Theory and research on the general population suggest that parents’ marital relationship quality is associated with children’s emotional and behavioral functioning directly, as well as indirectly, by ...affecting parenting attitudes and behaviors. However, little has been done to investigate the potential connection among parent marital satisfaction, parenting styles, and outcomes for autistic children. Using longitudinal data collected from 188 couples parenting an autistic child, this study tested the time‐ordered indirect effect of parent marital satisfaction (assessed at Time 1) on the internalizing and externalizing symptoms (assessed at Time 3) of autistic children (originally aged 5–12 years) via parenting styles (assessed at Time 2) using actor–partner interdependence modeling extended to mediation. Results indicated that a lower level of marital satisfaction at Time 1 predicted impaired child outcomes at Time 3 via its impact on parenting style at Time 2. For both parents, lower marital satisfaction predicted more child externalizing symptoms via reports of more authoritarian parenting style. Lower marital satisfaction in mothers at Time 1 was also associated with higher levels of child internalizing symptoms at Time 3 via increased authoritarian parenting in mothers. No partner effects were found. A family‐wide approach that includes support for the parent marital relationship, which may have downstream effects on parenting, is important for promoting optimal emotional and behavioral health in autistic children.
Resumen
La teoría y las investigaciones sobre la población en general indican que la calidad de la relación conyugal de los padres está asociada con el funcionamiento conductual y emocional de los niños tanto directamente como indirectamente, ya que afecta las actitudes y las conductas de crianza. Sin embargo, se ha hecho poco para investigar la posible conexión entre la satisfacción conyugal de los padres, los estilos de crianza y las consecuencias en los niños autistas. Utilizando datos longitudinales recogidos de 188 parejas que criaban a un niño autista, este estudio evaluó el efecto indirecto según el orden del tiempo de la satisfacción conyugal de los padres (evaluada en el primer intervalo) en las síntomas de exteriorización y de interiorización (evaluados en el tercer intervalo) de los niños autistas (inicialmente de entre 5 y 12 años) mediante los estilos de crianza (evaluados en el segundo intervalo) utilizando un modelo de interdependencia actor‐pareja extendido a la mediación. Los resultados indicaron que un nivel más bajo de satisfacción conyugal en el primer intervalo predijo consecuencias disfuncionales en los niños en el tercer intervalo mediante su efecto en el estilo de crianza en el segundo intervalo. Para ambos padres, una menor satisfacción conyugal predijo más síntomas de exteriorización de los niños mediante informes de un estilo de crianza más autoritario. Una menor satisfacción conyugal en las madres en el primer intervalo también estuvo asociada con niveles más altos de síntomas de interiorización en los niños en el tercer intervalo mediante una mayor crianza autoritaria en las madres. No se encontraron efectos de la pareja. Con el fin de promover una salud conductual y emocional óptima en los niños autistas, es importante implementar un método para toda la familia que incluya apoyo para la relación conyugal de los padres, la cual puede tener efectos posteriores en la crianza.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Adults with Down syndrome (DS) experience high risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but there is variability in the timing of transition from a cognitively stable state to prodromal AD and dementia. ...The present study examined the association between a modifiable lifestyle factor, employment complexity, and cognitive decline across two time points in adults with DS. Employment complexity, defined as the degree of problem-solving or critical thinking required for employment activities, was operationalized using the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, a system which classifies occupations based on three categories: Data, People, and Things. Eighty-seven adults with DS (M = 36.28 years, SD = 6.90 years) were included in analyses. Partial correlations revealed that lower employment complexity involving People and Things were associated with increased dementia symptoms. Lower employment complexity involving Things was also associated with memory decline. These findings have implications for vocational programs focused on job training and placement for adults with DS.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•Adults with Down syndrome have a high risk for Alzheimer's disease•There is variability in the age of Alzheimer’s disease onset in Down syndrome.•Actigraph accelerometers assessed daytime sedentary ...behavior and physical activity.•Sedentary behavior and activity related to cognitive functioning and white matter.•Physical activity intervention may help promote healthy aging in Down syndrome.
Adults with Down syndrome (DS) are at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Despite sharing trisomy 21, however, there is variability in the age of disease onset. This variability may mean that other factors, such as lifestyle, influence cognitive aging and disease timing. The present study assessed the association between everyday life physical activity using an actigraph accelerometer and cognitive functioning and early Alzheimer's disease pathology via positron emission tomography amyloid-β and tau and diffusion tension imaging measures of white matter integrity in 61 non-demented adults with DS. Percent time in sedentary behavior and in moderate-to-vigorous activity were associated (negatively and positively, respectively) with cognitive functioning (r = -.472 to .572, p < 0.05). Neither sedentary behavior nor moderate-to-vigorous activity were associated with amyloid-β or tau, but both were associated with white matter integrity in the superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculus (Fractional Anisotropy: r = -.397 to -.419, p < 0.05; Mean Diffusivity: r = .400, p < 0.05). Longitudinal studies are needed to determine if physical activity promotes healthy aging in DS.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Introduction
Drawing on the amyloid/tau/neurodegeneration (ATN) model, the study examined whether the tau positron emission tomography (PET) biomarker 18FAV‐1451 was associated with episodic memory ...problems beyond what was predicted by the amyloid beta (Aβ) PET in Down syndrome (DS).
