Browsing by Author "Teixeira, Laetitia"
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- Anxiety, Depression and Quality of Life in Older Adults: Trajectories of Influence across AgePublication . Ribeiro, Oscar; Teixeira, Laetitia; Araújo, Lia; Rodríguez-Blázquez, Carmen; Calderón-Larrañaga, Amaia; Forjaz, Maria JoãoThis study focuses on the influence of anxiety and depression on individual trajectories of quality of life in old age through a longitudinal approach. A representative sample of adults aged 50+ living in Portugal and participating in wave 4 (W4) and wave 6 (W6) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) project was considered. Participants, 1765 at baseline (W4) and 1201 at follow up (W6), were asked about their quality of life (CASP-12) and emotional status (Euro-D scale; five items from the Beck Anxiety Inventory). Linear Mixed Effects models were performed to identify factors associated with changes in quality of life across age. Increasing age was found to have a significant negative effect on quality of life. Lower education and higher levels of depression and anxiety at baseline were also associated with worse quality of life; 42.1% of the variation of CASP-12 across age was explained by fixed and random effects, being depression followed by anxiety as the factors that presented with the highest relative importance. Both depression and anxiety play an important role in quality of life in older adults and must be acknowledged as important intervention domains to foster healthy and active aging.
- Being successful aged at one hundred years old: alternative and subjective criteriaPublication . Araújo, Lia; Ribeiro, Oscar; Teixeira, Laetitia; Paul, ConstançaAge, i.e. being younger, has been the most consistent predictor of successful aging, indicating a dramatic drop of the rate of success with advancing age. However, emergent studies based on expanded psychological concepts have been revealing the admirable capacity of oldest old individuals to overcome adversities and adapting to the challenges of very advanced age. This study aims to explore alternative criteria to Rowe and Kahn successful aging model in centenarians. A sample of 70 individuals (Mage100.91, SD 1.37, 87.1%female) with cognitive capacity for answering self-report questions were selected from the population-based Oporto Centenarian Study (PT100). Perceived economic status, sub- jective health and happiness were considered as components to assess successful aging. Main findings revealed that 62.9% of the sample was able to meet economic needs, 44.3% was happy and 32.3% reported a positive self-perception of health. 12.9% of the participants satisfied all three criteria and 16.1% didnt fulfilled any. A previous study using the same alternative criteria found that 47.5% of centenarians were successful aged, whereas none of them satisfied all three objective components from Rowe and Kahn’s success- ful aging model (Cho et al., 2012). Thus, the higher propor- tion of centenarians with positive self-ratings demonstrate that they may feel successful despite not being objectively considered as so. The alternative criteria of perceived eco- nomic status, subjective health and happiness considered in this study seem to be suitable to approach successful aging in very advanced age.
- Centenarians - A European OverviewPublication . Teixeira, Laetitia; Araújo, Lia; Paul, Constança; Ribeiro, OscarAs the oldest continent of the word, Europe presently faces an unprecedented demographic scenario. The number of individuals reaching very advanced ages is growing significantly, and within this age group a very particular one: centenarians. Living up to be 100 years of age, although reachable to only a few of us, is likely to become more common, and this posits important social and health care demands. Long lives’ “secrets” are to be answered by a wide range of professionals like geneticists, biologists, ecologists, and physicians, but also demographers and other social scientists that must disentangle group and individual life trajectories in his- torical time and space, making sense of extraordinary lives that more frequently than ever challenge our imagination as well as our capacity to deliver adequate services and friendly and inclusive societies to accommodate them. With this book, we intend to provide a profile of European centenarians and fill a void on the available information on this population. In an eminently descriptive way, the book intends to first and foremost provide an overview of this population’s characteristics in terms of sex ratio, educational level, marital status, living context and living arrangements, health profiles, and main causes of death. It does not intend to present an extensive justification on the differences observed throughout Europe nor on the geographical tendencies we might observe on their distribution and characteristics. It ultimately aims to provide researchers from these countries and from abroad who are currently working with this population, or intend to do so, an overview of their country outline in comparison with others. The story of how this book came into being dates back to IAGG 2017 World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics meeting where we presented a first draft of our work on “Centenarians in Europe”. Three years before we had started collecting data for the first population-based study with centenarians ever conducted in Portugal, the Oporto Centenarian Study (PT100), and wanted to have a global perspective of an up-to-date profile of exceptional longevity at a European level. In conjoining efforts to further elaborate a more detailed profile following IAGG’s presentation, we started receiving a very enthusiastic feedback on the information researchers from other continents, but it mostly reassured the fact that limited amount of systematized information, even at a descriptive level, was available on these matters. In conceptualizing this book, we draw on the expertise gained within the International Centenarian Consortium (ICC) that congregates researchers from all over the world and that has been having regular annual meetings since 1994. Although our presence in the ICC only dates to the meeting of 2014 in Japan, we soon realized the importance of being in touch with some of the world-reference researchers in this field. Some of the ideas we share throughout this book come from those enriching meetings and from the insightful comments we had the chance to receive. Along with the ICC researchers, there is a wide range of people who we would like to express our gratitude. Within such a group we include all the centenarians and their caregivers we had the chance to meet and talk to, and who gave us an unique perspective on what it is like to be that old, and that surely goes far beyond what the numbers we here provide can tell us about them; furthermore, we would also like to express our gratitude to all of the PT100 research team members and faculty colleagues who kept on motivating us in writing the book.
