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Objectives This study examined engagement levels across various domains of leisure activities in community-dwelling Black adults (age range = 50–80 years) and variability in daily leisure activity engagement and positive affect (PA; positive emotions or mood) and negative affect (NA; negative emotions or mood). Additionally, we explored whether PA and NA were associated with leisure activity engagement and whether these associations varied by sociodemographics. Methods Fifty adults (78% women; mean education = 11.62 years, standard deviation = 2.4) reported affect and leisure activity engagement over 8 occasions (2–3 weeks). Results Participants averaged 3 leisure activities/day with more engagement in watching television (news), walking, reading, and visiting others. Multilevel models identified significant within-person variation across domains of leisure activity engagement. A significant main effect was observed between daily NA and reduced social activity engagement. A significant interaction between NA and education was further illustrated on those occasions when NA was higher than usual, social and total leisure activity engagement tended to be lower, particularly for adults with ≤10 years of education. A significant interaction between NA and education was observed for entertainment activities. However, results indicated adults with ≥14 years of education, and a mean NA above the sample average, tended to engage in more entertainment activities. Finally, a significant interaction between PA and age was observed indicating adults aged ≥73 had a greater social engagement, particularly when daily PA was heightened. Discussion Results demonstrate within-person changes in the types of leisure engagement among Black adults. Potential factors related to these changes may result from interconnections between affect and demographic factors (age and education).

Data from the Interplay of Genes and Environment across Multiple Studies (IGEMS) consortium were used to examine predictions of different models of gene by environment interaction to understand how genetic variance in self-rated health (SRH) varies at different levels of financial strain. A total of 11,359 individuals from 10 twin studies in Australia, Sweden and the United States contributed relevant data, including 2074 monozygotic and 2623 dizygotic twin pairs. Age ranged from 22-98 years, with a mean age of 61.05 (sd = 13.24). A factor model was used to create a harmonized measure of financial strain across studies and items. Twin analysis of genetic and environmental variance for SRH incorporating age, age(2), sex, and financial strain moderators indicated significant financial strain moderation of genetic influences on self-rated health. Moderation results did not differ across sex or country. Genetic variance for SRH increased as financial strain increased, matching the predictions of the diathesis-stress and social comparison models for components of variance. Under these models, environmental improvements would be expected to reduce genetically based health disparities.

Introduction: Arab Americans are significantly affected by depression with prevalence as high as 50%. Our study assesses whether unique causes of depression such as stress, acculturation, and heritage identity play a role in the high prevalence of depression in Arab Americans. Methods: We surveyed 142 self-identified Arab Americans using a convenience model. Participants answered questions about their level of perceived stress, everyday discrimination, and acculturative stress. They also answered questions regarding their level of acculturation and heritage identity. Finally, participants answered questions regarding their depressive symptoms. A score of 16+ on the depression scale was used as the cut-off for depression. Results: The prevalence of depression in our sample was 60%. In our logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, BMI and education, we found that perceived stress (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.10, 1.33, p 0.05). Conclusions: Our study shows that perceived stress and acculturative stress increase the odds of depression in Arab Americans and therefore may play a role in the high prevalence of depression in this population. We hope our findings inform clinicians on the important underlying causes that may be causing depression in their Arab American patients.

Objectives: This study examines whether the effects of receiving and providing social support on cognition differ by education. Methods: Data from 602 African American adults (48–95 years) enrolled in the Baltimore Study of Black Aging—Patterns of Cognitive Aging were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results: We found no main effects of receiving or providing social support on global cognition. Main effects for receiving or providing social support on memory were detected. Further, a significant moderation effect was observed for memory, such that received social support was more strongly associated with higher working memory among less-educated individuals than those with high levels of education, adjusting for age, sex, marital status, chronic conditions, and depressive symptoms. Discussion: Study findings demonstrate that social support and education have joint effects on memory outcomes, highlighting the importance of considering psychosocial protective factors that might alleviate, reduce, or even eliminate cognitive health disparities in African Americans.

America is undergoing two major demographic transitions that will impact the society. The U.S. Census Bureau (2008) projects that by 2030, one in every five Americans will be 65 and older. By 2050, the population will nearly double from the 2010 population. The fastest growing segment of the population consists of individuals over 85, and by the year 2020, this group will comprise 19% of the elderly population (U.S. Administration on Aging, 2011). As the population ages, the nation will also become more racially and ethnically diverse. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the United States will be a ‘‘majority–minority’’ country in the middle of this century (Shrestha & Heisler, 2011). By 2050, it is projected that there will be a decline in the proportion of non-Hispanic Whites but an increase in the proportion of Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, 2010). As a result, these population projections will yield an increase in the number of racial and ethnic older adults. The implications of these demographic shifts among older adults are profound. Moreover, these shifts require that minority aging be placed at the forefront of research, practice, and policy agendas on the local, state, and national levels.

