Dataset Information

Spousal loss and cognitive function in later life: a 25-year follow-up in the AGES-Reykjavik study.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between loss of a life partner and the development of dementia and decline in cognitive function in later life. We used an Icelandic cohort of 4,370 participants in the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study who were living as married in 1978 (born in 1907-1935) and were either still married (unexposed cohort) or widowed (exposed cohort) at follow-up (in 2002-2006). We ascertained history of marital status and spouse's death by record linkage to the Registry of the Total Population, Statistics Iceland. The outcome measures were as follows: 1) dementia and mild cognitive impairment; and 2) memory, speed of processing, and executive function. During the observation period, 3,007 individuals remained married and 1,363 lost a spouse through death. We did not find any significant associations between loss of a spouse and our outcome variables, except that widowed women had poorer executive function (mean = -0.08) during the first 2 years after their husbands' deaths compared with still-married women (mean = 0.09). Our findings do not support the notion that the risk of dementia is increased following the loss of a spouse, yet women demonstrate a seemingly temporary decline in executive function following the death of a partner.

SUBMITTER: Vidarsdottir H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3939848 | biostudies-other | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Spousal loss and cognitive function in later life: a 25-year follow-up in the AGES-Reykjavik study.

Vidarsdottir Halldora H Fang Fang F Chang Milan M Aspelund Thor T Fall Katja K Jonsdottir Maria K MK Jonsson Palmi V PV Cotch Mary Frances MF Harris Tamara B TB Launer Lenore J LJ Gudnason Vilmundur V Valdimarsdottir Unnur U

American journal of epidemiology 20140119 6

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between loss of a life partner and the development of dementia and decline in cognitive function in later life. We used an Icelandic cohort of 4,370 participants in the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study who were living as married in 1978 (born in 1907-1935) and were either still married (unexposed cohort) or widowed (exposed cohort) at follow-up (in 2002-2006). We ascertained history of marital status and spouse's death ...[more]

PMID: 24444551

Similar Datasets

Project description:Bone mineral density (BMD) has been linked to mortality, but little is known about the independent contribution of each endosteal bone compartment and also the rate of bone loss to risk of mortality. We examined the relationships between (1) baseline trabecular and cortical volumetric BMD (vBMD) at the proximal femur, and (2) the rate of trabecular and cortical bone loss and all-cause mortality in older adults from the AGES-Reykjavik study. The analysis of trabecular and cortical vBMD and mortality was based on the baseline cohort of 4654 participants (aged ≥66 years) with a median follow-up of 9.4 years; the association between rate of bone loss and mortality was based on 2653 participants with bone loss data (median follow-up of 5.6 years). Analyses employed multivariable Cox-proportional models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with time-varying fracture status; trabecular and cortical variables were included together in all models. Adjusted for important confounders, Cox models showed that participants in the lowest quartile of trabecular vBMD had an increased risk of mortality compared to participants in other quartiles (HR = 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01 to 1.25); baseline cortical vBMD was not related to mortality (HR = 1.08; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.20). After adjustment for time-dependent fracture status, results were attenuated and not statistically significant. A faster loss (quartile 1 versus quartiles 2-4) in both trabecular and cortical bone was associated with higher mortality risk (HR = 1.37 and 1.33, respectively); these associations were independent of major potential confounders including time-dependent incident fractures (HR = 1.32 and 1.34, respectively). Overall, data suggest that faster bone losses over time in both the trabecular and cortical bone compartments are associated with mortality risk and that measurements of change in bone health may be more informative than single-point measurements in explaining mortality differences in older adults. © 2017 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Project description:The aim of this study was to monitor long-term changes in bone mineral density (BMD) after menopause and factors affecting BMD. The study population consisted of a random sample of 3222 women from the Kuopio Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention (OSTPRE) study, of which 62.1% were postmenopausal at the beginning of the study. This group of women underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements at the femoral neck every 5 years from baseline (in 1989) up to 25-year follow-up. They also responded to risk-factor questionnaires at 5-year intervals. During the 25-year follow-up, the baseline cohort decreased to 686 women. The women were divided into quartiles based on their baseline BMD. Self-reported hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and corticosteroid use were divided into ever users and never users. Morbidity was assessed as the total number of self-reported diseases and BMD-affecting diseases. The mean 25-year BMD change was found to be -10.1%, p < 0.001. Higher baseline BMD was associated with higher bone loss rate; the reduction in the highest quartile BMD was 11.1% and in the lowest quartile 7.4% (p = 0.0031). Lower baseline body mass index (BMI) and a greater increase in BMI were found to protect against postmenopausal bone loss (p < 0.001). The lowest bone loss quartile included 15.2% more HRT users than the highest bone loss quartile (p = 0.004). The number of diseases/bone-affecting diseases, use of vitamin D/calcium supplementation, use of corticosteroids, smoking or alcohol use had no statistical significance for annual bone loss rate. This study presents hitherto the longest (25-year) BMD follow-up in postmenopausal women. The linear femoral neck bone loss of 10% was less than previously assumed. A 5-year BMD change appeared to predict long-term bone loss in postmenopausal women. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Project description:BackgroundIt remains unclear how life course socioeconomic position (SEP) variations impact later smoking status. We aimed to investigate the associations using a novel methodology - a structured regression framework and to explore the potential underlying mechanisms.MethodsData were from an Australian national cohort (n = 1489). SEP was measured in childhood (aged 7-15 years), young- (aged 26-36 years) and mid-adulthood (aged 31-41 years), including highest parental occupation in childhood and self-occupation in young- and mid-adulthood. Smoking status was self-reported in mid-adulthood. Four smoking-related variables in childhood including exposure to parental smoking, smoking experimentation, self-rated importance to be a non-smoker and intention to smoke were tested as potential mediators. A structured life course modelling approach was used to select the best-fit life course model(s). The log multinomial model was used to estimate the smoking risk in mid-adulthood with never smokers as the excluded category.Results63.6% of participants were classified as stable non-manual occupation across the life course from childhood. The sensitive period and the accumulation model described the data equally as well as the saturated model. In the sensitive period model, compared to the non-manual group, those who had highest parental occupation of manual had a 21% lower risk of being former smokers and a 32% greater risk of being current smokers in mid-adulthood, and those who were occupied manually in mid-adulthood reported a 55% greater risk of being current smokers in mid-adulthood. In the accumulation model, compared to those who consistently reported non-manual occupations across the life course, those with manual occupations for longer had higher risk of being current smokers in mid-adulthood, with a 43% risk increase per time point in a manual occupation. Exposure to parental smoking and intention to smoke during childhood explained up to 40.2% of the excess risk of being current smokers in mid-adulthood associated with manual occupations in the sensitive period and the accumulation model.ConclusionsChildhood, young- and mid-adulthood are all important, but SEP in childhood and mid-adulthood may be of more importance in determining mid-adulthood smoking status. Exposure to parental smoking and intention to smoke in childhood seems to moderately mediate the associations.

Dataset Information

Spousal loss and cognitive function in later life: a 25-year follow-up in the AGES-Reykjavik study.

Publications

Spousal loss and cognitive function in later life: a 25-year follow-up in the AGES-Reykjavik study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets