The role of positive psychological wellbeing in walking speed differences among married and unmarried English older adults.

Objectives: Walking speed has been identified as an important indicator of functional independence and survival among older adults, with marital status being related to walking speed differences. We explored explanatory factors, with a focus on positive psychological wellbeing, in walking speed differences between married and non-married individuals in later life. Methods: We used wave 8 (2016/17) cross-sectional data from adults aged 60-79 years who participated in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (n = 3,743). An Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was used to compute walking speed differences between married and unmarried individuals, and the portion of those differences that could be explained by characteristic differences in those groups, particularly wellbeing. Results: Overall, married individuals had walking speeds that were 0.073 m/s (95% confidence interval: 0.055-0.092 m/s) faster than their unmarried counterparts. This was primarily driven by differences between the married and separated/divorced group, and the widowed group. Included covariates explained roughly 89% of the overall walking speed difference. Positive psychological wellbeing consistently explained a significant portion of walking speed differences, ranging between 7% to 18% across comparisons. Conclusion: Although wealth has been previously found to partially explain walking speed differences by marital status, we found that positive psychological wellbeing also demonstrated pertinence to these differences.

Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms and Incident Diabetes: A Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Elevated depressive symptoms are associated with an increased risk for diabetes. Depression is a heterogeneous and chronic condition in which symptoms may remit, emerge, lessen, or intensify over time. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if trajectories of depressive symptoms measured at five time points over 8 years predicted incident diabetes over an 8-year follow-up in middle-aged and older adults. A secondary aim was to determine if trajectories of depressive symptoms predict incident diabetes, above and beyond depressive symptoms measured at a single time point. METHODS: Data came from the Health and Retirement Study (n = 9,233). Depressive symptoms were measured biennially from 1998 to 2006. Self-reported incident diabetes was measured during an 8-year follow-up. RESULTS: Five trajectories of depressive symptoms were identified (no depressive symptoms, low depressive symptoms, low-moderate depressive symptoms, moderate depressive symptoms, elevated and increasing depressive symptoms). Compared to the no depressive symptoms trajectory group (referent), all other trajectory groups were at higher risk of developing diabetes after adjusting for covariates. In most cases, trajectory group membership was associated with incident diabetes after controlling for depressive symptoms at a single time point. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns of depressive symptoms over time were associated with incident diabetes. Patterns of depressive symptoms may be more predictive of diabetes incidence than depressive symptoms measured at a single time point.

Fatigue Symptoms Associated With COVID-19 in Convalescent or Recovered COVID-19 Patients; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence and prognosis of post-acute stage SARS-CoV-2 infection fatigue symptoms remain largely unknown. AIMS: We performed a systematic review to evaluate the prevalence of fatigue in post-recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHOD: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, trial registries, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Google Scholar were searched for studies on fatigue in samples that recovered from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnosed COVID-19. English, French, and Spanish studies were included. Meta-analyses were conducted separately for each recruitment setting. RESULTS: We identified 41 studies with 9,362 patients that recovered from COVID-19. Post-COVID-19 patients self-report of fatigue was higher compared to healthy controls (risk ratio (RR) = 3.688, 95%CI [2.502, 5.436], p < .001). Over 50% of patients discharged from inpatient care reported symptoms of fatigue during the first (event rate [ER] = 0.517, 95%CI [0.278, 0.749]) and second month following recovery (ER = 0.527, 95%CI [0.337, 0.709]). Ten percent of the community patients reported fatigue in the first-month post-recovery. Patient setting moderated the association between COVID-19 recovery and fatigue symptoms (R2 = 0.11, p < .001). Female patients recovering from COVID-19 had a greater self-report of fatigue (odds ratio [OR] = 1.782, 95%CI [1.531, 2.870]). Patients recruited through social media had fatigue above 90% across multiple time points. Fatigue was highest in studies from Europe. CONCLUSION: Fatigue is a symptom associated with functional challenges which could have economic and social impacts. Developing long-term planning for fatigue management amongst patients beyond the acute stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection is essential to optimizing patient care and public health outcomes. Further studies should examine the impact of sociodemographic, pandemic-related restrictions and pre-existing conditions on fatigue.

Variety Salience and Enjoyment of Repetitiously Consumed Foods: a Field Experiment.

