Search results for "physiologic"
showing 10 items of 2593 documents
Mechanisms of Adaptation from a Multiple to a Single Step Recovery Strategy following Repeated Exposure to Forward Loss of Balance in Older Adults
2012
When released from an initial, static, forward lean angle and instructed to recover with a single step, some older adults are able to meet the task requirements, whereas others either stumble or fall. The purpose of the present study was to use the concept of margin of stability (MoS) to investigate balance recovery responses in the anterior-posterior direction exhibited by older single steppers, multiple steppers and those that are able to adapt from multiple to single steps following exposure to repeated forward loss of balance. One hundred and fifty-one healthy, community dwelling, older adults, aged 65-80 years, participated in the study. Participants performed four trials of the balanc…
Handgrip strength and its prognostic value for mortality in Moscow, Denmark, and England.
2017
BACKGROUND: This study compares handgrip strength and its association with mortality across studies conducted in Moscow, Denmark, and England.MATERIALS: The data collected by the Study of Stress, Aging, and Health in Russia, the Study of Middle-Aged Danish Twins and the Longitudinal Study of Aging Danish Twins, and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing was utilized.RESULTS: Among the male participants, the age-standardized grip strength was 2 kg and 1 kg lower in Russia than in Denmark and in England, respectively. The age-standardized grip strength among the female participants was 1.9 kg and 1.6 kg lower in Russia than in Denmark and in England, respectively. In Moscow, a one-kilogram …
Age differences in the role of the cannabinoid type 1 receptor on glutamatergic neurons in habituation and spatial memory acquisition
2015
Abstract Aims Aging is typically linked with a decline in memory performance and alterations in neural integrity. In pathological aging such as Alzheimer's disease, these effects are aggravated. Studies using cannabinoid CB1 receptor-deficient mice have shown a role of the endocannabinoid system in memory processing and neuroprotection. As the CB1 receptor is expressed in various neuronal populations, in this study, we aimed at investigating the consequences of CB1 receptor gene inactivation in cortical glutamatergic neurons in mice (Glu-CB1-KO) in regard to age-related alterations in spatial memory performance. Main methods Juvenile (5.5–7.5 weeks), adult (5.5–7 months), and old (11.5–14 m…
Are neuroticism and extraversion related to morning cortisol release in healthy older people?
2016
The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is a discrete component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis) function that has been widely related to both health and some personality traits. There is evidence that neuroticism and extraversion affect health and well-being and play a damaging or protective role, respectively. In this study, we aimed to explore the relationship between these personality dimensions and morning cortisol concentrations in people aged 55 or older. To do so, morning saliva samples were collected on two consecutive weekdays from a total of 160 older men and women. Neuroticism and extraversion were assessed using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, …
Optimism and pessimism are related to different components of the stress response in healthy older people.
2015
Some personality traits have key importance for health because they can affect the maintenance and evolution of different disorders with a high prevalence in older people, including stress pathologies and diseases. In this study we investigated how two relevant personality traits, optimism and pessimism, affect the psychophysiological response of 72 healthy participants (55 to 76 years old) exposed to either a psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) or a control task; salivary cortisol, heart rate (HR) and situational appraisal were measured. Our results showed that optimism was related to faster cortisol recovery after exposure to stress. Pessimism was not related to the …
Sleep Quality, Duration, and Associated Sexual Function at Older Age: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
2019
Abstract Introduction One factor that may plausibly be associated with sexual dysfunction is sleep disturbance. Like sexual problems, complaints of sleep disturbance increase with age and are commonly reported by older adults. Aims To examine associations between sleep quality, duration, and a range of sexual problems in a large, representative sample of older adults. Methods Data were from 2,568 men and 1,376 women (age ≥50 years) participating in Wave 6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2012–2013). Sleep quality, duration, and problems with erectile function, sexual arousal, and orgasmic experience were self-reported; associations were examined using logistic regression models.…
Human longevity within an evolutionary perspective: The peculiar paradigm of a postreproductive genetics
2008
The data we collected on the genetics of human longevity, mostly resulting from studies on centenarians, indicate that: (1) centenarians and long-living sib-pairs are a good choice for the study of human longevity, because they represent an extreme phenotype, i.e., the survival tail of the population who escaped neonatal mortality, pre-antibiotic era illnesses, and fatal outcomes of age-related complex diseases. (2) The model of centenarians is not simply an additional model with respect to well-studied organisms, and the study of humans has revealed characteristics of ageing and longevity (geographical and sex differences, role of antigenic load and inflammation, role of mtDNA variants) wh…
Beneficial effects of choir singing on cognition and well-being of older adults: Evidence from a cross-sectional study.
2021
Background and objectivesChoir singing has been associated with better mood and quality of life (QOL) in healthy older adults, but little is known about its potential cognitive benefits in aging. In this study, our aim was to compare the subjective (self-reported) and objective (test-based) cognitive functioning of senior choir singers and matched control subjects, coupled with assessment of mood, QOL, and social functioning.Research design and methodsWe performed a cross-sectional questionnaire study in 162 healthy older (age ≥ 60 years) adults (106 choir singers, 56 controls), including measures of cognition, mood, social engagement, QOL, and role of music in daily life. The choir singers…
Well-being, behavioral patterns and cycling crashes of different age groups in Latin America: Are aging adults the safest cyclists?
2019
ObjectivesThis study aimed at analyzing the cycling safety-related factors and the mental health indicators of elderly cyclists in comparison with other age groups.MethodsFor this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the data of 911 bicyclists from two Latin American countries that have been experiencing a substantial growth of urban cycling during the last few years: Colombia and Argentina. Participants responded to an e-questionnaire on bicycling behaviors, mental health and cycling safety.ResultsAging adults reported lower rates of risky behaviors and traffic crashes (around .38 in five years), and, on the other hand, more cycling protective behaviors, a higher risk perception and a better…
Assessing Planning Ability Across the Adult Life Span: Population-Representative and Age-Adjusted Reliability Estimates for the Tower of London (TOL-…
2015
Planning ahead the consequences of future actions is a prototypical executive function. In clinical and experimental neuropsychology, disc-transfer tasks like the Tower of London (TOL) are commonly used for the assessment of planning ability. Previous psychometric evaluations have, however, yielded a poor reliability of measuring planning performance with the TOL. Based on theory-grounded task analyses and a systematic problem selection, the computerized TOL-Freiburg version (TOL-F) was developed to improve the task's psychometric properties for diagnostic applications. Here, we report reliability estimates for the TOL-F from two large samples collected in Mainz, Germany (n = 3,770; 40-80 y…