Loos, Ruth J F/0000-0002-8532-5087; Huibregtse, Brooke M./0000-0003-0977-7249; Kandler, Christian/0000-0002-9175-235X; Hjelmborg, Jacob/0000-0001-9630-9149; mangino, massimo/0000-0002-2167-7470; Siribaddana, Sisira/0000-0001-5821-2557; Plomin, Robert/0000-0002-0756-3629; Latvala, Antti/0000-0001-5695-117X; Kaprio, Jaakko/0000-0002-3716-2455; Willemsen, Gonneke/0000-0003-3755-0236; Tan, Qihua/0000-0003-3194-0030; Pahlen, Shandell/0000-0003-0753-4155; Pedersen, Nancy/0000-0001-8057-3543; Haworth, Claire/0000-0002-8608-289X; Nistico, Lorenza/0000-0003-1805-6240; Skytthe, Axel/0000-0002-8629-4913; van Beijsterveldt, Toos/0000-0002-6617-4201; Rebato, Esther/0000-0003-1221-8501; Li, Lintao/0000-0002-0604-9660; Bartels, Meike/0000-0002-9667-7555; Silventoinen, Karri/0000-0003-1759-3079; Cunha Oliveira, Vinicius/0000-0002-8658-3774; Sund, Reijo/0000-0002-6268-8117; Sodemann, Morten/0000-0001-8992-2500; Rasmussen, Finn/0000-0001-7915-7809; Harden, Kathryn/0000-0002-1557-6737; Medda, Emanuela/0000-0003-4837-4549; Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm/0000-0003-2981-0245; Colodro Conde, Lucia/0000-0002-9004-364X WOS: 000517442200060 PubMed: 31364586 The COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins) project is a large international collaborative effort to analyze individual-level phenotype data from twins in multiple cohorts from different environments. The main objective is to study factors that modify genetic and environmental variation of height, body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) and size at birth, and additionally to address other research questions such as long-term consequences of birth size. The project started in 2013 and is open to all twin projects in the world having height and weight measures on twins with information on zygosity. Thus far, 54 twin projects from 24 countries have provided individual-level data. The CODATwins database includes 489,981 twin individuals (228,635 complete twin pairs). Since many twin cohorts have collected longitudinal data, there is a total of 1,049,785 height and weight observations. For many cohorts, we also have information on birth weight and length, own smoking behavior and own or parental education. We found that the heritability estimates of height and BMI systematically changed from infancy to old age. Remarkably, only minor differences in the heritability estimates were found across cultural-geographic regions, measurement time and birth cohort for height and BMI. In addition to genetic epidemiological studies, we looked at associations of height and BMI with education, birth weight and smoking status. Within-family analyses examined differences within same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins in birth size and later development. The CODATwins project demonstrates the feasibility and value of international collaboration to address gene-by-exposure interactions that require large sample sizes and address the effects of different exposures across time, geographical regions and socioeconomic status. Academy of FinlandAcademy of Finland [266592, 100499, 205585, 118555, 141054, 265240, 263278, 264146]; Osaka University's International Joint Research Promotion Program; Centre of Research Excellence Grant from the National Health and Medical Research CouncilNational Health and Medical Research Council of Australia [1079102]; National Institutes of HealthUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [R01 HD068435, R01 MH062375, 1R01ESO15150-01, R21 AG039572]; National Medical Research Council Research Fellowship; California Tobacco-Related Disease Research ProgramUniversity of California System [7RT-0134H, 8RT-0107H, 6RT-0354H]; National Institute on AgingUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) [1RO1-AG13662-01A2]; Swedish Research Council through the Swedish Initiative for Research on Microdata in the Social And Medical Sciences (SIMSAM) [340-2013-5867]; Swedish Heart-Lung FoundationSwedish Heart-Lung Foundation; Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association's Research Foundation; Special Fund for Health Scientific Research in the Public Welfare, China [201502006]; NIDAUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) [DA011015, HD10333]; National Program for Research Infrastructure 2007 from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation; Research Council for Health and Disease; Velux Foundation; US National Institute of HealthUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [P01 AG08761]; Fund of Scientific Research, FlandersFWO; ENGAGE - European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology, FP7-HEALTH-F4-2007 [201413]; National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (NIAAA) [AA-12502, AA-00145, AA-09203]; Academy of Finland Center of Excellence in Complex Disease GeneticsAcademy of Finland [213506, 129680]; Cancer Research UKCancer Research UK [C1418/A7974]; W T Grant Foundation; University of London Central Research fund; Medical Research CouncilMedical Research Council UK (MRC) [G81/343, G120/635]; Economic and Social Research CouncilEconomic & Social Research Council (ESRC) [RES-000-22-2206]; Institute of Social Psychiatry [06/07-11]; Leverhulme Research FellowshipLeverhulme Trust [RF/2/RFG/2008/0145]; Goldsmiths, University of London; UK Medical Research CouncilMedical Research Council UK (MRC) [MR/M021475/1, G0901245]; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London; NIHUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [R01AG053217, RC2 HL103416]; National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China [81125007]; Global Research Network Program of the National Research Foundation [NRF 2011-220-E00006]; European Research Council (ERC)European Research Council (ERC) [240994]; Michigan State University; National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)United States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [R01-MH081813, R01-MH0820-54, R01-MH092377-02, R21-MH070542-01, R03-MH63851-01, 1R01-MH118848-01]; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) [R01-HD066040]; MSU Foundation [11-SPG-2518]; Fundacion Seneca, Regional Agency for Science and Technology, Murcia, Spain [08633/PHCS/08, 15302/PHCS/10, 19479/PI/14]; Ministry of Science and Innovation, SpainSpanish Government [PSI2009-11560, PSI2014-56680-R]; MagW/ZonMW [904-61-090, 985-10-002, 912-10-020, 904-61-193, 480-04-004, 463-06-001, 451-04-034, 400-05-717, Addiction-31160008, Middelgroot-911-09-032, Spinozapremie 56-464-14192]; European Research CouncilEuropean Research Council (ERC) [ERC-230374]; JSPS KAKENHI JP [23593419, 24792601, 26671010, 24590695, 26293128, 16K15385, 16K15978, 16K15989, 16H03261]; Australian National Health and Medical Research CouncilNational Health and Medical Research Council of Australia [437015, 607358]; Bonnie Babes Foundation [BBF20704]; Financial Markets Foundation for Children [032-2007]; Victorian Government; Portuguese agency for research (The Foundation for Science and Technology [FCT]) [POCI/DES/56834/2004]; Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust; Medical Research CouncilMedical Research Council UK (MRC); European UnionEuropean Union (EU); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)National Institute for Health Research (NIHR); King's College London; Fonds Quebecois de la Recherche sur la Societe et la CultureFQRNT; Fonds de la Recherche en Sante du QuebecFonds de la Recherche en Sante du Quebec; Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada; National Health Research Development Program; Canadian Institutes for Health ResearchCanadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR); Sainte-Justine Hospital's Research Center; Canada Research Chair ProgramCanada Research Chairs; National Research Foundation of KoreaNational Research Foundation of Korea [NRF-371-2011-1 B00047]; Swedish Research CouncilSwedish Research Council [2017-00641]; UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research CouncilBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) [31/D19086]; MRCMedical Research Council UK (MRC) [MR/M021475/1]; Krkkale University [2009/43]; TUBITAKTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [114C117]; National Institute of Mental HealthUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [R01 MH58354]; National Institute of HealthUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [NIA R01 AG018384, R01 AG018386, R01 AG022381, R01 AG022982]; VA San Diego Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health; Cooperative Studies Program of the Office of Research & Development of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Japan Society for the Promotion of ScienceMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT)Japan Society for the Promotion of Science [15H05105]; Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust; Stockholm County Council (ALF-projects)Stockholm County Council; Twins, a nonprofit Association for Scientific Research in Multiple Births (Belgium); [5T32DA017637]; [5T32AG052371] This study was conducted within the CODATwins project (Academy of Finland #266592). K Silventoinen is supported by Osaka University's International Joint Research Promotion Program. This research was facilitated through access to Twins Research Australia, a national resource supported by a Centre of Research Excellence Grant (ID: 1079102), from the National Health and Medical Research Council. The Boston University Twin Project is funded by grants (#R01 HD068435 #R01 MH062375) from the National Institutes of Health to K. Saudino. Paulo Ferreira is funded by a National Medical Research Council Research Fellowship. California Twin Program was supported by The California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (7RT-0134H, 