BACKGROUND: The formation of healthy eating habits is supported by repeatedly eating specific foods, but repetition can also reduce enjoyment of those foods. Making the variety in one's diet salient increases enjoyment of repetitiously consumed foods in a lab setting. Therefore, in a longitudinal field experiment, we tested a brief intervention to remind participants of the variety in their diet. We hypothesized that increasing salience of dietary variety would prevent declines in enjoyment of the food and increase the likelihood that participants would be willing to eat the food again later. METHOD: Participants (n = 139) ate a granola bar each day for 2 weeks. Before eating it, participants randomly assigned to the treatment condition recalled other recently consumed foods (to increase salience of dietary variety). Control subjects recalled variety in an unrelated domain (music). Participants reported their enjoyment of the granola bar after they ate it each day, and in a lab session after the study ended, the number of granola bars they took from a selection of snacks was counted. RESULTS: Self-reported feelings of enjoyment declined steadily, and contrary to our first hypothesis, increasing salience of dietary variety did not prevent this decline. Increasing salience of dietary variety did increase the likelihood that participants would choose to take the same kind of granola bar 2 weeks later. CONCLUSION: Brief exercises that make variety in one's diet more salient may not prevent reductions in enjoyment of a repetitiously consumed food, but may still support continued consumption of the food.

Anxiety and Depression Symptom Comorbidity and the Risk of Heart Disease: A Prospective Community-Based Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to examine the independent and joint associations between anxiety and depression symptoms with the risk of heart disease. METHODS: A total of 30,635 participants from the CARTaGENE community cohort study in Quebec who did not have heart diseases at baseline were included in the study. Baseline anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed using validated questionnaires. Survey data were linked with diagnostic codes from a public insurance database to examine incident heart disease during a 7-year follow-up period. Cox regression analyses were conducted comparing groups with high anxiety only, high depression only, comorbid anxiety and depression, and no/low symptoms of both on the risk of heart disease. Additional analyses examined anxiety and depression using continuous questionnaire symptom scores, data-driven comorbidity groups, and diagnostic codes. Covariates included sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, diabetes, and hypertension. RESULTS: In the main analyses, we found that, although depression without anxiety symptoms was associated with an increased risk of heart disease (hazard ratio = 1.35, 95% confidence interval = 1.04-1.74), there was no significant association for anxiety without depression symptoms (hazard ratio = 1.00, 95% confidence interval = 0.71-1.41). High anxiety assessed with diagnostic codes or by examining latent classes was, however, associated with a higher risk of heart disease. CONCLUSIONS: The association between anxiety and incident heart disease may be accounted for by comorbid depression, particularly when anxiety and depression symptoms are assessed using self-report questionnaires. Differing methods of assessment and analysis, and adjustment for comorbid depression may explain differences in findings across different studies on anxiety and the risk of heart disease.

Dyadic Associations Between Body Mass Index and the Development of Type 2 Diabetes in Romantic Couples: Results From the Health and Retirement Study.

BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) is linked to Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Although romantic partners influence each other's health outcomes, it is unclear if partner's BMI is related to the development of T2D. PURPOSE: To test prospective, dyadic associations between BMI and the development of T2D in middle-aged and older adult couples over 8 years. METHODS: Data came from 950 couples in the Health and Retirement Study. Neither partner had diabetes at baseline (2006). The actor-partner interdependence model was used to examine dyadic associations between BMI at baseline and the development of T2D during the next 8 years. RESULTS: After adjusting for covariates, a significant actor effect was observed such that one's BMI at baseline was positively associated with one's own odds of developing T2D during follow-up (odds ratio [OR] = 1.08, p < .001). A significant partner effect was also observed such that the BMI of one's partner at baseline was positively associated with one's own odds of developing T2D during follow-up above and beyond one's own baseline BMI (OR = 1.04, p = .003). These associations were not moderated by sex. This pattern of results held when BMI was coded categorically (not overweight/obese; overweight; obese). CONCLUSIONS: Partner's BMI was prospectively associated with the likelihood of developing T2D. Future research should consider interpersonal risk factors for chronic health conditions, such as T2D. There is an opportunity to develop theoretical models that specify how and when partner characteristics are linked to physical morbidity.