- Centenarians´ quality of life and the role of health and living contextPublication . Brandão, Daniela; Duarte, Natália; Araújo, Lia; Alves, Sara; Teixeira, Laetitia; Ribeiro, OscarIntroduction: The interest of the scientic community to study the centenarian population has been growing due to the signicant expansion of life expectancy and human longevity. Evidences about their quality of life (QoL) are, nevertheless, still limited. Different conceptualizations of QoL, the overvaluation of the negative aspects of advanced age and the heterogeneity of the oldest old are some issues that could explain the difculties in this assessment. Objectives: This study aims to analyze the perceived QoL in a sample of centenarians and analyze if there are significant life context (community vs institutional) and health (objective and subjective perception) differences. Methods: A subsample of 59 Portuguese centenarians who participated in the PT100_Oporto Centenarian Study, conducted in 2013 was considered. Descriptive and chi-square analysis were conducted. Results: Most centenarians perceived their QoL in a very positive manner (50.8% rated it as “good”, 6.8% as “very good” and 3.4% as “excellent”); 28.8% perceived it as “acceptable” and 10.2% as “bad”. No significant statistical differences were found for the considered variables. Conclusions: Centenarians seem to present high levels of perceived QoL, which can be associated with a great ability to adapt to adverse situations that occur through their lives. Neither contextual and health aspects seem to inuence the perception of QoL in this particular sample study. Nonetheless, more research is needed to understand the specicities of the QoL in the centenarian population, namely the role of psychological and social variables.
- Cognition and functionality: how do they related to time lived after 100 years of age?Publication . Teixeira, Laetitia; Araújo, Lia; Duarte, Natália; Brandão, Daniela; Azevedo, Maria João; Ribeiro, OscarIntroduction: The number of centenarians has greatly increased in Portugal in the last decades. Therefore, the analysis of survival time after becoming a centenarian and related factors constitute an import- ant issue for the quality of care provision. The objective of this study is to identify health related factors associated with the time lived after being 100 years of age. Methods: Data come from the population-based study PT100 (Oporto Centenarian Study) and considers information gathered through face-to-face interviews with centenarians and their proxies during 2013. Study eligibility criteria included being 100 and more years old and living in the Oporto Metropolitan Area. Survival analyses were performed in order to identify factors associated with survival after the 100. Functional status (e.g., walking, being bedrid- den) and specific health conditions (e.g. presence/absence of cognitive impairment) were considered as potential factors. Results: The sam- ple comprises 140 centenarians with approximately 14.5 months as median survival time after their 100th anniversary. Centenarians who were bedridden presented a higher probability to live after 100 years when compared with functionally independent centenarians. Presence of cognitive impairment was not associated with the time lived after 100 years old. Conclusions: Given the increasing number of centenarians in Portugal, different studies based on this population need to be consid- ered. The present study, focused on the life after 100 years old, provides new information about this topic contributing to the formulation of new scientific questions for this population.
- DAr QuAliDADe De viDA AoS AnoSPublication . Araújo, Lia; Ayala, Alba; Calderón-larranaga, Amaia; Fernández-Mayoralas, Gloria; Forjaz, Maria Joao; Ribeiro, Oscar; rodríguez-blázquez, Carmen; rojo-Pérez, Fermina; Teixeira, LaetitiaA melhoria das condições de vida e os avanços da medicina permitiram um aumento considerável da esperança de vida e, como consequência, um expressivo envelhecimento da população. em Portugal, as pessoas com 65 e mais anos representam hoje 22.3% da população residente, e prevê-se que este valor aumente significativamente nos próximos anos. enfrentar esta realidade demográfica é um dos principais desafios da sociedade. um dos desafios mais relevantes é a gestão do que já se designou de “epidemia da solidão”, ou seja, o impacto negativo que a solidão não desejada e o isolamento social têm na saúde mental e na qualidade de vida dos mais velhos. em Portugal, estudos comunitários indicam que entre 14% e 36% das pessoas com 65 e mais anos refere sentir sentimentos de solidão, e que cerca de 27% apresenta distress psicológico. a evidência científica dá-nos conta, também, que a abordagem a estas problemáticas deve considerar intervenções multidisciplinares e multidimensionais, sustentadas por recursos institucionais e comunitários apropriados, já que as mesmas têm um impacto positivo na qualidade de vida e na saúde mental das pessoas mais velhas. a solidão e os problemas de saúde mental requerem medidas urgentes destinadas à promoção da saúde e da qualidade de vida. este documento apresenta um conjunto de recomendações baseadas no Projeto QASP – quality of life and aging in spain, sweden and Portugal.
