The Effects of High versus Low Levels of Altruism and Volunteering on the 4-Year Follow-Up Cognitive Performance of Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: Currently, there is a growing interest on the benefits of volunteering. Nevertheless, there is scarce evidence for non-volunteering altruistic behaviors. This study aims to investigate the role of both altruism and volunteering on the cognitive performance of older individuals followed for four years. METHODS: This was cohort study carried out in 180 Brazilian older adults assessed in three different timepoints (baseline [2015-2016], 2 years of follow-up [2017-2018] and 4 years of follow-up [2019-2020]). Composite cognitive score was calculated based on the Mini-Mental State Examination, Verbal Fluency, Clock-Drawing test, and CERAD Word-List. Altruism was assessed through the Self-reported Altruism Scale and self-reported volunteering status. Mixed ANCOVAS were performed. RESULTS: For altruism, there were significant differences in all time points (Baseline, 2 years and 4 years) favoring higher cognitive scores for higher levels of altruism. However, no differences were observed for volunteering in all time points. CONCLUSIONS: Having higher levels of altruism was significantly associated with better cognitive scores. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Altruism, even without volunteering, seem to have positive effects on the cognitive functioning of older adults. Health professionals who take care of older adults might take account of the presence or absence of altruistic behaviors of their patients in their formulations and recommendations.

Resilience and Mental Health Among Regularly and Intermittently Active Older Adults: Results From a Four-Year Longitudinal Study.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate whether regularly active individuals have different levels of mental health and resilience compared to intermittently active individuals. METHODS: In this 4-year longitudinal study, 180 older people were included. General linear models were used to assess the level of physical activity, psychological resilience, and mental health among regularly and intermittently active older adults. RESULTS: Those who maintained regular physical activity were more resilient than those who did not. However, no differences were observed for mental health outcomes. Although those with higher levels of resilience had fewer mental health problems, there were no significant differences between the groups based on their level of physical activity. CONCLUSION: Differences in resilience levels favoring regularly active individuals were found. In both groups, resilience was inversely associated with mental health problems. These findings may help elucidate the underlying mechanisms in the relationship between physical activity and health outcomes.

Relationship Between Mental Health, Resilience, and Physical Activity in Older Adults: A 2-Year Longitudinal Study.

The aim of this study was to longitudinally investigate the association between resilience and mental health in older adults and to determine the influence of physical activity on this relationship. A total of 291 older adults were included in a 2-year follow-up study. Adjusted linear regression models evaluated the association between resilience at baseline and mental health after 2 years in sufficiently and insufficiently physically active older adults. A negative correlation was found between resilience at baseline and depression, anxiety, and stress after 2 years for the overall sample. This association changed after stratifying the group. Sufficiently physically active individuals made greater use of the resilience components "Self-Sufficiency" and "Perseverance," whereas insufficiently physically active individuals made greater use of "Meaning of Life" and "Existential Singularity." Physical activity can influence the relationship between resilience and mental health. These results can help guide the devising of more effective interventions for this age group.

The Role of Physical Activity in the Association Between Resilience and Mental Health in Older Adults.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between resilience and mental health in older adults and how physical activity influences that relationship. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 312 older adults (179 active and 133 sedentary classified by IPAQ). Considering the whole sample, an inverse relationship was found for resilience (Wagnild-Young's Resilience Scale) with depression and stress (DASS-21). Among the sedentary, in spite of there not being an association between total resilience and mental health, there was an inverse relationship for the "meaning of life" component of the resilience and depression scale. For the active group, there was a relationship between total resilience and its components with depression and stress, but not for the "meaning of life" component of the resilience scale. Physical activity played an important role in the relationship between resilience and depression, showing that active and sedentary people use different components of resilience.

Association between depression and resilience in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine whether resilience is associated with depressive symptoms in geriatric populations. METHOD: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed (up to March 2015) following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis recommendations on three databases (PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science) with no language restrictions, using a Boolean expression. For inclusion in the study, articles had to assess the older population (60 years or older), assess both depressive and resilience symptoms, and investigate the association between these two variables. Articles not employing validated resilience and depression scales or assessing populations younger than 60 years were excluded. The quality of the selected studies was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. RESULTS: A total of 1094 articles were retrieved from the three databases, 367 of which were duplicates and therefore excluded, giving 727 articles for analysis. Of these articles, seven met the eligibility criteria. All of the included articles were observational and cross-sectional, found an inverse relationship between depression and resilience, and were conducted in three countries: the USA, China, and Belgium. A moderate inverse correlation was found on the meta-analysis (r = -0.35, 95% confidence interval: -0.41 to -0.28). CONCLUSION: Few studies were found on this subject in the older population. An association between greater resilience and less depressive symptomatology was identified, albeit based on cross-sectional studies. These results highlight the need for further studies in the area and the importance of fostering the use of interventions to promote resilience in older adults as a means of preventing and managing depressive symptoms in this population. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.