Longitudinal assessment of mental health after a flood: roles of social support, hope, recovery stressors, and prior lifetime trauma.

OBJECTIVES: Severe weather events have mental health consequences for survivors that may change over time. We assessed post-flood mental health longitudinally in three groups of mostly middle-aged and older adults who varied in current and prior severe weather experiences. METHOD: Predictors of central interest were age, perceived social support, state hope (including agency and pathways), recovery stressors, and prior lifetime trauma. Criterion variables included symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and worry. RESULTS: Analyses of variance yielded significant Disaster Exposure Group x Wave interactions for depression and PTSD symptoms. Those with flooded homes and properties had elevated symptoms at Wave 1 which were reduced at Wave 2. Older age was associated with fewer symptoms of depression, PTSD, and worry. Recovery stressors and lifetime trauma predicted more PTSD symptoms. Greater agency predicted less PTSD and depression symptoms, whereas pathways predicted less worry. CONCLUSION: These data show that mental health symptoms may decrease over time for those directly impacted by severe flooding. State hope appears to contribute to better mental health after exposure to a devastating flood. Implications for understanding the dynamic relationships among risk variables and positive factors that promote post-disaster mental health in the years after a flood are considered.

Religiosity and Social Support Predict Resilience in Older Adults After a Flood.

In this study, we examined religiosity and social support as predictors of resilience after a devastating flood. Three flood exposure groups of primarily middle-aged and older adults were compared: (1) non-flooded adults as controls, (2) once-flooded adults with structural damage to homes and property in the 2016 flood, and (3) twice-flooded adults who had relocated inland because of prior catastrophic losses in the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and then flooded again in 2016. Resilience was assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Correlation analyses confirmed that older age was correlated with higher religiosity, charitable work done for others, and resilience. Regression analyses indicated that religious beliefs and coping, social support, and charitable work done for others were associated with higher levels of resilience, whereas flood damage was unrelated to resilience. Implications for current views on post-disaster adversity and resilience in later life are discussed.

"You can't wash your hands in a house without running water": pandemic precautionary behaviors after Hurricane Laura.

Hurricane Laura made landfall in southwestern Louisiana in August 2020 while the world was several months into the COVID-19 pandemic. In the present research, we examined pandemic precautionary behaviors in a sample of adults who varied in exposure and damage due to Hurricane Laura, a destructive Category 4 hurricane. A total of 127 participants responded to an online survey that assessed pandemic worry and precautionary behaviors, hurricane exposure and damage, and health-related quality of life. We found that Hurricane Laura victims neglected pandemic precautionary behaviors at significantly higher levels in the weeks immediately following Hurricane Laura than did indirectly impacted control participants, although the two comparison groups did not differ in COVID-19 worry or adherence to precautionary pandemic behavior 14-22 months after Hurricane Laura made landfall. Older age was negatively correlated with COVID-19 worry prior to Hurricane Laura, which was unexpected given that older people in general were more vulnerable to COVID-19 by their membership in a high-risk group. Future directions for research on post-disaster vulnerabilities during a global pandemic are discussed.

Memory Self-Efficacy and Beliefs about Memory and Aging in Oldest-Old Adults in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS).

Background/Study Context. Adaptation to normative age-related declines in memory is an important but understudied aspect of successful aging. The purpose of the present study was to shed new light on memory self-efficacy and beliefs about memory and aging as two integral aspects of adult cognition with relevance to successful aging. METHODS: Young (19 to 27 years) and community-dwelling older adults (60 to 94 years) from the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS) completed an adapted Memory Functioning Questionnaire (MFQ) which includes a memory self-efficacy subscale, the Memory Controllability Inventory (MCI), and the Aging Concerns Scale (ACS). RESULTS: Nonagenarians' self-reported memory and beliefs about memory and aging were of central interest. We compared their responses to three younger reference groups to examine hypothesized differences in self-reported memory and beliefs about memory and aging in very late life. Results yielded age effects for most of the MFQ and MCI subscales demonstrating more positive subjective views about memory functioning and control over memory for the young adults. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to isolate factors that may be associated with memory self-efficacy. Age, symptoms of depression, and memory control beliefs accounted for approximately half of the variance in memory self-efficacy ratings. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that although memory self-efficacy may be age sensitive, we detected no differences in subjective views across the three older groups. Implications for cognitive adaptability and successful aging are considered.

