Objectives To determine whether music engagement influences middle-aged and older adults’ performance on episodic memory tasks. Methods Secondary data analysis of a sample (N = 4,592) of cognitively healthy adults from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study were used for this study. Multivariable regression models were used to analyze the cross-sectional differences in performance on tasks of episodic memory between participants who listened to music (n= 3,659) or sang or played an instrument (n= 989). Results On average, participants recalled 10.3 words out of a possible 20. Regression analyses showed that both music listening and singing or playing an instrument were independently associated with significantly better episodic memory. Discussion The findings provide the first population-based evidence that music engagement is associated with better episodic memory among middle-aged and older adults. Future studies should examine whether the association is causal or has a dose response.

BackgroundDementia syndrome is one of the most devastating conditions in older adults. As treatments to stop neurodegeneration become available, accurate and timely diagnosis will increase in importance. One issue is that cognitive performance sometimes does not match the corresponding level of neuropathology, affecting diagnostic accuracy. Cognitive reserve (CR), which can preserve cognitive function despite underlying neuropathology, explains at least some variability in cognitive performance. We examined the influence of CR proxies (education and occupational position) on the relationship between hippocampal or total gray matter volume and cognition.MethodsWe used data from the Czech Brain Aging Study. Participants were clinically confirmed to be without dementia (n = 457, including subjective cognitive decline and amnestic mild cognitive impairment) or with dementia syndrome (n = 113).ResultsFor participants without dementia, higher education magnified the associations between (a) hippocampal volume and executive control (b = 0.09, p = 0.033), (b) total gray matter volume and language (b = 0.12, p < 0.001), and (c) total gray matter volume and memory (b = 0.08, p = 0.018). Similarly, higher occupational position magnified the association between total gray matter volume and (a) attention/working memory (b = 0.09, p = 0.009), (b) language (b = 0.13, p = 0.002), and (c) memory (b = 0.10, p = 0.013). For participants with dementia, the associations between hippocampal (b = –0.26, p = 0.024) and total gray matter (b = –0.28, p = 0.024) volume and visuospatial skills decreased in magnitude with higher education.ConclusionWe found that the association between brain volume and cognitive performance varies based on CR, with greater CR related to a stronger link between brain volume and cognition before, and a weaker link after, dementia diagnosis.

Nurses make up the largest subset of healthcare professionals (Jacob et al., 2015). Due to unconventional work shifts and long workdays, nurses often report sleep problems (Sun et al., 2019). Poor sleep is associated with worse cognitive functioning (Lee et al., 2019), lower ratings of patient care, and may even compromise patient safety (Stimpfel et al., 2020). Little is known in regard to how daily sleep is related to subjective cognition and how work characteristics moderate this relationship (Costa & Fardell, 2019). Previous research indicates on days following nights with shorter sleep duration or poorer sleep quality, workers report

Objectives. Volunteering promotes well-being and may provide added purpose to life after retirement. Limited evidence exists regarding the characteristics and study adherence among those who participate in longitudinal studies while also volunteering outside the study. We assessed characteristics and adherence of older adults who volunteered outside of participation in a regular monthly cognitive monitoring study. Method. All 124 participants with complete data were included. Participants were from a regular cognitive monitoring study that required completion of a 15-min monthly online cognitive assessment. Analysis of covariance and logistic regression analysis were performed to examine differences between volunteers and nonvolunteers. Results. Those who volunteered outside the study were significantly less likely to be college-educated (although all participants were highly educated) but the two groups were cognitively similar. Volunteers had significantly lower scores for neuroticism. Those who volunteered also were significantly less likely to drop out but had poorer study adherence. The most frequent type of volunteering was religious activities. Volunteers were motivated mainly by altruism, although most reported multiple reasons. Conclusion. Older adults who enroll in a longitudinal research study and volunteer outside the study have similar personal characteristics as those who opt out of additional volunteering, with somewhat less education and more favorable personality traits. However, they may be more likely to drop out and need more reminders. Therefore, those who volunteer outside a study may need more attention from study administrators and potentially a more individualized schedule that works around their volunteer obligations.

