| 1. |
- Agahi, Neda, et al.
(författare)
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Smoking and Physical Inactivity as Predictors of Mobility Impairment During Late Life : Exploring Differential Vulnerability Across Education Level in Sweden
- 2018
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Ingår i: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1079-5014 .- 1758-5368. ; 73:4, s. 675-683
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To test whether older adults from high and low educational groups are differentially vulnerable to the impact of smoking and physical inactivity on the progression of mobility impairment during old age.Methods: A nationally representative sample of older Swedish adults (n = 1,311), aged 57-76 years at baseline (1991), were followed for up to 23 years (2014). Multilevel regression was used to estimate individual trajectories of mobility impairment over the study period and to test for differences in the progression of mobility impairment on the basis of smoking status, physical activity status, and level of education.Results: Compared to nonsmokers, heavy smokers had higher levels and steeper increases in mobility impairment with advancing age. However, there were only small and statistically nonsignificant differences in the impact of heavy smoking on mobility impairment in high versus low education groups. A similar pattern of results was found for physical inactivity.Discussion: Differential vulnerability to unhealthy behaviors may vary across populations, age, time-periods, and health outcomes. In this study of older adults in Sweden, low and high education groups did not differ significantly in their associations between heavy smoking or physical inactivity, and the progression of mobility impairment.
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| 2. |
- Amurwon, Jovita, et al.
(författare)
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"It's Like I Never Had a Child of My Own": Care and Support for the Elderly in a Changing Socioeconomic Context in Rural Uganda
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journals of Gerontology, Series B. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1079-5014 .- 1758-5368. ; 74, s. 1483-1491
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Individual households remain important for elderly care and support in resource-limited settings. Factors such as availability of young people and ownership of assets are important for care and support for the elderly. This article examines changing trends in accessing care and support for the elderly in a context of socioeconomic changes such as increasing school attendance and outmigration of youth from rural areas.Method: Rich data from the life stories of individuals from 22 households in rural Uganda collected in 2009-2010 were analyzed.Results: The elderly were lacking care and support, as the youth experienced increasing schooling and outmigration. The loss of young adults from HIV infection deprived the elderly of care and support, and increased their responsibilities of caring for the sick and the orphans. Mitigating factors included remittances and asset ownership. The availability of free health care encouraged people to stay in households to utilize these resources while also caring for the elderly members.Discussion: With the current socioeconomic transformations, the rules and resources used in the traditional care system no longer serve as a "safety network" for the elderly. Adaptation efforts from individual households cannot deal with the multiple concurrent changes. Programs to increase education should consider investing in additional social programs, especially for those who are negatively impacted by increased access to education.
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| 6. |
- Andel, Ross, et al.
(författare)
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Indicators of Job Strain at Midlife and Cognitive Functioning in Advanced Old Age
- 2011
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Ingår i: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1079-5014 .- 1758-5368. ; 66B:3, s. 287-291
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives. We used data from SWEOLD, a Swedish nationally representative study of individuals aged 77 years or older, to examine midlife indicators of job strain in relation to cognitive performance and impairment. Methods. In all, 827 participants completed an abridged 11-point version of the Mini-Mental State Examination in-person in 1992 and/or 2002 and had self-reported and/or occupation-based scores for job control and demands from data collected in 1968. Seventeen percent scored below the cutoff for cognitive impairment. Results. Controlling for age, sex, education, self-rated health, and year of cognitive screening, low self-reported and occupation-based job control at midlife was associated with poorer cognitive performance later (ps < .001). For the occupation-based measure, low job control was also associated with greater likelihood of impairment, whereas having an active job (high job control/high job demands) was associated with better cognitive performance and lower likelihood of impairment (ps < .01). Childhood environment, midlife depressive symptoms, and social activity had limited influence, whereas the influence of both adulthood socioeconomic position and work complexity on these results was more pronounced. Discussion. Job control at midlife, by itself and in combination with job demands, may influence cognitive functioning later above and beyond demographic variables and other occupational characteristics.
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| 7. |
- Andel, Ross, et al.
(författare)
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The Role of Midlife Occupational Complexity and Leisure Activity in Late-Life Cognition
- 2015
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Ingår i: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1079-5014 .- 1758-5368. ; 70:2, s. 314-321
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To examine whether occupational complexity of working with data or people, and cognitive or social leisure activity at midlife predicted cognition in advanced old age.METHODS: We used 810 eligible participants from Longitudinal Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old, a Swedish nationally representative study of individuals aged 77+ with cognitive assessments (an abridged version of the Mini-Mental State Exam) administered in 1992 and 2002 and linked to information about their midlife occupation and leisure activities collected in 1968 and 1981. A bootstrapping technique was applied to examine the direct and interactive associations of occupational complexity and leisure activity with late-life cognition.RESULTS: Controlling for demographic and health-related factors from childhood, midlife, and late life, we found that greater work complexity, both with people and with data, and greater participation in cognitive or social leisure activities independently related to better late-life cognitive scores. The complexity-cognition link was moderated by leisure activity such that the cognitive benefit related to the complexity of work-especially complexity of working with people-was rendered insignificant when participation in leisure activities-especially social activities-was above average.DISCUSSION: Results are discussed in terms of using work complexity to compensate for lack of leisure activity as well as in terms of promoting leisure engagement to compensate for long-term cognitive disadvantage imposed by working in less challenging occupations.
