participants smoked less (23.0% vs 17.4%) and exercised less frequently (52.4% vs 66.9%; all P elderly (OR 1.037, 95% CI 1.005-1.070). Different factors were associated with healthy lifestyles of elderly people when compared with middle-aged people. In addition, local tax per capita, an area level variable, was more likely to be associated with smoking in the elderly than the middle-aged group. © 2014 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  20. In vivo assessment of iron content of the cerebral cortex in healthy aging using 7-Tesla T2*-weighted phase imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buijs, Mathijs; Doan, Nhat Trung; van Rooden, Sanneke; Versluis, Maarten J; van Lew, Baldur; Milles, Julien; van der Grond, Jeroen; van Buchem, Mark A

    2017-05-01

    Accumulation of brain iron has been suggested as a biomarker of neurodegeneration. Increased iron has been seen in the cerebral cortex in postmortem studies of neurodegenerative diseases and healthy aging. Until recently, the diminutive thickness of the cortex and its relatively low iron content have hampered in vivo study of cortical iron accumulation. Using phase images of a T2*-weighted sequence at ultrahigh field strength (7 Tesla), we examined the iron content of 22 cortical regions in 70 healthy subjects aged 22-80 years. The cortex was automatically segmented and parcellated, and phase shift was analyzed using an in-house developed method. We found a significant increase in phase shift with age in 20 of 22 cortical regions, concurrent with current understanding of cortical iron accumulation. Our findings suggest that increased cortical iron content can be assessed in healthy aging in vivo. The high spatial resolution and sensitivity to iron of our method make it a potentially useful tool for studying cortical iron accumulation in healthy aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. The Relationship of Cognitive Performance and the Theta-Alpha Power Ratio Is Age-Dependent: An EEG Study of Short Term Memory and Reasoning during Task and Resting-State in Healthy Young and Old Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janet P. Trammell

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The Theta-Alpha ratio (TAR is known to differ based upon age and cognitive ability, with pathological electroencephalography (EEG patterns routinely found within neurodegenerative disorders of older adults. We hypothesized that cognitive ability would predict EEG metrics differently within healthy young and old adults, and that healthy old adults not showing age-expected EEG activity may be more likely to demonstrate cognitive deficits relative to old adults showing these expected changes.Methods: In 216 EEG blocks collected in 16 young and 20 old adults during rest (eyes open, eyes closed and cognitive tasks (short-term memory [STM]; matrix reasoning [RM; Raven's matrices], models assessed the contributing roles of cognitive ability, age, and task in predicting the TAR. A general linear mixed-effects regression model was used to model this relationship, including interaction effects to test whether increased cognitive ability predicted TAR differently for young and old adults at rest and during cognitive tasks.Results: The relationship between cognitive ability and the TAR across all blocks showed age-dependency, and cognitive performance at the CZ midline location predicted the TAR measure when accounting for the effect of age (p < 0.05, chi-square test of nested models. Age significantly interacted with STM performance in predicting the TAR (p < 0.05; increases in STM were associated with increased TAR in young adults, but not in old adults. RM showed similar interaction effects with aging and TAR (p < 0.10.Conclusion: EEG correlates of cognitive ability are age-dependent. Adults who did not show age-related EEG changes were more likely to exhibit cognitive deficits than those who showed age-related changes. This suggests that healthy aging should produce moderate changes in Alpha and TAR measures, and the absence of such changes signals impaired cognitive functioning.

  2. Handwriting in healthy people aged 65 years and over.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Drempt, Nadege; McCluskey, Annie; Lannin, Natasha A

    2011-08-01

    Handwriting is an important activity that is commonly affected by neurological and orthopaedic conditions. Handwriting research has predominantly involved children. Little is known about handwriting behaviour in healthy older adults. This study aims to describe the handwriting practices of 30 unimpaired adults aged 65 years and over. In this cross-sectional observational study, data were collected from 30 older adults using a self-report questionnaire, digital pen recordings over three days and a handwriting log. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The mean age of participants was 75.1 years (standard deviation=6.9). Variations in handwriting were evident in letter size, slant and spacing. Participants wrote very little--a median of 18 words per occasion (interquartile range=10.5-26.9 words). Most handwriting involved self-generated text (85%), not copied or transcribed text. Participants stood while writing for 17% of handwriting occasions. The most common reasons for handwriting were note taking (23%) and puzzles (22%). Legibility may not depend exclusively on the handwriting script that a beginning writer is taught, but may be a result of other factors as the person ages. A comprehensive adult handwriting assessment and retraining programme should be relevant to older adults, including common handwriting activities, involving self-generated text and few words. © 2011 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2011 Occupational Therapy Australia.

  3. Gait adaptations with aging in healthy participants and people with knee-joint osteoarthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffell, Lynsey D; Jordan, Stevan J; Cobb, Justin P; McGregor, Alison H

    2017-09-01

    The relationship between age and gait characteristics in people with and without medial compartment osteoarthritis (OA) remains unclear. We aimed to characterize this relationship and to relate biomechanical and structural parameters in a subset of OA patients. Twenty five participants with diagnosed unilateral medial knee OA and 84 healthy participants, with no known knee pathology were recruited. 3D motion capture was used to analyse sagittal and coronal plane gait parameters while participants walked at a comfortable speed. Participants were categorized according to age (18-30, 31-59 and 60+ years), and those with and without OA were compared between and within age groups. In a subset of OA patients, clinically available Computed Tomography images were used to assess joint structure. Differences in coronal plane kinematics at the hip and knee were noted in participants with OA particularly those who were older compared with our healthy controls, as well as increased knee moments. Knee adduction moment correlated with structural parameters in the subset of OA patients. Increased knee moments and altered kinematics were observed in older participants presenting with OA only, which seem to be related to morphological changes in the joint due to OA, as opposed to being related to the initial cause of medial knee OA. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Combining balneotherapy and health promotion to promote active and healthy ageing: the Balaruc-MACVIA-LR® approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blain, H; Bernard, P L; Canovas, G; Raffort, N; Desfour, H; Soriteau, L; Noguès, M; Camuzat, T; Mercier, J; Dupeyron, A; Quéré, I; Laffont, I; Hérisson, C; Solimene, H; Bousquet, J

    2016-12-01

    Scaling up and replication of successful innovative integrated care models for chronic diseases is one of the targets of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA). MACVIA-LR ® (MAladies Chroniques pour un VIeillissement Actif en Languedoc-Roussillon) is a Reference Site of the EIP on AHA. The main objective of MACVIA-LR ® is to develop innovative solutions in order to (1) improve the care of patients affected by chronic diseases, (2) reduce avoidable hospitalization and (3) scale up the innovation to regions of Europe. The MACVIA-LR ® project also aims to assess all possible aspects of medicine-including non-pharmacologic approaches-in order to maintain health and prevent chronic diseases. These approaches include hydrotherapy and balneotherapy which can be of great importance if health promotion strategies are considered. Balneotherapy at Balaruc-les-Bains focusses on musculoskeletal diseases and chronic venous insufficiency of the lower limbs. Each year, over 46,000 people attend an 18-day course related to a new falls prevention initiative combining balneotherapy and education. On arrival, each person receives a flyer providing information on the risk of fall and, depending on this risk, a course is proposed combining education and physical activity. A pilot study assesses the impact of the course 6 and 12 months later. This health promotion strategy for active and healthy ageing follows the FEMTEC (World Federation of Hydrotherapy and Climatotherapy) concept.

  5. White matter tracts associated with set-shifting in healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, Michele E; McDonald, Carrie R; Hagler, Donald J; Gharapetian, Lusineh; Kuperman, Joshua M; Koyama, Alain K; Dale, Anders M; McEvoy, Linda K

    2009-11-01

    Attentional set-shifting ability, commonly assessed with the Trail Making Test (TMT), decreases with increasing age in adults. Since set-shifting performance relies on activity in widespread brain regions, deterioration of the white matter tracts that connect these regions may underlie the age-related decrease in performance. We used an automated fiber tracking method to investigate the relationship between white matter integrity in several cortical association tracts and TMT performance in a sample of 24 healthy adults, 21-80 years. Diffusion tensor images were used to compute average fractional anisotropy (FA) for five cortical association tracts, the corpus callosum (CC), and the corticospinal tract (CST), which served as a control. Results showed that advancing age was associated with declines in set-shifting performance and with decreased FA in the CC and in association tracts that connect frontal cortex to more posterior brain regions, including the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), uncinate fasciculus (UF), and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Declines in average FA in these tracts, and in average FA of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), were associated with increased time to completion on the set-shifting subtask of the TMT but not with the simple sequencing subtask. FA values in these tracts were strong mediators of the effect of age on set-shifting performance. Automated tractography methods can enhance our understanding of the fiber systems involved in performance of specific cognitive tasks and of the functional consequences of age-related changes in those systems.

  6. Circadian rhythms in healthy aging--effects downstream from the pacemaker

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monk, T. H.; Kupfer, D. J.

    2000-01-01

    Using both previously published findings and entirely new data, we present evidence in support of the argument that the circadian dysfunction of advancing age in the healthy human is primarily one of failing to transduce the circadian signal from the circadian timing system (CTS) to rhythms "downstream" from the pacemaker rather than one of failing to generate the circadian signal itself. Two downstream rhythms are considered: subjective alertness and objective performance. For subjective alertness, we show that in both normal nychthemeral (24 h routine, sleeping at night) and unmasking (36 h of constant wakeful bed rest) conditions, advancing age, especially in men, leads to flattening of subjective alertness rhythms, even when circadian temperature rhythms are relatively robust. For objective performance, an unmasking experiment involving manual dexterity, visual search, and visual vigilance tasks was used to demonstrate that the relationship between temperature and performance is strong in the young, but not in older subjects (and especially not in older men).

  7. Study designs to enhance identification of genetic factors in healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manolio, Teri A

    2007-12-01

    The sequencing of the human genome and the growing understanding of its function are providing powerful new research tools for identifying genetic variants that are associated with complex diseases and traits. Somewhat less emphasis has been given to genes related to healthy aging, although the approaches for studying health-related traits are analogous to those used for disease-related studies. A critical step prior to the design of such studies is to define a healthy aging phenotype, which should be standardized to permit comparisons across studies and should involve more than simple longevity. Phenotypes of particular value for genetic research are those with high heritability and close relationships to gene products or pathways, preferably with minimal or at least measurable environmental influences. Appropriate study designs to identify genotype-phenotype associations include family-based linkage studies, candidate gene association analyses, and genome-wide association studies. Advances in genotyping and sequencing technologies, and the generation of the human haplotype map database, now permit the cost-effective investigation of the very large sample sizes needed for genome-wide association studies in unrelated individuals. Challenges in interpretation and translation of such studies include assessing the potential for bias and confounding, as well as determining the clinical validity and utility of findings proposed for wider application. Many such studies are currently supported or being planned across the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and lend themselves to the kind of coordinated clinical research envisioned in programs such as the NIH Roadmap.

  8. Can older "at risk" adults benefit from psychoeducation targeting healthy brain aging?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norrie, Louisa M; Diamond, Keri; Hickie, Ian B; Rogers, Naomi L; Fearns, Samantha; Naismith, Sharon L

    2011-04-01

    Multifactorial strategies that prevent or delay the onset or progress of cognitive decline and dementia are needed, and should include education regarding recognized risk factors. The current study sought to investigate whether older adults "at risk" of cognitive decline benefit from psychoeducation targeting healthy brain aging. 65 participants (mean age 64.8 years, SD 9.6) with a lifetime history of major depression; vascular risk as evidenced by at least one vascular risk factor; and/or subjective or objective memory impairment were allocated to weekly psychoeducation sessions or a waitlist control group. The small group sessions were conducted over ten weeks by a team of medical and allied health professionals with expertise in late-life depression and cognition. Sessions focused on modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline including vascular risk, diet, exercise, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance, as well as providing practical strategies for memory and cognition. Both the psychoeducation and waitlist group completed a 20-item knowledge test at baseline and follow-up. Participants in the psychoeducation group were asked to complete follow-up self-report satisfaction questionnaires. Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant interaction effect depicting improvements in knowledge associated with psychoeducation, corresponding to an improvement of 15% from baseline. Satisfaction data additionally showed that 92.3% of participants rated the program as "good" to "excellent", and over 90% suggested they would recommend it to others. A group-based psychoeducation program targeting healthy brain aging is effective in improving knowledge. Additionally, it is acceptable and rated highly by participants.

  9. A structural model of age, grey matter volumes, education, and personality traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitamura, Soichiro; Yasuno, Fumihiko; Yamamoto, Akihide; Kazui, Hiroaki; Kudo, Takashi; Matsuoka, Kiwamu; Kiuchi, Kuniaki; Kosaka, Jun; Nagatsuka, Kazuyuki; Iida, Hidehiro; Kishimoto, Toshifumi

    2016-01-01

    When the relationship between ageing and changes in personality traits is considered, it is important to know how they are influenced by biological and environmental factors. The present study examined the relationships between various factors associated with the effect of ageing on personality traits, including structural changes of the brain and environmental factors such as education. We recruited 41 healthy subjects. We administered the NEO Five-Factor Inventory to assess personality factors. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and regional grey matter (GM) volumes were obtained. We identified associations in the correlation analysis of age, cerebral GM volume, years of education, and the personality trait of openness. Path analysis was used to estimate the relationships among these factors. The path analysis model of age, GM volume, years of education, and the personality trait of openness revealed that age has an indirect negative association with openness through GM volume and years of education. Ageing was related to a decrease in GM volume, which was in turn related to a decrease in the openness score. Older subjects generally had fewer years of education, which was related to a lower openness score. Maintaining openness against the effects of ageing is desirable, and our results imply that interventions against age-related cerebral atrophy and the promotion of opportunities for higher education may contribute to the development and stability of a healthy personality during the adult life course. © 2015 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics © 2015 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

  10. Intestinal Permeability Biomarker Zonulin is Elevated in Healthy Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, YanFei; Goel, Ruby; Kim, Seungbum; Richards, Elaine M; Carter, Christy S; Pepine, Carl J; Raizada, Mohan K; Buford, Thomas W

    2017-09-01

    Increased gut permeability ("leaky gut") has been proposed as a potential contributor to age-related inflammation and gut dysbiosis. However, information on the relationship between a leaky gut and inflammation and physical frailty during aging are limited. To investigate the hypothesis that an aging-associated leaky gut is linked to the age-related inflammation and frailty. Two cohorts of healthy adults were studied: young (18-30 years old, n = 19) and older (≥70 years old, n = 18). Serum concentrations of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6, zonulin (a marker for leaky gut), and high-mobility group box protein (HMGB1, a nuclear protein triggering inflammation) were measured. Correlations of serum levels of zonulin and HMGB1 with strength of plantar flexor muscles and number of steps taken per day were analyzed. Serum concentration of zonulin and HMGB1 were 22% (P = .005) and 16% (P = .010) higher in the older versus young adults. Serum zonulin was positively associated with concentrations of TNF-α (r = 0.357, P = .032) and IL-6 (r = 0.345, P = .043). Importantly, both zonulin and HMGB1 were negatively correlated with skeletal muscle strength (zonulin: r = -0.332, P = .048; HMGB1: r = -0.383, P = .023), and habitual physical activity (zonulin: r = -0.410, P = .016; HMGB1: r = -0.483, P = .004). Serum zonulin was associated with both systemic inflammation and 2 key indices of physical frailty. These data suggest that a leaky gut may play a critical role in the development of age-related inflammation and frailty. Copyright © 2017 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. ATTITUDES OF HEALTHY CHILDREN PARENTS TOWARDS HANDICAPPED CHILDREN AT THE PRE-SCHOOL AGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruzica KERAMICIEVA

    1997-03-01

    Full Text Available Since the 1970-ties, in the USA and Western and Eastern Europe, the model of segregated education has been abandoned, and nowadays the handicapped children attend regular schools all together with other healthy pupils. This , so called Integrative Pedagogy, proceeds from the mental hygiene aspects according to which the restrictive environment in special schools has not been a favorable one for the development of those children.The integrational process of these children in preschool institutions and schools has rather been difficult due to a number of reasons. As one of them, already mentioned and found in literature , has been the negative attitude of non-handicapped children parents towards those handicapped in their development.The problem of this research is to check and test the attitude of healthy children parents towards handicapped children at preschool age. This research shall also tend to analyze the origin of the such attitudes i. e. , whether they have been a result of an insufficient information and ignorance of the obstacles during development, or been produced by imitation of the environment, or due to an empathy, or even because of the fear that “ such a thing better never enter their home”, etc.We sincerely believe that, revealing the above parents’ attitudes and their origin, would certainly bring finding ways of their successful socialization and making the integrational process of handicapped children with their normal mates in preschool institutions easier.

  12. Healthy ageing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harrison, Adrian Paul; Brüggemann, Dagmar Adeline; Bartels, Else Marie

    2009-01-01

    The study employed mechanical stretching in vitro of sections of abdominal aorta of elderly mice to investigate any benefits of oral treatment with alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) on arterial elasticity. Eighteen female mice (50-weeks-old) were assigned to a control (2% w/v) Na2-AKG or (2% w/v) a Ca-AK...... investigation as a candidate for therapies targeting arterial stiffening with age....

  13. Brain volumes in healthy adults aged 40 years and over: a voxel-based morphometry study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riello, Roberta; Sabattoli, Francesca; Beltramello, Alberto; Bonetti, Matteo; Bono, Giorgio; Falini, Andrea; Magnani, Giuseppe; Minonzio, Giorgio; Piovan, Enrico; Alaimo, Giuseppina; Ettori, Monica; Galluzzi, Samantha; Locatelli, Enrico; Noiszewska, Malgorzata; Testa, Cristina; Frisoni, Giovanni B

    2005-08-01

    Gender and age effect on brain morphology have been extensively investigated. However, the great variety in methods applied to morphology partly explain the conflicting results of linear patterns of tissue changes and lateral asymmetry in men and women. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of age, gender and laterality on the volumes of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) in a large group of healthy adults by means of voxel-based morphometry. This technique, based on observer-independent algorithms, automatically segments the 3 types of tissue and computes the amount of tissue in each single voxel. Subjects were 229 healthy subjects of 40 years of age or older, who underwent magnetic resonance (MR) for reasons other than cognitive impairment. MR images were reoriented following the AC-PC line and, after removing the voxels below the cerebellum, were processed by Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM99). GM and WM volumes were normalized for intracranial volume. Women had more fractional GM and WM volumes than men. Age was negatively correlated with both fractional GM and WM, and a gender x age interaction effect was found for WM, men having greater WM loss with advancing age. Pairwise differences between left and right GM were negative (greater GM in right hemisphere) in men, and positive (greater GM in left hemisphere) in women (-0.56+/-4.2 vs 0.99+/-4.8; p=0.019). These results support side-specific accelerated WM loss in men, and may help our better understanding of changes in regional brain structures associated with pathological aging.

  14. Age- and gender-dependent values of skeletal muscle mass in healthy children and adolescents

    OpenAIRE

    Webber, Colin E.; Barr, Ronald D.

    2011-01-01

    Background Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) can be extracted from whole-body scans obtained by X-ray-based dual-photon absorptiometry (DXA). There is a need to establish expected age-dependent values for children and adolescents. Methods Appendicular lean tissue mass (ALM) was extracted from whole-body DXA scans in 140 healthy children and adolescents (68 females and 72 males). Whole-body SMM was calculated from ALM using equations developed by Kim et al. (Am J Clin Nutr 84:1014–1020, 2006). Age-de...

  15. Maximising the Opportunity for Healthy Ageing: Online Mental Health Measurement and Targeted Interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iasiello, Matthew; Bartholomaeus, Jonathan; Jarden, Aaron; van Agteren, Joseph

    2018-01-01

    Longevity is a valuable resource for society, as older people are increasingly looking for new ways to contribute after retirement. Their contribution is however dependent upon their physical health, mental health and wellbeing. The potential role that mental health and wellbeing, two separate but interrelated constructs, play often are both under-recognised and insufficiently targeted. Positive ageing is a positive and constructive view of ageing, where older people actively work on maintaining a positive attitude, work towards keeping fit and healthy, and strive to maximize their wellbeing. Interventions stimulating positive ageing show promising results for both mental health and wellbeing, and telehealth can play an important role in improving the reach and effectiveness of positive ageing interventions. Telehealth solutions can also help researchers reliably measure and better understand the drivers of wellbeing at individual and population levels; results that can both form the basis for advancing the field of positive ageing and help inform public policy.

  16. Correlation of liver stiffness measured by FibroScan with sex and age in healthy adults undergoing physical examination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ZHAO Chongshan

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available ObjectiveTo determine the reference range of liver stiffness in healthy population, and to investigate the influence of age and sex on liver stiffness. MethodsA total of 1794 healthy subjects who underwent physical examination in China National Petroleum Corporation Central Hospital from October 1, 2012 to October 31, 2014 were enrolled, and FibroScan was used to perform liver stiffness measurement (LSM. Since LSM value was not normally distributed, the Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare LSM value between male and female patients, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare LSM value between different age groups, and the Spearman's rank correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between LSM value and age. The one-sided percentile method was used to determine the range of normal reference values in male and female subjects or in different age groups. ResultsLSM was successfully performed in 1590 patients, and the rate of successful measurement was 88.63%. A total of 107 patients were excluded due to abnormal liver enzymes. The analysis showed that LSM value showed a significant difference between male and female subjects (Z=-4.980, P<0.001, as well as between different age groups (χ2=16.983, P=0.001. Age was positively correlated with LSM value (r=0.087, P=0.001. The reference range was estimated to be ≤7.1 kPa in adults, ≤7.0 kPa in females, and ≤7.2 kPa in males. From the perspective of age, the reference range was estimated to be ≤6.8 kPa in persons aged 20-29 years, ≤6.7 kPa in persons aged 30-44 years, ≤7.8 kPa in persons aged 45-59 years, and ≤8.8 kPa in persons aged 60-74 years. ConclusionLiver stiffness value is influenced by sex and age. Sex and age should be taken into account while performing liver stiffness measurement in healthy subjects.

  17. Myelin Breakdown Mediates Age-Related Slowing in Cognitive Processing Speed in Healthy Elderly Men

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Po H.; Lee, Grace J.; Tishler, Todd A.; Meghpara, Michael; Thompson, Paul M.; Bartzokis, George

    2013-01-01

    Background: To assess the hypothesis that in a sample of very healthy elderly men selected to minimize risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cerebrovascular disease, myelin breakdown in late-myelinating regions mediates age-related slowing in cognitive processing speed (CPS). Materials and methods: The prefrontal lobe white matter and the genu of…

  18. Healthy Eating Habits among the Population of Serbia: Gender and Age Differences

    OpenAIRE

    Jovi?i?, Ana ?.

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT The purpose of the study is to examine healthy eating habits of the population of Serbia through three dimensions: knowledge, problems, and feelings as well as to determine whether there are any differences between genders and among different age-groups. The research instrument was an Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ) which consisted of 35 items. There were 382 respondents involved in the study. The reliability and factor structure of the questionnaire were verified by using factor a...

  19. Normative scores on the Berg Balance Scale decline after age 70 years in healthy community-dwelling people: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downs, Stephen; Marquez, Jodie; Chiarelli, Pauline

    2014-06-01

    What is the mean Berg Balance Scale score of healthy elderly people living in the community and how does it vary with age? How much variability in Berg Balance Scale scores is present in groups of healthy elderly people and how does this vary with age? Systematic review with meta-analysis. Any group of healthy community-dwelling people with a mean age of 70 years or greater that has undergone assessment using the Berg Balance Scale. Mean and standard deviations of Berg Balance Scale scores within cohorts of elderly people of known mean age. The search yielded 17 relevant studies contributing data from a total of 1363 participants. The mean Berg Balance Scale scores ranged from 37 to 55 out of a possible maximum score of 56. The standard deviation of Berg Balance Scale scores varied from 1.0 to 9.2. Although participants aged around 70 years had very close to normal Berg Balance Scale scores, there was a significant decline in balance with age at a rate of 0.7 points on the 56-point Berg Balance Scale per year. There was also a strong association between increasing age and increasing variability in balance (R(2) = 0.56, p balance deficits, as measured by the Berg Balance Scale, although balance scores deteriorate and become more variable with age. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  20. Brain activation by visual erotic stimuli in healthy middle aged males.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, S W; Sohn, D W; Cho, Y-H; Yang, W S; Lee, K-U; Juh, R; Ahn, K-J; Chung, Y-A; Han, S-I; Lee, K H; Lee, C U; Chae, J-H

    2006-01-01

    The objective of the present study was to identify brain centers, whose activity changes are related to erotic visual stimuli in healthy, heterosexual, middle aged males. Ten heterosexual, right-handed males with normal sexual function were entered into the present study (mean age 52 years, range 46-55). All potential subjects were screened over 1 h interview, and were encouraged to fill out questionnaires including the Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory. All subjects with a history of sexual arousal disorder or erectile dysfunction were excluded. We performed functional brain magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in male volunteers when an alternatively combined erotic and nonerotic film was played for 14 min and 9 s. The major areas of activation associated with sexual arousal to visual stimuli were occipitotemporal area, anterior cingulate gyrus, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, caudate nucleus. However, hypothalamus and thalamus were not activated. We suggest that the nonactivation of hypothalamus and thalamus in middle aged males may be responsible for the lesser physiological arousal in response to the erotic visual stimuli.

  1. COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF EMOTIONAL CONDITION OF HEALTHY SCHOOLCHILDREN AND CHILDREN WITH POLLINOSIS AT THE AGE OF 11–17 YEARS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. I. Muradova

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The comparative characteristics of emotional condition of healthy schoolchildren and children with pollinosis at the age of 11–17 years old was performed with Spielberg-Hanin questionnaire on the basis of computer psychophysiological complex CPPC-99 «Psichomat».One hundred seventy-five healthy schoolchildren and 46 children with pollinosis at the age of 11–17 years old were included to the study. No significant difference in reactive anxiety between children with pollinosis and healthy children was found. It was shown, that pollinosis (in 35% significantly and concomitant diseases, such as bronchial asthma (in 57 significant influence on personality anxiety, in comparison with healthy children (significant personality anxiety was found in 3% of cases. It was revealed, that all children from control group with high anxiety rate (3% were 17-year-old adolescents.

  2. Alteration of retinal layers in healthy subjects over 60 years of age until nonagenarians

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    Altay L

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Lebriz Altay,1 Cheryl Jahn,1 Mücella Arikan Yorgun,1 Albert Caramoy,1 Tina Schick,1 Carel B Hoyng,2 Anneke I den Hollander,2 Sascha Fauser1 1Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands Purpose: To assess alterations of retinal layers in healthy subjects over 60 years old. Methods: Retinal layers of 160 healthy subjects (aged 60–100 years without any retinal pathology were imaged using spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Mean thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell/inner plexiform layer (GCLIPL, inner nuclear layer, outer plexiform layer/outer nuclear layer, photoreceptor complex (PR and retinal thickness (RT were measured in a 3.45 mm grid. Correlations between age and layers were estimated and linear regression equations were calculated. Different age-groups (60–69, 70–79, 80–89 years and nonagenarians, each group with 40 participants were compared. Results: Significant age-thickness correlations were observed for GCLIPL (P<0.001, r=-0.394, PR (P<0.001, r=-0.370 and RT (P<0.001, r=-0.290. A comparison between age groups 60–69 years and nonagenarians showed no significant thickness alteration of retinal nerve fiber layer (21.80±2.18 µm vs 22.82±2.97 µm, P=0.163, inner nuclear layer (37.23±3.02 µm vs 36.01±3.24 µm, P=0.07 and outer plexiform layer/outer nuclear layer (104.95±6.56 µm vs 104.23±7.59 µm, P=0.567, while GCLIPL (83.35±7.35 µm vs 74.38±9.09 µm, PR (83.03±3.31 µm vs 79.34±2.09 µm and RT (330.64±12.63 µm vs 316.83±18.35 µm showed a significant decrease (P<0.001 for all. Conclusion: Our study provides normative data of alterations of retinal layers for persons aged 60 years to nonagenarians and indicates a continuous decrease of RT, PR, and GCLIPL. This data may be useful for clinical trials investigating macular diseases in older patients

  3. Comparison of body composition between professional sportswomen and apparently healthy age- and sex-matched controls

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    Raman K Marwaha

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In view of the relationship between physical activity and nutrition on body composition, we assessed lean and fat mass and BMC (total and regional in professional Indian sportswomen and compared it with apparently healthy age- and sex-matched females. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 104 sportswomen and an equal number of age-matched normal healthy females (controls. They were evaluated for anthropometry and body composition (fat, lean mass, and bone mineral content (BMC by DXA. Results: Mean age (19.1 ± 1.3 vs. 19.4 ± 1.5 years and body mass index (21.34 ± 3.02 vs. 21.26 ± 4.05 kg/m 2 were comparable in both groups. Sportswomen had higher intake of energy, macronutrients, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Total lean mass (33.67 ± 3.49 vs. 31.14 ± 3.52 kg, P < 0.0001, appendicular skeletal muscle index (5.84 ± 0.57 vs. 5.46 ± 0.63 kg/m 2 ; P < 0.0001 and BMC (2.27 ± 0.32 vs. 2.13 ± 0.34 kg, P < 0.002 was significantly higher and percentage fat mass was significantly lower (33.1 ± 7.5 vs. 37.0 ± 8.3; P < 0.0001 among sportswomen when compared to controls. Conclusions: Indian sportswomen have a higher total and regional lean mass, BMC, and lower percentage fat mass when compared with healthy females. Physical activity, energy, protein and calcium intake were positively associated with lean mass and BMC.

  4. Characterizing Cognitive Aging in Humans with Links to Animal Models

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    Gene E Alexander

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available With the population of older adults expected to grow rapidly over the next two decades, it has become increasingly important to advance research efforts to elucidate the mechanisms associated with cognitive aging, with the ultimate goal of developing effective interventions and prevention therapies. Although there has been a vast research literature on the use of cognitive tests to evaluate the effects of aging and age-related neurodegenerative disease, the need for a set of standardized measures to characterize the cognitive profiles specific to healthy aging has been widely recognized. Here we present a review of selected methods and approaches that have been applied in human research studies to evaluate the effects of aging on cognition, including executive function, memory, processing speed, language, and visuospatial function. The effects of healthy aging on each of these cognitive domains are discussed with examples from cognitive/experimental and clinical/neuropsychological approaches. Further, we consider those measures that have clear conceptual and methodological links to tasks currently in use for non-human animal studies of aging, as well as those that have the potential for translation to animal aging research. Having a complementary set of measures to assess the cognitive profiles of healthy aging across species provides a unique opportunity to enhance research efforts for cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intervention studies of cognitive aging. Taking a cross-species, translational approach will help to advance cognitive aging research, leading to a greater understanding of associated neurobiological mechanisms with the potential for developing effective interventions and prevention therapies for age-related cognitive decline.