Dyadic associations between physical activity and body mass index in couples in which one partner has diabetes: results from the Lifelines cohort study.

Physical activity and body mass index (BMI) are linked to the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Romantic partners influence each other's health and the behavioral management of T2D often involves both partners. Therefore, this study examined dyadic associations between physical activity and BMI in couples in which one partner has T2D. Data came from the Lifelines cohort study. The actor-partner interdependence model was applied to cross-sectional data from 1133 couples in which only one partner had T2D. The physical activity of the person with diabetes was inversely associated with his/her partner's BMI. However, partner physical activity was not associated with the BMI of the person with diabetes. These results suggest that people with diabetes may influence the BMI of their partners. Future research should consider how people with diabetes influence the health outcomes of their partners, which is an area that is often overlooked in the literature.

Trajectories of social support in adults with type 2 diabetes: Associations with depressive symptoms and functional disability.

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about temporal trajectories of social support in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and how they are associated with diabetes-related outcomes. This study identified and explored different trajectories of social support in a community sample of adults with T2D, as well as the extent to which different trajectories were prospectively associated with depressive symptoms and functional disability. METHODS: Data came from five annual waves of the Evaluation of Diabetes Treatment study (N = 1077). Social support, depressive symptoms, and functional disability were assessed via self-report. Separate analyses were conducted to examine the associations between social support trajectories, depressive symptoms, and functional disability, adjusting for demographic characteristics, diabetes-related covariates, and baseline depressive symptoms and functional disability. RESULTS: Latent class growth modeling identified four distinct social support trajectories. Trajectory Groups 1 and 2 comprised participants with persistently low and persistently moderate-low social support, respectively. Trajectory Groups 3 and 4 included participants with persistently moderate-high and persistently high social support, respectively. People with persistently low social support reported higher functional disability relative to those with persistently moderate-high and persistently high social support. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study indicate that temporal patterns of social support are a predictor of future functional disability among adults with T2D.

Cardiometabolic dysregulation and cognitive decline: potential role of depressive symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have examined associations of cardiometabolic factors with depression and cognition separately. Aims To determine if depressive symptoms mediate the association between cardiometabolic factors and cognitive decline in two community studies. METHOD: Data for the analyses were drawn from the Rotterdam Study, the Netherlands (n = 2940) and the Whitehall II study, UK (n = 4469). RESULTS: Mediation analyses suggested a direct association between cardiometabolic factors and cognitive decline and an indirect association through depression: poorer cardiometabolic status at time 1 was associated with a higher level of depressive symptoms at time 2 (standardised regression coefficient 0.07 and 0.06, respectively), which, in turn, was associated with greater cognitive decline between time 2 and time 3 (standardised regression coefficient of -0.15 and -0.41, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Evidence from two independent cohort studies suggest an association between cardiometabolic dysregulation and cognitive decline and that depressive symptoms tend to precede this decline. Declaration of interest None.

Do mental disorders moderate the association between diabetes status and alcohol consumption?

Although heavy alcohol consumption is associated with diabetes-related complications, little is known about patterns of alcohol use among people with diabetes. Moreover, heavy drinking is more common among individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) than in the general population, and these disorders are often comorbid with diabetes. The present study tested the hypothesis that mental disorders moderate the association between diabetes status and alcohol consumption. A total of 14,302 adult participants aged 40-79 were included from the cross-sectional 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (1,698 with diabetes). Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression models. MDD and BD, but not GAD, significantly moderated the association between diabetes status and alcohol quantity, such that the presence of diabetes was strongly and negatively associated with alcohol quantity if individuals had MDD or BD. There was no interaction between diabetes status and any of the mental disorders and alcohol frequency. This study suggests that among individuals with diabetes, those with comorbid MDD or BD drink less than those without MDD or BD. Further investigation of this association is needed and could help inform future alcohol-related interventions among individuals with diabetes.

Diabetes Complications and Depressive Symptoms: Prospective Results From the Montreal Diabetes Health and Well-Being Study.