8RT-0107H, 6RT-0354H) and the National Institutes of Health (1R01ESO15150-01).; The Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging (CAATSA) was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (grant 1RO1-AG13662-01A2) to K. E. Whitfield. The CATSS-Study is supported by the Swedish Research Council through the Swedish Initiative for Research on Microdata in the Social And Medical Sciences (SIMSAM) framework grant no 340-2013-5867, grants provided by the Stockholm County Council (ALF-projects), the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation and the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association's Research Foundation.; Chinese National Twin Registry is funded by Special Fund for Health Scientific Research in the Public Welfare (Project No: 201502006), China. Colorado Twin Registry is funded by NIDA-funded center grant DA011015, & Longitudinal Twin Study HD10333; Author Huibregtse is supported by 5T32DA017637 and 5T32AG052371. Danish Twin Registry is supported by the National Program for Research Infrastructure 2007 from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, The Research Council for Health and Disease, the Velux Foundation and the US National Institute of Health (P01 AG08761). Since its origin, the East Flanders Prospective Survey has been partly supported by grants from the Fund of Scientific Research, Flanders and Twins, a nonprofit Association for Scientific Research in Multiple Births (Belgium). Data collection and analyses in Finnish twin cohorts have been supported by ENGAGE - European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology, FP7-HEALTH-F4-2007, grant agreement number 201413, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grants AA-12502, AA-00145 and AA-09203 to R J Rose, the Academy of Finland Center of Excellence in Complex Disease Genetics (grant numbers: 213506, 129680), and the Academy of Finland (grants 100499, 205585, 118555, 141054, 265240, 263278 and 264146 to J Kaprio). Gemini was supported by a grant from Cancer Research UK (C1418/A7974). Waves 1-3 of Genesis 12-19 were funded by the W T Grant Foundation, the University of London Central Research fund and a Medical Research Council Training Fellowship (G81/343) and Career Development Award (G120/635) to Thalia C. Eley. Wave 4 was supported by grants from the Economic and Social Research Council (RES-000-22-2206) and the Institute of Social Psychiatry (06/07-11) to Alice M. Gregory, who was also supported at that time by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship (RF/2/RFG/2008/0145). Wave 5 was supported by funding to Alice M. Gregory from Goldsmiths, University of London. T. C. Eley is partly funded by a program grant from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/M021475/1).; This study presents independent research [partly] funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The Minnesota Twin Registry (MTR) acknowledges support from NIH grant R01AG053217. Guangzhou Twin Eye Study is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant #81125007). Anthropometric measurements of the Hungarian twins were supported by Medexpert Ltd., Budapest, Hungary. Korean Twin-Family Register was supported by the Global Research Network Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF 2011-220-E00006). Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins was funded by the Starting Grant no. 240994 from the European Research Council (ERC) to Ariel Knafo. The Michigan State University Twin Registry has been supported by Michigan State University, as well as grants R01-MH081813, R01-MH0820-54, R01-MH092377-02, R21-MH070542-01, R03-MH63851-01 and 1R01-MH118848-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), R01-HD066040 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and 11-SPG-2518 from the MSU Foundation. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIMH, the NICHD or the National Institutes of Health. The Murcia Twin Registry is supported by Fundacion Seneca, Regional Agency for Science and Technology, Murcia, Spain (08633/PHCS/08, 15302/PHCS/10 & 19479/PI/14) and Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain (PSI2009-11560 & PSI2014-56680-R). The NAS-NRC Twin Registry acknowledges financial support from the National Institutes of Health grant number R21 AG039572. Netherlands Twin Register acknowledges the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and MagW/ZonMW grants 904-61-090, 985-10-002, 912-10-020, 904-61-193,480-04-004, 463-06-001, 451-04-034, 400-05-717, Addiction-31160008, Middelgroot-911-09-032, Spinozapremie 56-464-14192; VU University's Institute for Health and Care Research (EMGO+); the European Research Council (ERC-230374), the Avera Institute, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (USA). Osaka University Aged Twin Registry is supported by grants from JSPS KAKENHI JP (23593419, 24792601, 26671010, 24590695, 26293128, 16K15385, 16K15978, 16K15989, 16H03261). PETS was supported by grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (grant numbers 437015 and 607358 to JC, and RS), the Bonnie Babes Foundation (grant number BBF20704 to JMC), the Financial Markets Foundation for Children (grant no. 032-2007 to JMC), and by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program.; Madeira data comes from the following project: Genetic and environmental influences on physical activity, fitness and health: the Madeira family study Project reference: POCI/DES/56834/2004 Founded by the Portuguese agency for research (The Foundation for Science and Technology [FCT]). TwinsUK receives funding from the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council and European Union.; TwinsUK and M. Mangino are supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded BioResource, Clinical Research Facility and Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with King's College London. The Quebec Newborn Twin Study acknowledges financial support from the Fonds Quebecois de la Recherche sur la Societe et la Culture, the Fonds de la Recherche en Sante du Quebec, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the National Health Research Development Program, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Sainte-Justine Hospital's Research Center, and the Canada Research Chair Program (Michel Boivin). South Korea Twin Registry is supported by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-371-2011-1 B00047). We acknowledge The Swedish Twin Registry for access to data. The Swedish Twin Registry is managed by Karolinska Institutet and receives funding through the Swedish Research Council under the grant no. 2017-00641.; The Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) is supported by a program grant (G0901245) from the UK Medical Research Council and the work on obesity in TEDS is supported in part by a grant from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (31/D19086). Currently TEDS is supported by MRC grant 'MR/M021475/1'. The Texas Twin Project is currently funded by grant R01HD083613 from the National Institutes of Health. S. Y. oncel and F. Aliev are supported by Krkkale University Research Grant: KKU, 2009/43 and TUBITAK grant 114C117. The University of Southern California Twin Study is funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH58354). Washington State Twin Registry (formerly the University of Washington Twin Registry) was supported in part by grant NIH RC2 HL103416 (D. Buchwald, PI). Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging was supported by National Institute of Health grants NIA R01 AG018384, R01 AG018386, R01 AG022381 and R01 AG022982, and, in part, with resources of the VA San Diego Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health. The Cooperative Studies Program of the Office of Research & Development of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has provided financial support for the development and maintenance of the Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIA/NIH, or the VA. The West Japan Twins and Higher Order Multiple Births Registry was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (grant number 15H05105) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Older African Americans consistently report diminished capacities to perform activities of daily living (ADL) compared to other race groups. It remains unclear the extent to which bodily pain is related to declining abilities to perform ADL/ADL disability in African Americans and if this relationship exists in both African American men and women to the same degree. In order for nurses to provide optimal care for older African Americans, a better understanding of the relationship between bodily pain and ADL disability and how it may differ by gender is needed. The aim of this study was to examine if pain, age, education, income, marital status and/or comorbid conditions were associated with ADL disabilities in older African American women and men. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The sample included 598 participants (446 women, 152 men) from the first wave of the Baltimore Study on Black Aging. African American women (Odds Ratio (OR) = 4.06; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.63–6.26) and African American men (OR= 6.44; 95% CI =2.84–14.57) who reported bodily pain had greater ADL disability than those who did not report bodily pain. Having two or more comorbid conditions was also significantly associated with ADL disability in African American women (OR=3.95; 95% CI: 2.09–7.47). Further work is needed to understand pain differences between older African American women and men in order to develop interventions that can be tailored to meet the individual pain needs of both groups.

