Investigating Discontinuity of Age Relations in Cognitive Functioning, General Health Status, Activity Participation, and Life Satisfaction between Young-Old and Old-Old Age

Abstract

Health research suggests that findings on young-old adults cannot be generalized to old-old adults and thus that old-old age seems not a simple continuation of young-old age due to qualitative changes that result in a discontinuity in old age. Specifically, it would be of conceptual and methodological importance to inform research regarding estimates around which chronological age the beginning of old-old age could be placed at a population level, and whether this is universal or domain-specific. To derive such criteria, we investigated potential discontinuity of age relations between young-old and old-old age in a large population-based sample considering measures in different domains (processing speed, verbal abilities, general health status, activity participation, and life satisfaction). For processing speed, verbal abilities, general health status, and life satisfaction we observed some very small indication that there might be a discontinuity of age relations at the end of individuals’ eighties, and for activity participation already at the beginning of individuals’ eighties. In conclusion, models conceptualizing aging as a gradual development might not suffice to adequately represent the differences between the stages of young-old and old-old age due to some very small indication that there might be discontinuity in late adulthood.

The impact of age-related hearing loss and lateralized auditory attention on spatiotemporal parameters of gait during dual-tasking among community dwelling older adults

“…As for walking, the situation is quite different. In healthy individuals gait is a rather symmetric function (Viteckova et al, 2018), controlled by basic spinal motor programs that keep movement synchronization (Ivanenko, Poppele, & Lacquaniti, 2006). However, under specific contexts like in dual-tasking, the nervous system needs to integrate additional sensorimotor information by utilizing higher-level cortical functions and volitional actions.…”

“…These events perturb central generator patterns for locomotion (Ivanenko et al, 2006;Robinson & Kiely, 2017). In aging, walking becomes a more demanding action and more involvement of executive functions and attention is required (Yogev-Seligmann, Hausdorff, & Giladi, 2008).…”

“…Only right-handed individuals were enrolled as it is demonstrated that left-handed people present atypical lateralization patterns (Westerhausen et al, 2015). Because specific age ranges of older adults may have an impact on study results (e.g., (Ihle, Jopp, Oris, Fagot, & Kliegel, 2016), participants were assigned to a Young-Old group (YO, ≤ 70, n =38) or to an Old-Old group (OO,≥71,n = 40). This approach has been adopted by numerous investigations, and it assures inclusion of specific age-ranges of older adults with different levels of hearing loss and cognitive deficits.…”

Development and enrolee satisfaction with basic medical insurance in China: A systematic review and stratified cluster sampling survey

“…In the study, the results demonstrated that the NRCMS enrolees had the highest rate of outpatient satisfaction because the plan provided higher reimbursement levels and substantially invested in village and township levels as well as primary medical institutions to access primary‐level care, demonstrating rational distribution and fully used medical resources . The rural residents' unsophisticated character, their trust in family doctors and first contact care of the community, along with step by step referral gradient, help explain the higher satisfaction rate of NRCMS enrolees.…”

“…Therefore, effective measures, such as shifting qualified human resources and technologies to primary medical institutions, and enhanced quality that take advantage of the family doctor system to regulate and reinstitute sequential medical order (referral from primary medical institutions to higher level medical institutions) as well as strengthen the service delivery system could have short‐term satisfaction implications, which will lead to both satisfaction and rational medical order in the long run …”