1,603 research outputs found
Is there a bidirectional relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive ability in older people?
No full textBackground: cross-sectional surveys of older people commonly find associations between higher levels of depressive symptoms and poorer cognitive performance, but the direction of effect is unclear. We examined whether there was a bidirectional relationship between depressive symptoms and general cognitive ability in non-demented older people, and explored the role of physical health, smoking, exercise, social class and education as potential confounders of this association and as possible determinants of the rate of change of cognitive decline and depressive symptoms.Method: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing consists of people aged 50 years and over. Cognitive function and self-reported depressive symptoms were measured in 2002–2003, 2004–2005, 2006–2007 and 2008–2009. We fitted linear piecewise models with fixed knot positions to allow different slopes for different age groups. Analyses are based on 8611 people.Results: mean cognitive function declined with age; there was no trend in the trajectory of depressive symptoms. Better cognitive function was associated with less depression up to the age of 80 years. Greater depression was associated with a slightly faster rate of cognitive decline but only in people aged 60–80 years. There were no consistent associations across age groups between sex, smoking, education, social class, exercise or number of chronic physical illnesses and the rate of change of cognitive decline or depressive symptoms.Conclusions: in this longitudinal study of older people, there was no consistent evidence that being more depressed led to an acceleration in cognitive decline and no support for the hypothesis that there might be reciprocal dynamic influences between cognitive ability and depressive symptom
Intelligence in childhood and chronic widespread pain in middle age: the National Child Development Survey
No full textPsychological factors are thought to play a part in the aetiology of chronic widespread pain. We investigated the relationship between intelligence in childhood and risk of chronic widespread pain in adulthood in 6902 men and women from the National Child Development Survey (1958 British Birth Cohort). Participants took a test of general cognitive ability at age 11 years; and chronic widespread pain, defined according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria, was assessed at age 45 years. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using log-binomial regression, adjusting for sex and potential confounding or mediating factors. Risk of chronic widespread pain, defined according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria, rose in a stepwise fashion as intelligence fell (P for linear trend <0.0001). In sex-adjusted analyses, for an SD lower intelligence quotient, the RR of chronic widespread pain was 1.26 (95% CI 1.17–1.35). In multivariate backwards stepwise regression, lower childhood intelligence remained as an independent predictor of chronic widespread pain (RR 1.10; 95% CI 1.01–1.19), along with social class, educational attainment, body mass index, smoking status, and psychological distress. Part of the effect of lower childhood intelligence on risk of chronic widespread pain in midlife was significantly mediated through greater body mass index and more disadvantaged socioeconomic position. Men and women with higher intelligence in childhood are less likely as adults to report chronic widespread pain.<br/
Prevalence of frailty and disability: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
No full textOBJECTIVE: to examine the prevalence of frailty and disability in people aged 60 and over and the proportion of those with disabilities who receive help or use assistive devices.METHODS: participants were 5,450 people aged 60 and over from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Frailty was defined according to the Fried criteria. Participants were asked about difficulties with mobility or other everyday activities. Those with difficulties were asked whether they received help or used assistive devices.RESULTS: the overall weighted prevalence of frailty was 14%. Prevalence rose with increasing age, from 6.5% in those aged 60-69 years to 65% in those aged 90 or over. Frailty occurred more frequently in women than in men (16 versus 12%). Mobility difficulties were very common: 93% of frail individuals had such difficulties versus 58% of the non-frail individuals. Among frail individuals, difficulties in performing activities or instrumental activities of daily living were reported by 57 or 64%, respectively, versus 13 or 15%, respectively, among the non-frail individuals. Among those with difficulties with mobility or other daily activities, 71% of frail individuals and 31% of non-frail individuals said that they received help. Of those with difficulties, 63% of frail individuals and 20% of non-frail individuals used a walking stick, but the use of other assistive devices was uncommon.CONCLUSIONS: frailty becomes increasingly common in older age groups and is associated with a sizeable burden as regards difficulties with mobility and other everyday activities.<br/
Owen-Crocker (Gale R.) & Graham (Timothy), eds. Medieval Art. Recent Perspectives. A memorial tribute to C.R. Dodwell.
