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Jawinski P, Markett S, Drewelies J, Düzel S, Demuth I, Steinhagen-Thiessen E, Wagner GG, Gerstorf D, Lindenberger U, Gaser C, Kühn S. Linking Brain Age Gap to Mental and Physical Health in the Berlin Aging Study II. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:791222. [PMID: 35936763 PMCID: PMC9355695 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.791222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
From a biological perspective, humans differ in the speed they age, and this may manifest in both mental and physical health disparities. The discrepancy between an individual's biological and chronological age of the brain ("brain age gap") can be assessed by applying machine learning techniques to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data. Here, we examined the links between brain age gap and a broad range of cognitive, affective, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and physical health variables in up to 335 adults of the Berlin Aging Study II. Brain age gap was assessed using a validated prediction model that we previously trained on MRI scans of 32,634 UK Biobank individuals. Our statistical analyses revealed overall stronger evidence for a link between higher brain age gap and less favorable health characteristics than expected under the null hypothesis of no effect, with 80% of the tested associations showing hypothesis-consistent effect directions and 23% reaching nominal significance. The most compelling support was observed for a cluster covering both cognitive performance variables (episodic memory, working memory, fluid intelligence, digit symbol substitution test) and socioeconomic variables (years of education and household income). Furthermore, we observed higher brain age gap to be associated with heavy episodic drinking, higher blood pressure, and higher blood glucose. In sum, our results point toward multifaceted links between brain age gap and human health. Understanding differences in biological brain aging may therefore have broad implications for future informed interventions to preserve mental and physical health in old age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Jawinski
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sebastian Markett
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Johanna Drewelies
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sandra Düzel
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ilja Demuth
- Division of Lipid Metabolism, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BCRT-Berlin Institute of Health Center for Regenerative Therapies, Berlin, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Steinhagen-Thiessen
- Division of Lipid Metabolism, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gert G Wagner
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), Berlin, Germany.,Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Denis Gerstorf
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulman Lindenberger
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Gaser
- Structural Brain Mapping Group, Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Simone Kühn
- Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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Chamberlain JD, Sprague BN, Ross LA. Age- and time-varying associations between subjective health and episodic memory in older adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2021; 77:673-682. [PMID: 34329436 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbab142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE There are positive correlations between subjective health reports and episodic memory performance in older adults. However, previous studies have not evaluated the scope of such complex relationships, nor the potentially nonlinear magnitude of these correlations across age and time. We employed multiple subjective heath indices to evaluate the scope and nonlinearity of such relationships with memory performance. METHOD We utilized a cross-sectional (N = 2,783 at baseline) and longitudinal sample (N = 311) of healthy older adults aged 65 and older from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study. We used time-varying effects modeling (TVEM) to assess potential differences in relationship magnitudes between memory and three subjective health subscales (general health, role physical function, and physical function, from the Short Form Health Survey; SF-36) across five years. RESULTS Episodic memory positively predicted all subjective health measures cross-sectionally and longitudinally in our sample. TVEM revealed the relationships between all subjective health measures and episodic memory were stable across age. While role physical function and physical function maintained stable relationships with episodic memory across time, general health became increasingly coupled with memory five years following baseline. DISCUSSION Together, our findings highlight stable and varying relationships between episodic memory and multiple subjective health indicators across metrics of time in older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan D Chamberlain
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Briana N Sprague
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Lesley A Ross
- Department of Psychology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
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Kozik P, Drewelies J, Düzel S, Demuth I, Steinhagen-Thiessen E, Gerstorf D, Hoppmann CA. Future time perspective: Dimensions of opportunities, life, and time are differentially associated with physical health, cognitive functioning, and well-being in old age. Aging Ment Health 2020; 24:1487-1495. [PMID: 30966784 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2019.1594159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Objective: The present study investigated the multidimensional nature of the future time perspective scale and dimension-specific associations with measures of physical health, cognitive functioning, and well-being.Method: Using data from the Berlin Aging Study II (N = 1,038, M age = 71 years, range = 61-88 years, 52% women), different models of future time perspective were compared using confirmatory factor analyses, and the best-fitting model was then used to explore dimension-specific associations with physical health, cognitive functioning, and well-being measures.Results: A model of future time perspective composed of a focus on opportunities, a focus on life, and a focus on time was found to have the best fit. An extended focus on opportunities was associated with stronger grip strength, more accurate memory, as well as higher life satisfaction and positive affect. An extended focus on time was associated with less accurate memory, lower negative affect, and greater life satisfaction. A focus on life was unrelated to study measures.Discussion: Findings suggest that future time perspective is multidimensional and that these dimensions are differentially associated with physical health, cognitive functioning, and well-being in old age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Kozik
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Sandra Düzel
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ilja Demuth
- Charite - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Denis Gerstorf
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christiane A Hoppmann
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Abstract
The articles in the present volume enhance the understanding of the role of perceived time in human development. Together, they point to the multifaceted nature of perceived future time and the associations different aspects of time have with goals, preferences, and well-being. Specifically, the articles showcase antecedents and consequences of perceived time left in life, consider ways to optimize measurement of future time horizons, and advance novel questions about the neural correlates of domain-specific aspects of subjective time. Findings are considered within the framework of socioemotional selectivity theory. Future directions for research on time horizons are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsiao-Wen Liao
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford CA, USA
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