Just a number? Donor age and (lack of) associated reasons for heart offer refusal.

The use of 50+ year-old donors for heart transplant (HT) is rare in the United States. We assessed reasons for this-and whether it reflects concern about age itself or associated risk factors-using a survey of US HT centers. The Donor Heart Study enrolled US adult potential heart donors from 2015 to 2020. A total of 6,814 surveys across 2,197 donors cited, on average, 2.4 reasons (per donor) for offer refusal. Age was cited often (by ≥50% of centers surveyed) for 715 donors (33%). In this subgroup, accompanying donor-related reasons for refusal were infrequent, with no cardiac abnormality cited in most cases. Donor age showed associations with (1) age as a reason for refusal and (2) discard. Both abruptly increased at age 50: 55% of 50 to 51-year-old donors were refused often due to age (vs 38% of 48-49-year-olds), and 72% were discarded (vs 55% of 48-49-year-olds), despite no evidence of a threshold effect of age on outcomes.

Could 70 Be the New 60? Investigating the Association Between Internet Use and Subjective Age Among Chinese Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: The widespread use of the Internet brings both opportunities and challenges for older adults. To understand its potential benefits and drawbacks, we focus on the association between Internet use and multiple indicators of subjective age (threshold age, felt age, and look age) and the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: A nationally representative sample of older adults aged 60 and over from 3 waves (collected in 2016, 2018, and 2020) of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey was used in the analysis. A 3-step random-effect model and mediation analysis were used to examine the relationship between Internet use and subjective age and the mediating roles of volunteering and feeling valued by society. Structural equation modeling with a serial multiple mediation model was conducted for robustness checks. RESULTS: The participants generally considered 70 as the threshold for "old age." Although the mediation analysis did not show a significant indirect effect of Internet use on older adults' subjective age through volunteering, Internet use was linked with older adults' subjective age directly and indirectly through feeling valued by society. Compared to moderate Internet users, nonusers felt less valued by society and, therefore, had a younger threshold age and older subjective ages. Heavy Internet users showed a lower level of participation in volunteer activities. DISCUSSION: The results support previous theories about the mental and social health benefits of Internet use among older adults. However, Internet use intensity should receive more attention; excessive use may reduce the duration of older adults' offline social interactions.

Drewnowski's index to measure lifespan variation: Revisiting the Gini coefficient of the life table.

The Gini coefficient of the life table is a concentration index that provides information on lifespan variation. Originally proposed by economists to measure income and wealth inequalities, it has been widely used in population studies to investigate variation in ages at death. We focus on the complement of the Gini coefficient, Drewnowski's index, which is a measure of equality. We study its mathematical properties and analyze how changes over time relate to changes in life expectancy. Further, we identify the threshold age below which mortality improvements are translated into decreasing lifespan variation and above which these improvements translate into increasing lifespan inequality. We illustrate our theoretical findings simulating scenarios of mortality improvement in the Gompertz model, and showing an example of application to Swedish life table data. Our experiments demonstrate how Drewnowski's index can serve as an indicator of the shape of mortality patterns. These properties, along with our analytical findings, support studying lifespan variation alongside life expectancy trends in multiple species.

Blepharoptosis among Korean adults: age-related prevalence and threshold age for evaluation.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the prevalence of blepharoptosis among Korean adults and the characteristics of blepharoptosis patients, and to determine an appropriate age threshold for recommending blepharoptosis evaluation. METHODS: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES-V) was conducted in 2010-2012. We extracted data on 17,878 Korean adults aged more than and equal to 19 years included in KNHANES-V, and determined blepharoptosis prevalence according to age, to determine the cutoff age for recommending blepharoptosis evaluation. We also determined the possible association between blepharoptosis and obesity parameters, such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). RESULTS: There was astrong association between older age and the prevalence of blepharoptosis. The cutoff age for recommending blepharoptosis evaluation was 63 years for males, 70 years for females, and 66 years for all patients. Patients with a high BMI and large WC had a higher prevalence of blepharoptosis in all age groups except for those aged over 80 years. The association of blepharoptosis with BMI according to age group showed that in the 50-59 and 60-69 years age groups, blepharoptosis prevalence and BMI were higher. However, in the 70-79 and 80-89 years age groups, extremely obese patients (BMI > 30) showed a decreased blepharoptosis prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate to severe blepharoptosis can result in poor visual function and exacerbate headaches and depression, leading to decreased quality of life. This study proposed an appropriate age threshold for recommending evaluation of patients with blepharoptosis among the general population of Korea.

At what age does the risk for adverse maternal and infant outcomes increase? Nationwide register-based study on first births in Finland in 2005-2014.

INTRODUCTION: It is poorly understood if there are specific ages at which adverse outcomes during pregnancy and childbirth start to increase (threshold-ages). The purpose of this study was to examine at which maternal ages the use of maternity care and the risks for adverse maternal and infant outcomes increase. MATERIAL AND METHODS: National data from the Finnish Medical Birth Register including all first-time mothers aged 20 years or over with singleton pregnancies in 2005-2014 were analyzed (n = 228 348). Odds ratios for each outcome at different ages were calculated by logistic regression, using women aged 20-24 (n = 56 282) as the reference and adjusting for socioeconomic position and urbanity of residence. The threshold-age was defined as the first significant adjusted odds ratio after which the risk remained significant. RESULTS: The threshold-ages for use of maternity care varied from 25 years for cesarean section (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.14) to 38 years for having 16 or more antenatal visits (1.13, 1.04-1.21). Four threshold-ages were found for maternal health outcomes: 25 years for gestational diabetes (OR 1.15, 1.09-1.23), 27 years for placenta previa (OR 1.75, 1.11-2.75), 33 years for gestational hypertension (1.14, 1.03-1.27), and 38 years for preeclampsia (OR 1.48, 1.12-1.96). The threshold-ages for infant health outcomes varied from 28 years for preterm birth (37 weeks, OR 1.10, 1.02-1.19) to 36 years for perinatal mortality (OR 2.10, 1.44-3.07). CONCLUSIONS: Different threshold-ages were identified. Most adverse outcomes occurred earlier than the traditional cut-off ages for high risk pregnancy, which have been set at 35 or 40 years.