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Objective: Verbal fluency tests are quick and easy to administer neuropsychological measures and are regularly used in neuropsychological assessment. Additionally, phonological fluency is a widely used paradigm that is sensitive to cognitive impairment. This paper offers normative data of phonological verbal fluency (letters P, M, R) for Spanish middle- and older-aged adults, considering sociodemographic factors, and different measures such as the total number of words, errors (perseveration and intrusions), and 15 sec-segmented scores. Method: A total of 1165 cognitively unimpaired participants aged between 50 and 89 years old, participated in the study. Data for P were obtained for all participants. Letters M and R were also administered to a subsample of participants (852) aged 60 to 89 years. In addition, errors and words produced every 15 seconds were collected in the subsample. To verify the effect of sociodemographic variables, linear regression was used. Adjustments were calculated for variables that explained at least 5% of the variance (R 2 ≥.05). Results: Means and standard deviations by age, scaled scores, and percentiles for all tests across different measures are shown. No determination coefficients equal to or greater than.05 were found for sex or age. The need to establish adjustments for the educational level was only found in some of the measures. Conclusions: The current norms provide clinically useful data to evaluate Spanish-speaking natives from Spain aged from 50 to 89 years. Specific patterns of cognitive impairment can be analyzed using these normative data and may be important in neuropsychological assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Brexit referendum results, there may have been fears that a significant part of the British population in Spain, one of the largest outside the Commonwealth, would return to the United Kingdom. This paper uses different sources to assess whether, on the one hand, such a return movement has existed and, on the other hand, whether it could exist in the future. To do so, we analyse data from the Spanish Population Register (Padrón) and the Residential Variation Statistics (EVR) from 2003 to 2021, and a survey carried out in 2020 of 643 British people over 55 years of age living in Spain. In relation to the registry data, it has been observed that the return movement after Brexit has not been as significant as might be expected at a time of great uncertainty. Only in 2021 it was detected an increase in return movements, especially above the age of 75, probably caused by the end of the application of the Withdrawal Agreement. On the other hand, the survey results show that the intention to return is lower than in other similar surveys that have been carried out in the past, even in another COVID‐19 outbreak scenario. Moreover, this intention to return is especially related to variables linked to insertion, such as not being properly registered or owning a property in the United Kingdom, among other variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the intersections between international migration, care and ageing. Through an analysis of the life stories of 24 Ecuadorian women who migrated to Spain between the years 1990–2000 and who work or have worked in the older people care sector, we aim to analyse the transnational strategies they have developed to care for their older relatives and also to explore how these women foresee their own old age and what strategies they are developing to face this stage. The results underscore the fact that while these women are capable of getting involved in transnational care arrangements to guarantee the wellbeing of their older relatives, they are faced with constraints that prevent them from achieving this objective due to their socially unequal position in terms of the intersecting axes of gender, social class and migratory status. Their main difficulties stem from limited access to geographic mobility, but also from the economic pressure they are subjected to in supporting long‐term care for their older relatives. Furthermore, their own old age planning is weighed down by their work itineraries in the field of care. In some cases, transnational social protection strategies become a way to compensate for this position of social disadvantage, but they are not readily accessible to the women migrants who need them the most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ageing is the major challenge for the PAYG pension systems in developed countries. Most of them are undergoing reforms in order to adapt to the new demographic reality. The package of reforms implemented includes increasing the retirement age, reducing the replacement rate, or introducing a sustainability factor linking pension to life expectancy. The aim of this paper is to analyse the potential consequences of a different type of reform that is at a very incipient stage in Spain but that could have a significant impact if it were fully implemented. This reform, called 'silent reform' because it is imperceptible to citizens in its early stages, basically consists in increasing maximum pensions in line with inflation instead of wage or productivity growth. This policy is reducing the replacement rate only for high earning workers and increasing the redistributive component of the system. This paper is the first to quantify and evaluate the potential consequences of this type of reform in Spain. We have used an accounting model with heterogeneous agents and overlapping generations in order to project pension expenditure for the next six decades. The results show that this type of reform could potentially contain future expenditure but at the cost of changing the nature of the pension system from a contributory or Bismarckian-type system into a pure redistributive pension system or Beveridgean-type one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Comunicação e Sociedade is the property of Universidade do Minho, Centro de Estudos de Comunicacao e Sociedade and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Investigaciones Geograficas is the property of Universidad de Alicante, Instituto Universitario de Geografia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Population ageing is one of the most significant challenges facing the world in the twenty-first century. Furthermore, people aged over 65 typically have a level of income below the national average, but the homeownership rate among those in this age group tends to be high. Equity release schemes, specifically reverse mortgages, can help cover increased care costs and ensure a reasonable level of income, thus guaranteeing the well-being of older adults. However, this product has not been greatly developed by private entities. If the State were to implement this financial operation through public administrations, it could obtain homes that might then be included in public housing stocks. Thus, our paper aims to contribute to the literature on government-based reverse mortgage systems. Under our assumptions, the results showed that if 313,833 homes were reverse-mortgaged, the investment by the public administration would be around 0.73% GDP, with this being a feasible proposal. This work helps to create alternative