Household air pollution (HAP) presents numerous health challenges. The association between HAP and sleep problems has not been extensively studied. This paper examined the effect of HAP due to solid fuel use on sleep problems among older adults in India. Data from the initial phase of the Longitudinal Aging Study in India, which included 51,060 individuals aged 50 years and older, was utilised. Sleep problems were defined as experiencing difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, or waking up too early at least five times per week and were classified as a binary variable. Exposure to HAP was defined as the use of solid fuel for household purposes. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to assess the association, and additionally, interaction analysis was conducted to explore the potential moderating effects of age, gender, and residence on this association. The prevalence of sleep problems among older adults was around 12.7%. Sleep problems were higher among older adults who used solid fuel for cooking (OR = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.17, 1.33) and other purposes (OR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.20) in the adjusted model. The place of cooking, ventilation, and type of stove played a significant role in the association between solid fuel use and sleep problems. Individuals over 65, females, and those residing in rural areas were particularly vulnerable to sleep problems due to HAP exposure. The findings highlight the importance of reducing HAP exposure by transitioning to clean fuels as a public health priority within initiatives aimed at promoting healthy aging.

Cette note de recherche vise à présenter comment la science-fiction fut utilisée dans un projet de recherche pour coconstruire une vision commune de la robotique sociale favorisant la participation sociale des personnes aînées. Une recherche-action a été réalisée à l’aide de deux forums d’informateurs-clés regroupant des personnes aînées animés à partir d’extraits d’œuvres cinématographiques de science-fiction dans le but de stimuler leur réflexion. Une analyse de contenu thématique de ces forums a permis de mettre en évidence la contribution de l’usage de la science-fiction dans le cadre de cette démarche de recherche. Trois contributions complémentaires de la science-fiction ont été identifiées, soit 1) les illustrations; 2) les comparaisons et 3) le déclenchement de réflexions.

Dans le contexte pandémique de la COVID-19, les personnes aînées se sont retrouvées confinées et isolées, et ce, même dans le cadre d’un milieu de vie collective. Cet article fait état d’une étude de la portée sur les bienfaits d’un chœur intergénérationnel pour personnes aînées et les stratégies à considérer pour sa mise en place. L’analyse de 16 études sur ce sujet a permis de se familiariser avec les résultats, les recommandations et les pistes de recherche en lien avec le bien-être et le sens de satisfaction que retirent les personnes aînées qui participent à un chœur, de même que des interventions en chant choral à privilégier. De plus, cette activité qui est peu couteuse et bénéfique est considérée comme une intervention de nature préventive qui contribue au bien-être des personnes aînées et à leur prise en charge pour un vieillissement en santé. Par ailleurs, les résultats suggèrent de continuer à documenter l’efficacité des stratégies proposées pour les améliorer ou les adapter afin de maximiser les effets positifs d’une telle activité sur le bien-être physique, social, émotionnel et cognitif des personnes aînées.

Loneliness and social isolation are prevalent concerns among older adults and can lead to negative health consequences and a reduced lifespan. New technologies are increasingly being developed to help address loneliness and social isolation in older adults, including monitoring systems, social networks, robots, companions, smart televisions, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications. This systematic review maps human-centered design (HCD) and user-centered design (UCD) approaches, human needs, and contextual factors considered in current technological interventions designed to address the problems of loneliness and social isolation in older adults. We conducted a scoping review and in-depth examination of 98 papers through a qualitative content analysis. We found 12 studies applying either an HCD or UCD approach and observed strengths in continuous user involvement and implementation in field studies but limitations in participant inclusion criteria and methodological reporting. We also observed the consideration of important human needs and contextual factors. However, more research is needed on stakeholder perspectives, the functioning of applications in different housing environments, as well as studies that include diverse socio-economic groups.

Background and Aim: Puerto Rico is experiencing a rapidly aging society. In old age, it is common to experience one or more chronic diseases that require special attention. If not properly addressed, these health conditions can reduce functionality in daily activities. Some risk factors that can affect health and functionality include sedentary lifestyle, social isolation, and unhealthy lifestyles. To reduce these risk factors, it is necessary to implement health promotion measures aimed at improving the well-being of older adults. Brain Dance has a positive impact on the health of older adults. Its benefits include increasing circulation, reorganizing the neurological system, reducing stress, maintaining joint flexibility, and being aware of the communication between body and mind. The aim was to promote the health of older adults through the 8 Movement Patterns of Brain Dance at CAMPEA, Santa Monica, Bayamón, during the months of March to May 2023.

