@article {13165, title = {Trajectories of self-reported hearing and their associations with cognition: evidence from the United Kingdom and United States of America.}, journal = {Age Ageing}, volume = {52}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Feb 01}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between trajectories of change in self-reported hearing over eight years with subsequent effects on cognition, measured using episodic memory.

METHODS: Data were drawn from 5 waves (2008-2016) of the English Longitudinal Study of England (ELSA) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), involving 4,875 individuals aged 50+ at the baseline in ELSA and 6,365 in HRS. The latent growth curve modelling was used to identify trajectories of hearing over eight years, and linear regression models were performed to investigate the relationship between hearing trajectory memberships and episodic memory scores, controlling for confounding factors.

RESULTS: Five trajectories of hearing (stable very good, stable fair, poor to fair/good, good to fair, and very good to good) were retained in each study. Individuals whose hearing remains suboptimal and those whose hearing deteriorates within suboptimal levels throughout eight years have significantly poorer episodic memory scores at follow-up than those with stable very good hearing. Conversely, individuals whose hearing declines but is within an optimal category at baseline do not see significantly poorer episodic memory scores than those with consistently optimal hearing. There was no significant relationship between individuals whose hearing improved from suboptimal baseline levels to optimal by follow-up and memory in ELSA. However, analysis using HRS data shows a significant improvement for this trajectory group (-1.260, P~< 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Either stable fair or deterioration in hearing is associated with worse cognitive function, both stable good or improving hearing is associated with better cognitive function specifically episodic memory.

}, keywords = {Cognition, hearing, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Memory, Episodic, Self Report, United Kingdom, United States}, issn = {1468-2834}, doi = {10.1093/ageing/afad017}, author = {Matthews, Katey and Dawes, Piers and Elliot, Rebecca and Pendleton, Neil and Tampubolon, Gindo and Maharani, Asri} } @article {13298, title = {Vision and Hearing Difficulties and life expectancy without ADL/IADL-limitations: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and the Health and Retirement Study.}, journal = {J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci}, year = {2023}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Hearing and vision difficulties are some of the most common deficits experienced by older adults. Having either visual or hearing difficulty increases the risk of comorbidity, disability, and poor quality of life. So far, however, few studies have examined the association between vision and hearing difficulties on life expectancy without activities of daily living (ADL) instrumental ADL (IADL) limitations (LEWL).

METHODS: Data came from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the US from 2002 to 2013. The outcome was defined as reporting 2+ limitations with ADL/IADL. Life expectancy was estimated by discrete-time multistate life table models, for hearing and vision difficulty separately as well as for combined vision and hearing difficulties, by sex and age.

RESULTS: 13\% of men in England and the US had ADL/IADL-limitations, whereas for women was 16\% and 19\% in England and the US. At all ages, either vision or hearing difficulty was associated with shorter LEWL compared to no difficulties. Dual sensory difficulty (vision and hearing) reduced LEWL by up to 12 years in both countries. At the ages of 50 and 60 in England, hearing difficulty was associated with fewer years lived without ADL/IADL-limitations than vision difficulty. In contrast, in the US, vision difficulty led to fewer years lived without ADL/IADL-limitations than hearing difficulty.

CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of strategies to reduce the prevalence and incidence of vision and hearing difficulties has the potential to increase the number of years spent without ADL/IADL-limitations.

}, issn = {1758-535X}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glad136}, author = {Zaninotto, Paola and Maharani, Asri and Di Gessa, Giorgio} } @article {10050, title = {Associations between self-reported sensory impairment and risk of cognitive decline and impairment in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) cohort.}, journal = {Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences \& Social Sciences}, volume = {75}, year = {2020}, type = {Journal}, chapter = {1230-1242}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine whether self-assessed single (hearing or visual) and dual sensory (hearing and visual) impairments are associated with cognitive decline and incident possible Cognitive Impairment, No Dementia (CIND) and probable dementia.