methods to finance problems related with the ageing of societies from a public perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postgraduate education in gerontology is now widespread within European universities, but, even so, such developments remain very uneven. This paper outlines the variety of provision by describing Master's programmes in a sample of countries: England, Scotland, Finland, and Spain. These programmes illustrate some of the common problems: lack of funding for students, limited availability of academic staff, and reliance on a small core of dedicated teachers. They exhibit many strengths, including the breadth of curricula, high academic standards, high calibre and varied backgrounds of the students, the value of the qualification in employment, and meeting the demands of an ageing Europe. At the same time, these courses are faced with important issues about their sustainability. This paper argues that the demand for generalist courses such as gerontology taught Master's may fall in the coming years due to a combination of factors, such as employers' unwillingness to allow day release and demands by older people themselves for treatment and care by specialists. Generalist courses, this paper argues, may only survive in the biggest and best universities serving large populations and in cities able to attract overseas students. doi:10.1300/J021v27n03_03 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the seminal research of O'Reilly, Karen [2000.TheBritish on the Costa del Sol. London: Routledge] and King, Russell, Anthony Warnes, Allan Williams [2000.Sunset Lives: British Retirement Migration to the Mediterranean. New York: Berg Publishers] about British citizens on the Costa del Sol there has been a surge in the publication of lifestyle migration papers, books and research. Nonetheless, there is a part of the lifestyle migration process that has been rarely explored: a return move to the country of origin following retirement migration. Research has indicated a broad increase in the number of older British returnees, yet there has been no substantive research on the topic. This paper therefore attempts to fill this gap by using Spanish registry data to examine the number of British retirees since 2009 who have returned to the UK. In addition, the results of an electronic survey to older British people in Spain are presented which suggest that considerable numbers of British citizens aged over 55 living in the Northern Costa Blanca are likely to return in the next few years. These data therefore indicate the relevance of return migration from Spain to the UK as a significant issue to the academic community as well as to British and Spanish policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of worker's age on the consequences of occupational injuries. Using data from the Spanish Statistics on Accidents at Work for 2004-2010, a probit model is estimated in order to analyse the impact of the age on the probability of suffering a severe or fatal accident. Further, a duration model is used to assess the effect of worker's age on the length of sick leave caused by occupational injuries. The analysis shows that the probability of suffering a severe or fatal accident, as well as the duration of the sick leave, increases with the worker's age once personal, job, and accident characteristics are controlled for. From a policy perspective, the results point out that decisions about delaying the retirement age require additional measures, such as the occupational reallocation of these older workers towards tasks with lower incidence rates, in order to minimise these effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the association between structural and cognitive aspects of social capital and self-rated health among adults aged 50 or more, living in three countries: Finland, Poland and Spain. The study, which was based on data from the European Social Survey (2008/09), was a part of the EU research project COURAGE in Europe. More specifically the paper assesses the association between social capital indicators – informal social network and general trust – and good self-rated health through single-level and joint effects analyses. The results showed that Finland was a country of high social capital, in terms of both social networks and general trust, while Spain showed low levels of general trust and Poland low levels of informal social networks. As to the association between social capital and self-rated health, high levels of general trust and high networks were found to be associated with good health among all countries' respondents. Older persons living in partnerships, with higher education, higher levels of engagement in informal networks and general trust, were found to be more likely to show good self-rated health. Our comparative analyses revealed different associations between social capital and health according to country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To advance understanding of the geographies of age segregation, this paper examines the intersectional social dynamics of age‐segregated environments, considering how migration interacts with age segregation to breed sameness or diversity in ageing environments. We juxtapose findings drawn from two research projects, the first on international retirement migration in Spain, where older people inhabit certain geographical and social spaces with "people like them" sharing similar identity characteristics and preferences. The second project was in older people's centres in South London, more diverse sites where people are brought together on the basis of need rather than choice. In interrogating the different social dynamics operating in these age‐segregated environments, we reflect on the implications of "choice homophily" for ageing experiences. We recognise the potential of differentiated spaces for ageing, but also question how homophilic choices in retirement can create self‐selected and socially segregated retirement environments that reproduce divisions of "race" ethnicity and social class, which would undoubtedly be seen as problematic in other spheres of the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poor sleep quality is prevalent in older people and impairs their quality of life. Various studies show an association between sleep disorders and altered levels of inflammatory cytokines. The cytokine IL-1β has been shown to display both somnogenic and insomnia-promoting effects in experimental animals. Objectives: to evaluate the relationship between insomnia and salivary IL-1β concentration and the role of associated factors such as the symptoms of depression, use of hypnotics, intake of caffeinated beverages, smoking, and alcohol use in older individuals. An analytical, cross-sectional, observational research was carried out with a population of community-dwelling individuals over 60 years of age in Valencia (Spain). Sleep quality was measured with the Athens insomnia scale (AIS) and depressive symptoms with Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Results: 287 individuals participated in the study (mean age 74.08 years (76.7% women). 