@article {13210, title = {"How Social Connection and Engagement Relate to Functional Limitations and Depressive Symptoms Outcomes After Stroke".}, journal = {medRxiv}, year = {2023}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Stroke commonly leads to disability and depression. Social connection and engagement can be protective against functional decline and depression in the general population. We investigated the effects of social connection and engagement on trajectories of function and depressive symptoms in stroke.

METHODS: Participants were 898 individuals with incident stroke from the Health and Retirement Study between 1998-2012. Multilevel modeling was used to examine associations of social connection and engagement with changes in functional limitations in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and depressive symptoms over time. Models controlled for age, gender, education, and race/ethnicity. Moderation analyses examined whether high social connection and engagement reduced depressive symptoms for survivors with high IADL impairment.

RESULTS: Social connection and engagement were generally associated with fewer IADL limitations and depressive symptoms at the time of stroke and after stroke. For example, participants who felt lonely and did not provide help to others before stroke had more IADL limitations. Pre-stroke volunteering was associated with less increase in IADL limitations with stroke and increase in having friends and providing help to others compared to one{\textquoteright}s pre-stroke status were associated with fewer IADL limitations after stroke. For depressive symptoms, participants who felt lonely and did not have a friend or partner before stroke had more depressive symptoms, and participants who had children residing nearby before stroke showed less increase in depressive symptoms. Moderation effects were not found for social connection and engagement on high IADL impairment and depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that social connection and engagement may reduce the negative physical and psychological outcomes of stroke, both at baseline and after stroke. Efforts to enhance social engagement and diminish loneliness may both enhance population well-being and enhance resilience and recovery from stroke and other illnesses.

}, doi = {10.1101/2023.03.07.23286965}, author = {Elayoubi, Joanne and Haley, William E and Nelson, Monica E and Hueluer, Gizem} } @article {11514, title = {Music Engagement and Episodic Memory among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A National Cross-Sectional Analysis.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology: Series B}, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {558-566}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether music engagement influences middle-aged and older adults{\textquoteright} performance on episodic memory tasks.

METHODS: Secondary data analysis of a sample (N = 4,592) of cognitively healthy adults from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study were used for this study. Multivariable regression models were used to analyze the cross-sectional differences in performance on tasks of episodic memory between participants who listened to music (n= 3,659) or sang or played an instrument (n= 989).

RESULTS: On average, participants recalled 10.3 words out of a possible 20. Regression analyses showed that both music listening and singing or playing an instrument were independently associated with significantly better episodic memory.

DISCUSSION: The findings provide the first population-based evidence that music engagement is associated with better episodic memory among middle-aged and older adults. Future studies should examine whether the association is causal or has a dose response.

}, keywords = {age norms, healthcare policy, lifestyle, Memory, Music, regression methods}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbab044}, author = {Rouse, Hillary J and Jin, Ying and Hueluer, Gizem and Huo, Meng and Bugos, Jennifer A and Veal, Britney and Torres, Mia and Peterson, Lindsay and Dobbs, Debra and Meng, Hongdao} } @article {11765, title = {The Role of Social Connection/Engagement in Episodic Memory Change in Stroke.}, journal = {Gerontologist}, volume = {62}, year = {2022}, pages = {364-374}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Positive associations between social connection/engagement and cognitive function are well documented. However, little is known about whether social connection/engagement can buffer the impact of serious brain injury such as stroke on cognitive functioning.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants were 898 individuals with incident stroke from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) between 1998-2012. Multilevel modeling was used to examine how social connection/engagement were associated with episodic memory pre- and post-stroke. Models controlled for age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, number of health conditions, and functional health.

RESULTS: Participants who were lonely pre-stroke recalled significantly fewer words at time of stroke, and participants who had children residing within 10 miles pre-stroke showed significantly less decline in word recall over time. Participants who provided help to others pre-stroke showed less stroke-related decline in word recall. Within-person increase in partnered status, having friends, and helping others were related to better word recall in the post-stroke period.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Higher pre-stroke levels of social connection/engagement predicted better episodic memory at stroke, smaller decline in episodic memory with stroke, and less decline in episodic memory over time. Increases in social connection/engagement from pre- to post-stroke also predicted better post-stroke episodic memory. Beyond the widely documented benefits of social connection/engagement to well-being, they may also increase cognitive stimulation and cognitive reserve and thus contribute to stroke recovery in the cognitive domain. Social connection/engagement is an important and modifiable risk factor in older adults.

