Health and happiness among community-dwelling older adults in Domkhar valley, Ladakh, India

The impact of physical activity and group discussion on happiness in postmenopausal women: A randomized trial

Menopause is a physiological phenomenon, which in some cases may lead to physical and psychological complications. These complications degrade happiness and quality of life. The authors conducted the current study to determine the impact of physical activity (PA) and group discussion (GD) on happiness in postmenopausal women. For this clinical trial with a factorial design, 160 eligible menopausal women in the 45-55 age range were randomly assigned to four groups of PA, GD and GD+PA), and control group. The four groups completed the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. The happiness score in the PA, GD and GD+PA groups was significantly higher immediately and two months after the intervention than that of the control group. PA and GD can increase happiness in postmenopausal women who reside in Kermanshah-Iran. Using PA and GD in postmenopausal women care programs is recommended.

Association between Happiness and Economic Status among Older Adults in Two Myanmar Regions

Few studies have examined whether objective or subjective economic status (ES) has a greater association with the happiness of older adults, despite concerns regarding the growing economic cost of morbidity and their functional dependence in developing countries with aging populations. Thus, this study examined whether objective/subjective ES was associated with happiness in older adults in two Myanmar regions. A multistage random sampling procedure and face-to-face interviews were conducted in the urban and rural areas of Myanmar. The happiness of 1200 participants aged >60 years was evaluated using a single happiness score ranging from 0 (very unhappy) to 10 (very happy). The wealth index, used as an objective ES, was calculated from 17 household asset items, such as radio, washing machines, and television. Subjective ES was assessed by asking “Which of the following best describes your current financial situation in light of general economic conditions?” Responses ranged from “very difficult” to “very comfortable”. Both low objective and subjective ES were negatively associated with happiness, after adjusting for confounding variables and stratification by region (urban and rural areas). Although objective and subjective ES had similar associations with happiness in urban areas, subjective ES had a stronger association in rural areas.

The structural equation modeling of personal aspects, environmental aspects, and happiness among older adults living alone: a cross-sectional study

Background

The happiness of older adults living alone warrants attention because they are more vulnerable to unhappiness than those living with families. The present study aimed to construct and test a structural equation model to elucidate the relationship among participation in social activities, satisfaction with the neighborhood environment, subjective health status, and happiness in older adults living alone in South Korea.

Methods

Secondary data of 2768 older adults (605 males and 2163 females) living on their own were extracted from the 2017 Korean Community Health Survey and used in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected via self-reported questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and AMOS version 20.0.

Results

The hypothetical model exhibited a good fit: χ² = 342.06 (df = 58, p < .001), goodness-of-fit index = .98, adjected goodness-of-fit index = .97, root mean square error of approximation = .04, and nonstandard fit index = .92. Participation in social activities had a significant effect on participants’ subjective health status (path coefficient = .45, p = .001) and happiness (path coefficient = .20, p = .003).

Conclusions

Interventions to improve the health and happiness of older adults living alone should aim to enhance their social and physical environmental dimensions based on the participants’ various social activities and their neighborhoods’ characteristics.

Cultural Differences in Susceptibility to Stereotype Threat: France versus India

OBJECTIVES

Negative aging stereotypes make older adults perform below their true potential in a number of cognitive domains. This phenomenon, known as Age-Based Stereotype Threat, is currently viewed as a powerful factor contributing to an overestimation of cognitive decline in normal aging. However, age-based stereotype threat has been investigated almost exclusively in Western countries. Whether this phenomenon is universal or culture-specific is unknown.

METHOD

Here, we first ran a pilot study (N = 106) in which we assessed French and Indian participants' attitudes towards aging. Then, we assessed stereotype threat effects on arithmetic problem-solving performance and strategies in French and Indian older adults (N = 104).

RESULTS

We found that French older adults have more negative implicit attitudes towards aging than Indian older adults. We also found that culture modulates age-based stereotype threat effects. Whereas French older adults experienced stereotype threat on both selection and execution of strategies on all arithmetic problems, Indian older adults experienced this threat only in their strategy selection on harder problems. Most interestingly, cultural differences emerged on arithmetic problems under stereotype threat condition, where otherwise no cultural differences were found in the control condition.

DISCUSSION

Our findings have important implications for understanding how cultural contexts change aging effects on human cognition and age-related difference in cognitive performance.

Association of living arrangements with happiness attributes among older adults

Background

In Korea, along with the rapid aging of the population, older adults’ living arrangements have changed in various ways. In particularly, the happiness of older adults living alone warrants attention because they are more vulnerable to unhappiness than those living with families are. This study reports on the level of happiness among older adults in Korean and examines the potential mediating roles of depressive symptoms, present health status, socio-physical environment, social support networks, and social activities, and happiness in three different living arrangements, older adults living alone, with their spouse, or with their family.

Method

Data for this study were extracted from the secondary data from the 2017 Korean Community Health Survey, a non-experimental, cross-sectional survey conducted among Korean individuals that were aged 65 and above (n = 14,687). The chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, and Logistic regression were used to explore the related factors of happiness among the three groups.

