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Objectives Residential segregation profoundly affects mental and physical health. However, impacts of residential segregation and other neighborhood characteristics on health among older Asian Americans are not fully understood. This study aimed to close this gap by examining effects of residential segregation, perceived neighborhood cohesion, and neighborhood disorder on all-cause mortality among older Chinese immigrants, as well as testing whether the association between residential segregation and mortality would be mediated by perceived neighborhood cohesion and neighborhood disorder. Methods Data were drawn from a subsample of 3,094 older Chinese Americans aged 60 and older (mean age = 72.8 years) from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago. Residential segregation was derived using 2010–2014 American Community Survey data. Participants completed surveys on perceived neighborhood cohesion and neighborhood disorder between 2011 and 2013. All-cause mortality was tracked until December 2021. Results Residential segregation was associated with elevated all-cause mortality risk; this association, however, was no longer statistically significant after controlling for sociodemographic, behavioral, and health covariates. Perceived neighborhood cohesion, but not neighborhood disorder, was significantly associated with decreased mortality risks. There were no indirect effects of residential segregation on all-cause mortality through perceived neighborhood cohesion or neighborhood disorder. These effects were consistent across male and female participants. Discussion These results suggest the importance of neighborhood social environment, specifically perceptions of neighborhood cohesion, in influencing mortality risk among older Chinese immigrants. The findings also indicate the need to conduct further research to examine the health impact of residential segregation among this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Immigration is a stressful experience. Social interactions with family members and friends play an important role in the health and well-being of immigrant older adults. This study examined the association between different domains of acculturation and depressive symptoms among older Chinese immigrants in the United States and investigated the roles of positive and negative interactions with family and friends in such associations. Method: We used data from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly (PINE), a population-based survey of community-dwelling Chinese older adults in the Greater Chicago area (N = 3,158). Depressive symptoms were measured by the PHQ-9. Acculturation, positive and negative social interactions with partner/family/friends were all measured by standard scales. Binary logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between acculturation and the probability of having depressive symptoms. Results: Results showed that only social acculturation was correlated with a higher likelihood of having depressive symptoms after controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables. Results also demonstrated that 'high positive & high negative', as well as 'high positive & low negative' social interactions had significant moderating effects on the association between media acculturation and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The study findings suggest that although older Chinese immigrants in the United States with high levels of social acculturation are vulnerable to depressive symptoms, high positive social interactions with partner/family/friends buffer the relationship between media acculturation and depressive symptoms. Community services can help with social acculturation and more positive interactions from partner/family/friends to alleviate depressive symptoms among older Chinese immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by a convoy model of social relations, this study investigates the relationships between grandparenting status, social relations, and mortality among community-dwelling grandparents age 65 and older who are caring for their grandchildren. The data were drawn from the 2008 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 564). Latent class analysis was used to identify the social network structure based on six indicators of interpersonal relationships and activities. A series of hierarchical Weibull hazard models estimated the associations between grandparent caregiving, social relations, and mortality risk. Results of survival analyses indicate that co-parenting and custodial grandparents had higher all-cause mortality risk than grandparents who babysat occasionally; however, for custodial grandparents, the association was not significant once social relation variables were added to the model. This study suggests that community-based support may be beneficial to older grandparents and improved relationship quality is integral to the well-being of older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the differential associations of activity engagement and perceived neighborhood characteristics (i.e., cohesion, disorder, sense of community) with cognitive measures. Using data of 2,713 Chinese older adults in Chicago, who completed two interviews between 2011 and 2015, we identified three activity domains: reading, social, and games. In general, engagement in more reading and social activities was associated with better baseline cognitive function, but the positive effects tapered off over time in some cases. Neighborhood cohesion had both direct and indirect effects on cognitive function. Engagement in social activities mediated the neighborhood cohesion effects, that is, living in a cohesive neighborhood promoted social activities and consequently benefited cognitive function. Findings speak to the importance of activity engagement and neighborhood cohesion for cognition among the U.S. Chinese older adults. Future research is needed to investigate the longitudinal relationships of activity engagement and environmental factors with cognitive change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults with memory loss often require assistance from caregivers to manage their medications. This study examined the efficacy of a problem-solving-based intervention focused on caregiver medication management, problem solving, self-efficacy, and daily hassles. Caregiver health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and patient health care utilization were secondary outcomes. Totally, 83 patients (age 79.9±8.8 years) and their informal caregivers (age 66.9±12 years, female 69.9%, White 85.5%) were randomized; data collection occurred at baseline, 8, 16, and 24 weeks. Linear mixed modeling showed significant decreases in medication