}, keywords = {Cardiovascular accident, Cognition, Cognitive Reserve, Social participation, Word recall}, issn = {1758-5341}, doi = {10.1093/geront/gnab095}, author = {Elayoubi, Joanne and Nelson, Monica E and William E. Haley and Hueluer, Gizem} } @article {12058, title = {Music Engagement and Episodic Memory among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A National Longitudinal Analysis }, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {5}, year = {2021}, pages = {707}, abstract = {Recent research suggests that engagement with particular activities, such as music, can influence age-related changes in episodic memory. However, it is unclear whether, and to what, extent music engagement is associated with the trajectory of episodic memory. The objective of this study is to examine how passive (i.e., listening to music) and/or active (i.e., singing or playing an instrument) music engagement influences episodic memory over a period of 12 years. Secondary data analysis of a sample (N=5095) of cognitively healthy adults from the Health and Retirement Study were used for this study. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine the independent effect of different levels of music engagement (i.e., low, medium, and high) on changes in performance on episodic memory tasks, while controlling for confounding factors. Compared to those with low engagement (i.e., neither listening nor singing/ playing an instrument), respondents who reported being engaged at the medium (i.e., either listening or singing/ playing an instrument) or high (i.e., both listening and singing/ playing an instrument) level performed 0.24 (p=0.003) and 0.52 (p<0.001) points better, respectively. We found evidence that music engagement attenuated the decline in episodic memory. The findings suggest that music engagement may be a protective factor against aged-related decline in episodic memory. Therefore, music engagement may offer a promising non-pharmacological intervention for dementia risk mitigation among community-living middle-aged and older adults. Future research should examine whether interventions to increase music engagement can affect the trajectories of aged-related decline in cognition in this large and growing population.}, keywords = {Episodic Memory, Music}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igab046.2625}, author = {Rouse, Hillary J and Hueluer, Gizem and Torres, Mia and Du, Yan and Conner, Kyaien O and Meng, Hongdao} } @article {8194, title = {Correlates and Moderators of Change in Subjective Memory and Memory Performance: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study}, journal = {Gerontology}, volume = {61}, year = {2015}, note = {Times Cited: 1 0 1}, pages = {232-240}, publisher = {61}, abstract = {Aging researchers have long been interested in understanding individuals{\textquoteright} subjective perceptions of their own memory functioning. Previous research has shown that subjective memory ratings are partly based on memory performance but also reflect the influence of other factors, such as depressive symptoms. The aim of the present study was to examine (1) longitudinal associations between trajectories of subjective memory and memory performance, (2) variables that predict levels of and changes in subjective memory and memory performance, and (3) variables that moderate associations between these constructs. We applied a latent growth curve model to four occasions of data from 15,824 participants of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; mean age at baseline = 64.27 years, SD = 9.90; 58 women). Results revealed that latent changes in subjective memory were correlated with latent changes in memory performance (f = 0.49), indicating that participants who reported steeper declines of subjective memory indeed showed steeper declines of memory performance over time. Three major patterns of associations emerged with respect to predictors of subjective memory and subjective memory change. First, the level of memory performance showed stronger associations with age, gender, and education, whereas subjective memory was more strongly associated with subjective age and personality traits. For example, women performed better than men on the episodic memory test, but there were no gender differences in subjective memory. Also, older age was associated with steeper declines of memory performance but with less decline of subjective memory. Second, personality traits that predicted subjective memory intercepts did not predict subjective memory slopes. Third, the strength of associations between levels and slopes of subjective memory and memory performance varied as a function of gender, education, depressive symptoms, and personality traits. Conscientiousness moderated the relationship of the level of subjective memory to the level of memory performance, consistent with the hypothesis that persons high in conscientiousness more accurately monitor memory successes and failures. The results reinforce the importance of depressive symptoms as a predictor of subjective memory but also indicate that a broader perspective on the reasons why memory complaints have modest correlations with memory itself is needed. (C) 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel}, keywords = {Demographics, Expectations, Health Conditions and Status}, doi = {10.1159/000369010}, author = {Hueluer, Gizem and Hertzog, Christopher and Ann M. Pearman and Denis Gerstorf} } @article {8131, title = {Longitudinal Associations of Subjective Memory With Memory Performance and Depressive Symptoms: Between-Person and Within-Person Perspectives}, journal = {Psychology and Aging}, volume = {29}, year = {2014}, note = {Times Cited: 0 0}, pages = {814-827}, publisher = {29}, abstract = {Clinical diagnostic criteria for memory loss in adults typically assume that subjective memory ratings accurately reflect compromised memory functioning. Research has documented small positive between-person associations between subjective memory and memory performance in older adults. Less is known, however, about whether within-person fluctuations in subjective memory covary with within-person variance in memory performance and depressive symptoms. The present study applied multilevel models of change to 9 waves of data from 27,395 participants of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; mean age at baseline = 63.78; SD = 10.30; 58 women) to examine whether subjective memory is associated with both between-person differences and within-person variability in memory performance and depressive symptoms and explored the moderating role of known correlates (age, gender, education, and functional limitations). Results revealed that across persons, level of subjective memory indeed covaried with level of memory performance and depressive symptoms, with small-to-moderate between-person standardized effect sizes (0.19 for memory performance and -0.21 for depressive symptoms). Within individuals, occasions when participants scored higher than usual on a test of episodic memory or reported fewer-than-average depressive symptoms generated above-average subjective memory. At the within-person level, subjective memory ratings became more sensitive to within-person alterations in memory performance over time and those suffering from functional limitations were more sensitive to within-person alterations in memory performance and depressive symptoms. We take our results to suggest that within-person changes in subjective memory in part reflect monitoring flux in one{\textquoteright}s own memory functioning, but are also influenced by flux in depressive symptoms.}, keywords = {Expectations, Health Conditions and Status, Methodology}, doi = {10.1037/a0037619}, author = {Hueluer, Gizem and Hertzog, Christopher and Ann M. Pearman and Ram, Nilam and Denis Gerstorf} }