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Nutrients Mar 2020Malnutrition in the elderly could be tackled by addressing socioeconomic factors. This study aimed to determine the magnitude of the relationship between socioeconomic... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Malnutrition in the elderly could be tackled by addressing socioeconomic factors. This study aimed to determine the magnitude of the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the malnutrition or malnutrition risk (MR) in the elderly. The PubMed and SCOPUS databases were searched for observational studies that included assessment of malnutrition or/and MR and socioeconomic variables (educational level, living alone, marital status, income and occupational level, feeling of loneliness, place of residence, and food expenditure) in ≥60-year-old subjects, published in English among 2000-2018 (PROSPERO: CRD42019137097). The systematic review included 40 observational studies (34 cross-sectional and 4 cohort studies) and 16 cross-sectional studies in the meta-analysis (34,703 individuals) of malnutrition and MR in relation to low educational level (Odds Ratio (OR): 1.48; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.33-1.64; < 0.001), living alone (OR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.73-2.14; < 0.001), being single, widowed, or divorced (OR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.57-1.90; < 0.001), and low income level (OR: 2.69; 95% CI: 2.35-3.08; < 0.001), and considering these four socioeconomic factors, malnutrition and MR is associated with them (OR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.73-1.93; < 0.001). Malnutrition and MR could be reduced by increasing economic level, supporting people living alone or being single, widowed, and divorced, and improving lifelong learning.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Female; Geriatric Assessment; Humans; Loneliness; Male; Malnutrition; Marital Status; Nutrition Assessment; Nutritional Status; Publication Bias; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Socioeconomic Factors
PubMed: 32168827
DOI: 10.3390/nu12030737 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Feb 2024Bereavement is a common and often challenging experience in late life. Evidence shows that while many older adults manage to adjust well and demonstrate resilience in... (Review)
Review
Bereavement is a common and often challenging experience in late life. Evidence shows that while many older adults manage to adjust well and demonstrate resilience in response to the death of a close person, bereavement puts a substantial minority at risk of adverse mental and physical health impacts including mortality. Current research further indicates that 1) this is the case across different countries and cultures across the globe; 2) that the COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges for coping with late-life bereavement; 3) that loneliness and social isolation among bereaved older adults tend to be prevalent and harmful, particularly under pandemic but also in nonpandemic circumstances; and, recently, 4) that bereavement may be a risk factor for cognitive decline in this population.
Topics: Female; Humans; Aged; Pandemics; Widowhood; Bereavement; Grief; Loneliness
PubMed: 38071788
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101748 -
International Journal of Emergency... Jan 2024Black widows, one of the few spiders that can sting humans with poison, are members of the spider genus Latrodectus and are well-known for the extraordinary potency of...
Black widows, one of the few spiders that can sting humans with poison, are members of the spider genus Latrodectus and are well-known for the extraordinary potency of their neurotoxic venom. Latrodectism, a symptom marked by excruciating muscular pain, stomach pain, and diaphoresis after envenomation, is very typical. We described a black widow envenomation case that produced a significant reaction, including diaphoresis and excruciating pain throughout the left thigh that later spread to the lower leg, lower back, belly, and chest. Because of the patient's description of the spider that bit him and his typical clinical state, it was assumed that Latrodectus envenomation was the cause of his symptoms. The patient received 3 days of observation in the ED while receiving opioid analgesic pain management and muscle relaxant treatment with diazepam. The patient's pain and symptoms were satisfactorily managed, and he was sent home. This case report will help further research be done in the area where it was reported to see if there are cases with similar presentations misdiagnosed as other illnesses. Finally, immediate pain relief is the most critical goal for all patients.
PubMed: 38166617
DOI: 10.1186/s12245-023-00576-z -
Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) Mar 2022I am 88 years old-a widower and retired businessman living in West Sussex [...].
I am 88 years old-a widower and retired businessman living in West Sussex [...].
PubMed: 35447843
DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics7020040 -
Journal of Happiness Studies 2023Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, 2004-17) and time diaries from Poland (2013), the U.S. (2006-16), the U.K. (2014-15) and...