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| 8. |
- Badache, Andreea C., 1991-, et al.
(författare)
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Why Are Old-Age Disabilities Decreasing in Sweden and Denmark? Evidence on the Contribution of Cognition, Education, and Sensory Functions
- 2022
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Ingår i: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1079-5014 .- 1758-5368. ; 78:3, s. 483-495
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Improvements in educational attainment, cognitive and sensory functions, and a decline in the prevalence of disabilities have been observed in older adults in Sweden and Denmark. In the present study, it was investigated whether better cognition, higher educational attainment, and improved sensory function among older adults aged 60 and older in these countries have contributed to decreasing rates of old-age disabilities.Methods: The analyses were based on repeated cross-sectional data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe for the 2004-2017 period. Descriptive data were used to benchmark the declining prevalence of disabilities, improving cognitive and sensory functions, and increased educational level. The association between time and disabilities was analyzed with logistic regression models, and the contribution of the improved cognitive function, education, and sensory function to the declining prevalence of old-age disabilities was estimated using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method for mediation analysis.Results: The analysis suggests that the declining prevalence of old-age disabilities in Sweden and Denmark between 2004 and 2017 can largely be attributed to improved cognitive function and vision and to a lesser extent by education and hearing ability.Discussion: These findings raise important questions about the causal mechanisms producing the associations between cognition, education, and sensory functions and disability in older age. Future studies should explore the causal nature of the associations between these mediators and old-age disabilities. In addition, they should explore whether these findings differ across regional and cultural contexts and over different time periods.
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| 9. |
- Barbabella, Francesco, et al.
(författare)
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Socioeconomic Predictors of the Employment of Migrant Care Workers by Italian Families Assisting Older Alzheimer's Disease Patients : Evidence From the Up-Tech Study
- 2016
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Ingår i: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1079-5014 .- 1758-5368. ; 71:3, s. 514-525
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The availability of family caregivers of older people is decreasing in Italy as the number of migrant care workers (MCWs) hired by families increases. There is little evidence on the influence of socioeconomic factors in the employment of MCWs.METHOD: We analyzed baseline data from 438 older people with moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), and their family caregivers enrolled in the Up-Tech trial. We used bivariate analysis and multilevel regressions to investigate the association between independent variables-education, social class, and the availability of a care allowance-and three outcomes-employment of a MCW, hours of care provided by the primary family caregiver, and by the family network (primary and other family caregivers).RESULTS: The availability of a care allowance and the educational level were independently associated with employing MCWs. A significant interaction between education and care allowance was found, suggesting that more educated families are more likely to spend the care allowance to hire a MCW.DISCUSSION: Socioeconomic inequalities negatively influenced access both to private care and to care allowance, leading disadvantaged families to directly provide more assistance to AD patients. Care allowance entitlement needs to be reformed in Italy and in countries with similar long-term care and migration systems.
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| 10. |
- Burholt, Vanessa, et al.
(författare)
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Reliability and Validity of the Older Americans Resources and Services (OARS) Social Resources Scale in six European Countries
- 2007
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Ingår i: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. - : The Gerontological Society of America. - 1079-5014 .- 1758-5368. ; 62:6, s. 371-379
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives. The purpose of this article is to examine data quality, reliability, and construct validity of the Older Americans Resources and Services social resources scale in six European countries (The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Austria, the United Kingdom, and Sweden).Methods. A questionnaire was administered through face-to-face interviews in five countries, and postal interview in the sixth, to representative populations of adults aged 50 to 90 living independently (N = 12,478). This article examines missing values and distribution of items in the social resources scale, and consistency of skew and kurtosis across countries. We performed item–total correlations and ran confirmatory factor analyses to test a three-factor model obtained in previous U.S. and Spanish analyses. Cronbach's alpha determined the reliability of the factors.Results. We observed a relatively large proportion of missing data for one item (have someone who would help you). All items correlated with a score equal to or greater than 0.20. Although the confirmatory factor analyses generally supported the acceptability of the three-factor structure in the European data, the reliability of two dimensions (dependability and affective) was unacceptably low.Discussion. Differences across countries make it unlikely that researchers can develop a single social resources scale that would have item equivalence in multiple countries.
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