by Howard Litwin  and Bracha Erlich

Received: 26 June 2022;  Published: 26 December 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204217

This study examined the correlates of change in the depressed state among people aged 65 and older during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, particularly the effects of crucial pandemic-related variables. Data were drawn from the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), including information obtained from two special pandemic-related telephone interviews (N = 18, 266). The analysis regressed depressed state soon after the outbreak (T1) and again a year later (T2), on four pandemic-related varia [...]

by Yogendra Keche  , Preetam Wasneek  , Keshao Nagpure  , Nitin Gaikwad  , Suryaprakash Dhaneria  , Sabah Siddiqui  and Apoorva Joshi

Received: 22 August 2022;  Published: 11 December 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204216

The COVID-19 pandemic had imposed a city-level quarantine, local lockdown, and border closures for patient-level isolation to control virus spread. There is a lack of studies on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the elderly in countries like India during COVID-19. After obtaining written informed consent from the elderly patients, data was recorded in the case record form-cum-questionnaire. The quality of life was assessed with the help of Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) HRQoL-14 measur [...]

by Athina Markouizou  , Evrydiki Michali  , Christina Mamareli  , Jane Anastassopoulou  , Panayiota Kolovou  , Ioannis Mamarelis  and Theophile Theophanides

Received: 12 September 2022;  Published: 24 November 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204215

Breast cancer affects the female population worldwide. Radiotherapy (RT) is part of the therapeutic modality in the management of breast cancer, after radical mastectomy or conserving surgery. The FTIR spectroscopic “marker bands” will lead us to approach the mechanism of skin damage due to the interaction of ionizing radiation and skin, on a molecular level at the very early stages. FT-IR spectroscopy, breast digital pictures, and ImageJ software were used in the study. Healthy breast skin was irradiated ex-vivo w [...]

by Vikas Dhikav  , Pankaj Kumar  and Praveen Kumar Anand

Received: 23 August 2022;  Published: 23 November 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204214

Various grades of cognitive impairment generally occur in older adults over the age of 55, where cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes and/or hypertension, coronary artery disease, or cerebrovascular accidents are also common. Cognitive impairment occurs in various forms, from mild or amnesia such as forgetting today's date to more ominous and progressive forms, such as frank dementia. Over 5 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, most of whom live in low- and middle-income countries. It has been env [...]

by Robert Beringer  , Paneet Gill  , Gloria Gutman  and Brian de Vries

Received: 31 July 2022;  Published: 17 November 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204213

Disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic exact a toll on vulnerable populations in terms of morbidity and mortality, but they also provide opportunities for personal growth and development and demonstration of personal and collective resiliency. This inductive thematic analysis explores self-perceived negative and positive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on 2994 Canadians aged 55+. Data derive from response to two open-ended questions included in a national online survey (View Survey (sfu.ca)) conducted between Aug [...]

by Lena Natapov  , Ayelet Berg-Warman  , Ile Kermel Schiffman  and Shlomo Paul Zusman

Received: 01 May 2022;  Published: 17 November 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204212

To understand dental service utilization in the over-65 age group and to identify the main patterns and barriers to uptake of dental care after the 2019 expansion under the National Health Insurance Law to include dental benefits for the over-75 age group. Phone interviews with a random sample of 512 people over the age of 65 were conducted between February and April 2020. About half had visited a dentist during the previous year (an average of 2.9 visits) while 17% reported they had never visited one. Dental servi [...]

by Rotem Arieli  , Gina Lee  , Yeon ji Ryou  and Peter Martin

Received: 01 July 2022;  Published: 14 November 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204211

This research aims to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of positive subjective well-being among centenarians and near-centenarians in the Health and Retirement Study. Participants who eventually survived to age 98 or older (N = 516) were included. Study variables included demographic characteristics, health and activities of daily living (ADL) functioning, cognitive functioning, and positive well-being. Additionally, a smaller subsample (n = 192) of participants with supplemental leave-behind qu [...]

by Angela Horyacheva  , Samantha Shune  and Ashwini Namasivayam-MacDonald

Received: 11 August 2022;  Published: 07 November 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204210

Stroke survivors often receive spousal support for post-stroke impairments. The quality of spousal caregiving and couples’ wellbeing can suffer from post-stroke relationship changes and caregiver burden. Because swallowing impairment (dysphagia) is common post-stroke and spouses providing dysphagia care may experience burden, it is also important to explore whether relationship changes post-stroke are associated with dysphagia outcomes. The purpose of this study was to describe stroke survivor-spouse relationships [...]

by Susan E. Reid  , Bessam Abdulrazak  and Tianqi Xiao

Received: 08 August 2022;  Published: 17 October 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204209

Despite the increase in use and interest in mobile devices by older adults, to date, there is still limited research carried out to better understand older adults’ usage and needs as they relate to such devices. As such, this research examined the use of two types of mobile devices, smartphones, and tablets, by older adults (i.e., age 65+), as well as the use of a new interface, developed for research purposes, called “PhonAge”. This study was exploratory, and utilizes frequency data and tables, in order to get a s [...]

by Giacinto Libertini

Received: 22 July 2022;  Published: 14 October 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2204208

The interpretation of aging as an adaptive and programmed phenomenon implies the existence of specific genetically determined and regulated aging-causing mechanisms. This interpretation is in contrast to the explanation of aging as the gradual accumulation of the effects of harmful factors that are only partially countered by natural selection. The subtelomere–telomere theory of aging offers what is required by the interpretation of aging as a programmed phenomenon. The experimentally documented mechanisms that are [...]