  5. Dissociating Effects of Global SWS Disruption and Healthy Aging on Waking Performance and Daytime Sleepiness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groeger, John A.; Stanley, Neil; Deacon, Stephen; Dijk, Derk-Jan

    2014-01-01

    Study Objective: To contrast the effects of slow wave sleep (SWS) disruption and age on daytime functioning. Design: Daytime functioning was contrasted in three age cohorts, across two parallel 4-night randomized groups (baseline, two nights of SWS disruption or control, recovery sleep). Setting: Sleep research laboratory. Participants: 44 healthy young (20-30 y), 35 middle-aged (40-55 y), and 31 older (66-83 y) men and women. Interventions: Acoustic stimulation contingent on appearance of slow waves. Measurements and Results: Cognitive performance was assessed before sleep latency tests at five daily time-points. SWS disruption resulted in less positive affect, slower or impaired information processing and sustained attention, less precise motor control, and erroneous implementation, rather than inhibition, of well-practiced actions. These performance impairments had far smaller effect sizes than the increase in daytime sleepiness and differed from baseline to the same extent for each age group. At baseline, younger participants performed better than older participants across many cognitive domains, with largest effects on executive function, response time, sustained attention, and motor control. At baseline, the young were sleepier than other age groups. Conclusions: SWS has been considered a potential mediator of age-related decline in performance, although the effects of SWS disruption on daytime functioning have not been quantified across different cognitive domains nor directly compared to age-related changes in performance. The data imply that two nights of SWS disruption primarily leads to an increase in sleepiness with minor effects on other aspects of daytime functioning, which are different from the substantial effects of age. Citation: Groeger JA, Stanley N, Deacon S, Dijk DJ. Dissociating effects of global sws disruption and healthy aging on waking performance and daytime sleepiness. SLEEP 2014;37(6):1127-1142. PMID:24882908

  6. Vitamin E supplementation protects erythrocyte membranes from oxidative stress in healthy Chinese middle-aged and elderly people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yongye; Ma, Aiguo; Li, Yong; Han, Xiuxia; Wang, Qiuzhen; Liang, Hui

    2012-05-01

    Elderly people are subject to higher levels of oxidative stress than are young people. Vitamin E, as a powerful antioxidant residing mainly in biomembranes, may provide effective protection against oxidative membrane damage and resultant age-related deterioration, especially in the elderly. We hypothesized that appropriate levels of vitamin E supplementation would protect erythrocyte membranes from oxidative stress and thus improve membrane fluidity in healthy middle-aged and elderly people. To test this, we conducted a 4-month double-blind, randomized trial in which 180 healthy subjects (55-70 years old) were randomly divided into 4 groups: group C (control), and 3 treatment groups in which daily doses of 100 mg (VE1), 200 mg (VE2), and 300 mg (VE3) dl-α-tocopheryl acetate were administered. We measured plasma α-tocopherol concentration, malondialdehyde, and superoxide dismutase levels, erythrocyte hemolysis, and erythrocyte membrane fluidity at the beginning and end of the trial. After 4 months supplementation, plasma α-tocopherol concentrations in the 3 treatment groups had increased by 71%, 78%, and 95%, respectively (all P stress in healthy middle-aged to elderly people, at least in part by improving erythrocyte membrane fluidity and reducing erythrocyte hemolysis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Independent effects of age and levodopa on reversal learning in healthy volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vo, Andrew; Seergobin, Ken N; MacDonald, Penny A

    2018-05-18

    The dopamine overdose hypothesis has provided an important theoretical framework for understanding cognition in Parkinson's disease. It posits that effects of dopaminergic therapy on cognition in Parkinson's disease depend on baseline dopamine levels in brain regions that support different functions. Although functions performed by more severely dopamine-depleted brain regions improve with medication, those associated with less dopamine deficient areas are actually worsened. It is presumed that medication-related worsening of cognition owes to dopamine overdose. We investigated whether age-related changes in baseline dopamine levels would modulate effects of dopaminergic therapy on reward learning in healthy volunteers. In a double-blind, crossover design, healthy younger and older adults completed a probabilistic reversal learning task after treatment with 100/25 mg of levodopa/carbidopa versus placebo. Older adults learned more poorly than younger adults at baseline, being more likely to shift responses after misleading punishment. Levodopa worsened stimulus-reward learning relative to placebo to the same extent in both groups, irrespective of differences in baseline performance and expected dopamine levels. When order effects were eliminated, levodopa induced response shifts after reward more often than placebo. Our results reveal independent deleterious effects of age group and exogenous dopamine on reward learning, suggesting a more complex scenario than predicted by the dopamine overdose hypothesis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Effect of age and gender on dopamine transporter imaging with [123I]FP-CIT SPET in healthy volunteers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lavalaye, J.; Booij, J.; Reneman, L.; Habraken, J.B.A.; Royen, E.A. van

    2000-01-01

    Dopamine transporter imaging is a valuable tool to investigate the integrity of the dopaminergic neurons. To date, several reports have shown an age-associated decline in dopamine transporters in healthy volunteers. Although animal studies suggest an effect of gender on dopamine transporter density, this gender effect has not yet been confirmed in human studies. To study the influence of age and gender on dopamine transporter imaging in healthy volunteers, we performed single-photon emission tomography imaging with [ 123 I]FP-CIT to quantify dopamine transporters. Forty-five healthy volunteers (23 males and 22 females) were included, ranging in age from 18 to 83 years. SPET imaging was performed 3 h after injection of ±110 MBq [ 123 I]FP-CIT. An operator-independent volume of interest analysis was used for quantification of [ 123 I]FP-CIT binding in the striatum. The ratio of specific striatal to non-specific [ 123 I]FP-CIT binding was found to decrease significantly with age. Moreover, we found a high variance in [ 123 I]FP-CIT binding in young adults. Finally, females were found to have significantly higher [ 123 I]FP-CIT binding ratios than males. This effect of gender on [ 123 I]FP-CIT binding ratios was not related to age. The results of this study are consistent with findings from previous studies, which showed that dopamine transporter density declines with age. The intriguing finding of a higher dopamine transporter density in females than in males is in line with findings from animal studies. (orig.)

  9. Ageing and healthy sexuality among women living with HIV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narasimhan, Manjulaa; Payne, Caitlin; Caldas, Stephanie; Beard, John R; Kennedy, Caitlin E

    2016-11-01

    Populations around the world are rapidly ageing and effective treatment for HIV means women living with HIV (WLHIV) can live longer, healthier lives. HIV testing and screening programmes and safer sex initiatives often exclude older sexually active WLHIV. Systematically reviewing the literature to inform World Health Organization guidelines on the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of WLHIV, identified four studies examining healthy sexuality among older WLHIV. In Uganda, WLHIV reported lower rates of sexual activity and rated sex as less important than men. In the United States, HIV stigma, disclosure, and body image concerns, among other issues, were described as inhibiting relationship formation and safer sexual practices. Sexual activity declined similarly over time for all women, including for WLHIV who reported more protected sex, while a significant minority of WLHIV reported unprotected sex. A single intervention, the "ROADMAP" intervention, demonstrated significant increases in HIV knowledge and decreases in HIV stigma and high risk sexual behaviour. WLHIV face ageist discrimination and other barriers to remaining sexually active and maintaining healthy sexual relationships, including challenges procuring condoms and seeking advice on safe sex practices, reduced ability to negotiate safer sex, physical and social changes associated with menopause, and sexual health challenges due to disability and comorbidities. Normative guidance does not adequately address the SRHR of older WLHIV, and while this systematic review highlights the paucity of data, it also calls for additional research and attention to this important area. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Body composition and circulating estradiol are the main bone density predictors in healthy young and middle-aged men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilha, S C; Branisteanu, D; Buzduga, C; Constantinescu, D; Cianga, P; Anisie, E; Covic, A; Ungureanu, M C

    2018-01-16

    Current fracture risk assessment options in men call for improved evaluation strategies. Recent research directed towards non-classic bone mass determinants have often yielded scarce and conflicting results. We aimed at investigating the impact of novel potential bone mass regulators together with classic determinants of bone status in healthy young and middle-aged men. Anthropometric measurements, all-site bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition parameters assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and also serum concentrations of (1) the adipokines leptin and resistin, (2) vitamin D and parathormone (PTH), (3) sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), total testosterone and estradiol (free testosterone was also calculated) and (4) C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTx) were obtained from 30 apparently healthy male volunteers aged 20-65 years enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Only lean mass (LM) and total estradiol independently predicted BMD in men in multiple regression analysis, together explaining 49% (p ≤ 0.001) of whole-body BMD variance. Hierarchical regression analysis with whole-body BMD as outcome variable demonstrated that the body mass index (BMI) beta coefficient became nonsignificant when LM was added to the model. Adipokines, fat parameters, testosterone (total and free), SHBG, PTH and vitamin D were not independently associated with BMD or CTx. The present study shows that LM and sex hormones-namely estradiol-are the main determinants of bone mass in young and middle-aged men. The effects of BMI upon BMD seem to be largely mediated by LM. Lifestyle interventions should focus on preserving LM in men for improved bone outcomes.

  11. High Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Negatively Associated with Daily Cortisol Output in Healthy Aging Men.

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    Francesco Lucertini

    Full Text Available Physical fitness has salutary psychological and physical effects in older adults by promoting neuroplasticity and adaptation to stress. In aging, however, the effects of fitness on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis are mixed. We investigated the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and HPA activity in healthy elderly men (n = 22, mean age 68 y; smokers, obese subjects, those taking drugs or reporting recent stressful events were excluded, by measuring in saliva: i daily pattern of cortisol secretion (6 samples: 30' post-awakening, and at 12.00, 15.00, 18.00, 21.00, 24.00 h; and ii the cortisol response to a mental challenge. Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max was estimated using the Rockport Walking Test and the participants were assigned to high-fit (HF, ≥60°, n = 10 and low-fit (LF, ≤35°, n = 12 groups according to age-specific percentiles of VO2max distribution in the general population. At all daytimes, basal cortisol levels were lower in the HF than the LF group, most notably in the evening and midnight samples, with a significant main effect of physical fitness for cortisol levels overall; the area-under-the-curve for total daily cortisol output was significantly smaller in the HF group. Among the subjects who responded to mental stress (baseline-to-peak increment >1.5 nmol/L; n = 13, 5 LF, 8 HF, the amplitude of cortisol response and the steepness of recovery decline displayed an increasing trend in the HF subjects, although between-group differences failed to reach the threshold for significance. In conclusion, cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy aging men is negatively correlated with daily cortisol output and contributes to buffering the HPA dysregulation that occurs with advancing age, thus possibly playing a beneficial role in contrasting age-related cognitive and physical decline.

  12. Effects of age and acute muscle fatigue on reactive postural control in healthy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papa, Evan V; Foreman, K Bo; Dibble, Leland E

    2015-12-01

    Falls can cause moderate to severe injuries such as hip fractures and head trauma in older adults. While declines in muscle strength and sensory function contribute to increased falls in older adults, skeletal muscle fatigue is often overlooked as an additional contributor to fall risk. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of acute lower extremity muscle fatigue and age on reactive postural control in healthy adults. A sample of 16 individuals participated in this study (8 healthy older adults and 8 healthy young persons). Whole body kinematic and kinetic data were collected during anterior and posterior reproducible fall tests before (T0) and immediately after (T1) eccentric muscle fatiguing exercise, as well as after 15-min (T15) and 30-min (T30) of rest. Lower extremity joint kinematics of the stepping limb during the support (landing) phase of the anterior fall were significantly altered by the presence of acute muscle fatigue. Step velocity was significantly decreased during the anterior falls. Statistically significant main effects of age were found for step length in both fall directions. Effect sizes for all outcomes were small. No statistically significant interaction effects were found. Muscle fatigue has a measurable effect on lower extremity joint kinematics during simulated falls. These alterations appear to resolve within 15 min of recovery. The above deficits, coupled with a reduced step length, may help explain the increased fall risk in older adults. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. EFFECTS OF AGE AND ACUTE MUSCLE FATIGUE ON REACTIVE POSTURAL CONTROL IN HEALTHY ADULTS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papa, Evan V.; Foreman, K. Bo; Dibble, Lee E.

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND Falls can cause moderate to severe injuries such as hip fractures and head trauma in older adults. While declines in muscle strength and sensory function contribute to increased falls in older adults, skeletal muscle fatigue is often overlooked as an additional contributor to fall risk. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of acute lower extremity muscle fatigue and age on reactive postural control in healthy adults. METHODS A sample of 16 individuals participated in this study (8 healthy older adults and 8 healthy young persons). Whole body kinematic and kinetic data were collected during anterior and posterior reproducible fall tests before (T0) and immediately after (T1) eccentric muscle fatiguing exercise, as well as after 15-minutes (T15) and 30-minutes (T30) of rest. FINDINGS Lower extremity joint kinematics of the stepping limb during the support (landing) phase of the anterior fall were significantly altered by the presence of acute muscle fatigue. Step velocity was significantly decreased during the anterior falls. Statistically significant main effects of age were found for step length in both fall directions. Effect sizes for all outcomes were small. No statistically significant interaction effects were found. INTERPRETATION Muscle fatigue has a measurable effect on lower extremity joint kinematics during simulated falls. These alterations appear to resolve within 15 minutes of recovery. The above deficits, coupled with a reduced step length, may help explain the increased fall risk in older adults. PMID:26351001

  14. Down with retirement: implications of embodied cognition for healthy aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernhard Hommel

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive and neurocognitive approaches to human healthy aging attribute age-related decline to the biologically-caused loss of cognitive-control functions. However, an embodied-cognition approach to aging implies a more interactive view according to which cognitive control emerges from, and relies on a person’s active encounters with his or her physical and social environment. We argue that the availability of cognitive-control resources does not only rely on biological processes but also on the degree of active maintenance, that is, on the systematic use of the available control resources. Unfortunately, there is evidence that the degree of actual use might systematically underestimate resource availability, which implies that elderly individuals do not fully exploit their cognitive potential. We discuss evidence for this possibility from three aging-related issues: the reduction of dopaminergic supply, loneliness, and the loss of body strength. All three phenomena point to a downward spiral, in which losses of cognitive-control resources do not only directly impair performance but also more indirectly discourage individuals from making use of them, which in turn suggests underuse and a lack of maintenance—leading to further loss. On the positive side, the possibility of underuse points to not yet fully exploited reservoirs of cognitive control, which calls for more systematic theorizing and experimentation on how cognitive control can be enhanced, as well as for reconsiderations of societal practices that are likely to undermine the active maintenance of control resources—such as retirement laws.

  15. Zingiber officinale Improves Cognitive Function of the Middle-Aged Healthy Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naritsara Saenghong

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The development of cognitive enhancers from plants possessing antioxidants has gained much attention due to the role of oxidative stress-induced cognitive impairment. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of ginger extract, or Zingiber officinale, on the cognitive function of middle-aged, healthy women. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or standardized plant extract at doses of 400 and 800 mg once daily for 2 months. They were evaluated for working memory and cognitive function using computerized battery tests and the auditory oddball paradigm of event-related potentials at three different time periods: before receiving the intervention, one month, and two months. We found that the ginger-treated groups had significantly decreased P300 latencies, increased N100 and P300 amplitudes, and exhibited enhanced working memory. Therefore, ginger is a potential cognitive enhancer for middle-aged women.

  16. Zingiber officinale Improves Cognitive Function of the Middle-Aged Healthy Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saenghong, Naritsara; Wattanathorn, Jintanaporn; Muchimapura, Supaporn; Tongun, Terdthai; Piyavhatkul, Nawanant; Banchonglikitkul, Chuleratana; Kajsongkram, Tanwarat

    2012-01-01

    The development of cognitive enhancers from plants possessing antioxidants has gained much attention due to the role of oxidative stress-induced cognitive impairment. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of ginger extract, or Zingiber officinale, on the cognitive function of middle-aged, healthy women. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or standardized plant extract at doses of 400 and 800 mg once daily for 2 months. They were evaluated for working memory and cognitive function using computerized battery tests and the auditory oddball paradigm of event-related potentials at three different time periods: before receiving the intervention, one month, and two months. We found that the ginger-treated groups had significantly decreased P300 latencies, increased N100 and P300 amplitudes, and exhibited enhanced working memory. Therefore, ginger is a potential cognitive enhancer for middle-aged women. PMID:22235230

  17. Preserved memory-based orienting of attention with impaired explicit memory in healthy ageing.

    OpenAIRE

    Salvato, G; Patai, EZ; Nobre, AC

    2015-01-01

    It is increasingly recognised that spatial contextual long-term memory (LTM) prepares neural activity for guiding visuo-spatial attention in a proactive manner. In the current study, we investigated whether the decline in explicit memory observed in healthy ageing would compromise this mechanism. We compared the behavioural performance of younger and older participants on learning new contextual memories, on orienting visual attention based on these learnt contextual associations, and on expl...

  18. Mechanistic model of mass-specific basal metabolic rate: evaluation in healthy young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Z; Bosy-Westphal, A; Schautz, B; Müller, M

    2011-12-01

    Mass-specific basal metabolic rate (mass-specific BMR), defined as the resting energy expenditure per unit body mass per day, is an important parameter in energy metabolism research. However, a mechanistic explanation for magnitude of mass-specific BMR remains lacking. The objective of the present study was to validate the applicability of a proposed mass-specific BMR model in healthy adults. A mechanistic model was developed at the organ-tissue level, mass-specific BMR = Σ( K i × F i ), where Fi is the fraction of body mass as individual organs and tissues, and K i is the specific resting metabolic rate of major organs and tissues. The Fi values were measured by multiple MRI scans and the K i values were suggested by Elia in 1992. A database of healthy non-elderly non-obese adults (age 20 - 49 yrs, BMI BMR of all subjects was 21.6 ± 1.9 (mean ± SD) and 21.7 ± 1.6 kcal/kg per day, respectively. The measured mass-specific BMR was correlated with the predicted mass-specific BMR (r = 0.82, P BMR, versus the average of measured and predicted mass-specific BMR. In conclusion, the proposed mechanistic model was validated in non-elderly non-obese adults and can help to understand the inherent relationship between mass-specific BMR and body composition.

  19. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to differentiate between healthy aging subjects, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer′s patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Ali Oghabian

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Alzheimer′s disease is the most common form of dementia which is still difficult to be differentiated from other types of brain disorders. Moreover, Mild Cognitive Impairment refers to the presence of cognitive impairments that is not severe enough to meet the criteria of Alzheimer′s, and its diagnosis in early stages is so critical. There is currently no distinct method available for diagnosing Alzheimer′s or Mild Cognitive Impairment, and their diagnosis needs a combination of different methods and assessments. Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI in differentiating between Alzheimer′s, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI and healthy aging. To prove fMRI′s ability, resting-state brain activation patterns between these three groups of subjects were compared using Independent Component Analysis (ICA algorithm. Forty age- and sex-matched subjects, 15 elderly, 11 MCI and 14 Alzheimer′s subjects were examined. Results: The results showed that during a certain resting-state session, healthy aging brain benefits from larger area and greater intensity of activation (compared with MCI and Alzheimer′s group in Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC region of the brain, as part of Default Mode Network. Conclusions: This difference in activation pattern can be used as a diagnostic criterion in using fMRI for differentiating between Alzheimer′s Disease (AD, MCI and healthy aging.

  20. How music and social engagement provides healthy aging and prevents behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ridder, Hanne Mette Ochsner

    2018-01-01

    engagement and learning, and further affects cognitive reserve and the way we age. Music and musical elements affect listeners differently but seem to regulate our body and brain at a much deeper level than we are aware of. When music touches and engages us, a release of the neurotransmitter Norepinephrine....... In addition, through musical interaction, meaningful expression of psychosocial needs may indirectly lead to a reduction of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. For the person with severe dementia, with sensory and cognitive decline, this offers a healthy means of remaining active, autonomous...... follows. This process involves the brain stem (more precisely the locus coeruleus) and a compensatory effect is observed. By engaging in music from early childhood, preventive mechanisms add to healthy aging and may even slow down the development of dementia symptoms, although it cannot prevent dementia...

  1. Place integration through efforts to support healthy aging in resource frontier communities: the role of voluntary sector leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanlon, Neil; Skinner, Mark W; Joseph, Alun E; Ryser, Laura; Halseth, Greg

    2014-09-01

    Resource-dependent communities in hinterland regions of Australia, Canada and elsewhere are rapidly aging, yet many features that distinguish them (e.g., geographic remoteness, small populations, infrastructure built with younger persons in mind) also pose significant challenges for healthy aging. These challenges can lead to substantial gaps in access to formal health and social services, with negative implications for older residents aging-in-place and the development aspirations of resource frontier communities. In this paper, we explore the efforts of voluntary sector leaders to transform resource communities into more livable and supportive places for older adults. We offer a case study of two small towns in Canada׳s aging resource frontier; one forestry-dependent and the other dependent on coal mining. Our findings suggest that place integration develops through volunteer work and explains how voluntarism works as both a process and outcome of 'placemaking'. We argue that greater attention to place integration is needed to bring into focus the transformative potential of the voluntary sector in creating supportive and sustainable environments for healthy aging. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Association between intake of less-healthy foods defined by the United Kingdom's nutrient profile model and cardiovascular disease: A population-based cohort study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver T Mytton

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In the United Kingdom, the Food Standards Agency-Ofcom nutrient profiling model (FSA-Ofcom model is used to define less-healthy foods that cannot be advertised to children. However, there has been limited investigation of whether less-healthy foods defined by this model are associated with prospective health outcomes. The objective of this study was to test whether consumption of less-healthy food as defined by the FSA-Ofcom model is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD.We used data from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk cohort study in adults (n = 25,639 aged 40-79 years who completed a 7-day diet diary between 1993 and 1997. Incident CVD (primary outcome, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality (secondary outcomes were identified using record linkage to hospital admissions data and death certificates up to 31 March 2015. Each food and beverage item reported was coded and given a continuous score, using the FSA-Ofcom model, based on the consumption of energy; saturated fat; total sugar; sodium; nonsoluble fibre; protein; and fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Items were classified as less-healthy using Ofcom regulation thresholds. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to test for an association between consumption of less-healthy food and incident CVD. Sensitivity analyses explored whether the results differed based on the definition of the exposure. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, behavioural risk factors, clinical risk factors, and socioeconomic status. Participants were followed up for a mean of 16.4 years. During follow-up, there were 4,965 incident cases of CVD (1,524 fatal within 30 days. In the unadjusted analyses, we observed an association between consumption of less-healthy food and incident CVD (test for linear trend over quintile groups, p < 0.01. After adjustment for covariates (sociodemographic, behavioural, and indices of cardiovascular risk, we found no association between

  3. Smoking, physical inactivity and obesity as predictors of healthy and disease-free life expectancy between ages 50 and 75: a multicohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenholm, Sari; Head, Jenny; Kivimäki, Mika; Kawachi, Ichiro; Aalto, Ville; Zins, Marie; Goldberg, Marcel; Zaninotto, Paola; Magnuson Hanson, Linda; Westerlund, Hugo; Vahtera, Jussi

    2016-08-01

    Smoking, physical inactivity and obesity are modifiable risk factors for morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which the co-occurrence of these behaviour-related risk factors predict healthy life expectancy and chronic disease-free life expectancy in four European cohort studies. Data were drawn from repeated waves of four cohort studies in England, Finland, France and Sweden. Smoking status, physical inactivity and obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m 2 ) were examined separately and in combination. Health expectancy was estimated by using two health indicators: suboptimal self-rated health and having a chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease and diabetes). Multistate life table models were used to estimate sex-specific healthy life expectancy and chronic disease-free life expectancy from ages 50 to 75 years. Compared with men and women with at least two behaviour-related risk factors, those with no behaviour-related risk factors could expect to live on average8 years longer in good health and 6 years longer free of chronic diseases between ages 50 and 75. Having any single risk factor was also associated with reduction in healthy years. No consistent differences between cohorts were observed. Data from four European countries show that persons with individual and co-occurring behaviour-related risk factors have shorter healthy life expectancy and shorter chronic disease-free life expectancy. Population level reductions in smoking, physical inactivity and obesity could increase life-years lived in good health. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

  4. The control of translational accuracy is a determinant of healthy ageing in yeast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von der Haar, Tobias; Leadsham, Jane E; Sauvadet, Aimie; Tarrant, Daniel; Adam, Ilectra S; Saromi, Kofo; Laun, Peter; Rinnerthaler, Mark; Breitenbach-Koller, Hannelore; Breitenbach, Michael; Tuite, Mick F; Gourlay, Campbell W

    2017-01-01

    Life requires the maintenance of molecular function in the face of stochastic processes that tend to adversely affect macromolecular integrity. This is particularly relevant during ageing, as many cellular functions decline with age, including growth, mitochondrial function and energy metabolism. Protein synthesis must deliver functional proteins at all times, implying that the effects of protein synthesis errors like amino acid misincorporation and stop-codon read-through must be minimized during ageing. Here we show that loss of translational accuracy accelerates the loss of viability in stationary phase yeast. Since reduced translational accuracy also reduces the folding competence of at least some proteins, we hypothesize that negative interactions between translational errors and age-related protein damage together overwhelm the cellular chaperone network. We further show that multiple cellular signalling networks control basal error rates in yeast cells, including a ROS signal controlled by mitochondrial activity, and the Ras pathway. Together, our findings indicate that signalling pathways regulating growth, protein homeostasis and energy metabolism may jointly safeguard accurate protein synthesis during healthy ageing. © 2017 The Authors.

  5. Single nucleotide polymorphisms linked to mitochondrial uncoupling protein genes UCP2 and UCP3 affect mitochondrial metabolism and healthy aging in female nonagenarians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sangkyu; Myers, Leann; Ravussin, Eric; Cherry, Katie E; Jazwinski, S Michal

    2016-08-01

    Energy expenditure decreases with age, but in the oldest-old, energy demand for maintenance of body functions increases with declining health. Uncoupling proteins have profound impact on mitochondrial metabolic processes; therefore, we focused attention on mitochondrial uncoupling protein genes. Alongside resting metabolic rate (RMR), two SNPs in the promoter region of UCP2 were associated with healthy aging. These SNPs mark potential binding sites for several transcription factors; thus, they may affect expression of the gene. A third SNP in the 3'-UTR of UCP3 interacted with RMR. This UCP3 SNP is known to impact UCP3 expression in tissue culture cells, and it has been associated with body weight and mitochondrial energy metabolism. The significant main effects of the UCP2 SNPs and the interaction effect of the UCP3 SNP were also observed after controlling for fat-free mass (FFM) and physical-activity related energy consumption. The association of UCP2/3 with healthy aging was not found in males. Thus, our study provides evidence that the genetic risk factors for healthy aging differ in males and females, as expected from the differences in the phenotypes associated with healthy aging between the two sexes. It also has implications for how mitochondrial function changes during aging.

  6. Building neuroscientific evidence and creating best practices for Active and Healthy Aging through ubiquitous exergaming and Living Labs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bamidis, Panagiotis D

    2015-01-01

    Ageing is a major global demographic trend, which seems to be intensified. The earlier detection of risks associated with ageing, can enable earlier intervention to ameliorate their negative consequences. Many of these recent efforts are associated with the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the stemming from them innovations in the fight against this age related decline and frailty. Ubiquitous unobtrusive monitoring and training (recently much blended by means of exergames) has become reality due to the availability of new mobile sensors and devices and the emergence of new technologies and services. The current piece of work presents the different milestones we have achieved as best practices during the past seven years of piloting training and exergaming ICT components in an effort to support Active and Healthy Aging. Our impact verification and results validation methodologies are revisited here in an effort to outline best practices and build up neuroscientific evidence. Finally, this paper demonstrates how the construction of an Active and Healthy Aging Living Lab was materialised in an attempt to gauge evidence based research in the field of active and health aging.

  7. The buccal cytome and micronucleus frequency is substantially altered in Down's syndrome and normal ageing compared to young healthy controls

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, Philip; Harvey, Sarah; Gruner, Tini; Fenech, Michael

    2008-01-01

    The buccal micronucleus cytome assay was used to investigate biomarkers for DNA damage, cell death and basal cell frequency in buccal cells of healthy young, healthy old and young Down's syndrome cohorts. With normal ageing a significant increase in cells with micronuclei (P < 0.05, average increase +366%), karyorrhectic cells (P < 0.001, average increase +439%), condensed chromatin cells (P < 0.01, average increase +45.8%) and basal cells (P < 0.001, average increase +233%) is reported relative to young controls. In Down's syndrome we report a significant increase in cells with micronuclei (P < 0.001, average increase +733%) and binucleated cells (P < 0.001, average increase +84.5%) and a significant decrease in condensed chromatin cells (P < 0.01, average decrease -52%), karyolytic cells (P < 0.001, average decrease -51.8%) and pyknotic cells (P < 0.001, average decrease -75.0%) relative to young controls. These changes show distinct differences between the cytome profile of normal ageing relative to that for a premature ageing syndrome, and highlight the diagnostic value of the cytome approach for measuring the profile of cells with DNA damage, cell death and proportion of cells with proliferative potential (i.e., basal cells). Significant correlations amongst cell death biomarkers observed in this study were used to propose a new model of the inter-relationship of cell types scored within the buccal micronucleus cytome assay. This study validates the use of a cytome approach to investigate DNA damage, cell death and cell proliferation in buccal cells with ageing

  8. Diverse effects of a low dose supplement of lipidated curcumin in healthy middle aged people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DiSilvestro Robert A

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Curcumin extracts of turmeric are proposed to produce health benefits. To date, human intervention studies have focused mainly on people with existing health problems given high doses of poorly absorbed curcumin. The purpose of the current study was to check whether in healthy people, a low dose of a lipidated curcumin extract could alter wellness-related measures. Methods The present study was conducted in healthy middle aged people (40–60 years old with a low dose of curcumin (80 mg/day in a lipidated form expected to have good absorption. Subjects were given either curcumin (N = 19 or placebo (N = 19 for 4 wk. Blood and saliva samples were taken before and after the 4 weeks and analyzed for a variety of blood and saliva measures relevant to health promotion. Results Curcumin, but not placebo, produced the following statistically significant changes: lowering of plasma triglyceride values, lowering of salivary amylase levels, raising of salivary radical scavenging capacities, raising of plasma catalase activities, lowering of plasma beta amyloid protein concentrations, lowering of plasma sICAM readings, increased plasma myeloperoxidase without increased c-reactive protein levels, increased plasma nitric oxide, and decreased plasma alanine amino transferase activities. Conclusion Collectively, these results demonstrate that a low dose of a curcumin-lipid preparation can produce a variety of potentially health promoting effects in healthy middle aged people.