41.5% of the participants had insomnia, 36.9% took drugs for sleep problems, and 32.4% had relevant depressive symptoms. There was a significant inverse correlation between the IL-1β and total AIS score (rho = −0.302, p < 0.001), the sleep difficulty subdomain (rho = −0.259, p < 0.001), and the daytime sleepiness subdomain (rho = −0.322, p < 0.001). No significant correlation was observed between GDS and salivary IL-1β concentration. The IL-1β concentration was significantly lower in individuals taking drugs for sleeping compared with those not taking those drugs (1.11 ± 0.09 and 1.48 ± 0.08, respectively; p = 0.001). Regarding the AIS score, there was no significant difference in marital status, smoking, or the number of cups of tea or cola drinks, but there was a significant association with alcohol intake (p = 0.019) and in the number of daily intakes of coffee (p = 0.030). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of IL-1β for diagnosis of moderate-severe insomnia showed an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.78 (95% confidence interval 0.71–0.85). At the cut-off of 0.83 pg/µL of Il-1β, it had a sensitivity of 70.3% and a specificity of 69.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Frailty is a geriatric syndrome characterized by the clinical presentation of identifiable physical alterations and decreased physiological reserve. The assessment of frailty syndrome has been recently related with post-surgical outcomes and overall mortality in older individuals. Design and data sources We performed searches in Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, SCIELO and IME (Spanish medical index) databases from their start dates to February 2014 for original papers about the identification of the relationship between frailty and pre-operative risk evaluation in people aged 65 and over. Review methods We followed criteria of systematic PRISMA guidelines. Two independent reviewers extracted descriptive information on frailty criteria and outcomes from the selected papers: of the 77 articles retrieved from the searches, 32 met the study inclusion criteria. Results Severity of frailty syndrome significantly correlated with post-surgical mortality rates and with many although not all post-surgical complications. These relationships emerge in different type of surgical procedures and patients' features. The comparison of diagnostic tools to assess frailty in pre-operative risk evaluation are very few and to date, no recommendation can be made about the best scale to measure it. Conclusion Assessment of frailty syndrome should be added in the pre-operative risk assessment in older individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How did long-term care (LTC) policies and the prevailing governance model affect the working conditions of nursing home workers in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic? Here, we rely on qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews and document analysis to answer the research question. The results suggest that lack of coordination between health and social services, underfunding of the LTC system, and the absence of legislative initiatives have harmed caregivers' labor and employment conditions and the effectiveness of managing the crisis. These findings are relevant as they expose the implications of the territorial structure of welfare and sectoral public policies in managing a crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how older husbands' caregiving experiences are interwoven with the social representation of 'the village,' understood herein as an intimate, local community that actively contributes to long-term care on a daily basis. The concepts of belonging and doing kinship form the analytical basis for illuminating this interaction between care from husbands and daily community care. I use the social representation of the imagined community both as the axis for articulating the singular experiences of care, and the construct of a village that values its collective history, local rituals, natural environment, and ordinary routines. Study data are based on ethnographic observations of the daily long-term care trajectories of five married couples in two villages and one small town in the rural Spanish Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the basic assumptions of analytical dimensioning models of asphalt pavements is failure due to fatigue cracking of the bituminous layers. Furthermore, it is considered that the damaging effects of different traffic loads are linear and cumulative, per Miner's law. However, the analysis carried out on the effect of temperature, rest periods, and ageing of the bituminous materials questions considering fatigue failure as the only and main assumption for the calculation of the pavement life. Ageing of the pavement asphalt layers results in stiffening and transverse cracking. Consequently, these asphalt layers are no longer of infinite extent in the horizontal direction and their response resembles that of a slab. The application of this last calculation assumption provides pavement sections more in line with those used in Spain in the Catalogue of Structural Sections, which is based on experience gained from the real behavior of those sections. The calculation based on the fatigue laws results in undersized structures. This paper shows the results of a strain sweep test implemented at the UPC Roads Laboratory, which was used to analyse all the aforementioned effects and to propose a calculation procedure for heavy traffic pavements considering transverse cracking of the asphalt layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses data for Spain from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (release 2.3.1) to model the determinants of the quality of life of the elderly, paying special attention to their intergenerational relations. The aim is to study CASP-12 (a social functional index) and explore the effect of interdependency in terms of the transfer of the resources of time and money between the elderly and other family members. To do so, we estimate a latent class model to explore the determinants of wellbeing. This allows us to distinguish between two different subpopulations, whose quality of life is modeled in different ways and who potentially would require different types of public care policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The difficult economic situation, the political crisis of employment and demographic change constitute new conditions of the economic, political and cultural society that, although conjunctural, have allowed open the current debate on the present and future sustainability of the Social Security system in general and on the pension system in particular. Demographic change linked to the aging process occupies and is of concern to the European Union itself. The European Commission imposes social security reforms on Member States. The change suggested by the European Commission represents a drastic change in the Spanish Social Security system that poses serious problems of constitutionality and legality. The introduction of the sustainability factor implies a regression of the pension system that favours the development of private pension funds, assuming in the future an impoverishment of pensioners. This change is contrary to what is established in the Spanish Constitution, as it represents an attack on the very essence of the Social