Search

The relationship between cognitive function and survivorship was examined in a community-dwelling sample. Survival analysis was used to examine how level and change in intellectual functioning, verbal memory, perceptual speed, and psychomotor speed were related to mortality in a sample of 601 individuals who subsequently died (decedents; n = 342 men; n = 259 women; M = 73.81 years of age) and a control group of 609 survivors (n = 296 men; n = 313 women; M = 71.96). The sample of survivors was selected to be of similar age and to have a similar level of education as the decedents. Individuals in the lowest 25th percentile of performance (crystallized abilities, visualization abilities, verbal memory, and perceptual and psychomotor speed) had a significant risk for subsequent mortality compared to individuals in the highest 25th percentile. However, after adjusting for demographic variables and psychomotor speed, only perceptual speed remained a significant risk factor for mortality. Significant 7-year declines (lowest 25th percentile) in measurements of Verbal Meaning, Spatial Ability, Reasoning Ability, and Psychomotor Speed were risk factors for subsequent mortality relative to those who had the least amount of decline. The relationship between mortality and cognitive function tended to be a specific rather than a pervasive phenomenon, even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and psychomotor speed. Decrease in cognitive performance tended to be a better predictor of subsequent mortality than was the level of cognitive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Cognitive abilities have been implicated as predictors of mortality in older adults. This study examines the effects of cognitive training on mortality 20 years post-intervention. Methods: Data come from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) randomized control trial (N = 2802). Participants were cognitively and physically healthy, community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older. Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate (1) the association between baseline cognition and mortality risk and (2) the effect of ACTIVE cognitive training (memory, reasoning, and speed of processing) on mortality risk 20 years post-intervention. Results: Higher baseline cognition predicted lower mortality risk 20 years post-intervention. No significant effects of ACTIVE cognitive training in memory, reasoning, or speed of processing on mortality risk were observed. Discussion: More work is needed to identify cognitive training interventions that may lead to lower mortality risks in later adulthood.

Human functioning and development are shaped by sociocultural contexts and by the historical changes that occur in these contexts. Over the last century, sociocultural changes such as increases in early life education have profoundly reshaped normative developmental sequences. In this article, we first briefly review how history-graded changes have influenced levels of objective performance and subjective evaluations among older adults and conclude that old age in countries such as the United States and Germany is getting younger, both on behavioral measures and in people's own perception. Second, we put these findings in a larger perspective and note some of the "presumed" causes driving historical change. Third, we identify key aspects of change that need to be further described, including history-graded change in (a) the formative role of experiences made across adulthood; (b) within-person trajectories of adult development and aging, including rates of change, patterns of variation, and causal influence; (c) the structure of very old age and the end of life; and (d) what may be expected in the forthcoming decades. We suggest a number of reasons why the rosy picture of historical change obtained for older adults over the last century may not necessarily continue in the future. In a final step, we outline promising methods that might be used to discover and test mechanisms driving history-graded changes, and to inform projection and optimization of functioning and development in future generations of older adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

A growing body of research has examined whether people's judgments of their own memory functioning accurately reflect their memory performance at cross-section and over time. Relatively less is known about whether these judgments are specifically based on memory performance, or reflect general cognitive change. The aim of the present study was to examine longitudinal associations of subjective memory with performance in tests of episodic memory and a wide range of other cognitive tests, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) Block Design, Comprehension, Digit Span, Digit Symbol, and Vocabulary subtests. We applied latent growth curve models to five occasions over up to 16 years of neuropsychological assessments from 956 participants of the Seattle Longitudinal Study (SLS; 57% women; age at baseline: M = 65.1, SD = 11.4, 38 - 96 years). Results revealed that lower self-reported Frequency of Forgetting was significantly associated with better performance in all cognitive domains at baseline. The baseline correlation of Frequency of Forgetting with memory performance was stronger than its correlations with performance in other cognitive tests. Furthermore, additional analyses with baseline data showed that a latent memory performance factor reliably predicted Frequency of Forgetting after controlling for a general cognitive factor. Over time, steeper increases in Frequency of Forgetting were associated with steeper declines in tests of memory performance and in the Block Design and Digit Symbol subtests. Taken together, these findings suggest that although self-reported Frequency of Forgetting reflects performance in a broad range of other cognitive domains, it also shows some specificity for memory performance. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).)

