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Copyright of Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Introduction: The novel coronavirus SARS‐CoV2 (COVID‐19) was declared a global pandemic in 2020 with the greatest risk to older adults. Prolonged restrictions and isolation threaten the social and emotional welfare of vulnerable groups with concerns focused on the long‐term impact of this pandemic on the health and well‐being of aging populations. Purpose: Using the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (STT) as a conceptual framework, the purpose of this literature review was to explore the impact of COVID‐19 on the psychological and social well‐being of older adults. Methods: Numerous academic and healthcare‐related databases were searched to yield 24 relevant primary research articles, published during the pandemic (2020–2022), for analysis. Results/Conclusions: Overall results indicated the pandemic had a significant negative affect on the psychological and social well‐being of older adults to include those with cognitive impairments and dementia despite perceptions of reduced awareness. There were significant differences between age groups with older adults reporting greater emotional stability and coping skills than younger cohorts. Although supportive services and the use of technology‐enhanced well‐being these resources were reduced during the pandemic due to lack of trained staff, funding, and other socioeconomic or political barriers. The SST proposes that feelings of satisfaction, a sense of belonging, and purpose are important for emotional well‐being but the pandemic challenged these goals and, for many, resulted in stress, anxiety, and depression. Clinical Relevance: Healthcare providers and policymakers need to be aware of the negative consequences triggered by the prolonged pandemic and take measures to provide services that support the psychosocial well‐being of older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Venous insufficiency is the most common cause of leg ulceration, but the impact of venous leg ulceration on health‐related quality of life has not been adequately assessed. This study compared data from randomized controlled trials to population norms obtained from a large national population survey. We combined the baseline Short Form‐36 (SF‐36) version 1 data from two New Zealand randomized controlled trials that recruited participants with VLU and compared the pooled data to the population scores obtained from the New Zealand Health Survey using general linear regression to adjust for age, sex, and ethnicity differences between the cohorts. Baseline SF‐36 scores obtained from 618 trial participants were compared to the SF‐36 scores obtained from the 12,529 participants in the New Zealand Health Survey. Participants with VLU had significantly lower crude SF‐36 scores across all eight SF‐36 domains, but there was interaction between age and group. Adjusted mean differences for participants aged 65 years or younger were −25.8, −32.1, −21.2, −9.6, −7.6, −23.9, −21.5, and −9.3, respectively, for Physical Functioning, Role Physical, Bodily Pain, General Health, Vitality, Social Functioning, Role Emotional, and Mental Health whereas the adjusted mean differences for older participants were −15.7, −23.8, −13.8, −0.3 (nonsignificant), −4.6, −15.3, −21.2, and −6.6. This study is the first to compare a VLU population to norms from a general population survey and the first to show VLU interacts with age creating stronger impact in younger patients compared their age cohort. Younger patients may have need of more pastoral care as a consequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Extensive studies on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are lacking. Our objective was to document HRQoL and to identify factors associated with a reduced HRQoL in patients with IIM.Methods: A total of 1,715 patients (median age 49.9 years, 70% female, 87% white) who met probable or definite Bohan and Peter criteria or Griggs criteria for myositis were included from the Myovision registry. HRQoL was ascertained using the Short Form 12 (SF-12) health survey questionnaire. HRQoL physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores in relation to different patient and disease characteristics were compared to scores from matched normative data from the US general population and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Bivariate and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess the association between HRQoL and patient and disease parameters.Results: The mean SF-12 summary scores were significantly lower in IIM patients than in the normative and RA populations. A diagnosis of inclusion body myositis, older age, patient-reported negative effect of disease on work, presence of another co-occurring autoimmune disease, polypharmacy, and IIM-associated lung disease and joint involvement were significantly associated with lower PCS scores. Lower MCS scores were associated with joint involvement and a negative effect of disease on work.Conclusion: In this large study of patient-reported outcomes in IIM, an association was found between multiple disease characteristics and reduced HRQoL, mostly in the physical domain. In the US, the HRQoL of IIM patients was found to be lower than that of the general population and RA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The difficulties adolescents and young adults (AYAs) encounter during a cancer experience may result in a reduction in or absence of empowerment. The aims of the current study were to assess levels of empowerment and associated (demographic, clinical, or psychological) factors and examine the association between empowerment and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among AYA patients with cancer.Methods: Patients aged 18 to 35 years at time of cancer diagnosis and who were seen by 1 of the members of the specialized multidisciplinary AYA team of the Radboud University Medical Center were invited to complete questionnaires regarding empowerment; HRQOL; and sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological characteristics (autonomy, coping, unmet social support needs, and psychological distress).Results: A total of 83 AYA patients completed the questionnaires. The mean age of the participants at the time of diagnosis was 27.5 years. The vast majority had been treated with chemotherapy (86%), had a more advanced stage of disease, and had completed treatment at the time of participation (74%). The mean empowerment level was 154.1 (standard deviation, 17.8) with a range of 114 to 200. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the autonomy subscales of self-awareness (β = .35), capacity for managing new situations (β = .19), and social support (β = .35) were found to be positively associated with empowerment. Coping difficulties (β = -.19) were found to be negatively associated with empowerment. Empowerment was independently associated with physical (β = .31), psychological (β = .50), social (β = .39), religious (β = .33), and total HRQOL (β = .52; all P<.01).Conclusions: Low levels of empowerment were associated with low levels of autonomy and social support, female sex, and coping difficulties among AYA patients with cancer. Recognizing these patients as candidates for empowerment interventions ultimately could help to improve HRQOL in late adolescence and young adulthood. Cancer 2017;123:4039-47. © 2017 The Authors. Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Cancer Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]