Results

Findings revealed a significant difference in the happiness index among older adults living alone (6.22 ± 2.11), older adults living with their spouse (6.76 ± 1.99), and older adults living with their family (6.46 ± 1.94) (F = 88.69, p < .001). As the result of logistic regression, older adults living alone (odds ratio (OR) = 0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.57–0.99) and those living with their family (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.65–0.99) demonstrated greater happiness as the frequency of contact with their family increased. Older adults living with their spouse indicated an increase in happiness when their contact with friends was higher (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.56–0.84).

Conclusion

It was recognized that factors influencing happiness differed according to older adults’ living arrangements, thus suggesting that older adults’ happiness could be facilitated through interventions that consider their circumstances, including living arrangements.

Associations of combinations of housing tenure status and household structure with subjective happiness among community-dwelling elderly people: A cross-sectional study with stratified random sampling

AIM

Subjective happiness is an important marker of successful aging, and is associated with housing tenure status and household structure. However, the associations between subjective happiness and combinations of housing tenure status and household structure have not yet been clarified. Therefore, we examined which combinations of housing tenure status and household structure are associated with high or low subjective happiness among community-dwelling elderly people.

METHODS

Subjects were enrolled by stratified random sampling, and comprised of 1602 elderly persons aged ≥65 years as of January 2017 in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The subjects' data were collected via a self-completed questionnaire (effective response rate: 53.4%), and the associations between subjective happiness and combinations of housing tenure status and household structure were analyzed by chi-squared test and logistic regression analysis, controlling the confounding variables such as care support needs, subjective economic status and health status.

RESULTS

The subjects reported significantly decreased subjective happiness when they were a renter living alone (odds ratio [OR] = 0.427 and 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.249, 0.732) and with others (OR = 0.420 and 95% CI = 0.256, 0.687) after adjustment for confounding variables, compared with owner-occupier living with others (referent).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the current study revealed significantly decreased subjective happiness when the subjects were renters regardless of household structure. Therefore, housing tenure status may be a stronger determinant of subjective happiness among community-dwelling elderly people than household structure. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; ••: ••-••.

A Single-Item Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) Measure for Assessing Depression Among College Students

There is an increased need for efficient, low-cost methods to collect information on a range of widely prevalent mental health outcomes in the general population that can be administered outside of clinical settings. We evaluate the validity of a single-item Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for assessing the presence and severity of depression and compare its performance with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression scale using a large non-clinical sample (N = 1816) of college students from Switzerland. The VAS scale is strongly correlated with the PHQ-9 total score (0.61) and its 9 individual items (ranging from 0.19 to 0.67). ROC analysis shows that the VAS scale has high accuracy for detecting the presence and different levels (mild to severe) of depression corresponding to PHQ-9 cutoffs. The VAS depression scale represents a simple, easily implementable instrument that is suitable for mental health research in common settings and larger population-based studies.

Predictors of happiness among older Korean women living alone

AIM

The level of happiness of older adults is associated with their psychosocial and physical health. Currently, little is known about the predictors of happiness among older women living alone in the community. The present study aimed to identify these predictors.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of older women who were living alone and were registered with a social welfare center in an old urban area in South Korea. We designated various demographic factors along with health-related information, perceived self-esteem and depressive symptoms as independent variables predicting happiness. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis were carried out.

RESULTS

In total, 154 participants were recruited. They showed a moderate level of happiness. Furthermore, happiness was negatively correlated with the number of comorbidities, presence of pain and depressive symptoms, but positively correlated with self-esteem. The final model in hierarchical regression showed that depressive symptoms were powerful predictors of happiness after controlling the covariates and accounted for approximately 76.7% of the total variances.

CONCLUSIONS

The happiness of older women living alone was associated with their self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Interventions aimed at reducing depressive symptoms and improving self-esteem should be developed and applied to this population. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 352-356.

Are pension types associated with happiness in Japanese older people?: JAGES cross-sectional study

Background

Although many previous studies have examined the determinants of happiness in older adults, few have investigated the association between pension types and happiness. When compared to other conventional socioeconomic indicators, pension types may be more indicative of long-term socioeconomic status as they can reflect a person’s job history over their life course. This study examined the association between pension types and happiness in Japanese older people.

Methods

Cross-sectional survey data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study were used to analyze the association between pension types and happiness. The study population comprised 120152 participants from 2013. We calculated the prevalence ratios of happiness for the different pension types using Poisson regression models that controlled for age, sex, marital status, equivalent income, wealth, education level, working status, occupation, depression, and social support.

Results

After controlling for socioeconomic indicators, the prevalence ratios (95% confidence intervals) of happiness for no pension benefits, low pension benefits, and moderate pension benefits relative to high pension benefits were 0.77 (0.73–0.81), 0.95 (0.94–0.97), and 0.98 (0.97–0.99), respectively. However, the inclusion of depression as a covariate weakened the association between pension types and happiness.

Conclusions

While pension types were associated with happiness after adjusting for other proxy measures of socioeconomic status, the association diminished following adjustment for depression. Pension types may provide rich information on socioeconomic status and depression throughout the course of life. In addition to conventional socioeconomic indicators, pension types should also be considered when assessing the determinants of happiness in older adults.