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Objectives The present study examined potential sources of intra- and inter-individual differences in older adults' control beliefs using a micro-longitudinal design. Method Older adults (n = 205) ranging in age from 60 to 94 (M = 72.70, SD = 6.72) completed 8 in-person testing sessions within 3 weeks which included assessments of control beliefs (Locus of Control and Perceived Competence), physical health (physical symptoms and sleep self-efficacy), stressors, emotional well-being (Positive Affect and Negative Affect), and cognition (basic cognition tests, everyday cognition, and memory failures). Results Multilevel models indicated that on days when older adults had higher sleep self-efficacy, more positive affect, and less negative affect, they also had more internal locus of control and higher perceived competence. Having stressors on the previous occasion was associated with lower internal locus of control on the subsequent occasion. Physical symptoms, everyday cognition, and memory failures could be predictive of locus of control for some older adults. Discussion Our findings showed the differentiated antecedents of locus of control and perceived competence, the unique role of sleep self-efficacy, positive affect, and negative affect in understanding antecedents of both, as well as the need to study well-being and cognition antecedents of control beliefs in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between subjective memory complaints and sleep (quantity and quality) in African American older adults. Method Participants from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging (BSBA; n = 351; mean age = 71.99) completed a self-report sleep scale, subjective memory complaint scale, global cognitive status measure, and demographic questionnaire. Results Worse overall sleep quality was significantly associated with subjective reports of difficulty recalling the placement of objects, recalling specific facts from reading materials, and worse memory currently compared to the past. Specific sleep parameters (e.g. longer sleep latency and shorter sleep duration) were associated with negative appraisals of participants' ability to do specific tasks involving memory (e.g. difficulty recalling placement of objects). Participants classified as poor sleepers (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI] total score > 5) were more likely to report worse memory now compared to the past than participants classified as good sleepers (PSQI total score ≤ 5). Conclusions Evaluation of sleep may be warranted when older adults, particularly African Americans, communicate concerns regarding their memory. Insufficient sleep may be a useful marker of acute daytime dysfunction and, perhaps, cognitive decline. Given memory problems are the hallmark of dementia, our findings support further evaluation of whether poor sleep can aid in the diagnosis of cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether stability and change in cognitive status are associated with sociodemographic characteristics and health function. Design: Secondary analysis of data. Setting: Baltimore Study of Black Aging—Patterns of Cognitive Aging. Participants: Community‐dwelling black adults (N = 407; mean age 68.6 ± 9.1). Measurements: Baseline (n = 602) and 33‐month follow‐up (n = 450) assessments of cognition, health, and psychosocial function. Results: For the present analyses, participants were grouped as being cognitively normal (n = 249), having stable mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 32), or being MCI converters (n = 72; normal at baseline, MCI at follow‐up) or reverters (n = 54; MCI at baseline, normal at follow‐up). Multivariate analysis of variance showed that the groups differed significantly in education and lung function (P < .010). Post hoc analyses indicated that converters had fewer years of education than the other groups, whereas those who were cognitively normal had better lung function than converters and reverters (P < .050). Conclusion: These results suggest that education and lung health are associated with patterns of cognitive status change and stability. Future research should account for sociodemographic and health factors when examining stability of cognitive status classifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined whether there are daily fluctuations in everyday cognition that are consistent with daily fluctuations often observed in traditional measures of basic cognitive abilities. Method: Two hundred six independently living older adults (age range = 60-91 years) were asked to complete a computerized cognitive battery over eight occasions within a 2- to 3-week period. Results: Using multilevel model, significant within-person variability was observed across the Daily Everyday Cognition Assessment (DECA; 46%), with 54% between-person variability. At each occasion, better performance on the DECA was significantly associated with better performance on simple reaction time ( p < .01) and memory (Auditory Verbal Learning Task, p < .01) even after accounting for time, age, education, and performance on other cognitive measures. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that within-person performance fluctuations can be observed for everyday cognition tasks, and these fluctuations are consistent with daily changes in basic cognitive abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the relationship between measures of sleep quality and cognitive performance in HIV-positive individuals stable on combination antiretroviral therapy.Multimethod assessments of sleep quality, patterns, and cognitive performance were assessed in a predominantly black HIV-positive cohort.Sleep quality and patterns were characterized in 36 subjects by polysomnogram, 2-week actigraphy monitoring, and validated sleep questionnaires. Cognitive performance was assessed with a battery of neuropsychological tests.The majority of participants were cognitively impaired [based on Frascati (75%) criteria]. Self-reported mean scores on the Pittsburgh sleep quality index and the insomnia severity scale suggested poor sleep quality. Better cognitive performance, particularly on tasks of attention, frontal/executive function, and psychomotor/motor speed, was associated with polysomnogram sleep indices (ie, reduced wake after sleep onset, greater sleep efficiency, greater sleep latency, and greater total sleep time). Thirty-seven percent of participants had sleep patterns suggestive of chronic partial sleep deprivation, which was associated with significantly worse performance on the digit symbol test (P = 0.006), nondominant pegboard (P = 0.043), and verbal fluency tests (P = 0.044).Our results suggest that compromised sleep quality and duration may have a significant impact on cognitive performance in HIV-positive individuals. Future studies are warranted to determine the utility of sleep quality and quantity indices as potential predictive biomarkers for development and progression of future HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To examine the relationship between erythrocyte mean corpuscular volume ( MCV) and cognitive performance over time. Design Longitudinal. Setting Sample from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging ( BLSA). Participants Eight hundred twenty-seven participants from the BLSA (mean age 67, range 50-96). Measurements Mean corpuscular volume and several other blood indices were measured, including hemoglobin, iron, ferritin, vitamin B12, folate, white blood cell count, albumin, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Cognitive performance was examined using neuropsychological measures of visual memory, verbal memory, language, attention, executive function, and global mental status. Results High MCV levels were significantly associated with lower global mental status even after adjusting for potential confounders. High MCV levels were also significantly associated with high rates of decline on tasks of global mental status, long delay memory, and attention, even after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusion The findings confirm a previous observation that larger erythrocytes in older adults are associated with poorer cognitive function. Anemia and inflammation do not appear to explain the relationship between MCV and cognition. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms behind this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the within-person relationship between sleep and cognitive functioning. Fifty community-dwelling African Americans (age range 50-80 years) were asked to report their sleep duration and quality the previous evening and to complete cognitive measures over 8 occasions within a 2-3 week period. A within-person daily change in sleep duration was significantly associated with worse global cognitive performance. The greater an individual deviated away from his or her average sleep duration on a particular day, the more likely his or her performance would decline. These results demonstrate that the sleep-cognition relationship can be observed at a within-person level of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the within-person relationship between reading vision and cognitive functioning. Analysis was conducted on 36 community-dwelling elderly (age range = 60-87) who completed a reading vision task and three cognitive tests (i.e., Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task (AVLT), Letter Series, and Number Comparison) twice a day over 60 consecutive days. Significant within-person variability was found for the reading vision measure. Additionally, a main effect was found for reading vision and performance on the AVLT and Number Comparison task; such that on occasions when reading vision was poor, cognitive performance suffered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined the relationship between within-person blood pressure and cognitive functioning. We conducted an analysis on 36 community-dwelling elderly individuals (age range = 60-87 years). Participants measured their blood pressure and completed cognitive tasks (i.e., the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task, the Letter Series test, and the Number Comparison test) twice a day over 60 consecutive days. We observed a significant interaction between within-person change in blood pressure and average blood pressure for the Letter Series test. Individuals with high blood pressure tended to perform poorly, particularly on occasions when their blood pressure level was above their personal average. These results demonstrate that the relationship between blood pressure and cognition at the between-person level and the relationship within each individual should be further explored simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The beneficial effect of acute physical exercise on cognitive performance has been studied in laboratory settings and in long-term longitudinal studies. Less is known about these associations in everyday environment and on a momentary timeframe. This study investigated momentary and daily associations between physical activity and cognitive functioning in the context of everyday life. Methods: Middle-aged adults (n = 291, aged 40–70) were asked to wear accelerometers and complete ecological momentary assessments for eight consecutive days. Processing speed and visual memory were assessed three times per day and self-rated evaluations of daily cognition (memory, thinking, and sharpness of mind) were collected each night. The number of minutes spent above the active threshold (active time) and the maximum vector magnitude counts (the highest intensity obtained) before each cognitive test and