The role of illness burden in theory of mind performance among older adults

Fear of COVID-19 is associated with trust, subjective numeracy, and differentially with loneliness in older versus younger adults

Introduction

The emotional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting public health emergency are only beginning to be understood.

Methods

We assessed the contributions of emotional and cognitive factors and age-related comorbidities to greater COVID-19 fear in a community dwelling sample of 142 younger (M_age = 19.63, SD_age = 2.59) and 157 older (M_age = 72.01, SD_age = 7.06) adults, between July 2020 and July 2021. We hypothesized that individuals with increased loneliness, depression, and/or decreased subjective numeracy (SN) and interpersonal trust would experience more COVID-19 fear. We also predicted that females and older adults would experience more COVID-19 fear given that age-related comorbidities are associated with increased illness severity.

Results

Results showed that the extent of loneliness in older adults was more strongly related to fear of COVID-19 than it was in younger adults (β = 0.197, p = 0.016), and poorer SN was associated with increased COVID-19 fear in both age groups (β = -0.138, p = 0.016). Further, higher interpersonal mistrust was associated with increased COVID-19 fear (β = 0.136, p = 0.039), as was identifying as female (β = 0.137, p = 0.013).

Discussion

Given that self-described poor numeracy was a marker for greater COVID-19 fear, investigators and policy makers might consider mitigation opportunities addressing data literacy requirements imposed by the media. Further, outreach to mitigate loneliness, particularly of the elderly, might effectively lessen the negative psychological impact of this ongoing public health crisis.

Association between age at menarche and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women

BACKGROUND

Age at menarche (AAM) directly affects female estrogen levels, which play a vital role in bone metabolism. The exact relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and AAM remains controversial. Thus, this study aimed to determine the association between AAM and lumbar spine (LS) BMD in postmenopausal women.

METHODS

Our data were based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2018. AAM was divided into three categories including ≤ 12, 13-15, and ≥ 16 years, and the ≤ 12 years old category was used as the reference group. To examine the association between AAM and LS BMD, we used three weighted linear regression models, Model 1 (without adjustment), Model 2 (with adjustment for age, race, and body mass index [BMI]), and Model 3 (with adjustment for all covariates).

RESULTS

This study included 1195 postmenopausal women aged 40-59 years. In the unadjusted model, a menarche age of ≥ 16 years compared with a menarche age of ≤ 12 years was associated with lower LS BMD (β = - 0.083, 95% CI - 0.117, - 0.048, P < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, there was still a negative correlation in model 2 (β = - 0.078, 95% CI - 0.113, - 0.042, P < 0.001) and model 3 (β = - 0.065, 95% CI - 0.096, - 0.033, P < 0.001). Moreover, this significant relationship persisted after excluding participants who used female hormones (β = - 0.053, 95% CI - 0.089, - 0.016, P = 0.006).

CONCLUSION

Our study found that postmenopausal women with a menarche age of ≥ 16 years had significantly lower LS BMD than that had by those with a menarche age of ≤ 12 years. As a result of this study, postmenopausal women with a late menarche age may have a higher risk of lumbar osteoporotic fractures and need better bone health care.

Theory-of-mind abilities in older patients with common mental disorders - a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

Theory-of-mind (ToM) abilities are a basic competence for social interactions and relationships. Numerous findings demonstrate ToM deficits in old age, but such findings are missing in clinical samples of older adults.

METHOD

In the present study, patients treated in two clinics for common mental disorders (N = 150, distributed among the age groups 40-54, 55-69 and ≥70) were compared with a sample of people of the same age without mental disorders. The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) was used, in which the task is to detect mental states in the eyes, which are presented in 36 pictures.

RESULTS

The two groups differed significantly from each other: the clinical samples achieved worse results than the nonclinical samples, and the older samples achieved worse results than the younger samples. In the multiple regression analysis significant beta-weights were found for executive functions, physical diseases (especially vascular diseases, in the clinical sample) and higher education.

CONCLUSION

Older patients show clinically significant deficits in ToM abilities, which should be taken into account in interventions promoting ToM abilities.