Spirituality, Humor, and Resilience After Natural and Technological Disasters.

PURPOSE: Multiple exposures to disaster are associated with high levels of stress and with long-term consequences for survivors. However, little is known about coping and resilience in multiple disaster contexts. In this study, we focused on spiritual and secular coping resources and the roles they may play in postdisaster resilience. METHODS: Participants were noncoastal and coastal residents exposed to the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Psychosocial predictors of central interest were (a) spiritual support and (b) use of coping through humor, and both were hypothesized to be associated with resilience. Covariates included group, gender, education, income, social engagement, charitable work done for others, and lifetime trauma. FINDINGS: Logistic regression analyses confirmed that spiritual support (odds ratio [OR] = 1.11, p ≤ .01) and use of coping through humor (OR = 1.17, p ≤ .01) were independently and positively associated with resilience. Disruption in charitable work done for others in a typical year before the hurricanes (OR = 0.49, p ≤ .05) and income of less than $2,000 per month were negatively associated with resilience (OR = 0.47, p ≤ .05). CONCLUSIONS: These data show that spirituality, humor, disruptions in charitable work, and low income were all independently associated with resilience in the years after consecutive disasters. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Experiencing one or more disasters can create chronic psychosocial stress in an individual, which is associated with long-term health effects such as inflammation and weakened immune function. Recognizing which coping resources bolster resilience rather than harm is important for improving quality of life in disaster victims.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms linked to mitochondrial uncoupling protein genes UCP2 and UCP3 affect mitochondrial metabolism and healthy aging in female nonagenarians.

Energy expenditure decreases with age, but in the oldest-old, energy demand for maintenance of body functions increases with declining health. Uncoupling proteins have profound impact on mitochondrial metabolic processes; therefore, we focused attention on mitochondrial uncoupling protein genes. Alongside resting metabolic rate (RMR), two SNPs in the promoter region of UCP2 were associated with healthy aging. These SNPs mark potential binding sites for several transcription factors; thus, they may affect expression of the gene. A third SNP in the 3'-UTR of UCP3 interacted with RMR. This UCP3 SNP is known to impact UCP3 expression in tissue culture cells, and it has been associated with body weight and mitochondrial energy metabolism. The significant main effects of the UCP2 SNPs and the interaction effect of the UCP3 SNP were also observed after controlling for fat-free mass (FFM) and physical-activity related energy consumption. The association of UCP2/3 with healthy aging was not found in males. Thus, our study provides evidence that the genetic risk factors for healthy aging differ in males and females, as expected from the differences in the phenotypes associated with healthy aging between the two sexes. It also has implications for how mitochondrial function changes during aging.

Self-Reported Ageism Across the Lifespan: Role of Aging Knowledge.

The authors examined the prevalence of self-reported ageist behaviors in a lifespan sample ranging in age from 13 to 91 years. Participants completed the Relating to Older People Evaluation (Cherry & Palmore). Results indicated that adolescents and young adults reported fewer ageist behaviors overall than did middle-aged and older adults. Positive ageist behaviors were more frequent than negative ageist behaviors for people of all ages. Women endorsed positive ageism items more often than men, although men and women did not differ in frequency of negative ageist behaviors. Follow-up analyses on participants' responses to two knowledge of aging measures, the Facts on Aging Quiz and the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire, showed that knowledge of aging was significantly correlated with negative ageist behaviors, after controlling for age and gender. Implications of these findings for current views of ageism (positive and negative) are discussed.

The Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire: Factor Structure and Correlates in a Lifespan Sample.

The authors examined the factor structure of the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (KMAQ) [1] using confirmatory factor analysis in a lifespan sample of 933 individuals who ranged in age from 18 to 101. Participants were college students at Louisiana State University and adults from the community enrolled in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS). A two-factor solution was expected, consistent with the normal and pathological memory aging dimensions that comprise the KMAQ. A bi-factor solution with items loading on a general response bias factor and either a normal or pathological knowledge-specific factor showed good model fit. Knowledge scores were correlated with demographic and cognitive performance variables. Implications of these data for clinical settings and research are considered.

