Journal of Aging and Health

To identify subgroups of midlife and older adults from the United States (US), defined by specific combinations of factors, who are more or less likely to meet age-specific sleep duration recommendations.

Participants (n = 3,124) aged ≥ 40 years were drawn from the 2011-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles. The primary outcome was meeting age-specific sleep duration recommendations (7 to 9 hours per night) to promote optimal health. Signal detection analysis was used to identify subgroups, defined by combinations of socio-demographic, clinical, cardiometabolic, and behavioral factors, that predicted whether participants met age-specific sleep duration recommendations.

The mean age of participants was 58.3 (standard error = 0.3) years, with a mean sleep duration of 7.3 (standard error = 0.03) hours/night. Overall, 64.3% met the age-specific sleep duration recommendations. Eight subgroups were identified through signal detection, with race/ethnicity being the primary splitting variable. The subgroup most likely to meet the sleep duration recommendations (82.9%; 353/426) identified as Non-Hispanic White, had a poverty income ratio score ≥ 3.2 (indicating household income 3.2 times the poverty threshold), and had no history of trouble sleeping. In contrast, the subgroup least likely to meet the sleep duration recommendations (45.0%; 144/320) identified as racial/ethnic minorities, had a history of trouble sleeping, and engaged in less than 324 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week.

Findings from this cross-sectional study highlight the importance of examining combinations of factors to systematically identify subgroups more or less likely to meet age-specific sleep duration recommendations for optimal health. Future research should explore how these factors change over time to inform public health strategies aimed at improving sleep health among US midlife and older adults, particularly those from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds.

This study examines whether social strain and support from various sources are associated with accumulation of chronic conditions in older adults.

Growth mixture modeling was used to investigate which network sources of support and strain were related to morbidity accumulation over 12 years among 5,321 individuals over age 50 in the Health and Retirement Study.

Higher overall social support—comfort provided by others—was associated with a greater likelihood of belonging to the low morbidity trajectory class versus the high and increasing morbidity classes, but overall social strain—tense or conflictual interactions—was not. The source of support/strain mattered, and support from children was a more consistent predictor of trajectory classes than support from other sources.

The importance of social support, particularly from children, suggests that psychosocial interventions could be developed and tailored to the children of older adults to promote healthier aging.

Social frailty has not been studied in the Philippines, a Southeast Asian country with distinct sociocultural characteristics.

To (i) develop and validate the Social Frailty Index-Philippines (SFI-Phil), using all-cause mortality (up to 4 years) as the outcome and (ii) evaluate performance of SFI-Phil across age, sex, and residence.

Performing regression analyses on baseline and 4-year follow-up data from 5153 older adults aged 60+ from the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), we selected and validated a parsimonious model of social predictors.

The resulting 6-item SFI-Phil demonstrated satisfactory accuracy in predicting mortality up to 4 years (C-statistic 0.640, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.608–0.673) in a validation sample and across demographic strata, although better amongst 60–69 year olds, men, and urban residents.

SFI-Phil, developed considering Philippines’s sociocultural context, can be used to assess social frailty among older adults in the Philippines.

This study examines the bidirectional influences between functional disability and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older couples, emphasizing the temporal dynamics and co-development of partners’ experiences.

Longitudinal data were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (2002–2020), focusing on married couples (N = 4109 couples). Dyadic cross-lagged panel models and latent trajectory analyses were employed.

Functional disability had a stronger influence on depressive symptoms than the reverse. Spouses’ disability trajectories were synchronized with similar baseline levels and rates of change, but synchrony did not predict depressive symptoms. Husbands’ disability disproportionately affected wives’ mental health compared to the reverse.

The findings elucidate the directionality underlying the relationship between depressive symptoms and functional limitations. Couples’ functional disability development was synchronous. Tailored and targeted disability preventive interventions may have mental health benefits for both partners.

This study investigates whether neighborhood disorder has indirect effects on inflammation via health behaviors and whether the pathways vary by race and ethnicity.

The study sample came from the Health and Retirement Study in 2014 and 2016. Inflammation level was assessed with C-reactive protein. Neighborhood disorder and health behaviors were self-reported. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the objectives.

Findings revealed significant direct effects of neighborhood disorder on inflammation (B = 0.034, 95% CI: 0.009, 0.058) and indirect effects via physical activity (B = 0.010, 95% CI: 0.006, 0.014). Neighborhood disorder was linked to inflammation through physical activity among older White adults, but not among older Black and Hispanic adults.

Interventions to provide opportunities for physical activity may reduce inflammation levels among older adults living in neighborhoods with disorders. Future research may consider unique social experiences influencing inflammation among older Black and Hispanic adults.

United States (U.S.) immigrants are rapidly aging, although little is known on how acculturation influences their disability risk.

We pooled 2000–2018 data (n = 50,075) from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to examine odds of activities of daily living (ADL) disability among middle aged (40–64) and older (65+) immigrants based on three acculturation indicators while accounting for various measures.

Among middle aged immigrants, citizenship was associated with higher odds of ADL disability after accounting for socioeconomic factors. Among both middle aged and older immigrants, English proficiency was associated with lower odds of ADL disability until accounting for socioeconomic factors. Among older immigrants, lower ADL disability odds were observed among those with English proficiency and greater U.S. duration.

Acculturation had heterogenous influences on ADL disability risk among aging U.S. immigrants, while the interplay of these mechanisms shaped varied outcomes.

Our study examines racial/ethnic differences in loneliness and social isolation among older adults with hearing loss.

Data were drawn from the 2022 Health and Retirement Study, including participants ages ≥50 with objectively determined hearing loss (N = 1817). Linear models were employed to analyze the association between race/ethnicity and both loneliness and social isolation.

Initially, Black adults reported higher loneliness scores than White adults, but this trend reversed after controlling for contextual factors. Hispanic adults consistently showed lower loneliness scores across all models compared to both Black and White adults. Black adults reported significantly lower levels of social isolation compared to White adults, whereas Hispanic adults consistently exhibited higher levels than Black adults throughout the analysis.

These findings reveal distinct patterns of loneliness and social isolation across racial/ethnic groups among adults with hearing loss, highlighting the interplay between these outcomes and social, cultural, and societal factors.