Security System as the basic pillar of the Social and Democratic State of Law in which Spain is configured. In fact, sustainability has been an argument to justify reforms that act on social spending in order to stabilize public debt and deficits. But pensions have to be sustainable because Social Security is protected by an institutional guarantee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brandy de Jerez is differentiated from other brandies by its distinctive and unique organoleptic characteristics that are derived basically from its traditional system of production, from the characteristics of the wooden cask in which it is aged and, naturally, also from climatic characteristics of the geographic area where it is exclusively made. With a view to ensuring its quality, in the present study, an ageing solera of Brandy de Jerez has been characterised analytically . The samples have been obtained in a winery of the production zone over a 2-year period, and the following analytical parameters have been monitored: colour, index of total polyphenols, short-chain organic acids and the analysis of particular polyphenolic compounds. This paper has studied the evolution of these parameters and their possible correlation with the age of the samples. A statistical model has been devised that allows the samples to be classified correctly in function of their mean age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immigration and population ageing represent circumstances with important sociocultural and economic repercussions. Methods: A qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted to understand the daily lives and the work of immigrant women dedicated to caring for older citizens. In-depth interviews and discussion groups were carried out in a group of 40 immigrant carers. Data were analysed via the constant comparative method. Results: Three qualitative themes emerged from the data: 'difficult lives', 'working in the home', and 'the vision of the other'. This study highlights the many difficulties encountered by this population. A sense of vulnerability was described while fulfilling their professional duties due to their migrant condition, experiences of gender inequality, and work status. An emotional connection is necessary to provide care, which is impossible in cases of discrimination. Discussion: Administrative regularisation is necessary to improve the quality of immigrant carers' working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing care needs of an ageing disabled population and older people who become disabled due to the ageing process itself raises the issue of insufficient care and the need for a social reorganisation of care between the State, families, the market and civil society. Current research on care focuses on perspectives where technology can play an important role. Technology designed to enhance care and self-care helps to promote the participation of older people in society. The authors participated and present a line of research developed in Spain that analyses whether technology is being used as a model that reproduces care practices with a welfare approach or as a phenomenon that facilitates a social model of disability that contributes to greater autonomy of the elderly in carrying out daily activities, self-determination, and where the community context plays a more critical role, as has been recommended by supranational organisations. Educating seniors about digital literacy is important, as is advancing research by collaborating with seniors to co-design technology for care and self-care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social & Education History / Historia Social y de la Educación is the property of Social & Education History / Historia Social y de la Educacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article looks at how death and funerals influence experiences of home amongst people ageing within transnational families. Drawing on ethnographic research with Ecuadorian and Peruvian migrants in Spain and England, and the elderly members of their families in their countries of origin, it argues that the fear of dying, the death of relatives, and the impossibility to attend their funerals profoundly shape the experience of home at both sides of the Atlantic. The narratives of those ageing in South America reveal that the fear of dying without seeing their adults children's return, or even visiting them, aggravates feelings of loneliness and affects their sense of home. The stories of those ageing in Europe reveal that the death of close kin and the impossibility of attending their funerals shape their attitudes towards home in both their 'host-lands' and 'home-lands'. Not being able to join funerary ceremonies, touch the hands of deceased relatives and say goodbye in preparation for the latter's final journey consistently disrupts their sense of home, if not forever, then for a significant part of their lives. By bringing death and funerals into the ageing-migration-home nexus this article complicates questions of home and return in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To establish groups of people with chronic non‐cancer pain according to the impairment caused by pain and to identify factors associated with the group with a higher level of impairment. Background: Knowing the profiles of people who suffer from chronic non‐cancer pain could make it possible to direct their treatment and to detect associated risks. Design: A cross‐sectional study. Methods: A sample of 395 people with chronic non‐cancer pain was collected in Pain Units and Primary Healthcare Centres in southern Spain (January to March 2020). A cluster analysis was performed to divide the population into groups and a binary logistic regression model was established to determine factors associated with the group with a higher level of impairment. Results: Two groups were identified: lower level of impairment due to pain, characterized by being 45–65 years old, not medicated with opioids or anxiolytics, employed and with a mild level of impact on daily life; and higher level of impairment characterized by being older than 65 years old, medicated with opioids and anxiolytics, retired or on medical leave and with a severe impact on daily life. In addition, among women, being widowed, single or a smoker are risk factors for belonging to the group with a higher level of impairment; being smokers or consuming alcohol three or less times a week would be risk factors in men. Conclusions: Age, chronic non‐cancer pain impact on daily life, work situation and the consumption of opioid drugs and/or anxiolytics are factors that appear to influence the level of impairment due to chronic pain. Impact These findings could help detect impairment due to pain in its early stages, determining the specific needs of each person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyse the effectiveness of a psychosocial intervention programme in preventing loneliness and increasing self‐efficacy and social participation among older women living alone in Spain. A sequential, nested experimental design was used, with a primary quantitative quasi‐experimental pre‐post study with a control group (CG) and a secondary qualitative study. A total of 48 women participated, and 34 of them (the experimental group, EG) received a 25‐hour psychosocial support intervention delivered by volunteers who focused on three aspects: conversation, attribution retraining and behavioural activation. The other women remained on the waiting list (CG = 14). The women (EG and CG) were all interviewed before and after the intervention and a follow‐up of the EG was performed at 6 months (N = 25). Semi‐structured interviews were used to collect sociodemographic and health‐related data, as well as data on satisfaction with the programme and its benefits. Validated instruments were used to collect data on the dependent variables (self‐efficacy in ageing, subjective social participation and loneliness). Quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data analysis. Compared to the pre‐test results, women in the EG improved their self‐efficacy in ageing (t‐test: −2.246; p: 0.031; d: 0.30), and, more specifically, their self‐efficacy in managing socio‐emotional problems such as loneliness (t‐test: −1.995; p: 0.054; d: 0.25) and in managing their health (t‐test: −2.450; p: 0.020; d: 0.47). No significant differences were observed between the follow‐up and the post‐test results, meaning that the changes identified after the intervention remained stable. Four additional categories of benefits were identified in the participants' discourses. In conclusion, the intervention appears to be beneficial and effective in improving self‐efficacy, which is a well‐established predictor of loneliness in old age, in a group of vulnerable individuals. Further studies on this type of community intervention are necessary to prevent loneliness among older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due to procurement costs amongst older persons from seven European urban communities.Methods: The data were collected in a cross-sectional study ("ABUEL, Elder abuse: A multinational prevalence survey") in 2009. Randomly selected people aged 60-84 years (n = 4,467) from seven urban communities: Stuttgart (Germany), Athens (Greece), Ancona (Italy), Kaunas (Lithuania), Porto (Portugal), Granada (Spain) and Stockholm (Sweden) were interviewed. Response rate - 45.2%. Ethical permission was received in each country.Results: The results indicate that 3.6% (n = 162) of the respondents self-reported refraining from buying prescribed medications due to cost. The highest prevalence of this problem was identified in Lithuania (15.7%, n = 99) and Portugal (4.3%, n = 28). Other countries reported lower percentages of refraining from buying medications (Germany - 2.0%, Italy - 1.6%, Sweden - 1.0%, Greece - 0.6%, Spain - 0.3%). Females refrained more often from buying medications than males (2.6% vs. 4.4%, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of this refraining tended to increase with economic hardship.Discussion: These differences between countries can be only partly described by the financing of health-care systems. In spite of the presence of cost reimbursement mechanisms, patients need to make co-payments (or in some cases to pay the full price) for prescribed medications. This indicates that the purchasing power of people in 10.1186/s12913-015-1089-4 the particular country can play a major role and be related with the economic situation in the country. Lithuania, which has reported the highest refrain rates, had the lowest gross domestic product (at the time of conducting this study) of all participating countries in the study.Conclusions: Refraining from buying the prescribed medications due to cost is a problem for women and men in respect to ageing people in Europe. Prevalence varies by country, sex, and economic hardship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Urbanisation and rural migration in some areas of Spain and Portugal have given rise to rural contexts largely defined by ageing and depopulation. Rural populations have suffered from increasing social isolation, with older people living alone in villages with very few inhabitants and limited access to services. The aim of this study is to analyse the extent to which technology serve as a strategy to improve social relations and how technology influences older adults' loneliness, its uses, meanings, experiences, and perceptions. Methods: Ethnographic research is conducted in several locations in the border area between Spain and Portugal, supported by semi-structured interviews with 17 rural subjects aged 65 years and older. Results: The results underline two main points. Participants' definitions point to loneliness as an experience built around nostalgia for those who are no longer there, where the disappearance of rituals in the community also leads to a lack of "social happiness". Conclusions: We note low levels of digital literacy skills and competence among our participants, with most of them rejecting any technology beyond analogue devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Older adults have proven their ability to overcome adversities throughout their life. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on older adultsʼ psychological distress (anxiety and depression) over time. Methods: A community‐dwelling Spaniard population (N = 192) completed a survey and reported on their sociodemographic characteristics, appraisal and personal resources. Older adults took part in a longitudinal online survey collected in April 2020 (during the lockdown restrictions) and at two subsequent time points 3 and 9 months after baseline (without lockdown restrictions and during the third wave of the pandemic respectively). Results: Older adults did not evidence higher emotional distress than during the initial lockdown. Furthermore, depression remained stable and anxiety significantly decreased. Results also suggest that some sociodemographic characteristics, appraisals and personal resources are relevant. Older participants showed less anxiety than younger ones. Furthermore, being a male, resilience, and acceptance were related with the decrease of anxiety. Otherwise, fear of the COVID‐19 outbreak and depression were related with the increase of anxiety. Conclusion: Older adults may adapt to the adverse pandemic impact by using more adaptive resources that reduce their distress. Efforts to ameliorate older adults' anxiety by focusing on older adults' personal resources should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anthropologica is the property of CASCA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Living standards capabilities are an important determinant of healthy ageing. The Living Standards Capabilities for Elders scale (LSCAPE) is the main instrument available to assess living standards capabilities among older adults based on Sen's Capability Approach. The objectives of this study were: (a) to adapt and validate LSCAPE for use in the Spanish population; (b) to examine the dimensionality, validity and reliability; and (c) to establish the convergent validity of LSCAPE using self-reported measures of quality of life and income. The LSCAPE was administered to 441 Spanish seniors aged 65 and over. