Lisa Berkman
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View article: Sensory impairment and dementia risk among older adults in rural South Africa
Sensory impairment and dementia risk among older adults in rural South Africa Open
INTRODUCTION South Africa faces growing dementia challenges, worsened by limited medical resources and low education. Modifiable risk factors like hearing and vision impairments remain understudied despite their high prevalence. METHODS We…
View article: Effects of pension eligibility expansion on men’s memory decline and dementia probability: Findings from the HAALSI cohort in rural South Africa, 2014–2021
Effects of pension eligibility expansion on men’s memory decline and dementia probability: Findings from the HAALSI cohort in rural South Africa, 2014–2021 Open
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) are a growing global health concern, with burdens projected to expand rapidly in the coming decades. Since cognitive decline typically precedes ADRD, it is crucial to identify interventions …
View article: Exploring the relationship between pain, cognition, and chronic conditions: insights from the HAALSI study in rural South Africa
Exploring the relationship between pain, cognition, and chronic conditions: insights from the HAALSI study in rural South Africa Open
Background Research on cognition and pain is limited in Low and Middle-income Countries (LMICs) and understanding how chronic conditions and pain treatment may moderate this association is underexplored. This study aimed to explore the rel…
View article: Physical Health Consequences of Vicarious Trauma
Physical Health Consequences of Vicarious Trauma Open
Objective Vicarious trauma (VT) is “secondhand” trauma healthcare workers experience when interacting with trauma survivors. The prospective relationship between workers’ VT symptoms and physical health has not been studied. Methods Survey…
View article: What would Len say?
What would Len say? Open
View article: Intimate partner violence and cognitive functioning – toward quantifying dementia risk
Intimate partner violence and cognitive functioning – toward quantifying dementia risk Open
INTRODUCTION Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is highly common among women and associated with adverse health consequences that may be linked to dementia risk. METHODS Nurses’ Health Study II participants ( N = 14,771) reporte…
View article: Relation of income to trends in well-being by age: implications for the future older “forgotten” lower middle class
Relation of income to trends in well-being by age: implications for the future older “forgotten” lower middle class Open
The structure of social welfare policy has neglected a growing and increasingly economically marginalized segment of the American population—the lower middle class, a large group who are ineligible for many need-based social services. We e…
View article: Effectiveness of a Participatory Voice Intervention on Psychological Well-being among Warehouse Workers: Results from the Fulfillment Center Intervention Study
Effectiveness of a Participatory Voice Intervention on Psychological Well-being among Warehouse Workers: Results from the Fulfillment Center Intervention Study Open
View article: A global analysis of adaptation to societal aging across low-, middle- and high-income countries using the Global Aging Society Index
A global analysis of adaptation to societal aging across low-, middle- and high-income countries using the Global Aging Society Index Open
View article: Exploring the relationship between neuropsychiatric symptoms, cognitive test performance, and brain abnormalities in a cohort of older adults in rural South Africa
Exploring the relationship between neuropsychiatric symptoms, cognitive test performance, and brain abnormalities in a cohort of older adults in rural South Africa Open
Background People with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) often have neuropsychiatric symptoms. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) is a validated tool for assessing the severity of these symptoms, but its applicability in a South African context r…
View article: Measuring Visuospatial Ability in Low‐Literacy Older Adults: A Comparison of the Constructional Praxis and Stick Design Tests in Rural South Africa
Measuring Visuospatial Ability in Low‐Literacy Older Adults: A Comparison of the Constructional Praxis and Stick Design Tests in Rural South Africa Open
Background Dementia criteria require not only memory impairment, but additional impairment in at least one other cognitive domain, like visuospatial functioning. Cognitive measures assessing visuospatial function often involve drawing shap…
View article: Assessing the feasibility of dried blood spot (DBS) collection for blood‐based biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in rural South Africa
Assessing the feasibility of dried blood spot (DBS) collection for blood‐based biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in rural South Africa Open
Background The characterization of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD related dementias (ADRD) pathophysiology has been revolutionized by the development of highly sensitive blood‐based biomarkers. Although blood‐based biomarkers allow for gr…
View article: Performance of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline for the Elderly (IQCODE) in Rural South Africa
Performance of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline for the Elderly (IQCODE) in Rural South Africa Open
Background Informant reports are commonly regarded as reliable and supplemental alongside respondent cognitive assessments, particularly in low‐literacy settings with absent normative data. We evaluate the performance of the Informant Ques…
View article: Estimating dementia prevalence using remote diagnoses and algorithmic modelling: a population-based study of a rural region in South Africa
Estimating dementia prevalence using remote diagnoses and algorithmic modelling: a population-based study of a rural region in South Africa Open
National Institute on Aging.
