Background: Lifetime number of pregnancies (LTP) and age at first pregnancy (AFP) may contribute to women's long-term weight gain, but current evidence is limited to cross-sectional studies with ...single time-point assessments of weight and adiposity. Here, we investigated associations of LTP and AFP with weight, waist circumference (WC), and body fat (BF) assessed longitudinally from mid-adulthood to midlife. Methods: Among 1054 women enrolled during a pregnancy in the Project Viva cohort, participants reported AFP at the 18-y follow-up study visit. If this information was missing and women were nulliparous at study enrollment, we considered the age at delivery of the index pregnancy as AFP (<23, 23-29, 30-34 ref, 35-39, >40 y). LTP were reported at the 18-y visit (1, 2 ref, 3, >4). Outcomes were repeated measures of postpartum weight (6 mo, 3, 7, 12, 18 y), WC (3, 7, 12, 18 y), and BF (kg and %, 7, 12, 18 y). We used linear mixedeffects models adjusted for age at outcome assessment, race/ethnicity, education, household income, pre-pregnancy body mass index, and AFP (only models for LTP). Results: Mean age at enrollment was 32.3 y (SD 4.7); 46% had their first pregnancy at 30-34 y, and 50% had 2 pregnancies. Younger AFP was associated with higher average weight through follow-up. For example, compared to AFP 30-34 y, women aged <23 y AFP had 2.6 (95% CI: 0.3, 4.9) kg higher weight across 18 y postpartum. Similarly, those 23-29 y AFP had 1.9 (0.6, 3.2) kg higher weight than the reference across the same timeframe. Results were similar for WC and BF. We observed a J-shaped association between LTP and adiposity. Women with >4 pregnancies (vs. 2) had 4.9 (1.2, 8.7) kg higher weight, 5.2 (1.7, 8.7) cm higher WC, and 4.4 kg and 3.2% higher BF across follow-up. Women with 1 pregnancy (vs. 2) had higher BF (3.0 kg and 1.9%). Conclusions: Earlier age at first pregnancy and having had 1 or >4 pregnancies are associated with higher adiposity across midlife.
Adults often experience financial stress. Managing financial stress among adults is a broad-based problem that impedes the management of family and social relationships. Financial stress is defined ...as the uncomfortable feeling of not being able to satisfy financial obligations and afford necessities. This study is aimed at describing the relationship between financial stress and the age of the participants, and also exploring the effect of financial stress on family and social relationships among adults in the state of Kerala. Three age categories were distinguished, broadly described as the young (18 to 35), the middle-aged (36 to 55), and the older (56 and older). Data have been gathered from 345 adults in Kerala using a convenience sampling method. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise survey participants and compared using chi-square tests across the age groups. To assess the significant difference between financial stress and age, analysis of variance was used as appropriate. A general linear model of multivariate tests was used to assess the effects of financial stress on family and social relationships among the different categories of adults. The results have shown that there is a significant difference between age and financial stress among adults. It also inferred that the effect of financial stress differed statistically significantly depending on the age group of the participants. The paper provides a greater understanding of financial stress and its relationships with stages of life among adults. Finally, the research revealed that financial stress has both direct and indirect effects on adulthood life at various stages.
Abstract
Introduction
Functional limitations become increasingly common and debilitating as individuals age, potentially impacting several facets of well-being. As such, it is important to understand ...malleable factors that may potentially impact functional limitation outcomes. Both sleep and perceived control have been linked to the development of functional limitation. The current study sought to clarify the unique contributions of both sleep quality and perceived control to functional limitation status in middle-aged and older adults.
Methods
Data from the second wave of the Midlife in the United States study were used for the current study. Participants included 527 participants (59.9% female, Mage=59.83 years, SD=9.75 years) who completed measures of functional limitation levels (Functional Status Questionnaire), subjective sleep quality (Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index), and perceived control (MIDI Sense of Control Scales). A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine sleep quality and perceived control as predictors in a unique model for predicting functional limitation. Demographic variables of age, gender, and race were used as covariates in study analyses.
Results
The overall model predicted 19.0% of the variance in functional limitation levels. Sleep quality was significantly associated with self-reported functional limitation (β=-.27, p<.001) over and above perceived control (β=.20, p<.001). Specifically, findings indicate that worse sleep quality is associated with increased functional limitation, while higher levels of perceived control are associated with lower levels of functional limitation.