Although men have greater societal and economic privileges, men have higher all-cause mortality rates than women, even after controlling for education. Further, racial/ethnic mortality disparities exist among men with varying levels of education. Few studies have explored the independent effects of education and all-cause mortality between non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White men with the same level of education. Our purpose was to identify trends in racial differences in all-cause mortality between non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black men with the same level of education. Data for the study came from the National Health Interview Surveys 2000–2011 linked to the 2000–2009 Mortality Files. The Student’s t and chi-square tests were used to assess the mean and proportional differences between non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black men (≥18 years of age) across a range of demographic and health-related factors. Cox proportional hazard models were specified to examine the association between level of education and all-cause mortality adjusting for the demographic and health characteristics. Except for men who did not complete high school, statistically significant differences in all-cause mortality are present between non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White men with the same level of education. The findings reveal the importance of understanding the level of education on differences in all-cause mortality between non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks.

When massive open online courses (MOOCs) began, they held the promise of bringing high-quality, college-level courses from leading academic institutions to people who otherwise would not have access to that type of content. In the ensuing years, it has become clear that the majority of MOOC students are not underserved in terms of educational opportunities; the typical MOOC learner already has a college degree. However, this does not mean that MOOCs are failing to fulfill the promise of democratization. Among the millions of learners who have taken Coursera MOOCs, there are some for whom this is their only way to access a rigorous, college-level course. In this analysis, we present descriptions of three learner populations for whom a MOOC offered an opportunity that they could not have had otherwise. These groups are (1) young people under the age of 18, (2) older adults over 65, and (3) people who reported that they did not have access to higher education opportunities. We compare the demographic charact...

Background Perceived discrimination is a major source of health-related stress. The purpose of this study was to model the heterogeneity of everyday-discrimination experiences among African American and Caribbean Blacks and to identify differences in the prevalence of mood and substance use outcomes, including generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, alcohol-use disorder, and illicit drug-use disorder among the identified subgroups. Method The study uses data from the National Survey of American Life obtained from a sample of African American and Caribbean Black respondents (N = 4,462) between 18 and 65 years. Results: We used latent profile analysis and multinomial regression analyses to identify and validate latent subgroups and test hypotheses, yielding 4 classes of perceived everyday discrimination: Low Discrimination, Disrespect and Condescension, General Discrimination, and Chronic Discrimination. Findings show significant differences exist between the Low Discrimination and General Discrimination classes for major depressive disorder, alcohol-use disorder, and illicit drug-use disorder. Moreover, we find significant differences exist between the Low Discrimination and Chronic Discrimination classes for the four disorders examined. Compared with the Chronic Discrimination class, members of the other classes were significantly less likely to meet criteria for generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, alcohol-use disorder, and illicit drug-use disorder. Conclusions Findings suggest elevated levels of discrimination increase risk for mood and substance-use disorders. Importantly, results suggest the prevalence of mood and substance-use disorders is a function of the type and frequency of discrimination that individuals experience.

