Migration and Health in Older Adults: The Cognitive and Health Profile of Lusophone Immigrants in Luxembourg in Comparison to Local Samples from Portugal

Poster (2023, September 04)

Objective: This study aimed to investigate differences in cognition, mental health, and general health among older Lusophone immigrants (>55 years old) in Luxembourg compared to a sample residing in ... [more ▼]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate differences in cognition, mental health, and general health among older Lusophone immigrants (>55 years old) in Luxembourg compared to a sample residing in Portugal. Methods: Data from immigrants (N=83, mean age=62.08, SD=6.511, 72.84% women) were sourced from the MEDITAGING study, funded by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR)-Project Reference 15240063. Portuguese data were collected by the GABT (N=55, mean age=68.18, SD = 5.869, 74.55% women) and PREDICTOR projects (N=83, mean age=67.86, SD=5.24, 83.13% women). The outcomes were the Body Mass Index and the score on the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Trail Making Test (TMT), the 5-Item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-5), and the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAI). Results: The findings revealed significant differences between the immigrant and reference samples in TMT time A (p = .018), TMT time B (p = .004), TMT B-A (p = .03 0), GAI (p < .001), and GDS (p = .001), with immigrants performing higher than their peers in all these measures. A Linear regression analysis indicated that having hypertension (p = .026), being unmarried (p = .008), and having fewer years of formal education (p = .003) are associated with higher scores in TMT Time A, while having less formal education (p > .001) is related to higher scores in Time B. Conclusion: The findings suggest that Lusophone immigrants residing in Luxembourg have worse affective and cognitive outcomes compared to their peers living in Portugal. However, further exploration of the influence of health and sociodemographic factors is necessary. [less ▲]

Wie lässt sich das individuelle Risiko für Demenz reduzieren? Neue Erkenntnisse aus der Demenz-Präventionsforschung

Scientific Conference (2023, June)

Socioeconomic Deprivation, Genetic Risk, and Incident Dementia

in American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2023)

Contributions of modifiable risk factors to increased dementia risk in depression

in Psychological Medicine (2023)

Education as risk factor of Mild Cognitive Impairment - the role of the gut microbiome.

Poster (2023, January)

Gendered life courses and cognitive functioning in later life: the role of context-specific gender norms and lifetime employment

in European Journal of Ageing (2023)

With increasing life expectancy, dementia poses an epidemiological challenge. As a cure has not been developed, the investigation into preventive factors becomes pivotal. Previous research emphasizes the ... [more ▼]

With increasing life expectancy, dementia poses an epidemiological challenge. As a cure has not been developed, the investigation into preventive factors becomes pivotal. Previous research emphasizes the cognitively stimulating and socio-emotional benefits of lifetime employment, but research on heterogeneous patterns across social groups and societal contexts remains sparse. Sociological approaches have a promising potential to provide insights into health inequalities and can contribute to the study of this major societal challenge. We investigate the influence of previous employment biographies on cognitive functioning for men and women aged 50 to 75 in 19 European countries, using longitudinal and retrospective information from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. We link individual information on employment biographies and cognitive functioning to contextual measures of gender norms, using aggregated agreement rates to both men's and women's role in employment and family. We find that previous employment affects cognitive functioning men and women differently. Part-time employment is beneficial for women's cognitive functioning, but not for men's. Traditional gender norms are associated with lower levels of cognitive functioning for both genders and moderate the linkage between previous employment and cognitive functioning. In contexts with more traditional gender norms, men's part-time employment is associated with lower and women's part-time employment with higher cognitive functioning. We conclude that employment and non-employment participation can, depending on characteristics of individuals and contexts, benefit or hinder the life-course accumulation of cognitive reserve, and those with norm-deviating behaviour are disadvantaged. [less ▲]

Prevalence of dementia in Latin America and Caribbean countries: Systematic review and meta-analyses exploring age, sex, rurality, and education as possible determinants

in Ageing Research Reviews (2022)

Background Studies have shown that the prevalence of dementia in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) may be higher than in high-income countries. Thus, we sought to systematically analyse the prevalence ... [more ▼]

Background Studies have shown that the prevalence of dementia in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) may be higher than in high-income countries. Thus, we sought to systematically analyse the prevalence of dementia and explore possible drivers that lead to this disparity in LAC countries. Method We searched Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Lilacs, and SciELO for studies on dementia in LAC countries published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Random-effects model was applied. Results Thirty-one studies from 17 LAC countries were included. Pooled prevalence of all-cause dementia was 10.66%. Further analyses with studies providing raw prevalence by sex, area, and educational level showed a higher prevalence for women (8.97%) than for men (7.26%). Also, dementia prevalence was higher for rural than urban residents (7.71% vs 8.68%, respectively). Participants without formal education presented more than double the prevalence of dementia (21.37%) compared to those with at least one year of formal education (9.88%). Studies with more recent data collection showed higher dementia prevalence. Conclusion Our findings suggest a high global dementia prevalence in LAC countries and an unequal burden of dementia for women, lower-educated, and rural residents. Secular increases in dementia prevalence call for greater public health efforts for preventative actions. [less ▲]

Country-Level Availability and Generosity of Healthcare Services, and Ageism’s Effects upon COVID-19 Era Missed Healthcare

Scientific Conference (2022, August 08)

Why should we discuss gender inequalities in Latin America and their effects in later life? 

Presentation (2022, June 08)

Machine learning in Public Health: Relevant applications in ageing populations

Presentation (2022, April 25)