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to analyse the dimensionality, validity and reliability. Discriminant and convergent validity of the model were assessed using Average Variance Extracted (AVE). Reliability was shown by Composite Reliability (CR) and Cronbach's alpha. Convergent validity was tested by correlating the LSCAPE scales and sub-scales with the Short-form Health Survey (SF-12) sub-scales. CFA showed that the LSCAPE Six-factor Model fits well to the data, showing Standardised Root Mean Square Residual < 0.09 (0.084), Comparative Fit Index and Tucker–Lewis Index > 0.9 (0.925 and 0.917, respectively). LSCAPE showed also good reliability (CR indices > 0.7) and validity (AVE > 0.5) measures. Finally, LSCAPE had moderate to strong associations with SF-12 sub-scales (>0.6) and a moderate relationship with income (>0.3). Thus, LSCAPE has been demonstrated to be a reliable and valid instrument in measuring living standards capabilities among the Spanish older population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Visual impairment (VI) may lead to worsening functional status and disability. Although disability is very difficult to reverse, it is usually preceded by frailty that may be reverted more easily. It is possible that VI is also related to frailty. Aims: To assess the relationship between VI and worsening of the frailty status. Methods: Data were taken from the Toledo Study for Healthy Aging (TSHA), a cohort study of community-dwelling people older than 65 years living in one Spanish province who were followed for 5 years. 1181 participants were included. VI was self-reported and frailty was operationalized using the Fried's phenotype adapted to a Spanish population. Models of multivariate logistic regression were built to assess the associations. Results: The mean age was 73.9 (Standard Deviation (SD) = 5 years) and 58.5% were females. Pre-frailty/frailty prevalence at baseline and follow-up were 41.2/5% and 36.2/12.5%, respectively, and VI was reported by 14.1%. After adjusting for age, gender, education level, tobacco consumption, type 2 diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, depressive symptoms and cognitive status, odds ratios for the development of frailty by VI were 2.5 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.5–4.4) for non-frail, 2.7 (95% CI 1.3–5.7) for pre-frail and 1.9 (CI 0.6–6.00) for robust participants. The frailty domains whose appearance was most increased by VI were slowness, low energy, low physical activity and weakness. Discussion: Our findings support that VI worsens frailty in the early stages of its development (pre-frailty). VI impairs several frailty items at the same time. Conclusions: Our study highlights the need to assess both VI and frailty for the prevention of frailty and disability in older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vocabulary size seems to be affected by multiple factors, including those that belong to the properties of the words themselves and those that relate to the characteristics of the individuals assessing the words. In this study, we present results from a crowdsourced lexical decision megastudy in which more than 150,000 native speakers from around 20 Spanish-speaking countries performed a lexical decision task to 70 target word items selected from a list of about 45,000 Spanish words. We examined how demographic characteristics such as age, education level, and multilingualism affected participants' vocabulary size. Also, we explored how common factors related to words like frequency, length, and orthographic neighbourhood influenced the knowledge of a particular item. Results indicated important contributions of age to overall vocabulary size, with vocabulary size increasing in a logarithmic fashion with this factor. Furthermore, a contrast between monolingual and bilingual communities within Spain revealed no significant vocabulary size differences between the communities. Additionally, we replicated the standard effects of the words' properties and their interactions, accurately accounting for the estimated knowledge of a particular word. These results highlight the value of crowdsourced approaches to uncover effects that are traditionally masked by small-sampled in-lab factorial experimental designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical models of active ageing and cognitive reserve emphasize the importance of leading an active life to delay age-related cognitive deterioration and maintain good levels of well-being and personal satisfaction in the elderly. The objective of this research was to construct a scale to measure cognitively stimulating activities (CSA) in the Spanish language. The sample consisted of a total of 453 older persons. The scale was constructed from a list of 28 items and validated using structural equation models. The scale obtained showed a negative correlation with age and a positive correlation with education and physical activity. Using hierarchical regression models, CSAs were found to have a significant effect on attention when controlling for the effect of age and education. Likewise, a significant interaction between age and CSA was found on the measure of episodic memory. The validated CSA scale will enable the relationships between changes in cognitive functions and stimulating activities to be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study was carried out in Spain with the aim of identifying the changes that the health system should make to improve healthcare access for older adults with intellectual disability. Three hundred and sixty‐nine family members and professionals expressed their opinion on how healthcare access could be improved. Participants responded to two open‐ended questions included in a general survey about the health status of older individuals with intellectual disability. Most informants were women and professionals who had known the person with intellectual disability for more than 12 months. A system of categories, which showed good inter‐rater agreement, was developed to analyse participants' written responses. Both family members and professionals emphasized the need to improve disability training for healthcare practitioners and highlighted the urgent need for flexibility in the structure of a healthcare system that currently overlooks the specific needs of this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technology offers significant opportunities for communication, information, and entertainment. However, mobile and multimedia devices are not accessible to the whole population. Older adults and people with disabilities are the groups that can benefit most from ICT because it is a resource that can provide them with a better quality of life. In 2050 Spain will be the world's oldest country. However, results suggest that the access to ICT among older people is still low. This study has examined the patterns of use and barriers to access to the internet of people over sixty-five years, with special attention to those who have a disability. Microdata from the Social Integration and Health Survey developed by the National Statistics Institute from Spain (INE) in 2012 have been used. In the first part, an overview of the ageing process in Spain is offered. Also, the concepts of accessibility, universal design, and usability are introduced. Next, this article examines the exclusion from technology issues, mainly the internet, of the Spanish population over sixty-five years. Finally, future challenges in the area of technological accessibility are outlined. Results indicated a low internet penetration in the Spanish elderly population. Computer literacy and economic reasons were the main factors causing the digital gap among the elderly with or without disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Overweight and obesity are clinical public-health concerns worldwide. Amongst older adults, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is considered high. The purpose of this study was to provide current data regarding the prevalence and trends of overweight and obesity of adults from 2005 to 2013 in 10 European countries. Methods: The data used in the present study were derived from the first, second, fourth and fifth waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. The present study includes individuals aged ⩾50 years from 10 European countries. