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Social interaction and life satisfaction: an empirical assessment of late-life patterns.

Problems of social and psychological adjustment in later life have been examined by numerous investigators. Some have found positive relationships between social interaction and personal adjustment, while others have found interaction and adjustment to be unrelated. The purpose of the research reported here was to examine how different ways of measuring interaction may affect its relationship with personal adjustment. Data were obtained in interviews with 218 noninstitutionalized persons aged 70 and older. Findings indicate that both the number of persons interacted with, and the frequency of this interaction, are of little importance for the adjustment of older people. We suggest that the quality, rather than quantity, of social interaction is crucial to understanding adaptations to old age.

Aged↗

Life-long moderate caloric restriction prolongs reproductive life span in rats without interrupting estrous cyclicity: effects on the gonadotropin-releasing hormone/luteinizing hormone axis.

Restricting food intake to 60% that of ad libitum-fed rats results in an extended life span, reduced incidence of age-related diseases, and delayed reproductive senescence. We used this animal model to further elucidate the mechanisms whereby reproductive senescence is delayed. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (7 wk old) were calorically restricted (CR; n = 70) to 60% of the ad libitum(AL) intake measured in control rats (n = 70). Rats were individually housed under a 14L:10D cycle and fed daily within 1.5 h of lights-off. Body weights were monitored every 2 wk, and vaginal lavage was performed until rats were ovariectomized (OVX). Two weeks after OVX, when rats were 4, 12, or 18 mo of age, blood samples were taken via jugular cannulae every 6 min for 3 h, and the plasma was assayed for rat LH. The resulting profiles were examined through use of Cluster analysis for mean LH concentrations, LH pulse amplitude, and interval between LH pulses. CR rats grew at a slower rate, and then maintained body weights at approximately 76% that of AL controls between 4 and 17.5 mo of age. The onset of persistent estrus was delayed by 4 mo in CR rats. Average cycle length was longer (p < 0.01) by less than 0.5 days in CR compared with AL rats between 3.5 and 5.5 mo of age but not different between 6.5 and 11.5 mo. Mean levels of LH in OVX rats decreased with age (p < 0.01), increased with caloric restriction (p < 0.05), and decreased with declining cycling status of the animal prior to OVX (regular [reg] vs. irregular [ir] vs. persistent estrus [pe]; p < 0.05). The increased mean LH due to caloric restriction was attributed to an increase in mean pulse amplitude and not to a decrease in time interval between LH pulses. From these data we conclude that the beneficial effects of caloric restriction on reproductive longevity may be acting at the level of the hypothalamus and/or pituitary to enhance LH secretion and do not require a delay in puberty or a period of acyclicity.

Aging↗

Use of a computerized advanced cardiac life support simulator improves retention of advanced cardiac life support guidelines better than a textbook review.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) computer simulation program improves retention of ACLS guidelines more effectively than textbook review. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-five anesthesia residents and faculty tested 10 to 11 months after ACLS provider course training. INTERVENTION: Participants were randomized and asked to prepare for a mock resuscitation (Mega Code) with either textbooks or a computerized ACLS simulation program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Performance on a standardized Mega Code examination that required application of supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, and second-degree Type II atrioventricular block algorithms. Mega Code sessions were administered by an instructor who was blinded as to the subject group. The sessions were videotaped and scored by two evaluators who also were blinded as to the subject group. RESULTS: Participants who used the ACLS simulation program scored significantly higher (mean 34.9 +/- 5.0 [SD] of 47 possible points) than participants who reviewed using a textbook (29.2 +/- 4.9); p < .001. Pass-fail rates for the algorithms were also higher for the group that reviewed with the simulator (mean 2.5 +/- 0.5 of 3 possible passes) than the group that used the textbook (1.6 +/- 1.0); p = .001. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a computerized ACLS simulation program improves retention of ACLS guidelines better than textbook review.

Academic Medical Centers↗

Teaching symptom management in end-of-life care: the didactic content and teaching strategies based on the end-of-life nursing education curriculum.

Relief of symptoms for patients and families throughout the illness trajectory requires that palliative care practitioners have knowledge and skill, both in assessment and use of pharmacologic and complementary therapies. This article presents the didactic content of symptom assessment and management, and the experiential experiences used in a nondrug laboratory within the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) curriculum.

Anxiety↗

Life after trauma: personality and daily life experiences of traumatized people.