at a daily level were used as predictors of momentary cognitive performance and nightly subjective cognition. Analyses were done with multilevel linear models. The models were adjusted for temporal and contextual factors, age, sex, education, and race/ethnicity. Results: When participants had a more active time or higher intensity than their average level within the 20 or 60 minutes prior to the cognitive test, they performed better on the processing speed task. On days when participants had more active time than their average day, they rated their memory in the evening better. Physical activity was not associated with visual memory or self-rated thinking and sharpness of mind. Conclusions: This study provides novel evidence that outside of laboratory settings, even small increases in physical activity boost daily processing speed abilities and self-rated memory. The finding of temporary beneficial effects is consistent with long-term longitudinal research on the cognitive benefits of physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cognitive impairment, including dementia, is a major health concern with the increasing aging population. Preventive measures to delay cognitive decline are of utmost importance. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia, increasing in prevalence from <1% below the age of 60 years to >40% above 85 years of age. Methods We systematically reviewed selected modifiable factors such as education, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, caffeine, antioxidants, homocysteine (Hcy), n-3 fatty acids that were studied in relation to various cognitive health outcomes, including incident AD. We searched MEDLINE for published literature (January 1990 through October 2012), including crosssectional and cohort studies (sample sizes > 300). Analyses compared study finding consistency across factors, study designs and study-level characteristics. Selecting studies of incident AD, our meta-analysis estimated pooled risk ratios (RR), population attributable risk percent(PAR%) and assessed publication bias. Results In total, 247 studies were retrieved for systematic review. Consistency analysis for each risk factor suggested positive findings ranging from ~38.9% for caffeine to ~89% for physical activity. Education also had a significantly higher propensity for "a positive finding" compared to caffeine, smoking and antioxidant-related studies. Meta-analysis of 31 studies with incident AD yielded pooled RR for low education (RR = 1.99; 95%CI: 1.30-3.04), high Hcy (RR = 1.93; 95%CI: 1.50-2.49), and current/ever smoking status (RR = 1.37; 95%CI: 1.23-1.52) while indicating protective effects of higher physical activity and n-3 fatty acids. Estimated PAR% were particularly high for physical activity (PAR% = 31.9; 95%CI: 22.7- 41.2) and smoking (PAR%-31.0%; 95%CI: 17.9-44.3). Overall, no significant publication bias was found. Conclusions Higher Hcy levels, lower educational attainment, and decreased physical activity were particularly strong predictors of incident AD. Further studies are needed to support other potential modifiable protective factors, such as caffeine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure and organization of cognitive abilities has been examined across the life span. The current analysis had three specific aims: (1) test the factor structure of a broad cognitive ability battery across three age groups; (2) examine differences in the pattern of factor covariation across age groups; and (3) examine the pattern of factor mean differences across age groups. A sample of 512 older African Americans (mean age = 66.6 years, 25.4% male) from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging was administered a battery of cognitive tests assessing the domains of perceptual speed, verbal memory, inductive reasoning, vocabulary, and working memory. Factor models were estimated separately in middle-age adults (50–59 years, n = 107), young-old adults (60–69 years, n = 198), and old-old adults (70–79 years, n = 207). There was loading invariance across the three age groups that suggests that the selected tests measured cognition similarly across age. There was no evidence of dedifferentiation across increasingly older age groups. Factor mean differences were observed with the middle-age group having significantly higher factor means than the young-old and old-old groups; however, there was only one factor mean difference between the young-old and the old-old groups. The results suggest that a pattern of dedifferentiation of cognitive abilities does not exist within this sample of older African Americans and that the 60–69 year age range may be a critical period for cognitive decline in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional neuropsychological batteries may account for disparities in education and may produce testing anxiety, particularly for older Black adults. Computerized batteries may be more amenable to use. The current study used mixed-methods content analysis to explore the perceptions of middle-aged and older Black adults (N = 92) about the CogState Brief Battery (CSBB) and Joggle® computerized battery and a traditional paper-and-pencil neuropsychological battery. The data was analyzed using Atlas.ti. Themes were developed and qualitative responses were converted to quantitative counts to make comparisons to thematic differences based on demographics. Results: The majority of participants liked all three batteries. There were no differences based on demographics. Two prevalent themes across all three measures for what participants liked were 1) mental stimulation and memory, and 2) challenging. A disliked theme specific to the computerized batteries was personal competence. In summary, an array of accessible cognitive batteries is necessary to address individual preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]