Anxiety symptoms and theory of mind in older and younger adults: curvilinearity moderated by age group

OBJECTIVES

Theory of mind (ToM), the ability to reason about mental states, declines in later life. While anxiety symptoms may predict ToM abilities, the nature of associations requires more elucidation. Further, it is unknown whether age group moderates associational patterns. We examined associations between anxiety symptoms (linear and curvilinear) and cognitive ToM (C-ToM) and affective ToM (A-ToM); and moderation by age group (older vs. younger adults).

METHODS

In a sample of healthy younger (n = 90, M_age = 20.17 years) and older adults (n = 87, M_age = 71.52), we used hierarchical regressions with polynomial and interaction terms to assess the association between anxiety symptoms and ToM in younger and older adults.

RESULTS

Anxiety symptoms were associated with C-ToM but not A-ToM. Age group interacted linearly with anxiety (β = -1.64, p = .02), and with anxiety's quadratic polynomial (β = .84, p = .04). The inverted-U shaped association in younger adults (highest C-ToM at moderate anxiety) contrasted with older adults' linear decline in C-ToM with increasing anxiety.

CONCLUSION

We highlight the importance of anxiety symptoms for predicting ToM, and clarify that associations vary by age. Elucidating associations may be critical to developing interventions that improve social wellbeing.

[Mental illness in elderly patients - Empirical results on the theory of secondary structural deficits]

Mental illness in elderly patients - Empirical results on the theory of secondary structural deficits Objectives: The theory of secondary structural deficits, which attributes structural deficits to age-related changes, is introduced. The following study aims at testing some elements of the theory (changes of theory of mind, ability to mentalize). Methods: Patients (N = 150, age 40-80 years) of a psychosomatic hospital participated in the study. Structural deficits were measured using the Reading-Mind-in-the-Eyes-Test (Baron-Cohen et al. 2001) and the Mentalization Questionnaire (MZQ, Hausberg et al. 2012). Influences of age as well as physical disease, trauma related stress and anxiety/depression on those structural deficits were examined. Results: Trauma related stress and physical disease (especially vascular disease) were shown to have the most associations to the structural dimensions. This influence increases with increasing age. Conclusions: The results confirm the assumptions of the presented theory in selected variables. Conclusions for modifications in geriatric psychotherapy can be derived.

Empathy and Theory of Mind in Alzheimer's Disease: A Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

A large literature now shows that Alzheimer's disease (AD) disrupts a number of social cognitive abilities, including social perceptual function and theory of mind (ToM). However, less well understood is how the specific subcomponents of ToM as well as both the broader and specific subcomponents of empathic processing are affected.

METHOD

The current study provides the first meta-analytic review of AD that focuses on both empathy and ToM as broad constructs, as well as their overlapping (cognitive empathy and affective ToM) and distinct (affective empathy and cognitive ToM) subcomponents.

RESULTS

Aggregated across 31 studies, the results revealed that, relative to controls, AD is associated with large-sized deficits in both cognitive ToM (g = 1.09) and affective ToM/cognitive empathy (g = 0.76). However, no statistical differences were found between the AD participants and controls on affective empathic abilities (g = 0.36).

CONCLUSIONS

These data point to a potentially important disconnect between core aspects of social cognitive processing in people with AD. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Cognitive and Affective Theory of Mind in Healthy Aging

BACKGROUND

Previous studies on the effect of healthy aging on Theory of Mind (ToM) have produced mixed results. A possible explanation may be that different ToM components and types of inference have not systematically been considered. This study examined the effect of aging on ToM by assessing both first and second order cognitive and affective components within a single task.

METHODS

We compared performance of young (M = 18.3y) and older adults (M = 61.0y) on the Yoni task. This task allows for a within-subject assessment of both first and second order cognitive and affective ToM.

RESULTS

We observed that older adults had longer reaction times than young adults across cognitive and affective first order items. For second order items, this age difference was larger for affective than cognitive items. Results showed no indications that these findings could be explained by age differences in speed/accuracy trade-offs.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that decision processes underlying ToM are slower in older adults on both first and second order inferences, but that age differences in these processes between cognitive and affective ToM are selective to second order inferences. We propose that the observed age differences may be associated with cortical and mental changes that occur with aging.