  9. Dietary restriction with and without caloric restriction for healthy aging [version 1; referees: 3 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Changhan Lee

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Caloric restriction is the most effective and reproducible dietary intervention known to regulate aging and increase the healthy lifespan in various model organisms, ranging from the unicellular yeast to worms, flies, rodents, and primates. However, caloric restriction, which in most cases entails a 20–40% reduction of food consumption relative to normal intake, is a severe intervention that results in both beneficial and detrimental effects. Specific types of chronic, intermittent, or periodic dietary restrictions without chronic caloric restriction have instead the potential to provide a significant healthspan increase while minimizing adverse effects. Improved periodic or targeted dietary restriction regimens that uncouple the challenge of food deprivation from the beneficial effects will allow a safe intervention feasible for a major portion of the population. Here we focus on healthspan interventions that are not chronic or do not require calorie restriction.

  10. Gait impairment in cervical spondylotic myelopathy: comparison with age- and gender-matched healthy controls.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Malone, Ailish

    2012-12-01

    Gait impairment is a primary symptom of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM); however, little is known about specific kinetic and kinematic gait parameters. The objectives of the study were: (1) to compare gait patterns of people with untreated CSM to those of age- and gender-matched healthy controls; (2) to examine the effect of gait speed on kinematic and kinetic parameters.

  11. Technology of making healthy and correction of build of men of the first mature age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stroganov S.V.

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Directions of search of ways of making healthy of population of mature age are considered. In an experiment 30 men took part 21-35 years. The men of experimental group conducted training on the basis of 4th of the monthly program of correction and making healthy. There was statistically meaningful divergence in the capacity of men of experimental group by comparison to the men of control group. Also in the subjective estimation of own build, feel for a day, at the end of workweek and after training. Employment on the developed technology induced the men of experimental group a greater measure to give up harmful habits.

  12. Role modeling as an early childhood obesity prevention strategy: effect of parents and teachers on preschool children's healthy lifestyle habits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natale, Ruby A; Messiah, Sarah E; Asfour, Lila; Uhlhorn, Susan B; Delamater, Alan; Arheart, Kris L

    2014-01-01

    To assess the effectiveness of a child care center-based parent and teacher healthy lifestyle role-modeling program on child nutrition and physical activity outcomes. Child care centers (N = 28) serving low-income families were randomized to intervention or control arms. Intervention centers (N = 12) implemented (1) menu modifications, (2) a child's healthy lifestyle curriculum, and (3) an adult (teacher- and parent-focused) healthy lifestyle role-modeling curriculum. Control centers (N = 16) received an attention control safety curriculum. Nutrition and physical activity data were collected at the beginning (T1) and at the end (T2) of the school year. Exploratory factor analysis identified positive and negative nutrition and physical activity practices by children, parents, and teachers. Intervention parents' baseline (β = .52, p consumption (β = .47, p consumption of fruits/vegetables from T1 to T2. Intervention parents significantly influenced a decrease in children's junk food consumption (β = -.04, p junk food consumption (β = .60, p junk food consumption (β = .11, p = .01) and sedentary behavior (β = .09, p consumption of fruits/vegetables, junk food, and level of sedentary behavior. Future obesity prevention intervention efforts targeting this age group should include parents as healthy lifestyle role models for their children.

  13. Developing an assessment based on physical fitness age to evaluate motor function in frail and healthy elderly women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakagaichi, Masaki; Anan, Yuya; Hikiji, Yuto; Uratani, Sou

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify a method for assessing physical fitness age that is easy to use with both frail and healthy elderly women and to examine its validity. Principal component analysis was used to develop a formula of physical fitness age from four motor function variables. The subjects comprised 688 (75.7±6.0 years) elderly women, in order to develop a physical fitness scale. The formula for calculating physical fitness age was expressed as physical fitness age =-0.419× grip strength -0.096× balancing on one leg with eyes open -0.737×30 s chair stand +0.503× figure-of-8 walking test +0.47× chronological age +52.68. Measures obtained from subjects in the frail elderly (n=11, 73.0±2.3 years) and exercise (n=10, 70.8±3.1 years) groups were used to examine the validity of the assessment. The mean physical fitness age of the frail elderly group (79.0±3.7 years) was significantly higher than its mean chronological age (73.0±2.3 years, p fitness age of the exercise group (65.6±3.1 years) was significantly lower than the chronological age (70.8±3.1 years, p fitness age scores are applicable to frail and healthy elderly women. Physical fitness age is a valid measure of motor function in elderly women.

  14. Healthy ageing at work

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jong, Marlon; Jolij, Jacob; Lorist, Monicque

    2016-01-01

    Demographic ageing in the Western world means that the average age of the working population is increasing. This has major consequences for the labour process. Growing older is linked to physical and cognitive changes that can influence the performance of tasks. We are faced with an important

  15. Healthy ageing at work

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jong, Marlon; Jolij, Jacob; Lorist, Monicque

    2016-01-01

    Background Demographic ageing in the Western world means that the average age of the working population is increasing. This has major consequences for the labour process. Growing older is linked to physical and cognitive changes that can influence the performance of tasks. We are faced with an

  16. Healthy ageing at work

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jong, Marlon; Jolij, Jacob; Lorist, Monicque

    2015-01-01

    Demographic ageing in the Western world means that the average age of the working population is increasing. This has major consequences for the labour process. Growing older is linked to physical and cognitive changes which can influence performance of tasks. We are faced with an important

  17. Exploring the Role of Genetic Variability and Lifestyle in Oxidative Stress Response for Healthy Aging and Longevity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Passarino

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Oxidative stress is both the cause and consequence of impaired functional homeostasis characterizing human aging. The worsening efficiency of stress response with age represents a health risk and leads to the onset and accrual of major age-related diseases. In contrast, centenarians seem to have evolved conservative stress response mechanisms, probably derived from a combination of a diet rich in natural antioxidants, an active lifestyle and a favorable genetic background, particularly rich in genetic variants able to counteract the stress overload at the level of both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. The integration of these factors could allow centenarians to maintain moderate levels of free radicals that exert beneficial signaling and modulator effects on cellular metabolism. Considering the hot debate on the efficacy of antioxidant supplementation in promoting healthy aging, in this review we gathered the existing information regarding genetic variability and lifestyle factors which potentially modulate the stress response at old age. Evidence reported here suggests that the integration of lifestyle factors (moderate physical activity and healthy nutrition and genetic background could shift the balance in favor of the antioxidant cellular machinery by activating appropriate defense mechanisms in response to exceeding external and internal stress levels, and thus possibly achieving the prospect of living a longer life.

  18. Developmental trajectories for attention and working memory in healthy Japanese school-aged children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egami, Chiyomi; Yamashita, Yushiro; Tada, Yasuhiro; Anai, Chiduru; Mukasa, Akiko; Yuge, Kotaro; Nagamitsu, Shinichiro; Matsuishi, Toyojiro

    2015-10-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the developmental trajectories of attention, short-term memory, and working memory in school-aged children using a 10 min test battery of cognitive function. Participants comprised 144 typically developing children (TDC) aged 7-12 years and 24 healthy adults, divided according to age into seven groups (12 males and 12 females for each age group). Participants were assessed using CogHealth, which is a computer-based measure composed of five tasks. We measured attention, short-term memory, and working memory (WM) with visual stimulation. Each task was analyzed for age-related differences in reaction time and accuracy rate. Attention tasks were faster in stages from the age of 7-10 years. Accuracy rate of short-term memory gradually increased from 12 years of age and suddenly increased and continued to increase at 22 years of age. Accuracy rate of working memory increased until 12 years of age. Correlations were found between the ages and reaction time, and between ages and accuracy rate of the tasks. These results indicate that there were rapid improvements in attention, short-term memory, and WM performance between 7 and 10 years of age followed by gradual improvement until 12 years of age. Increase in short-term memory continued until 22 years of age. In our experience CogHealth was an easy and useful measure for the evaluation of cognitive function in school-age children. Copyright © 2015 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Decreased serum level of HMGB1 and MyD88 during human aging progress in healthy individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Guo-Xiang; Chen, Alex F; Zhong, Yuan; Zhao, Jian; Gu, Ying-Jia

    2016-04-01

    Previous studies have suggested that high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1) binds to the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling mediates the progression of various inflammatory diseases. But the roles of HMGB1 and TLR4 in aging remain poorly unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the serum levels of HMGB1 and myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), which is one of TLR4's intracellular adaptor proteins during human aging process and their relevance with cathepsin B (CTSB). This research was conducted using the blood samples provided by healthy people (n = 90, 63 men and 27 women). Subjects were subdivided into groups with respect to age: young (about 25 years old, n = 30), middle age (about 40 years old, n = 30), and aged (above 65 years old, n = 30). Altered serum levels of HMGB1, MyD88 and CTSB were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The serum levels of HMGB1 and MyD88 were significantly decreased in the aged group compared with those in the young group. Linear regression analysis showed that HMGB1 and MyD88 positively correlated with CTSB among the whole healthy people. A negative correlation was determined between MyD88 and age. The serum levels of HMGB1 and MyD88 significantly decreased with age. MyD88, but not HMGB1, was negatively correlated with age.

  20. Eating a Balanced Diet: A Healthy Life through a Balanced Diet in the Age of Longevity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soo Lim

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Recently, trends in the Korean diet have favored westernized and unbalanced meals that mainly provide a single nutrient. To stop this unfavorable trend, the Committee of the Ten Guidelines for a Health Life: Korean Medical Association released three best practices to follow for the healthy and balanced diet in 2017. The purpose of these guidelines is to encourage people to eat a balanced diet that meets the recommended caloric intake, thereby reducing the risk of obesity and obesity-related diseases. First, eat a carbohydrate:protein:fat ratio of 55:20:25. Middle-aged and elderly Koreans consume a high proportion of carbohydrates as part of their total caloric intake, and those ≥65 years consume a low proportion of fat as part of the total caloric intake. Second, reduce consumption of soda and sugar-sweetened beverages. The recent World Health Organization recommendation for added sugar is less than 10% of a person’s total daily energy intake (<50 g/day. Koreans currently consume 72.1 g of added sugar per day. Koreans between the ages of 6 and 29 years consume sugar mostly through sodas, and those ≥30 years consume sugar mostly through coffee. Third, maintain the recommended caloric intake for a healthy diet. Rapid weight gain increases blood sugar levels and blood pressure, which can lead to diabetes and hypertension, as well as increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and colorectal cancer. To help prevent these conditions, people should maintain a healthy weight by avoiding overeating and being physically active starting at a young age.

  1. Understanding the role of contrasting urban contexts in healthy aging: an international cohort study using wearable sensor devices (the CURHA study protocol).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kestens, Yan; Chaix, Basile; Gerber, Philippe; Desprès, Michel; Gauvin, Lise; Klein, Olivier; Klein, Sylvain; Köppen, Bernhard; Lord, Sébastien; Naud, Alexandre; Payette, Hélène; Richard, Lucie; Rondier, Pierre; Shareck, Martine; Sueur, Cédric; Thierry, Benoit; Vallée, Julie; Wasfi, Rania

    2016-05-05

    Given the challenges of aging populations, calls have been issued for more sustainable urban re-development and implementation of local solutions to address global environmental and healthy aging issues. However, few studies have considered older adults' daily mobility to better understand how local built and social environments may contribute to healthy aging. Meanwhile, wearable sensors and interactive map-based applications offer novel means for gathering information on people's mobility, levels of physical activity, or social network structure. Combining such data with classical questionnaires on well-being, physical activity, perceived environments and qualitative assessment of experience of places opens new opportunities to assess the complex interplay between individuals and environments. In line with current gaps and novel analytical capabilities, this research proposes an international research agenda to collect and analyse detailed data on daily mobility, social networks and health outcomes among older adults using interactive web-based questionnaires and wearable sensors. Our study resorts to a battery of innovative data collection methods including use of a novel multisensor device for collection of location and physical activity, interactive map-based questionnaires on regular destinations and social networks, and qualitative assessment of experience of places. This rich data will allow advanced quantitative and qualitative analyses in the aim to disentangle the complex people-environment interactions linking urban local contexts to healthy aging, with a focus on active living, social networks and participation, and well-being. This project will generate evidence about what characteristics of urban environments relate to active mobility, social participation, and well-being, three important dimensions of healthy aging. It also sets the basis for an international research agenda on built environment and healthy aging based on a shared and comprehensive

  2. The Reliability of Clock Drawing Test Scoring Systems Modeled on the Normative Data in Healthy Aging and Nonamnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazancova, Adela Fendrych; Nikolai, Tomas; Stepankova, Hana; Kopecek, Miloslav; Bezdicek, Ondrej

    2017-10-01

    The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is a commonly used tool in clinical practice and research for cognitive screening among older adults. The main goal of the present study was to analyze the interrater reliability of three different CDT scoring systems (by Shulman et al., Babins et al., and Cohen et al.). We used a clock with a predrawn circle. The CDT was evaluated by three independent raters based on the normative data set of healthy older and very old adults and patients with nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment (naMCI; N = 438; aged 61-94). We confirmed a high interrater reliability measured by the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs): Shulman ICC = .809, Babins ICC = .894, and Cohen ICC = .862, all p < .001. We found that age and education levels have a significant effect on CDT performance, yet there was no influence of gender. Finally, the scoring systems differentiated between naMCI and age- and education-matched controls: Shulman's area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = .84, Cohen AUC = .71, all p < .001; and a slightly lower discriminative ability was shown by Babins: AUC = .65, p = .012.

  3. Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program: Shaping a Healthy Future for Older Americans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pincus, Harold Alan; Pike, Kathleen M; Spaeth-Rublee, Brigitta; Elinson, Lynn

    2017-09-01

    As the size of the elderly population increases, so do the challenges of and barriers to high-quality, affordable health care. The Health and Aging Policy Fellows (HAPF) Program is designed to provide health and aging professionals with the skills and experience to help lead the effort in reducing these barriers and shaping a healthy and productive future for older Americans. Since its inception in 2008, the program has affected not only the fellows who participate, but also the field of health and aging policy. Work needs to be done to sustain this program so that more fellows can participate and sound policies for the elderly population can continue to be shaped and improved. This report describes the HAPF Program, including its background (rationale, description, partners, progress, effect), lessons learned, challenges and solutions, and policy implications. © 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics Society.

  4. Aging Trajectories in Different Body Systems Share Common Environmental Etiology: The Healthy Aging Twin Study (HATS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moayyeri, Alireza; Hart, Deborah J; Snieder, Harold; Hammond, Christopher J; Spector, Timothy D; Steves, Claire J

    2016-02-01

    Little is known about the extent to which aging trajectories of different body systems share common sources of variance. We here present a large twin study investigating the trajectories of change in five systems: cardiovascular, respiratory, skeletal, morphometric, and metabolic. Longitudinal clinical data were collected on 3,508 female twins in the TwinsUK registry (complete pairs:740 monozygotic (MZ), 986 dizygotic (DZ), mean age at entry 48.9 ± 10.4, range 18-75 years; mean follow-up 10.2 ± 2.8 years, range 4-17.8 years). Panel data on multiple age-related variables were used to estimate biological ages for each individual at each time point, in linear mixed effects models. A weighted average approach was used to combine variables within predefined body system groups. Aging trajectories for each system in each individual were then constructed using linear modeling. Multivariate structural equation modeling of these aging trajectories showed low genetic effects (heritability), ranging from 2% in metabolic aging to 22% in cardiovascular aging. However, we found a significant effect of shared environmental factors on the variations in aging trajectories in cardiovascular (54%), skeletal (34%), morphometric (53%), and metabolic systems (53%). The remainder was due to environmental factors unique to each individual plus error. Multivariate Cholesky decomposition showed that among aging trajectories for various body systems there were significant and substantial correlations between the unique environmental latent factors as well as shared environmental factors. However, there was no evidence for a single common factor for aging. This study, the first of its kind in aging, suggests that diverse organ systems share non-genetic sources of variance for aging trajectories. Confirmatory studies are needed using population-based twin cohorts and alternative methods of handling missing data.

  5. Evaluation of the Mental Healthiness Aging Initiative: community program to promote awareness about mental health and aging issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zanjani, Faika; Kruger, Tina; Murray, Deborah

    2012-04-01

    The objective of this study is to evaluate the Mental Healthiness Aging Initiative, designed to promote community awareness and knowledge about mental health and aging issues. This study occurred during 2007-2009 in 67 of 120 counties in Kentucky. A rural region (11 counties) received the intervention, consisting of focus groups, Extension Agent training, and television-based social marketing campaign. Partial-intervention counties (29 counties) received only the television-based social marketing campaign. The control counties (27 counties) received no intervention activities. Results indicated that the intervention counties agreed more with being able to assist elder adults with a potential mental illness. Also, the intervention counties understood the risk of consuming alcohol and medications better, but had a poorer recognition of drinking problems in elder adults. These findings need to be considered within study limitations, such as measurement error, degree of intervention exposure, and regional differences across intervention groups. The study demonstrates that community interventions on mental health awareness and knowledge are feasible within majority rural regions, with Extension Agents being gatekeepers, for promoting positive messages about mental health and aging issues.

  6. Drosophila melanogaster as a model system for the evaluation of anti-aging compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jafari, Mahtab

    2010-01-01

    Understanding the causes of aging is a complex problem due to the multiple factors that influence aging, which include genetics, environment, metabolism and reproduction, among others. These multiple factors create logistical difficulties in the evaluation of anti-aging agents. There is a need for good model systems to evaluate potential anti-aging compounds. The model systems used should represent the complexities of aging in humans, so that the findings may be extrapolated to human studies, but they should also present an opportunity to minimize the variables so that the experimental results can be accurately interpreted. In addition to positively affecting lifespan, the impact of the compound on the physiologic confounders of aging, including fecundity and the health span--the period of life where an organism is generally healthy and free from serious or chronic illness--of the model organism needs to be evaluated. Fecundity is considered a major confounder of aging in fruit flies. It is well established that female flies that are exposed to toxic substances typically reduce their dietary intake and their reproductive output and display an artifactual lifespan extension. As a result, drugs that achieve longevity benefits by reducing fecundity as a result of diminished food intake are probably not useful candidates for eventual treatment of aging in humans and should be eliminated during the screening process. Drosophila melanogaster provides a suitable model system for the screening of anti-aging compounds as D. melanogaster and humans have many conserved physiological and biological pathways. In this paper, I propose an algorithm to screen anti-aging compounds using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system.

  7. Improving heart healthy lifestyles among participants in a Salud para su Corazón promotores model: the Mexican pilot study, 2009-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balcázar, Héctor; Fernández-Gaxiola, Ana Cecilia; Pérez-Lizaur, Ana Bertha; Peyron, Rosa Adriana; Ayala, Carma

    2015-03-12

    In Mexico, cardiovascular disease and its risk factors are growing problems and major public health concerns. The objective of this study was to implement cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention activities of the Salud para su Corazón model in a high-risk, impoverished, urban community in Mexico City. We used a pretest-posttest (baseline to 12-week follow-up) design without a control group. Material from Salud para su Corazón was validated and delivered by promotores (community health workers) to community members from 6 geographic areas. Two validated, self-administered questionnaires that assessed participants' knowledge and behaviors relating to heart health were administered. We used t tests and χ(2) tests to evaluate pretest and posttest differences, by age group (≤60 and >60 years), for participants' 3 heart-healthy habits, 3 types of physical activity, performance skills, and anthropometric and clinical measurements. A total of 452 (82%) adult participants completed the program. Heart-healthy habits from pretest to posttest varied by age group. "Taking action" to modify lifestyle behaviors increased among adults aged 60 or younger from 31.5% to 63.0% (P < .001) and among adults older than 60 from 30.0% to 45.0% (P < .001). Positive responses for cholesterol and fat consumption reduction were seen among participants 60 or younger (P = .03). Among those older than 60, salt reduction and weight control increased (P = .008). Mean blood glucose concentration among adults older than 60 decreased postintervention (P = .03). Significant improvements in some heart-healthy habits were seen among adult participants. The model has potential to improve heart-healthy habits and facilitate behavioral change among high-risk adults.

  8. Active and Healthy Ageing as a Wicked Problem: The Contribution of a Multidisciplinary Research University.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riva, Giuseppe; Graffigna, Guendalina; Baitieri, Maddalena; Amato, Alessandra; Bonanomi, Maria Grazia; Valentini, Paolo; Castelli, Guido

    2014-01-01

    The quest for an active and healthy ageing can be considered a "wicked problem." It is a social and cultural problem, which is difficult to solve because of incomplete, changing, and contradictory requirements. These problems are tough to manage because of their social complexity. They are a group of linked problems embedded in the structure of the communities in which they occur. First, they require the knowledge of the social and cultural context in which they occur. They can be solved only by understanding of what people do and why they do it. Second, they require a multidisciplinary approach. Wicked problems can have different solutions, so it is critical to capture the full range of possibilities and interpretations. Thus, we suggest that Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) is well suited for accepting and managing this challenge because of its applied research orientation, multidisciplinary approach, and integrated vision. After presenting the research activity of UCSC, we describe a possible "systems thinking" strategy to consider the complexity and interdependence of active ageing and healthy living.

  9. New noninvasive index for evaluation of the vascular age of healthy and sick people

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fine, Ilya; Kuznik, Boris I.; Kaminsky, Alexander V.; Shenkman, Louis; Kustovsjya, Evgeniya M.; Maximova, Olga G.

    2012-08-01

    We conducted a study on 861 healthy and sick subjects and demonstrated that some calculated parameters based on measurement of the dynamic light scattering (DLS) signal from the finger correlate highly with chronological age ranging from 1.5 to 85 years old. Measurements of DLS signals were obtained during both occlusion and nonocclusion of blood flow in the finger. For the nonocclusion case we found that the low-frequency component of the DLS signal significantly correlates with the biological age while the high-frequency component of the DLS signal resembles the arterial pulse-wave and does correlate with age. However, the most prominent correlation between the DLS characteristics and age was noted with the stasis stage measurements. We propose that the observed age-related phenomena are caused by alterations in local blood viscosity and interactions of the endothelial cells with erythrocytes. Further, a new noninvasive index based on the age-related optical characteristics was introduced. This noninvasive index may be used as a research and diagnostic tool to examine the endothelial and thrombolytic properties of the vascular system.

  10. Reference Values for Inspiratory Muscle Endurance in Healthy Children and Adolescents.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristhiele Taís Woszezenki

    Full Text Available To generate reference values for two inspiratory muscle endurance (IME protocols in healthy children and adolescents.This is an observational, cross-sectional study, in healthy children and adolescents from 4 to 18 years of age. Weight, height, maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP and IME were measured using two protocols. A fixed load of 30% of MIP with a 10% increment every 2 minutes was used in the incremental threshold loading protocol. As for the maximal loading protocol, a fixed load of 70% of MIP was used and the time limit (Tlim achieved until fatigue was measured.A total of 462 participants were included, 281 corresponding to the incremental loading protocol and 181 to maximal loading. There were moderate and positive correlations between IME and age, MIP, weight and height in the incremental threshold loading. However, the regression model demonstrated that MIP and age were the best variables to predict the IME. Otherwise, weak and positive correlations with age, weight and height were found in the maximal loading. Only age and height influenced endurance in the regression model. The predictive power (r2 of the incremental threshold loading protocol was 0.65, while the maximal loading was 0.15. The reproducibility measured by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC was higher in the incremental loading (0.96 compared to the maximal loading test (0.69.IME in healthy children and adolescents can be explained by age, height and MIP. The incremental threshold loading protocol showed more reliable results and should be the model of choice to evaluate IME in the pediatric age group.

  11. Movement Discordance between Healthy and Non-Healthy US Adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ann M Swartz

    Full Text Available Physical activity is known to significantly impact cardiometabolic health. Accelerometer data, as a measure of physical activity, can be used to objectively identify a disparity in movement (movement discordance between healthy and unhealthy adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the Movement Discordance between healthy and unhealthy adults in a large US population sample.Demographic, health and accelerometer data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 cohorts were used for this study. Participants were classified as either having a "normal" or "abnormal" value for each cardiometabolic health parameter examined, based on published criteria. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine significance of each abnormal health parameter (risk factor in its unique effect on the accelerometer counts, controlling for age and gender. Average accelerometer counts per minute (cpm by gender and age categories were estimated separately for the groups of normal and abnormal cardiometabolic risk.Average cpm for those with healthy levels of each individual cardiometabolic health parameter range from 296 cpm (for C reactive protein to 337 cpm (for waist circumference, while average cpm for those with abnormal levels of each individual cardiometabolic health parameter range from 216 cpm (for insulin to 291 cpm (for LDL-cholesterol. After controlling for age and gender, waist circumference, HbA1c, Insulin, Homocysteine, and HDL-Cholesterol were the cardiometabolic health parameters that showed significant, unique and independent effects on cpm. Overall, individuals who have abnormal values for all significant cardiometabolic health parameters ("unhealthy" averaged 267 cpm (SE = 15 cpm, while the healthy sample of this study averaged 428 cpm (SE = 10 cpm. The difference in cpm between the unhealthy and healthy groups is similar between males and females. Further, for both males and females, the

  12. Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is not Related to Beta-Amyloid Deposition: Data from the Women's Healthy Ageing Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, E; Szoeke, C; Dennerstein, L; Campbell, S; Clifton, P

    2018-01-01

    Research has indicated the neuroprotective potential of the Mediterranean diet. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet has shown preventative potential for Alzheimer's disease incidence and prevalence, yet few studies have investigated the impact of Mediterranean diet adherence on the hallmark protein; beta-amyloid. To investigate the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and beta-amyloid deposition in a cohort of healthy older Australian women. This study was a cross-sectional investigation of participants from the longitudinal, epidemiologically sourced Women's Healthy Ageing Project which is a follow-up of the Melbourne Women's Midlife Health Project. Assessments were conducted at the Centre for Medical Research, Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. F-18 Florbetaben positron emission tomography scanning was conducted at the Austin Centre for PET in Victoria, Australia. One hundred and eleven Women's Healthy Ageing Project participants were included in the study. Mediterranean diet adherence scores for all participants were calculated from the administration of a validated food frequency questionnaire constructed by the Cancer Council of Victoria. Beta-amyloid deposition was measured using positron emission tomography standardised uptake value ratios. Gamma regression analysis displayed no association between Mediterranean diet adherence and beta-amyloid deposition. This result was consistent across APOE-ε4 +/- cohorts and with the inclusion of covariates such as age, education, body mass index and cognition. This study found no association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and beta-amyloid deposition in a cohort of healthy Australian women.

  13. Sleep efficiency (but not sleep duration) of healthy school-age children is associated with grades in math and languages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruber, Reut; Somerville, Gail; Enros, Paul; Paquin, Soukaina; Kestler, Myra; Gillies-Poitras, Elizabeth

    2014-12-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the associations between objective measures of sleep duration and sleep efficiency with the grades obtained by healthy typically developing children in math, language, science, and art while controlling for the potential confounding effects of socioeconomic status (SES), age, and gender. We studied healthy typically developing children between 7 and 11 years of age. Sleep was assessed for five week nights using actigraphy, and parents provided their child's most recent report card. Higher sleep efficiency (but not sleep duration) was associated with better grades in math, English language, and French as a second language, above and beyond the contributions of age, gender, and SES. Sleep efficiency, but not sleep duration, is associated with academic performance as measured by report-card grades in typically developing school-aged children. The integration of strategies to improve sleep efficiency might represent a successful approach for improving children's readiness and/or performance in math and languages. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Testofen, a specialised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract reduces age-related symptoms of androgen decrease, increases testosterone levels and improves sexual function in healthy aging males in a double-blind randomised clinical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, Amanda; Steels, Elizabeth; Inder, Warrick J; Abraham, Suzanne; Vitetta, Luis

    2016-06-01

    This study examined the effect of Testofen, a specialised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract on the symptoms of possible androgen deficiency, sexual function and serum androgen concentrations in healthy aging males. This was a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial involving 120 healthy men aged between 43 and 70 years of age. The active treatment was standardised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract at a dose of 600 mg/day for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the change in the Aging Male Symptom questionnaire (AMS), a measure of possible androgen deficiency symptoms; secondary outcome measures were sexual function and serum testosterone. There was a significant decrease in AMS score over time and between the active and placebo groups. Sexual function improved, including number of morning erections and frequency of sexual activity. Both total serum testosterone and free testosterone increased compared to placebo after 12 weeks of active treatment. Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract is a safe and effective treatment for reducing symptoms of possible androgen deficiency, improves sexual function and increases serum testosterone in healthy middle-aged and older men.

  15. Heart rate reserve predicts cardiovascular death among physically unfit but otherwise healthy middle-aged men: a 35-year follow-up study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engeseth, Kristian; Hodnesdal, Christian; Grundvold, Irene; Liestøl, Knut; Gjesdal, Knut; Erikssen, Gunnar; Kjeldsen, Sverre E; Erikssen, Jan E; Bodegard, Johan; Skretteberg, Per Torger

    2016-01-01

    Heart rate reserve (HRR) has been reported to be inversely associated with cardiovascular (CV) disease and death. The impact of physical fitness (PF) on this relationship has not, however, been described in detail. We investigated how different levels of PF influenced the association between HRR and CV death during a 35-year follow-up. HRR and PF were measured in 2014 apparently healthy, middle-aged men during a symptom-limited bicycle exercise test in 1972-75. The men were divided into tertiles (T1-T3) by age-adjusted HRR. Morbidity and mortality data were registered from hospital charts through 2007 and the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry. Adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to calculate risks. Incidence of CV death was 528 (26%) during median 30 years of follow-up. Men with the lowest HRR had 41% (HR 1.41 [1.14-1.75]) increased risk of CV death compared with the men with the highest. We found a significant interaction between age-adjusted PF and HRR. After stratifying the men by PF, results were statistically significant only among men with the lowest PF, where the men with lowest HRR had a 70% (HR 1.70 [1.12-2.67]) increased risk of CV death compared with the men with the highest. Low HRR was independently associated with increased risk of CV death in apparently healthy, middle-aged men. The predictive impact of HRR on CV death risk was, however, confined to unfit men. © The European Society of Cardiology 2014.