OBJECTIVE: Prospective studies testing the potential impact of diabetes complications on depression are limited. The present study examined the longitudinal associations between diabetes complications and the risk and recurrence/persistence of depressive symptoms. METHODS: Data were from a prospective community cohort telephone survey of adults with diabetes (N = 1314). Diabetes complications and depressive symptoms were assessed via self-report (Diabetes Complications Index and Patient Health Questionnaire-9, respectively) at baseline and annually for 5 years. Statistical models adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and diabetes characteristics. RESULTS: The number of diabetes complications at baseline was positively associated with a greater risk of elevated depressive symptoms, with the highest risk found for those with four to six complications at baseline (risk ratio = 2.73, 95% confidence interval = 1.64-4.56). Cerebrovascular disease was the complication most strongly associated with incident depressive symptoms (risk ratio = 2.22, 95% confidence interval = 1.59-3.10). Coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and neuropathy were also associated with the risk of depression, whereas foot problems and eye problems were not. In addition, a greater number of diabetes complications were associated with recurrent/persistent depression, though with a small effect size (Δr = .02). A parallel process latent growth curve model indicated that increases in diabetes complications were associated with increases in depressive symptoms during the course of the follow-up period (ß = .74, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the temporal relation between diabetes complications and depressive symptoms and underscores the psychological burden of diabetes complications by prospectively demonstrating the increased risk and recurrence of depressive symptoms associated with diabetes complications.

Does Social Support Moderate the Association Among Major Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Functional Disability in Adults With Diabetes?

BACKGROUND: Diabetes requires complex self-management routines to prevent the development of functional disability. Relative to people without diabetes, those with diabetes are more likely to have comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which also increase the likelihood of functional disability. Social support is associated with positive health outcomes in people with comorbid diabetes and mental disorders and may serve as a buffer against functional disability, though this possibility has yet to be examined. OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether social support moderates the association between MDD or GAD and functional disability in adults with diabetes. Adults with MDD or GAD were expected to report greater disability than those without MDD or GAD. This association was expected to be stronger in people reporting lower social support relative to those reporting higher social support. METHODS: Data came from the cross-sectional 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (n = 1764). Diabetes status, social support, and functional disability were assessed via self-report; past-year MDD and GAD were assessed with structured diagnostic interviews. RESULTS: Linear regression analyses, conducted separately for MDD and GAD, indicated main effects of past-year MDD and GAD, such that those with a mental disorder reported greater functional disability than those without a mental disorder. Social support did not moderate the associations between either MDD and functional disability or GAD and functional disability. CONCLUSIONS: In this nationally representative population study, both MDD and GAD predicted greater functional disability in adults with diabetes. Social support, however, did not moderate these associations.

Associations between Depressive Symptoms and Social Support in Adults with Diabetes: Comparing Directionality Hypotheses with a Longitudinal Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with diabetes are at increased risk of elevated depressive symptoms, and social support has been identified as a key factor in the health of this population. Cross-sectional associations between depressive symptoms and social support have been demonstrated. Three classes of hypotheses differentially describe the direction of this association: (1) depressive symptoms influence social support, (2) social support influences depressive symptoms, and (3) reciprocal associations exist between depressive symptoms and social support. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare these hypotheses. METHODS: Depressive symptoms and social support were measured via telephone survey in a large cohort study of individuals with diabetes (n = 1754) in Quebec, Canada. After baseline, data were collected annually for 4 years. Path models depicting each hypothesis, as well as a stability model containing only autoregressive effects, were generated, and model fit was compared with Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC). RESULTS: The reciprocal model was selected as the best fitting model because it had the lowest AIC. This model demonstrated that depressive symptoms predicted subsequent social support at all time points and that social support predicted subsequent depressive symptoms at most time points. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that the association between depressive symptoms and social support in people with diabetes is best characterized as reciprocal. Results underscore the importance of directly comparing competing hypotheses and offer a more accurate depiction of the association between depressive symptoms and social support among people with diabetes.

