| 1. |
- Ayala, Alba, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of Active and Healthy Ageing on Quality of Life Changes : Insights from the Comparison of Three European Countries
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 18:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aimed to analyze the determinants of quality of life (QoL) in older people in three European countries (Portugal, Spain and Sweden). A sample of 7589 participants in waves 4 (2011) and 6 (2015) of the Survey on Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) project, aged 50 and over and living in Portugal, Spain and Sweden, was included. The CASP-12 scale was used to measure QoL. A principal component analysis was performed to group preselected variables related to active and healthy ageing into the dimensions of health, social participation, and lifelong learning. A linear regression model was built using the change in CASP-12 scores over the 4-year follow-up as the dependent variable, including the interactions between country and each independent variable in the model. After four years, the average QoL increased in Portugal (difference = 0.8, p < 0.001), decreased in Spain (-0.8, p < 0.001), and remained constant in Sweden (0.1, p = 0.408). A significant country-participation component interaction (p = 0.039) was found. In Spain, a higher participation (beta = 0.031, p = 0.002) was related to a higher QoL improvement at 4 years, but not in Sweden or Portugal. Physical health and emotional components (beta = 0.099, p < 0.001), functional ability (beta = 0.044, p = 0.023), and cognitive and sensory ability (beta = 0.021, p = 0.026) were associated with QoL changes over time in all countries. The country-specific associations between health, social participation and QoL should be taken into account when developing public health policies to promote QoL among European older people.
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| 2. |
- Beridze, Giorgi, et al.
(författare)
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Are Loneliness and Social Isolation Associated with Quality of Life in Older Adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 17:22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Loneliness and social isolation have detrimental effects on health in old age; however, the prospective associations with quality of life (QoL) remain unclear. Furthermore, despite the existence of a European north-south gradient in the distribution of loneliness and social isolation, little is known whether the associations are context-specific. We investigated the relationships between loneliness, social isolation and QoL of older adults residing in the North (Sweden) and South (Spain) of Europe. Methods: Study sample consisted of 2995 Swedish and 4154 Spanish older adults who participated in waves six and seven of the Study on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Loneliness and social isolation were measured at the baseline, and QoL was measured at the baseline and follow-up using CASP-12. Prospective associations were assessed via multivariate linear regression. Results: In Sweden, subjects with higher vs. lower loneliness had 1.01 (95% CI: -1.55, -0.40) units lower QoL, while every standard deviation increase in social isolation was associated with a 0.27 (95% CI: -0.42, -0.09)-unit decrease in QoL. In Spain, every standard deviation increase in social isolation was associated with a 0.66 (95% CI: -1.11, -0.22)-unit decrease in QoL. The association was stronger in subjects aged <= 65 years old and those with no chronic diseases. The association with loneliness was not statistically significant in Spain. Conclusion: Loneliness and social isolation are prospectively associated with decreased QoL among older adults, yet the associations are contextually bound. Future interventions should target both exposures, among others, in order to increase QoL in this group.
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| 3. |
- Kirvalidze, Mariam, et al.
(författare)
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The role of glucose in cognition, risk of dementia, and related biomarkers in individuals without type 2 diabetes mellitus or the metabolic syndrome : A systematic review of observational studies
- 2022
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Ingår i: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0149-7634 .- 1873-7528. ; 135
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Excessive blood glucose promotes neuropathological cognitive decline in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the metabolic syndrome, but no systematic synthesis of the evidence for the same association exists in individuals without these conditions.Objectives: To systematically review studies exploring the role of glucose on cognition, dementia risk, and related biomarkers in adults without diabetes or metabolic syndrome.Data sources: We searched databases from inception until July 2021 and manually searched the reference lists of included studies. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool.Results: We found 46 observational studies including approximately 98,216 participants. Substantial heterogeneity in study results precluded drawing definitive conclusion whether blood glucose levels are associated with cognition or dementia risk. Higher blood glucose, however, was associated with greater amyloid burden, brain atrophy, and reduced cortical thickness.Conclusions and implications: High glucose concentrations in blood may exacerbate dementia-related neuropathology but whether this translates into pathological cognitive decline or elevate dementia risk later in life remains unclear.
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| 4. |
- Kirvalidze, Mariam, et al.
(författare)
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Variability in perceived burden and health trajectories among older caregivers : a population-based study in Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. - : BMJ. - 0143-005X .- 1470-2738. ; 77:2, s. 125-132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The negative effects of informal caregiving are determined by the characteristics of the caregiver-care receiver dyad and the context of care. In this study, we aimed to identify which subgroups of older informal caregivers (1) experience the greatest subjective burden and (2) incur a faster decline in objective health status.Methods From a total of 3363 older participants in the Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K), we identified 629 informal caregivers (19.2%, mean age 69.9 years). Limitations to life and perceived burden were self-reported, and objective health status was quantified using the comprehensive clinical and functional Health Assessment Tool (HAT) score (range: 0–10). Ordered logistic regressions and linear mixed models were used to estimate the associations between caregiving-related exposures and subjective outcomes (cross-sectionally) and objective health trajectories (over 12 years), respectively.Results Having a dual role (providing and receiving care simultaneously), caring for a spouse, living in the same household as the care receiver and spending more hours on caregiving were associated with more limitations and burden. In addition, having a dual role (β=−0.12, 95% CI −0.23 to −0.02) and caring for a spouse (β=−0.08, 95% CI −0.14 to −0.02) were associated with a faster HAT score decline. Being female and having a poor social network were associated with an exacerbation of the health decline.Conclusions Both the heterogeneity among caregivers and the related contextual factors should be accounted for by policymakers as well as in future research investigating the health impact of informal caregiving.
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| 5. |
- Welmer, Anna-Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Association Between Concerns About Falling and Risk of Injurious Falls in Older Adults : The Role of Balance Impairment
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - 1525-8610 .- 1538-9375. ; 24:12, s. 1984-1989, 1989.e1-1989.e2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: We aimed to examine the extent to which concerns about falling are associated with the risk of injurious falls in older adults, and to explore the role of balance impairment in this association.Design: Prospective study with a 5-year follow-up.Setting and Participants: Participants were 1281 people, aged ≥60 years (62.5% women), from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen.Methods: Data on injurious falls during 5 years of follow-up was obtained from national registers. Cox and Laplace regression models were applied to examine injurious falls in relation to concerns about falling (binary variable), balance impairment (one-leg balance test), or an indicator variable with 4 mutually exclusive categories based on the presence of concerns about falling and balance impairment.Results: There was no statistically significant association between concerns about falling and injurious falls in the total sample when adjusting for covariates. We found significant interactions of concerns about falling with balance impairment and age (<70 vs ≥80 years), so that the association between concerns about falling and injurious falls was more evident in people with better balance and the younger-old participants (P < .05). Having only concerns about falling [hazard ratio (HR) 2.06, 95% CI 1.22, 3.48], only balance impairment (HR 2.22, 95% CI 1.38, 3.56), or both (HR 2.35, 95% CI 1.45, 3.82) were associated with an increased risk of injurious falls compared to those with neither concerns about falling nor balance impairment.Conclusions and Implications: Our results suggest that concerns about falling may increase the risk of injurious falls, especially among younger-old people or those without objective balance impairment.
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