  16. Changes to online control and eye-hand coordination with healthy ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Rielly, Jessica L; Ma-Wyatt, Anna

    2018-06-01

    Goal directed movements are typically accompanied by a saccade to the target location. Online control plays an important part in correction of a reach, especially if the target or goal of the reach moves during the reach. While there are notable changes to visual processing and motor control with healthy ageing, there is limited evidence about how eye-hand coordination during online updating changes with healthy ageing. We sought to quantify differences between older and younger people for eye-hand coordination during online updating. Participants completed a double step reaching task implemented under time pressure. The target perturbation could occur 200, 400 and 600 ms into a reach. We measured eye position and hand position throughout the trials to investigate changes to saccade latency, movement latency, movement time, reach characteristics and eye-hand latency and accuracy. Both groups were able to update their reach in response to a target perturbation that occurred at 200 or 400 ms into the reach. All participants demonstrated incomplete online updating for the 600 ms perturbation time. Saccade latencies, measured from the first target presentation, were generally longer for older participants. Older participants had significantly increased movement times but there was no significant difference between groups for touch accuracy. We speculate that the longer movement times enable the use of new visual information about the target location for online updating towards the end of the movement. Interestingly, older participants also produced a greater proportion of secondary saccades within the target perturbation condition and had generally shorter eye-hand latencies. This is perhaps a compensatory mechanism as there was no significant group effect on final saccade accuracy. Overall, the pattern of results suggests that online control of movements may be qualitatively different in older participants. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All

  17. The human plasma-metabolome: Reference values in 800 French healthy volunteers; impact of cholesterol, gender and age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trabado, Séverine; Al-Salameh, Abdallah; Croixmarie, Vincent; Masson, Perrine; Corruble, Emmanuelle; Fève, Bruno; Colle, Romain; Ripoll, Laurent; Walther, Bernard; Boursier-Neyret, Claire; Werner, Erwan; Becquemont, Laurent; Chanson, Philippe

    2017-01-01

    Metabolomic approaches are increasingly used to identify new disease biomarkers, yet normal values of many plasma metabolites remain poorly defined. The aim of this study was to define the "normal" metabolome in healthy volunteers. We included 800 French volunteers aged between 18 and 86, equally distributed according to sex, free of any medication and considered healthy on the basis of their medical history, clinical examination and standard laboratory tests. We quantified 185 plasma metabolites, including amino acids, biogenic amines, acylcarnitines, phosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelins and hexose, using tandem mass spectrometry with the Biocrates AbsoluteIDQ p180 kit. Principal components analysis was applied to identify the main factors responsible for metabolome variability and orthogonal projection to latent structures analysis was employed to confirm the observed patterns and identify pattern-related metabolites. We established a plasma metabolite reference dataset for 144/185 metabolites. Total blood cholesterol, gender and age were identified as the principal factors explaining metabolome variability. High total blood cholesterol levels were associated with higher plasma sphingomyelins and phosphatidylcholines concentrations. Compared to women, men had higher concentrations of creatinine, branched-chain amino acids and lysophosphatidylcholines, and lower concentrations of sphingomyelins and phosphatidylcholines. Elderly healthy subjects had higher sphingomyelins and phosphatidylcholines plasma levels than young subjects. We established reference human metabolome values in a large and well-defined population of French healthy volunteers. This study provides an essential baseline for defining the "normal" metabolome and its main sources of variation.

  18. The effects of healthy aging, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease on recollection, familiarity and false recognition, estimated by an associative process-dissociation recognition procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitarque, Alfonso; Meléndez, Juan C; Sales, Alicia; Mayordomo, Teresa; Satorres, Encar; Escudero, Joaquín; Algarabel, Salvador

    2016-10-01

    Given the uneven experimental results in the literature regarding whether or not familiarity declines with healthy aging and cognitive impairment, we compare four samples (healthy young people, healthy older people, older people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment - aMCI -, and older people with Alzheimer's disease - AD -) on an associative recognition task, which, following the logic of the process-dissociation procedure, allowed us to obtain corrected estimates of recollection, familiarity and false recognition. The results show that familiarity does not decline with healthy aging, but it does with cognitive impairment, whereas false recognition increases with healthy aging, but declines significantly with cognitive impairment. These results support the idea that the deficits detected in recollection, familiarity, or false recognition in older people could be used as early prodromal markers of cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Effect of diet intervention on long-term mortality in healthy middle-aged men with combined hyperlipidaemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hjerkinn, E M; Sandvik, L; Hjermann, I; Arnesen, H

    2004-01-01

    The aim was to study the effect of a 5-year diet intervention on 24-year mortality in middle aged men with combined hyperlipidaemia. We studied 104 initially healthy men (in 1972) aged 40-49 years with baseline values of total serum cholesterol >6.45 mmol L-1 and fasting triglycerides >2.55 mmol L-1, within the randomized diet and smoking cessation trial of the Oslo study (n = 1232). The participants were randomized to a 5-year diet intervention or a control group. The diet consisted of a traditional lipid-lowering diet with emphasis on reduction of saturated fat, total caloric intake and body weight. The groups were initially well balanced with regard to traditional risk factors for mortality. Thirty-three subjects died during the 24-year observation period [17 of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 12 of cancer]. In the diet intervention group, mortality was 51% lower (RR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.22-0.91, P = 0.022) as compared with the control group. This difference remained significant in a Cox regression analysis after adjusting for age and smoking status (RR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.23-0.96, P = 0.038). This study indicates that the investigated 5-year diet intervention significantly reduces late mortality in healthy middle-aged men with combined hyperlipidaemia.

  20. Gender differences in healthy aging and Alzheimer's Dementia: A 18 F-FDG-PET study of brain and cognitive reserve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malpetti, Maura; Ballarini, Tommaso; Presotto, Luca; Garibotto, Valentina; Tettamanti, Marco; Perani, Daniela

    2017-08-01

    Cognitive reserve (CR) and brain reserve (BR) are protective factors against age-associated cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disorders. Very limited evidence exists about gender effects on brain aging and on the effect of CR on brain modulation in healthy aging and Alzheimer's Dementia (AD). We investigated gender differences in brain metabolic activity and resting-state network connectivity, as measured by 18 F-FDG-PET, in healthy aging and AD, also considering the effects of education and occupation. The clinical and imaging data were retrieved from large datasets of healthy elderly subjects (HE) (225) and AD patients (282). In HE, males showed more extended age-related reduction of brain metabolism than females in frontal medial cortex. We also found differences in brain modulation as metabolic increases induced by education and occupation, namely in posterior associative cortices in HE males and in the anterior limbic-affective and executive networks in HE females. In AD patients, the correlations between education and occupation levels and brain hypometabolism showed gender differences, namely a posterior temporo-parietal association in males and a frontal and limbic association in females, indicating the involvement of different networks. Finally, the metabolic connectivity in both HE and AD aligned with these results, suggesting greater efficiency in the posterior default mode network for males, and in the anterior frontal executive network for females. The basis of these brain gender differences in both aging and AD, obtained exploring cerebral metabolism, metabolic connectivity and the effects of education and occupation, is likely at the intersection between biological and sociodemographic factors. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4212-4227, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. [European innovation partnership on active and healthy aging: moving from policy to action].

    Science.gov (United States)

    García Lizana, Francisca

    2013-01-01

    Demographic change and aging are a common challenge in Europe. The rising number of elderly people will need support at home, and will consume more healthcare services, putting further pressure on the welfare system. Collaborative, integrated and people-centered care provision, whether in hospitals, homes or in the community, is a way forward to sustainable and efficient care systems. Innovative treatments to address chronic diseases and the functional decline of older people will enable them to live longer in better health and with a better quality of life. To fully unleash the potential of aging in the European Union, the European Commission -within its Innovation Union policy- launched the first European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP AHA). Promoting engagement and partnerships among all stakeholders in the healthcare chain is essential. This article describes the theoretical foundations, the development and expectations of the initiative, and its first actions. Copyright © 2012 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  2. The Mediterranean healthy eating, ageing, and lifestyle (MEAL) study: rationale and study design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosso, Giuseppe; Marventano, Stefano; D'Urso, Maurizio; Mistretta, Antonio; Galvano, Fabio

    2017-08-01

    There is accumulating evidence suggesting that Mediterranean lifestyles, including nutrition and sleeping patterns as well as social integration, may play a role in reducing age-related diseases. However, the literature is mostly deficient of evidence provided by Italian Mediterranean islands that more closely adhered to the originally described lifestyles. In this paper, we described the rationale and the study design of the Mediterranean healthy Eating, Ageing, and Lifestyle (MEAL) study, a prospective population-based cohort established in Sicily, southern Italy. The main exposures investigated are classical determinants of health, including demographic, nutritional habits, smoking and physical activity status, as well as eating-related behaviors, sleeping habits, sun exposure, social resources, and perceived stress. Anthropometric measurements will be collected. The main outcomes included depression, quality of life, and, after the follow-up period, also cardiovascular disease and cancer. The MEAL study may provide important data to increase our knowledge regarding the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors of age-related disorders in the Mediterranean region.

  3. Basal body temperature as a biomarker of healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simonsick, Eleanor M; Meier, Helen C S; Shaffer, Nancy Chiles; Studenski, Stephanie A; Ferrucci, Luigi

    2016-12-01

    Scattered evidence indicates that a lower basal body temperature may be associated with prolonged health span, yet few studies have directly evaluated this relationship. We examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between early morning oral temperature (95.0-98.6 °F) and usual gait speed, endurance walk performance, fatigability, and grip strength in 762 non-frail men (52 %) and women aged 65-89 years participating in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Since excessive adiposity (body mass index ≥35 kg/m 2 or waist-to-height ratio ≥0.62) may alter temperature set point, associations were also examined within adiposity strata. Overall, controlling for age, race, sex, height, exercise, and adiposity, lower temperature was associated with faster gait speed, less time to walk 400 m quickly, and lower perceived exertion following 5-min of walking at 0.67 m/s (all p ≤ 0.02). In the non-adipose (N = 662), these associations were more robust (all p ≤ 0.006). Direction of association was reversed in the adipose (N = 100), but none attained significance (all p > 0.22). Over 2.2 years, basal temperature was not associated with functional change in the overall population or non-adipose. Among the adipose, lower baseline temperature was associated with greater decline in endurance walking performance (p = 0.006). In longitudinal analyses predicting future functional performance, low temperature in the non-adipose was associated with faster gait speed (p = 0.021) and less time to walk 400 m quickly (p = 0.003), whereas in the adipose, lower temperature was associated with slower gait speed (p = 0.05) and more time to walk 400 m (p = 0.008). In older adults, lower basal body temperature appears to be associated with healthy aging in the absence of excessive adiposity.

  4. Effort-reward imbalance and organisational injustice among aged nurses: a moderated mediation model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Topa, Gabriela; Guglielmi, Dina; Depolo, Marco

    2016-09-01

    To test the effort-reward imbalance model among older nurses, expanding it to include the moderation of overcommitment and age in the stress-health complaints relationship, mediated by organisational injustice. The theoretical framework included the effort-reward imbalance, the uncertainty management and the socio-emotional selectivity models. Employing a two-wave design, the participants were 255 nurses aged 45 years and over, recruited from four large hospitals in Spain (Madrid and Basque Country). The direct effect of imbalance on health complaints was supported: it was significant when overcommitment was low but not when it was high. Organisational injustice mediated the influence of effort-reward imbalance on health complaints. The conditional effect of the mediation of organisational injustice was significant in three of the overcommitment/age conditions but it weakened, becoming non-significant, when the level of overcommitment was low and age was high. The study tested the model in nursing populations and expanded it to the settings of occupational health and safety at work. The results of this study highlight the importance of effort-reward imbalance and organisational justice for creating healthy work environments. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Reference data for distal blood pressure in healthy elderly and middle-aged individuals measured with the strain gauge technique. Part I: Resting distal blood pressure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arveschoug, Anne Kirstine; Vammen, Birthe; Yoshinaka, Emmy

    2008-01-01

    pressure and DBPtoe - DBPankle) were found in the new reference data compared to the old. No significant difference between the mean values of the gradient (DBPankle - systolic arm blood pressure) was found between the old and new reference data, although the variation was significantly wider in the new......Objective. Most patients referred to our department for distal blood pressure (DBP) determination on suspicion of arterial peripheral vascular disease (apvd) are more than 60 years of age, whereas the only available reference data for resting pressure are based on data from healthy individuals aged....... Material and methods. Group I comprised 31 healthy persons aged between 61 and 87 years and group II 14 healthy middle-aged hospital staff members aged between 45 and 58 years. Strict rules of inclusion were followed. Results. For group I, significantly greater gradients (DBPtoe - systolic arm blood...

  6. Daily marital interaction quality and carotid artery intima-medial thickness in healthy middle-aged adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, Nataria Tennille; Kamarck, Thomas W; Muldoon, Matthew F; Manuck, Stephen B

    2014-06-01

    To examine the association between marital interaction quality during daily life and subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies have shown that marital status and quality of marriage are associated with cardiovascular health. However, little is known about the role of marital interaction quality during daily life in contributing to these effects. The sample consisted of 281 healthy, employed middle-aged adults who were married or living with a partner in a marital-like relationship (mean age = 42.0 years, 88% white, 52% men). Marital interaction quality was assessed using hourly real-time ecological momentary assessments for 4 days, with participants rating their current or recent partner interactions on positive and negative characteristics (e.g., agreeableness and conflict). Carotid artery intima-medial thickness (IMT) was assessed using ultrasound imaging. Adjusting for demographics, positive marital interaction was inversely associated with IMT (b = -0.02, F(1,275) = 9.18, p = .002), and negative marital interaction was positively associated with IMT (b = 0.02 F(1,275) = 10.29, p = .001). These associations were not accounted for by behavioral and biological CVD risk factors and were consistent across age, sex, race, and education. The associations were also independent of marital interaction frequency, nonmarital social interaction quality, and personality factors. Global reports of marital quality, in contrast, were not associated with IMT. Marital quality as measured during real-time interactions between partners was associated with subclinical CVD in healthy middle-aged adults. This study supports the use of real-time social interaction assessment for characterizing links between social relationships and cardiovascular health.

  7. Predictive models and spatial variations of vital capacity in healthy people from 6 to 84 years old in China based on geographical factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Jinwei; Ge, Miao; Wang, Congxia; Jiang, Naigui; Zhang, Mingxin; Yun, Pujun

    2014-07-01

    The aim of this study was to provide a scientific basic for a unified standard of the reference value of vital capacity (VC) of healthy subjects from 6 and 84 years old in China. The normal reference value of VC was correlated to seven geographical factors, including altitude (X1), annual duration of sunshine (X2), annual mean air temperature (X3), annual mean relative humidity (X4), annual precipitation amount (X5), annual air temperature range (X6) and annual mean wind speed (X7). Predictive models were established by five different linear and nonlinear methods. The best models were selected by t-test. The geographical distribution map of VC in different age groups can be interpolated by Kriging's method using ArcGIS software. It was found that the correlation of VC and geographical factors in China was quite significant, especially for both males and females aged from 6 to 45. The best models were built for different age groups. The geographical distribution map shows the spatial variations of VC in China precisely. The VC of healthy subjects can be simulated by the best model or acquired from the geographical distribution map provided the geographical factors for that city or county of China are known.

  8. The NEIL Memory Research Unit: psychosocial, biological, physiological and lifestyle factors associated with healthy ageing: study protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hannigan, Caoimhe; Coen, Robert F; Lawlor, Brian A; Robertson, Ian H; Brennan, Sabina

    2015-01-01

    Population ageing is a global phenomenon that has characterised demographic trends during the 20th and 21st century. The rapid growth in the proportion of older adults in the population, and resultant increase in the incidence of age-related cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, brings significant social, economic and healthcare challenges. Decline in cognitive abilities represents the most profound threat to active and healthy ageing. Current evidence suggests that a significant proportion of cases of age-related cognitive decline and dementia may be preventable through the modification of risk factors including education, depressive symptomology, physical activity, social engagement and participation in cognitively stimulating activities. The NEIL Memory Research Unit cohort study was established to investigate factors related to brain health and the maintenance of cognitive function. A cohort of 1000 normally ageing adults aged 50 years and over are being recruited to participate in comprehensive assessments at baseline, and at follow-up once every 2 years. The assessment protocol comprises a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, some basic physical measures, psychosocial scales, questionnaire measures related to a range of health, lifestyle and behavioural factors, and a measure of resting state activity using electroencephalography (EEG). The NEIL Memory Research Unit cohort study will address key questions about brain health and cognitive ageing in the population aged 50+, with a particular emphasis on the influence of potentially modifiable factors on cognitive outcomes. Analyses will be conducted with a focus on factors involved in the maintenance of cognitive function among older adults, and therefore will have the potential to contribute significant knowledge related to key questions within the field of cognitive ageing, and to inform the development of public health interventions aimed at preventing cognitive decline and promoting

  9. Practical and Ethical Aspects of Advance Research Directives for Research on Healthy Aging: German and Israeli Professionals' Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werner, Perla; Schicktanz, Silke

    2018-01-01

    Healthy aging is the development and maintenance of optimal cognitive, social and physical well-being, and function in older adults. Preventing or minimizing disease is one of the main ways of achieving healthy aging. Dementia is one of the most prevalent and life-changing diseases of old age. Thus, dementia prevention research is defined as one of the main priorities worldwide. However, conducting research with persons who lack the capacity to give consent is a major ethical issue. Our study attempts to explore if and how advance research directives (ARDs) may be used as a future tool to deal with the ethical and practical issues in dementia research. We conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews with German and Israeli professional stakeholders from the fields of gerontology, ethics, medical law, psychiatry, neurology and policy advice ( n  = 16), and analyzed the main topics discussed regarding cross-national similarities and controversies within the groups, as well as across the two national contexts. While both countries are in the midst of a developmental process and have recognized the importance and need for ARD as a tool for expanding healthy aging, Germany is in a more advanced stage than Israel because of the EU regulation process, which indicates the influence of international harmonization on these research-related ethical issues. Consensual themes within the qualitative material were identified: the need for a broader debate on ARD, the ethical importance of autonomy and risk-benefit assessment for ARD implementation, the role of the proxy and the need for the differentiation of types of dementia research. Controversies and dilemmas aroused around themes such as the current role of IRBs in each country, the need for limits, and how to guaranty safeguarding and control. Implementing a new tool is a step-by-step procedure requiring a thorough understanding of the current state of knowledge as well as of the challenges and hurdles ahead. As long

  10. Practical and Ethical Aspects of Advance Research Directives for Research on Healthy Aging: German and Israeli Professionals’ Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Perla Werner

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundHealthy aging is the development and maintenance of optimal cognitive, social and physical well-being, and function in older adults. Preventing or minimizing disease is one of the main ways of achieving healthy aging. Dementia is one of the most prevalent and life-changing diseases of old age. Thus, dementia prevention research is defined as one of the main priorities worldwide. However, conducting research with persons who lack the capacity to give consent is a major ethical issue.ObjectiveOur study attempts to explore if and how advance research directives (ARDs may be used as a future tool to deal with the ethical and practical issues in dementia research.MethodWe conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews with German and Israeli professional stakeholders from the fields of gerontology, ethics, medical law, psychiatry, neurology and policy advice (n = 16, and analyzed the main topics discussed regarding cross-national similarities and controversies within the groups, as well as across the two national contexts.ResultsWhile both countries are in the midst of a developmental process and have recognized the importance and need for ARD as a tool for expanding healthy aging, Germany is in a more advanced stage than Israel because of the EU regulation process, which indicates the influence of international harmonization on these research-related ethical issues. Consensual themes within the qualitative material were identified: the need for a broader debate on ARD, the ethical importance of autonomy and risk–benefit assessment for ARD implementation, the role of the proxy and the need for the differentiation of types of dementia research. Controversies and dilemmas aroused around themes such as the current role of IRBs in each country, the need for limits, and how to guaranty safeguarding and control.DiscussionImplementing a new tool is a step-by-step procedure requiring a thorough understanding of the current state of knowledge

  11. Differential Impact of Genetic Loci on Age at Thelarche and Menarche in Healthy Girls

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Busch, Alexander S; Hagen, Casper P; Assens, Maria

    2018-01-01

    ) were followed through puberty and genotyped for FSHB c.-211G>T (rs10835638), FSHR c.-29G>A (rs1394205), FSHR c.2039A>G (rs6116), LIN28B (rs7759938), INHA (rs4141153), MKRN3 (rs12148769), TMEM38B (rs10453225), and ZNF483 (rs10980921). Main Outcome Measures: Clinical pubertal staging and anthropometric...... data. Results: We observed an association of LIN28B (rs7759938) with age at thelarche (P year, 95% confidence interval: 0.12 to 0.42) and age at menarche (P = 0.005, 0.17 year, 0.05 to 0.29). FSHB c.-211G>T (rs10835638) and FSHR c.-29G>A (rs1394205) minor allele count...... was associated with age at thelarche (P = 0.004, 0.19 year, 0.06 to 0.31) but not with age at menarche (P = 0.97; all adjusted for body mass index z scores). Conclusion: Our results indicate a differential impact of specific genetic loci on age at thelarche and menarche in healthy girls....

  12. The Role of Arousal in the Spontaneous Regulation of Emotions in Healthy Aging: An fMRI Investigation

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    Sanda eDolcos

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Despite ample support for enhanced affective well-being and emotional stability in healthy aging, the role of potentially important dimensions, such as the emotional arousal, has not been systematically investigated in neuroimaging studies. In addition, the few behavioral studies that examined effects of arousal have produced inconsistent findings. The present study manipulated the arousal of pictorial stimuli to test the hypothesis that preserved emotional functioning in aging is modulated by the level of arousal, and to identify the associated neural correlates. Young and older healthy participants were presented with negative and neutral pictures, which they rated for emotional content, while fMRI data were recorded. There were three main novel findings regarding the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of negative pictures with different levels of arousal in young and older adults. First, the common engagement of the right amygdala in young and older adults was driven by high arousing negative stimuli. Second, complementing an age-related reduction in the subjective ratings for low arousing negative pictures, there were opposing patterns of activity in the rostral/ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC and the amygdala, which showed increased vs. decreased responses, respectively, to low arousing negative pictures. Third, increased spontaneous activity in the ventral ACC/ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC in older adults was linked to reduced ratings for low arousing negative pictures. Overall, these findings advance our understanding of the neural correlates underlying processing of negative emotions with different levels of arousal in the context of enhanced emotional functioning in healthy aging. Notably, the results support the idea that older adults have emotion regulation networks chronically activated, in the absence of explicit induction of the goal to regulate emotions, and that this effect is specific to low arousing

  13. A critical period of corticomuscular and EMG-EMG coherence detection in healthy infants aged 9-25weeks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ritterband-Rosenbaum, Anina; Herskind, Anna; Li, Xi

    2017-01-01

    The early postnatal development of functional corticospinal connections in human infants is not fully clarified. We used EEG and EMG to investigate the development of corticomuscular and intramuscular coherence as indicators of functional corticospinal connectivity in healthy infants aged 1-66 we...

  14. Impact of nutrition on the ageing process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathers, John C

    2015-01-01

    Human life expectancy has been increasing steadily for almost two centuries and is now approximately double what it was at the beginning of the Victorian era. This remarkable demographic change has been accompanied by a shift in disease prevalence so that age is now the major determinant of most common diseases. The challenge is to enhance healthy ageing and to reduce the financial and social burdens associated with chronic ill health in later life. Studies in model organisms have demonstrated that the ageing phenotype arises because of the accumulation of macromolecular damage within the cell and that the ageing process is plastic. Nutritional interventions that reduce such damage, or which enhance the organism's capacity to repair damage, lead to greater longevity and to reduced risk of age-related diseases. Dietary (energy) restriction increases lifespan in several model organisms, but it is uncertain whether it is effective in primates, including humans. However, excess energy storage leading to increased adiposity is a risk factor for premature mortality and for age-related diseases so that obesity prevention is likely to be a major public health route to healthy ageing. In addition, adherence to healthy eating patterns, such as the Mediterranean dietary pattern, is associated with longevity and reduced risk of age-related diseases.

  15. European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA – the opportunities for Polish scientists and institutions

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    Kardas Przemysław

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Europe is facing great social and economic challenges now, being a result of the ageing process progressing faster than ever. This, however, might be perceived also as an opportunity for innovation, as well as an additional impulse for the so-called “Silver Economy”. To address these new needs and opportunities, the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA was initiated by the European Commission in 2012. After three years of its activity, it has proved to be a strong movement of European stakeholders committed to innovation, with its overarching target to increase the average healthy lifespan by two years by 2020. The ‘Triple Win’ strategy for Europe is based on the concepts of enabling the EU citizens to lead healthy, active and independent lives while ageing, improving the sustainability and efficiency of social and health care systems, and boosting and improving the competitiveness of markets for innovative products and services. Now, the EIP on AHA opens new calls that enable new stakeholders to become partners of this collaboration. This provides a unique opportunity to Polish institutions, as well as scientists. In order to help them use this opportunity effectively, the history, aims, structure and achievements of the EIP on AHA are shortly described in this paper.

  16. Sensory perception and aging in model systems: from the outside in.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linford, Nancy J; Kuo, Tsung-Han; Chan, Tammy P; Pletcher, Scott D

    2011-01-01

    Sensory systems provide organisms from bacteria to humans with the ability to interact with the world. Numerous senses have evolved that allow animals to detect and decode cues from sources in both their external and internal environments. Recent advances in understanding the central mechanisms by which the brains of simple organisms evaluate different cues and initiate behavioral decisions, coupled with observations that sensory manipulations are capable of altering organismal lifespan, have opened the door for powerful new research into aging. Although direct links between sensory perception and aging have been established only recently, here we discuss these initial discoveries and evaluate the potential for different forms of sensory processing to modulate lifespan across taxa. Harnessing the neurobiology of simple model systems to study the biological impact of sensory experiences will yield insights into the broad influence of sensory perception in mammals and may help uncover new mechanisms of healthy aging.

  17. Impact of age and gender interaction on circulating endothelial progenitor cells in healthy subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rousseau, Alexandra; Ayoubi, Fida; Deveaux, Christel; Charbit, Beny; Delmau, Catherine; Christin-Maitre, Sophie; Jaillon, Patrice; Uzan, Georges; Simon, Tabassome

    2010-02-01

    To assess the level of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (CEPC) in cycling women compared with men and menopausal women. Controlled clinical study. Healthy, nonsmoking volunteers. Twelve women, aged 18-40 years, with regular menstrual cycles, 12 menopausal women, and two groups of 12 age-matched men were recruited. Women did not receive any hormone therapy. Collection of 20 mL of peripheral blood. The number of CEPC, defined as (Lin-/7AAD-/CD34+/CD133+/KDR+) cells per 10(6) mononuclear cells (MNC), was measured by flow cytometry. The number of CEPC was significantly higher in cycling women than in age-matched men and menopausal women (26.5 per 10(6) MNC vs. 10.5 per 10(6) MNC vs. 10 per 10(6) MNC, respectively). The number of CEPC was similar in menopausal women, age-matched, and young men. The number of CEPC is influenced by an age-gender interaction. This phenomenon may explain in part the better vascular repair and relative cardiovascular protection in younger women as compared with age-matched men. Copyright 2010 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Age-dependent decline in acyl-ghrelin concentrations and reduced association of acyl-ghrelin and growth hormone in healthy older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nass, Ralf; Farhy, Leon S; Liu, Jianhua; Pezzoli, Suzan S; Johnson, Michael L; Gaylinn, Bruce D; Thorner, Michael O

    2014-02-01

    Acyl-ghrelin is thought to have both orexigenic effects and to stimulate GH release. A possible cause of the anorexia of aging is an age-dependent decrease in circulating acyl-ghrelin levels. The purpose of the study was to compare acyl-ghrelin and GH concentrations between healthy old and young adults and to examine the relationship of acyl-ghrelin and GH secretion in both age groups. Six healthy older adults (age 62-74 y, body mass index range 20.9-29 kg/m(2)) and eight healthy young men (aged 18-28 y, body mass index range 20.6-26.2 kg/m(2)) had frequent blood samples drawn for hormone measurements every 10 minutes for 24 hours. Ghrelin was measured in an in-house, two-site sandwich ELISA specific for full-length acyl-ghrelin. GH was measured in a sensitive assay (Immulite 2000), and GH peaks were determined by deconvolution analysis. The acyl-ghrelin/GH association was estimated from correlations between amplitudes of individual GH secretory events and the average acyl-ghrelin concentration in the 60-minute interval preceding each GH burst. Twenty-four-hour mean (±SEM) GH (0.48 ± 0.14 vs 2.2 ± 0.3 μg/L, P adults compared with young adults. Twenty-four-hour cortisol concentrations were higher in the old than the young adults (15.1 ± 1.0 vs 10.6 ± 0.9 μg/dL, respectively, P young adults (0.16 ± 0.12 vs 0.69 ± 0.04, P age-dependent decline in circulating acyl-ghrelin levels, which might play a role both in the decline of GH and in the anorexia of aging. Our data also suggest that with normal aging, endogenous acyl-ghrelin levels are less tightly linked to GH regulation.

  19. A common brain network links development, aging, and vulnerability to disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douaud, Gwenaëlle; Groves, Adrian R; Tamnes, Christian K; Westlye, Lars Tjelta; Duff, Eugene P; Engvig, Andreas; Walhovd, Kristine B; James, Anthony; Gass, Achim; Monsch, Andreas U; Matthews, Paul M; Fjell, Anders M; Smith, Stephen M; Johansen-Berg, Heidi

    2014-12-09

    Several theories link processes of development and aging in humans. In neuroscience, one model posits for instance that healthy age-related brain degeneration mirrors development, with the areas of the brain thought to develop later also degenerating earlier. However, intrinsic evidence for such a link between healthy aging and development in brain structure remains elusive. Here, we show that a data-driven analysis of brain structural variation across 484 healthy participants (8-85 y) reveals a largely--but not only--transmodal network whose lifespan pattern of age-related change intrinsically supports this model of mirroring development and aging. We further demonstrate that this network of brain regions, which develops relatively late during adolescence and shows accelerated degeneration in old age compared with the rest of the brain, characterizes areas of heightened vulnerability to unhealthy developmental and aging processes, as exemplified by schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, respectively. Specifically, this network, while derived solely from healthy subjects, spatially recapitulates the pattern of brain abnormalities observed in both schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. This network is further associated in our large-scale healthy population with intellectual ability and episodic memory, whose impairment contributes to key symptoms of schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. Taken together, our results suggest that the common spatial pattern of abnormalities observed in these two disorders, which emerge at opposite ends of the life spectrum, might be influenced by the timing of their separate and distinct pathological processes in disrupting healthy cerebral development and aging, respectively.

  20. Effects of gestational age on brain volume and cognitive functions in generally healthy very preterm born children during school-age: A voxel-based morphometry study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sakari Lemola

    Full Text Available To determine whether the relationship of gestational age (GA with brain volumes and cognitive functions is linear or whether it follows a threshold model in preterm and term born children during school-age.We studied 106 children (M = 10 years 1 month, SD = 16 months; 40 females enrolled in primary school: 57 were healthy very preterm children (10 children born 24-27 completed weeks' gestation (extremely preterm, 14 children born 28-29 completed weeks' gestation, 19 children born 30-31 completed weeks' gestation (very preterm, and 14 born 32 completed weeks' gestation (moderately preterm all born appropriate for GA (AGA and 49 term-born children. Neuroimaging involved voxel-based morphometry with the statistical parametric mapping software. Cognitive functions were assessed with the WISC-IV. General Linear Models and multiple regressions were conducted controlling age, sex, and maternal education.Compared to groups of children born 30 completed weeks' gestation and later, children born <28 completed weeks' gestation had less gray matter volume (GMV and white matter volume (WMV and poorer cognitive functions including decreased full scale IQ, and processing speed. Differences in GMV partially mediated the relationship between GA and full scale IQ in preterm born children.In preterm children who are born AGA and without major complications GA is associated with brain volume and cognitive functions. In particular, decreased brain volume becomes evident in the extremely preterm group (born <28 completed weeks' gestation. In preterm children born 30 completed weeks' gestation and later the relationship of GA with brain volume and cognitive functions may be less strong as previously thought.