Longitudinal Care Improves Cessation in Smokers Who Do Not Initially Respond to Treatment by Increasing Cessation Self-Efficacy, Satisfaction, and Readiness to Quit: A Mediated Moderation Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The Tobacco Longitudinal Care study was a randomized controlled trial for smoking cessation. It demonstrated that longitudinal care for smoking cessation, in which telephone-based counseling and nicotine replacement therapy were offered for 12 months, was more effective than the standard 8-week treatment. PURPOSE: This study aims to identify for whom and how longitudinal care increased the likelihood of abstinence. METHODS: Mediated moderation analyses were utilized across three time points. RESULTS: There was a trend towards smokers who did not respond to treatment (i.e., were still smoking) by 21 days being more likely to be abstinent at 6 months if they received longitudinal care rather than usual care. Similarly, those who did not respond to treatment by 3 months were more likely to be abstinent at 12 months if they received longitudinal care. At both time points, the likelihood of abstinence did not differ across treatment conditions among participants who responded to treatment (i.e., quit smoking). The effect on 6-month outcomes was mediated by satisfaction and readiness to quit. Cessation self-efficacy, satisfaction, and readiness to quit mediated the effect on 12-month outcomes. The effect of treatment condition on the likelihood of abstinence at 18 months was not moderated by response to treatment at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Smokers who did not respond to initial treatment benefited from longitudinal care. Differential effects of treatment condition were not observed among those who responded to early treatment. Conditional assignment to longitudinal care may be useful. Determining for whom and how interventions work over time will advance theory and practice.

Evaluations of the health benefits of eating more fruit depend on the amount of fruit previously eaten, variety, and timing.

Though research has demonstrated that people generally perceive fruits to be healthy foods, little is known about how people think about the health benefits associated with eating increasing quantities of fruit. The purpose of this paper is to examine how evaluations of healthiness change as participants consider eating increasing quantities of fruit, and to explore how additional contextual features (i.e., variety and timing) can be leveraged to improve evaluations. In two within-subjects experiments, participants rated how good or bad for one's health it would be to eat increasing quantities of either the same fruit or a variety of fruits. In study 1, all participants were instructed to imagine eating the fruit over the course of the day. In study 2, the temporal distribution of the fruit (throughout the day, during a single meal) was manipulated. In general, both studies demonstrated that evaluations of overall healthiness for eating increasing quantities of the same fruit tended to diminish beyond two pieces of fruit, whereas the overall healthiness of eating increasing quantities of a variety of fruit remained stable. Study 2 demonstrated that evaluations of healthiness increased as additional fruit was considered when a variety of fruit was imagined to be eaten throughout the day. Thus, the health benefits that people assign to eating increasing quantities of fruit seem to increase, but only if eating a variety of fruits throughout the day is considered. This study suggests that evaluations of the healthiness of fruit are not made in isolation; evaluations of healthiness are contextualized by what has been eaten previously and when it was eaten.

Demographic, lifestyle, and health characteristics of older adults with prediabetes in England.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the demographic, lifestyle, and health characteristics of older adults with prediabetes compared to those with normal glucose levels or diabetes. METHOD: Participants were from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging 2004-2005 (n=4168). Statistical analyses examined differences between people with prediabetes and 1) people with normal glucose levels and 2) people with diabetes. Design-based F-statistics and t-tests tested differences for each characteristic individually and multinomial logistic regression examined adjusted associations. Survey weighting and cluster information was used to generalize to the older English population. RESULTS: Compared to people with normal glucose levels, people with prediabetes were older (RR=1.05 95% CI 1.04-1.07), more likely to be employed (RR=1.27 95% CI 1.01-1.60), more likely to smoke (RR=2.21 95% CI 1.74-2.80), and had higher BMIs (RR=1.08 95% CI 1.06-1.10). Compared to people with diabetes, people with prediabetes were more likely to be women (RR=2.12 95% CI 1.57-2.86), more likely to be employed (RR=1.54 95% CI 1.02-2.33), had lower BMIs (RR=0.95 95% CI 0.93-0.98), were less likely to have a cardiovascular condition (RR=0.34 95% CI 0.24-0.47), and had higher self-rated health (χ(2)=26.08, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Older adults with prediabetes have a unique set of characteristics that may inform prevention or intervention schemes.

The relation between social support and smoking cessation: revisiting an established measure to improve prediction.

BACKGROUND: Although social support is an integral element in smoking cessation, the literature presents mixed findings regarding the type(s) of social support that are most helpful. The Partner Interaction Questionnaire (PIQ) is commonly used to measure social support in this context. PURPOSE: We explored the possibility that more nuanced distinctions between items on the PIQ than what is customarily used could improve the prediction of cessation. METHODS: Baseline PIQ responses of smokers enrolled in a cessation program was submitted to an exploratory factor analysis. Emergent factors were used to predict cessation at several time points. RESULTS: Four factors emerged, which differed from the two subscales that are typically used. The four-factor version predicted cessation; the two-factor version did not. CONCLUSIONS: Identifying the types of social support that predict smoking cessation depend on our ability to measure social support. More nuanced measures will likely clarify the role of social support in cessation.

