Download or read book Neighborhood Attributes and Cognitive Function in Older Adults written by Boeun Kim and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neighborhood environments are a potential modifiable factor for improving cognitive function among older adults by providing opportunities for physical activity and destinations for social interaction. Lifestyle factors enhance resilience to the development of brain pathology. However, the impact of neighborhoods on cognitive function and its mechanism among older adults is inconclusive. This dissertation consists of three studies. The aim of the first study was to determine the association of objective neighborhood attributes (land-use mix, residential density, intersection density, presence of trails, sidewalk coverage, gradient of walkways, and areas covered by parks) with decline in cognitive function over a 2-year period among older adults. The aim of the second study was to examine the associations of perceived neighborhood attributes (residential density, land-use mix, transit ace\ss, bicycling infrastructure, recreation facilities, sidewalk coverage, crime safety, traffic safety, and physically active neighbors) with cognitive function among older adults. The aim of the third study was to test a mediating role of walking on the association between objective walkability and cognitive function or perceived walkability and cognitive function among older adults. This dissertation employed a secondary data analysis method using the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study, a prospective cohort study. Data on neighborhood characteristics from 2016 King County Assessor, 2016 US Census TIGER/Line road, King County Geographic Information Systems Center, UW Urban Form Lab, and USGS digital elevation raster model (DEM) were combined with the ACT dataset. The first study was a longitudinal analysis in a sample of 1,302 older adults living in King County. Change in cognitive function was measured over 2 years by the Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument (CASI). Objective neighborhood attributes (land-use mix, residential density, intersection density, presence of trail, presence of sidewalk, gradient of walkways, and park area) were measured by geographic information systems (GIS). Multivariate linear regression models were fitted. The second study was a cross-sectional analysis in 821 adults aged 65 or older. Perceived neighborhood attributes were measured by the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Scale (PANE). The associations were tested using linear regression. The third study was a cross-sectional analysis in 799 older adults for the associations between objective walkability and cognitive function and in 680 older adults for the associations between perceived walkability and cognitive function. Walking was measured using an accelerometer. Associations were tested using linear regression. Indirect effects were tested using causal mediation analysis. The first study found that greater objective park area within an 800 m buffer was associated with positive change in cognitive function. However, the effect size was small. Other objective neighborhood attributes were not associated with cognitive function change. The second study found that greater perceived access to public transit was associated with better cognitive function, and greater perceived sidewalk coverage was also related to better cognitive function. Perceived land use-mix and recreational facilities, crime, safety, safety from traffic, and neighbors physically active were associated with cognitive function in only unadjusted models. The third study revealed that walking had an indirect effect on the association between perceived walkability and cognitive function but not on the association between objective walkability and cognitive function. Strategies targeting both environmental factors as well as individual behavioral factors should be considered to improve cognitive function in older adults. Improving the perception of neighborhood attributes alongside modifying physical infrastructure may positively impact cognitive function in older adults. Modifying neighborhood infrastructure may not be sufficient to improve perceived walkability. Educational and social support programs are required to improve perceived walkability. The improved perceived walkability may encourage older adults to be more physically active and the benefits of physical activity may improve cognitive function in older adults.