deficiencies which were sustained over time. No significant changes in caregiver problem solving, daily hassles, or patient health care utilization occurred between groups or over time. In addition, caregiver self-efficacy and mental HRQoL decreased in both groups. Physical HRQoL decreased in the intervention group, yet increased in the usual care group. Future research should investigate these outcomes in larger and more diverse samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge facing an aging society is the increased caregiving needs among community-dwelling older adults with chronic conditions. Reliance on social relations may help address caregiving needs and maintain older adults' mental well-being. This study examines the roles of different aspects of social relations—social network size, social support, and service use—in the association between caregiving needs and mental health status (MHS). Using a sample of adults age 55 and over in an urban setting, authors tested the direct, mediation, and moderation effects models of social relations. Structural equation modeling was applied and latent variables of caregiving needs, MHS, and social network size were identified. Results showed that caregiving needs and informal social support (that is, network size, positive support, and negative strain) were directly related to MHS and that informal social support partially mediated the negative effect of caregiving needs on MHS; by contrast, service use moderated the association, indicating that those with caregiving needs who used more services were in better MHS than their counterparts with less service use. Findings point to the importance of social work interventions aimed at improving social relations and enhancing awareness and access to social services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine the associations between immigration‐related factors and prevalent and incident cognitive impairment (CI) and whether the associations varied by sex among US Chinese older adults. DESIGN: Two‐wave prospective study. SETTING: The greater Chicago area. PARTICIPANTS: Community‐dwelling adults aged 60 and older who self‐identified as Chinese, who were interviewed at two time points during 2011‐2013 (N = 3157) and 2013‐2015 (N = 2713). MEASUREMENTS: CI was assessed by the 30‐item Chinese Mini‐Mental State Examination (C‐MMSE). CI prevalence was determined by the percentage of respondents whose C‐MMSE score was below 18 at baseline (N = 3033), and CI incidence was determined by the percentage of the respondents whose score was 18 or above at baseline (N = 2443) but dropped below 18 at wave 2. Immigration‐related factors included age at migration, immigration reasons, and acculturation. RESULTS: The CI prevalence rate was 7.62% at baseline, and the incidence rate was 5.12% at wave 2. Women were more likely than men to have CI, consisting of 77.06% and 75.20% among persons with CI at the time points. None of the immigration‐related factors were related to CI prevalence and incidence. Older age, fewer years of education, and more instrumental activities of daily living limitations were risk factors of CI in the whole, male, and female samples. CONCLUSION: Older Chinese women were generally disadvantaged in cognition and overall health as compared with older Chinese men. Yet immigration experience does not link to CI for both men and women after equalizing the well‐established effects of age and education on cognition. Future research needs to investigate whether the risk of CI in late life is related to the biological and contextual factors earlier in the life course. Decreasing sex disparities in the risk of dementia may focus on reducing educational and health disparities in the early life stage. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:S513–S518, 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Though ample research on grandparent caregiving and psychological well-being outcomes exist in Western literature, little attention has been focused on Chinese American grandparents. Based on role enhancement and role strain theories, this study examined grandparent caregiving and psychological well-being among Chinese American older adults and tested whether caregiving burden or pressure from adult children moderated such association.Methods: We used the data from the Population Study of ChINese Elderly in Chicago (PINE), a population-based survey of community-dwelling Chinese older adults in the Greater Chicago area. Grandparents with grandchildren younger than 16 years old were selected for present study (N = 2,775). Negative binominal regression and logistic regression models were used to test the relationships of grandparent caregiving time and psychological well-being measured by depressive symptoms and quality of life.Results: Grandparents reported an average of 11.96 hours a week for caring for grandchildren. Caregiving time had a significantly negative association with depressive symptoms, but not with quality of life. The association between grandparent caregiving and depressive symptoms was moderated by the perception of caregiving burden. No moderating effect of caregiving pressure from adult children was found.Conclusions: More time spending on grandparent caregiving is generally beneficial to Chinese American grandparents' psychological well-being, thus supporting role enhancement theory. However, this association depends on whether this experience is a burden to the grandparents, therefore role strain theory is also supported. Policies and programs are discussed to address the grandparenting experience in the Chinese American older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, family members are assisting with the complex task of medication management when patients are experiencing cognitive decline. To date, limited published research addresses caregiver-mediated medication management of patients with impaired cognition. Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics and correlates of caregiver-mediated medication management in community-dwelling patients with memory loss. We used baseline data from the 91 patient-caregiver dyads participating in a randomized controlled trial designed to assist caregivers of patients with memory loss with medication management. The patient's level of cognitive impairment was not related to medication errors; however, the number of medications that patients were prescribed and taking was related to medication errors. Important factors to consider when discussing medication management with caregivers of patients with memory loss include the caregiver's age, cognitive ability, and depressive symptoms, as well as the caregiver's perception of the impact of the patient's behavioral problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]