Aging & Mental Health

Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, caregivers of people with dementia (PwD) face increased while managing their own mental health (MH). Self-kindness, or treating oneself with care and understanding, may serve as a protective factor. Caregivers’ self-perceptions of health, as well as their perceptions of PwD’s health, may influence this relationship. This study aimed to examine whether caregivers’ health perceptions moderate the relationship between self-kindness and depressive symptoms during pandemic-related social restrictions in Brazil. Methods: A total of 131 caregivers (87.1% women; mean age 51.3±14.3years) participated in structured interviews assessing self-kindness, depressive symptomatology, care burden, dementia severity, and health perception (self and PwD). A three-way moderation model was tested with depressive symptomatology as the outcome. Predictors included Self-kindness and health perceptions; covariates were care burden, previous self-rated health and dementia severity. Results: No significant relationship was found between self-kindness and depressive symptoms among caregivers who did not perceive a health decline. However, among those who perceived a decline in their own health, higher levels of self-kindness mitigated the negative impact on MH (β=0.56; SE = 0.22; p<0.05). Conclusion: Self-kindness may serve as a protective psychological resources for caregivers, particularly when they perceive a deterioration in their own health.

Objectives: This study examined whether changes in optimism in older adulthood are associated with subsequent health and wellbeing outcomes. Method: Longitudinal data are from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative sample of U.S. older adults (N = 12,998, 2006/2008 to 2014/2016 waves). To evaluate changes in optimism, we examined optimism assessed in 2010/2012 and adjusted for optimism assessed 4 years earlier in 2006/2008 in regression models, which, under the specified statistical models, is equivalent to assessing changes in optimism during the 4-year interval. We examined 35 outcomes assessed in 2014/2016, including: indicators of physical health, health behaviors, psychological distress, psychological wellbeing, and social factors. Results: Increases in optimism (e.g. from the lowest to highest quartile) were favorably associated with several physical health outcomes such as a reduced risk of mortality (relative risk [RR] = 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.62, 0.94) and better self-rated health, but were not associated with specific disease outcomes (e.g. diabetes, stroke) or health behaviors. Increased optimism was also inversely associated with all psychological distress indicators and positively associated with multiple aspects of psychosocial wellbeing. Conclusion: An optimistic mindset may be desirable in its own right. Increased optimism may also enhance health and wellbeing among older adults.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of the Mindfulness-Based Health Promotion (MBHP) training program on the quality of life and well-being of older adults when compared to an active control group. Methods: A randomized controlled trial nested in a cohort study was conducted. The participants were allocated into two groups: the MBHP intervention group, and an active control group consisting of computer-based cognitive stimulation classes. Quality of Life (QOL) and well-being measures such as psychological health, quality of sleep, and religiosity were assessed. Both groups had the same duration and occurred over a period of four months. Qualitative and quantitative data (mixed-methods) were collected and analyzed at baseline and at post-intervention. Results: Statistically significant changes in QOL were noticed only in the active control group (ACG), but not in the mindfulness group. The mindfulness group showed positive improvements on stress, anxiety, intrinsic religiosity, and quality of sleep when compared to the control group. Qualitative data suggested improvements in the perception of social support, self-awareness, self-care, and quality of sleep for the participants submitted to the mindfulness program. However, a discrepancy was observed between quantitative QOL results and the improvements reported in the qualitative interview data. Conclusion: the MBHP training program did not enhance the QOL in older adults when compared to a cognitive stimulation intervention. On the other hand, well-being outcomes were improved when compared to ACG. Future studies on this topic should investigate what type of older adults’ profile may benefit more from mindfulness regular practice. Keywords: Mindfulness, Well-being, Cognitive Stimulation, Older Adults, Quality of Life.

Objectives Pain has been related to adverse health outcomes in old age. However, evidence from low-income countries is limited, and the potential mediators are poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the association between pain burden (PB) and sleep problems (SP) among older adults in Ghana and explore potential psychosomatic mediators. Method We analyzed data from the Aging, Health, and Health-seeking Behavior study administered to 1201 adults aged ≥50 years. PB was assessed using the pain subscale of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36. SP was assessed using nighttime/daytime SP in the last 30 days. Multivariable OLS and mediation models evaluated the hypotheses. Results Mean (SD) age was 66.14 (11.85) years, and 63.3% were women. After full adjustment, PB (versus no PB) was positively associated with SP in the overall sample (b = 0.227, 95% CI = 0.124 − 0.331) and women (b = 0.363, 95% CI = 0.233 − 0.492) but not in men. Moreover, the association was pronounced in the ≥65 year group (b = 0.317) than in the 50-64 year group (b = 0.216). Self-rated health (54.4%), immobility (23.4%), physical activity (12.2%), restlessness (12.1%), depression (6.4%), anxiety (6.3%), and social isolation (7.2%) mediated the PB-SP association. Conclusion PB was positively associated with SP among older adults in Ghana. Bio-psychosomatic factors were identified as potential mediators in this association. Addressing these factors may improve sleep health in older adults with pain.