Long-term psychological outcomes in older adults after disaster: relationships to religiosity and social support.

OBJECTIVES: Natural disasters are associated with catastrophic losses. Disaster survivors return to devastated communities and rebuild homes or relocate permanently, although the long-term psychological consequences are not well understood. The authors examined predictors of psychological outcomes in 219 residents of disaster-affected communities in south Louisiana. METHOD: Current coastal residents with severe property damage from the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and exposure to the 2010 British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill were compared and contrasted with former coastal residents and an indirectly affected control group. Participants completed measures of storm exposure and stressors, religiosity, perceived social support, and mental health. RESULTS: Non-organizational religiosity was a significant predictor of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions. Follow-up analyses revealed that more frequent participation in non-organizational religious behaviors was associated with a heightened risk of PTSD. Low income and being a coastal fisher were significant predictors of depression symptoms in bivariate and multivariate models. Perceived social support had a protective effect for all mental health outcomes, which also held for symptoms of depression and GAD in multivariate models. CONCLUSION: People who experienced recent and severe trauma related to natural and technological disasters are at risk for adverse psychological outcomes in the years after these events. Individuals with low income, low social support, and high levels of non-organizational religiosity are also at greater risk. Implications of these data for current views on the post-disaster psychological reactions and the development of age-sensitive interventions to promote long-term recovery are discussed.

Looking for the Silver Lining: Benefit Finding after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Middle-Aged, Older, and Oldest-Old Adults.

Looking for potentially positive outcomes is one way that people cope with stressful events. In two studies, we examined perceived "silver linings" after the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita among indirectly affected adults. In Study 1, middle-aged (ages 47-64 years), older (ages 65-89 years), and oldest-old (ages 90-95 years) adults in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS) responded to an open-ended question on perceived silver linings in a longitudinal assessment carried out during the immediate impact (1 to 4 months after landfall) and post-disaster recovery phase (6 to 14 months post-storm). Qualitative grounded theory methods were employed to analyze these narrative data. Team-based coding yielded three core themes: (1) learning experience and better preparedness for future disasters, (2) having improved cities (Baton Rouge and New Orleans), and (3) an increase in "Good Samaritan" acts such as strangers helping one another. Responses were similar across age groups, although older adults were the least likely to report positive outcomes. Study 2 was a conceptual replication using a different sample of adults (ages 31 to 82 years) tested at least five years after the storms. A learning experience and preparedness core theme replicated Study 1's findings while improved social cohesion amongst family and friends emerged as a new core theme in Study 2. These data indicate that identifying lessons learned and potentially positive outcomes are psychological reactions that may facilitate post-disaster coping and foster resilience for indirectly affected adults in the years after disaster.

Knowledge of memory aging across the lifespan.

The authors examined knowledge of normal and pathological memory aging in a lifespan sample of 198 individuals who ranged in age from 13 to 88 years. Participants completed the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (Cherry, Brigman, Hawley, & Reese, 2003). The authors hypothesized that high school students would be less knowledgeable about memory aging issues than college students, middle-aged, and community-dwelling older adults. Consistent with this hypothesis, response accuracy was lower for high school students compared to their older counterparts. Follow-up analyses revealed that high school students' responses to a subset of questions that tap ageist views of adult cognition were less accurate than the other age groups, implying a response bias toward stereotypical images of memory aging. Implications for research and the design of instructional materials to increase people's knowledge about normative changes in adult cognition are discussed.

"Am I Too Old to Pursue a Degree?" Ageism at Midlife in a Community College Setting.

Adults who are beginning or returning to finish a degree program at midlife face different challenges than do their younger counterparts whose college experience begins at 18 years of age. We suspect that internalized ageism, defined as self-directed ageist attitudes and behaviors, may hinder nontraditional age students along with the experience of individual and institutional ageism. To evaluate this notion, we assessed the prevalence of self-reported positive and negative ageist behaviors in 205 students (M = 21.95, SD = 7.28, age range: 16-52 years) and 29 faculty (M = 49.55, SD = 11.07, age range: 33-71 years) in a community college in southeast Louisiana in the spring of 2019. All completed the Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE; Cherry & Palmore, 2008) and an open-ended question on how they viewed middle-aged students. Quantitative analyses indicated that students' ROPE scores exceeded those of the faculty and more positive than negative ageist behaviors were reported. Qualitative analyses revealed mostly positive expectations of middle-aged students among narrative responses to the open-ended question. As a follow-up, 10 nontraditional age students were individually interviewed in person to obtain an in-depth assessment of their community college experience. Strong evidence of internalized, individual, and institutional ageism were evident in their responses. Their narratives also revealed atypical life experiences and rich details of faculty-level and institutional-level policies that supported or hindered their academic progress. Implications of these data for addressing ageism on multiple levels in higher education are considered.

