Healthy time use in the encore years: do work, resources, relations, and gender matter?

Sleep Duration Differences by Education from Middle to Older Adulthood: Does Employment Stratification Contribute to Gendered Leveling?

Sleep duration changes across the life course and differs by education in the United States. However, little research has examined whether educational differences in sleep duration change over age-or whether sleep duration trajectories over age differ by education. This study uses a life course approach to analyze American Time Use Survey data (N = 60,908), examining how educational differences in weekday sleep duration change from middle to older adulthood (ages 40-79). For men only, differences in total sleep time between individuals with less than a high school degree and those with more education converge in older adulthood. Results suggest that this leveling is explained by decreasing educational stratification in work hours as men enter older adulthood. Findings highlight the importance of employment for shaping gendered socioeconomic differences in sleep and demonstrate differences by education in how sleep duration changes over age, with possible implications for health disparities.

A bridge too far? Social network structure as a determinant of depression in later life

Existing research has documented various determinants of mental health related to individuals' social connections, but less is known about the role of the structural features of interpersonal networks. This is especially true in the case of bridging, which refers to ties to people who are otherwise disconnected from each other. By intersecting theories of social networks and gerontology, this study employs within- and between-person analysis with data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) to examine the association between social network bridging and depression in later life. The study finds that bridging, particularly between kin and non-kin members in the network, is associated with increased depressive symptoms in later life. This association is contingent on social support and strain respondents experienced, and it exhibits variations within individuals over time, especially among older adults in the youngest age cohort (57-64 years old included in NSHAP in 2005). In closing, the paper discusses the extent to which heterogeneous network structures may be one mechanism that shapes mental health trajectories in the context of later life-course experiences.

State containment measures, living arrangements, and mental health of U.S. older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES

Early in the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. states implemented several different types of containment measures to slow the disease's spread. Early evidence indicates containment measures were associated with changes in individuals' mental health. This study explores the associations between U.S. state containment measures and older adults' mental health and importantly, whether the associations vary by living arrangement and gender.

METHODS

The study analyzed national sample of adults aged 50 or older from 12 waves (April-July 2020) of the U.S. Household Pulse Survey (N = 394,934). State fixed-effects models linked four state containment measures (stay-at-home order, restaurant closure, bar closure, and movie theater closure) to levels of depression and anxiety across different types of living arrangements, net of controls. Men and women were analyzed separately.

RESULTS

Stay-at-home order and restaurant and bar closure, but not movie theater closure, were associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety in older adults. Living arrangements moderated the associations for women but not men. For women, compared to living alone, living with a spouse or intergenerational family was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression during stay-at-home order and restaurant closure.

CONCLUSION

The associations between containment measures and mental health vary by type of living arrangement and were gendered, likely because household situations create different demands and supports that men and woman experience differently. Although containment measures are necessary to protect public health, paying attention to these underlying dynamics can inform policymakers' efforts to implement policies that balance harms and benefits for older adults.

Daily Social Life of Older Adults and Vulnerabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The social integration of older adults is crucial for understanding their risk of infection and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the social lives of older adults differ, which means they are not all vulnerable to COVID-19 in the same way. This study analyzes everyday time use and social contacts of older adults to inform discussions of their vulnerabilities during the pandemic.

Methods: Using the 2019 American time use survey (N = 4,256, aged 55 and older), hurdle model regressions were used to examine the relationship between age, gender, and six indicators of the degree of social contact and time use, including (1) time alone, (2) time spent with family members, (3) time spent with non-family members, (4) time spent with people in the same household, (5) number of public spaces visited, and (6) time spent in public spaces.

Results: Results showed substantial heterogeneity in everyday time use and social contacts. Time in public places gradually decreased from the oldest-old (85 years or older), old-old (75–84 years), to mid-life (55–64 years) adults. The gaps were not explained by age differences in sociodemographic characteristics and social roles. Compared with mid-life adults, time with family members of the young-old and old-old adults decreased, but time with non-family members increased. Age differences in social roles over the life course partially explained the differences.

Conclusions: Should these patterns of time use and social contacts persist during COVID-19; then, such variations in the organization of social life may create different exposure contexts and vulnerabilities to social distancing measures among older adults; such information could help inform interventions to better protect this population.

Association between socioeconomic status and prolonged television viewing time in a general Japanese population: NIPPON DATA2010

Background

It has been pointed out that prolonged television (TV) viewing is one of the sedentary behaviors that is harmful to health; however, the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and prolonged TV viewing time has not been sufficiently investigated in Japan.

