Positive Emotions and Exceptional Healthy Aging

描述(由申请人提供)：这项拟议的研究涉及NIA试点研究资助计划PAR-03-056-#12，该计划呼吁进行初步研究，审查“减缓与年龄相关的变化的因素和随着年龄增加而发生不良事件的风险。”该计划的公告特别关注“导致人类异常健康衰老的因素”。我们建议：通过检查老年、最初并不虚弱的墨西哥裔美国人的虚弱综合征的发展轨迹，来检查“异常健康的老龄化”；并检查积极的情绪是否与这一人群虚弱的发生和进展的延迟有关。这项工作之所以重要，有三个原因。首先，在年长的墨西哥裔美国人中还没有研究过虚弱综合征。第二，这项工作开始审查可能有助于缩小目前在服务不足的少数群体之间存在的健康差距的因素。第三，美国国立卫生研究院行为社会科学研究未来方向委员会最近建议提供新的资源，以促进积极健康各方面的知识，包括积极心理影响产生的健康益处的潜在机制。这项研究的具体目的是：1.使用操作定义的标准检验虚弱综合征的发展轨迹；2.检验积极情感和年龄、性别、婚姻状况和社会经济状况对虚弱综合征发展轨迹的交互作用；3.在7年的时间里，考察积极情感对共同发病、认知和社会支持在老年、最初非虚弱的墨西哥裔美国人中对虚弱综合征发展轨迹的影响。数据来自西班牙裔老年流行病学研究(HEPESE)的既定人口，这些数据代表了美国老年墨西哥裔人口的85%。这个R03应用程序的结果将为R01应用程序生成数据，该应用程序检查美国、墨西哥和拉丁美洲拉美裔老年人口在健康老龄化方面的跨国差异和相似之处。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed study addresses the NIA pilot research grant program PAR-03-056-#12-calling for preliminary studies examining "factors moderating the rate of age-related changes and risk for adverse events with increasing age." The program announcement is particularly interested in "factors contributing to exceptional healthy aging in humans." We propose: to examine "exceptional healthy aging' through an examination of the trajectory of the syndrome of frailty in a sample of older, initially non-frail, Mexican Americans; and to examine whether positive affect is associated with the delay in onset and progression of frailty for this population. This work is important for 3 reasons. First, the syndrome of frailty has not been studied in older Mexican American populations. Second, this work begins to examine factors that may contribute to a narrowing of health disparities that currently exist between underserved minority groups. Third, the committee on future directions for Behavioral Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health recently recommended that new resources be made available for advancing knowledge on aspects of positive health including mechanisms underlying the health benefits resulting from positive psychological influences. Specific Aims of the proposed research are: 1. Examine the trajectory of the syndrome of frailty using operationally defined criteria, 2. Examine interaction effects for positive affect and age, gender, marital status, and socioeconomic status on the trajectory of the syndrome of frailty, and 3. Examine the mediating effect of positive affect on associations for co-morbidity, cognition, and social support on the trajectory of the syndrome of frailty in a sample of older, initially non-frail Mexican Americans over a 7 year period. Data is from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (HEPESE), and this data represents 85% of the older Mexican American population in the U.S. Findings from this R03 application will generate data for an R01 application examining cross-national differences and similarities in healthy aging for older Hispanics in the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America.