- Exceptional Siblings: The Andrade BrothersPublication . Ribeiro, Oscar; Brandão, Daniela; Araújo, Lia; Teixeira, Laetitia; Paúl, Constança; Poulain, Michel
- Further survival at age 100: Findings from the Oporto Centenarian studyPublication . Teixeira, Laetitia; Araújo, Lia; Paúl, Constança; Ribeiro, OscarBackground: This paper aims to identify the health-related predictors of survival in centenarians. Methods: A population-based study conducted in North Portugal (PT100) followed 140 individuals from the age of 100+ years. A detailed questionnaire at baseline was completed including information on sociodemographic characteristics, physical health, functional, cognitive, and nutritional status and life-style. Survival of study participants was checked every six months over the period of December 2013 until June 2019. Results: In the univariate Cox proportional hazards model, longer survival was associated with the absence of acute disease, better functional status, absence of physical fatigue and better cognition. Multivariate analysis revealed that acute disease, functional status and physical fatigue remained significant. Conclusions: Acute disease, functional status and physical fatigue are predictors of survival in the PT100 cen- tenarians
- Health profile of centenarians in Portugal: a census-based approachPublication . Ribeiro, Oscar; Teixeira, Laetitia; Araújo, Lia; Paúl, ConstançaBackground: The number of centenarians is rapidly increasing in Europe. In Portugal, it has almost tripled over the last 10 years and constitutes one of the fastest-growing segments of the population. This paper aims to describe the health and sociodemographic characteristics of Portuguese centenarians as given in the 2011 census and to identify sex differences. Methods: All persons living in Portugal mainland and Madeira and Azores islands aged 100 years old at the time of the 2011 census (N = 1,526) were considered. Measures include sociodemographic characteristics and perceived difficulties in six functional domains of basic actions (seeing, hearing, walking, cognition, self-care, and communication) as assessed by the Portuguese census official questionnaires. Results: Most centenarians are women (82.1 %), widowed (82 %), never attended school (51 %), and live in private households (71 %). The majority show major constraints in seeing (67.4 %), hearing (72.3 %), and particularly in their mobility (83.7 % cannot/have great difficulties in walking/climbing stairs and 80.7 % in bathing/dressing). In general, a better outcome was found for reported memory/concentration and understanding, with 39.1 % and 42.5 % presenting no or mild difficulty, respectively. Top-level functioning (no/mild difficulties in all dimensions concurrently) was observed in a minority of cases (5.96 %). Women outnumber men by a ratio of 4.6, and statistically significant differences were found between men and women for all health-related variables, with women presenting a higher percentage of difficulties. Conclusion: Portuguese centenarians experience great difficulties in sensory domains and basic daily living activities, and to a lesser extent in cognition and communication. The obtained profile, though self-reported, is important in considering the potential of social and family participation of this population regardless of their functional and sensory limitations. Based on the observed differences between men and women, gender-specific and gender-sensitive interventions are recommended in order to acknowledge women’s worse overall condition.
- Health Status, Living Arrangements, and Service Use at 100: Findings From the Oporto Centenarian StudyPublication . Ribeiro, Oscar; Araújo, Lia; Teixeira, Laetitia; Duarte, Natália; Brandão, Daniela; Martin, Ignacio; Paúl, ConstançaThis paper describes the sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and service use of centenarians living in the community and centenarians residing in an elder care facility/nursing home and examines their main differences. Participants were 140 centenarians from the population-based Oporto Centenarian Study (Mage = 101.2; SD = 1.6). Main findings revealed that the majority of the centenarians lived at home with their family members (57.9%). Increased health care needs, living alone, and family caregiving constraints were the most common reasons for entering a nursing home. Community-dwelling centenarians were cared for mostly by their children and were less dependent and in better cognitive health than those who resided in a nursing home. Differences were found in the pattern of health service use according to the centenarians' residence, ability to pay medical expenses, and dependency level. Findings highlight the need for an accurate assessment of caregiving support systems, particularly family intergenerational duties, and of the factors constraining the access and use of health and social services. Policy makers may be guided by the insights gained from this research and work toward improvement of support options and removal of barriers to service access.
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