Methods

The study population are the participants of NIPPON DATA2010, which is a prospective cohort study of the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2010 in Japan. They were residents in 300 randomly selected areas across Japan. This study included 2752 adults. SES was classified according to the employment status, educational attainment, living status, and equivalent household expenditure (EHE). Prolonged TV viewing time was defined as more than or equal to 4 h of TV viewing per day. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of SES with prolonged TV viewing time.

Results

The mean TV viewing time was 2.92 h in all participants. Of 2752 participants, 809 (29.4%) prolonged TV viewing, and the mean TV viewing time of them was 5.61 h. The mean TV viewing time in participants without prolonged TV viewing time was 1.81 h. The mean TV viewing time was prolonged as age classes increased and significantly longer in aged ≥60 years. Prolonged TV viewing time was associated with not working for all age classes and sexes. Only among women, education attainment and living status were also associated with prolonged TV viewing time. For education attainment, the lower the received years of education, the higher odds ratios (OR) of prolonged TV viewing time. For living status, in women aged <60 years, living with others had a significantly higher OR compared to living with spouse. On the other hand, in women aged ≥60 years, living alone had a significantly higher OR. EHE did not have any significant associations with prolonged TV viewing time.

Conclusions

In a general Japanese population, it should be noted that the association between SES and prolonged TV viewing time differed by age and sex. Particularly, it must draw attention to the prolonged TV viewing in elderly. The intervention in order to shorten TV viewing time needs to consider these attributes.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12199-021-00978-6.

Time allocation to active domains, physical activity, and health indicators in older adults: cross-sectional results from the OUTDOOR ACTIVE study

BACKGROUND

Physical activity (PA) is one of the key determinants of healthy ageing. Research showed that time allocation plays an important role in PA. Therefore, an understanding of the time use of older adults is crucial for developing PA programs. The aim of this study was to examine the associations of time allocation and objectively measured PA, and several health indicators in older adults.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study all 915 participants of the OUTDOOR ACTIVE study were included. The participants were 65 to 75 years old and resided in a subdistrict of Bremen, Germany (50.9% female). The active domains were derived from the SLOTH model (leisure activities, occupation, active transport, home-based activities). PA was objectively measured with accelerometers over seven consecutive days. Binary logistic regressions were used to test the associations of total PA and time spent in the domains with several health indicators (self-rated health, overweight, obesity, activities of daily living (ADL)).

RESULTS

Participants over the age of 70 years were significantly less physically active than those under 70 years and women were significantly more physically active than men. Regardless of age and sex, most time was spent on home-based activities (women: 118.5 ± 87.8 min/day; men: 80.2 ± 69.4 min/day). Both PA and time spent on leisure activities were associated with a lower risk of bad self-rated health (0.36; 95%-CL: 0.20, 0.65 for PA; 0.93; 95%-CL: 0.87, 0.99 for leisure activities) and less limitations in ADL. PA and active transport seemed to lower the risk of overweight (0.39; 95%-CL: 0.25, 0.62 for PA; 0.80; 95%-CL: 0.69, 0.93 for active transport) and obesity (0.36; 95%-CL: 0.21, 0.60 for PA; 0.77; 95%-CL: 0.64, 0.92 for active transport). Having an occupation was associated with a lower risk of bad self-rated health (0.60; 95%-CL: 0.40, 0.92).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study provide insights in the time allocation to active domains and total PA of older adults, as well as the associations with health indicators. These findings have important implications for the development of PA programs and guidelines. Future research should examine the associations further in longitudinal studies.

Informal and Formal Social Integration Shape Eating and Drinking of Older Black and White Americans

Objective: Health behaviors are seen as one possible pathway linking race to health outcomes. Social integration has also been consistently linked to important health outcomes but has not been examined as a mechanism accounting for racial differences in health behaviors among older U.S. adults. Method: We use data from the American's Changing Lives (ACL) Study to explore racial differences in measures of social integration and whether they help account for racial differences in several dietary behaviors and alcohol use. Results: We find differences by race and social integration measures in dietary behaviors and alcohol use. Net of socioeconomic status, health status, and reported discrimination, variation in social integration helps to account for racial differences in some health behaviors. Discussion: Our results highlight the nuanced role of social integration in understanding group differences in health behaviors. Interventions should consider such complexities when including aspects of social integration in their design.