  1. Dynamic functional reorganizations and relationship with working memory performance in healthy aging.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roser eSala-Llonch

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, several theories have been proposed in attempts to identify the neural mechanisms underlying successful cognitive aging. Old subjects show increased neural activity during the performance of tasks, mainly in prefrontal areas, which is interpreted as a compensatory mechanism linked to functional brain efficiency. Moreover, resting-state studies have concluded that elders show disconnection or disruption of large-scale functional networks. We used functional MRI during resting-state and a verbal n-back task with different levels of memory load in a cohort of young and old healthy adults to identify patterns of networks associated with working memory and brain default mode. We found that the disruption of resting-state networks in the elderly coexists with task-related overactivations of certain brain areas and with reorganizations within these functional networks. Moreover, elders who were able to activate additional areas and to recruit a more bilateral frontal pattern within the task-related network achieved successful performance on the task. We concluded that the balanced and plastic reorganization of brain networks underlies successful cognitive aging. This observation allows the integration of several theories that have been proposed to date regarding the aging brain.

  2. Gastrointestinal tract and the elderly: functional foods, gut microflora and healthy ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunier, K; Doré, J

    2002-09-01

    Advances in science and medicine as well as improved living standards have led to a steady increase in life expectancy. Yet ageing is associated with increased susceptibility to degenerative or infectious diseases, which may be exacerbated by a poor nutritional status. The intestinal microflora will mediate crucial events towards the protection or degradation of health. It is hence essential and timely that strategies of preventive nutrition aimed at maintaining or improving the quality of life of the ageing population be developed. "CROWNALIFE" is a newly funded EuropeanUnion project, so called because of its emphasis on the preservation of the period of independence of the elderly, recognised as the "crown of life". The project aims at assessing age-related alterations and exploring strategies to restore and maintain a balanced healthy intestinal environment. Current knowledge on the composition and function of the human intestinal microflora is still improving with the use of better methodologies and yet their evolution with ageing has not been investigated in detail. There have been a few reports that putatively protective lactic acid bacteria, in general, and bifidobacteria, in particular, seem less represented in the elderly faecal flora. We have also observed an increase in species diversity of the dominant faecal microflora with ageing. This certainly warrants confirmation and is being addressed by the investigation of age-related changes in the structure and function of the intestinal flora of the elderly in countries across Europe. Ensuing results will constitute a baseline for functional-food based strategies aimed at providing health benefits for the elderly.

  3. Influence of schooling and age on cognitive performance in healthy older adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.V.O. Bento-Torres

    Full Text Available Few studies have examined the influence of a low level of schooling on age-related cognitive decline in countries with wide social and economic inequalities by using the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Battery (CANTAB. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of schooling on age-related cognitive decline using unbiased cognitive tests. CANTAB allows cognitive assessment across cultures and education levels with reduced interference of the examiner during data acquisition. Using two-way ANOVA, we assessed the influences of age and education on test scores of old adults (61–84 years of age. CANTAB tests included: Visual Sustained Attention, Reaction Time, Spatial Working Memory, Learning and Episodic Memory. All subjects had a minimum visual acuity of 20/30 (Snellen Test, no previous or current history of traumatic brain/head trauma, stroke, language impairment, chronic alcoholism, neurological diseases, memory problems or depressive symptoms, and normal scores on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE. Subjects were grouped according to education level (1 to 7 and ≥8 years of schooling and age (60–69 and ≥70 years. Low schooling level was associated with significantly lower performance on visual sustained attention, learning and episodic memory, reaction time, and spatial working memory. Although reaction time was influenced by age, no significant results on post hoc analysis were detected. Our findings showed a significantly worse cognitive performance in volunteers with lower levels of schooling and suggested that formal education in early life must be included in the preventive public health agenda. In addition, we suggest that CANTAB may be useful to detect subtle cognitive changes in healthy aging.

  4. [Elaboration of Criteria and Indicators to Develop and Evaluate Programs of Healthy Aging in the Workplace].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mateo Rodríguez, Inmaculada; Daponte Codina, Antonio; Bernal Solano, Mariola; Sánchez Pérez, M José

    2015-10-01

    In the actual context of population ageing and extension of working age, programs for health promotion at the workplace are a key and necessary tool to promote an active and healthy ageing. This work presents the methodological process followed to elaborate a checklist tool, within the framework of the European project Progress, that contributes to orientate planning, implementation and evaluation of good practices in this field, to be applicable to a variety of programs, countries and workplaces. A Delphi technique has been applied in three rounds in which experts in the area from five European countries participated. A questionnaire created from a list of criteria and indicators was adapted throughout the rounds, with the use of webmail, to the evaluation of interventions in the field of interest. Through processes of assessment and consensus, criteria and indicators most relevant were prioritized. From the nine starting criteria and after the implementation of the technique, four key criteria were prioritized: relevance: 62, adequacy to objective: 57, innovation: 50 and guarantee of quality: 41. Using this group of criteria and indicators, a checklist was designed containing the key information that should be collected for planning, implementation and evaluation of good practices in interventions in this field. The checklist tool helps to systematize the global methodology for the implementation of interventions which could be very useful for persons responsible of programmes to promote active and healthy ageing in the workplace.

  5. Effects of age, sex and arm on the precision of arm position sense-left-arm superiority in healthy right-handers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Lena; Depper, Lena; Kerkhoff, Georg

    2013-01-01

    Position sense is an important proprioceptive ability. Disorders of arm position sense (APS) often occur after unilateral stroke, and are associated with a negative functional outcome. In the present study we assessed horizontal APS by measuring angular deviations from a visually defined target separately for each arm in a large group of healthy subjects. We analyzed the accuracy and instability of horizontal APS as a function of age, sex and arm. Subjects were required to specify verbally the position of their unseen arm on a 0-90° circuit by comparing the current position with the target position indicated by a LED lamp, while the arm was passively moved by the examiner. Eighty-seven healthy subjects participated in the study, ranging from 20 to 77 years, subdivided into three age groups. The results revealed that APS was not a function of age or sex, but was significantly better in the non-dominant (left) arm in absolute errors (AE) but not in constant errors (CE) across all age groups of right-handed healthy subjects. This indicates a right-hemisphere superiority for left APS in right-handers and neatly fits to the more frequent and more severe left-sided body-related deficits in patients with unilateral stroke (i.e. impaired APS in left spatial neglect, somatoparaphrenia) or in individuals with abnormalities of the right cerebral hemisphere. These clinical issues will be discussed.

  6. Nutrition and lifestyle in healthy aging: the telomerase challenge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boccardi, Virginia; Paolisso, Giuseppe; Mecocci, Patrizia

    2016-01-01

    Nutrition and lifestyle, known to modulate aging process and age-related diseases, might also affect telomerase activity. Short and dysfunctional telomeres rather than average telomere length are associated with longevity in animal models, and their rescue by telomerase maybe sufficient to restore cell and organismal viability. Improving telomerase activation in stem cells and potentially in other cells by diet and lifestyle interventions may represent an intriguing way to promote health-span in humans.

  7. Normative perceptual estimates for 91 healthy subjects age 60-75: Impact of age, education, employment, physical exercise, alcohol and video gaming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inge Linda Wilms

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Visual perception serves as the basis for much of the higher level cognitive processing as well as human activity in general. Here we present normative estimates for the following components of visual perception: the visual perceptual threshold, the visual short-term memory capacity and the visual perceptual encoding/decoding speed (processing speed of Visual Short-Term Memory (VSTM based on an assessment of 91 healthy subjects aged 60-75. The estimates were modelled from input from a whole-report assessment based on A Theory of Visual Attention (TVA. In addition to the estimates themselves, we present correlational data, and multiple regression analyses between the estimates and self-reported demographic data and lifestyle variables. The regression statistics suggest that education level, video gaming activity and employment status may significantly impact the encoding/decoding speed of VTSM but not the capacity of VSTM nor the visual perceptual threshold. The estimates will be useful for future studies into the effects of various types of intervention and training on cognition in general and visual attention in particular.

  8. Effects of aquatic balance training and detraining on neuromuscular performance and balance in healthy middle aged male

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Abbasi

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Since disorders in neuromuscular performance and imbalance are the main cause of fallingamong the middle aged, their aspects including rehabilitation of balance are the main concern theresearchers attend to them. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of eight weeks aquaticbalance training (ABT and detraining on neuromuscular performance and balance in healthy middle agedmale.Materials and Methods: Thirty adult male subjects were randomized into two groups of ABT and control(n=15 per group. Berg balance scale, Timed Up and Go and 5-Chair stand tests, as they are indicators ofbalance and neuromuscular performance in older subjects, were taken as pretest and post-test and after four,six, and eight weeks of detraining as well. The ABT consisted of the sessions that lasted one hour, threetimes a week, for eight weeks.Results: Results showed that neuromuscular performance and balance improved significantly in ABTgroup (P 0.05.Conclusion: ABT can affect neuromuscular performance and balance in healthy middle aged male, andreduce the probability of falling among them. Moreover, the effects of these training are persistent afterdetraining periods. Hence, ABT can be recommended as an effective neuromuscular and balance training inhealthy middle aged male

  9. The buccal cytome and micronucleus frequency is substantially altered in Down's syndrome and normal ageing compared to young healthy controls

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    Thomas, Philip [CSIRO Human Nutrition, PO Box 10041, Adelaide BC, Adelaide, SA 5000 (Australia); Discipline of Physiology, School of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia)], E-mail: philip.thomas@csiro.au; Harvey, Sarah; Gruner, Tini [Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW 2480 (Australia); Fenech, Michael [CSIRO Human Nutrition, PO Box 10041, Adelaide BC, Adelaide, SA 5000 (Australia)], E-mail: michael.fenech@csiro.au

    2008-02-01

    The buccal micronucleus cytome assay was used to investigate biomarkers for DNA damage, cell death and basal cell frequency in buccal cells of healthy young, healthy old and young Down's syndrome cohorts. With normal ageing a significant increase in cells with micronuclei (P < 0.05, average increase +366%), karyorrhectic cells (P < 0.001, average increase +439%), condensed chromatin cells (P < 0.01, average increase +45.8%) and basal cells (P < 0.001, average increase +233%) is reported relative to young controls. In Down's syndrome we report a significant increase in cells with micronuclei (P < 0.001, average increase +733%) and binucleated cells (P < 0.001, average increase +84.5%) and a significant decrease in condensed chromatin cells (P < 0.01, average decrease -52%), karyolytic cells (P < 0.001, average decrease -51.8%) and pyknotic cells (P < 0.001, average decrease -75.0%) relative to young controls. These changes show distinct differences between the cytome profile of normal ageing relative to that for a premature ageing syndrome, and highlight the diagnostic value of the cytome approach for measuring the profile of cells with DNA damage, cell death and proportion of cells with proliferative potential (i.e., basal cells). Significant correlations amongst cell death biomarkers observed in this study were used to propose a new model of the inter-relationship of cell types scored within the buccal micronucleus cytome assay. This study validates the use of a cytome approach to investigate DNA damage, cell death and cell proliferation in buccal cells with ageing.

  10. Reference data for distal blood pressure in healthy elderly and middle-aged individuals measured with the strain gauge technique. Part II: Distal blood pressure after exercise

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arveschoug, Anne Kirstine; Vammen, Birthe; Yoshinaka, Emmy

    2008-01-01

    collected in the early 1970s from healthy individuals in the age range 21-26 years. Our aims were to collect new reference data for DBP at ankle level after exercise based on older populations, and to compare between reference data for different age groups to find out whether the normal values are dependent......Objective. Distal blood pressure (DBP) determination after an exercise test is used on suspicion of arterial peripheral vascular disease (apvd). In our department. the average age of these patients is about 60 years. The usual reference values for pressures after exercise were based on data...... on age. Material and methods. DBP after exercise was measured using the strain-gauge technique on individuals in two groups: group I comprising 25 healthy persons aged between 61 and 82 years, and group II 14 healthy persons aged between 45 and 58 years. Strict rules of inclusion were followed. Results...

  11. Differential associations between types of verbal memory and prefrontal brain structure in healthy aging and late life depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamar, Melissa; Charlton, Rebecca; Zhang, Aifeng; Kumar, Anand

    2012-07-01

    Verbal memory deficits attributed to late life depression (LLD) may result from executive dysfunction that is more detrimental to list-learning than story-based recall when compared to healthy aging. Despite these behavioral dissociations, little work has been done investigating related neuroanatomical dissociations across types of verbal memory performance in LLD. We compared list-learning to story-based memory performance in 24 non-demented individuals with LLD (age ~ 66.1 ± 7.8) and 41 non-demented/non-depressed healthy controls (HC; age ~ 67.6 ± 5.3). We correlated significant results of between-group analyses across memory performance variables with brain volumes of frontal, temporal and parietal regions known to be involved with verbal learning and memory. When compared to the HC group, the LLD group showed significantly lower verbal memory performance for spontaneous recall after repeated exposure and after a long-delay but only for the list-learning task; groups did not differ on story-based memory performance. Despite equivalent brain volumes across regions, only the LLD group showed brain associations with verbal memory performance and only for the list-learning task. Specifically, frontal volumes important for subjective organization and response monitoring correlated with list-learning performance in the LLD group. This study is the first to demonstrate neuroanatomical dissociations across types of verbal memory performance in individuals with LLD. Results provide structural evidence for the behavioral dissociations between list-learning and story-based recall in LLD when compared to healthy aging. More specifically, it points toward a network of predominantly anterior brain regions that may underlie the executive contribution to list-learning in older adults with depression. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to differentiate between Healthy Aging subjects, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer’s Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Ali Oghabian

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available

    Back ground: Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia which is still difficult to be differentiated from other types of brain disorders. Moreover, Mild Cognitive Impairment refers to the presence of cognitive impairments that is not severe enough to meet the criteria of dementia, and its diagnosis in early stages is so critical. There is currently no distinct method available for diagnosing Alzheimer's or Mild Cognitive Impairment, and their diagnosis needs a combination of different methods and assessments.

    Methods: Our goal in this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of fMRI imaging in differentiating between Alzheimer's, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI and Healthy Aging. To prove fMRI's ability, we compared resting-state brain activation patterns between these three groups of subjects using Independent Component Algorithm (ICA. We examined 40 age- and sex-matched subjects, 15 elderly, 11 MCI and 14 Alzheimer's subjects.

    Results: The results show that during a certain resting-state session, healthy aging brain benefits from larger area and greater intensity of activation (compared with MCI and Alzheimer's group in Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC region of the brain, as part of Default Mode Network.

    Conclusion: This difference in activation pattern can be used as a diagnostic criterion in using fMRI for differentiating between Alzheimer's disease (AD, MCI and Healthy Aging.


    Keywords: fMRI, Default Mode Network, Alzheimer's, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Resting-State

  13. Effects of gender, age, and body mass index on fat contents and apparent diffusion coefficients in healthy parotid glands: an MRI evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Hing-Chiu; Juan, Chun-Jung; Hsu, Hsian-He; Chiu, Hui-Chu; Cheng, Cheng-Chieh; Chiu, Su-Chin; Liu, Yi-Jui; Chung, Hsiao-Wen

    2014-01-01

    To establish standard apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and the fat content as a function of age, gender and body mass index (BMI) in healthy parotid glands, and to address the influences of fat suppression on ADC measurements. A total of 100 healthy adults (gender and age evenly distributed) were prospectively recruited, with parotid fat content measured from gradient-echo images with fat-water separated using iterative decomposition with echo asymmetry and least squares (IDEAL). The ADCs were estimated using both fat-saturated and non-fat-saturated diffusion-weighted imaging via a periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) technique. Parotid fat content was larger in men than in women by about 10 percentage points (P < 0.005), and positively associated with BMI and age for both genders (mostly with P < 0.001). ADCs estimated with non-fat-saturated PROPELLER were significantly lower in men than in women (P < 0.005), but showed no gender difference if measured using fat-saturated PROPELLER (P = 0.840). The negative association between parotid ADC and age/BMI/fat (P < 0.001) showed greater regression slopes in non-fat-saturated PROPELLER than in fat-saturated data. Parotid fat content in healthy adults correlates positively with both age and BMI; the correlation with age is gender-dependent. Parotid ADC measurements are strongly influenced by fat saturation. (orig.)

  14. Effects of gender, age, and body mass index on fat contents and apparent diffusion coefficients in healthy parotid glands: an MRI evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Hing-Chiu [National Taiwan University, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, Taipei (China); Duke University Medical Center, Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Durham, NC (United States); GE Healthcare, Applied Science Laboratory, Taipei (China); Juan, Chun-Jung; Hsu, Hsian-He [National Defense Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Taipei (China); Tri-Service General Hospital, Department of Radiology, Taipei (China); Chiu, Hui-Chu [Tatung University, Graduate Institute of Design Science, Taipei (China); Cheng, Cheng-Chieh; Chiu, Su-Chin [National Taiwan University, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, Taipei (China); Liu, Yi-Jui [Feng Chia University, Department of Automatic Control Engineering, Taichung (China); Chung, Hsiao-Wen [National Taiwan University, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, Taipei (China); Tri-Service General Hospital, Department of Radiology, Taipei (China); National Taiwan University, MD.624, Department of Electrical Engineering, Taipei (China)

    2014-09-15

    To establish standard apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and the fat content as a function of age, gender and body mass index (BMI) in healthy parotid glands, and to address the influences of fat suppression on ADC measurements. A total of 100 healthy adults (gender and age evenly distributed) were prospectively recruited, with parotid fat content measured from gradient-echo images with fat-water separated using iterative decomposition with echo asymmetry and least squares (IDEAL). The ADCs were estimated using both fat-saturated and non-fat-saturated diffusion-weighted imaging via a periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) technique. Parotid fat content was larger in men than in women by about 10 percentage points (P < 0.005), and positively associated with BMI and age for both genders (mostly with P < 0.001). ADCs estimated with non-fat-saturated PROPELLER were significantly lower in men than in women (P < 0.005), but showed no gender difference if measured using fat-saturated PROPELLER (P = 0.840). The negative association between parotid ADC and age/BMI/fat (P < 0.001) showed greater regression slopes in non-fat-saturated PROPELLER than in fat-saturated data. Parotid fat content in healthy adults correlates positively with both age and BMI; the correlation with age is gender-dependent. Parotid ADC measurements are strongly influenced by fat saturation. (orig.)

  15. Sexual dysfunction is more than twice as frequent in Danish female predialysis patients compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prescott, Lotte; Eidemak, Inge; Harrison, Adrian Paul

    2014-01-01

    PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare sexual dysfunction in Danish female predialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 4-5 with age-matched healthy women in Denmark. METHODS: Twenty-seven adult female predialysis patients (CKD stage 4-5 ~ creatinine clearance ≤ 30 ml/min) without.......1, respectively, p = 0.180). CONCLUSION: Sexual dysfunction was found to be more than two times as frequent in Danish female predialysis patients with CKD stage 4-5 compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls, and this result emphasizes the need for attention towards sexual function in the treatment...... diagnosed depression and 54 randomly assigned healthy female controls completed the questionnaires Female Sexual Function Index, Female Sexual Distress Scale, and the Major Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Predialysis patients reported lower Female Sexual Function Index scores compared to the controls (14...

  16. Daily Marital Interaction Quality and Carotid Artery Intima Medial Thickness in Healthy Middle Aged Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, Nataria T.; Kamarck, Thomas W.; Muldoon, Matthew F.; Manuck, Stephen B.

    2014-01-01

    Objective To examine the association between marital interaction quality during daily life and subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies have shown that marital status and quality of marriage are associated with cardiovascular health. However, little is known about the role of marital interaction quality during daily life in contributing to these effects. Methods The sample consisted of 281 healthy, employed middle-aged adults who were married or living with a partner in a marital-like relationship (mean age = 42.0 years, 88% white, 52% men). Marital interaction quality was assessed using hourly real-time Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) for 4 days, with participants rating their current or recent partner interactions on positive and negative characteristics (e.g., agreeableness and conflict). Carotid artery intima medial thickness (IMT) was assessed using ultrasound imaging. Results Adjusting for demographics, positive marital interaction was inversely associated with IMT, [b = −.02 F(1, 275) = 9.18, p = .002], and negative marital interaction was positively associated with IMT, [b = .02 F(1, 275) = 10.29, p = .001]. These associations were not accounted for by behavioral and biological cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and were consistent across age, sex, race, and education. The associations were also independent of marital interaction frequency, nonmarital social interaction quality, and personality factors. Global reports of marital quality, in contrast, were not associated with IMT. Conclusions Marital quality as measured during real-time interactions between partners was associated with subclinical cardiovascular disease in healthy middle-aged adults. This study supports the utility of real-time social interaction assessment for characterizing links between social relationships and cardiovascular health. PMID:24915293

  17. Paternal Age Explains a Major Portion of De Novo Germline Mutation Rate Variability in Healthy Individuals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon L Girard

    Full Text Available De novo mutations (DNM are an important source of rare variants and are increasingly being linked to the development of many diseases. Recently, the paternal age effect has been the focus of a number of studies that attempt to explain the observation that increasing paternal age increases the risk for a number of diseases. Using disease-free familial quartets we show that there is a strong positive correlation between paternal age and germline DNM in healthy subjects. We also observed that germline CNVs do not follow the same trend, suggesting a different mechanism. Finally, we observed that DNM were not evenly distributed across the genome, which adds support to the existence of DNM hotspots.

  18. Randomized controlled trial of a healthy brain ageing cognitive training program: effects on memory, mood, and sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diamond, Keri; Mowszowski, Loren; Cockayne, Nicole; Norrie, Louisa; Paradise, Matthew; Hermens, Daniel F; Lewis, Simon J G; Hickie, Ian B; Naismith, Sharon L

    2015-01-01

    With the rise in the ageing population and absence of a cure for dementia, cost-effective prevention strategies for those 'at risk' of dementia including those with depression and/or mild cognitive impairment are urgently required. This study evaluated the efficacy of a multifaceted Healthy Brain Ageing Cognitive Training (HBA-CT) program for older adults 'at risk' of dementia. Using a single-blinded design, 64 participants (mean age = 66.5 years, SD = 8.6) were randomized to an immediate treatment (HBA-CT) or treatment-as-usual control arm. The HBA-CT intervention was conducted twice-weekly for seven weeks and comprised group-based psychoeducation about cognitive strategies and modifiable lifestyle factors pertaining to healthy brain ageing, and computerized cognitive training. In comparison to the treatment-as-usual control arm, the HBA-CT program was associated with improvements in verbal memory (p = 0.03), self-reported memory (p = 0.03), mood (p = 0.01), and sleep (p = 0.01). While the improvements in memory (p = 0.03) and sleep (p = 0.02) remained after controlling for improvements in mood, only a trend in verbal memory improvement was apparent after controlling for sleep. The HBA-CT program improves cognitive, mood, and sleep functions in older adults 'at risk' of dementia, and therefore offers promise as a secondary prevention strategy.

  19. Sensory Perception and Aging in Model Systems: From the Outside In

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linford, Nancy J.; Kuo, Tsung-Han; Chan, Tammy P.; Pletcher, Scott D.

    2014-01-01

    Sensory systems provide organisms from bacteria to human with the ability to interact with the world. Numerous senses have evolved that allow animals to detect and decode cues from sources in both their external and internal environments. Recent advances in understanding the central mechanisms by which the brains of simple organisms evaluate different cues and initiate behavioral decisions, coupled with observations that sensory manipulations are capable of altering organism lifespan, have opened the door for powerful new research into aging. While direct links between sensory perception and aging have been established only recently, here we discuss these initial discoveries and evaluate the potential for different forms of sensory processing to modulate lifespan across taxa. Harnessing the neurobiology of simple model systems to study the biological impact of sensory experiences will yield insights into the broad influence of sensory perception in mammals and may help uncover new mechanisms of healthy aging. PMID:21756108

  20. A systems biology approach to studying Tai Chi, physiological complexity and healthy aging: design and rationale of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wayne, Peter M; Manor, Brad; Novak, Vera; Costa, Madelena D; Hausdorff, Jeffrey M; Goldberger, Ary L; Ahn, Andrew C; Yeh, Gloria Y; Peng, C-K; Lough, Matthew; Davis, Roger B; Quilty, Mary T; Lipsitz, Lewis A

    2013-01-01

    Aging is typically associated with progressive multi-system impairment that leads to decreased physical and cognitive function and reduced adaptability to stress. Due to its capacity to characterize complex dynamics within and between physiological systems, the emerging field of complex systems biology and its array of quantitative tools show great promise for improving our understanding of aging, monitoring senescence, and providing biomarkers for evaluating novel interventions, including promising mind-body exercises, that treat age-related disease and promote healthy aging. An ongoing, two-arm randomized clinical trial is evaluating the potential of Tai Chi mind-body exercise to attenuate age-related loss of complexity. A total of 60 Tai Chi-naïve healthy older adults (aged 50-79) are being randomized to either six months of Tai Chi training (n=30), or to a waitlist control receiving unaltered usual medical care (n=30). Our primary outcomes are complexity-based measures of heart rate, standing postural sway and gait stride interval dynamics assessed at 3 and 6months. Multiscale entropy and detrended fluctuation analysis are used as entropy- and fractal-based measures of complexity, respectively. Secondary outcomes include measures of physical and psychological function and tests of physiological adaptability also assessed at 3 and 6months. Results of this study may lead to novel biomarkers that help us monitor and understand the physiological processes of aging and explore the potential benefits of Tai Chi and related mind-body exercises for healthy aging. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Trace element status and fatty acids metabolism during healthy ageing: an example of a population from the Tunisian eastern coast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sfar, Sonia; El Heni, Jihen; Laporte, François; Braham, Hamadi; Jawed, Abdelhafidh; Amor, Salah; Sfar, Mohamed Tahar; Kerkeni, Abdelhamid

    2012-03-01

    Micronutrients as well as essential fatty acids are indispensable for the correct functioning of the organism. The risk of disturbance in the associated nutrition and metabolism is expected to increase during ageing. In addition, it seems that trace elements are involved in the fatty acids metabolism. The aim of the present study was then to assess age-related changes in trace elements status and in plasma essential fatty acids composition with an emphasis on the desaturase activity estimation. Two hundred healthy Tunisian subjects (30-85 years old) were recruited and separated into two subgroups: elderly (65-85 years old) and middle-aged (30-60 years old). The findings revealed that plasma zinc and calcium concentrations significantly decreased according to age. The prevalence of zinc deficiency was therefore shown to increase in old age (over 60% of elderly subjects were deficient or at risk of deficiency). No age-related changes were obtained for copper or magnesium status. The Δ6 desaturase, involved in the EFAs conversion, was shown to decrease according to age and to be associated with the plasma zinc level. Since elderly subjects were at risk of nutritional imbalance, it would be interesting to set optimal dietary proportion. This will help to prevent age-associated alterations and diseases for a better and healthy ageing. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Diet quality and six-year risk of overweight and obesity among mid-age Australian women who were initially in the healthy weight range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aljadani, Haya M; Patterson, Amanda J; Sibbritt, David; Collins, Clare E

    2016-04-01

    Issue addressed The present study investigated the association between diet quality, measured using the Australian Recommended Food Score (ARFS), and 6-year risk of becoming overweight or obese in mid-age women from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health (ALSWH). Methods Women (n=1107) aged 47.6-55.8 years who were a healthy weight (body mass index (BMI) between ≤18.5 and healthy weight range and those who became overweight or obese at follow-up was 35.3±8.1 and 34.3±8.8, respectively. There was no relationship between baseline ARFS and risk of becoming overweight or obese over 6 years. Women who were smokers were more likely to become overweight or obese (odds ratio 1.5; 95% confidence interval 1.11-2.09; P=0.008). Conclusions Poor diet quality was common among mid-age women of a healthy weight in the ALSWH. Higher diet quality was not associated with the risk of overweight or obesity after 6 years, yet smoking status was. So what? Better diet quality alone will not achieve maintenance of a healthy weight, but should be encouraged to improve other health outcomes.

  3. Phospholipase A2 - nexus of aging, oxidative stress, neuronal excitability, and functional decline of the aging nervous system? Insights from a snail model system of neuronal aging and age-associated memory impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermann, Petra M; Watson, Shawn N; Wildering, Willem C

    2014-01-01

    The aging brain undergoes a range of changes varying from subtle structural and physiological changes causing only minor functional decline under healthy normal aging conditions, to severe cognitive or neurological impairment associated with extensive loss of neurons and circuits due to age-associated neurodegenerative disease conditions. Understanding how biological aging processes affect the brain and how they contribute to the onset and progress of age-associated neurodegenerative diseases is a core research goal in contemporary neuroscience. This review focuses on the idea that changes in intrinsic neuronal electrical excitability associated with (per)oxidation of membrane lipids and activation of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymes are an important mechanism of learning and memory failure under normal aging conditions. Specifically, in the context of this special issue on the biology of cognitive aging we portray the opportunities offered by the identifiable neurons and behaviorally characterized neural circuits of the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis in neuronal aging research and recapitulate recent insights indicating a key role of lipid peroxidation-induced PLA2 as instruments of aging, oxidative stress and inflammation in age-associated neuronal and memory impairment in this model system. The findings are discussed in view of accumulating evidence suggesting involvement of analogous mechanisms in the etiology of age-associated dysfunction and disease of the human and mammalian brain.

  4. Phospholipase A2 - nexus of aging, oxidative stress, neuronal excitability and functional decline of the aging nervous system? Insights from a snail model system of neuronal aging and age-associated memory impairment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petra Maria Hermann

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available TThe aging brain can undergo a range of changes varying from subtle structural and physiological changes causing only minor functional decline under healthy normal aging conditions, to severe cognitive or neurological impairment associated with extensive loss of neurons and circuits due to age-associated neurodegenerative disease conditions. Understanding how biological aging processes affect the brain and how they contribute to the onset and progress of age-associated neurodegenerative diseases is a core research goal in contemporary neuroscience. This review focuses on the idea that changes in intrinsic neuronal electrical excitability associated with (peroxidation of membrane lipids and activation of phospholipase A2 (PLA2 enzymes are an important mechanism of learning and memory failure under normal aging conditions. Specifically, in the context of this special issue on the Biology of cognitive aging we (1 portray the opportunities offered by the identifiable neurons and behaviorally characterized neural circuits of the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis in neuronal aging research and (2 recapitulate recent insights indicating a key role of lipid peroxidation-induced PLA2 as instruments of aging, oxidative stress and inflammation in age-associated neuronal and memory impairment in this model system. The findings are discussed in view of accumulating evidence suggesting involvement of analogous mechanisms in the etiology of age-associated dysfunction and disease of the human and mammalian brain.