Download or read book Racial Disparities in Cognitive Performance Over Time Among Older Adults written by Dana Michelle Martinez and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Poverty in the Midst of Affluence written by Leo F. Goodstadt and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 2014-12-01 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hong Kong is among the richest cities in the world. Yet over the past 15 years, living conditions for the average family have deteriorated despite a robust economy, ample budget surpluses, and record labour productivity. Successive governments have been reluctant to invest in services for the elderly, the disabled, the long-term sick, and the poor, while education has become more elitist. The political system has helped to entrench a mistaken consensus that social spending is a threat to financial stability and economic prosperity. In this trenchant attack on government mismanagement, Leo Goodstadt traces how officials have created a ‘new poverty’ in Hong Kong and argues that their misguided policies are both a legacy of the colonial era and a deliberate choice by modern governments, and not the result of economic crises. This provocative book will be essential reading for anyone wishing to understand why poverty returned to Hong Kong in this century. The book has been thoroughly revised and updated for this new, paperback edition. ‘Leo Goodstadt has identified the New Poor as those made vulnerable through diminishing access to essential services and opportunities. The culprits are misguided policies, and the callous and uncaring decisions of those in power. This compelling critique carries weight and demands a response.’ —Christine Fang, Former Chief Executive of The Hong Kong Council of Social Service ‘This is a critical reflection on Hong Kong’s path of social development and a most discerning analysis of the Third World mentality espoused by the government and the business community in the area of social welfare.’ —Lui Tai-lok, Chair Professor of Hong Kong Studies, The Hong Kong Institute of Education ‘Welfare spending was like “pouring sand into the sea to reclaim land”, thought one Chief Executive. Governments restrained social spending based on that skewed view . . . This book is meticulously researched and painfully insightful. It is a masterly chronicle of Hong Kong’s social welfare policy.’ —Anna Wu, Non-Official Member of the Executive Council, HKSAR
Download or read book Cognitive Aging written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For most Americans, staying "mentally sharp" as they age is a very high priority. Declines in memory and decision-making abilities may trigger fears of Alzheimer's disease or other neurodegenerative diseases. However, cognitive aging is a natural process that can have both positive and negative effects on cognitive function in older adults - effects that vary widely among individuals. At this point in time, when the older population is rapidly growing in the United States and across the globe, it is important to examine what is known about cognitive aging and to identify and promote actions that individuals, organizations, communities, and society can take to help older adults maintain and improve their cognitive health. Cognitive Aging assesses the public health dimensions of cognitive aging with an emphasis on definitions and terminology, epidemiology and surveillance, prevention and intervention, education of health professionals, and public awareness and education. This report makes specific recommendations for individuals to reduce the risks of cognitive decline with aging. Aging is inevitable, but there are actions that can be taken by individuals, families, communities, and society that may help to prevent or ameliorate the impact of aging on the brain, understand more about its impact, and help older adults live more fully and independent lives. Cognitive aging is not just an individual or a family or a health care system challenge. It is an issue that affects the fabric of society and requires actions by many and varied stakeholders. Cognitive Aging offers clear steps that individuals, families, communities, health care providers and systems, financial organizations, community groups, public health agencies, and others can take to promote cognitive health and to help older adults live fuller and more independent lives. Ultimately, this report calls for a societal commitment to cognitive aging as a public health issue that requires prompt action across many sectors.
Download or read book Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America written by National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine and published by . This book was released on 2022-04-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the largest generation in U.S. history - the population born in the two decades immediately following World War II - enters the age of risk for cognitive impairment, growing numbers of people will experience dementia (including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias). By one estimate, nearly 14 million people in the United States will be living with dementia by 2060. Like other hardships, the experience of living with dementia can bring unexpected moments of intimacy, growth, and compassion, but these diseases also affect people's capacity to work and carry out other activities and alter their relationships with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. Those who live with and care for individuals experiencing these diseases face challenges that include physical and emotional stress, difficult changes and losses in their relationships with life partners, loss of income, and interrupted connections to other activities and friends. From a societal perspective, these diseases place substantial demands on communities and on the institutions and government entities that support people living with dementia and their families, including the health care system, the providers of direct care, and others. Nevertheless, research in the social and behavioral sciences points to possibilities for preventing or slowing the development of dementia and for substantially reducing its social and economic impacts. At the request of the National Institute on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America assesses the contributions of research in the social and behavioral sciences and identifies a research agenda for the coming decade. This report offers a blueprint for the next decade of behavioral and social science research to reduce the negative impact of dementia for America's diverse population. Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America calls for research that addresses the causes and solutions for disparities in both developing dementia and receiving adequate treatment and support. It calls for research that sets goals meaningful not just for scientists but for people living with dementia and those who support them as well. By 2030, an estimated 8.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease and many more will have other forms of dementia. Through identifying priorities social and behavioral science research and recommending ways in which they can be pursued in a coordinated fashion, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America will help produce research that improves the lives of all those affected by dementia.
Download or read book Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-05-14 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.