Kaprio, Jaakko/0000-0002-3716-2455; Knafo-Noam, Ariel/0000-0003-0613-1960; de Freitas, Duarte Luis/0000-0001-6642-3370; Haworth, Claire/0000-0002-8608-289X; Siribaddana, Sisira/0000-0001-5821-2557; Kyvik, Kirsten O/0000-0003-2981-0245; Aliev, Fazil/0000-0001-8357-4699; Craig, Jeffrey M/0000-0003-3979-7849; Ordonana, Juan R./0000-0001-7779-6017; Sund, Reijo/0000-0002-6268-8117; Bartels, Meike/0000-0002-9667-7555; Kandler, Christian/0000-0002-9175-235X; Fagnani, Corrado/0000-0001-5771-7772; Huibregtse, Brooke M./0000-0003-0977-7249; Montgomery, Grant W/0000-0002-4140-8139; Colodro-Conde, Lucia/0000-0002-9004-364X; Loos, Ruth J F/0000-0002-8532-5087; Busjahn, Andreas/0000-0001-9650-6919; ONCEL, Sevgi YURT/0000-0002-0990-292X; Christensen, Kaare/0000-0002-5429-5292; Martin, Nicholas/0000-0003-4069-8020; Tan, Qihua/0000-0003-3194-0030; ROMERA, JUAN FRANCISCO SANCHEZ/0000-0002-5405-6216; D'Ippolito, Cristina/0000-0001-7902-9380; Skytthe, Axel E/0000-0002-8629-4913; Tan, Qihua/0000-0003-3194-0030; Heikkila, Kauko/0000-0002-9256-8028; Duncan, Glen/0000-0001-6909-1869; Jelenkovic, Aline/0000-0002-6191-8371; Magnusson, Patrik/0000-0002-7315-7899; mangino, massimo/0000-0002-2167-7470; Medland, Sarah E/0000-0003-1382-380X; Saffery, Richard/0000-0002-9510-4181; Plomin, Robert/0000-0002-0756-3629; Harden, Kathryn/0000-0002-1557-6737; Hotopf, Matthew/0000-0002-3980-4466; McAdams, Tom/0000-0002-6825-3499; Aaltonen, Sari/0000-0002-2873-4263; Kremen, William/0000-0002-8629-5609; Pahlen, Shandell/0000-0003-0753-4155; Llewellyn, Clare/0000-0002-0066-2827; Franz, Carol/0000-0002-8987-1755; Derom, Catherine/0000-0001-5574-796X; Willemsen, Gonneke/0000-0003-3755-0236; Rasmussen, Finn/0000-0001-7915-7809; Rebato, Esther/0000-0003-1221-8501; lee, kayoung/0000-0002-2816-554X; Sodemann, Morten/0000-0001-8992-2500; Gatz, Margaret/0000-0002-1071-9970; Boivin, Michel/0000-0001-8621-9844; Silventoinen, Karri/0000-0003-1759-3079 WOS: 000358874400002 PubMed: 26014041 For over 100 years, the genetics of human anthropometric traits has attracted scientific interest. In particular, height and body mass index (BMI, calculated as kg/m(2)) have been under intensive genetic research. However, it is still largely unknown whether and how heritability estimates vary between human populations. Opportunities to address this question have increased recently because of the establishment of many new twin cohorts and the increasing accumulation of data in established twin cohorts. We started a new research project to analyze systematically (1) the variation of heritability estimates of height, BMI and their trajectories over the life course between birth cohorts, ethnicities and countries, and (2) to study the effects of birth-related factors, education and smoking on these anthropometric traits and whether these effects vary between twin cohorts. We identified 67 twin projects, including both monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins, using various sources. We asked for individual level data on height and weight including repeated measurements, birth related traits, background variables, education and smoking. By the end of 2014, 48 projects participated. Together, we have 893,458 height and weight measures (52% females) from 434,723 twin individuals, including 201,192 complete twin pairs (40% monozygotic, 40% same-sex dizygotic and 20% opposite-sex dizygotic) representing 22 countries. This project demonstrates that large-scale international twin studies are feasible and can promote the use of existing data for novel research purposes. National Institute of Mental HealthUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [R01 MH58354]; National Institute on AgingUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) [1RO1-AG13662-01A2]; National Institutes of HealthUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [R21 AG039572]; WT Grant Foundation; University of London Central Research fund; Medical Research CouncilMedical Research Council UK (MRC) [G81/343, G120/635]; Economic and Social Research CouncilEconomic & Social Research Council (ESRC) [RES-000-22-2206]; Institute of Social Psychiatry [06/07-11]; Leverhulme Research FellowshipLeverhulme Trust [RF/2/RFG/2008/0145]; Goldsmiths; University of London; National Research Foundation of KoreaNational Research Foundation of Korea [NRF-371-2011-1B00047]; Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation; Research Council for Health and Disease; Velux Foundation; US National Institute of HealthUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [P01 AG08761]; Fund of Scientific Research, FlandersFWO; Twins, a non-profit Association for Scientific Research in Multiple Births (Belgium); Global Research Network Program of the National Research Foundation [NRF 2011-220-E00006]; NIDAUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) [DA011015]; Longitudinal Twin Study [HD10333]; National Institute of Health grantsUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [NIA R01 AG018384, R01 AG018386, R01 AG022381, R01 AG022982]; Cooperative Studies Program of the Office of Research AMP; Development of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Centre of Research Excellence from the National Health and Medical Research CouncilNational Health and Medical Research Council of Australia [1079102]; Michigan State University from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [R01-MH081813, R01-MH0820-54, R01-MH092377-02, R21-MH070542-01, R03-MH63851-01]; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) [R01-HD066040]; MSU Foundation [11-SPG-2518]; California Tobacco-Related Disease Research ProgramUniversity of California System [7RT-0134H, 8RT-0107H, 6RT-0354H]; The National Institutes of HealthUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [1R01ESO15150-01]; National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China [81125007]; Australian National Health and Medical Research CouncilNational Health and Medical Research Council of Australia [437015, 607358]; Bonnie Babes Foundation [BBF20704]; Financial Markets Foundation for Children [032-2007]; Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program; ENGAGE-European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology [201413]; National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (NIAAA) [AA-12502, AA-00145, AA-09203]; Academy of Finland Center of Excellence in Complex Disease GeneticsAcademy of Finland [213506, 129680]; Academy of FinlandAcademy of Finland [100499, 205585, 118555, 141054, 265240, 263278, 264146]; Osaka University's International Joint Research Promotion Program; Kirikkale University Research Grant: KKUKirikkale University; TUBITAKTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [114C117]; European Research Council (ERC)European Research Council (ERC) [240994]; European Union's Seventh Framework Programmes ENGAGE ConsortiumEuropean Union (EU) [HEALTH-F4-2007-201413]; BioSHaRE EU [HEALTH-F4-2010-261433]; Seneca FoundationFundacion Seneca; Regional Agency for Science and Technology, Murcia, Spain [08633/PHCS/08, 15302/PHCS/10]; Ministry of Science and Innovation, SpainSpanish Government [PSI11560-2009]; UK Medical Research CouncilMedical Research Council UK (MRC) [G0901245]; UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research CouncilBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) [31/D19086]; Portuguese agency for research (The Foundation for Science and Technology) [POCI/DES/56834/2004]; National Institutes of Health.United States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [R01 HD068435, R01 MH062375]; Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust; European Community's Seventh Framework ProgrammeEuropean Union (EU); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource Clinical Research Facility and Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London; Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO); MagW/ZonMW [904-61-090, 985-10-002, 912-10-020, 904-61-193, 480-04-004, 463-06-001, 451-04-034, 400-05-717, Addiction-31160008, Middelgroot-911-09-032, Spinozapremie 56-464-14192]; VU University's Institute for Health and Care Research (EMGO+); European Research CouncilEuropean Research Council (ERC) [ERC-230374]; Avera Institute, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (USA); Cancer Research UKCancer Research UK [C1418/A7974]; [5T32DA017637-10]; [NIH RC2 HL103416]; Cancer Research UKCancer Research UK [14133]; Medical Research CouncilMedical Research Council UK (MRC) [G0901245, MC_UU_12013/1]; NNF Center for Basic Metabolic ResearchNovo Nordisk Foundation [Metabolic Genetics]; Novo Nordisk FondenNovo NordiskNovo Nordisk Foundation [NNF10CC1016515] This study was conducted within the CODATwins project (Academy of Finland #266592). Support for participating twin projects: the University of Southern California Twin Study is funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH58354). The Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging (CAATSA) was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (grant 1RO1-AG13662-01A2) to K. E. Whitfield. The NAS-NRC Twin Registry acknowledges financial support from the National Institutes of Health grant number R21 AG039572. Waves 1-3 of Genesis 12-19 were funded by the WT Grant Foundation, the University of London Central Research fund and a Medical Research Council Training Fellowship (G81/343) and Career Development Award (G120/635) to Thalia C. Eley. Wave 4 was supported by grants from the Economic and Social Research Council (RES-000-22-2206) and the Institute of Social Psychiatry (06/07-11) to Alice M. Gregory who was also supported at that time by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship (RF/2/RFG/2008/0145). Wave 5 was supported by funding to Alice M. Gregory from Goldsmiths, University of London. Anthropometric measurements of the Hungarian twins were supported by Medexpert Ltd., Budapest, Hungary. South Korea Twin Registry is supported by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-371-2011-1B00047). The Danish Twin Registry is supported by the National Program for Research Infrastructure 2007 from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, The Research Council for Health and Disease, the Velux Foundation and the US National Institute of Health (P01 AG08761). Since its origin, the East Flanders Prospective Survey has been partly supported by grants from the Fund of Scientific Research, Flanders and Twins, a non-profit Association for Scientific Research in Multiple Births (Belgium). Korean Twin-Family Register was supported by the Global Research Network Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF 2011-220-E00006). The Colorado Twin Registry is funded by NIDA funded center grant DA011015 and Longitudinal Twin Study HD10333; Author Huibregtse is supported by 5T32DA017637-10. The Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging was supported by National Institute of Health grants NIA R01 AG018384, R01 AG018386, R01 AG022381, and R01 AG022982, and, in part, with resources of the VA San Diego Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health. The Cooperative Studies Program of the Office of Research & Development of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has provided financial support for the development and maintenance of the Vietnam Era Twin (VET) Registry. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIA/NIH, or the VA. The Australian Twin Registry is supported by a Centre of Research Excellence (grant ID 1079102) from the National Health and Medical Research Council administered by the University of Melbourne. The Michigan State University Twin Registry has been supported by Michigan State University, as well as grants R01-MH081813, R01-MH0820-54, R01-MH092377-02, R21-MH070542-01, R03-MH63851-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), R01-HD066040 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and 11-SPG-2518 from the MSU Foundation. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIMH, the NICHD, or the National Institutes of Health.; r The California Twin Program was supported by The California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (7RT-0134H, 8RT-0107H, 6RT-0354H) and the National Institutes of Health (1R01ESO15150-01). The Guangzhou Twin Eye Study is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant #81125007). PETS was supported by grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (grant numbers 437015 and 607358 to JC, and RS), the Bonnie Babes Foundation (grant number BBF20704 to JMC), the Financial Markets Foundation for Children (grant no. 032-2007 to JMC), and by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. Data collection and analyses in Finnish twin cohorts have been supported by ENGAGE-European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology, FP7-HEALTH-F4-2007, grant agreement number 201413, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grants AA-12502, AA-00145, and AA-09203 to R. J. Rose, the Academy of Finland Center of Excellence in Complex Disease Genetics (grant numbers: 213506, 129680), and the Academy of Finland (grants 100499, 205585, 118555, 141054, 265240, 263278 and 264146 to J. Kaprio). K. Silventoinen is supported by Osaka University's International Joint Research Promotion Program. S. Y. Oncel and F. Aliev are supported by Kirikkale University Research Grant: KKU, 2009/43 and TUBITAK grant 114C117. The Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins was funded by the Starting Grant no. 240994 from the European Research Council (ERC) to Ariel Knafo. Data collection and research stemming from the Norwegian Twin Registry is supported, in part, from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programmes ENGAGE Consortium (grant agreement HEALTH-F4-2007-201413, and BioSHaRE EU (grant agreement HEALTH-F4-2010-261433). The Murcia Twin Registry is supported by the Seneca Foundation, Regional Agency for Science and Technology, Murcia, Spain (08633/PHCS/08 & 15302/PHCS/10) and Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain (PSI11560-2009). The Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) is supported by a program grant (G0901245) from the UK Medical Research Council and the work on obesity in TEDS is supported in part by a grant from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (31/D19086). The Madeira data comes from the following project: genetic and environmental influences on physical activity, fitness, and health: the Madeira family study Project reference: POCI/DES/56834/2004 founded by the Portuguese agency for research (The Foundation for Science and Technology). The Boston University Twin Project is funded by grants (#R01 HD068435 #R01 MH062375) from the National Institutes of Health to K. Saudino. TwinsUK was funded by the Wellcome Trust; European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013). The study also receives support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource Clinical Research Facility and Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. The University of Washington Twin Registry is supported by the grant NIH RC2 HL103416 (D. Buchwald, PI). The Netherlands Twin Register acknowledges the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and MagW/ZonMW grants 904-61-090, 985-10-002, 912-10-020, 904-61-193,480-04-004, 463-06-001, 451-04-034, 400-05-717, Addiction-31160008, Middelgroot-911-09-032, Spinozapremie 56-464-14192; VU University's Institute for Health and Care Research (EMGO+); the European Research Council (ERC-230374), the Avera Institute, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (USA).; r Gemini was supported by a grant from Cancer Research UK (C1418/A7974).

