The COVID-19 pandemic may intensify loneliness among older adults with chronic conditions who are at high risk of severe illness, but little is known about factors associated with loneliness during the pandemic. We considered factors linked to loneliness among 701 adults aged 50 years and older with chronic conditions from Michigan (82.5%) and 33 other U.S. states. Participants completed an anonymous online survey between May 14 and July 9, 2020. About two thirds (66.4%) reported moderate to severe loneliness. The fully adjusted regression model revealed that being a person of color, having a spouse or cohabiting partner, and more emotional support were associated with lower levels of loneliness. Higher anxiety symptoms, more worry about COVID-19 infection, and more financial strain because of the pandemic were linked to greater loneliness. These findings inform strategies to support a vulnerable subgroup of older adults during this pandemic and in future public health crises.
Background and Objectives Older people experience fewer negative interactions and report less stress in response to interpersonal tensions. Less is known, however, about the implications of daily social interactions for biological stress responses. We evaluated links between daily positive and negative interactions and two key biomeasures of the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis: salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S). We also considered the moderating effects of age. Research Design and Methods Participants included a random sample of 93 individuals aged 40-95 who completed 14 days of daily diary interviews and provided saliva samples during four of those days. Results Three-level piecewise models showed that individuals had higher sustained DHEA-S levels on days after reporting more positive interactions. Young-old adults (60-79) had lower overall DHEA-S on days when they had more negative interactions than oldest-old adults (80 and older). Oldest-old adults showed a flatter decline in DHEA-S on days after they reported more negative interactions compared to midlife adults (40-59). Daily social interactions were not significantly associated with cortisol. Discussion and Implications Strategies to increase positive interactions may help to build physiological resilience to stress, particularly among midlife and young-old adults.
KCNH2 encodes hERG1, the voltage-gated potassium channel that conducts the rapid delayed rectifier potassium current (I Kr ) in human cardiac tissue. hERG1 is one of the first channels expressed during early cardiac development, and its dysfunction is associated with intrauterine fetal death, sudden infant death syndrome, cardiac arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death. Here, we identified a hERG1 polypeptide (hERG1 NP ) that is targeted to the nuclei of immature cardiac cells, including human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. The nuclear hERG1 NP immunofluorescent signal is diminished in matured hiPSC-CMs and absent from adult rat cardiomyocytes. Antibodies targeting distinct hERG1 channel epitopes demonstrated that the hERG1 NP signal maps to the hERG1 distal C-terminal domain. KCNH2 deletion using CRISPR simultaneously abolished I Kr and the hERG1 NP signal in hiPSC-CMs. We then identified a putative nuclear localization sequence (NLS) within the distal hERG1 C-terminus, 883-RQRKRKLSFR-892. Interestingly, the distal C-terminal domain was targeted almost exclusively to the nuclei when overexpressed HEK293 cells. Conversely, deleting the NLS from the distal peptide abolished nuclear targeting. Similarly, blocking α or β1 karyopherin activity diminished nuclear targeting. Finally, overexpressing the putative hERG1 NP peptide in the nuclei of HEK cells significantly reduced hERG1a current density, compared to cells expressing the NLS-deficient hERG1 NP or GFP. These data identify a developmentally regulated polypeptide encoded by KCNH2 , hERG1 NP , whose presence in the nucleus indirectly modulates hERG1 current magnitude and kinetics.
Social distancing related to the COVID-19 pandemic may heighten loneliness among older adults, especially those with chronic conditions that increase risk for severe illness from the coronavirus. Little is known, however, about potential risk and protective factors linked to loneliness during the pandemic. In the present study, we examined factors associated with loneliness in a U.S. sample of adults aged 50 and older with at least one chronic condition. Participants included 701 adults aged 50 to 94 (M = 64.57 years, SD = 8.84) who were recruited over 8 consecutive weeks between May 14 and July 9, 2020 to complete an anonymous online survey. We estimated a series of multiple linear regressions to determine how sociodemographic characteristics, health characteristics, stress related to COVID-19, and social resources were independently associated with loneliness during the pandemic. Two-thirds of participants reported moderate to severe loneliness. The fully adjusted regression model showed that being a person of color, having a spouse or cohabiting partner, and reporting more emotional support were linked to lower levels of loneliness. Higher anxiety symptoms, more worry about being infected with COVID-19, and greater perceived financial strain because of COVID-19 were associated with higher levels of loneliness. These findings pinpoint potential targets for interventions to improve and maintain the well-being of a particularly vulnerable subgroup of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and in future public health crises.
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