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Major depressive disorder accelerates DNA methylation age, a biological aging marker. Subclinical depressive symptoms are common, but their link to DNA methylation aging in older adults remains unexplored. This study analyzed the cross-sectional relationship between depressive symptoms and accelerated DNA methylation aging, considering gender and race/ethnicity in U.S. adults aged over 50. We used data from 3,882 diverse participants in the 2016 Health and Retirement Study wave, measuring blood DNA methylation age against chronologic age for acceleration. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Multiple linear regression evaluated the association between depressive symptoms and DNA methylation age acceleration, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, blood cell proportions, and health behaviors (physical activity, alcohol use, smoking, and chronic conditions). Gender and race/ethnicity modifications were also tested. Depressive symptoms, measured by continuous CES-D score, high depressive symptoms (CES-D ≥ 4), or any symptoms (CES-D ≥ 1), significantly correlated with increased GrimAge DNA methylation age acceleration (all p ≤ .001) in unadjusted and sociodemographic-adjusted models but were nonsignificant in fully adjusted models. No significant gender or race/ethnicity effect modifications were found in fully adjusted models. Health behaviors significantly influence DNA methylation age acceleration and depressive phenotypes, underscoring the need to understand their roles in assessing psychological factors related to DNA methylation age acceleration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The experience of chronic loneliness has been associated with poorer physical health and well-being, including declines in cardiovascular health and higher levels of distressed affect. Given the long-term effects of loneliness on health and well-being, much research has focused on loneliness in older age. The purpose of the current study was to obtain a more detailed picture of the experience of loneliness in midlife and older adulthood by incorporating the context of a day's activities. We use a modified day reconstruction task to examine the activities in which middle-age and older adults engaged, the amount of time they spent alone, and the emotions experienced while engaging in a day's activities. Lonely individuals did not participate in different daily activities or spend more time alone during the day; however, loneliness was associated with engaging in more activities alone than with others. In regards to emotional experiences, daily activities yield a different profile of positive emotional experiences for lonelier individuals. The social context of daily activities was an important factor in understanding the effects of loneliness on experienced negative emotions. The results of this study provide insight into the influence of loneliness on the structure of a day and context for understanding the emotional experiences of lonely older adults., (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.)

We examined how positive and negative social exchanges with friends, family, and spouses were related to cognitive aging in episodic and working memory, and perceptual speed. To do so, we used a large sample of cognitively intact young-old participants from the PATH Through Life Study (PATH; aged 60 to 64 years at baseline, n = 1,618) who were assessed on 3 occasions over 8 years. Additional replication analyses were conducted using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which provided data on episodic memory. The main analysis of PATH Through Life showed that positive exchanges with friends and family were associated with less decline in perceptual speed, with these associations attenuated by adjustment for physical functioning and depressive symptoms. Negative exchanges with spouses were associated with poorer working memory performance. Positive exchanges with friends were associated with better initial episodic memory in both PATH and HRS. More frequent negative exchanges with friends and family were associated with better episodic memory in the PATH sample. However, these findings were not replicated in HRS. Our findings provide indirect support for the role of social exchange quality in contributing to cognitive enrichment. However, the inconsistent pattern of results across cognitive and social exchange domains points to possibilities of reverse causality, and may also indicate that social exchange quality plays a less important role for cognitive enrichment than other psychosocial characteristics., ((c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.)

This study examined competing substantive hypotheses about dynamic (i.e., time-ordered) links between memory and functional limitations in old age. We applied the Bivariate Dual Change Score Model to 13-year longitudinal data from the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old Study (AHEAD; N = 6,990; ages 70 - 95). Results revealed that better memory predicted shallower increases in functional limitations. Little evidence was found for the opposite direction that functional limitations predict ensuing changes in memory. Spline models indicated that dynamic associations between memory and functional limitations were substantively similar between participants aged 70-79 and those aged 80-95. Potential covariates (gender, education, health conditions, and depressive symptoms) did not account for these differential lead-lag associations. Applying a multivariate approach, our results suggest that late-life developments in two key components of successful aging are intrinsically interrelated. Our discussion focuses on possible mechanisms why cognitive functioning may serve as a source of age-related changes in health both among the young-old and the old-old.