Health Lifestyles in Late Middle Age

A growing body of work identifies distinct health lifestyles among children, adolescents, and young adults and documents important social correlates. This study contributes to that line of research by identifying the health lifestyles of U.S. adults entering late middle age, assessing structural predictors of membership in different health lifestyles in this understudied age-group, and examining net associations between health lifestyles, chronic conditions, and physical health. The data come from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 50+ Health Module. The analysis is based on respondents who answered the 50+ Health Module in 2008, 2010, 2012, or 2014 (N = 7,234). The results confirm similar relationships between health lifestyles and structural factors like class, gender, and race that prior studies observe and also reveal a unique pattern of associations between health lifestyle and health status because of diagnosed conditions that impact health behaviors in adulthood.

Do gender differences in housework performance and informal adult caregiving explain the gender gap in depressive symptoms of older adults?

We assess whether gender differences in domestic time-use, including informal adult caregiving and housework, explain the gender gap in depression among older adults. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we model depressive symptoms as a function of informal adult caregiving and housework. The analytic sample includes 539 men and 782 women. Findings suggest informal adult caregiving is associated with increased depressive symptoms for women (p < .05) and men (p < .05). Time spent on housework is associated with decreased depressive symptoms for women and female caregivers (p < .01). Women may experience elevated depressive symptoms relative to men despite their domestic time-use.

For Better or Worse? Couples' Time Together in Encore Adulthood

Objective

This study examined the amount of time married couples share together in a new "encore adult" life course stage around the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Also investigated was the relationship between shared time and experienced well-being for this age group.

Method

Time diary and survey data were used from nationally representative 2003-2014 American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data for 26,303 adults aged 50-79 years. Analyses examined amount of total and exclusive shared couple time and experiences of happiness and stress when together using multivariate models.

Results

Shared time was positively associated with couples living on their own, conjoint employment/nonemployment, and age. Encore women and men reported feeling happier and less stressed when with their spouses. Men seemed to find time with spouses more enjoyable if both partners or just their wives were working.

Discussion

Encore adults are living longer as couples; results suggest couple relationships may occupy most of their days, with potentially positive implications for emotional well-being. Men and women are happier during time with a spouse when the woman works, with men reporting even higher levels of happiness than women. This is important as contemporary couples navigate increasingly complex work/retirement transitions in gendered ways.

Experienced Subjective Well-Being During Physically Active and Passive Leisure Time Activities Among Adults Aged 65 Years and Older

Background and Objectives

The encore years, or later life stages when adults enjoy health and free time, are the prime opportunity for leisure to maximize the overall quality of life. Physically active leisure is widely known to be linked to overall subjective well-being (SWB). However, experienced SWB or momentary emotion during active leisure as well as passive leisure has yet to be examined.

Research Design and Methods

Data were derived from the 2012/2013 American Time Use Survey Well-being modules. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to identify comparable matched samples of older adults.

Results

The PSM identified 211 older adults who reported a series of emotions (i.e., happy, meaningful, tired, sad, stressed, pain) during active leisure, and the comparable counterpart (n = 211) during passive leisure. Results from the Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests showed that active leisure was associated with greater levels of experienced happiness and meaningfulness, as well as with lower levels of sadness (p < .05).

Discussion and Implications

Physically active leisure is linked to greater levels of experienced SWB among older adults. Although more detailed roles of active and passive leisure for experienced SWB are yet to be verified, choices that older adults make in their free time may significantly impact their experienced SWB and, in turn, their overall quality of life. Aging and public health policies should enhance accessibility to active leisure to promote older adults’ SWB.

Association between education and television viewing among older working and retired people: a comparative study of Finland and Japan

Background

Educational attainment is associated with physical activity among older people. However, little is known about its association with sedentary lifestyle in European as well as Asian nations. This study aims to examine the associations between educational attainment and daily television viewing as an indicator of a sedentary lifestyle among older working and retired people in Finland and Japan.

Methods

We used cross-sectional harmonized data from two cohorts, the Finnish Public Sector study (n = 10,744) and the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (n = 2493), evaluating individuals aged 65–75 years old. We defined high-duration television viewing as ≥4 h per day. Poisson regression was used to examine the association between educational attainment and high-duration television viewing, stratified by the current working status. Models were adjusted for age, sex, household size, smoking, alcohol, body mass index, chronic diseases, mental disorders, and physical activity.