METHOD: Data were drawn from the 1996-2014 surveys of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), involving 19,618 respondents who had no probable dementia and who were aged 50 years or older at the baseline. We used linear mixed models to test the association between self-assessed sensory impairment and cognitive decline followed by a Cox proportional hazard model to estimate the relative risk of incident possible CIND and probable dementia associated with the presence of sensory impairment.

RESULTS: Respondents with self-assessed single and dual sensory impairment performed worse in cognitive tests than those without sensory impairment. The fully adjusted incidence of developing possible CIND was 17\% higher for respondents with hearing impairment than those without hearing impairment. Respondents with visual impairment had 35\% and 25\% higher risk for developing possible CIND and probable dementia, respectively, than those without visual impairment. Respondents with dual sensory impairment at baseline were 38\% and 26\% more likely to develop possible CIND and probable dementia, respectively, than those with no sensory impairment.

DISCUSSION: Self-assessed sensory impairment is independently associated with cognitive decline and incident possible CIND and probable dementia. Further studies are needed to identify the mechanism underlying this association and to determine whether treatment of sensory impairment could ameliorate cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia among older adults.

}, keywords = {Cognition \& Reasoning, Hearing loss, Risk Factors, Self Report}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbz043}, author = {Maharani, Asri and Dawes, Piers and James Nazroo and Tampubolon, Gindo and Pendleton, Neil} } @article {9741, title = {Longitudinal Relationship Between Hearing Aid Use and Cognitive Function in Older Americans}, journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society}, volume = {66}, year = {2018}, pages = {1130-1136}, abstract = {Objectives: To test whether hearing aid use alters cognitive trajectories in older adults. Design: US population-based longitudinal cohort study Setting: Data were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which measured cognitive performance repeatedly every 2 years over 18 years (1996-2014). Participants: Adults aged 50 and older who who took part in a minimum of 3 waves of the HRS and used hearing aids for the first time between Waves 4 and 11 (N=2,040). Measurements: Cognitive outcomes were based on episodic memory scores determined according to the sum of immediate and delayed recall of 10 words. Results: Hearing aid use was positively associated with episodic memory scores (β=1.53, p<.001). Decline in episodic memory scores was slower after (β=-0.02, p<.001) than before using hearing aids (β=-0.1, p<.001). These results were robust to adjustment for multiple confounders and to attrition, as accounted for using a joint model. Conclusions: Hearing aids may have a mitigating effect on trajectories of cognitive decline in later life. Providing hearing aids or other rehabilitative services for hearing impairment much earlier in the course of hearing impairment may stem the worldwide rise of dementia.}, keywords = {Cognitive Ability, Hearing aids, Hearing loss, Longitudinal data}, doi = {10.1111/jgs.15363}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/jgs.15363http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/jgs.15363/fullpdfhttps://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111\%2Fjgs.15363}, author = {Maharani, Asri and Dawes, Piers and James Nazroo and Tampubolon, Gindo and Pendleton, Neil} } @article {10001, title = {Trajectories of allostatic load among older Americans and Britons: Longitudinal cohort studies.}, journal = {BMC Geriatrics}, volume = {18}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Oct 23}, pages = {255}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Difference in life expectancy between males and females has been suggested to rest on sex difference in physiological dysregulation. But allostatic load, a physiological index, has not been carefully examined for an extended period beyond middle age. We aim to draw longitudinal trajectories of allostatic load in a national sample of older Americans and Britons; also to examine sex-based trajectories and factors behind their differences.

METHODS: We studied men and women aged >=50~years participating in the Health and Retirement Study Waves 8-11, 2006-2012 (N = 15,583 person-years) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing Waves 2, 4 and 6, 2004-2012 (N = 14,765 person-years). Because of the difference in provenance, we included different number of biomarkers to calculate allostatic load in HRS and ELSA. In HRS we used 8 biomarkers (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, haemoglobin A1c, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, waist circumference, cystatin C, and C-reactive protein), while ELSA allostatic load was constructed from 10 biomarkers (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, haemoglobin A1c, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, waist circumference, BMI, triglyceride, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein). A growth curve model was fitted to repeated observations of allostatic load, demographic characteristics, socioeconomic position, comorbidities and health behaviours (smoking, drinking, and physical exercise). To account for attrition, a joint model was applied.