  5. Relation between age-related decline in intelligence and cerebral white-matter hyperintensities in healthy octogenarians: a longitudinal study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garde, E; Mortensen, E L; Krabbe, K

    2000-01-01

    BACKGROUND: White-matter hyperintensities are commonly found on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of elderly people with or without dementia. Studies of the relation between severity of white-matter hyperintensities and cognitive impairment have had conflicting results. We undertook a longitudinal...... study of age-related decline in intellectual function and MRI at age 80 years. METHODS: From a cohort of 698 people born in 1914 and living in seven municipalities in Denmark, 68 healthy non-demented individuals had been tested with the Wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS) at ages 50, 60, and 70...

  6. Exploring the Process of Implementing Healthy Workplace Initiatives: Mapping to Kotter's Leading Change Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chappell, Stacie; Pescud, Melanie; Waterworth, Pippa; Shilton, Trevor; Roche, Dee; Ledger, Melissa; Slevin, Terry; Rosenberg, Michael

    2016-10-01

    The aim of this study was to use Kotter's leading change model to explore the implementation of workplace health and wellbeing initiatives. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 31 workplace representatives with a healthy workplace initiative. None of the workplaces used a formal change management model when implementing their healthy workplace initiatives. Not all of the steps in Kotter model were considered necessary and the order of the steps was challenged. For example, interviewees perceived that communicating the vision, developing the vision, and creating a guiding coalition were integral parts of the process, although there was less emphasis on the importance of creating a sense of urgency and consolidating change. Although none of the workplaces reported using a formal organizational change model when implementing their healthy workplace initiatives, there did appear to be perceived merit in using the steps in Kotter's model.

  7. Asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes in the white matter in the healthy elderly: a tract-based study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fukusumi Masami

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Hemispherical asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes have been reported for the human brain. Meanwhile it was still unclear the presence of the asymmetry or sex differences in the human brain occurred whether as a normal development or as consequences of any pathological changes. The aim of this study was to investigate hemispherical asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes by using a tract-based analysis in the nerve bundles. Methods 40 healthy elderly subjects underwent magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging, and we calculated fractional anisotropy (FA and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC values along the major white matter bundles. Results We identified hemispherical asymmetry in the ADC values for the cingulate fasciculus in the total subject set and in males, and a sex difference in the FA values for the right uncinate fasciculus. For age-related changes, we demonstrated a significant increase in ADC values with advancing age in the right cingulum, left temporal white matter, and a significant decrease in FA values in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus. Conclusion In this study, we found hemispherical asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes in particular regions of the white matter in the healthy elderly. Our results suggest considering these differences can be important in imaging studies.

  8. Candidate gene resequencing to identify rare, pedigree-specific variants influencing healthy aging phenotypes in the long life family study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Druley, Todd E; Wang, Lihua; Lin, Shiow J

    2016-01-01

    from six pedigrees. OBFC1 (chromosome 10) is involved in telomere maintenance, and falls within a linkage peak recently reported from an analysis of telomere length in LLFS families. Two different algorithms for single gene associations identified three genes with an enrichment of variation......BACKGROUND: The Long Life Family Study (LLFS) is an international study to identify the genetic components of various healthy aging phenotypes. We hypothesized that pedigree-specific rare variants at longevity-associated genes could have a similar functional impact on healthy phenotypes. METHODS......: We performed custom hybridization capture sequencing to identify the functional variants in 464 candidate genes for longevity or the major diseases of aging in 615 pedigrees (4,953 individuals) from the LLFS, using a multiplexed, custom hybridization capture. Variants were analyzed individually...

  9. Aging of immune system: Immune signature from peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in 1068 healthy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Ling; Jing, Xie; Qiu, Zhifeng; Cao, Wei; Jiao, Yang; Routy, Jean-Pierre; Li, Taisheng

    2016-05-01

    Aging is a major risk factor for several conditions including neurodegenerative, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Functional impairments in cellular pathways controlling genomic stability, and immune control have been identified. Biomarker of immune senescence is needed to improve vaccine response and to develop therapy to improve immune control. To identify phenotypic signature of circulating immune cells with aging, we enrolled 1068 Chinese healthy volunteers ranging from 18 to 80 years old. The decreased naïve CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, increased memory CD4+ or CD8+ T cells, loss of CD28 expression on T cells and reverse trend of CD38 and HLA-DR, were significant for aging of immune system. Conversely, the absolute counts and percentage of NK cells and CD19+B cells maintained stable in aging individuals. The Chinese reference ranges of absolute counts and percentage of peripheral lymphocyte in this study might be useful for future clinical evaluation.

  10. Pilot study protocol to inform a future longitudinal study of ageing using linked administrative data: Healthy AGeing in Scotland (HAGIS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, Elaine; Rutherford, Alasdair; Bell, David

    2018-01-10

    Population ageing is a welcome testament to improvements in the social, economic and health circumstances over the life course. However, these successes necessitate that we understand more about the pathways of ageing to plan and cost our health and social care services, to support our ageing population to live healthier for longer and to make adequate provisions for retirement. Longitudinal studies of ageing facilitate such understanding in many countries around the world. Scotland presently does not have a longitudinal study of ageing, despite dramatic increases to its ageing population and its poor health record. Healthy AGeing in Scotland (HAGIS) constitutes the launch of Scotland's first comprehensive longitudinal study of ageing. A sample of 1000 people aged 50+ years will be invited to take part in a household social survey. The innovative sampling procedure used administrative data to identify eligible households. Anonymised survey responses will be linked to administrative data. Ethics approval was obtained from the host institution for the study design and from the Public Benefits and Privacy Panel for administrative data linkage. Anonymised survey data will be deposited with the UK Data Service. A subset of survey data, harmonised with other global ageing studies, will be available via the Gateway to Global Aging platform. These data will enable powerful cross-country comparisons across the social, economic and health domains that will be relevant for national and international research.Research publications from the HAGIS team will be disseminated through journal articles and national and international conferences. The findings will support current and future research and policy debate on ageing populations. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  11. Differential patterns of implicit emotional processing in Alzheimer's disease and healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Rodríguez, Beatriz; Fusari, Anna; Rodríguez, Beatriz; Hernández, José Martín Zurdo; Ellgring, Heiner

    2009-01-01

    Implicit memory for emotional facial expressions (EFEs) was investigated in young adults, healthy old adults, and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Implicit memory is revealed by the effect of experience on performance by studying previously encoded versus novel stimuli, a phenomenon referred to as perceptual priming. The aim was to assess the changes in the patterns of priming as a function of aging and dementia. Participants identified EFEs taken from the Facial Action Coding System and the stimuli used represented the emotions of happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, and disgust. In the study phase, participants rated the pleasantness of 36 faces using a Likert-type scale. Subsequently, the response to the 36 previously studied and 36 novel EFEs was tested when they were randomly presented in a cued naming task. The results showed that implicit memory for EFEs is preserved in AD and aging, and no specific age-related effects on implicit memory for EFEs were observed. However, different priming patterns were evident in AD patients that may reflect pathological brain damage and the effect of stimulus complexity. These findings provide evidence of how progressive neuropathological changes in the temporal and frontal areas may affect emotional processing in more advanced stages of the disease.

  12. Sleep quality and cognitive function in healthy old age: the moderating role of subclinical depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutter, Christine; Zöllig, Jacqueline; Allemand, Mathias; Martin, Mike

    2012-11-01

    Previous research has yielded inconclusive results on the relationship between self-reported sleep quality and cognitive performance in healthy old age. Discrepant findings have been reported regarding processing speed and attention, executive functions, and episodic memory. However, sleep quality has also been found to be related to cognitive performance in patients with depression. Our aim was to clarify the relationship between sleep quality and cognitive performance in healthy older adults, and to evaluate the moderating role of subclinical depression on this relationship. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to assess subjective sleep quality in 107 participants (age ≥ 61 years). A broad battery of neuropsychological tests measured basic cognitive processes, executive functions, and memory processes. Subclinical depression moderated the link between sleep quality and cognitive performance. More precisely, poorer sleep quality was associated with lower performance in reasoning, semantic fluency, and shifting in those with high versus low levels of subclinical depression. Our findings suggest that poor sleep quality might affect higher order cognitive processes, particularly in those reporting higher levels of subclinical depression. Findings on the relationships between sleep quality, cognitive functioning, and depressive symptomatology are discussed in relation to neurobehavioral theories of sleep. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

  13. Influence of gender, age and motives underlying food choice on perceived healthiness and willingness to try functional foods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ares, Gastón; Gámbaro, Adriana

    2007-07-01

    The aims of the present study were to study the effect of different carriers and enrichments on the perceived healthiness and willingness to try functional foods; and to evaluate the effect of age, gender and motives underlying food choice. Participants had to evaluate different functional food concepts and had to answer a food choice questionnaire. Results showed that carrier products had the largest effect on consumers' perception of healthiness and willingness to try of the evaluated functional foods concepts. The highest positive relative utilities were achieved when the enrichment was a functional ingredient inherent in the product. Furthermore, gender, age and motives underlying food choice affected the preference patterns for the evaluated functional foods concepts, but it depended on the carrier and enrichment considered, suggesting that functional foods might not be accepted by all the consumers and that they could be tailored for certain groups.

  14. Meal-induced changes in splanchnic blood flow and oxygen uptake in middle-aged healthy humans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Jan Lysgård; Søndergaard, SB; Møller, Søren

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: For decades, the determination of changes in splanchnic blood flow and oxygen uptake after a meal has been used in the management of patients with suspected chronic intestinal ischaemia. However, little is known about the normal meal-induced responses. The aim of the present study...... was therefore to measure the splanchnic blood flow and oxygen uptake before and after a standardized meal in a group of middle-aged normal volunteers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Splanchnic blood flow and oxygen uptake were determined at baseline and after a 3600-kJ mixed meal in 8 healthy women (50-70 years) and 10...... healthy men (52-76 years). Splanchnic blood flow was measured during hepatic vein catheterization by indirect Fick principle with indocyanine green as the indicator. Splanchnic oxygen uptake was calculated from splanchnic blood flow and the arteriovenous oxygen difference. RESULTS: The meal induced...

  15. A common copy number variation polymorphism in the CNTNAP2 gene: sexual dimorphism in association with healthy aging and disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iakoubov, Leonid; Mossakowska, Malgorzata; Szwed, Malgorzata; Puzianowska-Kuznicka, Monika

    2015-01-01

    New therapeutic targets are needed to fight aging-related diseases and increase life span. A new female-specific association with diseases and limited survival past 80 years was recently reported for a copy number variation (CNV) in the CNTNAP4 gene from the neurexin superfamily. We asked whether there are CNVs that are associated with aging phenotypes within other genes from the neurexin superfamily and whether this association is sex specific. Select CNV polymorphisms were genotyped with proprietary TaqMan qPCR assays. A case/control study, in which a group of 81- to 90-year-old community-dwelling Caucasians with no chronic diseases (case) was compared to a similar control group of 65- to 75-year-olds, revealed a negative association with healthy aging for the ins allele of common esv11910 CNV in the CNTNAP2 gene (n = 388; OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.14-0.59, p = 0.0004 for males, and OR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.42-1.57, p = 0.625 for females). This male-specific association was validated in a study of an independent group of 76- to 80-year-olds. To look for a corresponding positive association of the allele with aging-related diseases, two case subgroups of 81- to 90-year-olds, one composed of individuals with cognitive impairment and the other with various diseases not directly related to the nervous system, such as cardiovascular diseases, etc., were compared to a healthy control subgroup of the same age. A positive male-specific association was found for both cases (OR = 2.75, p = 0.008 for association with cognitive impairment, and OR = 3.18, p = 0.002 for other diseases combined). A new male-specific association with aging is reported for a CNV in the CNTNAP2 gene. The polymorphism might be useful for diagnosing individual genetic predispositions to healthy aging versus aging complicated by chronic diseases. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  16. Ageing/Menopausal Status in Healthy Women and Ageing in Healthy Men Differently Affect Cardiometabolic Parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campesi, Ilaria; Occhioni, Stefano; Tonolo, Giancarlo; Cherchi, Sara; Basili, Stefania; Carru, Ciriaco; Zinellu, Angelo; Franconi, Flavia

    2016-01-01

    Gender medicine requires a global analysis of an individual's life. Menopause and ageing induce variations of some cardiometabolic parameters, but, it is unknown if this occurs in a sex-specific manner. Here, some markers of oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction are analysed in men younger and older than 45 years and in pre- and postmenopausal women. Serum and plasma sample were assayed for TNF-α and IL-6, malondialdehyde and protein carbonyls and for methylated arginines using ELISA kits, colorimetric methods and capillary electrophoresis. Before body weight correction, men overall had higher creatinine, red blood cells and haemoglobin and lower triglycerides than women. Men younger than 45 years had lower levels of TNF-α and malondialdehyde and higher levels of arginine than age-matched women, while postmenopausal women had higher IL-6 concentrations than men, and higher total cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine and IL-6 levels than younger women. Men younger than 45 years had lower total cholesterol and malondialdehyde than older men. After correction, some differences remained, others were amplified, others disappeared and some new differences emerged. Moreover, some parameters showed a correlation with age, and some of them correlated with each other as functions of ageing and ageing/menopausal status. Ageing/menopausal status increased many more cardiovascular risk factors in women than ageing in men, confirming that postmenopausal women had increased vascular vulnerability and indicating the need of early cardiovascular prevention in women. Sex-gender differences are also influenced by body weight, indicating as a matter of debate whether body weight should be seen as a true confounder or as part of the causal pathway.

  17. Mental Time Travel into the Past and the Future in Healthy Aged Adults: An fMRI Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viard, Armelle; Chetelat, Gael; Lebreton, Karine; Desgranges, Beatrice; Landeau, Brigitte; de La Sayette, Vincent; Eustache, Francis; Piolino, Pascale

    2011-01-01

    Remembering the past and envisioning the future rely on episodic memory which enables mental time travel. Studies in young adults indicate that past and future thinking share common cognitive and neural underpinnings. No imaging data is yet available in healthy aged subjects. Using fMRI, we scanned older subjects while they remembered personal…

  18. Blood flow and blood volume in the femoral heads of healthy adults according to age. Measurement with positron emission tomography (PET)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubo, Toshikazu; Kimori, Kokuto; Nakamura, Fuminori; Inoue, Shigehiro; Fujioka, Mikihiro; Ueshima, Keiichiro; Hirasawa, Yasusuke; Ushijima, Yo; Nishimura, Tsunehiko

    2001-01-01

    To deepen understanding of hemodynamics in the femoral head, i.e., the essential factor in clarifying pathogenesis of hip disorders, this study examined blood flow and blood volume in the femoral heads of healthy adults, and their changes with age, by using positron emission tomography (PET). In 16 healthy adult males (age: 20-78 years old, mean age: 42 years), blood flow was measured by means of the H 2 15 O dynamic study method, and blood volume was measured by means of the 15 O-labeled carbon monoxide bolus inhalation method. Blood flow was 1.68-6.47 ml/min/100 g (mean ±SD: 3.52±1.2), and blood volume was 1.67-6.03 ml/100 g (mean ±SD: 3.00±1.27). Blood flow significantly decreased (p<0.01) with age, and blood volume significantly increased (P<0.05). PET was useful in the measurement of blood flow and blood volume in the femoral heads. With age, physiological hemodynamic changes also increased in femoral heads. (author)

  19. Age-Modulated Associations between KIBRA, Brain Volume, and Verbal Memory among Healthy Older Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariana Stickel

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The resource modulation hypothesis suggests that the influence of genes on cognitive functioning increases with age. The KIBRA single nucleotide polymorphism rs17070145, associated with episodic memory and working memory, has been suggested to follow such a pattern, but few studies have tested this assertion directly. The present study investigated the relationship between KIBRA alleles (T carriers vs. CC homozygotes, cognitive performance, and brain volumes in three groups of cognitively healthy adults—middle aged (ages 52–64, n = 38, young old (ages 65–72, n = 45, and older old (ages 73–92, n = 62—who were carefully matched on potentially confounding variables including apolipoprotein ε4 status and hypertension. Consistent with our prediction, T carriers maintained verbal memory performance with increasing age while CC homozygotes declined. Voxel-based morphometric analysis of magnetic resonance images showed an advantage for T carriers in frontal white matter volume that increased with age. Focusing on the older old group, this advantage for T carriers was also evident in left lingual gyrus gray matter and several additional frontal white matter regions. Contrary to expectations, neither KIBRA nor the interaction between KIBRA and age predicted hippocampal volumes. None of the brain regions investigated showed a CC homozygote advantage. Taken together, these data suggest that KIBRA results in decreased verbal memory performance and lower brain volumes in CC homozygotes compared to T carriers, particularly among the oldest old, consistent with the resource modulation hypothesis.

  20. Preservation of musical memory and engagement in healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuddy, Lola L; Sikka, Ritu; Vanstone, Ashley

    2015-03-01

    In striking contrast to the difficulties with new learning and episodic memories in aging and especially in Alzheimer's disease (AD), musical long-term memories appear to be largely preserved. Evidence for spared musical memories in aging and AD is reviewed here. New data involve the development of a Musical Engagement Questionnaire especially designed for use with AD patients. The questionnaire assesses behavioral responses to music and is answered by the care partner. Current results show that, despite cognitive loss, persons with mild to moderate AD preserve musical engagement and music seeking. Familiar music evokes personal autobiographical memories for healthy younger and older adults as well and for those with mild to moderate AD. It is argued that music is a prime candidate for being a stimulus for cognitive stimulation because musical memories and associated emotions may be readily evoked; that is, they are strong and do not need to be repaired. Working with and through music as a resource may enhance social and communication functions. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

  1. Multimorbidity care model: Recommendations from the consensus meeting of the Joint Action on Chronic Diseases and Promoting Healthy Ageing across the Life Cycle (JA-CHRODIS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, Katie; Marengoni, Alessandra; Forjaz, Maria João; Jureviciene, Elena; Laatikainen, Tiina; Mammarella, Federica; Muth, Christiane; Navickas, Rokas; Prados-Torres, Alexandra; Rijken, Mieke; Rothe, Ulrike; Souchet, Laurène; Valderas, Jose; Vontetsianos, Theodore; Zaletel, Jelka; Onder, Graziano

    2018-01-01

    Patients with multimorbidity have complex health needs but, due to the current traditional disease-oriented approach, they face a highly fragmented form of care that leads to inefficient, ineffective, and possibly harmful clinical interventions. There is limited evidence on available integrated and multidimensional care pathways for multimorbid patients. An expert consensus meeting was held to develop a framework for care of multimorbid patients that can be applied across Europe, within a project funded by the European Union; the Joint Action on Chronic Diseases and Promoting Healthy Ageing across the Life Cycle (JA-CHRODIS). The experts included a diverse group representing care providers and patients, and included general practitioners, family medicine physicians, neurologists, geriatricians, internists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, diabetologists, epidemiologists, psychologists, and representatives from patient organizations. Sixteen components across five domains were identified (Delivery of Care; Decision Support; Self Management Support; Information Systems and Technology; and Social and Community Resources). The description and aim of each component are described in these guidelines, along with a summary of key characteristics and relevance to multimorbid patients. Due to the lack of evidence-based recommendations specific to multimorbid patients, this care model needs to be assessed and validated in different European settings to examine specifically how multimorbid patients will benefit from this care model, and whether certain components have more importance than others. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. [Motor skills and safety of patients with bi- or trimalleolar ankle injury : Comparison with healthy, active, age-matched control subjects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loudovici-Krug, Dana; Benkenstein, Monique; Derlien, Steffen; Best, Norman

    2018-06-01

    Do patients with bi- or trimalleolar ankle injury show differences in motor skills and safety in comparison with healthy, active, age-matched control subjects? Prospective controlled cross-sectional study. Inclusion of 17 patients with bi- or trimalleolar ankle injury (mean 1.5 years postsurgery) and 23 healthy, active subjects of comparable age (fitness studio). Measurement instruments: motor test procedures and questionnaires. Comparison of patients and control subjects by routine daily motor function: patients  0.05), fear of falling: patients > controls (p = 0.003) and physical activity: patients motor deficits in activities of daily life between the patients and controls, only tendencies; however, the patients showed definite limitations with an increased fear of falling and a reduced physical activity compared with the healthy control group. The resulting differences should be positively influenced by appropriate enhancement of training or participation in sports courses. The aim is to achieve a similar quality of life by a perception of safety and trust in one's own motor skills.

  3. 99mTc-ECD brain perfusion SPET: variability, asymmetry and effects of age and gender in healthy adults

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Laere, K.; Versijpt, J.; Goethals, I.; Dierckx, R.; Audenaert, K.; Koole, M.; Achten, E.

    2001-01-01

    Reliable and high-resolution reference data for regional cerebral blood flow measured with single-photon emission tomography (SPET) are necessary for optimal clinical and research use. Therefore, a large dataset of normal technetium-99m labelled ethylene cysteine dimer (ECD) perfusion SPET in carefully screened healthy volunteers with an age range spanning six decades was created, with correction for non-uniform attenuation and scatter and based on an anatomically standardised analysis. Eighty-nine healthy volunteers, stratified for gender (46 females, 43 males; age 20-81 years), were included. Twelve volunteers underwent repeated 99m Tc-ECD SPET after 2.5±2.3 weeks. An automated whole-brain volume of interest analysis with MANOVA as well as voxelwise analysis using SPM99 was conducted. Average intersubject variability was 4.8% while intrasubject reproducibility was 3.0%. An age-related decline in tracer uptake was found in the anterior cingulate gyrus, bilateral basal ganglia, left prefrontal, left lateral frontal and left superior temporal and insular cortex (all P=0.001-0.02). There was an overall increase in right/left asymmetry with age, which was most pronounced in the frontal and temporal neocortex. The most significant correlations between AI and age decade were found in the prefrontal (R=0.35, P=0.001) and superior temporal neocortex (R=0.43, P 99m Tc-ECD perfusion SPET under a wide variety of clinical circumstances in relation to normal variations and highlights the importance of both age- and gender-specific normal datasets for optimal analysis sensitivity. (orig.)

  4. Motor development in 3-month-old healthy term-born infants is associated with cognitive and behavioural outcomes at early school age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hitzert, Marrit M; Roze, Elise; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N J A; Bos, Arend F

    2014-09-01

    To determine whether motor development at 3 months of age is associated with cognitive, motor, and behavioural outcomes in healthy children at early school age. In this cohort study, we included 74 term-born, healthy children (44 males, 30 females; median gestational age 40.1 wks, range 38.0-42.6 wks). From video recordings (median 12.9 wks, range 9.3-18.6 wks), we assessed the quality of fidgety movements, and calculated a motor optimality score. At school age (median 5 y 11 mo, range 5 y 8 mo-7 y 6 mo), we performed detailed cognitive, motor, and behavioural assessments. We examined whether aspects of motor development were associated with functional outcomes. An age-adequate motor repertoire, in particular the presence of antigravity, midline leg, and manipulation movements, was related to poorer cognition, whereas variable finger postures was related to better cognition. Children with a monotonous concurrent motor repertoire had better ball skills but experienced more behavioural problems. The presence of antigravity movements tended to be associated with abnormal recognition (odds ratio [OR] 4.4, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9-21; R(2) =0.17; p=0.070), where the absence of variable finger postures was associated with borderline and abnormal visual-spatial perception (OR 20, 95% CI, 1.7-238; R(2) =0.39; p=0.018). Detailed aspects of motor development at 3 months of age are associated with cognition and behaviour, but not with motor outcome, in healthy children at early school age. Our findings suggest that early motor development may be the basis for later cognitive and behavioural performance. Since the associations were only moderate, possible environmental influences should be acknowledged. © 2014 Mac Keith Press.

  5. An introduction to the healthy corner store intervention model in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mah, Catherine L; Minaker, Leia M; Jameson, Kristie; Rappaport, Lissie; Taylor, Krystal; Graham, Marketa; Moody, Natalie; Cook, Brian

    2017-09-14

    The majority of Canadians' food acquisition occurs in retail stores. Retail science has become increasingly sophisticated in demonstrating how consumer environments influence population-level diet quality and health status. The retail food environment literature is new but growing rapidly in Canada, and there is a relative paucity of evidence from intervention research implemented in Canada. The healthy corner store model is a comprehensive complex population health intervention in small retail stores, intended to transform an existing business model to a health-promoting one through intersectoral collaboration. Healthy corner store interventions typically involve conversions of existing stores with the participation of health, community, and business sector partners, addressing business fundamentals, merchandising, and consumer demand. This article introduces pioneering experiences with the healthy corner store intervention in Canada. First, we offer a brief overview of the state of evidence within and outside Canada. Second, we discuss three urban and one rural healthy corner store initiatives, led through partnerships among community food security organizations, public health units, academics, and business partners, in Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Third, we synthesize the promising practices from these local examples, including aspects of both intervention science (e.g., refinements in measuring the food environment) and community-based practice (e.g., dealing with unhealthy food items and economic impact for the retailer). This article will synthesize practical experiences with healthy corner stores in Canada. It offers a baseline assessment of promising aspects of this intervention for health and health equity, and identifies opportunities to strengthen both science and practice in this area of retail food environment work.

  6. A preliminary study to assess the impact of maternal age on stress-related variables in healthy nulliparous women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Blanco, Ana; Monferrer, Alberto; Grimaldos, Jorge; Hervás, David; Balanzá-Martínez, Vicent; Diago, Vicente; Vento, Máximo; Cháfer-Pericás, Consuelo

    2017-04-01

    Childbearing age has progressively increased in industrialized countries. The impact of this delay on motherhood, however, requires further research. The study sample included a prospective cohort of healthy nulliparous pregnant women aged between 18 and 40 years (n=148) assessed at 38 weeks gestation (Time#1, T1), 48h after birth (Time#2, T2), and 3 months after birth (Time#3, T3). The effect of age on psychological, biological, and social variables was evaluated. Maternal psychological symptoms in terms of depression and anxiety were assessed at T1-T3; and parenting stress at T3. Stress biomarkers (cortisol, α-amylase) were determined in mothers at T1-T3. Questionnaires addressing social functioning (i.e., family functioning, maternal attitudes, and social support) were conducted at T3. Bayesian additive models were used to analyze the data. Depressive symptoms showed a steep increase starting from 35 years of age at T1 and an U-shaped relationship with a minimum around 30 years old at T3. The same results were observed for parenting stress. Cortisol levels increased sharply from 30 years of age at T3. Family functioning, maternal attitudes, and social support improved moderately from 30 years of age. Prenatal depressive symptoms were higher in older women, but postpartum depressive symptoms and parenting stress increased in both younger and older women. Nevertheless, cortisol levels just increased in older ages at postpartum. In contrast, social functioning (family functioning, maternal attitudes, and social support) improved with age. We conclude that these social advantages may compensate for other disadvantages of delayed childbearing (i.e., depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and high cortisol level). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Phospholipase A2 – nexus of aging, oxidative stress, neuronal excitability, and functional decline of the aging nervous system? Insights from a snail model system of neuronal aging and age-associated memory impairment

    OpenAIRE

    Hermann, Petra M.; Watson, Shawn N.; Wildering, Willem C.

    2014-01-01

    TThe aging brain can undergo a range of changes varying from subtle structural and physiological changes causing only minor functional decline under healthy normal aging conditions, to severe cognitive or neurological impairment associated with extensive loss of neurons and circuits due to age-associated neurodegenerative disease conditions. Understanding how biological aging processes affect the brain and how they contribute to the onset and progress of age-associated neurodegenerative disea...

  8. The relationship of age, gender, and IQ with the brainstem and thalamus in healthy children and adolescents: a magnetic resonance imaging volumetric study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Yuhuan; Chen, Yian Ann; De Bellis, Michael D

    2012-03-01

    In healthy children, there is a paucity of information on the growth of the brainstem and thalamus measured anatomically magnetic resonance imaging. The relations of age, gender, and age by gender with brainstem and thalamus volumes were analyzed from magnetic resonance brain images of 122 healthy children and adolescents (62 males, 60 females; ages 4 to 17). Results showed that age is a significant predictor of brainstem and thalamus volumes. The volume of the brainstem increases with age, while thalamus volume declines with age. The volume of the right thalamus is significantly larger than that of the left in both genders, with greater rightward asymmetry and greater thalamus to grey matter ratio in females. Males have larger brainstems, but these differences are not significant when covarying for cerebral volume. Larger thalami were associated with higher Verbal IQ. These normative pediatric data are of value to researchers who study these regions in neurodevelopmental disorders.

  9. Effects of dietary restriction on adipose mass and biomarkers of healthy aging in human.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lettieri-Barbato, Daniele; Giovannetti, Esmeralda; Aquilano, Katia

    2016-11-29

    In developing countries the rise of obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, reflects the changes in lifestyle habits and wrong dietary choices. Dietary restriction (DR) regimens have been shown to extend health span and lifespan in many animal models including primates. Identifying biomarkers predictive of clinical benefits of treatment is one of the primary goals of precision medicine. To monitor the clinical outcomes of DR interventions in humans, several biomarkers are commonly adopted. However, a validated link between the behaviors of such biomarkers and DR effects is lacking at present time. Through a systematic analysis of human intervention studies, we evaluated the effect size of DR (i.e. calorie restriction, very low calorie diet, intermittent fasting, alternate day fasting) on health-related biomarkers. We found that DR is effective in reducing total and visceral adipose mass and improving inflammatory cytokines profile and adiponectin/leptin ratio. By analysing the levels of canonical biomarkers of healthy aging, we also validated the changes of insulin, IGF-1 and IGFBP-1,2 to monitor DR effects. Collectively, we developed a useful platform to evaluate the human responses to dietary regimens low in calories.

  10. Association between systemic inflammation and serum prostate-specific antigen in a healthy Korean population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, Jonghyun; Lee, Hyunyoung; Yang, Wonjae

    2017-01-01

    Objective Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) may be elevated in healthy men with systemic inflammation. We aimed to investigate the association between systemic inflammation markers and serum PSA in a healthy Korean population. Material and methods A cohort of 20,151 healthy native Korean men without prostate disease between the ages of 40 and 65 years who underwent medical checkups were studied from January 2007 to December 2013. Serum total PSA and serum C-reactive protein concentrations, neutrophil, lymphocyte, and platelet counts were determined. The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were calculated. We checked the correlation between systemic inflammation markers and PSA. Results Data obtained from 18,800 healthy men were analyzed. The mean age of the study subjects was 50.72±7.62 years and the mean NLR was 1.764±0.804. Correlation analysis after adjustment for age and body mass index (BMI) revealed that neutrophil count (coefficient = 0.028, p value <0.001), and NLR (coefficient = 0.027, p value <0.001) correlated with PSA. Multivariate analysis using the full model revealed that age, neutrophil count and NLR were positively correlated with PSA (p<0.001, 0.001, and 0.043 respectively). Multivariate analysis using a stepwise model revealed that age, neutrophil count and NLR were positively correlated with PSA (p<0.001, 0.001, and 0.040, respectively) and BMI was negatively correlated with PSA (p<0.001). Conclusion Systemic inflammation markers are useful with a serum PSA in a healthy Korean population. NLR in particular is significantly associated with serum PSA. PMID:28861299

  11. Neural changes associated with semantic processing in healthy aging despite intact behavioral performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacombe, Jacinthe; Jolicoeur, Pierre; Grimault, Stephan; Pineault, Jessica; Joubert, Sven

    2015-10-01

    Semantic memory recruits an extensive neural network including the left inferior prefrontal cortex (IPC) and the left temporoparietal region, which are involved in semantic control processes, as well as the anterior temporal lobe region (ATL) which is considered to be involved in processing semantic information at a central level. However, little is known about the underlying neuronal integrity of the semantic network in normal aging. Young and older healthy adults carried out a semantic judgment task while their cortical activity was recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Despite equivalent behavioral performance, young adults activated the left IPC to a greater extent than older adults, while the latter group recruited the temporoparietal region bilaterally and the left ATL to a greater extent than younger adults. Results indicate that significant neuronal changes occur in normal aging, mainly in regions underlying semantic control processes, despite an apparent stability in performance at the behavioral level. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Modeled ground water age distributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woolfenden, Linda R.; Ginn, Timothy R.