ObjectiveSubjective reports of cancer‐related cognitive impairment often far exceed that documented using in‐person neuropsychological assessment. This study evaluated whether subjective cognition was associated with real‐time objective cognitive performance in daily life versus performance on an in‐person neuropsychological battery, as well as fatigue and depressed mood.MethodsParticipants were 47 women (M age = 53.3 years) who completed adjuvant treatment for early‐stage breast cancer 6–36 months previously. During an in‐person assessment, participants completed a neuropsychological battery and questionnaires on subjective cognition, fatigue, and depressed mood. Over 14 days, participants responded to up to 5 prompts that assessed real‐time processing speed and memory and self‐reported ratings of depressed mood and fatigue. In the evenings, participants rated their subjective cognition that day and reported on memory lapses (e.g., forgetting a word).ResultsDuring the in‐person assessment, participants who rated their cognition worse reported worse depressed mood, but did not exhibit poorer objective cognitive performance. Women with worse rated daily subjective cognition reported more daily fatigue but did not demonstrate worse real‐time objective cognition. Finally, women who reported memory lapses at the end of the day reported more fatigue and depressed mood, demonstrated better real‐time performance on processing speed (p = 0.001), and worse in‐person processing speed and visuospatial skills (p's ≤ 0.02).ConclusionSubjective cognition was consistently associated with self‐reported fatigue and depressed mood. Specific memory lapses were related to in‐person and daily objective cognitive performance. This suggests that incorporating reports of memory lapses may help clinicians identify those with objectively measured cancer‐related cognitive impairment.

Previous research indicates poor sleep and cognitive functioning are associated. Studies have yet to consider the role of work shift on this relationship. The current study examined the sleep and subjective cognition relationship in nurses, and if this relationship differed for day- and night- shift nurses. Sixty-one nurses (M=35.39, SD=11.73; 39 day-, 22 night-shift) reported their nightly sleep characteristics and next-day subjective cognition (i.e., processing speed, memory, and mental focus) using ecological momentary assessments for 2 weeks. Multilevel models controlled for sociodemographic characteristics and decomposed the variance attributed by between- and within-person levels. At the within-person level, better sleep the previous night was associated with better subjective cognition the following day. This relationship was more apparent in night-shift nurses than in day-shift nurses, such that (a) longer sleep duration predicted better mental focus (B=1.62, p<.05) and (b) higher sleep quality predicted better memory (B=8.67, p<.001). At the between-person level, better sleep overall was associated with better subjective cognition across days. This association was more apparent in day-shift nurses than in night-shift nurses, such that (a) better sleep quality and sufficiency predicted faster processing speed (B=34.33; B=26.28; p<.001) and (b) better sleep quality and greater sleep sufficiency predicted better memory (B=30.94; B=23.09; p<.001). Findings suggest that sleep characteristics are associated with subjective cognition in nurses day-to-day and on average. Specific sleep characteristics associated with subjective cognition differ between day- and night-shift nurses, presumably due to differences in their sleep issues and perceived cognitive abilities.

The Equitable Healthy Aging in Public Health Toolkit provides local health departments with guidance on advancing equitable healthy aging in community health improvement practice. The toolkit includes modules on foundational principles such as social justice, social determinants of health and intersectionality across the life course, age-friendly public health frameworks, and evidence-based actions to advance equitable healthy aging in community health improvement infrastructure, assessment, implementation planning, and practice. The toolkit is based on contemporaneous public health knowledge and practice on healthy aging and health equity along with advisory input from the Trust for America's Health and the National Association of City and County Health Officials. The toolkit was informed by Florida Department of Health practitioners (n = 79) and further vetted and well received with a statewide master class of public health leaders (n = 29). The toolkit is publicly available and free of charge.

Family caregivers (FCGs) play a crucial role in helping persons with dementia age-in-place. This pilot study is designed to test a group-based mindfulness intervention for FCGs to reduce stress and enhance wellbeing. We recruited two groups of FCGs (n=7), one from an assisted living community and another from an adult day service center. We used a mixed-methods pre-post study design. Quantitative outcome measures included stress, sleep quality, and quality of life. We conducted focus group interviews to gain an in-depth understanding of the intervention acceptability. Participants reported that they benefited from participating in the intervention sessions, and were more aware of their reactions to stressors. FCGs indicated that the mindfulness practice assignments were acceptable and feasible. An unexpected finding was that the majority of the participants intended to continue with informal meetings after the pilot study. Implications of the intervention benefits for FCGs in the community will be discussed.