@article {13369, title = {Neighborhood Cohesion Across the Life Course and Effects on Cognitive Aging.}, journal = {J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci}, year = {2023}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Greater neighborhood cohesion is associated with better cognitive function in adulthood and may serve as a protective factor against cognitive impairment and decline. We build on prior work by examining the effects of perceived neighborhood cohesion across the life course on level and change in cognitive function in adulthood.

METHODS: Utilizing longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2016) and its Life History Mail Survey, we leveraged data from 3,599 study participants (baseline age: 51-89) who participated in up to 10 waves. Respondents provided retrospective ratings of neighborhood cohesion at childhood (age 10), young adulthood (age at first full-time job), early midlife (age 40), and concurrently at baseline (i.e., late midlife/adulthood); they completed the modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (mTICS). We fit a univariate latent growth curve model of change in cognitive function across waves and tested whether neighborhood cohesion during each recollected life stage predicted level and change in cognitive function.

RESULTS: Greater neighborhood cohesion during childhood and late midlife/adulthood each predicted higher cognitive function at baseline but not rate of cognitive decline. The final model showed that greater neighborhood cohesion in childhood and in late midlife/adulthood remained significantly associated with higher baseline cognitive function, even after accounting for one another.

DISCUSSION: Findings provide insight into life course neighborhood contextual influences on cognitive aging. Our results emphasize the need for more research to understand the life course dynamics between neighborhood environments and cognitive aging.

}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbad095}, author = {Choi, Jean and Han, Sae Hwang and Ng, Yee To and Mu{\~n}oz, Elizabeth} } @article {11602, title = {Neighborhood Characteristics and Inflammation among Older Black Americans: The Moderating Effects of Hopelessness and Pessimism.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology: Series A}, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {e82-e88}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Research documents the adverse health effects of systemic inflammation. Overall, older Black Americans tend to have higher inflammation than older non-Hispanic white adults. Given that inflammation is related to a range of chronic health problems that disproportionately affect Blacks compared to whites, this racial disparity in inflammation may contribute to racial disparities in particular chronic health problems. Thus, a better understanding of its determinants in the older Black population is of critical importance. This analysis examined the association between neighborhood characteristics and inflammation in a national sample of older non-Hispanic Black Americans. An additional aim of this study was to determine whether hopelessness and pessimism moderates the association between neighborhood characteristics and inflammation.

METHODS: A sample of older non-Hispanic Black Americans aged 60+ were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (N=1,004). Neighborhood characteristics included neighborhood physical disadvantage and neighborhood social cohesion. Inflammation was assessed by C-reactive protein (CRP).

RESULTS: The analyses indicated that neighborhood physical disadvantage and social cohesion were not associated with CRP. Hopelessness and pessimism moderated the association between neighborhood physical disadvantage and CRP.

CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge regarding the role of hopelessness and pessimism as moderator in the neighborhood-inflammation association can inform cognitive-behavioral interventions targeted at changes in cognition patterns.

}, keywords = {C-reactive protein, cognitive disposition, neighborhood physical disadvantage, neighborhood social cohesion}, issn = {1758-535X}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glab121}, author = {Ann W Nguyen and Harry Owen Taylor and Karen D Lincoln and Qin, Weidi and Tyrone C Hamler and Wang, Fei and Uchechi A Mitchell} } @article {10391, title = {Net versus Gross Measure of Monetary Transfers in Intergenerational Exchange Studies}, year = {2019}, institution = {University of Kent}, abstract = {This paper investigates whether the choice of the net versus gross measure of monetary transfers from adult children to their elderly parents can explain the differences in the estimates of the wage effect on money transfers found in earlier studies. It carefully documents the transfer pattern and points to the limitations of the OLS specification in the analysis of either gross out-transfers from adult children to elderly parents or net transfers. A four-part model is offered as a better alternative for the analysis of intergenerational monetary exchange. This model consists of two Cragg{\textquoteright}s double hurdle models for out-transfers and in-transfers. The results from estimating this model uncover the following empirical regularities. First, wages of adult children play an important role in the determination of the transfers at the extensive margin: adult children with higher wages are more likely to give to their elderly parents and less likely to receive. Second, among those who participate in the exchange process wages have no effect on the amount of transfer given to parents, while having a positive effect on the amount of transfer received from parents. Finally, it has been found that certain characteristics have similar effect on both probability of being a a giver and a recipient. These features provide a useful guideline for future theoretical research. One of the possible theoretical models that possesses such features is outlined in this paper.}, keywords = {Exchange, Monetary Transfers, Money}, url = {https://kar.kent.ac.uk/77494/}, author = {Nizalova, Olena} } @article {12123, title = {New alcohol-related genes suggest shared genetic mechanisms with neuropsychiatric disorders.}, journal = {Nature Human Behaviour}, volume = {3}, year = {2019}, pages = {950-961}, abstract = {