In this study, we explored differences in personality and daily life experiences of traumatized (n = 26) versus nontraumatized (n = 30) college students. Study participants completed a variety of personality measures as well as a 28-day experience sampling study assessing daily activities, emotions, and physical health. Although not differing on general demographics, traumatized individuals reported more trait anxiety and lower self-esteem than nontraumatized individuals. They scored higher on Neuroticism, were more introverted, and were less emotionally stable than nontraumatized participants. Traumatized individuals also reported more cognitive disturbances, emotional blunting, and interpersonal withdrawal. They did not report being more depressed, but did endorse cognitive styles associated with heightened risk for depression. Earlier age of trauma was associated with more pathological outcomes: lower self-esteem and psychological well-being, more anxiety, more pessimism, and emotional constriction of positive mood. We compare this symptom profile to that of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Life course social roles and women's health in mid-life: causation or selection?

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether relations between social roles and health are explained by health selection into employment and parenthood by examining the influence of early health on relations between long term social role histories and health in mid-life. DESIGN: Prospective, population based, birth cohort study. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Women from a national British cohort born in 1946, including 1171 women with a valid measure of self reported health at age 54 and valid work and family role measures at ages 26, 36, 43, and 53, as well as 1433 women with a valid body mass index (BMI) measure at age 53 and valid work and family role measures at ages 26, 36, 43, and 53. OUTCOME MEASURES: Self reported health at age 54 and obesity at age 53, taken from objective height and weight measures conducted by a survey nurse during face to face interviews in respondents' homes. MAIN RESULTS: Women who occupied multiple roles over the long term reported relatively good health at age 54 and this was not explained by early health. Women with weak long term ties to the labour market were more likely to be obese at age 53. Examination of body mass index (BMI) from age 15 showed that long term homemakers were larger than other women from age 26, but their mean BMI increased significantly more with age than that of other women. CONCLUSIONS: Relations between social roles and health were generally not explained by health selection into employment and parenthood, although some health selection may occur for obesity.

Adult↗

Baseline characteristics in relation to electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients: the Losartan intervention for endpoint reduction (LIFE) in hypertension study. The Life Study Investigators.

The Losartan Intervention For Endpoint (LIFE) reduction in hypertension study is a double-blind, prospective, parallel group study designed to compare the effects of losartan with those of atenolol on the reduction of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A total of 9194 patients with hypertension and ECG left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) by Cornell voltage-duration product and/or Sokolow-Lyon voltage criteria were enrolled in the study, with baseline clinical and ECG data available in 8785 patients (54% women; mean age, 67+/-7 years). ECG LVH by Cornell voltage-duration product criteria was present in 5791 patients (65.9%) and by Sokolow-Lyon voltage in 2025 patients (23.1%). Compared with patients without ECG LVH by Cornell voltage-duration product criteria, patients with ECG LVH by this method were older; more obese; more likely to be female, white, and to have never smoked; more likely to be diabetic and have angina; and had slightly higher systolic, diastolic, and pulse blood pressures. In contrast, patients with ECG LVH by Sokolow-Lyon criteria were slightly younger; less obese; more likely to be male, black, and current smokers; less likely to have diabetes; more likely to have angina and a history of cerebrovascular disease; and had higher systolic and pulse blood pressure but slightly lower diastolic blood pressure than patients without ECG LVH by this method. By use of multivariate logistic regression analyses, presence of ECG LVH by Cornell voltage-duration product criteria was predominantly associated with higher body mass index, increased age, and female gender, whereas presence of ECG LVH by Sokolow-Lyon voltage criteria was predominantly related to lower body mass index, male gender, and black race. Thus, hypertensive patients who meet Cornell product and Sokolow-Lyon voltage criteria are associated with different, but potentially equally adverse, risk factor profiles.

Aged↗

Studies on manganese. 3. The biological half-life of radiomanganese in man and factors which affect this half-life.

The biological half-life of manganese and some factors influencing it have been studied in man. The disappearance of manganese from the body in normal subjects is described by a curve having two exponential components. An average of 70% of the injected material was eliminated by the "slow" pathway. The half-time characterizing this component showed a small variation in normal subjects and had an average value of 39 days. The half-time for the "fast" component also showed a small variation and had an average value of 4 days. In a normal subject presumed to have a low manganese intake due to a voluntary low caloric intake, the percentage eliminated by the slow pathway increased to 84% and the half-time characterizing the pathway increased to 90 days. The half-time of the "fast" component was the same as for the normal group. 2 months after initiation of the study in this subject, a large "flushing" dose of manganese markedly increased the elimination rate which was described by a single exponential curve.A mildly iron-deficient subject showed a marked decrease in the percentage of manganese eliminated by the "slow" pathway accompanied by a less dramatic decrease in the half-time characterizing this pathway. Oral iron therapy, which corrected the mild anemia, caused a decrease in the elimination rate and the altered curve was described by a single exponential component. Preloading two subjects with manganese resulted in a great decrease in the fraction eliminated by the "slow" pathway with less effect on the half-time. The subject with the largest preloading dose showed no "slow" component at all. Observations on the red cells of some of these subjects showed that a small but definite fraction was incorporated into the erythrocytes. In the mildly iron-deficient subject, our observations suggest an interrelationship between manganese and iron metabolism.