Results

Of the participants, 27% in Finland and 30% in Japan reported high-duration television viewing. Compared with a low education (≤9 years), Finnish and Japanese retirees with a high education (≥13 years) had less high-duration television viewing [prevalence ratio, PR 0.68 (95% confidence interval 0.63–0.73) and 0.66 (0.55–0.79), respectively]. The corresponding PRs for Finnish and Japanese retirees with intermediate education were also lowered [0.89 (0.83–0.95) and 0.79 (0.68–0.91), respectively]. Among older people still at work, educational attainment was associated with high-duration television viewing among the Japanese but not among the Finnish.

Conclusion

A similar association between educational attainment and high-duration television viewing in Finland and Japan particularly after retirement suggests a robust and consistent impact of educational attainment on a sedentary lifestyle after retirements.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5860-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A Multilevel Test of Constrained Choices Theory: The Case of Tobacco Clean Air Restrictions

According to Bird and Rieker's sociology of constrained choices, decisions and priorities concerning health are shaped by the contexts-including policy, community, and work/family-in which they are formulated. While each level received attention in the original and subsequent research, we contend their constrained choices theory provides a powerful multilevel framework for modeling health outcomes. We apply this framework to tobacco clean air restrictions, combining a comprehensive database of tobacco policies with the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 from ages 19 to 31. Using multilevel panel models, we find that clean air policies lower the odds of past 30 day smoking and dependence while controlling for other policy-, city-, and individual-level constraints. We also find unique between- and within-person effects, as well as gender effects, for the constraint levied by smoking bans. We argue for the theory's broad applicability beyond commonly cited findings regarding gender and biological influences.

Baby Boomers and the Long-Term Transformation of Retirement and Volunteering: Evidence for a Policy Paradigm Shift

In this article, we analyze two predictions about baby boomers that have contributed to the current policy paradigm: that the boomers will reinvent retirement, and that they have the potential to engage in higher levels of formal volunteering than previous generations. Empirical evidence from various studies and surveys do not support this paradigm. In fact, the data lead to the conclusion that baby boomers are neither initiating the reinvention of retirement, nor are they the initiators of a surge in volunteerism. Instead, they are part of an ongoing evolution of retirement and volunteerism begun by their parents’ generation. We propose several assumptions to construct an alternative policy paradigm: Baby boomers need to be recognized as a diverse age cohort whose engagement is multi-faceted. Volunteer recruitment and oversight require creative approaches which focus on the communal and membership aspects of volunteering rather than focusing on volunteering as unpaid “work.”

Gender Differences in Spousal Care Across the Later Life Course

Spouses often serve as the primary caregivers to their ill or disabled partners. Studies have shown that men receive more care from their wives than vice versa, but few studies have focused on how the gender gap in care varies across the later life course. Drawing on data from the Health and Retirement Study, this study examined the moderating effects of age, gender, and full-time employment on married women's and men's receipt of spousal care. This study found that among community-dwelling married adults, the gender gap in care was larger among those in middle age (50-65) than it was among those in older age. As women and men aged, the gender gap decreased primarily because men left full-time work and increased the amount of time that they spent caring for their wives. As gender differences in full-time employment narrowed, the gender gap in spousal care narrowed.

Why stay home? Temporal association of pain, fatigue and depression with being at home

BACKGROUND

Community participation is important to most people with disabilities despite the fact that common secondary conditions like pain, fatigue and depression may increase the difficulty of leaving home. Despite decades of research on these secondary conditions, little is known about how they are associated with being at home.

OBJECTIVE

We used Ecological Momentary Assessment data to examine within subject fluctuation in these secondary conditions to examine their effect on the likelihood that participants remain at or return home.

METHODS

Participants (n = 139) were recruited from a population based sampling frame to complete an Ecological Momentary Assessment that queried their location and experience with secondary conditions six times a day for two weeks.

RESULTS

Between subjects secondary condition ratings averaged across time periods indicated that pain and depression were associated with the share of measurement periods that respondents reported being at home. Within subject results indicated that a standard unit increase in pain, fatigue and depression was associated with being home one to two days later. Within day results indicated that increases in pain and fatigue were associated with increased likelihood of being home later, but increases in depression were associated with lower likelihood of being home later.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest there may be a complicated relationship among these secondary conditions and community participation with effects observed both across and within days. One interpretation suggests that secondary condition severity is tempered by adjusting participation. These results may have implications for intervening on these secondary conditions.