Social relations and filial maturity in middle-aged adults: contextual conditions and psychological determinants.

The aim of this paper is to highlight the contextual and psychological preconditions of parent help and helpfulness in a sample of 260 middle-aged persons belonging to two age groups, 40-45 years and 50-55 years. In a first step we want to focus on the description of the contextual situation of the persons of this "hinge generation": What are their available social networks; what are their commitments towards children and parents in terms of perceived obligation and investment; how is their perceived balance of giving and receiving; how do they anticipate and experience dependency of their parents? In a second step we will highlight the readiness of middle-aged women and men to help their parents as well as the effectively reported help. Here we are interested in the psychological determinants of such attitude and behaviour. Structural equation models are performed to estimate the predictory power of personality variables, control beliefs and reported stress (family and job) on filial helpfulness and help. Results suggest that differential aspects such as gender and age group explain a large amount of variance of the variables intergenerational commitment and satisfaction with social networks and have--along with personality variables--a strong impact on filial help and helpfulness of middle-aged adults.

Apolipoprotein E genotypes and cognitive functions in healthy elderly persons.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether apoE genotypes correlate with cognitive functions in clinically healthy persons. METHODS: In 1993 and 1995, we measured information processing speed, delayed free recall and semantic aspects of long-term memory in 227 men and 105 women aged 65 and over, a randomly selected subsample of the prospective Basel Study. Cardiovascular risk factors and education were assessed. RESULTS: E2 were more prevalent in old-old (>75 years, 23.5% vs. 15%) compared to E4 than in young-old (<75 years, 19.3% vs. 23.5%). Taking into account age and education, subjects with epsilon3/epsilon4 or epsilon4/epsilon4 alleles (E4) performed lowest in all 3 tests compared to those homozygous for epsilon3 (E3) or carriers of one or two epsilon2 alleles (E2) (reaction time P = 0.009, free recall P = 0.05, WAIS-R vocabulary P<0.05). In old-old there was a significant difference between E2 and E4 for reaction time (P = 0.02) and free recall (P<0.02) but not for vocabulary (P = 0.086). In all 3 groups there were no significant changes after 2 years. The subgroup with the genotype epsilon2/epsilon4 performed consistently best in the cognitive tests. Cholesterol was significantly increased in the E4 and E3 group compared to the E2 group. CONCLUSION: ApoE genotype correlates with cognitive performance. The increased prevalence of E2 in the old-old and the significantly lower plasma cholesterol levels suggest differential morbidity and mortality as important factors influencing the prevalence of cognitive disorders in late life.

Muscle strength in the elderly: its relation to vitamin D metabolites.

OBJECTIVE: To identify a relation between loss of muscle strength and vitamin D deficiency in ambulatory elderly persons not receiving vitamin D supplementation. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: All measurements were taken at the Department of Geriatrics, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland. SUBJECTS: Three hundred nineteen patients (103 women, 216 men) selected by random sampling from participants in an ongoing interdisciplinary study on aging (mean age for women, 74.2 yrs; for men, 76.7 yrs). OUTCOME MEASURES: Leg extension power (LEP) and body mass index (BMI); serum values of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [calcidiol, 25(OH)D], 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D [calcitriol, 1,25(OH)2D], and intact parathyroid hormone (iPHT). RESULTS: Twelve percent of women and 18% of men had 25(OH)D values below the normal range (<12 ng/mL). Muscle strength was lower in older subjects (female: r = -.35; p = .0005/male: r = -.48; p < .0001) and was lower in women than in men (p < .0001). In men both 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D was significantly correlated with LEP (r = 0.24; p = .0004/r = .14; p = .045). In women, only 1,25(OH)2D was significantly correlated with LEP (r = 0.22; p = .034). In an ANCOVA including all participants and explaining LEP by sex, age, BMI, 1,25(OH)2D, 25(OH)D, and iPTH, all factors showed significant effects except 25(OH)D and iPTH (r2 = .41). CONCLUSION: Muscle strength declined with age in ambulatory elderly people and showed modest, but significant, positive correlation with 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D in both sexes and with 25(OH)D in male subjects. Therefore vitamin D deficiency appears to contribute to the age-related loss of muscle strength, which might be more pronounced in institutionalized elderly people with a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency.

The effects of resistance training on well-being and memory in elderly volunteers.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the short- and long-term effects of resistance training on muscle strength, psychological well-being, control-beliefs, cognitive speed and memory in normally active elderly people. METHODS: 46 elderly people (mean age 73.2 years; 18 women and 28 men), were randomly assigned to training and control groups (n=23 each). Pre- and post-tests were administered 1 week before and 1 week after the 8-week training intervention. The training sessions, performed once a week, consisted of a 10 min warm-up phase and eight resistance exercises on machines. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in maximum dynamic strength in the training group. This training effect was associated with a significant decrease in self-attentiveness, which is known to enhance psychological well-being. No significant changes could be observed in control-beliefs. Modest effects on cognitive functioning occurred with the training procedure: although there were no changes in cognitive speed, significant pre/post-changes could be shown in free recall and recognition in the experimental group. A post-test comparison between the experimental group and control group showed a weak effect for recognition but no significant differences in free recall. Significant long-term effects were found in the training group for muscular strength and memory performance (free recall) 1 year later. CONCLUSION: An 8-week programme of resistance training lessens anxiety and self-attentiveness and improves muscle strength.

[Lipoprotein(a) and plasma lipids in 429 elderly and very old subjects: significance as risk factor, effect of nutrition and life style]. / Lipoprotein(a) und Plasma-Lipide bei 429 Betagten und Hochbetagten: Bedeutung als Risikofaktor, Einfluss von Ernährung und Lebensstil.

Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] was discovered in 1962. Lp(a) consists of an LDL particle linked to apolipoprotein(a). The latter shows large genetically determined interindividual variation in size. The close relationship of apo(a) to plasminogen suggests interactions with coagulation. Epidemiological studies established Lp(a) as an independent cardiovascular risk factor. In a follow-up to the Basel Study, we measured Lp(a) in 429 healthy men and women aged 65-95. The influence of nutrition and lifestyle and correlation with plasma lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors was analyzed. The mean concentration was 416 +/- 266 mg/l (median 320 mg/l). Lp(a) concentration did not differ between men and women. In contrast to the simultaneously determined lipid fractions, Lp(a) concentration is lower with increasing age. The correlation with plasma cholesterol is low but statistically significant (p < 0.01). Higher Lp(a) values were associated with a history of myocardial infarction and anticoagulant medication (p < 0.01). Other risk factors did not correlate with Lp(a). There was a low but statistically significant correlation between low Lp(a) and regular intake of vitamin pills. Our results confirm the association of longer life expectancy with low Lp(a) concentration, which are to a large extent independent of external factors. Thus, Lp(a) could be a true longevity gene.

[Wellbeing, health and autonomy in old age: the Basal IDA Study (Interdisciplinary Aging Study)]. / Wohlbefinden, Gesundheit und Autonomie im Alter: Die Basler IDA-Studie (Interdisziplinäre Altersstudie).

Current research on successful aging reflects a multicriteria approach, although a consensus on the interrelationship between different factors has not yet been achieved. The longitudinal-sequential study presented here aims at identifying psychological, biological and sociobiographical predictors of well-being, health and autonomy in old age and their interdependency. The concern of this study is thus a multidisciplinary approach including psychology, psychiatry, geriatrics and sports sciences. The ongoing study is described and first findings are reported. Four hundred and forty-two people, aged 65 to 94, were tested twice (1993 and 1995). Since this project is a pursuit of a medical longitudinal study (Basler-Studie), bio-medical parameters from former status measurements (1960, 1965, 1971, 1985, 1990) are available and taken into account for comparison with the newly collected data from 1993 and 1995. The tests included both a medical examination and cognitive and personality measurements. The medical test battery included: clinical and anthropometrical data, bio-chemical data as well as the medical history, health behaviour, complaints and subjective health. The psychological assessment included psychological well-being, health-related control beliefs, causal attribution, religiosity, etc. For memory assessment a computerized test was used which allows to test 1) perceptual error-scanning, 2) naming speed, and memory resources in terms of 3) capacity, 4) explicit and 5) implicit components. It therefore integrates direct (free recall, recognition) and indirect memory tests (perceptual identification: clarification), that were used previously in different experimental and quasi-experimental studies to investigate memory performance over the life-span. Furthermore, the following three experimental interventions are performed: memory and reattribution training, physical training and psychoanalytical group therapy. First descriptive results are presented concerning age-correlated changes in biological and medical parameters, health behavior, cognitive performances and psychological well-being and functional autonomy. The results show the strongest age effects in the cognitive variables (with the exception of priming). Beside age effects in speed variables and episodic memory we also find an age-correlated decline in semantic memory. Psychological well-being however, is not affected by age.

[Differential aspects of subjective burden of tinnitus aurium]. / Differentielle Aspekte der subjektiven Belastung durch Tinnitus aurium.

This study focuses on psychological variables, which could influence the subjectively perceived strain of tinnitus. They concern personality traits such as self-attentiveness, control beliefs and different dimensions of psychological health. Two groups of tinnitus patients were compared, one with low subjectively perceived strain (n = 20), the other with high subjectively perceived strain (n = 30). Results reveal that people with high subjectively perceived strain do not only perceive their tinnitus more often, but they are more self-centered and report significantly more general somatic complaints than people with low subjectively perceived strain. They obviously pay more attention to themselves and as a consequence also to their tinnitus. However, we didn't find any relationship between control beliefs and subjectively perceived tinnitus strain. Furthermore, duration of the noises, their loudness, their localisation and the knowledge of the cause of tinnitus also seem to affect the perception of the noises.