Adult↗

Sources of life strengths as predictors of late-life mortality and survivorship.

The aim of the research was to determine within a single study the extent to which demographic factors, self-rated-health and psychosocial factors present the strongest risks or benefits to older adults' mortality in the course of a 5.9-year longitudinal follow-up. The initial sample of 732 individuals was drawn randomly from the registry listings of four municipal branch offices of the Social Services and Community Associations for seniors in Southern Alberta. The final recruitment of 380 participants was based on a representative sample of elders who volunteered participation. A three-part Cox regression analyses model of predictor variables, controlling for age and subsequently controlling for self-rated health and self-rated physical functioning, was implemented to study gender differences in a number of socio-demographic and psychosocial factors, including individuals' sources of internal strengths. As hypothesized, individuals' sources of internal strengths (i.e., Perceptions of Self -Efficacy, Internal Control, Personal Maturity, Personal Commitments, and Social Engagement) are central to the prediction of mortality of both men and women. For men lower education and low levels of perceived internal control, personal commitment, and physical functioning are associated with the greatest threat to mortality but these factors are largely inconsequential for women's survival. By contrast, low levels of perceived social support and social engagement present the greatest risk to women's mortality. Implications of the findings are discussed with respect to factors that contribute to late-life longevity.

Aged↗

Shielding the First 24 Postnatal Months of Life: A Proposal for a Prospective Cohort Study of Early-Life Electromagnetic Exposure and Autism Risk.

BACKGROUND: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) involves Mirror Neuron System (MNS) dysfunction, driving core social and imitative impairments. Systemic physiological alterations such as autonomic dysregulation, mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation are known to impair synchronization and plasticity of neuronal clusters. A less-evident environmental cofactor, coinciding with rising ASD prevalence, is the considerable world-wide increase in electromagnetic radiation (EMR) overall exposure among children. Experimental evidence shows how low-intensity EMR influences cellular processes, via voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), oxidative stress, and mitochondrial metabolism. The Resonant Convergence framework, allow to predict how chronic EMR exposure during the first 24 postnatal months of life can act as a factor in ASD pathogenesis. The best candidate mechanism is chronic Ion Cyclotron Resonance (ICR) detuning the Ca2+-calmodulin pathway, thus disrupting MNS synchronization. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A prospective observational pilot cohort study (24-month follow-up) proposes to enroll 1000 full-term newborns into two arms: an EMR-reduced cohort (n = 500, rest and sleep-phase Faraday shielding) and a standard exposure cohort (n = 500). Exposure is quantified via radiofrequency (RF)/extremely low frequency(ELF) measurements, proximity analysis, device inventories and wearable dosimetry. The primary endpoint is a continuous neurodevelopmental trajectory score (joint attention, language, electroencephalogram (EEG) mu-rhythm); binary ASD diagnosis (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R)) is a secondary, exploratory endpoint. Moreover, an optional genomic screening will evaluate gene-environment interactions within extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) vulnerable pathways, including ASD-associated genes upregulated by RF via bromodomain and extraterminal protein (BET)-mediated epigenetic mechanisms. Analyses will employ risk ratios, Fisher's exact tests and logistic regression adjusted for confounders; mixed-effects and Bayesian modeling will evaluate longitudinal outcomes and exposure reduction effects. Given a 2-3% baseline prevalence, approximately 20-30 ASD cases are expected. The study is therefore powered for exploratory signal detection rather than definitive causal inference, providing the critical baseline data required to justify and design future confirmatory trials. Sex-stratified modeling will address the 4:1 male-to-female prevalence ratio. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics committee approval is not yet sought; full protocol review and approval will be obtained prior to the study initiation, in strict accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Written parental informed consent will be mandatory for all participants prior to enrollment. Study findings and methodological milestones will be disseminated through peer-reviewed international scientific publications. This protocol provides a structured methodological framework for the first prospective investigation of sleep-phase EMR reduction as a potential modulator of ASD incidence during early neurodevelopment. Results will inform adequately powered confirmatory trials in electromagnetic neurodevelopmental epidemiology.

autism spectrum disorder↗

The limits of life on Earth and searching for life on Mars.