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Social support has been shown to buffer cognitive decline in older adults; however, few studies have examined the association of distinct functions of perceived social support and cognitive function. The current study examined the relations between distinct functions of social support and numerous cognitive domains in older adults.Data were derived from a cross-sectional, correlational study of cardiovascular risk factors, cognitive function, and neuroimaging. The participants were 175 older adults with a mean age of 66.32. A number of neuropsychological tests and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List were administered. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine cross-sectional relations of social support to cognitive function after controlling for age, gender, education, depressive symptomatology, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, total cholesterol, and fasting glucose.No significant positive relations were found between distinct functions of social support and cognitive function in any domain; however, inverse relations emerged such that greater social support across several functions was associated with poorer nonverbal memory and response inhibition.Results suggest that the receipt of social support may be a burden for some older adults. Within the current study, fluid cognitive abilities reflected this phenomenon. The mechanism through which social support is associated with poorer cognitive function in some domains deserves further exploration.

Objective Vascular burden has been linked to future depression and cognitive change in predominately European American samples. This study investigated these relationships in older African Americans. Methods To examine the connection between vascular risk factors, depression, and cognitive change, this study utilized data from 435 older African Americans. Specifically, the study examined the link between vascular risk at baseline with depression and cognitive functioning at a 2.5-year follow-up visit. Results High baseline vascular risk was associated with increased odds of future depression while controlling for age and current depression. A series of path analyses demonstrated links between baseline vascular risk, increases in depression, and decreases in processing speed. Conclusions These findings suggest that African Americans with greater vascular burden are at greater risk for depression and cognitive change. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social support and functional ability are related to a number of outcomes in later life among African Americans, including cognitive performance. This study examined how providing and receiving social support was related to fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities among aging African American adults after accounting for functional limitations, age, education, sex, income, and self-reported health. Data from 602 African American adults (M = 69.08, SD = 9.74; 25% male) were analyzed using latent variable modeling. Fluid ability was a second-order factor indicated by measures that assessed verbal memory, working memory, perceptual speed, and inductive reasoning. Crystallized ability was a first-order factor indicated by three measures that assessed vocabulary (Shipley Verbal Meaning Test and parts A and B of the ETS Vocabulary Test). Results indicated that the receipt of social support was negatively related to both fluid and crystallized abilities, while the provision of support was positively related to fluid and crystallized ability. Follow-up tests found that the receipt of support was more strongly related to fluid ability than crystallized ability. There was no significant difference regarding the relationship of provision of support with fluid ability compared to crystallized ability. Results discuss the importance of considering the social context of older adults when examining cognitive ability.

Because of the excess burden of preventable chronic diseases and premature death among African American men, identifying health behaviors to enhance longevity is needed. We used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988-1994 (NHANES III) and the NHANES III Linked Mortality Public-use File to determine the association between health behaviors and all-cause mortality and if these behaviors varied by age in 2029 African American men. Health behaviors included smoking, drinking, physical inactivity, obesity, and a healthy eating index score. Age was categorized as 25-44 years ( n = 1,045), 45-64 years ( n = 544), and 65 years and older ( n = 440). Cox regression analyses were used to estimate the relationship between health behaviors and mortality within each age-group. All models were adjusted for marital status, education, poverty-to-income ratio, insurance status, and number of health conditions. Being a current smoker was associated with an increased risk of mortality in the 25- to 44-year age-group, whereas being physically inactive was associated with an increased risk of mortality in the 45- to 64-year age-group. For the 65 years and older age-group, being overweight or obese was associated with decreased mortality risk. Efforts to improve longevity should focus on developing age-tailored health promoting strategies and interventions aimed at smoking cessation and increasing physical activity in young and middle-aged African American men.

This study examines day-to-day variability in psychometrically defined mild cognitive impairment (MCI) status and potential predictors of changes in MCI status in an independent-living sample of urban dwelling older adults in Baltimore, Maryland. The participant sample consisted of 50 older adults, ranging in age from 50 to 80 years. Participants completed health and cognitive measures (i.e., executive function, language, memory, and global cognition) over 8 occasions within a 2-3-week period. After each testing occasion, a post hoc classification of MCI status was determined using psychometrically defined criteria based on cognitive performance. Participants who classified as MCI after one assessment often did not meet MCI criteria at subsequent occasions. Daily fluctuations in sleep duration were associated with an increased risk for MCI classification. These results demonstrate that changes in sleep may explain changes in MCI status, particularly for African Americans.

Previous research suggests that demographic factors are important correlates of cognitive functioning in African Americans; however, less attention has been given to the influence of personality. The present study explored how dimensions and facets of personality predicted individual variability in cognition in a sample of older African Americans from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging. Cognition was assessed by verbal learning and attention/working memory measures. Personality was measured by the NEO Personality Inventory. Linear regressions controlling for demographic factors showed that Neuroticism, Openness, and Agreeableness were significant regression predictors of cognitive performance. Individual facets of all five personality dimensions were also associated with cognitive performance. These findings suggest personality is important in understanding variability in cognition among older African Americans.

Here we examine the effects of both self-reported and independent observer-reported environmental risk indices, the serotonin transporter gene promoter (5HTTLPR) polymorphism, and their interaction on self-esteem. This trait was assessed during early and mid adolescence (mean age = 14 and 16.5, respectively) and young adulthood (mean age = 21.8) in a prospective cohort of 1214 unrelated participants in the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Using structural equation modeling we identified a gene–environment (G × E) interaction using observer-report but not self-report measures of environmental stress exposure during adolescence: 5HTTLPR genotype and observer-reports of home and neighborhood quality (HNQ) during adolescence interacted to predict self-esteem levels in young adulthood (p < .004). Carriers of the s allele who lived in poor HNQ conditions during adolescence reported lower self-esteem in young adulthood than those with a good HNQ during adolescence. In contrast, among individuals with the l/l genotype, adolescent HNQ did not predict adulthood self-esteem. Genes may moderate the effect of adolescent environmental conditions on adulthood self-esteem.

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: The current study examined the relationship between intellectual control and cognition and related the results to everyday problem solving in a mixed ethnicity sample of 35% African American and 65% Caucasian elders.Participants completed the Personality in Intellectual Aging Contexts Inventory (PIC; Lachman et al., 1982 , Journal of Research in Personality, 16, 485-501), Everyday Cognition Battery (ECB; AllaireMarsiske, 1999 , PsychologyAging, 14, 627-644; 2002 , PsychologyAging, 17, 101-115), and a battery of basic cognitive ability tests assessing memory, inductive reasoning, and verbal meaning.Results indicated that African Americans had significantly lower intellectual control beliefs relative to Caucasian older adults. Regression models suggested that relationship between control beliefs and cognition was moderated by education and race. Decomposing the interactions with simple slope analysis revealed that across cognitive abilities, better cognitive performance was related to higher control beliefs in African Americans with at least 13 years of education. A similar relationship was also found in Caucasian elders with lower education.African American elders' reaching a higher level of education may provide a basis for which individual differences in intellectual control beliefs are activated and thereby more strongly associated with cognitive performance.

Objective To examine and describe vascular depression epidemiology in the United States. Methods Cross-sectional data from a national probability sample of household resident adults (18-years and older; N = 16,423) living in the 48 coterminous United States were analyzed to calculate prevalence estimates of vascular depression, associated disability and treatment rates. In this study, vascular depression was defined as the presence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and CVD major risk factors (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and obesity) among adults 50-years and older who also met 12-month DSM-IV major depression criteria. Results We estimated that about 3.4% or approximately 2.64 million American adults 50-years and older met our criteria for vascular depression. Among adults who met criteria for lifetime major depression, over one-in-five (22.1%) were considered to have the vascular depression subtype. Secondly, vascular depression was associated with significantly increased functional impairment relative to the non-depressed population and adults meeting criteria for major depression alone. Although depression care use was significantly higher among vascular depression respondents relative to those with major depression alone, practice guideline concordant therapy use was not. Conclusions Vascular depression appears to be an important public health problem that affects a large portion of the U.S. adult population with major depression, and that it is associated with excess functional impairment without concomitant better depression care.

Empirical research on the chronic pain experience of older African Americans is scarce. Here, the authors examined the influence psychosocial indicators have on the pain experience in a sample of older African Americans. Data were collected from African Americans ( N = 247) 50 to 96 years of age (69.4 ± 9.4). All participants provided self-report data on pain indicators, demographic characteristics, social (social support, locus of control, life satisfaction) variables, and depression. Those reporting higher levels of social support and depressive symptoms experienced greater pain intensity. Pain had an indirect effect on depression as mediated through life satisfaction.These findings demonstrate the need to focus more on the means to prevent and treat pain and to ameliorate its impact on social well-being, psychological functioning, and quality of life in older adults in general and older minority adults in particular.

Mentorship is critical for career development. Members of special populations are at increased risk of information shortfalls and advice that is not framed with cultural sensitivity. Special knowledge and skills are needed to successfully mentor members of ethnic minority and other special populations. Midlevel and senior scientists need specialized training to effectively mentor the next generation of gerontological scientists. This article focuses on the characteristics of mentor and proteges and how best to match them for career success.

