Paradoxical Trend for Improvement in Mental Health With Aging

Abstract

Objective Studies of aging usually focus on trajectories of physical and cognitive function, with far less emphasis on overall mental health, despite its impact on general health and mortality. This study examined linear and non-linear trends of physical, cognitive, and mental health over the entire adult lifespan. Method Cross-sectional data were obtained from 1,546 individuals aged 21 to 100 years, selected using random digit dialing for the Successful AGing Evaluation (SAGE) study, a structured multi-cohort investigation, that included telephone interviews and in-home surveys of community-based adults without dementia. Data were collected from 1/26/2010 to 10/07/2011 targeting participants aged 50 to 100 years, and 6/25/2012 to 7/15/2013 targeting participants aged 21 to 50 years. Data included self-report measures of physical health, measures of both positive and negative attributes of mental health, and a phone interview-based measure of cognition. Results Comparison of age cohorts using polynomial regression suggested a possible accelerated deterioration in physical and cognitive functioning, averaging one-and-a-half to two standard deviations over the adult lifespan. In contrast, there appeared to be a linear improvement of about one standard deviation in various attributes of mental health over the same life period. Conclusion These cross-sectional findings suggest the possibility of a linear improvement in mental health beginning in young adulthood rather than a U-shaped curve reported in some prior studies. Lifespan research combining psychosocial and biological markers may improve our understanding of resilience to mental disability in older age, and lead to broad-based interventions promoting mental health in all age groups.

Self-Reported General Health, Overall and Work-Related Stress, Loneliness, and Sleeping Problems in 335,625 Swedish Adults from 2000 to 2016

“…Moreover, the number of individuals on sick leave due to stress related ill-health increasing markedly the last decade [2][3][4][5][6] is not in line with the changes in self-reported stress in the present study, indicating that trends in sick leave behavior is worth further investigation. Indeed, self-reported stress reaction increasing in particular among the young [8,9] is supported in the present result of the young increasing modestly in self-reported overall stress. Another picture of trends in self-reported work stress is shown if the years between 2000 were considered as these years were characterized by large work-related changes, such as reorganizations and downsizing, in particular within the public sector [6,7].…”

“…In particular, women and middle aged individuals (30-49) represent a larger amount of the sickness absence due to stress-related ill-health as well as report more stress reactions [6,7]. However, self-reported stress reactions have increased in particular among the youngest [8,9].…”

Relationship Between Mental Health and the Education Level in Elderly People: Mediation of Leisure Attitude

“…It must be assumed as a positive experience, a new stage of life that is accompanied by changes and new routines. However, it's assumed that aged people have a significant ongoing decline in physical capacities and cognitive function (Thomas et al, 2016). This worsening prompts their feelings of decreasing leisure autonomy competence as the range of their practically attainable achievements becomes limited in leisure activities (Chang and Yu, 2013).…”

Ótilgreindir brjóstverkir og tengsl við viðvarandi verkjaupplifun og vanlíðan

“…Rannsóknir hafa áður tengt haerri aldur við betri andlega heilsu og það þrátt fyrir verri líkamlega heilsu. 29 Hugsanlega er eldra fólk haefara til að takast á við streituvaldandi aðstaeður vegna aukins innsaeis, aeðruleysis og betri tilfinningastjórnunar. Því má velta fyrir sér hvort yngri sjúklingar með ótilgreinda brjóstverki þurfi meira á sálfraeðilegum stuðningi og baettri þjónustu að halda.…”