Women's Work-Family Histories and Cognitive Performance in Later Life.

Long-term exposures to the stress and stimulation of different work, parenting, and partnership combinations might influence later life cognition. We investigated the relationship between women's work-family life histories and cognitive functioning in later life. Analyses were based on data from women born between 1930 and 1957 in 14 European countries, from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004-2009) (n = 11,908). Multichannel sequence analysis identified 5 distinct work-family typologies based on women's work, partnership, and childrearing statuses between ages 12 and 50 years. Multilevel regressions were used to test the association between work-family histories and later-life cognition. Partnered mothers who mainly worked part-time had the best cognitive function in later life, scoring approximately 0.63 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.18, 1.07) points higher than mothers who worked full-time on a 19-point scale. Partnered mothers who were mainly unpaid caregivers or who did other unpaid activities had cognitive scores that were 1.19 (95% CI: 0.49, 1.89) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.20, 1.66) points lower than full-time working mothers. The findings are robust to adjustment for childhood advantage and educational credentials. This study provides new evidence that long-term exposures to certain social role combinations after childhood and schooling are linked to later-life cognition.

Locales of Trust: How Two Forms of Community Trust are Associated with Mothers' Self-Rated Health in Indonesia.

Objectives Social trust and access to social capital serve as important mechanisms to offset gender disparities in health in low-middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Indonesia. Indonesian women may have fewer opportunities to create strong social ties outside her social sphere and thus may benefit particularly from individual-level thin trust because generalized trust lowers barriers to gaining social support. We examined the role of thin trust and thick trust, two unique forms of social trust, to better understand the links between individual- and community-level trust and maternal health. Thin trust represents generalized trust in community members while thick trust represents strong and longstanding trusting relationships. Methods We employed nationally representative data from Wave 5 of the Indonesian Family Life Survey collected in 2014-2015 (n = 7276) to identify relationships between social trust and the self-rated health (SRH) of women in Indonesia, net of both individual- and community-level controls. Results We found evidence that both thick and thin trust benefit women's health but operate at different levels. While thick trust decreased likelihoods of poor SRH at the community level, thin trust was associated with lower likelihoods of poor SRH at the individual level. Conclusions for Practice We argue that for women in LMICs, trust provides an important mechanism through which women potentially access both tangible and immaterial resources that positively influence health outcomes.

Recall of clinical trial participation and attrition rates in survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

PURPOSE: To measure the rate of recall of study participation and study attrition in survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS). MATERIALS/METHODS: In this ancillary study of the Re-evaluation of Systemic Early neuromuscular blockade(ROSE) trial, we measured the rate of study participation recall 3 months following discharge and subsequent study attrition at 6 months. We compared patient and hospital characteristics, and long-term outcomes by recall. As surrogate decision-makers provided initial consent, we measured the rate of patient reconsent and its association with study recall. RESULTS: Of 487 patients evaluated, recall status was determined in 386(82.7%). Among these, 287(74.4%) patients recalled participation in the ROSE trial, while 99(25.6%) did not. There was no significant difference in 6-month attrition among patients who recalled study participation (9.1%) and those who did not (12.1%) (p = 0.38). Patient characteristics were similar between groups, except SOFA scores, ventilator-free days, and length of stay. 330(68%) were reconsented. Compared to those not reconsented, significantly more patients who were reconsented recalled study participation(78% vs. 66%;p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: One in 4 ARDS survivors do not recall their participation in a clinical trial during hospitalization 3 months following hospital discharge, which did not influence 6-month attrition. However, more patients recall study participation if reconsent is obtained.