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American Journal of Obstetrics and... Apr 2024Although phenotypic associations between female reproductive characteristics and uterine leiomyomata have long been observed in epidemiologic investigations, the shared... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Although phenotypic associations between female reproductive characteristics and uterine leiomyomata have long been observed in epidemiologic investigations, the shared genetic architecture underlying these complex phenotypes remains unclear.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to investigate the shared genetic basis, pleiotropic effects, and potential causal relationships underlying reproductive traits (age at menarche, age at natural menopause, and age at first birth) and uterine leiomyomata.
STUDY DESIGN
With the use of large-scale, genome-wide association studies conducted among women of European ancestry for age at menarche (n=329,345), age at natural menopause (n=201,323), age at first birth (n=418,758), and uterine leiomyomata (n/n=35,474/267,505), we performed a comprehensive, genome-wide, cross-trait analysis to examine systematically the common genetic influences between reproductive traits and uterine leiomyomata.
RESULTS
Significant global genetic correlations were identified between uterine leiomyomata and age at menarche (r, -0.17; P=3.65×10), age at natural menopause (r, 0.23; P=3.26×10), and age at first birth (r, -0.16; P=1.96×10). Thirteen genomic regions were further revealed as contributing significant local correlations (P<.05/2353) to age at natural menopause and uterine leiomyomata. A cross-trait meta-analysis identified 23 shared loci, 3 of which were novel. A transcriptome-wide association study found 15 shared genes that target tissues of the digestive, exo- or endocrine, nervous, and cardiovascular systems. Mendelian randomization suggested causal relationships between a genetically predicted older age at menarche (odds ratio, 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.85-0.92; P=1.50×10) or older age at first birth (odds ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, 0.90-0.99; P=.02) and a reduced risk for uterine leiomyomata and between a genetically predicted older age at natural menopause and an increased risk for uterine leiomyomata (odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.09; P=2.30×10). No causal association in the reverse direction was found.
CONCLUSION
Our work highlights that there are substantial shared genetic influences and putative causal links that underlie reproductive traits and uterine leiomyomata. The findings suggest that early identification of female reproductive risk factors may facilitate the initiation of strategies to modify potential uterine leiomyomata risk.
Topics: Female; Humans; Genome-Wide Association Study; Phenotype; Menopause; Risk Factors; Leiomyoma
PubMed: 38191017
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2023.12.040 -
Memory & Cognition Aug 2023The affective tone of autobiographical memories may be influenced by age in two ways-by the current age of the remembering individual and by the age of the remembered...
Lifespan effects of current age and of age at the time of remembered events on the affective tone of life narrative memories: Early adolescence and older age are more negative.
The affective tone of autobiographical memories may be influenced by age in two ways-by the current age of the remembering individual and by the age of the remembered self at the time of the remembered event. While aging has been associated with more positive autobiographical memories, young adulthood is remembered more positively than other parts of life. We tested whether these effects also show in life story memories and how they act jointly on affective tone; also, we wanted to explore their effects on remembered lifetimes other than early adulthood. We tested effects of current age and age at event on affective tone with brief entire life narratives provided up to five times across 16 years by 172 Germans of both genders, ages 8 to 81 years. Multilevel analyses found an unexpected negativity effect of aging for current age and confirmed a "golden 20s" effect of remembered age. In addition, women told more negative life stories, and affective tone dipped in early adolescence for current age and was remembered as such up to mid-adulthood. Thus, the affective tone of life story memories is jointly influenced by current and remembered age. The absence of a positivity effect in aging is explained by the specific requirements of telling an entire life. We suggest the turmoil of puberty as a reason for the early adolescence dip. Gender differences are potentially explained by differences in narrative style, in depression rates, and in real-life challenges.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Adolescent; Young Adult; Adult; Aged; Longevity; Mental Recall; Aging; Narration; Memory, Episodic
PubMed: 36813991
DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01401-x -
The Gerontologist Sep 2023Oldest-old (80+) spousal caregivers of people with dementia are a fast-growing, highly vulnerable, and poorly understood population. As oldest-old individuals, these...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Oldest-old (80+) spousal caregivers of people with dementia are a fast-growing, highly vulnerable, and poorly understood population. As oldest-old individuals, these caregivers have a high likelihood of experiencing aging-related changes (e.g., frailty and multimorbidity) that result in unique caregiving experiences and support needs. Specialized interventions, sensitive to caregivers' age- and aging-related experiences and needs, may be required to provide adequate support to this group. To date, this group has received limited attention in the literature. Thus, the purpose of this study was to elucidate how age and aging shape the experiences of oldest-old spousal caregivers of people with dementia.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We used a narrative gerontology approach, with 2-3 semistructured interviews with 11 caregivers ages 80-89 (25 interviews in total). We analyzed narrative data thematically.