Conclusion
Though perceived control is known to be associated with functional limitation status, the present study suggests a unique effect of sleep quality on functional limitation even after accounting for perceived control. Due to the potential for negative effects of functional limitation in middle-aged to older adults, it is important to identify and target constructs for research and intervention related to the development of these limitations. Care models for individuals who report experiencing functional limitations may benefit from targeting sleep health and control beliefs in intervention and assessment.
Support (if any):
Abstract
Introduction
Sleep health, a construct introduced to characterize the multidimensional attributes of sleep, has been explored in a variety of populations; however has not been adequately ...examined for middle-aged and older adults. As attributes of sleep may change with age, the dimensional structure of sleep health may differ in this population. This study aimed to validate a composite measure of sleep health among middle-aged and older adults using data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS).
Methods
Data from the 2014 Core survey of the HRS was used to create a composite measure of Sleep Health including sleep efficiency, duration, timing, satisfaction, and alertness. We standardized and averaged the original variables before transforming to T scores. Sleep Health T scores (ranging 0-100, higher scores indicating better sleep health) were examined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA; CFA).
Results
Our sample included 6,095 adults with mean age of 68 years (SD=10.1; range 50-99 years). The majority were female (59.7%), white (77%), with high school education (53.9%). Sleep Health T scores ranged from 27-61 (mean=50; SD=6.7). EFA identified one factor. Timing was removed due to low factor loading (<0.4). The revised four-dimension composite Sleep Health measure had acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s alpha 0.6). CFA showed a well-adjusted model (REMSA=0.097; NFI=0.964; RMR=0.035; GFI=0.990; AGFI=0.951).
Conclusion
These results suggest that the composite measure was valid for assessing sleep health among middle-aged and older adults. Limitations include the use of secondary data, as sleep health dimensions were based on variables not created specifically for our research question. Future research should further examine the role of sleep timing in overall sleep health among middle-aged and older adults.
Support
This study was supported by the University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) funded by the National Institutes of Health (Lorenz, PI).
Abstract
Introduction
This cross-sectional study evaluated a novel nasal airway stent (NAS) in the form of a single-use, disposable device (naśtent® classic, Seven Dreamers Laboratories, Inc., Tokyo, ...Japan), which represents a significant advancement in NAS technology for the treatment of OSA.
Methods
1353 individuals whom were interested in NAS treatment for their snoring and/or OSA were enrolled in this study conducted in different districts in Tokyo, Japan from 8/21/2015 to 3/7/2016. A total of 1335 participants with complete data were included in the final dataset. Collected data included demographic features, self-reported sleep and OSA characteristics, anatomic traits, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) scores, and NAS tolerance.
Results
The majority of the participants were middle-aged men (91.5% male, 45±10.8 years) with normal BMI (24.5±5.7). Self-reported sleep was 9-11 hours (0.1%), 7-9 hours (8.2%), 5-7 hours (66.7%), 3-5 hours (22%), 1-3 hours (1.2%), and unreported (1.9%). Their mean Epworth Sleepiness Scale score was 9±5.56, and their peak Mallampati and tonsillar grading scores were 2/4 and 3/5, respectively. Of the participants, 87.4% were aware of possible OSA either by snoring or by prior diagnosis of OSA, and their reasons for desiring use of NAS therapy presented in a similar ratio. Over 80% of the participants had never been treated for their diagnosis of OSA; for those with current or prior treatment for their OSA, 62.9% reported PAP as their primary therapy, followed by oral appliances (25.7%), surgery (0.5%), and other therapies (10.8%). On a scale of 1 to 5 where 5 indicated good tolerance to the NAS, the mean scores were 4±1.3 for easy of insertion and 4±1.2 for convenience of use.
Conclusion
This large, cross-sectional study indicated that the majority of individuals seeking a novel NAS treatment for their snoring and/or OSA in Tokyo, Japan were middle-aged men with 5-7 hours of self-reported sleep whom had some daytime sleepiness, displayed signs of mild anatomic upper airway narrowing, had not been treated for their OSA, and whom felt that the NAS was easy and convenient to use.
Support
Seven Dreamers Laboratories, Inc. and WSS ISRTP
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