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from self-reported height and weight (kg/m2). Results: The general prevalence of overweight (BMI ⩾25 kg/m2) was slightly above 60% and remained stable between 2005 (60.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 59.3–60.9%) and 2013 (60.3%, 95% CI: 59.7–60.9%). On the other hand, the prevalence of obesity (BMI ⩾30 kg/m2) increased significantly (1.6 points, 95% CI: 0.7–2.6) from 17.5% in 2005 to 19.2% in 2013. Although the prevalence of obesity increased in most countries, the only significant increase was observed in Germany (5.8 points, 95% CI: 1.8–9.9). Spain was the only country where the prevalence of obesity decreased significantly (−4.7 points, 95% CI: −8.8 to −0.5). Sex and age differences are reported. Conclusions: Although the prevalence of overweight was stable, the prevalence of obesity rose. Based on the data currently available for Europe, the prevalence of obesity in European older adults has already reached epidemic proportions, which reinforces the need for the development of effective healthy lifestyle programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses ethnography of British retirement migration in Spain to explore how care practices among migrant peers operationalize 'community' in place. Social, economic and political transformations, including shrinking welfare state provision, family at a distance and marketized care, have generated care deficits. I show how peer-led care practices help mediate these deficits, assisting individuals in 'getting by' and providing safeguards against exploitation, while constituting some sense of 'community' as well as personal meaning in liquid contexts. However, I show how temporal, spatial and social limitations render this community fragile and exclusive, while practices aimed at mediating between family, state and market, set boundaries of responsibility. Nevertheless, I argue for critical reflection on the potential of these emerging peer-led welfare architectures especially in the contexts of heightened mobility, austerity, transnationalism and an ageing population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been argued that older people's civic engagement has benefits for both individuals themselves and the community more broadly. Removing barriers to participation is, therefore, essential. However, the multi-dimensional nature of civic participation, as well as the different issues raised by recruitment and retention, complicate this. This study explores the barriers to retention of Spanish older people in political organisations, as one important type of participation that has received little attention in the literature to date. A total of 192 people aged 65 and over and actively engaged in three kinds of political organisation participated in this study. Participants answered an open-ended question regarding perceived barriers to continued involvement. Results show a range of reasons for potential future disengagement from political organisations. These barriers fit into three overarching categories related to changes in means, motives or the opportunity context for participation. Means-related barriers were by far the most frequently identified type of barrier. Both the type of organisation and some socio-demographic and participatory characteristics have an impact on the reasons respondents indicated they may potentially stop participating in future. Results suggest the necessity of a more nuanced and multi-faceted approach to understanding barriers to participation. Particularly, the development of retention strategies by political organisations should take into account the specific characteristics of the individuals and organisations they are targeting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: There is a marked growth in the number of homebound older adults, due mainly to increased life expectancy. Although this group has special characteristics and needs, it has not been properly studied. This study thus aimed to measure the prevalence of homebound status in a community-dwelling population, and its association with both socio-demographic, medical and functional characteristics and the use of health care and social services.Methods: We used instruments coming under the WHO International Classification of Functioning (ICF) framework to carry out a cross-sectional study on populations aged 50 years and over in the province of Zaragoza (Spain), covering a total of 1622 participants. Persons who reported severe or extreme difficulty in getting out of the house in the last 30 days were deemed to be homebound. We studied associations between homebound status and several relevant variables in a group of 790 subjects who tested positive to the WHODAS-12 disability screening tool.Results: Prevalence of homebound status was 9.8 % (95 % CI: 8.4 to 11.3 %). Homebound participants tended to be older, female and display a lower educational level, a higher number of diseases, poorer cognition and a higher degree of disability. In fully adjusted models including disability as measured with the ICF-Checklist, the associated variables (odds ratios and [95 % confidence intervals]) were: female gender (3.75 [2.10-6.68]); urban population (2.36 [1.30-4.29]); WHODAS-12 disability (6.27 [2.56-15.40]); depressive symptoms (2.95 [1.86-4.68]); moderate pain (2.37 [1.30-4.31] and severe pain (3.03 [1.31-7.01]), as compared to the group with no/mild pain; hospital admissions in the previous 3 months (2.98 [1.25-7.11]); and diabetes (1.87 [1.03-3.41]). Adjustment for ICF-Checklist disability had a notable impact on most associations.Conclusions: The study shows that homebound status is a common problem in our setting, and that being disabled is its main determinant. Socio-demographic characteristics, barriers and chronic diseases can also be assumed to be playing a role in the onset of this condition, indicating the need for further research, including longitudinal studies on its incidence and associated factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between heat waves and mortality has been widely described, but there are few studies using long daily data on specific-cause mortality. This study is undertaken in central Spain and analysing natural causes, circulatory and respiratory causes of mortality from 1975 to 2008. Time-series analysis was performed using ARIMA models, including data on specific-cause mortality and maximum