The social construction of “Feeling of Burden”: Narrative on dependency and care in old age

In a society in which ambivalent positions of old age coexist, suffering from limitations in the basic functions of the human being disrupts the identity of old people and the social perception that is held of them. The impact of the deterioration and the physical incapacity affects not only old adults but also those who take care of them; it entails repercussions of instrumental, emotional and social types. Within the social and subjective dimension of aging arise stereotypes and negative images from being considered dependent subjects; one of most important of these is the “feeling of being a burden”. During the in-depth interviews, the diverse implications of this negative image in advanced old age are identified in old adults and their carers in the city of Durango, Mexico. The analysis of narratives shows results pertaining to the interrelation between the subjective aspects of the identity, the beliefs, and the power of social discourses.

Maternal reminiscing style during early childhood predicts the age of adolescents' earliest memories

Individual differences in parental reminiscing style are hypothesized to have long-lasting effects on children’s autobiographical memory development, including the age of their earliest memories. This study represents the first prospective test of this hypothesis. Conversations about past events between 17 mother–child dyads were recorded on multiple occasions between the children’s 2nd and 4th birthdays. When these children were aged 12–13 years, they were interviewed about their early memories. Adolescents whose mothers used a greater ratio of elaborations to repetitions during the early childhood conversations had earlier memories than adolescents whose mothers used a smaller ratio of elaborations to repetitions. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that past-event conversations during early childhood have long-lasting effects on autobiographical memory.

Age and gender differences in ambulance utilisation in Queensland

Introduction Queensland has the highest ambulance utilisation (150 per 1000 population) in Australia and growing 4.4% annually. However, the impact of gender and age on utilisation is unknown. Methods & Materials Data on ambulance utilisation from Queensland Ambulance Service for the period 2002-2009 were analysed. Results Between 2002 and 2009, the number of ambulance patients per 1000 population increased overall by 17% (females) and 18% (males). The utilisation rate remained highest among the elderly but grew differently across age groups. For females, the rates were 55% (0-14yo), 73% (15-29yo), 38% (30-44yo), 22% (45-59yo), -9% (60-74yo) and -6% (75,+ yo); for males they were 48%, 59%, 38%, 17%, -13% and -2% respectively. Within the same age groups and period, the population adjusted number of males per 100 females (M:F ratio) changed from 134 to 128 (-5% growth), 98 to 91 (-8%), 101 to 100 (-0.4%), 115 to 111 (-3%), 114 to 108 (-5%) and 106 to 111 (4%). Conclusion Understanding the impact of patients’ demographic profiles on service utilisation and broader effects on the emergency health system is imperative for policy-making, demand management, designing public health campaigns and health promotions. Gender and age characteristics of ambulance users in Queensland appear to be changing most noticeably in the youngest and oldest groups. Physical and mental health, attitudinal, lifestyle, parenting, financial and socio-cultural reasons may account for these trends, but little evidence exists. A theoretical framework will be discussed to contextualise the findings.

Age-related loss of brain volume and T2 relaxation time in youth with type 1 diabetes

OBJECTIVE: Childhood-onset type 1 diabetes is associated with neurocognitive deficits, but there is limited evidence to date regarding associated neuroanatomical brain changes and their relationship to illness variables such as age at disease onset. This report examines age-related changes in volume and T2 relaxation time (a fundamental parameter of magnetic resonance imaging that reflects tissue health) across the whole brain. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Type 1 diabetes, N = 79 (mean age 20.32 ± 4.24 years), and healthy control participants, N = 50 (mean age 20.53 ± 3.60 years). There were no substantial group differences on socioeconomic status, sex ratio, or intelligence quotient. RESULTS: Regression analyses revealed a negative correlation between age and brain changes, with decreasing gray matter volume and T2 relaxation time with age in multiple brain regions in the type 1 diabetes group. In comparison, the age-related decline in the control group was small. Examination of the interaction of group and age confirmed a group difference (type 1 diabetes vs. control) in the relationship between age and brain volume/T2 relaxation time. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated an interaction between age and group in predicting brain volumes and T2 relaxation time such that there was a decline in these outcomes in type 1 diabetic participants that was much less evident in control subjects. Findings suggest the neurodevelopmental pathways of youth with type 1 diabetes have diverged from those of their healthy peers by late adolescence and early adulthood but the explanation for this phenomenon remains to be clarified.

Time dependency of molecular rate estimates and systematic overestimation of recent divergence times

Studies of molecular evolutionary rates have yielded a wide range of rate estimates for various genes and taxa. Recent studies based on population-level and pedigree data have produced remarkably high estimates of mutation rate, which strongly contrast with substitution rates inferred in phylogenetic (species-level) studies. Using Bayesian analysis with a relaxed-clock model, we estimated rates for three groups of mitochondrial data: avian protein-coding genes, primate protein-coding genes, and primate d-loop sequences. In all three cases, we found a measurable transition between the high, short-term (<1–2 Myr) mutation rate and the low, long-term substitution rate. The relationship between the age of the calibration and the rate of change can be described by a vertically translated exponential decay curve, which may be used for correcting molecular date estimates. The phylogenetic substitution rates in mitochondria are approximately 0.5% per million years for avian protein-coding sequences and 1.5% per million years for primate protein-coding and d-loop sequences. Further analyses showed that purifying selection offers the most convincing explanation for the observed relationship between the estimated rate and the depth of the calibration. We rule out the possibility that it is a spurious result arising from sequence errors, and find it unlikely that the apparent decline in rates over time is caused by mutational saturation. Using a rate curve estimated from the d-loop data, several dates for last common ancestors were calculated: modern humans and Neandertals (354 ka; 222–705 ka), Neandertals (108 ka; 70–156 ka), and modern humans (76 ka; 47–110 ka). If the rate curve for a particular taxonomic group can be accurately estimated, it can be a useful tool for correcting divergence date estimates by taking the rate decay into account. Our results show that it is invalid to extrapolate molecular rates of change across different evolutionary timescales, which has important consequences for studies of populations, domestication, conservation genetics, and human evolution.