Differences in life satisfaction among older community-dwelling Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites

Objectives: Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic/racial group of the older adult population in the United States, yet little is known about positive mental health in this group. We examined differences in life satisfaction between demographically matched groups of older Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites, and sought to identify specific factors associated with these differences

Methods: Participants included 126 community-dwelling English-speaking Hispanics aged 50 and older, and 126 age-, gender-, and education-matched non-Hispanic Whites. Participants completed standardized measures of life satisfaction and postulated correlates, including physical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning, as well as positive psychological traits and religiosity/spirituality.

Results: Hispanics reported greater life satisfaction than non-Hispanic Whites (p < 0.001). Ethnic groups were comparable on most postulated correlates of life satisfaction, except that Hispanics had lower levels of cognitive performance, and higher levels of daily spiritual experiences, private religious practices and compassion (ps < 0.001). Among these factors, spiritual experiences, religious practices, and compassion were significantly associated with life satisfaction in the overall sample. Multivariable analyses testing the influence of these three factors on the association between ethnicity and life satisfaction showed that higher spirituality among Hispanics accounted for ethnic differences in life satisfaction.

Conclusion: English-speaking Hispanics aged 50 and older appeared to be more satisfied with their lives than their non-Hispanic White counterparts, and these differences were primarily driven by higher spirituality among Hispanics. Future studies should examine positive mental health among various Hispanic subgroups, including Spanish speakers, as an important step toward development of culturally sensitive prevention and intervention programs aimed at promoting positive mental health.     

Physical activity and neural correlates of aging: a combined TMS/fMRI study

Aerobic exercise has been suggested to ameliorate aging-related decline in humans. Recently, evidence has indicated chronological aging is associated with decreases in measures of interhemispheric inhibition during unimanual movements, but that such decreases may be mitigated by long-term physical fitness. The present study investigated measures of ipsilateral (right) primary motor cortex activity during right-hand movements using functional magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Healthy, right-handed participant groups were comprised of 12 sedentary older adults, 12 physically active older adults, and 12 young adults. Active older adults and younger adults evidenced longer ipsilateral silent periods (iSP) and less positive BOLD of ipsilateral motor cortex (iM1) as compared to sedentary older adults. Across groups, duration of iSP from TMS was inversely correlated with BOLD activity in iM1 during unimanual movement. These findings suggest that increased physical activity may have a role in decreasing aging-related losses of interhemispheric inhibition.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Physical Activity on Neurocognitive Functioning Among HIV-Infected Adults

Higher levels of physical activity (PA) have been linked to better neurocognitive functioning in many populations. The current study examines the longitudinal association between PA and neurocognitive functioning among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected persons. Community-dwelling adults (N = 291) self-reported level of PA and completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery at two to four study visits (Mean follow-up time = 2.6 years). Participants were divided into three PA groups: “No PA” (no PA at any visit), “consistent PA” (PA at ≥50% of visits), and “inconsistent PA” (PA < 50% of visits). A mixed effect model, adjusting for significant covariates showed that all PA groups had statistically significant, yet modest, neurocognitive decline over time; and, the consistent PA group began with, and maintained, significantly better neurocognitive function compared to the other two PA groups. This effect was evident among both HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected persons, despite the fact that HIV-infected persons showed lower baseline neurocognitive function. PA is a modifiable lifestyle behavior that may help to protect against neurocognitive impairment regardless of HIV status, however, given the proportion of HIV-infected individuals who evidence neurocognitive difficulties, a focus on increasing PA seems warranted.     

Perceptual cues used by listeners to discriminate fluent from nonfluent narrative discourse

Background: Language fluency is a common diagnostic marker for discriminating among aphasia subtypes and improving clinical inference about site of lesion. Nevertheless, fluency remains a subjective construct that is vulnerable to a number of potential sources of variability, both between and within raters. Moreover, this variability is compounded by distinct neurological aetiologies that shape the characteristics of a narrative speech sample. Previous research on fluency has focused on characteristics of a particular patient population. Less is known about the ways that raters spontaneously weigh different perceptual cues when listening to narrative speech samples derived from a heterogeneous sample of brain-damaged adults.

Aim: We examined the weighted contribution of a series of perceptual predictors that influence listeners' judgements of language fluency among a diverse sample of speakers. Our goal was to sample a range of narrative speech representing most fluent (i.e., healthy controls) to potentially least nonfluent (i.e., left inferior frontal lobe stroke).