No full textMallet Géraldine. Owen-Crocker (Gale R.) & Graham (Timothy), eds. Medieval Art. Recent Perspectives. A memorial tribute to C.R. Dodwell. . In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 78, fasc. 2, 2000. Histoire medievale. moderne: et contemporaine - Middeleeuwse, modhrnf en hedendaagse geschiedenis. pp. 678-679
Owen-Crocker (Gale R.) & Graham (Timothy), eds. Medieval Art. Recent Perspectives. A memorial tribute to C.R. Dodwell.
No full textMallet Géraldine. Owen-Crocker (Gale R.) & Graham (Timothy), eds. Medieval Art. Recent Perspectives. A memorial tribute to C.R. Dodwell. . In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 78, fasc. 2, 2000. Histoire medievale. moderne: et contemporaine - Middeleeuwse, modhrnf en hedendaagse geschiedenis. pp. 678-679
Cognitive abilities in later life and the onset of physical frailty: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936
No full textOBJECTIVES: To investigate whether poorer cognitive ability is a risk factor for the development of physical frailty, and whether this risk varies by cognitive domain. DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal study with six-year follow-up.SETTING: Edinburgh, Scotland.PARTICIPANTS: 594 members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936.MEASUREMENTS: Frailty was assessed at ages 70 and 76 using the Fried criteria. Cognitive functions were assessed at ages 70, 73, and 76. Factor score estimates were derived for baseline level of and change in four cognitive domains: visuospatial ability, memory, processing speed, and crystallized cognitive ability. RESULTS: Higher baseline levels of processing speed, memory, visuospatial ability and crystallized ability derived from ages 70, 73 and 76, and less decline in speed, memory and crystallized ability were associated with a reduced risk of becoming physically frail by age 76. When all cognitive domains were modelled together, processing speed was only domain associated with frailty risk: for a standard deviation increment in initial level of processing speed, the relative risk for frailty (RR) (95% confidence interval (CI)) was 0.53 (0.33, 0.85), after adjustment for age, sex, baseline frailty status, social class, depressive symptoms, number of chronic physical diseases, levels of inflammatory biomarkers, and other cognitive factor score estimates; for a SD increment in processing speed change (i.e. less decline) the RR (95% CI) was 0.26 (0.16, 0.42). When we conducted additional analyses using a single test of processing speed that did not require fast motor responses—Inspection Time—results were similar.CONCLUSIONS: The speed with which older people process information and the rate at which this declines over time may be an important indicator of the risk of physical frailty. <br/
Mental ability across childhood in relation to risk factors for premature mortality in adult life: the 1970 British Cohort Study
No full textObjectives To examine the relation of scores on tests of mental ability across childhood with established risk factors for premature mortality at the age of 30 years. Methods: A prospective cohort study based on members of the British Cohort Study born in Great Britain in 1970 who had complete data on IQ scores at five (N = 8203) or 10 (N = 8171) years of age and risk factors at age 30 years. Results: In sex-adjusted analyses, higher IQ score at age 10 years was associated with a reduced prevalence of current smoking (OR(per 1 SD advantage in IQ) 0.84; 95% CI 0.80, 0.88), overweight (0.88; 0.84, 0.92), obesity (0.84; 0.79, 0.92), and hypertension (0.90; 0.83, 0.98), and an increased likelihood of having given up smoking by the age of 30 years (1.25; 1.18, 1.24). These gradients were attenuated after adjustment for markers of socioeconomic circumstances across the life course, particularly education. There was no apparent relationship between IQ and diabetes. Essentially the same pattern of association was evident when the predictive value of IQ scores at five years of age was examined. Conclusions: The mental ability-risk factor gradients reported in the present study may offer some insights into the apparent link between low pre-adult mental ability and premature mortalit
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