The Joint Trauma System in Afghanistan, while designed for the care of injured patients, can provide timely, multimodal, coordinated care for nontraumatic medical emergencies as patients are evacuated from theater. To illustrate this, a case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is presented. The patient was able to receive all recommended components of postcardiac arrest care in a timely, coordinated manner at four different medical treatment facilities and while traveling over 8,600 miles with critical care provided en route., (Reprint & Copyright © 2014 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.)

A major goal of animal research is to identify interventions that can promote successful aging and delay or reverse age-related cognitive decline in humans. Recent advances in standardizing cognitive assessment tools for humans have the potential to bring preclinical work closer to human research in aging and Alzheimer's disease. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has led an initiative to develop a comprehensive Toolbox for Neurologic Behavioral Function (NIH Toolbox) to evaluate cognitive, motor, sensory and emotional function for use in epidemiologic and clinical studies spanning 3 to 85 years of age. This paper aims to analyze the strengths and limitations of animal behavioral tests that can be used to parallel those in the NIH Toolbox. We conclude that there are several paradigms available to define a preclinical battery that parallels the NIH Toolbox. We also suggest areas in which new tests may benefit the development of a comprehensive preclinical test battery for assessment of cognitive function in animal models of aging and Alzheimer's disease., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine whether limited transportation affects medication adherence in patients with epilepsy., Design: Descriptive, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study., Setting: United States and worldwide, February to April 2007., Patients: 143 patients with epilepsy., Intervention: A 22-item survey was developed to ask patients with epilepsy or their caregivers about the impact of limited transportation on adherence with medications. The survey was placed on Zoomerang.com. An invitation to participate in the survey was sent via e-mail to members of the Epilepsy.com website, and an invitation with a link to the survey was placed on Epilepsy.com., Main Outcome Measures: Whether patients with epilepsy have difficulty picking up prescriptions on time because of transportation problems and whether they felt they would miss fewer doses if transportation was not an issue., Results: 143 individuals with epilepsy completed part or all of the survey. Of patients who were unable to drive, 45% reported that fewer doses would be missed if transportation was not a problem. Patients who were unable to drive had an odds ratio of 4.2 (P < 0.0001) of being unable to get medications on time. No differences were observed in the number of patients missing prescription medications associated with availability of insurance, use of mail service pharmacies, or population size of patients' area of residence. Ability to drive and distance to the pharmacy were the only factors associated with nonadherence., Conclusion: Limited transportation may be a factor in poor medication adherence in patients with epilepsy.

Objective: The current study examines the prevalence of health risk behaviors and their cumulative effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) among a sample of adults. Age cohort is also examined to determine the role of age in predicting CVD and risky health behaviors., Method: Medical records of a sample of adults from the Seattle Longitudinal Study categorized into one of four age-group cohorts were examined. Data regarding participants' health risk behaviors were examined individually and cumulatively for predicting later CVD diagnosis., Results: The prevalence of CVD increases with age, obesity, and risky medical checkups. Female risky sleepers are more likely to receive a CVD diagnosis than men who report risky sleep patterns (p < .05)., Discussion: A high risk of CVD appears to exist for adults across the life span, and several risky health behaviors also seem to place individuals more at risk for being diagnosed with CVD.

We investigated cognitive training effects on accuracy and number of items attempted in inductive reasoning performance in a sample of 335 older participants (M = 72.78 years) from the Seattle Longitudinal Study. We assessed the impact of individual characteristics, including chronic disease. The reasoning training group showed significantly greater gain in accuracy and number of attempted items than did the comparison group; gain was primarily due to enhanced accuracy. Reasoning training effects involved a complex interaction of gender, prior cognitive status, and chronic disease. Women with prior decline on reasoning but no heart disease showed the greatest accuracy increase. In addition, stable reasoning-trained women with heart disease demonstrated significant accuracy gain. Comorbidity was associated with less change in accuracy. The results support the effectiveness of cognitive training on improving the accuracy of reasoning performance.