@article {9011, title = {Increased Engagement With Life: Differences in the Cognitive, Physical, Social, and Spiritual Activities of Older Adult Music Listeners.}, journal = {Gerontologist}, volume = {58}, year = {2018}, pages = {270-277}, abstract = {

Purpose of the Study: Clinical studies have demonstrated the health benefits of music listening, especially among older adults; however, this connection has not yet been examined in a nationally representative population based sample. The purpose of this study was to measure the connections between health, listening to music, and engagement with life activities among older Americans.

Design and Methods: We used data on 5,797 participants in both the 2012 Health and Retirement Study and 2013 Consumption and Activities Mail Survey. Participants reported their lifetime prevalence of health conditions, number of hours spent per week listening to music, as well as various cognitive, physical, social, and spiritual activities. We categorized participants as non-listeners (those reporting zero hours of music listening), average listeners (between >0 and 28.5 hr), and high listeners (>28.6 hr) and assessed associations between these music listening categories and life activities and the prevalence of health conditions.

Results: Approximately 20\% of the older Americans were non-listeners, a majority (75\%) reported average amounts, and 5\% reported high levels of music listening. Older Americans who were average or high music listeners reported a greater number of hours engaged in several cognitive, physical, social, and spiritual activities each week. Music listeners additionally reported fewer problematic health conditions than non-listeners.

Implications: Listening to music relates to increased life engagement and better health among older Americans. Given the wide-spread availability of music-based interventions for diverse populations, future studies may investigate the beneficial use of music as a public health initiative for older adults.

}, keywords = {Engagement, Older Adults}, issn = {1758-5341}, doi = {10.1093/geront/gnw192}, author = {Christopher N Kaufmann and Lori P Montross-Thomas and Griser, Sean} } @article {7882, title = {Insomnia and Health Services Utilization in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Results From the Health and Retirement Study}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background. Complaints of poor sleep are common among older adults. We investigated the prospective association between insomnia symptoms and hospitalization, use of home health care services, use of nursing homes, and use of any of these services in a population-based study of middle-aged and older adults.Methods. We studied 14,355 adults aged 55 and older enrolled in the 2006 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Logistic regression was used to study the association between insomnia symptoms (0, 1, or 2) in 2006 and reports of health service utilization in 2008, after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics.Results. Compared with respondents reporting no insomnia symptoms, those reporting one symptom had a greater odds of hospitalization (adjusted odds ratio AOR = 1.28, 95 confidence interval CI = 1.15 1.43, p .001), use of home health care services (AOR = 1.29, 95 CI = 1.09 1.52, p = .004), and any health service use (AOR = 1.28, 95 CI = 1.15 1.41, p .001). Those reporting greater than or equal to two insomnia symptoms had a greater odds of hospitalization (AOR = 1.71, 95 CI = 1.50 1.96, p .001), use of home health care services (AOR = 1.64, 95 CI = 1.32 2.04, p .001), nursing home use (AOR = 1.45, 95 CI = 1.10 1.90, p = .009), and any health service use (AOR = 1.72, 95 CI = 1.51 1.95, p .001) after controlling for demographics. These associations weakened, and in some cases were no longer statistically significant, after adjustment for clinical covariates.Conclusions. In this study, insomnia symptoms experienced by middle-aged and older adults were associated with greater future use of costly health services. Our findings raise the question of whether treating or preventing insomnia in older adults may reduce use of and spending on health services among this population.}, keywords = {Health Conditions and Status, Healthcare, Public Policy}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glt050}, url = {http://biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/05/09/gerona.glt050.abstract}, author = {Christopher N Kaufmann and Sarah L. Canham and Ramin Mojtabai and Amber M Gum and Dautovich, Natalie D. and Kohn, Robert and Adam P Spira} }