RESULTS: The analysis showed that allostatic load increases linearly with age in the U.S. However, there are different levels for males and females. In England allostatic load follows such different paths that their trajectories cross in later life.

CONCLUSIONS: Sex-based trajectories of allostatic load showed distinct female advantage and are mostly consistent with female advantage in life expectancy.

}, keywords = {Cross-National, Depressive symptoms, Gender Differences}, issn = {1471-2318}, doi = {10.1186/s12877-018-0947-4}, author = {Tampubolon, Gindo and Maharani, Asri} } @article {9583, title = {Visual and hearing impairments are associated with cognitive decline in older people.}, journal = {Age and Ageing}, volume = {47}, year = {2018}, pages = {575-581}, abstract = {

Introduction: highly prevalagent hearing and vision sensory impairments among older people may contribute to the risk of cognitive decline and pathological impairments including dementia. This study aims to determine whether single and dual sensory impairment (hearing and/or vision) are independently associated with cognitive decline among older adults and to describe cognitive trajectories according to their impairment pattern.

Material and methods: we used data from totals of 13,123, 11,417 and 21,265 respondents aged 50+ at baseline from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), respectively. We performed growth curve analysis to identify cognitive trajectories, and a joint model was used to deal with attrition problems in longitudinal ageing surveys.

Results: respondents with a single sensory impairment had lower episodic memory score than those without sensory impairment in HRS (β = -0.15, P < 0.001), ELSA (β= -0.14, P< 0.001) and SHARE (β= -0.26, P < 0.001). The analysis further shows that older adults with dual sensory impairment in HRS (β= -0.25, P < 0.001), ELSA (β= -0.35, P< 0.001) and SHARE (β= -0.68, P < 0.001) remembered fewer words compared with those with no sensory impairment. The stronger associations between sensory impairment and lower episodic memory levels were found in the joint model which accounted for attrition.

Conclusions: hearing and/or vision impairments are a marker for the risk of cognitive decline that could inform preventative interventions to maximise cognitive health and longevity. Further studies are needed to investigate how sensory markers could inform strategies to improve cognitive ageing.

}, keywords = {Cognitive Ability, Cross-National, GWAS, Hearing loss, Visual function}, issn = {1468-2834}, doi = {10.1093/ageing/afy061}, author = {Maharani, Asri and Dawes, Piers and James Nazroo and Tampubolon, Gindo and Pendleton, Neil} } @article {9239, title = {When did old age stop being depressing? Depression trajectories of older Americans and Britons 2002{\textendash}2012}, journal = {The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry}, volume = {25}, year = {2017}, pages = {1187-1195}, abstract = {Objective: This study aims to investigate the implications of the heterogeneous cohort composition on depression trajectories of older adults in the United States and England. Methods: Using growth curve models to identify depressive symptom trajectories and data spanning six waves over 10 years (2002-2012) from the U.S. Health Retirement Study and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, community-dwelling Americans and Britons aged 50 years and older were studied. Depressive symptoms were measured using the eight-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Results: The sample included 11,919 respondents (7,095 women [59.53\%]) in the United States and 10,606 respondents (5,802 women [54.7\%]) in England aged 50 and older. Older cohorts were shown to have higher depressive symptoms than younger cohorts in the United States and England. The trajectories of depression of older cohorts, particularly those of the prewar cohorts in both countries and the war cohort in England, followed a U-shape. Conversely, the trajectories of depression of the younger cohort, particularly those of the postwar cohorts in both countries and the war cohort in the United States, took an inverted U-shape. Conclusion: The trajectories of depression in later life between cohorts took different shapes. This finding may lead to the development of more cost-effective policies for treating depression in later life. }, keywords = {Cross-National, Depressive symptoms}, issn = {10647481}, doi = {10.1016/j.jagp.2017.06.006}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1064748117303500http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S1064748117303500?httpAccept=text/xmlhttp://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S1064748117303500?httpAccept=text/plain}, author = {Tampubolon, Gindo and Maharani, Asri} }