Search results for "life-span"
showing 10 items of 295 documents
AGING IN EUROPE AND GERIATRIC CARE
2017
Europeans are living longer than ever, and this pattern is expected to continue. The increased life expectancy is a remarkable achievement, which however poses obvious challenges for health care and geriatric assistance. There is a progressive increase of older persons living alone and in need of assistance. European countries are handling these challenges with very different approaches. There are countries and regional differences in social policies and sanitary assistance, in providers of care, in quality of the assistance and in lodging costs. The long term care models are also very different (cash benefits, public provision of care services, or hybrid rather than pure models of care). T…
CALPAIN ACTIVITY MAINTAINS GOOD HEALTH OF CENTENARIAN T CELLS; SUMMARY OF THE CALPACENT PROJECT
2017
Causes of aging-associated deterioration of human immunity, and the reasons why the immune system of the oldest old individuals (centenarians) is relatively robust, remain moot. Intracellular proteolysis system of two proteases – µ- and m-calpain – and their inhibitor – calpastatin (the calpain-calpastatin system (CCS)) - is active in resting human peripheral blood T cells, participating in maintenance of their readiness to proliferate and secrete cytokines in response to stimulation. The amounts of the CCS proteins decrease in resting T lymphocytes of healthy elderly, only to return in the centenarians to those levels seen in the young individuals. We compared the calpain activities and th…
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND ONSET OF RESTRICTED MOBILITY OUTDOORS IN OLDER ADULTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS
2017
The study examines how environmental factors contribute to the onset of restricted mobility outside the home among older adults with osteoarthritis. This was a prospective cohort study of adults aged 50 years and over with osteoarthritis (N=1802). Logistic regression tested the association between the onset of restricted mobility outside the home and health, sociodemographic and perceived environmental barriers (hills and steep slopes, inaccessible public buildings, poor pavement condition, lack of access to public parks or sport facilities, heavy traffic or speeding cars, and poor weather). The potential moderating role of environmental barriers on the association between health factors an…
Evaluating Social Integration and Psychological Outcomes for Older Adults Enrolled at a University Intergenerational Program
2005
Abstract Intergenerational programs are proliferating. The basic assumption of such programs is that pairing older and younger people in various activities and contexts such as educational programs will produce positive developmental benefits for all participants. Educational programs appear to help adults to remain socially active and connected. The University of Valencia (Spain) initiated in 1999–2000 a “University Program for Seniors” for adults age 55 and over, entitled “Nau Gran.”The goal of this paper is to present baseline results on the benefits and impacts for older adults enrolled at the program during 2002. Results from a sample of 212 sophomore and junior older adult participant…
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION AND LIFE-SPACE MOBILITY IN OLD AGE
2017
Mobility is important for maintaining independence and active participation in old age. Life-space mobility assessment incorporates the extent of mobility in terms of the distance from home, the frequency of mobility and the need of assistance for mobility. Executive function (EF) is one of the most important higher-order cognitive abilities that control and guide goal-directed actions. The aim of the study was to examine the association between EF and life-space mobility.
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING AS DETERMINANTS OF PURPOSE IN LIFE IN OLD AGE
2018
AbstractPurpose in life reflects the feeling of having goals and meaning in life. Higher purpose in life has been shown to predict better health outcomes in old age and even buffer against mortality. However, it is not known how current health and functional status reflect on the possibilities of older people to live a meaningful life. Therefore, this study aimed to explore associations of health and physical functioning with purpose in life. The participants were 273 community-dwelling 75-year-old men and women from the AGNES study. Purpose in life was assessed with the subscale of the Scales of Psychological well-being (range 7–42). Current health situation and walking ability were self-r…
“Healthy to Heaven” : Middle-Agers Looking Ahead in the Context of Wellness Consumption
2016
Concentrating on personal health and well-being has become a central objective for people living in wealthy societies. In an age of consumerism, the current health enthusiasm can be observed particularly in the fast-growing wellness industry, the popularity of which has increased, in particular, among mature consumers, a trend also evident in people's individual strategies for aging well. As it is generally assumed that aging people consume wellness mainly to delay signs of aging, this study focuses on this understudied phenomenon with the aim of deepening the profile of mature wellness consumers. The data consist of eight group interviews of Finnish middle-agers (50–65 years). Interviewees…
AGING IN PLACE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: CARE TRANSITIONS AMONG OLDER TWO-GENERATION FAMILIES
2017
Little is known of transitions in care and housing of old two-generation families that include aging (≥40) adults with intellectual disability (ID) and their older (≥65) parents. This study employed the “housing pathways” theory in order to explore the experiences of these families of such transitions. All potential old two-generation families from two local authorities in Taiwan were recruited; 237 families completed our survey and 61 our in-depth interviews between May 2015 and July 2016. Different models and types of transitions in care and housing of these families were identified and found to be connected with changes in their care responsibilities and living arrangements. Old parents …
Leisure Consumption and well-Being among Older Adults: Does Age or Life Situation Matter?
2016
This study investigated the associations between leisure consumption and well-being in older adults (50–74 years old). To find out whether these associations are age-specific, they were compared with the associations observed among younger adults (18–49 years old). Differences between the older adults by age and life situation were also examined. This study was based on the “Finland 2014 – Consumption and Life style” survey (N = 1351), conducted among a representative sample of the Finnish adult population. Well-being was measured as mental, economic and physical well-being. Objects of leisure consumption were grouped by factor analysis, and the associations between the resulting leisure co…
Mapping pathways to adulthood among Finnish university students: Sequences, patterns and variations of family- and work-related roles
2011
Abstract The present follow-up study examined the sequences, patterns, and variations in family- and work-related roles during the transition to adulthood among university students. Our aim was to identify typologies of transitional pathways to adulthood across their education, employment, residence, partnership/parenthood histories. The subjects were 182 first-year Finnish university students (mean age = 21) who were followed for 18 years. The Life History Calendar was used to collect data on their education, employment, residence, and partnership/parenthood histories. We also investigated the participants’ background variables (gender, age, parents’ education, school grades) and their lif…