UNLABELLED
Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, 2004-17) and time diaries from Poland (2013), the U.S. (2006-16), the U.K. (2014-15) and France (2009-10), we examine differences between widowed and partnered older women in well-being and its development in widowhood. Most importantly, our analysis accounts for time use, an aspect which has not been studied previously. We trace the evolution of well-being of women who become widowed by comparing them with their matched non-widowed 'statistical twins' and examine the role of an exceptionally broad set of potential moderators of widowhood's impact on well-being. We confirm a dramatic decrease in mental health and life satisfaction after the loss of partner, followed by a slow partial recovery over a 5-year period. An extensive set of controls recorded prior to widowhood, including detailed family ties and social networks, provides little help in explaining the deterioration in well-being. Unique data from time-diaries kept by older women in several European countries and the U.S. tell us why: the key factor behind widows' reduced well-being is increased time spent alone.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10902-023-00622-w.
PubMed: 36694477
DOI: 10.1007/s10902-023-00622-w -
The Neurohospitalist Apr 2023A neurologist reflects on the unintended heartlessness of keeping a patient with terminal cancer in hospital for further tests at a time when families are not permitted...
A neurologist reflects on the unintended heartlessness of keeping a patient with terminal cancer in hospital for further tests at a time when families are not permitted to visit. Peripherally involved in a patient's care, he witnesses the suffering brought about by pandemic-related visitation restrictions in the final weeks of a patient's life. In reviewing the course of events with the patient's widow, the physician has many of his assumptions overturned and more completely grasps the consequences of visitation restrictions on hospitalized patients.
PubMed: 37064932
DOI: 10.1177/19418744231153475 -
Research on Aging Jan 2022We investigate how preloss marital quality is associated with changes in psychological distress and physical health among older widow(er)s. Using prospective data with a...
We investigate how preloss marital quality is associated with changes in psychological distress and physical health among older widow(er)s. Using prospective data with a 2-year follow-up from the Health and Retirement Study, we selected 546 respondents who transitioned into widowhood. Respondents were classified as supportive, ambivalent, aversive, or neutral groups. The supportive and ambivalent group experienced greater increase in depressive symptoms compared to the aversive group, in widowhood. The aversive group showed greater increase in chronic conditions compared to the supportive group. Findings indicated that spousal loss may result in more psychological distress for those with supportive and ambivalent marital relationship. Yet, those with mostly negative accounts of their marriage may experience worsened physical health, albeit no increase in psychological distress. Understanding different benefits and challenges facing older individuals after a positive or negative marriage may help direct support and interventions efforts toward older couples during marriage and in widowhood.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Female; Humans; Marriage; Prospective Studies; Retirement; Widowhood
PubMed: 33511917
DOI: 10.1177/0164027521989083 -
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2021The negative impacts of spousal bereavement on the emotional health of the elderly (e.g., depression and anxiety) have been revealed. However, whether widowhood impairs...
BACKGROUND
The negative impacts of spousal bereavement on the emotional health of the elderly (e.g., depression and anxiety) have been revealed. However, whether widowhood impairs emotional cognition among the elderly is less known. The purpose of this study is to reveal the emotional cognitive deficits among the widowed elderly.
METHODS
In this study, we recruited 44 widowed elderly (WE) and 44 elder couples (non-widowed elderly, NWE) and examined their emotional cognition including attention and visual working memory, which were measured by the visual search task and delayed-match-to-sample task, respectively. Three kinds of emotional faces (i.e., sad, angry, and happy) were adopted as the attentional or mnemonic targets.
RESULTS
It revealed that WE had a general deficit in search efficiency across emotional types, while they showed mnemonic deficits in negative faces but not positive faces. Furthermore, the modeling analysis revealed that the level of depression or state anxiety of the elderly moderated the effects of widowhood on the deficits of mnemonic processing, i.e., the deficits were only evident among WE with the high level of depression or state anxiety.
CONCLUSION
These findings reveal the attentional deficits in sad, angry, and happy faces and the mnemonic deficits in sad and angry faces among elderly who suffer from widowhood and point out the important role of emotional problems such as depression and state anxiety in modulating these emotional cognitive deficits.
PubMed: 35173602
DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.808885