RESULTS
We identified 4 main themes representing caregivers' perceptions of age or aging: aging as decline, aging as life experience, doings in older age, and older age as perceived by others. Our results illustrate a breadth of age- and aging-related caregiving experiences stemming from each perception.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
This study provides insight into the particular experiences of oldest-old spousal caregivers of people with dementia and provides a foundation for critical future research that will continue to explore the experiences of this unique and fast-growing caregiving group. A more nuanced understanding of this caregiving subgroup is needed to develop age-sensitive health and social care services to meet their needs and, ultimately, improve their well-being and that of their spouses.
Topics: Humans; Aged, 80 and over; Caregivers; Spouses; Narration; Aging; Dementia
PubMed: 36516466
DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnac185 -
American Journal of Physical Medicine &... Jan 2024The first objective to examine the age-related trajectory of competitive performance and the age at peak competitive performance in wheelchair rugby (WR) players at the...
OBJECTIVE
The first objective to examine the age-related trajectory of competitive performance and the age at peak competitive performance in wheelchair rugby (WR) players at the Paralympic Games. Another objective is to verify age correlations with performance over the years for each class.
DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study.
RESULTS
Data were collected from the official results books of the Paralympic games. The mean age (standard deviation) of the 267 players and 448 analyzed data from all Paralympic games (from Sidney 2004 to Tokyo 2020) across all classes was 32.8 (6.4) years, and the age at peak competitive performance was 30.6 (7.4) years. Each class had no statistical difference in age at peak competitive performance. Additionally, there was no significant correlation between age and performance within classes or across all Paralympic games.
CONCLUSION
The findings indicate that WR players' age at peak competitive performance is 30.6 years, which remains consistent across all classes. There is no statistical correlation between age and performance in WR. These findings significantly affect effective talent identification and athlete development programs. This impact ensures that athletes receive the necessary support to reach their maximum potential while avoiding the pitfalls of underestimating or overestimating their stages of development.
PubMed: 38206584
DOI: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000002434 -
Acta Odontologica Scandinavica Oct 2023To explore breastfeeding from 6 to 18 months of age and to study the association between breastfeeding and caries prevalence at 5 years of age.
PURPOSE
To explore breastfeeding from 6 to 18 months of age and to study the association between breastfeeding and caries prevalence at 5 years of age.
METHODS
The study included 1088 children from one Norwegian county and was based on the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The children had clinical dental examination at 5 years of age, and parents answered a questionnaire, which included information on breastfeeding, oral health behaviour and child characteristic. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed. The study was ethically approved.
RESULTS
Of the studied children, 77% were breastfed at 6 months of age and 16% were still breastfed at 18 months of age. Few children (6%) were breastfed during night at 18 months of age, while 11% received sugary drink during night. No association was found between breastfeeding up to 18 months of age and caries prevalence at 5 years of age ( > .05). Children who at 18 months of age had their teeth brushed less than twice daily (OR 2.4, CI 1.5-3.9), consumed sugary drink once a week or more often (OR 1.7, CI 1.1-2.7) and had non-Western parents (OR 3.4, CI 1.5-8.1) were more likely to have caries experience at 5 years of age than other children.
CONCLUSION
Breastfeeding up to 18 months of age was not associated with caries development during preschool age.