Excessive alcohol consumption is one of the main causes of death and disability worldwide. Alcohol consumption is a heritable complex trait. Here we conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of alcohol consumption (g d) from the UK Biobank, the Alcohol Genome-Wide Consortium and the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Plus consortia, collecting data from 480,842 people of European descent to decipher the genetic architecture of alcohol intake. We identified 46 new common loci and investigated their potential functional importance using magnetic resonance imaging data and gene expression studies. We identify genetic pathways associated with alcohol consumption and suggest genetic mechanisms that are shared with neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Alcohol Drinking, Alcoholism, Brain, Female, genes, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mental Disorders, Middle Aged, Neuroimaging, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Quantitative Trait Loci, Schizophrenia, Whites}, issn = {2397-3374}, doi = {10.1038/s41562-019-0653-z}, author = {Evangelou, Evangelos and Gao, He and Chu, Congying and Ntritsos, Georgios and Blakeley, Paul and Butts, Andrew R and Pazoki, Raha and Suzuki, Hideaki and Koskeridis, Fotios and Yiorkas, Andrianos M and Karaman, Ibrahim and Elliott, Joshua and Luo, Qiang and Aeschbacher, Stefanie and Traci M Bartz and Baumeister, Sebastian E and Braund, Peter S and Brown, Michael R and Brody, Jennifer A and Clarke, Toni-Kim and Dimou, Niki and Jessica Faul and Homuth, Georg and Jackson, Anne U and Kentistou, Katherine A and Joshi, Peter K and Lemaitre, Rozenn N and Penelope A Lind and Lyytik{\"a}inen, Leo-Pekka and Mangino, Massimo and Milaneschi, Yuri and Nelson, Christopher P and Ilja M Nolte and Per{\"a}l{\"a}, Mia-Maria and Polasek, Ozren and David J Porteous and Scott M Ratliff and Smith, Jennifer A and Stan{\v c}{\'a}kov{\'a}, Alena and Teumer, Alexander and Tuominen, Samuli and Th{\'e}riault, S{\'e}bastien and Vangipurapu, Jagadish and Whitfield, John B and Wood, Alexis and Yao, Jie and Yu, Bing and Zhao, Wei and Dan E Arking and Auvinen, Juha and Liu, Chunyu and M{\"a}nnikk{\"o}, Minna and Risch, Lorenz and Rotter, Jerome I and Snieder, Harold and Veijola, Juha and Alexandra I Blakemore and Boehnke, Michael and Campbell, Harry and Conen, David and Johan G Eriksson and Hans-J{\"o}rgen Grabe and Guo, Xiuqing and van der Harst, Pim and Catharina A Hartman and Caroline Hayward and Andrew C Heath and J{\"a}rvelin, Marjo-Riitta and K{\"a}h{\"o}nen, Mika and Sharon L R Kardia and K{\"u}hne, Michael and Kuusisto, Johanna and Laakso, Markku and Lahti, Jari and Lehtim{\"a}ki, Terho and McIntosh, Andrew M and Mohlke, Karen L and Alanna C Morrison and Nicholas G Martin and Oldehinkel, Albertine J and Brenda W J H Penninx and Psaty, Bruce M and Olli T Raitakari and Rudan, Igor and Nilesh J Samani and Scott, Laura J and Timothy Spector and Verweij, Niek and David R Weir and James F Wilson and Levy, Daniel and Tzoulaki, Ioanna and Bell, Jimmy D and Matthews, Paul M and Rothenfluh, Adrian and Desrivi{\`e}res, Sylvane and Schumann, Gunter and Elliott, Paul} } @article {9040, title = {Negative wealth shock and short-term changes in depressive symptoms and medication adherence among late middle-aged adults.}, journal = {Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health}, volume = {71}, year = {2017}, pages = {758-763}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Experiencing a negative wealth shock in late middle age may cause high levels of stress and induce reductions in health-related consumption.

METHODS: We used data on late middle age individuals (51-64 years) from the longitudinal US-based Health and Retirement Study (N=19 281) to examine the relationship between negative wealth shock and short-term outcomes that serve as markers of the pathways from wealth shock to health: elevated depressive symptoms, as a marker of the stress pathway and cost-related medication non-adherence (CRN), as a marker of the consumption pathway. Negative wealth shock was considered to be a loss of total net worth of 75\% or more.

RESULTS: Using a nested cross-over approach-a within-person design among exposed individuals only that adjusts by design for all time-invariant individual characteristics-we found that negative wealth shock was significantly associated with increased odds of elevated depressive symptoms (OR=1.50, CI 1.10 to 2.05), but was not significantly associated with higher odds of CRN (OR=1.18, CI 0.76 to 1.82), even after further adjustment for time-varying sociodemographic and health covariates.