Methods & Procedures: Three raters blind to patient diagnosis made forced choice judgements of fluency (i.e., fluent or nonfluent) for 61 pseudorandomly presented narrative speech samples elicited by the BDAE Cookie Theft picture. Samples were collected from a range of clinical populations, including patients with frontal and temporal lobe pathologies and non-brain-damaged speakers. We conducted a logistic regression analysis in which the dependent measure was the majority judgement of fluency for each speech sample (i.e., fluent or non-fluent). The statistical model contained five predictors: speech rate, syllable type token ratio, speech productivity, audible struggle, and filler ratio.

Outcomes & Results: This statistical model fit the data well, discriminating group membership (i.e., fluent or nonfluent) with 95.1% accuracy. The best step of the regression model included the following predictors: speech rate, speech productivity, and audible struggle. Listeners were sensitive to different weightings of these predictors.

Conclusions: A small combination of perceptual variables can strongly discriminate whether a listener will assign a judgement of fluent versus nonfluent. We discuss implications for these findings and identify areas of potential future research towards further specifying the construct of fluency among adults with acquired speech and language disorders.     

Changes in Moderate Intensity Physical Activity Are Associated With Better Cognition in the Multilevel Intervention for Physical Activity in Retirement Communities (MIPARC) Study

ObjectiveThe authors investigated if the physical activity increases observed in the Multilevel Intervention for Physical Activity in Retirement Communities (MIPARC) improved cognitive functions in older adults. The authors also examined if within-person changes in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), as opposed to low-light and high-light physical activity, were related to cognitive improvements in the entire sample.MethodsThis was a cluster randomized control trial set in retirement communities in San Diego County, CA. A total of 307 older adults without a formal diagnosis of dementia (mean age: 83 years; age range: 67–100; standard deviation: 6.4 years; 72% women) were assigned to the physical activity (N = 151) or healthy education control (N = 156) groups. Interventions were led by study staff for the first 6 months and sustained by peer leaders for the next 6 months. Components included individual counseling and self-monitoring with pedometers, group education sessions, and printed materials. Measurements occurred at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Triaxial accelerometers measured physical activity for 1 week. The Trail Making Test (TMT) Parts A and B and a Symbol Search Test measured cognitive functions.ResultsThere were no significant differences in cognitive functions between the MIPARC intervention and control groups at 6 or 12 months. Within-person increases in MVPA, and not low-light or high-light physical activity, were associated with improvements in TMT Parts B, B-A, and Symbol Search scores in the entire sample.ConclusionFindings suggest that MVPA may have a stronger impact on cognitive functions than lower intensity physical activity within retirement community samples of highly educated older adults without dementia.     

Perceptual cues used by listeners to discriminate fluent from nonfluent narrative discourse

BACKGROUND: Language fluency is a common diagnostic marker for discriminating among aphasia subtypes and improving clinical inference about site of lesion. Nevertheless, fluency remains a subjective construct that is vulnerable to a number of potential sources of variability, both between and within raters. Moreover, this variability is compounded by distinct neurological aetiologies that shape the characteristics of a narrative speech sample. Previous research on fluency has focused on characteristics of a particular patient population. Less is known about the ways that raters spontaneously weigh different perceptual cues when listening to narrative speech samples derived from a heterogeneous sample of brain-damaged adults. AIM: We examined the weighted contribution of a series of perceptual predictors that influence listeners' judgements of language fluency among a diverse sample of speakers. Our goal was to sample a range of narrative speech representing most fluent (i.e., healthy controls) to potentially least nonfluent (i.e., left inferior frontal lobe stroke). METHODS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; PROCEDURES: Three raters blind to patient diagnosis made forced choice judgements of fluency (i.e., fluent or nonfluent) for 61 pseudorandomly presented narrative speech samples elicited by the BDAE Cookie Theft picture. Samples were collected from a range of clinical populations, including patients with frontal and temporal lobe pathologies and non-brain-damaged speakers. We conducted a logistic regression analysis in which the dependent measure was the majority judgement of fluency for each speech sample (i.e., fluent or non-fluent). The statistical model contained five predictors: speech rate, syllable type token ratio, speech productivity, audible struggle, and filler ratio. OUTCOMES #ENTITYSTARTX00026; RESULTS: This statistical model fit the data well, discriminating group membership (i.e., fluent or nonfluent) with 95.1% accuracy. The best step of the regression model included the following predictors: speech rate, speech productivity, and audible struggle. Listeners were sensitive to different weightings of these predictors. CONCLUSIONS: A small combination of perceptual variables can strongly discriminate whether a listener will assign a judgement of fluent versus nonfluent. We discuss implications for these findings and identify areas of potential future research towards further specifying the construct of fluency among adults with acquired speech and language disorders.