Download or read book A Modern Approach to Regression with R written by Simon Sheather and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-02-27 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on tools and techniques for building regression models using real-world data and assessing their validity. A key theme throughout the book is that it makes sense to base inferences or conclusions only on valid models. Plots are shown to be an important tool for both building regression models and assessing their validity. We shall see that deciding what to plot and how each plot should be interpreted will be a major challenge. In order to overcome this challenge we shall need to understand the mathematical properties of the fitted regression models and associated diagnostic procedures. As such this will be an area of focus throughout the book. In particular, we shall carefully study the properties of resi- als in order to understand when patterns in residual plots provide direct information about model misspecification and when they do not. The regression output and plots that appear throughout the book have been gen- ated using R. The output from R that appears in this book has been edited in minor ways. On the book web site you will find the R code used in each example in the text.
Download or read book Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Stroke Risk and Cognition in Older Adults written by Linda D. Ruiz and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, i.e., neighborhoods with lower incomes, lower education/occupational levels, and/or higher crime, increases one's risk of developing chronic health problems, including cardiovascular disease risk factors and stroke. These health problems are associated with reduced cognition and dementia and may help to explain disparities in brain aging. We investigated the association of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics on stroke risk and cognitive outcomes hypothesizing that stroke risk mediates the association between the socioeconomic environment and cognitive functioning. Participants were non-demented community-dwelling older adults (N=121), ~67 years of age (50% male, 44% non-Latino Black) who underwent cognitive and medical assessments. Stroke risk was measured using the 2017 Framingham Stroke Risk Profile Score (FSRP). Neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics were quantified at either the census tract (income, education, and employment) or the point (violent crime) level. We focused on cognitive domains most vulnerable to pathological aging and stroke risk including memory, attention/information processing, and executive functioning. Structural equation modeling (SEM) evaluated whether FSRP mediated the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics and cognitive performance. SEM results accounting for neighborhood income, education, and employment levels revealed that higher rates of violent crime were associated with higher FSRP scores, and higher FSRP scores were associated with reduced attention/information processing performance. Neighborhood-level crime had a significant effect on individual health, which, in turn, impacted individual cognition independent of other socioeconomic neighborhood factors typically investigated. Taken together, results suggest that clinicians working with older adults should query individual and neighborhood health.
Download or read book Brain Aging written by David R. Riddle and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2007-04-19 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recognition that aging is not the accumulation of disease, but rather comprises fundamental biological processes that are amenable to experimental study, is the basis for the recent growth of experimental biogerontology. As increasingly sophisticated studies provide greater understanding of what occurs in the aging brain and how these changes occur
Download or read book New Directions in the Sociology of Aging written by Panel on New Directions in Social Demography, Social Epidemiology, and the Sociology of Aging and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2014-01-09 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aging of the population of the United States is occurring at a time of major economic and social changes. These economic changes include consideration of increases in the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare and possible changes in benefit levels. Furthermore, changes in the social context in which older individuals and families function may well affect the nature of key social relationships and institutions that define the environment for older persons. Sociology offers a knowledge base, a number of useful analytic approaches and tools, and unique theoretical perspectives that can facilitate understanding of these demographic, economic, and social changes and, to the extent possible, their causes, consequences and implications. The Future of the Sociology of Aging: An Agenda for Action evaluates the recent contributions of social demography, social epidemiology and sociology to the study of aging and identifies promising new research directions in these sub-fields. Included in this study are nine papers prepared by experts in sociology, demography, social genomics, public health, and other fields, that highlight the broad array of tools and perspectives that can provide the basis for further advancing the understanding of aging processes in ways that can inform policy. This report discusses the role of sociology in what is a wide-ranging and diverse field of study; a proposed three-dimensional conceptual model for studying social processes in aging over the life cycle; a review of existing databases, data needs and opportunities, primarily in the area of measurement of interhousehold and intergenerational transmission of resources, biomarkers and biosocial interactions; and a summary of roadblocks and bridges to transdisciplinary research that will affect the future directions of the field of sociology of aging.