Methods: A collaboration agreement was established between the Geriatric Research and Education Center and CAMPEA to train older adults and service providers on the benefits of Brain Dance, and educational materials were provided to complement the activities.

Results: The program was implemented as designed. A total of 12 older adults, 60+ practiced Brain Dance and 6 direct services providers were trained on the benefits of Brain Dance in older adults. An infographic with the Eight Movements Patterns was designed and distributed to older adults and services providers.

Conclusions: Older adults reported that engaging in Brain Dance helped them to increase their confidence, bring back memories from the past, strengthen their group interactions, gain new knowledge, develop new skills, self- discover, pay greater attention to the connection between their mind and body, and achieve a state of joy.

Transportation plays a vital role in meeting the daily activity needs of individuals, including older adults. One major gap in the existing ageing and mobility literature is that most studies are situated in the Global North despite Global South cities facing comparatively faster ageing. This article’s primary purpose is to examine the daily lived experiences of transportation use among older adults in Mexico City. Secondarily it explores contextual differences among individuals living in two neighbourhood types – those with high or low access to public transportation networks. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 older adults and isolated four central themes that encapsulate their experiences of transportation in Mexico City. The extensive and well-run structured-transit system in central Mexico City was the source of many positive experiences for older adults, especially regarding affordability, high network connectivity and overall sense of safety and comfort. This was true for most participants across neighbourhood types and socio-economic statuses. Conversely, in peripheral neighbourhoods dominated by less-structured transportation modes, negative experiences included complaints about vehicle drivers, crime and safety, comfort and convenience. This article’s contributions are showing (1) consistency with existing Global South literature whereby older adults tend to use public transportation more widely and hold similar complaints related to poor experiences as older adult passengers; (2) that Mexico City exemplifies older adult transportation experiences that are dramatically different from car-dependent societies in the Global North; and (3) how older adults’ experiences with public transportation can vary significantly based on residential location within the city.

This scoping review aimed to evaluate the effect of exercise combined with vitamin D supplementation on skeletal muscle health in older individuals. We implemented a systematic search of electronic databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Embase, which was conducted from the time of library construction to January 2024. Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials including men and women aged ≥ 65 years or mean age ≥ 65 years; exercise training and vitamin D supplementation; outcomes of muscular strength, function, muscular power, body composition and quality of life; and results compared with those of exercise intervention alone. The results showed thirteen studies including 1483 participants were identified. The proportions of male and female sex were 22·05 and 77·95 %, respectively. Exercise intervention methods included resistance exercises and multimodal exercise training. All vitamin D interventions involved supplementation with vitamin D3. A significant increase was identified in short physical performance battery and stair climbing but not in skeletal muscle mass, skeletal strength, the timed up and go test and gait speed in older adults after exercise combined with vitamin D supplementation. In conclusion, exercise combined with vitamin D supplementation has additive health effects on short physical performance battery and stair climbing. Furthermore, when vitamin D was deficient at baseline, the combined effect of exercise and vitamin D intervention significantly increased the timed up and go test and gait speed in older adults. In future randomised controlled trials on this topic, baseline vitamin D nutritional status, health condition and sex should be considered.

To improve transitions in care, a new patient navigation (PN) program was introduced to support older adults with complex care needs transition from hospital to home. The patient navigator is a community social worker embedded in the hospital’s care teams. A cohort observational design was used to conduct the study by analysing the patient navigator’s clinical notes and hospital’s administrative data to describe the characteristics of patients, scope of the patient navigator’s activities, and patient outcomes. Ninety patients were assigned to the patient navigator’s caseload (November 2019–November 2021) in which the average age was 78.9 (range 55–95). The most frequent PN intervention types were referrals to community services (66%, n = 59) and discharge planning (61%, n = 55). The patient navigator supported 66% patients (n = 59) in returning home and provided follow-up care for 74 days (average). This study provides important insights into the patient navigator’s role to guide decision makers in implementing PN programs for older adults in a hospital setting.