The current analysis examined (a) if measures of psychological well-being predict subjective memory, and (b) if subjective memory is consistent with actual memory. Five hundred seventy-nine older African Americans from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging completed measures assessing subjective memory, depressive symptomatology, perceived stress, locus of control, and verbal and working memory. Higher levels of perceived stress and greater externalized locus of control predicted poorer subjective memory, but subjective memory did not predict objective verbal or working memory. Results suggest that subjective memory is influenced by aspects of psychological well-being but is unrelated to objective memory in older African Americans.

This study examined the fluid-crystallized distinction of cognitive abilities in African Americans. We analyzed the factorial invariance of a battery of cognitive ability measures in a sample of 197 community-dwelling African American elders. Specifically, factorial invariance was tested in groups of African American elders differing in age (50-61 years, 62-79 years) and education (low, high). Using a partial invariance approach, if non-invariance was found between two groups, we explored the specific model parameters that contributed to the overall lack of invariance. The results indicated that the factor structure was confirmed in the sample as a whole. Evidence of strict invariance was found between age groups. However, a lack of invariance of specific factor loadings, intercepts, and uniqueness terms was found between education groups. The importance of highlighting idiosyncrasies in cognitive performance among African Americans is shown using a within group variation approach.

Objectives. We present a social marketing conceptual framework for Experience Corps Baltimore City (EC) in which the desired health outcome is not the promoted product or behavior. We also demonstrate the feasibility of a social marketing–based recruitment campaign for the first year of the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial (BECT), a randomized, controlled trial of the health benefits of EC participation for older adults. Methods. We recruited older adults from the Baltimore, MD, area. Participants randomized to the intervention were placed in public schools in volunteer roles designed to increase healthy behaviors. We examined the effectiveness of a recruitment message that appealed to generativity (i.e., to make a difference for the next generation), rather than potential health benefits. Results. Among the 155 participants recruited in the first year of the BECT, the average age was 69 years; 87% were women and 85% were African American. Participants reported primarily generative motives as their reason for interest in the BECT. Conclusions. Public health interventions embedded in civic engagement have the potential to engage older adults who might not respond to a direct appeal to improve their health.

Objective: To examine the interrelated effects of cardiovascular health, education, and cognitive functioning in African Americans. Method: The present study utilized data from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging to examine whether (a) cardiovascular health and educational attainment predicted cognitive functioning, after controlling for age, and (b) there was an interaction between cardiovascular health and education in predicting cognitive functioning. Results: Using hierarchical regression analyses, results showed education was significant for all cognitive measures; however, cardiovascular health was significant for only three. Discussion: These findings suggest that although self-reported cardiovascular health contributes to variability in late life cognition in African Americans, education is a more universal predictor that should be further examined.

The emergence of putative race-specific or ethnic-specific medicines appears to be overturning a new consensus reached by physical anthropologists that race is a biological fiction. This article examines whether there is substance to the notion that conventional norms of race classification have utility in medical diagnosis and prescription, whether there is legitimacy to notions of race-specific diseases, and whether the genomics revolution promises individualized or racialized medicine. Correspondingly, the article asks how far genetics really can take us in understanding racial health disparities. Finally, the article provides a foreword to four foundational articles in the new field of race, genetics and health.

OBJECTIVES—Examine the performance MCI and non-MCI participants on an objective measure of everyday or real-world memory and subjective items assessing competency within the same instrumental domains. In addition, determine whether ECB can uniquely predict MCI status. DESIGN—Cross-sectional SETTING—Independently-living sample of urban dwelling elders in Baltimore MD. PARTICIPANTS—The sample consisted of 555 ranging in age from 50 to 95 years (M = 68.75, SD = 9.61) MEASUREMENTS—Objective performance in three instrumental domains (i.e., medication use, financial management, nutrition/food preparation) was assessed by the Everyday Cognition Battery ECB Memory Test. Subjective performance with in the same instrumental domains was also assessed. RESULTS—No difference was found between MCI and Non-MCI elders on the subjective items of IADL competency. A significant multivariate effect for cognitive status group [F(3, 507) = 21.88, p < .05, 2 =.12] was observed for the objective measure, with MCI participants performing, on average, significantly worse than Non-MCI participants on all thee instrumental domain subscales. The medicine use (OR = .96, 95% CI = .94–.99) and financial management (OR = .93, 95% CI = .91–.96) subscales of the ECB Memory Test were both unique and significant predictors of MCI. CONCLUSION—This study adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that cognitively complex instrumental activities of daily living might be compromised in elders with MCI. Moreover, the ECB Memory Test might be a clinically useful tool in evaluating real-world competency.

This study examined the relationship between elders' cognitive performance and self-reported trouble falling asleep. Analyses were conducted on 174 older independently living, community dwelling African Americans ( M age = 72.74; range = 65 to 90). Cognitive performance was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination, Forward Digit Span task, Backward Digit Span task, Alpha Span task, and California Verbal Learning Test. Results suggested that individuals who reported trouble falling asleep tended to perform significantly worse than individuals who did not report trouble falling asleep on measures tapping short-term memory and working memory after controlling for age, education, gender, depression, and current health. These results demonstrate that a self-report of sleep difficulty may be a unique predictor of cognitive performance.

While the life-threatening nature of severe chemical burns requires an immediate focus on the physical status, long-term psychological functioning in these patients with now concurrent pathology often receives much less attention. A variety of reactions and adjustment issues may present following a burn injury. Treating the psychological aspects is often complicated and difficult, but even more so when the patient has pre-existing psychiatric illness. The current article describes the psychological treatment of an African American patient with chemical burn and significant pre-existing psychopathology in a community mental health setting. The authors purport that a comprehensive treatment approach to burn related injury should include significant attention to cognitive, behavioral, affective, and medical symptoms often in the context of pre-existing symptoms. Secondly, psychological interventions administered by trained mental health professionals are essential therapies to address long-term psychological functioning. Finally, mental health professionals should be considered a functional part of the treatment team in all stages of the burn injury management program particularly with patients who may have pre-existing psychiatric illnesses.

Personality structure of African-American older adults using the Baltimore Study of Black Aging (BSBA; N = 234; Age range 49–88, M = 67; 72% women; Education M = 11 years) was compared with the census-matched normative NEO-PI-R factor structure. Principal components with Procrustes rotation was used to calculate factor, facet, and total congruence coefficients. Significant factor congruence coefficients at a 99% probability level or beyond were found, and only three facet-level congruence coefficients did not reach significance. With the exception of cross-loadings on a few facets, most primary and secondary loadings generally replicated the normative structure providing evidence that there are little differences among the African-American older adults and the largely European American normative structure.

The current study sought to examine whether there were differences in the structure of specific cognitive abilities and their association with age and education in a sample of African American elders with two different early educational experiences. The study was conducted with a sample of 197 community dwelling older adults ranging in age from 50 to 79 years (mean age = 61.50 years, SD = 7.30 years). The sample included 79 individuals who attended a desegregated school at anytime during their formal education, while 118 participants completed their schooling without ever attending a desegregated school. Major results included: (1) typical patterns among cognitive abilities and age as well as years of education were found in the full sample of participants; (2) the pattern of age differences in cognition differed between the two groups. Regarding the latter, the desegregated sample exhibited significant negative age differences for some cognitive abilities, while the segregated group did not. Discussion f...

The John Henryism (JH) hypothesis argues that prolonged high-effort coping with chronic psychosocial stressors may be associated with elevated risk for negative health outcomes among those without sufficient socioeconomic resources. Early JH studies found a significant association between high JH, low socioeconomic status, and hypertension among African-Americans. More recently, these findings have been extended to a wide array of health status outcomes, including cardiovascular reactivity, neurohormonal secretion, and negative health behaviors. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of JHs conceptual bases and empirical support. Limitations of the construct are discussed and recommendations are made to guide future theoretical and research efforts in the area.