Download or read book Aging in Asia written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-07-31 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The population of Asia is growing both larger and older. Demographically the most important continent on the world, Asia's population, currently estimated to be 4.2 billion, is expected to increase to about 5.9 billion by 2050. Rapid declines in fertility, together with rising life expectancy, are altering the age structure of the population so that in 2050, for the first time in history, there will be roughly as many people in Asia over the age of 65 as under the age of 15. It is against this backdrop that the Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) asked the National Research Council (NRC), through the Committee on Population, to undertake a project on advancing behavioral and social research on aging in Asia. Aging in Asia: Findings from New and Emerging Data Initiatives is a peer-reviewed collection of papers from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand that were presented at two conferences organized in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Indonesian Academy of Sciences, and Science Council of Japan; the first conference was hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, and the second conference was hosted by the Indian National Science Academy in New Delhi. The papers in the volume highlight the contributions from new and emerging data initiatives in the region and cover subject areas such as economic growth, labor markets, and consumption; family roles and responsibilities; and labor markets and consumption.
Download or read book Open Space People Space written by Catharine Ward Thompson and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2007-09-07 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Responds to current need for guidance on inclusive design in outdoor environments Deals with all situations, urban and rural Highly visual presentation Includes contributions from leading names in landscape, architecture and design
Download or read book Critical Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2004-10-16 with total page 753 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In their later years, Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are not in equally good-or equally poor-health. There is wide variation, but on average older Whites are healthier than older Blacks and tend to outlive them. But Whites tend to be in poorer health than Hispanics and Asian Americans. This volume documents the differentials and considers possible explanations. Selection processes play a role: selective migration, for instance, or selective survival to advanced ages. Health differentials originate early in life, possibly even before birth, and are affected by events and experiences throughout the life course. Differences in socioeconomic status, risk behavior, social relations, and health care all play a role. Separate chapters consider the contribution of such factors and the biopsychosocial mechanisms that link them to health. This volume provides the empirical evidence for the research agenda provided in the separate report of the Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life.
Download or read book Neighborhoods and Health written by Dustin T. Duncan and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE GROUNDBREAKING, FORMATIVE WORK IN SPATIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY -- NOW UPDATED FOR A NEW GENERATION OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IN PUBLIC HEALTH In 2003, Neighborhoods and Health codified the idea that a neighborhood's social and physical makeup can influence the health of people who live in it. More than a decade later, with the relationship between place and health firmly entrenched at the center of how we understand public health (and as its own scientific discipline, spatial epidemiology), this second edition of the landmark text offers another giant leap forward for the field. Offering both a synthesis of the essential research and a practical overview of the methods used to garner it, the second edition of Neighborhoods and Health is the essential guide to understanding this core component of contemporary population health -- both the journey to date and what's next.
Download or read book The Impact of Cognitive Functioning on Mental Health in Community dwelling Older Adults written by Jamie Kay Bennett and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to examine the gray area between intact cognitive functioning and mild cognitive impairment among sexagenarians, octogenarians, and centenarians. Gender, race, and age group differences, as well as changes over time in cognitive functioning were assessed. The impact of cognitive functioning and instrumental activities of daily living on depression, positive affect, and negative affect was also examined. Data were analyzed from the Georgia Centenarian Study, which comprised of three hundred twenty-one participants at Time 1 (Tl) and two hundred one participants at Time 2 (T2). All participants were cognitively intact and community dwelling at Tl. Results concerning gender differences indicated women had higher cognitive functioning at Tl, but there was no gender difference at T2. Race and age group differences were found at Tl and T2 with Blacks and centenarians having significantly lower cognitive functioning compared to Whites, sexagenarians, and octogenarians. Race differences persisted after controlling for education and self-reported health. The longitudinal analysis indicated mean cognitive functioning scores were significantly lower at T2. Centenarians experienced a steeper decline in cognitive functioning over a shorter period of time compared to the combined group of sexagenarians and octogenarians. The results of the cross-sectional predictors of mental health indicated self-reported health was a significant predictor of depression, positive affect, and negative affect. Cognitive functioning was not a significant predictor of the three areas of mental health, and instrumental activities of daily living were only a significant predictor of depression. In the longitudinal analysis, cognitive functioning at Tl and functional health at Tl did not predict depression at T2.
Download or read book Environmental Neuroscience written by Simone Kühn and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Environment and Aging written by Mortimer Powell Lawton and published by Study of Aging. This book was released on 1986 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