This study investigated the association between screen time and ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption across the lifespan, using data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey, a cross-sectional and population-based study. A score was used to evaluate UPF consumption, calculated by summing the positive answers to questions about the consumption of ten UPF subgroups on the previous day. Scores ≥5 represented high UPF consumption. Daily time spent engaging with television or other screens was self-reported. Crude and adjusted models were obtained through Poisson regression and results were expressed in prevalence ratios by age group. The sample included 2315 adolescents, 65 803 adults and 22 728 older adults. The prevalence of UPF scores ≥5 was higher according to increased screen time, with dose–response across all age groups and types of screen time. Adolescents, adults and older adults watching television for ≥6 h/d presented prevalence of UPF scores ≥5 1·8 (95 % CI 1·2, 2·9), 1·9 (95 % CI 1·6, 2·3) and 2·2 (95 % CI 1·4, 3·6) times higher, respectively, compared with those who did not watch television. For other screens, the prevalence of UPF scores ≥5 was 2·4 (95 % CI 1·3, 4·1) and 1·6 (95 % CI 1·4, 1·9) times higher for adolescents and adults using screens for ≥ 6 h/d, respectively, while for older adults, only screen times of 2 to < 3 and 3 to < 6 h were significantly associated with UPF scores ≥5. Screen time was associated with high consumption of UPF in all age groups. Considering these associations when planning and implementing interventions would be beneficial for public health across the lifespan.

Supportive public policies are suggested as ways to lessen gentrification’s impact for older adults. While explicit policies designed to help older adults with gentrification are rare, literature on age-friendly cities is a close proxy. We utilized three North American cases undergoing gentrification: New York City, NY, and Denver, CO, in the United States and Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada, to present existing neighbourhood-based policies as social determinants of health in housing, resource access, healthcare, transportation, and communal places. Age-friendly policy application gap examples and COVID-19’s impact were included. Using a qualitative comparative case study method, we found policies were not specifically designed to address older adults’ gentrification needs. With the call for age-friendly designations, the role of gentrification in neighbourhoods with older populations must be included. We call for gentrification-specific policies for older adults to provide greater safeguards especially when events such as COVID-19 compete for existing, over-stretched resources.

Around 55 million people worldwide live with dementia, and more are expected due to population ageing. We aimed to investigate associations between healthy diet and mild cognitive impairment and dementia in 1753 older adults aged 60–64 from the PATH (Personality and Total Health Through Life Cohort) study. Healthy diet was defined by the Mediterranean-DASH diet Intervention for Neurological Delay (MIND) and two dietary guideline quality scores (Dietary Guideline Index (DGI) and Index Diet Quality (IDQ)), which were calculated from baseline FFQ. Higher dietary scores indicated higher diet quality. Incidence of Alzheimer’s disease/vascular dementia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders criteria) and mild cognitive impairment (Winbald criteria) was assessed after 12 years of follow-up using validated questionnaires with nominated proxies. Logistic regression explored associations between dietary scores and cognitive function, adjusting for demographics, lifestyle factors and medical preconditions. Adjusted logistic regression comparing the per unit linear increase in diet scores showed MIND (OR = 0·82, 95 % CI = 0·68, 0·99), but not DGI (0·99 (0·97, 1·00)) or IDQ (1·12 (0·95, 1·32)), was significantly associated with lower odds of developing cognitive impairment. In conclusion, a healthier neuroprotective dietary pattern is associated with better cognitive function over time, whereas dietary patterns generated from general dietary guidelines did not show a significant association. Further research and well-designed clinical studies are needed to determine the effects of the MIND diet on cognitive impairment in older adults without a family history of dementia.

This study provides researchers, practitioners, and policy makers with a profile of older adults’ travel behaviour and the older adult population that reports unmet travel needs. In addition, we quantified associations between reporting an unmet travel need and measures of health and social connectedness. Data came from the second follow-up survey of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, collected from 2018 to 2021 (n = 14,167). Nine in ten (90.2%) older adults aged 65 years and older indicated that driving is the main way they get around. Older adults with an unmet travel need were more likely to be women, have lower household incomes and education levels, and have a mobility limitation. People with an unmet travel need had 2.7 times the odds of reporting fair or poor general health (OR = 2.66, 95% CI: 2.19, 3.22) and 3.1 times the odds of feeling socially isolated (OR = 3.10, 95% CI: 2.57, 3.72) compared to those without an unmet need.