CONCLUSIONS: Negative wealth shock during late middle age confers an increased risk of elevated depressive symptoms, but does not change levels of CRN. Personal and policy factors that may buffer the mental health risks of negative wealth shock, such as social support and social welfare policy, should be considered.

}, keywords = {Depressive symptoms, Middle age, Prescription Medication, Wealth Shocks}, issn = {1470-2738}, doi = {10.1136/jech-2016-208347}, author = {Lindsay R Pool and Belinda L Needham and Sarah A. Burgard and Michael R. Elliott and Carlos F. Mendes de Leon} } @article {8901, title = {Neighborhood Environment and Falls among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.}, journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, volume = {14}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Feb 10}, abstract = {

Background: Falls present a major challenge to active aging, but the relationship between neighborhood factors and falls is poorly understood. This study examined the relationship between fall events and neighborhood factors, including neighborhood social cohesion (sense of belonging, trust, friendliness, and helpfulness) and physical environment (vandalism/graffiti, rubbish, vacant/deserted houses, and perceived safety walking home at night). Methods: Data were analyzed from 9259 participants over four biennial waves (2006-2012) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of adults aged 65 and older in the United States. Results: In models adjusting for demographic and health-related covariates, a one-unit increase in neighborhood social cohesion was associated with 4\% lower odds of experiencing a single fall (odds ratio (OR): 0.96, 95\% confidence interval (CI): 0.93-0.99) and 6\% lower odds of experiencing multiple falls (OR: 0.94, 95\% CI: 0.90-0.98). A one-unit increase in the physical environment scale was associated with 4\% lower odds of experiencing a single fall (OR: 0.96, 95\% CI: 0.93-0.99) and with 5\% lower odds of experiencing multiple falls (OR: 0.95, 95\% CI: 0.91-1.00) in adjusted models. Conclusions: The physical and social neighborhood environment may affect fall risk among community-dwelling older adults. Findings support the ongoing need for evidence-based fall prevention programming in community and clinical settings.

}, keywords = {Community-dwelling, Health Shocks, Neighborhoods, Older Adults, Social Support}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph14020175}, author = {Emily J Nicklett and Matthew C. Lohman and Matthew Lee Smith} } @article {12138, title = {New Blood Pressure-Associated Loci Identified in Meta-Analyses of 475 000 Individuals.}, journal = {Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics}, volume = {10}, year = {2017}, pages = {e001778}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies have recently identified >400 loci that harbor DNA sequence variants that influence blood pressure (BP). Our earlier studies identified and validated 56 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) associated with BP from meta-analyses of exome chip genotype data. An additional 100 variants yielded suggestive evidence of association.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Here, we augment the sample with 140 886 European individuals from the UK Biobank, in whom 77 of the 100 suggestive SNVs were available for association analysis with systolic BP or diastolic BP or pulse pressure. We performed 2 meta-analyses, one in individuals of European, South Asian, African, and Hispanic descent (pan-ancestry, ≈475 000), and the other in the subset of individuals of European descent (≈423 000). Twenty-one SNVs were genome-wide significant (<5{\texttimes}10) for BP, of which 4 are new BP loci: rs9678851 (missense, ), rs7437940 (), rs13303 (missense, ), and rs1055144 (). In addition, we identified a potentially independent novel BP-associated SNV, rs3416322 (missense, ) at a known locus, uncorrelated with the previously reported SNVs. Two SNVs are associated with expression levels of nearby genes, and SNVs at 3 loci are associated with other traits. One SNV with a minor allele frequency <0.01, (rs3025380 at ) was genome-wide significant.

CONCLUSIONS: We report 4 novel loci associated with BP regulation, and 1 independent variant at an established BP locus. This analysis highlights several candidate genes with variation that alter protein function or gene expression for potential follow-up.