Risk Factors for Substance Use across the Lifespan.

Substance use is a perennial public health concern with associated health risks and economic impacts on society. In this article, we present a selective review of the epidemiological and clinical literatures on alcohol and substance use from a lifespan developmental perspective. We compare and contrast risk factors for the initiation of use and the development of a substance use disorder in adolescence, young adulthood, middle-age and later life. During adolescence, alcohol use experimentation is at its peak. Specific risk factors have been identified including trauma and parenting style that can increase the risk of substance use for teenagers. Emerging adults and college students are likely to experiment with other substances in addition to alcohol such as nicotine, marijuana, cocaine, and prescription medication such as Adderall. Middle-age and older adults with alcohol and substance use in their developmental histories may have an undiagnosed alcohol use disorder. Others will develop a late-onset substance use disorder in older age, possibly due to a dearth of social support, coping with bereavement, and medical complication. Based on Social Cognitive Theory, the roles of expectancies and self-efficacy are hypothesized to impact substance use and the risk of substance use disorder across the lifespan. Implications of the present review for future research on age-specific risk factors in alcohol use in relation to underlying developmental processes are considered.

Impact of cardiovascular risk factors on the relationships of physical activity with mood and cognitive function in a diverse sample.

Physical activity has well-known benefits for older adults' mood and cognitive functioning; however, it is not clear whether risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) affect the relationships of physical activity with these health outcomes among diverse older adults. This study investigated the impact of CVD risk burden on the relationships among self-reported physical activity, mood, and cognitive functioning in a diverse sample of 62 adults age 45 and older. We found that higher physical activity was associated with better attention and verbal working memory at lower CVD risk, but with worse attention and verbal working memory at higher CVD risk levels. Thus, higher CVD risk might limit the effectiveness of exercise interventions for mood and cognitive functioning. Future studies are needed to further clarify individual differences that impact the relationships among physical activity, CVD risk, and cognitive outcomes.

Telomere maintenance genes SIRT1 and XRCC6 impact age-related decline in telomere length but only SIRT1 is associated with human longevity.

Leukocyte telomere length is widely considered a biomarker of human age and in many studies indicative of health or disease. We have obtained quantitative estimates of telomere length from blood leukocytes in a population sample, confirming results of previous studies that telomere length significantly decreases with age. Telomere length was also positively associated with several measures of healthy aging, but this relationship was dependent on age. We screened two genes known to be involved in telomere maintenance for association with the age-related decline in telomere length observed in our population to identify candidate longevity-associated genes. A single-nucleotide polymorphism located in the SIRT1 gene and another in the 3' flanking region of XRCC6 had significant effects on telomere length. At each bi-allelic locus, the minor variant was associated with longer telomeres, though the mode of inheritance fitting best differed between the two genes. No statistical interaction was detected for telomere length between the SIRT1 and XRCC6 variants or between these polymorphisms and age. The SIRT1 locus was significantly associated with longevity (P < 0.003). The frequency of the minor allele was higher in long-lived cases than in young controls, which coincides with the protective role of the minor variant for telomere length. In contrast, the XRCC6 variant was not associated with longevity. Furthermore, it did not affect the association of SIRT1 with exceptional survival. The association of the same variant of SIRT1 with longevity was near significant (P < 0.07) in a second population. These results suggest a potential role of SIRT1 in linking telomere length and longevity. Given the differences between this gene and XRCC6, they point to the distinct impact that alternate pathways of telomere maintenance may have on aging and exceptional survival.

Multimethod assessment of driving in older adults using a novel driving simulator.

