			Home About us Contact

Middle-aged Persons (middle-aged + person)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	60%
Humanities and Social Sciences	40%

Selected Abstracts

Depressive Symptoms in Middle Age and the Development of Later-Life Functional Limitations: The Long-Term Effect of Depressive Symptoms

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 3 2010
Kenneth E. Covinsky MD
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether middle-aged persons with depressive symptoms are at higher risk for developing activity of daily living (ADL) and mobility limitations as they advance into older age than those without. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: The Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of people aged 50 to 61. PARTICIPANTS: Seven thousand two hundred seven community living participants in the 1992 wave of the HRS. MEASUREMENTS: Depressive symptoms were measured using the 11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D 11), with scores of 9 or more (out of 33) classified as significant depressive symptoms. Difficulty with five ADLs and basic mobility tasks (walking several blocks or up one flight of stairs) was measured every 2 years through 2006. The primary outcome was persistent difficulty with ADLs or mobility, defined as difficulty in two consecutive waves. RESULTS: Eight hundred eighty-seven (12%) subjects scored 9 or higher on the CES-D 11 and were classified as having significant depressive symptoms. Over 12 years of follow-up, subjects with depressive symptoms were more likely to reach the primary outcome measure of persistent difficulty with mobility or difficulty with ADL function (45% vs 23%, Cox hazard ratio (HR)=2.33, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.06,2.63). After adjusting for age, sex, measures of socioeconomic status, comorbid conditions, high body mass index, smoking, exercise, difficulty jogging 1 mile, and difficulty climbing several flights of stairs, the risk was attenuated but still statistically significant (Cox HR=1.44, 95% CI=1.25,1.66). CONCLUSION: Depressive symptoms independently predict the development of persistent limitations in ADLs and mobility as middle-aged persons advance into later life. Middle-aged persons with depressive symptoms may be at greater risk for losing their functional independence as they age. [source]

Suicide after hospitalization in the elderly: a population based study of suicides in Northern Finland between 1988,2003

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2008
Kaisa Karvonen
Abstract Objective Elderly people commit suicide more often than people under the age of 65. An elevated risk is also attached to depression and other axis I psychiatric disorders. However, little is known about the preferred suicide method, effect of primary psychiatric diagnosis, and length of time between discharge from psychiatric hospitalization and suicide. The lack of information is most apparent in the oldest old (individuals over 75 years). Methods On the basis of forensic examinations, data on suicide rates were separately examined for the 50,64, 65,74 and over 75 year-olds (Total n,=,564) with regard to suicide method, history of psychiatric hospitalization and primary diagnoses gathered from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. Study population consisted of all suicides committed between 1988 and 2003 in the province of Oulu in Northern Finland. Results Of the oldest old, females had more frequent hospitalizations than males in connection with psychiatric disorders (61% vs 23%), of which depression was the most common (39% vs 14%). In this age group, 42% committed suicide within 3 months after being discharged from hospital and 83% used a violent method. Both elderly males and females were less often under the influence of alcohol, but used more often violent methods than middle-aged persons. Conclusions Suicide rates within the first 3 months following discharge from hospital in the 65,74 and the over 75 year olds were substantial and should influence post-hospitalization treatment strategies. To reduce the risk of suicides in elderly patients discharged from hospital, close post-hospitalization supervision combined with proper psychoactive medication and psychotherapy, are possible interventions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Depressive Symptoms in Middle Age and the Development of Later-Life Functional Limitations: The Long-Term Effect of Depressive Symptoms

Current Views of European Anthropologists on Race: Influence of Educational and Ideological Background

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 1 2009
Katarzyna A. Kaszycka
ABSTRACT, Significant differences in views on race (once a core anthropological concept) occur between scientists from different countries. In light of the ongoing race debate, we present the concept's current status in Europe. On three occasions in 2002,03, we surveyed European anthropologists' opinions toward the biological race concept. The participants were asked whether they agreed that there are biological races within the species Homo sapiens. A dependence was sought between the type of response and several factors. Three of these factors,country of academic education, discipline, and age,were found to be significant in differentiating the replies. Respondents educated in Western Europe, physical anthropologists, and middle-aged persons reject race more frequently than respondents educated in Eastern Europe, people in other branches of science, and those from both younger and older generations. The survey shows that the views of anthropologists on race are sociopolitically (ideologically) influenced and highly dependent on education. [Keywords: human races, race concept, physical anthropology, Europe] [source]

Household diversity and migration in mid-life: understanding residential mobility among 45,64 year olds in Melbourne, Australia

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 4 2010
Maryann Wulff
Abstract This paper focuses on the residential mobility of middle-aged persons, not yet retired, an understudied cohort in mobility research. From the 1950s to the 1980s, mobility studies pointed to mid-life as a settled stage in terms of family, work and housing. Recent demographic and social changes, however, have led to these years being typified by a wide gamut of living arrangements that have complicated decisions about, and patterns of, residential mobility. Using the life-course perspective, this paper suggests that the transition to ,empty nester' status will heighten mobility among this group of middle-aged persons relative to their counterparts in other living arrangements. The analysis uses a customised migration matrix from the Australian 2006 Census and identifies segments of 45,64 year olds most likely to have changed address since the previous census in 2001. CHAID statistical method partitioned the 45,64 year old population in Melbourne, Australia, into eight statistically significant segments based on life-course factors and mobility levels. Younger (45,54 years) mid-life empty-nesters changed residence at 1.4 times the mobility rate of all mid-life persons. For couples in this age group, empty nest status conferred a 13 percentage point ,mobility premium' compared with couples that still had children at home. The results contribute to a better understanding of housing consumption among mid-life households and broader debates on access to affordable housing and processes of urban growth. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]