Methods
Data from 123 non‐demented adults with DS (M = 47 years, standard deviation = 6.34) were analyzed. The Cued Recall Test assessed episodic memory. Tau PET standardized update value ratio (SUVR) was assessed across Braak regions as continuous and binary (high tau TH vs. low tau TL) variable. Global PET Aβ SUVR was assessed as binary variable (Aβ– vs. Aβ+).
Results
In models adjusting for controls, tau SUVR was negatively associated with episodic memory performance in the Aβ+ but not Aβ– group. The Aβ+/TH group evidenced significantly worse episodic memory than the Aβ+/TL group.
Discussion
Similar to late‐onset and autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (AD), high tau was an indicator of early prodromal AD in DS.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Introduction
There is a critical need to identify measures of cognitive functioning sensitive to early Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology in Down syndrome to advance clinical trial research in ...this at‐risk population. The objective of the study was to longitudinally track performance on cognitive measures in relation to neocortical and striatal amyloid beta (Aβ) in non‐demented Down syndrome.
Methods
The study included 118 non‐demented adults with Down syndrome who participated in two to five points of data collection, spanning 1.5 to 8 years. Episodic memory, visual attention and executive functioning, and motor planning and coordination were assessed. Aβ was measured via C‐11 Pittsburgh Compound‐B (PiB) PET.
Results
PiB was associated with level and rate of decline in cognitive performance in episodic memory, visual attention, executive functioning, and visuospatial ability in models controlling for chronological age.
Discussion
The Cued Recall Test emerged as a promising indicator of transition from preclinical to prodromal AD.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Adults with Down syndrome have an increased risk of aging‐related physical and mental health conditions and experience them at an earlier age than the general population. There is a need to ...investigate modifiable lifestyle factors that may reduce risk for these conditions. The present study investigated the associations between physical activity (i.e., sedentary behavior and moderate‐to‐vigorous activity) assessed via accelerometer across 7 days and caregiver‐reported physical and mental health of 66 nondemented middle‐aged adults with Down syndrome aged 25–55 years (52% female). Regression analyses indicated that more time spent in moderate intensity physical activity was associated with less risk of sleep apnea (β = −0.031, p = 0.004) and endocrine/metabolic conditions (β = −0.046, p = 0.009), and lower total number of physical health conditions (β = −0.110, p = 0.016) and anxiety disorders (β = −0.021, p = 0.049) after controlling for relevant sociodemographics. After also adjusting for body‐mass‐index (BMI), the association between time spent in moderate intensity physical activity and sleep apnea (β = −0.035, p = 0.002), endocrine/metabolic conditions (β = −0.033, p = 0.045) and total physical health (β = −0.091, p = 0.026) remained significant. Unexpectedly, time spent in sedentary behavior was negatively associated with musculoskeletal conditions (β = −0.017, p = 0.044). Findings indicate important associations between physical activity in everyday life and the physical and mental health of adults with Down syndrome. Social policies and interventions aimed at reducing time spent sitting around (i.e., sedentary behavior) and encouraging moderate‐to‐vigorous activity may be a low‐burden and low‐cost mechanism for fostering healthy physical and mental aging in the Down syndrome population.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Within two-parent households, the parent-couple subsystem (marital or romantic partner relationship) is posited to shape the mental health of both parents and children. Autistic children and their ...parents have an elevated-risk for mental health problems. The present study longitudinally examined the mediating role of the quality of the parent-couple relationship in time-ordered pathways between changes in the mental health problems of autistic children and in parent depression symptoms at a within-family level.
Using four time points of data collected on 188 families of autistic children (aged 5-12 years) across 3 years, the bidirectional associations between parent-couple relationship satisfaction, parent depressive symptoms, and child internalizing and externalizing mental health problems were investigated. Two multi-group (grouped by parent gender) complete longitudinal mediation models in structural equation modeling using Mplus software were conducted.