PubMed: 37211628
DOI: 10.1080/00016357.2023.2211154 -
GeroScience Apr 2024Aging per se is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and is associated with progressive changes in cardiac structure and function. Rodent models are commonly...
Aging per se is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and is associated with progressive changes in cardiac structure and function. Rodent models are commonly used to study cardiac aging, but do not closely mirror differences as they occur in humans. Therefore, we performed a 2D echocardiographic study in non-human primates (NHP) to establish age- and sex-associated differences in cardiac function and morphometry in this animal model. M mode and 2D echocardiography and Doppler analyses were performed cross-sectionally in 38 healthy rhesus monkeys (20 females and 18 males), both young (age 7-12 years; n = 20) and old (age 19-30 years; n = 18). The diameters of the cardiac chambers did not differ significantly by age group, but males had larger left ventricular diameters (2.43 vs 2.06 cm in diastole and 1.91 vs 1.49 cm in systole, p = 0.0004 and p = 0.0001, respectively) and left atrial diameter (1.981 vs 1.732 cm; p = 0.0101). Left ventricular mass/body surface area did not vary significantly with age and sex. Ejection fraction did not differ by age and females presented a higher ejection fraction than males (54.0 vs 50.8%, p = 0.0237). Diastolic function, defined by early to late mitral peak flow velocity ratio (E/A), was significantly lower in old rhesus monkeys (2.31 vs 1.43, p = 0.0020) and was lower in females compared to males (1.595 vs 2.230, p = 0.0406). Right ventricular function, evaluated by measuring the Tricuspid Annular Plane Systolic Excursion, did not differ by age or sex, and Right Ventricular Free Wall Longitudinal Strain, did not differ with age but was lower in males than in females (-22.21 vs -17.95%, p = 0.0059). This is the first echocardiographic study to evaluate age- and sex-associated changes of cardiac morphometry and function in young and old NHP. The findings of this work will provide a reference to examine the effect of age and sex on cardiac diseases in NHP.
PubMed: 38689157
DOI: 10.1007/s11357-024-01172-6 -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Aug 2023The discrepancy between chronological age and estimated brain age, known as the brain age gap, may serve as a biomarker to reveal brain development and neuropsychiatric...
The discrepancy between chronological age and estimated brain age, known as the brain age gap, may serve as a biomarker to reveal brain development and neuropsychiatric problems. This has motivated many studies focusing on the accurate estimation of brain age using different features and models, of which the generalizability is yet to be tested. Our recent study has demonstrated that conventional machine learning models can achieve high accuracy on brain age prediction during development using only a small set of selected features from multimodal brain imaging data. In the current study, we tested the replicability of various brain age models on the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort. We proposed a new refined model to improve the robustness of brain age prediction. The direct replication test for existing brain age models derived from the age range of 8-22 years onto the ABCD participants at baseline (9 to 10 years old) and year-two follow-up (11 to 12 years old) indicate that pre-trained models could capture the overall mean age failed precisely estimating brain age variation within a narrow range. The refined model, which combined broad prediction of the pre-trained model and granular information with the narrow age range, achieved the best performance with a mean absolute error of 0.49 and 0.48 years on the baseline and year-two data, respectively. The brain age gap yielded by the refined model showed significant associations with the participants' information processing speed and verbal comprehension ability on baseline data.
PubMed: 37645839
DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.16.553472 -
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics Dec 2023The US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice recommends routine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination at 11-12 years of age, but states that vaccination may be...