View article: Intensity of care and the health status of caregivers to elderly rural South Africans
Intensity of care and the health status of caregivers to elderly rural South Africans Open
Objectives Informal caregivers play an indispensable role in and are often the sole source of care for older adults in low and middle-income settings worldwide. Intensive informal care predicts mortality and morbidity among caregivers in h…
View article: Effect of a cash transfer intervention on memory decline and dementia probability in older adults in rural South Africa
Effect of a cash transfer intervention on memory decline and dementia probability in older adults in rural South Africa Open
Evidence on cash transfers as a population-level intervention to support healthy cognitive aging in low-income settings is sparse. We assessed the effect of a cash transfer intervention on cognitive aging outcomes in older South African ad…
View article: Impact of the South African Child Support Grant on memory decline and dementia probability in rural and low-income mothers, 2014–2021
Impact of the South African Child Support Grant on memory decline and dementia probability in rural and low-income mothers, 2014–2021 Open
View article: Chronic loneliness and the risk of incident stroke in middle and late adulthood: a longitudinal cohort study of U.S. older adults
Chronic loneliness and the risk of incident stroke in middle and late adulthood: a longitudinal cohort study of U.S. older adults Open
View article: Child support grant expansion and cognitive function among women in rural South Africa: Findings from a natural experiment in the HAALSI cohort
Child support grant expansion and cognitive function among women in rural South Africa: Findings from a natural experiment in the HAALSI cohort Open
Background Cash transfers are a promising but understudied intervention that may protect cognitive function in adults. Although South Africa has a rapidly ageing population, little is known about the nature of association between cash tran…
View article: Mid-life employment trajectories and subsequent memory function and rate of decline in rural South Africa, 2000–22
Mid-life employment trajectories and subsequent memory function and rate of decline in rural South Africa, 2000–22 Open
Aim To investigate mid-life employment trajectories in relation to later-life memory function and rate of decline in rural South Africa. Methods Data from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System were linked to the ‘H…
View article: Associations between cohort derived dementia and COVID-19 serological diagnosis among older Black adults in rural South Africa
Associations between cohort derived dementia and COVID-19 serological diagnosis among older Black adults in rural South Africa Open
Objectives This study investigates the association between cohort derived dementia and serologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, an underexplored phenomena in low-and middle-income countries. Examining this relationship in a rural Sout…
View article: Health
Health Open
View article: Association of brain arterial diameters with demographic and anatomical factors in a multi-national pooled analysis of cohort studies
Association of brain arterial diameters with demographic and anatomical factors in a multi-national pooled analysis of cohort studies Open
Background and Purpose Brain arterial diameters are markers of cerebrovascular disease. Demographic and anatomical factors may influence arterial diameters. We hypothesize that age, sex, height, total cranial volume (TCV), and persistent f…
View article: Cerebrovascular disease is associated with memory function in the Health and Aging in Africa Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community in rural South Africa
Cerebrovascular disease is associated with memory function in the Health and Aging in Africa Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community in rural South Africa Open
Background Health and Aging in Africa Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community in South Africa (HAALSI) is a sister study to the US‐based Health and Retirement Study. The purpose of HAALSI is to characterize the social, economic, biologi…
View article: QUANTIFYING CONTRIBUTIONS OF WORK CHARACTERISTICS TO EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES IN HEALTH-INDUCED WORK LIMITATIONS
QUANTIFYING CONTRIBUTIONS OF WORK CHARACTERISTICS TO EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES IN HEALTH-INDUCED WORK LIMITATIONS Open
While public policies are incentivizing longer working lives, poor health and inhospitable working conditions pose challenges to working longer, especially for Americans with low educational attainment. This analysis sought to quantify how…
View article: Estimating Dementia Prevalence in Rural South Africa with Remote Consensus Diagnoses and Algorithmic Modeling
Estimating Dementia Prevalence in Rural South Africa with Remote Consensus Diagnoses and Algorithmic Modeling Open
Background There is limited population‐based data on dementia epidemiology from sub‐Saharan Africa, precluding deeper understanding of global dementia burden. The Health and Aging in Africa Study (HAALSI) is designed to address this eviden…
View article: The Effect of Family Wealth on Physical Function Among Older Adults in Mpumalanga, South Africa: A Causal Network Analysis
The Effect of Family Wealth on Physical Function Among Older Adults in Mpumalanga, South Africa: A Causal Network Analysis Open
Objectives: The aging of the South African population could have profound implications for the independence and overall quality of life of older adults as life expectancy increases. While there is evidence that lifetime socio-economic stat…
View article: Harmonisation of later-life cognitive function across national contexts: results from the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocols
Harmonisation of later-life cognitive function across national contexts: results from the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocols Open
View article: Home-based HIV testing strategies for middle-aged and older adults in rural South Africa
Home-based HIV testing strategies for middle-aged and older adults in rural South Africa Open
Objective: More than one in four adults over 40 years with HIV in South Africa are unaware of their status and not receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV self-testing may offer a powerful approach to closing this gap for aging adults.…
View article: Quantifying the Contribution of Work Characteristics to Educational Disparities in Health-Induced Work Limitations
Quantifying the Contribution of Work Characteristics to Educational Disparities in Health-Induced Work Limitations Open
Objectives To quantify how poor health and inhospitable working conditions each contribute to educational disparities in work disability in midlife and old age. Methods We used the Health and Retirement Study (2006–2016) to examine educati…