Trait Anger, Hostility, and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Diabetes- Related Complications: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.

BACKGROUND: Research suggests associations between trait anger, hostility, and type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related complications, though evidence from longitudinal studies has not yet been synthesized. OBJECTIVE: The present systematic review examined findings from longitudinal research on trait anger or hostility and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes or diabetes-related complications. The review protocol was pre-registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020216356). METHODS: Electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Web of Science, and CINAHL) were searched for articles and abstracts published up to December 15, 2020. Peer-reviewed longitudinal studies with adult samples, with effect estimates reported for trait anger/hostility and incident diabetes or diabetes-related complications, were included. Title and abstract screening, full-text screening, data extraction, and quality assessment using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale were conducted by two independent reviewers. A narrative synthesis of the extracted data was conducted according to the Synthesis Without Meta-Analysis guidelines. RESULTS: Five studies (N = 155,146 participants) met the inclusion criteria. While results were mixed, our synthesis suggested an overall positive association between high trait-anger/hostility and an increased risk of incident diabetes. Only one study met the criteria for the diabetes-related complications outcome, which demonstrated a positive association between hostility and incident coronary heart disease but no significant association between hostility and incident stroke. CONCLUSION: Based on the available longitudinal evidence, trait anger and hostility are associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the association between trait-anger or hostility and the risk of diabetes-related complications.

A theoretically grounded systematic review of material incentives for weight loss: implications for interventions.

BACKGROUND: Providing material incentives for weight loss is a class of intervention strategies that has received considerable attention; however, the effectiveness of this class of strategies is uncertain. Attending to distinctions among incentive strategies may clarify our understanding of prior work and inform the design of future interventions. PURPOSE: A theoretical framework is proposed that distinguishes between four classes of incentive strategies and is used to organize randomized controlled trials of material incentives for weight loss. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted. RESULTS: Findings were mixed with regards to the overall efficacy of material incentives for weight loss. Three of the four proposed incentive categories are represented in the literature. Heterogeneous methods were used across studies rendering comparisons between studies difficult. CONCLUSIONS: Definitive conclusions about the usefulness of material incentives for weight loss could not be drawn. A theoretically grounded approach to designing and testing incentive strategies is encouraged.

Loneliness and functional limitations among older adults with diabetes: Comparing directional models.

OBJECTIVE: Middle-aged and older adults with diabetes are at increased risk for loneliness and functional limitations. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between loneliness and functional limitations have been demonstrated among the general population, but have not been established among those with diabetes. The purpose of this study was to directly compare the following models describing the direction of the association between loneliness and functional limitations among people with diabetes: (1) loneliness leads to functional limitations, (2) functional limitations lead to loneliness, and (3) a bidirectional association between loneliness and functional limitations. METHODS: Data came from the Health and Retirement Study. Participants were middle-aged and older individuals with diabetes in the United States (n = 2934). Loneliness and functional limitations were measured at baseline, 4-year follow-up, and 8-year follow-up. Path models for each of the three models, as well as a stability model, were created. Model fit was compared using Akaike's Information Criteria (AIC). RESULTS: Participants were 54.6% female, 74.98% White, had a mean age of 69.66 years, had an average of 1.48 comorbid chronic conditions, and had diabetes for an average of 10.40 years. The bidirectional model best fit the data as evidenced by the lowest AIC value (AIC = 171,162.81). ∆AIC between the bidirectional model and the next best fitting model was 16.19, indicating strong support for selecting the bidirectional model. Higher levels of loneliness were associated with subsequent higher levels of functional limitations at some time points (ßs = 0.07, 0.02) and higher levels of functional limitations were associated with subsequent higher levels of loneliness (ßs = 0.13, 0.06) at all time points. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that the association between loneliness and functional limitations among individuals with diabetes is bidirectional. This study demonstrates the value of directly comparing directional models.