    2009-01-01

    The age of ground water in any given sample is a distributed quantity representing distributed provenance (in space and time) of the water. Conventional analysis of tracers such as unstable isotopes or anthropogenic chemical species gives discrete or binary measures of the presence of water of a given age. Modeled ground water age distributions provide a continuous measure of contributions from different recharge sources to aquifers. A numerical solution of the ground water age equation of Ginn (1999) was tested both on a hypothetical simplified one-dimensional flow system and under real world conditions. Results from these simulations yield the first continuous distributions of ground water age using this model. Complete age distributions as a function of one and two space dimensions were obtained from both numerical experiments. Simulations in the test problem produced mean ages that were consistent with the expected value at the end of the model domain for all dispersivity values tested, although the mean ages for the two highest dispersivity values deviated slightly from the expected value. Mean ages in the dispersionless case also were consistent with the expected mean ages throughout the physical model domain. Simulations under real world conditions for three dispersivity values resulted in decreasing mean age with increasing dispersivity. This likely is a consequence of an edge effect. However, simulations for all three dispersivity values tested were mass balanced and stable demonstrating that the solution of the ground water age equation can provide estimates of water mass density distributions over age under real world conditions.

  13. Age- and gender-dependent values of skeletal muscle mass in healthy children and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webber, Colin E; Barr, Ronald D

    2012-03-01

    Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) can be extracted from whole-body scans obtained by X-ray-based dual-photon absorptiometry (DXA). There is a need to establish expected age-dependent values for children and adolescents. Appendicular lean tissue mass (ALM) was extracted from whole-body DXA scans in 140 healthy children and adolescents (68 females and 72 males). Whole-body SMM was calculated from ALM using equations developed by Kim et al. (Am J Clin Nutr 84:1014-1020, 2006). Age-dependent patterns of increase in SMM were derived by fitting SMM values to equations that consisted of the sum of two logistic expressions, one accounting for SMM changes during growth and the other for SMM changes during puberty. Normal ranges were defined so that 95% of the SMM values were included. The reproducibility of SMM measurements was obtained from whole-body DXA scans repeated on three occasions in each of a separate group of 32 normal children with repositioning between scans. Normal ranges are presented as equations describing the age-dependent pattern of increase in SMM as well as population standard deviations that increased steadily with age. For 15 children below age 10, SMM reproducibility (95% CI) was 149 g (119-199 g) while for 17 children and adolescents over age 10, reproducibility was 170 g (138-223 g). DXA-based measurements of SMM in children and adolescents are reproducible and can be expressed in terms of age-dependent Z scores.

  14. Age-related changes in the global skeletal uptake of technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate in healthy women

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnevale, V.; Frusciante, V.; Scillitani, A.; Modoni, S.; Pileri, M.; Chiodini, I.; Dicembrino, F.; Romagnoli, E.; Minisola, S.

    1996-01-01

    A short-term evaluation of global skeletal uptake (GSU) of technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (MDP) was performed in 40 healthy female subjects with a wide age range in order to investigate the clinical performance of the technique and to detect the age-related changes in bone turnover. The results obtained were compared with measurements of the main biochemical markers of skeletal metabolism. We found that GSU increases progressively with age, independently of concomitant changes in renal function; significant correlations with biochemical markers of bone formation were also found. Therefore, the method appears to provide useful information concerning the bone turnover rate, and is also applicable to elderly people owing to its simplicity. (orig.). With 4 figs., 2 tabs

  15. Topological organization of functional brain networks in healthy children: differences in relation to age, sex, and intelligence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Kai; Taki, Yasuyuki; Sato, Kazunori; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Sassa, Yuko; Takeuchi, Hikaru; Thyreau, Benjamin; He, Yong; Evans, Alan C; Li, Xiaobo; Kawashima, Ryuta; Fukuda, Hiroshi

    2013-01-01

    Recent studies have demonstrated developmental changes of functional brain networks derived from functional connectivity using graph theoretical analysis, which has been rapidly translated to studies of brain network organization. However, little is known about sex- and IQ-related differences in the topological organization of functional brain networks during development. In this study, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) was used to map the functional brain networks in 51 healthy children. We then investigated the effects of age, sex, and IQ on economic small-world properties and regional nodal properties of the functional brain networks. At a global level of whole networks, we found significant age-related increases in the small-worldness and local efficiency, significant higher values of the global efficiency in boys compared with girls, and no significant IQ-related difference. Age-related increases in the regional nodal properties were found predominately in the frontal brain regions, whereas the parietal, temporal, and occipital brain regions showed age-related decreases. Significant sex-related differences in the regional nodal properties were found in various brain regions, primarily related to the default mode, language, and vision systems. Positive correlations between IQ and the regional nodal properties were found in several brain regions related to the attention system, whereas negative correlations were found in various brain regions primarily involved in the default mode, emotion, and language systems. Together, our findings of the network topology of the functional brain networks in healthy children and its relationship with age, sex, and IQ bring new insights into the understanding of brain maturation and cognitive development during childhood and adolescence.

  16. Topological organization of functional brain networks in healthy children: differences in relation to age, sex, and intelligence.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Wu

    Full Text Available Recent studies have demonstrated developmental changes of functional brain networks derived from functional connectivity using graph theoretical analysis, which has been rapidly translated to studies of brain network organization. However, little is known about sex- and IQ-related differences in the topological organization of functional brain networks during development. In this study, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI was used to map the functional brain networks in 51 healthy children. We then investigated the effects of age, sex, and IQ on economic small-world properties and regional nodal properties of the functional brain networks. At a global level of whole networks, we found significant age-related increases in the small-worldness and local efficiency, significant higher values of the global efficiency in boys compared with girls, and no significant IQ-related difference. Age-related increases in the regional nodal properties were found predominately in the frontal brain regions, whereas the parietal, temporal, and occipital brain regions showed age-related decreases. Significant sex-related differences in the regional nodal properties were found in various brain regions, primarily related to the default mode, language, and vision systems. Positive correlations between IQ and the regional nodal properties were found in several brain regions related to the attention system, whereas negative correlations were found in various brain regions primarily involved in the default mode, emotion, and language systems. Together, our findings of the network topology of the functional brain networks in healthy children and its relationship with age, sex, and IQ bring new insights into the understanding of brain maturation and cognitive development during childhood and adolescence.

  17. Healthy lifestyle through young adulthood and the presence of low cardiovascular disease risk profile in middle age: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in (Young) Adults (CARDIA) study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Kiang; Daviglus, Martha L; Loria, Catherine M; Colangelo, Laura A; Spring, Bonnie; Moller, Arlen C; Lloyd-Jones, Donald M

    2012-02-28

    A low cardiovascular disease risk profile (untreated cholesterol risk profile. We examined whether adopting a healthy lifestyle throughout young adulthood is associated with the presence of the low cardiovascular disease risk profile in middle age. The Coronary Artery Risk Development in (Young) Adults (CARDIA) study sample consisted of 3154 black and white participants 18 to 30 years of age at year 0 (1985-1986) who attended the year 0, 7, and 20 examinations. Healthy lifestyle factors defined at years 0, 7, and 20 included average body mass index risk profile at year 20 were 3.0%, 14.6%, 29.5%, 39.2%, and 60.7% for people with 0 or 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 healthy lifestyle factors, respectively (P for trend risk profile in middle age. Public health and individual efforts are needed to improve the adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyles in young adults.

  18. Ageing and chronic intermittent hypoxia mimicking sleep apnea do not modify local brain tissue stiffness in healthy mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorba, Ignasi; Menal, Maria José; Torres, Marta; Gozal, David; Piñol-Ripoll, Gerard; Colell, Anna; Montserrat, Josep M; Navajas, Daniel; Farré, Ramon; Almendros, Isaac

    2017-07-01

    Recent evidence suggests that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may increase the risk of Alzheimer´s disease (AD), with the latter promoting alterations in brain tissue stiffness, a feature of ageing. Here, we assessed the effects of age and intermittent hypoxia (IH) on brain tissue stiffness in a mouse model of OSA. Two-month-old and 18-month-old mice (N=10 each) were subjected to IH (20% O 2 40s - 6% O 2 20s) for 8 weeks (6h/day). Corresponding control groups for each age were kept under normoxic conditions in room air (RA). After sacrifice, the brain was excised and 200-micron coronal slices were cut with a vibratome. Local stiffness of the cortex and hippocampus were assessed in brain slices placed in an Atomic Force Microscope. For both brain regions, the Young's modulus (E) in each animal was computed as the average values from 9 force-indentation curves. Cortex E mean (±SE) values were 442±122Pa (RA) and 455±120 (IH) for young mice and 433±44 (RA) and 405±101 (IH) for old mice. Hippocampal E values were 376±62 (RA) and 474±94 (IH) for young mice and 486±93 (RA) and 521±210 (IH) for old mice. For both cortex and hippocampus, 2-way ANOVA indicated no statistically significant effects of age or challenge (IH vs. RA) on E values. Thus, neither chronic IH mimicking OSA nor ageing up to late middle age appear to modify local brain tissue stiffness in otherwise healthy mice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Comparing clinical attachment level and pocket depth for predicting periodontal disease progression in healthy sites of patients with chronic periodontitis using multi-state Markov models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mdala, Ibrahimu; Olsen, Ingar; Haffajee, Anne D; Socransky, Sigmund S; Thoresen, Magne; de Blasio, Birgitte Freiesleben

    2014-09-01

    To understand degeneration of healthy sites and identify factors associated with disease progression in patients with chronic periodontitis. Data on healthy sites from 163 American and Swedish subjects were analysed using two-three-state (health, gingivitis, chronic periodontitis) Markov models based on bleeding on probing (BOP), and either clinical attachment level (CAL) + BOP or pocket depth (PD) + BOP. In 2 years, 10% (CAL + BOP) and 3% (PD + BOP) of healthy sites developed chronic periodontitis. On average, healthy sites remained healthy for 32 months before transiting in both models. Most transitions (87-97%) from health were to the gingivitis state. The expected duration of the gingivitis lesion was 4-5 months and sites recovered with a high probability (96-98%). Disease severity as measured by number of sites with CAL/PD > 4 mm at baseline and smoking, were associated with fast progression from health to chronic periodontitis within 6 months as were gingival redness in the PD + BOP model only. With age, the rate of disease progression to gingivitis decreased. Transition probabilities for gingivitis and chronic periodontitis were higher with CAL + BOP than with PD + BOP. Smoking and disease severity were significant predictors for fast progression. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Periodontology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Comparing clinical attachment level and pocket depth for predicting periodontal disease progression in healthy sites of patients with chronic periodontitis using multi-state Markov models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mdala, Ibrahimu; Olsen, Ingar; Haffajee, Anne D; Socransky, Sigmund S; Thoresen, Magne; de Blasio, Birgitte Freiesleben

    2014-01-01

    Aim To understand degeneration of healthy sites and identify factors associated with disease progression in patients with chronic periodontitis. Material and Methods Data on healthy sites from 163 American and Swedish subjects were analysed using two-three-state (health, gingivitis, chronic periodontitis) Markov models based on bleeding on probing (BOP), and either clinical attachment level (CAL) + BOP or pocket depth (PD) + BOP. Results In 2 years, 10% (CAL + BOP) and 3% (PD + BOP) of healthy sites developed chronic periodontitis. On average, healthy sites remained healthy for 32 months before transiting in both models. Most transitions (87–97%) from health were to the gingivitis state. The expected duration of the gingivitis lesion was 4–5 months and sites recovered with a high probability (96–98%). Disease severity as measured by number of sites with CAL/PD > 4 mm at baseline and smoking, were associated with fast progression from health to chronic periodontitis within 6 months as were gingival redness in the PD + BOP model only. With age, the rate of disease progression to gingivitis decreased. Conclusion Transition probabilities for gingivitis and chronic periodontitis were higher with CAL + BOP than with PD + BOP. Smoking and disease severity were significant predictors for fast progression. PMID:24888705

  1. Variations of B cell subpopulations in peripheral blood of healthy Mexican population according to age: Relevance for diagnosis of primary immunodeficiencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berrón-Ruíz, L; López-Herrera, G; Ávalos-Martínez, C E; Valenzuela-Ponce, C; Ramírez-SanJuan, E; Santoyo-Sánchez, G; Mújica Guzmán, F; Espinosa-Rosales, F J; Santos-Argumedo, L

    Peripheral blood B cells include lymphocytes at various stages of differentiation, each with a specific function in the immune response. All these stages show variations in percentage and absolute number throughout human life. The numbers and proportions of B subpopulation are influenced by factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, and lifestyle. This study establishes reference values according to age of peripheral blood B cell subtypes in healthy Mexican population. Peripheral blood from healthy new-borns and adults were analysed for total B cell subpopulations, using surface markers such as CD19, IgM, IgD, CD21, CD24, CD27, and CD38, to identify naïve, memory with and without isotype switch, double-negative, transitional, and plasmablast cells. We observed a significant variation in terms of frequency and absolute counts between all groups analysed. Values from each B cell subpopulation show variations according to age. In order to attempt to elucidate reference values for B cell subpopulation, the present study evaluated a population sample of healthy blood donors from this region. Values reported here can also be used as a tool for diagnosis of diseases in which B cell maturation is affected. Copyright © 2016 SEICAP. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  2. The Neural Mechanisms of Meditative Practices: Novel Approaches for Healthy Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acevedo, Bianca P; Pospos, Sarah; Lavretsky, Helen

    2016-01-01

    Meditation has been shown to have physical, cognitive, and psychological health benefits that can be used to promote healthy aging. However, the common and specific mechanisms of response remain elusive due to the diverse nature of mind-body practices. In this review, we aim to compare the neural circuits implicated in focused-attention meditative practices that focus on present-moment awareness to those involved in active-type meditative practices (e.g., yoga) that combine movement, including chanting, with breath practices and meditation. Recent meta-analyses and individual studies demonstrated common brain effects for attention-based meditative practices and active-based meditations in areas involved in reward processing and learning, attention and memory, awareness and sensory integration, and self-referential processing and emotional control, while deactivation was seen in the amygdala, an area implicated in emotion processing. Unique effects for mindfulness practices were found in brain regions involved in body awareness, attention, and the integration of emotion and sensory processing. Effects specific to active-based meditations appeared in brain areas involved in self-control, social cognition, language, speech, tactile stimulation, sensorimotor integration, and motor function. This review suggests that mind-body practices can target different brain systems that are involved in the regulation of attention, emotional control, mood, and executive cognition that can be used to treat or prevent mood and cognitive disorders of aging, such as depression and caregiver stress, or serve as "brain fitness" exercise. Benefits may include improving brain functional connectivity in brain systems that generally degenerate with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other aging-related diseases.

  3. Patterns of cognitive performance in healthy ageing in Northern Portugal: a cross-sectional analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Cristina Paulo

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Minho Integrative Neuroscience Database (MIND-Ageing project aims to identify predictors of healthy cognitive ageing, including socio-demographic factors. In this exploratory analysis we sought to establish baseline cohorts for longitudinal assessment of age-related changes in cognition. METHODS: The population sample (472 individuals was strictly a convenient one, but similar to the Portuguese population in the age profile. Participants older than 55 years of age were included if they did not present defined disabling pathologies or dementia. A standardized clinical interview was conducted to assess medical history and a battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to characterize global cognition (Mini Mental State Examination, memory and executive functions (Selective Reminding Test; Stroop Color and Word Test; and Block Design subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Cross-sectional analysis of the neuropsychological performance with individual characteristics such as age, gender, educational level and setting (retirement home, senior university, day care center or community, allowed the establishment of baseline clusters for subsequent longitudinal studies. RESULTS: Based on different socio-demographic characteristics, four main clusters that group distinctive patterns of cognitive performance were identified. The type of institution where the elders were sampled from, together with the level of formal education, were the major hierarchal factors for individual distribution in the four clusters. Of notice, education seems to delay the cognitive decline that is associated with age in all clusters. CONCLUSIONS: Social-inclusion/engagement and education seem to have a protective effect on mental ageing, although this effect may not be effective in the eldest elders.

  4. Self-reference effect on memory in healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: Influence of identity valence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leblond, Mona; Laisney, Mickaël; Lamidey, Virginie; Egret, Stéphanie; de La Sayette, Vincent; Chételat, Gaël; Piolino, Pascale; Rauchs, Géraldine; Desgranges, Béatrice; Eustache, Francis

    2016-01-01

    The self-reference effect (SRE) has been shown to benefit episodic memory in healthy individuals. In healthy aging, its preservation is acknowledged, but in Alzheimer's disease (AD), the jury is still out. Furthermore, there has yet to be a study of the SRE in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). As self-reference implies subjective self-representations, and positive information enhance memory performance, we set out to examine the effects of 1) material and 2) identity valence on the SRE across the early stages of AD. Twenty healthy older individuals and 40 patients (20 diagnosed with aMCI and 20 diagnosed with mild AD) performed a memory task. Participants had to judge positive and negative personality trait adjectives with reference to themselves or to another person, or else process these adjectives semantically. We then administered a recognition task. Participants also completed a questionnaire on identity valence. Among healthy older individuals, the SRE benefited episodic memory independently of material and identity valence. By contrast, among aMCI patients, we only observed the SRE when the material was positive. When self-referential material was negative, patients' performance depended on the valence of their self-representations: negative self-representations correlated with poor recognition of negative self-referential adjectives. Finally, performance of patients with mild AD by condition and material valence were too low and inappropriate to be subjected to relevant analyses. The persistence of an SRE for positive adjectives in aMCI suggests the existence of a positivity effect for self-related information, which contributes to wellbeing. The absence of an SRE for negative adjectives, which led aMCI patients to dismiss negative self-related information, could be due to low self-esteem. These results corroborate the mnenic neglect model and point out the importance of the psychoaffective dimension in patients with aMCI, which could constitute a

  5. Age differences in treatment decision making for breast cancer in a sample of healthy women: the effects of body image and risk framing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanek, Kathleen M; McCaul, Kevin D; Sandgren, Ann K

    2005-07-01

    To examine the effects of age, body image, and risk framing on treatment decision making for breast cancer using a healthy population. An experimental 2 (younger women, older women) X 2 (survival, mortality frame) between-groups design. Midwestern university. Two groups of healthy women: 56 women ages 18-24 from undergraduate psychology courses and 60 women ages 35-60 from the university community. Healthy women imagined that they had been diagnosed with breast cancer and received information regarding lumpectomy versus mastectomy and recurrence rates. Participants indicated whether they would choose lumpectomy or mastectomy and why. Age, framing condition, treatment choice, body image, and reasons for treatment decision. The difference in treatment selection between younger and older women was mediated by concern for appearance. No main effect for risk framing was found; however, older women were somewhat less likely to select lumpectomy when given a mortality frame. Age, mediated by body image, influences treatment selection of lumpectomy versus mastectomy. Framing has no direct effect on treatment decisions, but younger and older women may be affected by risk information differently. Nurses should provide women who recently have been diagnosed with breast cancer with age-appropriate information regarding treatment alternatives to ensure women's active participation in the decision-making process. Women who have different levels of investment in body image also may have different concerns about treatment, and healthcare professionals should be alert to and empathetic of such concerns.

  6. Research on the Healthy Lifestyle Model, Active Ageing, and Loneliness of Senior Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Jui-Ying; Lu, Kuo-Song

    2014-01-01

    Taiwan has the fastest ageing population in the world. Thus, the government and local policy makers need to formulate policies not just for the nursing and care needs of the aged. They also need to actively promote the need for lifelong learning among seniors in order to achieve elderly-friendly objectives, such as health promotion and delays in…

  7. Task-dependent activity and connectivity predict episodic memory network-based responses to brain stimulation in healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidal-Piñeiro, Dídac; Martin-Trias, Pablo; Arenaza-Urquijo, Eider M; Sala-Llonch, Roser; Clemente, Imma C; Mena-Sánchez, Isaias; Bargalló, Núria; Falcón, Carles; Pascual-Leone, Álvaro; Bartrés-Faz, David

    2014-01-01

    Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can affect episodic memory, one of the main cognitive hallmarks of aging, but the mechanisms of action remain unclear. To evaluate the behavioral and functional impact of excitatory TMS in a group of healthy elders. We applied a paradigm of repetitive TMS - intermittent theta-burst stimulation - over left inferior frontal gyrus in healthy elders (n = 24) and evaluated its impact on the performance of an episodic memory task with two levels of processing and the associated brain activity as captured by a pre and post fMRI scans. In the post-TMS fMRI we found TMS-related activity increases in left prefrontal and cerebellum-occipital areas specifically during deep encoding but not during shallow encoding or at rest. Furthermore, we found a task-dependent change in connectivity during the encoding task between cerebellum-occipital areas and the TMS-targeted left inferior frontal region. This connectivity change correlated with the TMS effects over brain networks. The results suggest that the aged brain responds to brain stimulation in a state-dependent manner as engaged by different tasks components and that TMS effect is related to inter-individual connectivity changes measures. These findings reveal fundamental insights into brain network dynamics in aging and the capacity to probe them with combined behavioral and stimulation approaches. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Physical Aspects of Healthy Aging: Assessments of Three Measures of Balance for Studies in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clementina D. Ceria-Ulep

    2010-01-01

    Results. The EPESE and NHANES batteries of tests were not sufficiently challenging to allow successful discrimination among subjects in good health, even older subjects. The GBPS allowed objective quantitative measurements, but the test-retest correlations generally were not high. The GBPS variables correlated with age only when subjects stood on a foam pad; they also were correlated with anthropometric variables. Conclusion. Both EPESE and NHANES balance tests were too easy for healthy subjects. The GBPS had generally low reliability coefficients except for the most difficult testing condition (foam pad, eyes closed. Both height and body fat were associated with GBPS scores, necessitating adjusting for these variables if using balance as a predictor of future health.

  9. Mid-life environmental enrichment increases synaptic density in CA1 in a mouse model of Aβ-associated pathology and positively influences synaptic and cognitive health in healthy ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart, Kimberley E; King, Anna E; Fernandez-Martos, Carmen M; Dittmann, Justin; Summers, Mathew J; Vickers, James C

    2017-06-01

    Early-life cognitive enrichment may reduce the risk of experiencing cognitive deterioration and dementia in later-life. However, an intervention to prevent or delay dementia is likely to be taken up in mid to later-life. Hence, we investigated the effects of environmental enrichment in wildtype mice and in a mouse model of Aβ neuropathology (APP SWE /PS1 dE9 ) from 6 months of age. After 6 months of housing in standard laboratory cages, APP SWE /PS1 dE9 (n = 27) and healthy wildtype (n = 21) mice were randomly assigned to either enriched or standard housing. At 12 months of age, wildtype mice showed altered synaptic protein levels and relatively superior cognitive performance afforded by environmental enrichment. Environmental enrichment was not associated with alterations to Aβ plaque pathology in the neocortex or hippocampus of APP SWE /PS1 dE9 mice. However, a significant increase in synaptophysin immunolabeled puncta in the hippocampal subregion, CA1, in APP SWE /PS1 dE9 mice was detected, with no significant synaptic density changes observed in CA3, or the Fr2 region of the prefrontal cortex. Moreover, a significant increase in hippocampal BDNF was detected in APP SWE /PS1 dE9 mice exposed to EE, however, no changes were detected in neocortex or between Wt animals. These results demonstrate that mid to later-life cognitive enrichment has the potential to promote synaptic and cognitive health in ageing, and to enhance compensatory capacity for synaptic connectivity in pathological ageing associated with Aβ deposition. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Understanding the physiology of the ageing individual: computational modelling of changes in metabolism and endurance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Ageing and lifespan are strongly affected by metabolism. The maximal possible uptake of oxygen is not only a good predictor of performance in endurance sports, but also of life expectancy. Figuratively speaking, healthy ageing is a competitive sport. Although the root cause of ageing is damage to macromolecules, it is the balance with repair processes that is decisive. Reduced or intermittent nutrition, hormones and intracellular signalling pathways that regulate metabolism have strong effects on ageing. Homeostatic regulatory processes tend to keep the environment of the cells within relatively narrow bounds. On the other hand, the body is constantly adapting to physical activity and food consumption. Spontaneous fluctuations in heart rate and other processes indicate youth and health. A (homeo)dynamic aspect of homeostasis deteriorates with age. We are now in a position to develop computational models of human metabolism and the dynamics of heart rhythm and oxygen transport that will advance our understanding of ageing. Computational modelling of the connections between dietary restriction, metabolism and protein turnover may increase insight into homeostasis of the proteins in our body. In this way, the computational reconstruction of human physiological processes, the Physiome, can help prevent frailty and age-related disease. PMID:27051508

  11. The Biology of Aging: Citizen Scientists and Their Pets as a Bridge Between Research on Model Organisms and Human Subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaeberlein, M

    2016-03-01

    A fundamental goal of research into the basic mechanisms of aging is to develop translational strategies that improve human health by delaying the onset and progression of age-related pathology. Several interventions have been discovered that increase life span in invertebrate organisms, some of which have similar effects in mice. These include dietary restriction and inhibition of the mechanistic target of rapamycin by treatment with rapamycin. Key challenges moving forward will be to assess the extent to which these and other interventions improve healthy longevity and increase life span in mice and to develop practical strategies for extending this work to the clinic. Companion animals may provide an optimal intermediate between laboratory models and humans. By improving healthy longevity in companion animals, important insights will be gained regarding human aging while improving the quality of life for people and their pets. © The Author(s) 2015.

  12. Model galena ages from Karnataka and surrounding ages

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Venkatasubramanian, V S [Indian Inst. of Science, Bangalore. Dept. of Physics; Radhakrishna, B P [Geological Society of India, Bangalore; Jayaram, S [Department of Mines and Geology, Bangalore

    1977-02-01

    Lead isotope ratios have been measured for selected samples from the Chitradurga and Kolar schist belts, the high-grade gneisses E of Karnataka (in Tamil Nadu) and Agnigundala of Cuddapah. Most of the isotope data approximately fit a single-stage model and yield model age at 3000 m.y., 2500 m.y., 1400 m.y. and 1100 m.y. The relations with other available age data are discussed.

  13. Systemic klotho is associated with KLOTHO variation and predicts intrinsic cortical connectivity in healthy human aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yokoyama, Jennifer S; Marx, Gabe; Brown, Jesse A; Bonham, Luke W; Wang, Dan; Coppola, Giovanni; Seeley, William W; Rosen, Howard J; Miller, Bruce L; Kramer, Joel H; Dubal, Dena B

    2017-04-01

    Cognitive decline is a major biomedical challenge as the global population ages. Elevated levels of the longevity factor klotho suppress aging, enhance cognition, and promote synaptic plasticity and neural resilience against aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related pathogenic proteins. Here, we examined the relationship between human genetic variants of KLOTHO and systemic klotho levels - and assessed neuroanatomic correlates of serum klotho in a cohort of healthy older adults. Serum klotho levels were increased with KL-VS heterozygosity, as anticipated. We report, for the first time, that serum klotho levels were paradoxically decreased with KL-VS homozygosity. Further, we found that higher serum klotho levels were associated with measures of greater intrinsic connectivity in key functional networks of the brain vulnerable to aging and AD such as the fronto-parietal and default mode networks. Our findings suggest that elevated klotho promotes a resilient brain, possibly through increased network connectivity of critical brain regions.

  14. Differentiating between axonal damage and demyelination in healthy aging by combining diffusion-tensor imaging and diffusion-weighted spectroscopy in the human corpus callosum at 7 T.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branzoli, Francesca; Ercan, Ece; Valabrègue, Romain; Wood, Emily T; Buijs, Mathijs; Webb, Andrew; Ronen, Itamar

    2016-11-01

    Diffusion-tensor imaging and single voxel diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used at 7T to explore in vivo age-related microstructural changes in the corpus callosum. Sixteen healthy elderly (age range 60-71 years) and 13 healthy younger controls (age range 23-32 years) were included in the study. In healthy elderly, we found lower water fractional anisotropy and higher water mean diffusivity and radial diffusivity in the corpus callosum, indicating the onset of demyelination processes with healthy aging. These changes were not associated with a concomitant significant difference in the cytosolic diffusivity of the intra-axonal metabolite N-acetylaspartate (p = 0.12), the latter representing a pure measure of intra-axonal integrity. It was concluded that the possible intra-axonal changes associated with normal aging processes are below the detection level of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy in our experiment (e.g., smaller than 10%) in the age range investigated. Lower axial diffusivity of total creatine was observed in the elderly group (p = 0.058), possibly linked to a dysfunction in the energy metabolism associated with a deficit in myelin synthesis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Age-dependent alterations of monocyte subsets and monocyte-related chemokine pathways in healthy adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trautwein Christian

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent experimental approaches have unraveled essential migratory and functional differences of monocyte subpopulations in mice. In order to possibly translate these findings into human physiology and pathophysiology, human monocyte subsets need to be carefully revisited in health and disease. In analogy to murine studies, we hypothesized that human monocyte subsets dynamically change during ageing, potentially influencing their functionality and contributing to immunosenescence. Results Circulating monocyte subsets, surface marker and chemokine receptor expression were analyzed in 181 healthy volunteers (median age 42, range 18-88. Unlike the unaffected total leukocyte or total monocyte counts, non-classical CD14+CD16+ monocytes significantly increased with age, but displayed reduced HLA-DR and CX3CR1 surface expression in the elderly. Classical CD14++CD16- monocyte counts did not vary dependent on age. Serum MCP-1 (CCL2, but not MIP1α (CCL3, MIP1β (CCL4 or fractalkine (CX3CL1 concentrations increased with age. Monocyte-derived macrophages from old or young individuals did not differ with respect to cytokine release in vitro at steady state or upon LPS stimulation. Conclusions Our study demonstrates dynamic changes of circulating monocytes during ageing in humans. The expansion of the non-classical CD14+CD16+ subtype, alterations of surface protein and chemokine receptor expression as well as circulating monocyte-related chemokines possibly contribute to the preserved functionality of the monocyte pool throughout adulthood.