The US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice recommends routine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination at 11-12 years of age, but states that vaccination may be initiated as early as 9 years. Our primary goal was to assess whether initiating HPV vaccination at 9-10 years of age, compared to 11-12, was associated with a higher rate of series completion by 13 years of age, and to identify factors associated with series completion by age 13. The study used vaccine claims and other data from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters (privately insured) and IBM MarketScan Multi-State Medicaid (publicly insured) databases. Participants were 9-12 years of age and initiated HPV vaccination between January 2006 and December 2018 (publicly insured) or February 2019 (privately insured). Among 100,117 privately insured individuals, those initiating the HPV vaccination series at 9-10 years of age had a significantly higher series completion rate by 13 years of age than did those initiating at 11-12 years of age (76.2% versus 48.1%; < .001). The same pattern was observed for 115,863 publicly insured individuals (70.4% versus 40.0%; < .001). Provider and health care plan type, female sex, race/ethnicity, and wellness checks or non-HPV vaccinations during the baseline period were significantly associated with series completion by 13 years of age. Proactive initiation of HPV vaccination at 9-10 years of age was associated with higher rates of series completion by 13 years of age. These findings can inform provider education and other interventions to encourage timely HPV vaccination series completion.
Topics: United States; Humans; Female; Child; Adolescent; Papillomavirus Vaccines; Medicaid; Vaccination; Ethnicity; Papillomavirus Infections
PubMed: 36631995
DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2022.2161253 -
International Psychogeriatrics Oct 2023Studies have shown that when people grow older, the negative perceptions about age(ing) become self-directed. In this study, we examined if and how this assertion is...
OBJECTIVES
Studies have shown that when people grow older, the negative perceptions about age(ing) become self-directed. In this study, we examined if and how this assertion is expressed in the self-presentation of older adults.
DESIGN
To explore this issue, we undertook an online survey with 818 Israeli older adults (aged 65-90) who were asked to present themselves in writing, using an open question and to choose the age terms that they preferred, relying on a multiple-choice question. Responses were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using "word cloud" and linguistic inquiry.
RESULTS
The analysis indicated three ways of coping with the issue of age in one's self-presentation: older people who blur their processes of aging; older people who emphasize their age by using a line of self-ageism; the existing gap between what is being used by people and the ideal related to the use of existing age terms. The findings highlight the role of subjective age in one's self-presentations.
CONCLUSIONS
The results point to the ambivalence that older people feel in relation to their age(ing) and especially reflect the paradox of subjective age. That is, on the one hand studies have stressed the positive aspects of this practice, whereas on the other hand, subjective age possibly reflects a response to internalized negative stereotypes and prejudice about old age(ing). In this sense, this study expands the knowledge in the field of self-presentation and (subjective) age in the second half of life.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Stereotyping; Aging; Ageism; Surveys and Questionnaires; Emotions
PubMed: 35968843
DOI: 10.1017/S1041610222000667 -
European Journal of Obstetrics,... May 2024To provide a comprehensive picture of trends in parents' age and total fertility rate in selected most populous high-income countries from Europe and North America.
OBJECTIVE
To provide a comprehensive picture of trends in parents' age and total fertility rate in selected most populous high-income countries from Europe and North America.
STUDY DESIGN
Data were retrieved from official statistics published by the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union (EU), and by national health statistics offices.
RESULTS
Mean maternal age at birth showed increasing trends in all considered countries; in 2020, the highest mean age was observed in Italy (32.2) and Spain (32.3), and the lowest one in the USA (28.8). Mean maternal age at first birth also showed upward trends. In the 1990s, mean age at first birth ranged from 25.5 to 26.9 years, except for the USA where it was below 25 years. The countries with the highest average maternal age at first birth were Italy and Spain, reaching 31 years over the most recent years. Data on mean paternal age at birth were scant. In Germany (2019) it was 34.6 and in the USA (2014) 27.9 years. In Italy, mean paternal age increased from 34.2 in 2000 to 35.5 in 2018, in the UK from 30.7 in 1990 to 33.4 in 2017, and in Canada, a decrease was observed from 29.1 in 2006 to 28.3 in 2011. Finally, Sweden and the USA had the highest fertility rates, around two children in some years, while Italy and Spain had the lowest ones, with less than 1.5 children over the whole period.
CONCLUSIONS
Monitoring of trends in reproductive factors is crucial to gain insight into society from a cultural and sociological point of view and to analyze the impact of these changes on reproductive health and related conditions.
PubMed: 38824811
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2024.05.031