Disparities in First Instrumental Activity of Daily Living Difficulty between Black and White Older Adults: Findings from the Advanced Cognitive Training in Independent and Vital Elderly Study.

Objectives: Few studies have examined differences in age of onset of first self-reported instrumental activities of daily living difficulty, much less differences by race. Our objective was to determine whether there are differences in the first reported difficulty with IADLs between Black and white older adults. Methods: We analyzed data from N = 1168 participants in the Advanced Cognitive Training in Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study. A multiple group discrete-time multiple-event process survival mixture (MEPSUM) model was used to estimate the hazard of incident IADL difficulty in seven IADL task groups. Results: No statistically significant differences were identified in the first reported IADL task group difficulty between Black and white older adults. Discussion: Our findings indicate similar patterns of early IADL difficulty in Black and white older adults, suggesting that previously reported racial disparities in ability to perform IADLs may be attributable to differences in absolute risk, not timing.

Rural-Urban Differences in Cognition: Findings From the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly Trial.

ObjectivesWe examined associations between three geographic areas (urban, suburban, rural) and cognition (memory, reasoning, processing speed) over a 10-year period. Methods: Data were obtained from 2539 participants in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) trial. Multilevel, mixed-effects linear regression was used to estimate cognitive trajectories by geographical areas over 10 years, after adjusting for social determinants of health. Results: Compared to urban and suburban participants, rural participants fared worse on all cognitive measures-memory (B = -1.17 (0.17)), reasoning (B = -1.55 (0.19)), and processing speed (B = 0.76 (0.19)) across the 10-year trajectory. Across geographic areas, greater economic stability, health care access and quality, and neighborhood resources were associated with better cognition over time. Discussion: Findings highlight the importance of geographical location when examining cognition later in life. More research examining place-based life experiences is needed to make the greatest impact on geographically diverse communities.

Incident Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Difficulty in Older Adults: Which Comes First? Findings From the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly Study.

Introduction: Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are complex daily tasks important for independent living. Many older adults experience difficulty with IADLs as their physical and/or cognitive function begins to decline. However, it is unknown in what order IADLs become difficult. Methods: Participants from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study who were free of IADL difficulty at baseline (N = 1,277) were followed up to 10 years until first reported IADL difficulty. A total of 19 IADL tasks were grouped into seven task categories. A discrete-time multiple-event process survival mixture model (MEPSUM) was used to generate hazard estimates of incident IADL difficulty in seven groups from ages 65 to 80. Hazard estimates were compared in the three intervention groups (memory, inductive reasoning, and speed of information processing) vs. the no-contact control group. Results: A total of 887 (69.5%) participants reported incident difficulty in at least one IADL task category. Compared to individuals who remained free of IADL difficulty, those who reported incident difficulty were more likely to be older, female, and have lower Short Form 36 general health scores. The IADL task categories to first become difficult were housework, managing health care, and phone use. There were no differences by intervention group in the hazard estimates of incident IADL difficulty. Conclusion: Managing health care and phone use are more cognitively demanding IADLs, and individuals who experience difficulty in these tasks first may be more likely to experience cognitive decline. Recognizing early difficulty in managing health care may allow for implementation of compensation strategies to minimize unintentional medication misuse, increased adverse medical events, and unnecessary hospitalization. Training of a specific cognitive domain may not influence ordering of IADL difficulty because IADL tasks require proficiency in, and integration of, multiple cognitive domains.

Determining Rheumatology Patient Interest in a Group Strength Training Program - Results of an Exercise Survey.

BACKGROUND: Exercise has proven benefits in rheumatologic disease including reducing inflammation and improving symptoms. A Group Strength Training (GST) program design has improved adherence to exercise in primary care patients but the effect is unknown in rheumatology patients. We examined the interest of rheumatology patients with different diagnoses and the effect of comorbidities in pursuing an organized GST program. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of patients from a rheumatology practice in central Pennsylvania in February and April 2017. This survey assessed self-reported interest of patients in a GST program in addition to demographics, comorbidities, and quality of life measures. Primary care data from a previous survey were used for comparative analysis for the primary outcome: interest in a GST program. RESULTS: Fifty percent of rheumatology patients were interested in a GST program and there was no difference of interest compared to primary care patients (X2 = 2.04, p = 0.15). There was no difference in interest in a GST program for rheumatology patients with poor health compared to patients with good health (OR = 0.9, p = 0.8). Female patients were more interested in a group strength training program than male patients (OR = 3.7, p = 0.001). Patients with a BMI of 25-30 (OR = 2.2, p = 0.04) or > 30 (OR = 1.7, p = 0.12) were more interested compared to those with a normal BMI. There was no difference in interest in group strength training regardless of rheumatology diagnosis or comorbidities. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that rheumatology patients are interested in a GST program regardless of disease, medical comorbidities, perceived mental or physical health, or education level. Further study is needed to determine the effects of GST on rheumatologic diseases.

Comparison of Adults With Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis to Adults With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross-sectional Analysis of Clinical Features and Medication Use.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Many individuals with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have persistent disease into adulthood. Polyarticular JIA (pJIA) is often mislabeled as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adult rheumatology clinics, and treatment for adult pJIA patients is not well defined. We aimed to describe clinical features and medication use in the adult pJIA population in relation to an RA control cohort. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of 45 adults with pJIA and 94 with RA seen from 2013 to 2017. Clinical characteristics including RA classification criteria were compared using χ and McNemar tests. Medication use was analyzed focusing on tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) survival, and an accelerated failure-time model was developed for time to methotrexate initiation. RESULTS: Polyarticular JIA patients were less likely to be rheumatoid factor or cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody positive; fewer than half of pJIA subjects met the RA 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism Classification Criteria. Time from diagnosis to methotrexate initiation was associated with longer disease duration in both groups (p < 0.01). Current TNFi use was more prevalent in pJIA patients (49% vs. 18%, p < 0.01), and TNFi use, particularly for etanercept, was sustained longer with a median drug survival of 4.41 years compared with 0.70 years in RA patients (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although often considered together in adult rheumatology practice, adults with pJIA are distinct from patients with RA. Medication use markedly differed between the 2 populations with greater prevalence and duration of TNFi use in pJIA patients. Further study is needed to improve outcomes in this unique population.