Considerations of basic properties of bacteria such as size, structure, and metabolic versatility allow one to understand how these remarkable life-forms are so adaptable to environments previously thought to be uninhabitable. It is now appreciated that bacteria on Earth can utilize almost any redox couple that yields energy, taking advantage of this energy, while transforming the elements during metabolism. The ability to grow at the expense of inorganic redox couples allows the microbes to occupy niches not available to the more metabolically constrained eukaryotes. Furthermore, the simplicity of the bacterial structure allows them considerably more resistance to environmental variables (pH, salinity, temperature) that are toxic or lethal to more complex organisms. This information can be used to explain the predominance of prokaryotes in extreme environments on Earth, and to speculate as to simple types of metabolism and biogeochemical cycles that may exist on this planet, Mars, and perhaps other non-Earth environments.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Addressing myths about end-of-life care: research into the use of acute care hospitals over the last five years of life.

Despite very little confirming evidence, one of the most pervasive beliefs about dying is that terminally ill people receive a great deal of health care in the last few days, weeks, or months of life. A secondary analysis of 1992/93 through 1996/97 Alberta inpatient hospital abstracts data was undertaken to explore and describe hospital use over the five years before death by all Albertans who died in acute care hospital beds during the 1996/97 year (n = 7,429). There were four key findings: (1) hospital use varied, but was most often low, (2) the last hospital stay was infrequently resource intensive, (3) age, gender, and illness did not distinguish use, and (4) most ultra-high users were rural residents, with the majority of care episodes taking place in small, rural hospitals.

Adult↗

Thermodynamics of biological evolution and aging. Supramolecular thermodynamics is a key to understanding phenomena of life. What is life from a physical chemist's viewpoint.

The law of temporal hierarchies of the biological world allows us to pick out of the biomass quasi-closed thermodynamic systems with a given hierarchy. It has been established, that the use of this law of Nature as applied to supramolecular structures of organisms allows us the opportunity of using the methods of equilibrium supramolecular thermodynamics in the examination of open living systems. It has been shown that supramolecular thermodynamics is one of the "keys", which allows us to explain the origin of life and evolution of living beings. The second law of thermodynamics in its classic formulation (R. Clausius, J.W. Gibbs) is easy to apply in order to make calculations, carried out through methods of chemical, supramolecular and overall hierarchical thermodynamics.

Aging↗

End-of-life care: challenges and obligations in setting limits to life-sustaining therapy.

It is now generally accepted that the withholding or withdrawal of interventions that serve only to prolong the dying process is appropriate. Setting limits to life-sustaining therapy are now common practice. However, making such decisions can be challenging. They are also not uncommonly a source of disagreement between the physician and the patient or surrogate. The potential for strained patient-physician relationship can be mitigated by patient-centred, goal-specific care with its emphasis on effective communication, a sense of timing and attention to the various dimensions of the illness experience.

Decision Making↗

Life of pain, life of pleasure: pain from the patients' perspective--the evolution of the PAIN exhibit.

This commentary describes a person's experience with chronic pain, how his beliefs and understanding of pain resolved, and how he developed coping mechanisms and a focus for his life after developing chronic pain. His realization of how art was the most effective way to describe his pain experience to others and the resulting development of the pain visual arts exhibit PAIN Exhibit.com are described. Guidance for clinicians form the patient perspective is provided.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

[Spectrum analysis of the electroencephalographic signal using the Life-Scan method during the early months of life].

EEG activity in infants is difficult to assess because of the fast development of brain activity during the first months of life. EEG spectral activity monitoring seems to be easier than non processed EEG analysis. We studied processed EEG aspects in infants less than one year old. As in previous studies, we found an early lack of dominant frequency with slow activity alone with subsequent wanderning of the dominant frequency from slow towards faster frequencies.

Electroencephalography↗

Families and mental illness: current interpersonal and biological approaches (Part 1). Contributions by the Society for Life History Research on Psychopathology: epidemiology, life course development, and family research.

FAMILY research in mental health has until recently been largely confined within specific disciplines or fairly narrow perspectives, with little interdisciplinary integration. While sociologists, geneticists, psychologists, psychiatrists and scholars in related disciplines all have developed explanations regarding the familial origins or transmission of psychopathology and mental disorders, their work has largely remained isolated in the separate fields and is usually published in separate journals. We believe that the importance of Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes lies in its mission to promote the integration of such work, not only in regard to family research but in the broad arena of research in mental health and illness. The Society for Life History Research on Psychopathology has always been concerned with interdisciplinary longitudinal investigation. Its 1984 meeting focused upon new opportunities in methods and in theory building in family research. This set of five papers and the papers to be published in the next issue were first presented at that meeting, hosted in Baltimore by the Department of Mental Hygiene, The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. They reflect continuing evolution toward a multidisciplinary family research perspective.

Epidemiologic Methods↗