This study examined whether measures of health status enhance the prediction of performance on everyday problem solving in adult African Americans. The sample consisted of 209 community-dwelling African American adults with a mean age of 66.82 years (SD=7.95). The following variables were included in the analysis: Everyday Problems Test (EPT), summary index of chronic illnesses (cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis, stroke, and diabetes), self-rated health (current health, health in the past month, health compared with others, health compared with 5 years ago), and demographic information. Using hierarchical regression and follow-up communality analysis, the authors found that the number of chronic illnesses and self-rated health as compared with 5 years prior were significant and unique predictors of performance on the EPT but did not account for all of the demographic-related variance. The results indicate that health indices contribute to the variability in everyday cognition in this understudied population.

Participation in genetic studies is often limited by a volunteer's reluctance to donate blood samples. We wished to determine if alternate, less painful, methods to venipuncture could be used to collect cells to provide DNA for genotyping, and whether the cells could be grown in culture for extraction of DNA. Volunteers in the study were comprised of two groups. Nine individuals from a university campus were recruited to provide samples for initial experiments. A second group of 710 twins and singletons from North Carolina and of African-American descent were a part of an ongoing study of age-related traits and participated in collection of buccal swabs via the mail. A protocol was generated that maximizes the recovery of DNA from buccal swabs, which are easier to handle than saline rinses. The DNA recovered is stable over several years, allowing genotype tests at a future date. Attempts to encourage growth of buccal epithelial cells recovered from swabs in tissue culture proved unsuccessful. Buccal swabs work well for the collection of DNA, especially from nonclinic-based volunteers, and can be sent via the mail to the laboratory for DNA extraction. Thus, an inexpensive and efficient method exists for genetic studies of population-based samples.

One of the single most influential factors on current and future cognitive functioning is educational attainment. We examined the influence of educational desegregation on cognitive performance using Horn’s Gf-Gc theory among older African Americans. The data on 197 African Americans included school attendance (desegregated [DS] or segregated [SS]) and the number of years they attended desegregated schools. Using measures of fluid (inductive reasoning and spatial ability) and crystallized (number concept and vocabulary) ability to assess cognition, the results showed that the DS group had significantly higher mean cognitive scores compared to the SS group. After controlling for age, gender, years of education, and years in desegregated schools, however, we found no difference between the DS and SS groups on measures of number concept, inductive reasoning, and general fluid and crystallized abilities but found differences for measures of vocabulary and spatial ability. The results were discussed in relation to differences in schooling and other potential influences over the life course.

In this special section, we highlight the diverse ways in which behavioral medicine can contribute to the study of racial/ethnic health disparities. Health disparities are often described as differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, burden of disease, and other adverse health conditions or outcomes between minority and majority population groups [1]. Although this special section focuses on racial/ethnic health disparities, disparities have also been observed in gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES), geography, sexual orientation, disability, and special health care needs. Disparities occur among groups who have persistently experienced historical trauma, social disadvantage or discrimination, and systematically experience worse health or greater health risks than more advantaged social groups. In February 1998, President Clinton made a commitment on behalf of the U.S. government to work toward the elimination of health disparities in racial and ethnic minority populations by the year 2010. Although we have advanced our knowledge and approaches to reducing disparities, they still persist. One of the most striking demographic characteristics in health statistics continues to be mortality differences betweenAfrican Americans andWhites. The ageand genderadjusted death rate from all causes is significantly higher in African Americans than inWhites [2]. There are some limited positive signs for the health of minorities, however. For example, McWilliams et al. found differences between Black or Latino and White adults did not significantly change from 1999 to 2006 on four measures of disease control (ageand sex-adjusted rates of blood pressure control, mean systolic blood pressure, glycemic control, and mean hemoglobin A1c levels), although differences in rates of glycemic control between Latino and White adults broadened over that time period [3]. The goal of this special section is to contribute to our understanding of current health problems experienced by America's major races/ethnicities and economic groups. The papers fall into three general areas: testing of potential explanations and risk factors for disparities, identification of potential resilience factors that might narrow disparities, and interventions to improve health outcomes in populations affected by health disparities. They span a range of health conditions, risks, perceptions, and behaviors (e.g., asthma, obesity, hypertension control, coronary artery disease, self-rated mental and physical health, mortality, smoking) across the life span (from children to middle age to older adults), and investigate health disparities among Black and subpopulations of Latino men and women, including Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. Three papers investigated risk factors for worse health outcomes and behaviors, such as low SES, discrimination, and illness representations [4–6]. In a sample of Black and White older adults, Thorpe et al. found that more than half (60%) of racial/ethnic differences in all-cause mortality K. E. Whitfield (*) Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA e-mail: kwhit1@duke.edu

As the aging population continues to become more diverse, there is growing interest in understanding the similar and unique aspects of aging within and across people of different ethnic groups. The impact of culture on the sources of variation identified in quantitative genetic approaches has not been well discussed in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to review previous research pertinent to the cultural aspects of quantitative genetic approaches and methodologies, and provide conceptual and statistical approaches for advancing the science. To meet this objective, results from previously published studies as well as preliminary data analyses from the Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging will be presented. There are three themes to draw from the issues discussed in this paper: (1) avoiding genetic reductionism, (2) interpreting differential heritabilities, and (3) modeling cultural influences.

The goal of our study was to examine how Big Five personality factors predict variability in self-rated health in a sample of older African Americans from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging.Personality was measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised, and self-rated health was assessed by the Health Problems Checklist.The study sample had 202 women and 87 men. Ages ranged from 49 to 90 years (M = 67.2 years, SD = 8.55), and average years of formal education was 10.8 (SD = 3.3).Multiple linear regressions showed that neuroticism and extraversion were significant regression predictors of self-rated health, after controlling for demographic factors.These findings suggest individual personality traits may influence health ratings, behaviors, and decision-making among older African Americans.

While press coverage of MOOCs (massive open online courses) has been considerable and major MOOC providers are beginning to realize that employers may be a market for their courses, research on employers’ receptivity to using MOOCs is scarce. To help fill this gap, the Finding and Developing Talent study surveyed 103 employers and interviewed a subset of 20 about their awareness of MOOCs and their receptivity to using MOOCs in recruiting, hiring, and professional development. Results showed that though awareness of MOOCs was relatively low (31% of the surveyed employers had heard of MOOCs), once they understood what they were, the employers perceived MOOCs positively in hiring decisions, viewing them mainly as indicating employees’ personal attributes like motivation and a desire to learn. A majority of employers (59%) were also receptive to using MOOCs for recruiting purposes—especially for staff with technical skills in high demand. Yet an even higher percentage (83%) were using, considering using, or could see their organization using MOOCs for professional development. Interviews with employers suggested that obtaining evidence about the quality of MOOCs, including the long-term learning and work performance gains that employees accrue from taking them, would increase employers’ use of MOOCs not just in professional development but also in recruiting and hiring.

Objectives: The purpose of the analyses was to examine the impact of health-related variables on race differences in neuropsychological functioning (Boston Naming Task). Methods: Using cross-sectional data from the MacArthur Successful Aging Study, the authors examined the relationship of demographic characteristics, health status, health habits, physical functioning, and speed of performance to naming and incidental recall of items from the Boston Naming Task. Participants were 1,175 healthy African American and European American older persons 70 to 79 years old. Results: Regression analyses indicated that although race differences persisted for confrontational naming after controlling for demographic and health factors, there was no effect due to race for incidental recall scores or for savings scores for recall. Discussion: The racial differences found in test performance may reflect differences in cultural appropriateness of the material rather than differences in ability.