Driving simulators may be an effective means of assessing driving performance, however many are cost-prohibitive. The present pilot study examined whether a novel, cost-effective driving simulator (Assetto Corsa (AC)) may be useful in the evaluation of older adults' driving performance, and explore associations among various driving safety indicators. A community sample of older adults completed a battery of cognitive measures, several self-reported driving measures, and a novel driving simulator task (AC). Simple attention, executive functioning, and processing speed were associated with simulator performance variables. Lower self-rated driving safety was associated with slower simulated driving. Additionally, several cognitive domains were associated with perceptions about driving-related safety and driving-related legal repercussions (e.g., traffic tickets). Findings suggested that associations between cognitive tests with AC were less robust than those found in other simulator studies. Novel associations between cognitive performance and self-reported driving were identified; however, given the small sample size of this study, such associations should be explored further.

Working memory in the oldest-old: evidence from output serial position curves.

In the present study, we examined adult age differences in short-term and working memory performance in middle-aged (45-64 years), young-old (65-74 years), old-old (75-89 years), and oldest-old adults (90 years and over) in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study. Previous research suggests that measures of working memory are more sensitive to age effects than are simple tests of short-term memory Bopp and Verhaeghen (Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences 60:223-233, 2005), Myerson, Emery, White, and Hale, (Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition 10:20-27, 2003). To test this hypothesis, we examined output serial position curves of recall data from three span tasks: forward and backward digit span and size judgment span. Participants' recall patterns in the size judgment span task revealed that the two oldest groups of adults showed the largest decreases in recall performance across output serial positions, but did not differ significantly from each other. Correlation analyses indicated the strongest negative correlation with age occurred with the size judgment span task. Implications of these findings for understanding strategic processing abilities in late life are discussed.

Effects of distraction and pictorial illustration on memory for countries in older adults with probable Alzheimer's disease.

Eight participants with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) were trained to recall names of countries using the spaced-retrieval memory intervention. Six training sessions were administered on alternate days over a 2-week period. Half of the participants studied a target country alone and the other half studied a target country along with eight distractor countries. Training stimuli appeared in text-only format in half of the sessions and text with a color photograph of the country in the other sessions. On each trial, participants selected the target at increasingly longer retention intervals, contingent upon successful recall. Results indicated that the mean proportion of correct trials and longest duration achieved increased across training sessions, confirming the success of the spaced-retrieval intervention. Pictorial illustrations enhanced explicit memory for target country names. Implications of these data for current views on memory remediation in cognitively impaired older adults are discussed.

Longitudinal Assessment of Cognitive and Psychosocial Functioning After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Exploring Disaster Impact on Middle-Aged, Older, and Oldest-Old Adults.

The authors examined the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (HKR) on cognitive and psychosocial functioning in a lifespan sample of adults 6 to 14 months after the storms. Participants were recruited from the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS). Most were assessed during the immediate impact period and retested for this study. Analyses of pre-and post-disaster cognitive data confirmed that storm-related decrements in working memory for middle-aged and older adults observed in the immediate impact period had returned to pre-hurricane levels in the post-disaster recovery period. Middle-aged adults reported more storm-related stressors and greater levels of stress than the two older groups at both waves of testing. These results are consistent with a burden perspective on post-disaster psychological reactions.

Feature Selection Algorithms Enhance the Accuracy of Frailty Indexes as Measures of Biological Age.

Biological age captures some of the variance in life expectancy for which chronological age is not accountable, and it quantifies the heterogeneity in the presentation of the aging phenotype in various individuals. Among the many quantitative measures of biological age, the mathematically uncomplicated frailty/deficit index is simply the proportion of the total health deficits in various health items surveyed in different individuals. We used 3 different statistical methods that are popular in machine learning to select 17-28 health items that together are highly predictive of survival/mortality, from independent study cohorts. From the selected sets, we calculated frailty indexes and Klemera-Doubal's biological age estimates, and then compared their mortality prediction performance using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Our results indicate that the frailty index outperforms age and Klemera-Doubal's biological age estimates, especially among the oldest old who are most prone to biological aging-caused mortality. We also showed that a DNA methylation index, which was generated by applying the frailty/deficit index calculation method to 38 CpG sites that were selected using the same machine learning algorithms, can predict mortality even better than the best performing frailty index constructed from health, function, and blood chemistry.