Parent-couple relationship satisfaction mediated: (1) the association between higher parent depressive symptoms and higher child internalizing mental health problems 12 months later for both mothers and fathers, and (2) the association between higher child externalizing mental health problems and higher father depression symptoms 12 months later. Father depression symptoms mediated a pathway from lower parent-couple satisfaction to higher child internalizing mental health problems 12 months later, and mother depression symptoms mediated the pathway from higher child externalizing mental health problems to lower parent-couple satisfaction 12 months later.
Findings highlight the bidirectional and complex ways that parent and child mental health and the quality of the parent-couple relationship are entwined across time in families of autistic children. Family-wide interventions that address the needs of multiple family members and family systems are best suited to improve the mental health of parents and autistic children.
Introduction
Adults with Down syndrome (DS) are predisposed to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the relationship between cognition and glucose metabolism in this population has yet to be evaluated.
...Methods
Adults with DS (N = 90; mean age standard deviation = 38.0 8.30 years) underwent C‐11Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) and F‐18fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography scans. Associations among amyloid beta (Aβ), FDG, and measures of cognition were explored. Interregional FDG metabolic connectivity was assessed to compare cognitively stable DS and mild cognitive impairment/AD (MCI‐DS/AD).
Results
Negative associations between Aβ and FDG were evident in regions affected in sporadic AD. A positive association was observed in the putamen, which is the brain region showing the earliest increases in Aβ deposition. Both Aβ and FDG were associated with measures of cognition, and metabolic connectivity distinguished cases of MCI‐DS/AD from cognitively stable DS.
Discussion
Associations among Aβ, FDG, and cognition reveal that neurodegeneration in DS resembles sporadic AD with the exception of the putamen, highlighting the usefulness of FDG in monitoring neurodegeneration in DS.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Higher engagement in moderate-intensity physical activity (PA) is related to better cognitive functioning in neurotypical adults; however, little is known about the effect of PA on cognitive aging in ...adults with Down syndrome (DS). Individuals with DS have three copies of chromosome 21, which includes the gene involved in the production of the amyloid precursor protein, resulting in an increased risk for an earlier onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The goal of this study was to understand the relationship between engagement in moderate PA, memory, and hippocampal volume in adults with DS. Adults with DS participated in an ancillary Lifestyle study linked to the Alzheimer's Biomarkers Consortium for DS (ABC- DS;
= 71). A within-sample z-score memory composite was created from performance on the Cued Recall Test (CRT) and the Rivermead Picture Recognition Test. Participants wore a wrist-worn accelerometer (GT9X) to measure PA. Variables of interest included the average percentage of time spent in moderate PA and average daily steps. Structural MRI data were acquired within 18 months of actigraphy/cognitive data collection for a subset of participants (
= 54). Hippocampal volume was extracted using Freesurfer v5.3. Associations between moderate PA engagement, memory, and hippocampal volume were evaluated with hierarchical linear regressions controlling for relevant covariates age, body mass index, intellectual disability level, sex, and intracranial volume. Participants were 37.77 years old (SD = 8.21) and were 55.6% female. They spent 11.1% of their time engaged in moderate PA (SD = 7.5%) and took an average of 12,096.51 daily steps (SD = 4,315.66). After controlling for relevant covariates, higher memory composite score was associated with greater moderate PA engagement (
= 0.232,
= 0.027) and more daily steps (
= 0.209,
= 0.037). In a subset of participants, after controlling for relevant covariates, PA variables were not significantly associated with the hippocampal volume (all
-values ≥ 0.42). Greater hippocampal volume was associated with higher memory composite score after controlling for relevant covariates (
= 0.316,
= 0.017). More PA engagement was related to better memory function in adults with DS. While greater hippocampal volume was related to better memory performance, it was not associated with PA. Greater PA engagement may be a promising lifestyle behavior to preserve memory in adults with DS.
Adults with Down syndrome are at a high risk for disordered sleep. These sleep problems could have marked effects on aging and Alzheimer's disease, potentially altering white matter integrity. This ...study examined the associations between disordered sleep assessed via an actigraph accelerometer worn on 7 consecutive nights, presence of diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, and diffusion tensor imaging indices of white matter integrity in 29 non-demented adults with Down Syndrome (48% female, aged 33-54 years). Average total sleep time was associated with lower mean diffusivity in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (
= -0.398,
= 0.040). Average sleep efficiency, length of awakenings, and movement index were related to fractional anisotropy in the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (
= -0.614 to 0.387,
≤ 0.050). Diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea was associated with fractional anisotropy in the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (
= -0.373,
= 0.050). Findings suggest that more disrupted sleep is associated with lower white matter integrity in the major association tracts in middle-aged adults with Down syndrome. Longitudinal work is needed to confirm the directionally of associations. Sleep interventions could be an important component for promoting optimal brain aging in the Down syndrome population.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
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