Multiple domains of functioning in older adults during the pandemic: design and basic characteristics of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam COVID-19 questionnaire.

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) is an ongoing cohort study among older adults in the Netherlands. Respondents are usually interviewed approximately every 3 years. Because of the exceptional situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to add an extra assessment in between, consisting of a postal/digital questionnaire with measures assessing the impact of the COVID-19 situation, as well as a selection of measures from regular LASA measurement cycles covering the physical, social and mental domains. In total, 1128 LASA respondents aged 62-102 years provided data, just after the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. This paper describes the methods and design of the LASA COVID-19 questionnaire, as well as the basic characteristics of the sample, including an overview of impactful situations experienced by older adults during the first months of the pandemic. The data of the questionnaire may be used to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on multiple domains of functioning in older adults.

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam: cohort update 2019 and additional data collections.

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) is a prospective cohort study of older adults in the Netherlands, initially based on a nationally representative sample of people aged 55-84 years. The study has been ongoing since 1992, and focuses on the determinants, trajectories and consequences of physical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning. Strengths of the LASA study include its multidisciplinary character, the availability of over 25 years of follow-up, and the cohort-sequential design that allows investigations of longitudinal changes, cohort differences and time trends in functioning. The findings from LASA have been reported in over 600 publications so far (see www.lasa-vu.nl). This article provides an update of the design of the LASA study and its methods, on the basis of recent developments. We describe additional data collections, such as additional nine-monthly measurements in-between the regular three-yearly waves that have been conducted among the oldest old during 2016-2019, and the inclusion of a cohort of older Turkish and Moroccan migrants.

The physical, mental, and social impact of COPD in a population-based sample: results from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with substantial health impact that may already become apparent in early disease. This study aims to examine the features of subjects with COPD in a Dutch population-based sample and compare their physical status, mental status, and social status to non-COPD subjects. This study made use of Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) data. Demographics, clinical characteristics, self-reported diseases, post-bronchodilator spirometry, physical, mental, and social status were assessed. A number of 810 subjects (50.5% male, mean age 60.5 ± 2.9 years) were included. Subjects with COPD (n = 68, mean FEV1 67.6 [IQR 60.4-80.4] %.) had a slower walking speed than non-COPD subjects, p = 0.033. When compared to non-COPD subjects, COPD subjects gave a lower rating on their health (physical subscale of SF-12: 15 [IQR 16.0-19.0] vs. 18 [IQR 11.0-17.0] points) and life (EQ5D VAS: 75 [IQR 70.0-90.0] vs. 80 points [IQR 65.0-85.5]) surveys. COPD subjects also had a more impaired disease-specific health status (CAT: 9.5 ± 5.9 vs. 6.7 ± 5.2, respectively), were less likely to have a partner (69% vs. 84%, respectively) and received emotional support less often (24% vs. 36%, respectively) compared to non-COPD subjects (All comparisons p < 0.001). In a population-based sample, subjects with COPD had a reduced physical performance, a more impaired disease-specific health status and were more socially deprived compared to non-COPD subjects. These impairments need to be taken into consideration when setting up a management program for patients with mild COPD.

Exploring the role of low-frequency and rare exonic variants in alcohol and tobacco use.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol and tobacco use are heritable phenotypes. However, only a small number of common genetic variants have been identified, and common variants account for a modest proportion of the heritability. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the role of low-frequency and rare variants in alcohol and tobacco use. METHODS: We meta-analyzed ExomeChip association results from eight discovery cohorts and included 12,466 subjects and 7432 smokers in the analysis of alcohol consumption and tobacco use, respectively. The ExomeChip interrogates low-frequency and rare exonic variants, and in addition a small pool of common variants. We investigated top variants in an independent sample in which ICD-9 diagnoses of "alcoholism" (N = 25,508) and "tobacco use disorder" (N = 27,068) had been assessed. In addition to the single variant analysis, we performed gene-based, polygenic risk score (PRS), and pathway analyses. RESULTS: The meta-analysis did not yield exome-wide significant results. When we jointly analyzed our top results with the independent sample, no low-frequency or rare variants reached significance for alcohol consumption or tobacco use. However, two common variants that were present on the ExomeChip, rs16969968 (p = 2.39 × 10-7) and rs8034191 (p = 6.31 × 10-7) located in CHRNA5 and AGPHD1 at 15q25.1, showed evidence for association with tobacco use. DISCUSSION: Low-frequency and rare exonic variants with large effects do not play a major role in alcohol and tobacco use, nor does the aggregate effect of ExomeChip variants. However, our results confirmed the role of the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 cluster of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit genes in tobacco use.

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam: cohort update 2016 and major findings.

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) is an ongoing longitudinal study of older adults in the Netherlands, which started in 1992. LASA is focused on the determinants, trajectories and consequences of physical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning. The study is based on a nationally representative sample of older adults aged 55 years and over. The findings of the LASA study have been reported in over 450 publications so far (see www.lasa-vu.nl ). In this article we describe the background and the design of the LASA study, and provide an update of the methods. In addition, we provide a summary of the major findings from the period 2011-2015.

Prayer and depressive symptoms in a period of secularization: patterns among older adults in the Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE: Prayer is generally recognized as an important aspect of religiousness. Relatively few empiric studies examined the relation between prayer and depressive symptoms in later life, and findings so far are mixed. METHOD: Respondents, aged 60-91 years, participated in the third (N = 1,702) and fourth (N = 1,346) assessment cycles, with three-year intervals, of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Data were collected on frequency of prayer, perceived meaningfulness of prayer, religious affiliation, church attendance, salience of religion, demographics, and health variables. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. RESULTS: In the total sample, there was no significant association between frequency of prayer and depressive symptoms. Among those who were not religiously affiliated, prayer was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. The results were particularly pronounced among nonaffiliated widowed respondents; odds ratio for praying daily associated with having Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale scores of 16 and higher amounted to 3.59 (99% confidence interval: 1.01-11.79). At three-year follow up, prayer did not predict change of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: As secularization in Western Europe progresses, the current results suggest that clinical exploration of private religiousness among older patients remains relevant, also among people who seem to be less religious.