and mean daily temperature and mean daily air pressure. The length of heat waves and their chronological number were analysed. Data were stratified in three decadal stages: 1975-1985, 1986-1996 and 1997-2008. Heat-related mortality was triggered by a threshold temperature of 37 °C. For each degree that the daily maximum temperature exceeded 37 °C, the percentage increase in mortality due to circulatory causes was 19.3 % (17.3-21.3) in 1975-1985, 30.3 % (28.3-32.3) in 1986-1996 and 7.3 % (6.2-8.4) in 1997-2008. The increase in respiratory cause ranged from 12.4 % (7.8-17.0) in the first period, to 16.3 % (14.1-18.4) in the second and 13.7 % (11.5-15.9) in the last. Each day of heat-wave duration explained 5.3 % (2.6-8.0) increase in respiratory mortality in the first period and 2.3 % (1.6-3.0) in the last. Decadal scale differences exist for specific-causes mortality induced by extreme heat. The impact on heat-related mortality by natural and circulatory causes increases between the first and the second period and falls significantly in the last. For respiratory causes, the increase is no reduced in the last period. These results are of particular importance for the estimation of future impacts of climate change on health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:Evidence supports that subjective well-being (SWB) diminishes in the old age and that this decline is strongly determined by elders’ psychosocial resources. This study explored person-centred, multidimensional, empirically-derived profiles of psychosocial functioning in the elderly and related each trajectory to differing configurations of SWB.Method:A community-based, convenience sample of Spanish institutionalised and non-institutionalised elders voluntarily participated in this cross-sectional study.Results:A cluster analysis produced three within-person psychosocial profiles characterised by distinct patterns of functioning:highly successful eldersdemonstrated to be healthy, highly confident in their own resources and very active in daily life;moderately successful eldersdemonstrated average functioning across domains, although they expected decreases in the future; andhighly impaired elderswere ill and stressed, at a high risk for future health problems and depression, and tried to compensate for their status mainly through social support. Each of these profiles was related differently to SWB configurations: highly successful elders demonstrated significantly higher happiness, positive affect, affect balance and life satisfaction; moderately successful elders showed average levels of SWB but decreased positive affect; and highly impaired elders demonstrated dramatically lower SWB. Furthermore, such trajectories were associated with the elders’ living condition. The happiest elders were more likely to be home-dwelling elders; however, there were fewer unhappy elders among those who were institutionalised.Conclusion:A person-centred approach to assessing psychosocial and SWB configurations provides a rich picture of individual differences in the ageing processes and can help in designing interventions aimed at enhancing happiness in old age. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the last fifteen years Alzheimer's disease (AD) has changed the way in which developed countries have tended to perceive and deal with ageing. It has also become the main health problem needing to be resolved in both financial and social terms. If cancer was considered and labelled as the epidemic of the twentieth century, AD has soon been designated as the epidemic of the twenty-first century. This article analyses how AD is perceived and represented in two films, Amanecer de un sueño, directed in 2008 by Freddy Mas Franqueza, and ¿Y tú quién eres?, directed in 2007 by Antonio Mercero. As for ageing, questions of stigmatization and stereotyping around AD are discussed, and special consideration is given to the manner in which medical, social and political institutions in Spain have created a monolithic view of AD with the purpose of shaping a homogeneous social response to the disease. Current debates between those who perceive the disease as a social burden for the State and the family, and those who defend centring the discussion on the persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and their personhoods frame the analysis of these two films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To describe the pattern of drug consumption among patients with dementia in a geographically defined general population in Catalonia (Spain), and to determine its association with age, gender, type of dementia and severity indicators. Methods: Cross-sectional study that included 1,894 cases of dementia registered by the Registry of Dementias of Girona from 2007 to 2009. Prescribed drugs were categorized according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification. A descriptive analysis of drug consumption was stratified according to age, gender, dementia subtypes and dementia severity. Binary logistic regression models were adjusted to detect the association of these variables with drug consumption according to the ATC groups. Results: The most commonly prescribed drugs were for the central nervous system (CNS) (96.4 %), cardiovascular system (79.4 %) and digestive and metabolic system categories (77.7 %). No significant differences were found between the use of nervous system drugs and age, gender, dementia subtypes or dementia severity. The use of alimentary tract and metabolism related drugs, as well as cardiovascular and blood system drugs, were positively correlated with age and secondary dementia. The prevalence of use of cardiovascular and musculoskeletal drugs was higher in women than in men (OR: 1.34; OR: 1.26 respectively). A negative association was found between the severity of dementia and the use of musculoskeletal drugs (OR: 0.71), while its use was significantly higher in the youngest patients (OR: 1.71). Conclusions: Almost all patients with dementia received a CNS drug, being at risk of inappropriate treatment. Treatment for comorbidities in patients with dementia should not be withheld on the basis of age or dementia severity, but rather on the benefit/risk ratio of its prescription. Further studies are needed to evaluate potentially inappropriate drug use and possible untreated conditions in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present an empirical analysis of early retirement CAP (R. 2079/92) policy in Spain. The guidelines issued by the commission in 1985 (COM(85)750 last) emphasize the need to help young farmers to get started and describe the handicaps to be overcomeby young individuals seeking to start up as farmers on account of reduced mobility in ownership of arable land. The early retirement policy is a structural and rural development policy (installation of young farmers, modernization of agrarian structures). We explore the implementation of this process on a national and regional level in Spain and Castille and Leon, and review its inconsistencies and the interests of the parties involved. The early retirement scheme presents poorresults because of its extra-cultural nature, unconnected with the traditions of inheritance and the farmers' interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]