  16. Multiple socio-economic circumstances and healthy food habits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lallukka, T; Laaksonen, M; Rahkonen, O; Roos, E; Lahelma, E

    2007-06-01

    To examine associations between seven indicators of socio-economic circumstances and healthy food habits, while taking into account assumed temporal order between these socio-economic indicators. Data were derived from cross-sectional postal questionnaires in 2000-2002. Socio-economic circumstances were assessed by parental education, childhood economic difficulties, own education, occupational class, household income, home ownership and current economic difficulties. Healthy food habits were measured by an index consisting of consumption of fresh vegetables, fruit or berries, rye bread, fish and choosing vegetable fats on bread and oil in cooking. Sequential logistic regression models were used, adjusting for age and marital status. Employees of the City of Helsinki, Finland (n=8960, aged 40-60 years). Healthy food habits were reported by 28% of women and by 17% of men. Own education, occupational class, household income, home ownership and current economic difficulties were associated with healthy food habits. These associations were attenuated but mainly remained after mutual adjustments for the socio-economic indicators. Among women, a pathway was found suggesting that part of the effects of education on food habits were mediated through occupational class. Employees in higher and lower socio-economic positions differ in their food habits, and those in lower positions and economically disadvantaged are less likely to report healthy food habits. Health promotion programmes and food policies should encourage healthier food choices among those in lower socio-economic positions and among those with economic difficulties in particular.

  17. Feature-selective attention in healthy old age: a selective decline in selective attention?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quigley, Cliodhna; Müller, Matthias M

    2014-02-12

    Deficient selection against irrelevant information has been proposed to underlie age-related cognitive decline. We recently reported evidence for maintained early sensory selection when older and younger adults used spatial selective attention to perform a challenging task. Here we explored age-related differences when spatial selection is not possible and feature-selective attention must be deployed. We additionally compared the integrity of feedforward processing by exploiting the well established phenomenon of suppression of visual cortical responses attributable to interstimulus competition. Electroencephalogram was measured while older and younger human adults responded to brief occurrences of coherent motion in an attended stimulus composed of randomly moving, orientation-defined, flickering bars. Attention was directed to horizontal or vertical bars by a pretrial cue, after which two orthogonally oriented, overlapping stimuli or a single stimulus were presented. Horizontal and vertical bars flickered at different frequencies and thereby elicited separable steady-state visual-evoked potentials, which were used to examine the effect of feature-based selection and the competitive influence of a second stimulus on ongoing visual processing. Age differences were found in feature-selective attentional modulation of visual responses: older adults did not show consistent modulation of magnitude or phase. In contrast, the suppressive effect of a second stimulus was robust and comparable in magnitude across age groups, suggesting that bottom-up processing of the current stimuli is essentially unchanged in healthy old age. Thus, it seems that visual processing per se is unchanged, but top-down attentional control is compromised in older adults when space cannot be used to guide selection.

  18. Social environment and healthy ageing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frank Schalkwijk

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available growing numbers of people living to older ages, age-related diseases have become an increasing challenge for societies everywhere. Many age-related diseases however, should rather be considered lifestyle-related diseases since lifestyle plays an important role in the etiology and the treatment of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2I diabetes and many forms of cancer. This has led to a large body of literature investigating the possibility to change people’s lifestyle. Interventions with, for example, physiotherapists that engage in daily physical activity with older people have shown substantial benefits, even reversing type 2 diabetes and some characteristics of the ageing process (1,2. Most lifestyle interventions, however, struggle to achieve sustained, long-term behavioural change (3,4. Few individuals can maintain the effort to adopt a new diet or exercise regime themselves, without intensive coaching by professionals. These interventions are therefore expensive and this hinders the widespread and continued delivery to the growing number of older people with unhealthy lifestyle and (risk for age-related disease. Therefore, it is important to explore novel sustainable and cost-effective methods for lifestyle interventions to combat the burden of agerelated disease in ageing societies. One often overlooked influence on the health behaviour of older people is the effect of the social environment. We believe that peer coaching, in which older people coach each other in achieving lifestyle changes, is such a promising method to deliver health benefits in a sustainable, scalable way. Although there is substantial documentation of the effect of peers on adolescents and children, the influence of peers has been overlooked in older people. In peer coaching, the social environment is applied as a method to deliver an intervention. Peer coaching is a face-to-face intervention in which a group is led by a peer, a non-professional, who shares a

  19. Cholinergic Receptor Binding in Alzheimer Disease and Healthy Aging: Assessment In Vivo with Positron Emission Tomography Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sultzer, David L; Melrose, Rebecca J; Riskin-Jones, Hannah; Narvaez, Theresa A; Veliz, Joseph; Ando, Timothy K; Juarez, Kevin O; Harwood, Dylan G; Brody, Arthur L; Mandelkern, Mark A

    2017-04-01

    To compare regional nicotinic cholinergic receptor binding in older adults with Alzheimer disease (AD) and healthy older adults in vivo and to assess relationships between receptor binding and clinical symptoms. Using cross-sectional positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging and structured clinical assessment, outpatients with mild to moderate AD (N = 24) and healthy older adults without cognitive complaints (C group; N = 22) were studied. PET imaging of α4β2* nicotinic cholinergic receptor binding using 2-[ 18 F]fluoro-3-(2(S)azetidinylmethoxy)pyridine (2FA) and clinical measures of global cognition, attention/processing speed, verbal memory, visuospatial memory, and neuropsychiatric symptoms were used. 2FA binding was lower in the AD group compared with the C group in the medial thalamus, medial temporal cortex, anterior cingulate, insula/opercula, inferior caudate, and brainstem (p healthy older adults, lower receptor binding may be associated with slower processing speed. Cholinergic receptor binding in vivo may reveal links to other key brain changes associated with aging and AD and may provide a potential molecular treatment target. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  20. Balneotherapy and healthy ageing - review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MUNTEANU Constantin

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available “To be forever young doesn’t mean to be 20. It means to be optimist, to feel good, to have an ideal to fight for and to achieve it” said Prof. Ana Aslan. Human ageing and longevity are complex and multi-factorial traits that result from a combination of environmental, genetic, epigenetic and stochastic factors. Ageing refers to the time sequential deterioration - including weaness, susceptibility to disease, loss of mobility and agility.

  1. NUTRITION AND FITNESS (PART 2: MENTAL HEALTH, AGING, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A HEALTHY DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LIFESTYLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Artemis P. Simopoulos

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available The proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Nutrition and Fitness held in Athens, Greece, on June 91-2, 2004 are presented in the book as a second volume of the series. The objectives of the book are to review/discuss the latest information on nutrition and fitness by taking into consideration i mental health, ii psychiatric disorders, iii menopause, iv osteoporosis, v aging and vi healthy diet. The book also discusses the role of government in implementing a healthy diet and physical activity lifestyle. FEATURES A common, uniform strategy and evidence-based approach to organizing and interpreting the literature is used in all chapters. This textbook is composed of four parts with sub-sections in all of them. The topics of the parts are: i Mental Health, ii Aging, Osteoporosis and Physical Activity, iii Defining the Components of a Healthy Diet and Physical Activity for Health and iv The Role of Government in Implementing a Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Lifestyle. In each specific chapter, an epidemiological picture has been systematically developed from the data available in prospective, retrospective, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. The tables and figures are numerous, helpful and very useful. AUDIENCE The book provides a very useful resource for researchers, psychiatrists, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, geneticists, dietitians, food scientists, policy makers in government, private food industry and healthcare professionals in the fields of social and preventive medicine, geriatrics, public health, sports medicine. The readers are going to discover that this is an excellent reference book. ASSESSMENT This book is almost a compulsory reading for anyone interested in nutrition, metabolism, social and preventive medicine, clinical nutrition, diabetics, genetics, obesity, public health, aging and osteoporosis, psychiatric disorders and sports medicine and for those wishing to run comprehensive research in this

  2. Novel ageing-biomarker discovery using data-intensive technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, H R; Augustyniak, E M; Bennett, S J; Debacq-Chainiaux, F; Dunston, C R; Kristensen, P; Melchjorsen, C J; Navarrete, Santos A; Simm, A; Toussaint, O

    2015-11-01

    Ageing is accompanied by many visible characteristics. Other biological and physiological markers are also well-described e.g. loss of circulating sex hormones and increased inflammatory cytokines. Biomarkers for healthy ageing studies are presently predicated on existing knowledge of ageing traits. The increasing availability of data-intensive methods enables deep-analysis of biological samples for novel biomarkers. We have adopted two discrete approaches in MARK-AGE Work Package 7 for biomarker discovery; (1) microarray analyses and/or proteomics in cell systems e.g. endothelial progenitor cells or T cell ageing including a stress model; and (2) investigation of cellular material and plasma directly from tightly-defined proband subsets of different ages using proteomic, transcriptomic and miR array. The first approach provided longitudinal insight into endothelial progenitor and T cell ageing. This review describes the strategy and use of hypothesis-free, data-intensive approaches to explore cellular proteins, miR, mRNA and plasma proteins as healthy ageing biomarkers, using ageing models and directly within samples from adults of different ages. It considers the challenges associated with integrating multiple models and pilot studies as rational biomarkers for a large cohort study. From this approach, a number of high-throughput methods were developed to evaluate novel, putative biomarkers of ageing in the MARK-AGE cohort. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Effect of gender, age, diet and smoking status on chronomics of circulating plasma lipid components in healthy Indians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Ranjana; Sharma, Sumita; Singh, Rajesh K; Mahdi, Abbas A; Singh, Raj K; Lee Gierke, Cathy; Cornelissen, Germaine

    2016-08-01

    Circulating lipid components were studied under near-normal tropical conditions (around Lucknow) in 162 healthy volunteers - mostly medical students, staff members and members of their families (103 males and 59 females; 7 to 75y), subdivided into 4 age groups: A (7-20y; N=42), B (21-40y; N=60), C (41-60y; N=35) and D (61-75y; N=25). Blood samples were collected from each subject every 6h for 24h (4 samples). Plasma was separated and total cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, phospholipids and total lipids were measured spectrophotometrically. Data from each subject were analyzed by cosinor. We examined by multiple-analysis of variance how the MESOR (Midline Estimating Statistic Of Rhythm, a rhythm-adjusted mean) and the circadian amplitude of these variables is affected by gender, age, diet (vegetarian vs. omnivore), and smoking status. In addition to effects of gender and age, diet and smoking were found to affect the MESOR of circulating plasma lipid components in healthy Indians residing in northern India. Age also affected the circadian amplitude of these variables. These results indicate the possibility of using non-pharmacological interventions to improve a patient's metabolic profile before prescribing medication under near normal tropical conditions. They also add information that may help refine cut-off values in the light of factors shown here to affect blood lipids. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Circadian rhythms, time-restricted feeding, and healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manoogian, Emily N C; Panda, Satchidananda

    2017-10-01

    Circadian rhythms optimize physiology and health by temporally coordinating cellular function, tissue function, and behavior. These endogenous rhythms dampen with age and thus compromise temporal coordination. Feeding-fasting patterns are an external cue that profoundly influence the robustness of daily biological rhythms. Erratic eating patterns can disrupt the temporal coordination of metabolism and physiology leading to chronic diseases that are also characteristic of aging. However, sustaining a robust feeding-fasting cycle, even without altering nutrition quality or quantity, can prevent or reverse these chronic diseases in experimental models. In humans, epidemiological studies have shown erratic eating patterns increase the risk of disease, whereas sustained feeding-fasting cycles, or prolonged overnight fasting, is correlated with protection from breast cancer. Therefore, optimizing the timing of external cues with defined eating patterns can sustain a robust circadian clock, which may prevent disease and improve prognosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. The Italian reference sites of the European innovation partnership on active and healthy ageing: Progetto Mattone Internazionale as an enabling factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Illario, Maddalena; De Luca, Vincenzo; Tramontano, Giovanni; Menditto, Enrica; Iaccarino, Guido; Bertorello, Lorenzo; Palummeri, Ernesto; Romano, Valeria; Moda, Giuliana; Maggio, Marcello; Barbolini, Mirca; Leonardini, Lisa; Addis, Antonio

    2017-01-01

    Ageing population implies an increasing demand for health care services and resources, unsustainable according to current previsions. The European Commission is tackling this challenge throughout initiatives such as the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA), where all the efforts are aligned to the common goal of adding two active and healthy years to the life of European Union (EU) citizens. We presented the collaborative efforts of Italian Reference Site Collaborative Network 2012-2015. Italian regions joined forces through the "Progetto Mattone Internazionale" of the Ministry of Health developing several national and international collaborations. Activities from all five Italian reference sites are presented with different good practices and scale-up approaches for improving health in ageing population. The simultaneous development of these activities allowed the strengthening of the coordination of Italian stakeholders in the European arena fostering collaboration and supporting the streamlining of the Italian regions still outside these projects.

  6. Spatial distribution of resting-state BOLD regional homogeneity as a predictor of brain glucose uptake: A study in healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernier, Michaël; Croteau, Etienne; Castellano, Christian-Alexandre; Cunnane, Stephen C; Whittingstall, Kevin

    2017-04-15

    Positron emission tomography using [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (PET-FDG) is the primary imaging modality used to measure glucose metabolism in the brain (CMRGlu). CMRGlu has been used as a biomarker of brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases, but the complexity and invasive nature of PET often limits its use in research. There is therefore great interest in developing non-invasive metrics for estimating brain CMRGlu. We therefore investigated resting state fMRI metrics such as regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional global connectivity (Closeness) with multiple analytical approaches to determine their relationship to CMRGlu. We investigated this relation in two distinct cognitively healthy populations separated by age (27 young adults and 35 older adults). Overall, we found that both regionally and across participants, ReHo strongly correlated with CMRGlu in healthy young and older adults. Moreover, ReHo demonstrated the same age-related differences as CMRGlu throughout all cortical regions, particularly in the default network and frontal areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. C. elegans model of neuronal aging

    OpenAIRE

    Peng, Chiu-Ying; Chen, Chun-Hao; Hsu, Jiun-Min; Pan, Chun-Liang

    2011-01-01

    Aging of the nervous system underlies the behavioral and cognitive decline associated with senescence. Understanding the molecular and cellular basis of neuronal aging will therefore contribute to the development of effective treatments for aging and age-associated neurodegenerative disorders. Despite this pressing need, there are surprisingly few animal models that aim at recapitulating neuronal aging in a physiological context. We recently developed a C. elegans model of neuronal aging, and...

  8. Age at fatherhood: heritability and associations with psychiatric disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frans, E M; Lichtenstein, P; Hultman, C M; Kuja-Halkola, R

    2016-10-01

    Advancing paternal age has been linked to psychiatric disorders. These associations might be caused by the increased number of de novo mutations transmitted to offspring of older men. It has also been suggested that the associations are confounded by a genetic liability for psychiatric disorders in parents. The aim of this study was to indirectly test the confounding hypotheses by examining if there is a genetic component to advancing paternal age and if men with a genetic liability for psychiatric disorders have children at older ages. We examined the genetic component to advancing paternal age by utilizing the twin model in a cohort of male twins (N = 14 679). We also studied ages at childbirth in men with or without schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and/or autism spectrum disorder. Ages were examined in: (1) healthy men, (2) affected men, (3) healthy men with an affected sibling, (4) men with healthy spouses, (5) men with affected spouses, and (6) men with healthy spouses with an affected sibling. The twin analyses showed that late fatherhood is under genetic influence (heritability = 0.33). However, affected men or men with affected spouses did not have children at older ages. The same was found for healthy individuals with affected siblings. Instead, these men were generally having children at younger ages. Although there is a genetic component influencing late fatherhood, our data suggest that the associations are not explained by psychiatric disorders or a genetic liability for psychiatric disorders in the parent.

  9. Curcumin supplementation improves vascular endothelial function in healthy middle-aged and older adults by increasing nitric oxide bioavailability and reducing oxidative stress

    OpenAIRE

    Santos-Parker, Jessica R.; Strahler, Talia R.; Bassett, Candace J.; Bispham, Nina Z.; Chonchol, Michel B.; Seals, Douglas R.

    2017-01-01

    We hypothesized that curcumin would improve resistance and conduit artery endothelial function and large elastic artery stiffness in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Thirty-nine healthy men and postmenopausal women (45-74 yrs) were randomized to 12 weeks of curcumin (2000 mg/day Longvida?; n=20) or placebo (n=19) supplementation. Forearm blood flow response to acetylcholine infusions (FBFACh; resistance artery endothelial function) increased 37% following curcumin supplementation (107?13...

  10. Risk evaluations of aging phenomena: the linear aging reliability model and its extensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vesely, W.E.

    1987-01-01

    A model for component failure rates due to aging mechanisms has been developed from basic phenomenological considerations. In the treatment, the occurrences of deterioration are modeled as following a Poisson process. The severity of damage is allowed to have any distribution, however the damage is assumed to accumulate independently. Finally, the failure rate is modeled as being proportional to the accumulated damage. Using this treatment, the linear aging failure rate model is obtained. The applicability of the linear aging model to various mechanisms is discussed. The model can be extended to cover nonlinear and dependent aging phenomena. The implementability of the linear aging model is demonstrated by applying it to the aging data collected in NRC's Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) Program. The applications show that aging as observed in collected data have significant effects on the component failure probability and component reliability when aging is not effectively detected and controlled by testing and maintenance

  11. Risk evaluations of aging phenomena: The linear aging reliability model and its extensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vesely, W.E.

    1986-01-01

    A model for component failure rates due to aging mechanisms has been developed from basic phenomenological considerations. In the treatment, the occurrences of deterioration are modeled as following a Poisson process. The severity of damage is allowed to have any distribution, however the damage is assumed to accumulate independently. Finally, the failure rate is modeled as being proportional to the accumulated damage. Using this treatment, the linear aging failure rate model is obtained. The applicability of the linear aging model to various mechanisms is discussed. The model can be extended to cover nonlinear and dependent aging phenomena. The implementability of the linear aging model is demonstrated by applying it of the aging data collected in NRC's Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) Program. The applications show that aging as observed in collected data have significant effects on the component failure probability and component reliability when aging is not effectively detected and controlled by testing and maintenance

  12. Sexual dimorphism in cortisol secretion starts after age 10 in healthy children: urinary cortisol metabolite excretion rates during growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wudy, Stefan A; Hartmann, Michaela F; Remer, Thomas

    2007-10-01

    Detailed data on the physiological pattern of adrenocortical activity during normal growth are lacking. An established method to determine adrenocortical glucocorticoid secretion is the measurement of 24-h excretion rates of major urinary cortisol metabolites (C21). To test the hypothesis that the frequently reported higher cortisol secretion in men than in women develops during puberty, we examined C21 together with excretions of combined urinary free and conjugated cortisol (F(comb)) in 400 healthy boys and girls aged 3-18 yr using GC-MS. Daily excretion rates of C21, F(comb), and body surface area (BSA)-corrected F(comb) significantly increased with age in both sexes. In contrast, C21/BSA (microgxm(-2).day(-1)) declined from the age of 3-4 yr to 7-8 yr in boys and girls (P activity (allotetrahydrocortisol/tetrahydrocortisol) in females compared with males. Our results demonstrate dynamic changes in adrenocortical activity in healthy children resulting in an emerging sexual dimorphism in cortisol secretion after age 11. The latter can be explained, at least partly, by diverging 5alpha-reductase activities in boys and girls. F(comb), a frequently analyzed GC-MS parameter, proved not to reflect dynamic changes in cortisol secretion. In conclusion, the varying metabolic need for cortisol during normal growth may have implications for future improvements in glucocorticoid replacement therapy.

  13. The computer-based Symbol Digit Modalities Test: establishing age-expected performance in healthy controls and evaluation of pediatric MS patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigi, Sandra; Marrie, R A; Till, C; Yeh, E A; Akbar, N; Feinstein, A; Banwell, B L

    2017-04-01

    Decreased information processing speed (IPS) is frequently reported in pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The computerized version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (c-SDMT) measures IPS over eight consecutive trials per session and additionally captures changes in performance within the session. Here, we establish normative c-SDMT performance and test-retest reliability in healthy children (HC) and explore differences in the overall c-SDMT-performance between HC and MS patients. This cross-sectional study included 478 HC (237 female, 49.5%) divided into five age groups (2 years each), and 27 MS patients (22 female, 81.5%) aged 8-18 years. The average time to complete the c-SDMT increased with age (|r| 0.70, 95% CI -0.74, -0.64). Test-retest reliability was high (ICC = 0.91) in HC. The total time to complete the c-SDMT did not differ between children with MS and sex- and age- matched HC (p = 0.23). However, MS patients were less likely to show faster performance across all the successive eight trials compared to HC (p = 0.0001). Healthy children demonstrate faster IPS with increasing age, as well as during successive trials of the c-SDMT. The inability of pediatric MS patients to maintain the increase in processing speed over successive trials suggests a reduced capacity for procedural learning, possibly resulting from cognitive fatigue.

  14. Posturography and risk of recurrent falls in healthy non-institutionalized persons aged over 65.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buatois, Séverine; Gueguen, René; Gauchard, Gérome C; Benetos, Athanase; Perrin, Philippe P

    2006-01-01

    A poor postural stability in older people is associated with an increased risk of falling. The posturographic tool has widely been used to assess balance control; however, its value in predicting falls remains unclear. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the predictive value of posturography in the estimation of the risk of recurrent falls, including a comparison with standard clinical balance tests, in healthy non-institutionalized persons aged over 65. Two hundred and six healthy non-institutionalized volunteers aged over 65 were tested. Postural control was evaluated by posturographic tests, performed on static, dynamic and dynamized platforms (static test, slow dynamic test and Sensory Organization Test [SOT]) and clinical balance tests (Timed 'Up & Go' test, One-Leg Balance, Sit-to-Stand-test). Subsequent falls were monitored prospectively with self-questionnaire sent every 4 months for a period of 16 months after the balance testing. Subjects were classified prospectively in three groups of Non-Fallers (0 fall), Single-Fallers (1 fall) and Multi-Fallers (more than 2 falls). Loss of balance during the last trial of the SOT sensory conflicting condition, when visual and somatosensory inputs were distorted, was the best factor to predict the risk of recurrent falls (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.3-10.11). Multi-Fallers showed no postural adaptation during the repetitive trials of this sensory condition, contrary to Non-Fallers and Single-Fallers. The Multi-Fallers showed significantly more sway when visual inputs were occluded. The clinical balance tests, the static test and the slow dynamic test revealed no significant differences between the groups. In a sample of non-institutionalized older persons aged over 65, posturographic evaluation by the SOT, especially with repetition of the same task in sensory conflicting condition, compared to the clinical tests and the static and dynamic posturographic test, appears to be a more sensitive tool to

  15. Endothelial cell senescence with aging in healthy humans: prevention by habitual exercise and relation to vascular endothelial function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossman, Matthew J; Kaplon, Rachelle E; Hill, Sierra D; McNamara, Molly N; Santos-Parker, Jessica R; Pierce, Gary L; Seals, Douglas R; Donato, Anthony J

    2017-11-01

    Cellular senescence is emerging as a key mechanism of age-related vascular endothelial dysfunction, but evidence in healthy humans is lacking. Moreover, the influence of lifestyle factors such as habitual exercise on endothelial cell (EC) senescence is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that EC senescence increases with sedentary, but not physically active, aging and is associated with vascular endothelial dysfunction. Protein expression (quantitative immunofluorescence) of p53, a transcription factor related to increased cellular senescence, and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p16 were 116%, 119%, and 128% greater (all P age-related differences were not present (all P > 0.05) in venous ECs from older exercising adults (57 ± 1 yr, n = 13). Furthermore, venous EC protein levels of p53 ( r  = -0.49, P = 0.003), p21 ( r  = -0.38, P = 0.03), and p16 ( r  = -0.58, P = 0.002) were inversely associated with vascular endothelial function (brachial artery flow-mediated dilation). Similarly, protein expression of p53 and p21 was 26% and 23% higher (both P healthy older sedentary (63 ± 1 yr, n = 18) versus young sedentary (25 ± 1 yr, n = 9) adults; age-related changes in arterial EC p53 and p21 expression were not observed ( P > 0.05) in older habitually exercising adults (59 ± 1 yr, n = 14). These data indicate that EC senescence is associated with sedentary aging and is linked to endothelial dysfunction. Moreover, these data suggest that prevention of EC senescence may be one mechanism by which aerobic exercise protects against endothelial dysfunction with age. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our study provides novel evidence in humans of increased endothelial cell senescence with sedentary aging, which is associated with impaired vascular endothelial function. Furthermore, our data suggest an absence of age-related increases in endothelial cell senescence in older exercising adults, which is linked with preserved vascular endothelial function

  16. Risk evaluations of aging phenomena: The linear aging reliability model and its extensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vesely, W.E.; Wolford, A.J.

    1988-01-01

    A model for component failure rates due to aging mechanisms is developed from basic phenomenological considerations. In the treatment, the occurrences of deterioration are modeled as following a Poisson process. The severity of damage is allowed to have any distribution, however the damage is assumed to accumulate independently. Finally, the failure rate is modeled as being proportional to the accumulated damage. Using this treatment, the linear aging failure rate model is obtained. The applicability of the linear aging model to various mechanisms is discussed. Extensions of the model to cover nonlinear and dependent aging phenomena are also described. The implementability of the linear aging model is demonstrated by applying it to the aging data collected in the U.S. NRC Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) Program. (orig./HP)

  17. Predicting Cortisol Exposure from Paediatric Hydrocortisone Formulation Using a Semi-Mechanistic Pharmacokinetic Model Established in Healthy Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melin, Johanna; Parra-Guillen, Zinnia P; Hartung, Niklas; Huisinga, Wilhelm; Ross, Richard J; Whitaker, Martin J; Kloft, Charlotte

    2018-04-01

    Optimisation of hydrocortisone replacement therapy in children is challenging as there is currently no licensed formulation and dose in Europe for children under 6 years of age. In addition, hydrocortisone has non-linear pharmacokinetics caused by saturable plasma protein binding. A paediatric hydrocortisone formulation, Infacort ® oral hydrocortisone granules with taste masking, has therefore been developed. The objective of this study was to establish a population pharmacokinetic model based on studies in healthy adult volunteers to predict hydrocortisone exposure in paediatric patients with adrenal insufficiency. Cortisol and binding protein concentrations were evaluated in the absence and presence of dexamethasone in healthy volunteers (n = 30). Dexamethasone was used to suppress endogenous cortisol concentrations prior to and after single doses of 0.5, 2, 5 and 10 mg of Infacort ® or 20 mg of Infacort ® /hydrocortisone tablet/hydrocortisone intravenously. A plasma protein binding model was established using unbound and total cortisol concentrations, and sequentially integrated into the pharmacokinetic model. Both specific (non-linear) and non-specific (linear) protein binding were included in the cortisol binding model. A two-compartment disposition model with saturable absorption and constant endogenous cortisol baseline (Baseline cort ,15.5 nmol/L) described the data accurately. The predicted cortisol exposure for a given dose varied considerably within a small body weight range in individuals weighing cortisol exposure indicated the importance of defining an accurate hydrocortisone dose to mimic physiological concentrations for neonates and infants weighing <20 kg. EudraCT number: 2013-000260-28, 2013-000259-42.

  18. Cardiovascular function is better in veteran football players than age-matched untrained elderly healthy men

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Jakob Friis; Andersen, Thomas Rostgaard; Andersen, Lars Juel

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the study was to determine whether lifelong football training may improve cardiovascular function, physical fitness, and body composition. Our subjects were 17 male veteran football players (VPG; 68.1 ± 2.1 years) and 26 healthy age-matched untrained men who served as a control group (CG......, RHI was 21% higher (P training is associated with better LV systolic function, physical fitness......, microvascular function, and a healthier body composition. Overall, VPG have better cardiovascular function compared with CG, which may reduce their cardiovascular morbidity and mortality....

  19. The role of attention in emotional memory enhancement in pathological and healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sava, Alina-Alexandra; Paquet, Claire; Dumurgier, Julien; Hugon, Jacques; Chainay, Hanna

    2016-01-01

    After short delays between encoding and retrieval, healthy young participants have better memory performance for emotional stimuli than for neutral stimuli. Divided-attention paradigms suggest that this emotional enhancement of memory (EEM) is due to different attention mechanisms involved during encoding: automatic processing for negative stimuli, and controlled processing for positive stimuli. As far as we know, no study on the influence of these factors on EEM in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, as compared to healthy young and older controls, has been conducted. Thus, the goal of our study was to ascertain whether the EEM in these populations depends on the attention resources available at encoding. Participants completed two encoding phases: full attention (FA) and divided attention (DA), followed by two retrieval phases (recognition tasks). There was no EEM on the discrimination accuracy, independently of group and encoding condition. Nevertheless, all participants used a more liberal response criterion for the negative and positive stimuli than for neutral ones. In AD patients, larger numbers of false recognitions for negative and positive stimuli than for neutral ones were observed after both encoding conditions. In MCI patients and in healthy older and younger controls this effect was observed only for negative stimuli, and it depended on the encoding condition. Thus, this effect was observed in young controls after both encoding conditions, in older controls after the DA encoding, and in MCI patients after the FA encoding. In conclusion, our results suggest that emotional valence does not always enhance discrimination accuracy. Nevertheless, in certain conditions related to the attention resources available at encoding, emotional valence, especially the negative one, enhances the subjective feeling of familiarity and, consequently, engenders changes in response bias. This effect seems to be sensitive to the age and

  20. Protective Effect of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA Allele DRB1*13:02 on Age-Related Brain Gray Matter Volume Reduction in Healthy Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa M. James

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Reduction of brain volume (brain atrophy during healthy brain aging is well documented and dependent on genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors. Here we investigated the possible dependence of brain gray matter volume reduction in the absence of the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA allele DRB1*13:02 which prevents brain atrophy in Gulf War Illness (James et al., 2017. Methods: Seventy-one cognitively healthy women (32–69 years old underwent a structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI scan to measure the volumes of total gray matter, cerebrocortical gray matter, and subcortical gray matter. Participants were assigned to two groups, depending on whether they lacked the DRB1*13:02 allele (No DRB1*13:02 group, N = 60 or carried the DRB1*13:02 allele (N = 11. We assessed the change of brain gray matter volume with age in each group by performing a linear regression where the brain volume (adjusted for total intracranial volume was the dependent variable and age was the independent variable. Findings: In the No DRB1*13:02 group, the volumes of total gray matter, cerebrocortical gray matter, and subcortical gray matter were reduced highly significantly. In contrast, none of these volumes showed a statistically significant reduction with age in the DRB1*13:02 group. Interpretation: These findings document the protective effect of DRB1*13:02 on age-dependent reduction of brain gray matter in healthy individuals. Since the role of this allele is to connect to matching epitopes of external antigens for the subsequent production of antibodies and elimination of the offending antigen, we hypothesize that its protective effect may be due to the successful elimination of such antigens to which we are exposed during the lifespan, antigens that otherwise would persist causing gradual brain atrophy. In addition, we consider a possible beneficial role of DRB1*13:02 attributed to its binding to cathepsin S, a known harmful substance in brain