}, keywords = {Antiporters, Blood pressure, Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal, Databases, Factual, Genetic Loci, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genotype, Humans, Microfilament Proteins, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing}, issn = {1942-3268}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.117.001778}, author = {Kraja, Aldi T and Cook, James P and Warren, Helen R and Surendran, Praveen and Liu, Chunyu and Evangelou, Evangelos and Alisa Manning and Grarup, Niels and Drenos, Fotios and Sim, Xueling and Smith, Albert Vernon and Amin, Najaf and Alexandra I Blakemore and Bork-Jensen, Jette and Brandslund, Ivan and Farmaki, Aliki-Eleni and Fava, Cristiano and Ferreira, Teresa and Herzig, Karl-Heinz and Giri, Ayush and Giulianini, Franco and Grove, Megan L and Guo, Xiuqing and Sarah E Harris and Have, Christian T and Havulinna, Aki S and Zhang, He and J{\o}rgensen, Marit E and K{\"a}r{\"a}j{\"a}m{\"a}ki, AnneMari and Charles Kooperberg and Linneberg, Allan and Little, Louis and Liu, Yongmei and Bonnycastle, Lori L and Lu, Yingchang and M{\"a}gi, Reedik and Mahajan, Anubha and Malerba, Giovanni and Riccardo E Marioni and Mei, Hao and Menni, Cristina and Alanna C Morrison and Padmanabhan, Sandosh and Walter R Palmas and Poveda, Alaitz and Rauramaa, Rainer and Nigel W Rayner and Riaz, Muhammad and Rice, Ken and Melissa Richard and Smith, Jennifer A and Southam, Lorraine and Stan{\v c}{\'a}kov{\'a}, Alena and Kathleen E Stirrups and Tragante, Vinicius and Tuomi, Tiinamaija and Tzoulaki, Ioanna and Varga, Tibor V and Weiss, Stefan and Yiorkas, Andrianos M and Young, Robin and Zhang, Weihua and Barnes, Michael R and Cabrera, Claudia P and Gao, He and Boehnke, Michael and Boerwinkle, Eric and Chambers, John C and Connell, John M and Cramer Christensen and de Boer, Rudolf A and Ian J Deary and George Dedoussis and Deloukas, Panos and Dominiczak, Anna F and D{\"o}rr, Marcus and Joehanes, Roby and Edwards, Todd L and T{\~o}nu Esko and Myriam Fornage and Franceschini, Nora and Franks, Paul W and Gambaro, Giovanni and Leif C Groop and Hallmans, G{\"o}ran and Hansen, Torben and Caroline Hayward and Heikki, Oksa and Ingelsson, Erik and Tuomilehto, Jaakko and J{\"a}rvelin, Marjo-Riitta and Sharon L R Kardia and Karpe, Fredrik and Kooner, Jaspal S and Lakka, Timo A and Langenberg, Claudia and Lars Lind and Ruth J F Loos and Laakso, Markku and McCarthy, Mark I and Melander, Olle and Mohlke, Karen L and Morris, Andrew P and Palmer, Colin N A and Pedersen, Oluf and Polasek, Ozren and Neil Poulter and Province, Michael A and Psaty, Bruce M and Ridker, Paul M and Rotter, Jerome I and Rudan, Igor and Veikko Salomaa and Nilesh J Samani and Peter Sever and Skaaby, Tea and Stafford, Jeanette M and John M Starr and van der Harst, Pim and van der Meer, Peter and Cornelia M van Duijn and Vergnaud, Anne-Claire and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Wareham, Nicholas J and Wilson, James G and Willer, Cristen J and Daniel Witte and Zeggini, Eleftheria and Saleheen, Danish and Adam S Butterworth and Danesh, John and Asselbergs, Folkert W and Wain, Louise V and Georg B Ehret and Daniel I Chasman and Caulfield, Mark J and Elliott, Paul and Lindgren, Cecilia M and Levy, Daniel and Newton-Cheh, Christopher and Munroe, Patricia B and Howson, Joanna M M} } @article {11263, title = {Novel Methods and Data Sources for Surveillance of State-Level Diabetes and Prediabetes Prevalence}, journal = {Preventing Chronic Disease}, volume = {14}, year = {2017}, abstract = {States bear substantial responsibility for addressing the rising rates of diabetes and prediabetes in the United States. However, accurate state-level estimates of diabetes and prediabetes prevalence that include undiagnosed cases have been impossible to produce with traditional sources of state-level data. Various new and nontraditional sources for estimating state-level prevalence are now available. These include surveys with expanded samples that can support state-level estimation in some states and administrative and clinical data from insurance claims and electronic health records. These sources pose methodologic challenges because they typically cover partial, sometimes nonrandom subpopulations; they do not always use the same measurements for all individuals; and they use different and limited sets of variables for case finding and adjustment. We present an approach for adjusting new and nontraditional data sources for diabetes surveillance that addresses these limitations, and we present the results of our proposed approach for 2 states (Alabama and California) as a proof of concept. The method reweights surveys and other data sources with population undercoverage to make them more representative of state populations, and it adjusts for nonrandom use of laboratory testing in clinically generated data sets. These enhanced diabetes and prediabetes prevalence estimates can be used to better understand the total burden of diabetes and prediabetes at the state level and to guide policies and programs designed to prevent and control these chronic diseases. }, keywords = {Diabetes, Methodology, prediabetes}, doi = {10.5888/pcd14.160572}, author = {Mardon, Russ and David A Marker and Nooney, Jennifer and Campione, Joanne and Jenkins, Frank and Johnson, Maurice and Merrill, Lori and Deborah B. Rolka and Saydah, Sharon and Geiss, Linda S. and Zhang, Xuanping and Shrestha, Sundar} }