BACKGROUND: Electronic mental health literacy (eMHL) is critical for accessing and effectively using digital mental health resources. However, there is a paucity of research on how eMHL varies across age groups.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate differences in eMHL among young, middle-aged, and older adults; provide insights into the needs, behaviors, and attitudes of different age groups in relation to digital mental health resources; and ultimately, inform the improvement of mental health services.
METHODS: A qualitative investigation was conducted to examine the differences in eMHL across different age demographics in the Chinese population in 2023. The study sample comprised 3 distinct age groups: 18-34 years, 35-64 years, and 65 years and older. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling to ensure a diverse representation of the population. Data were collected through semistructured one-on-one interviews, which allowed for in-depth exploration of individual experiences and perceptions. The gathered data were subsequently subjected to rigorous thematic analysis to enable the identification and interpretation of recurring patterns and themes.
RESULTS: The principal outcomes derived from these interviews were synthesized into 5 distinct dimensions: emotional needs, use of digital mental health resources, assessment of digital mental health information, engagement with social media to regulate emotions, and coping strategies. These dimensions were uniformly observed across the 3 age groups.
CONCLUSIONS: We identified differences in knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding the use of web-based information for managing mental health problems between the 3 age groups. The findings highlight the importance of age-specific strategies for improving eMHL.

Removal has been assumed to be a core mechanism in working memory. However, it remains unclear whether children can actively remove outdated information from working memory and how this ability develops as children age. The current study aimed to examine age-related differences in removal ability and its relations with cognitive control and working memory capacity. Children aged 7, 9, and 11 years performed a modified working memory updating task assessing removal efficiency. In addition, a battery of cognitive control and working memory capacity tasks was administered. Results indicated that updating response times decreased considerably when a longer time was given for removal, suggesting that children aged 7 to 11 years can actively remove outdated items from working memory prior to encoding the new ones and that removal efficiency increased with age. More important, age-related increases in removal efficiency occurred concurrently with the development of working memory capacity. Proactive control predicted removal efficiency over and beyond age and working memory capacity. The findings shed new light on the mechanisms underlying the development of working memory updating.

Hypertension is one of the most significant risk factors for many cardiovascular diseases. At different stages of hypertension development, various pathophysiological processes can play a key role in the manifestation of the hypertensive phenotype and of comorbid conditions. Accordingly, it is thought that when diagnosing and choosing a strategy for treating hypertension, it is necessary to take into account age, the stage of disorder development, comorbidities, and effects of emotional-psychosocial factors. Nonetheless, such an approach to choosing a treatment strategy is hampered by incomplete knowledge about details of age-related associations between the numerous features that may contribute to the manifestation of the hypertensive phenotype. Here, we used two groups of male F2(ISIAHxWAG) hybrids of different ages, obtained by crossing hypertensive ISIAH rats (simulating stress-sensitive arterial hypertension) and normotensive WAG rats. By principal component analysis, the relationships among 21 morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits were examined. It was shown that the development of stress-sensitive hypertension in ISIAH rats is accompanied not only by an age-dependent (FDR < 5%) persistent increase in basal blood pressure but also by a decrease in the response to stress and by an increase in anxiety. The plasma corticosterone concentration at rest and its increase during short-term restraint stress in a group of young rats did not have a straightforward relationship with the other analyzed traits. Nonetheless, in older animals, such associations were found. Thus, the study revealed age-dependent relationships between the key features that determine hypertension manifestation in ISIAH rats. Our results may be useful for designing therapeutic strategies against stress-sensitive hypertension, taking into account the patients\' age.

This study aimed to determine in how many individuals the iliocapsularis muscle (IC) could be identified on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and whether age and sex are associated with the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the IC.
Thirty-seven healthy younger adults and 40 healthy older adults were assigned to four groups: 1) 20 younger men; 2) 17 younger women; 3) 20 older men; and 4) 20 older women. The CSAs of the IC, IP, the rectus femoris (RF) and the quadriceps (QUAD) were quantified on an axial MRI.
The number of individuals with the identified IC was n = 17 (85.0%) of 20 younger men, n = 15 (88.2%) of 17 younger women, n = 18 (90.0%) of 20 older men, and 19 (95.0%) of 20 older women. Our results showed the main effect of sex, but not age, in the CSA of the IC. The men-groups had larger CSA of the IC than the women-groups; however, no difference in CSA of the IC was found between the younger and older groups. Meanwhile, the main effects of age and sex were found for the IP, RF, and QUAD; thus, younger or men groups have larger CSAs of the three muscles than the older or women groups. The IC muscle can be discriminated in 85% - 95% of healthy individuals.
Although sex and age are associated with the CSA of lower-limb muscles other than the IC, only sex is associated with the CSA of the IC.

Not only are the effects of cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and low fitness on executive functions and brain activations in older adults scarcely investigated, no fMRI study has investigated the combined effects of multiple risk factors on brain activations in older adults. This fMRI study examined the independent and combined effects of two cardiovascular risk factors, arterial plasticity, and physical fitness, on brain activations during task-switching in older adults. The effects of these two risk factors on age-related differences in activation between older and younger adults were also examined. Independently, low physical fitness and low arterial plasticity were related to reduced suppressions of occipital brain regions. The combined effects of these two risks on occipital regions were greater than the independent effects of either risk factor. Age-related overactivations in frontal cortex were observed in low fitness older adults. Brain-behavior correlation indicates that these frontal overactivations are maladaptive to older adults\' task performance. It is possible that the resulting effects of cardiovascular risks on the aging brain, especially the maladaptive overactivations of frontal brain regions by high risk older adults, contribute to often found posterior-anterior shift in aging (PASA) brain activations. Furthermore, observed age-related differences in brain activations during task-switching can be partially attributed to individual differences in cardiovascular risks among older adults.

OBJECTIVE: To test 9 + screening batterie\'s intra-rater reliability, to provide indicative data of elite handball players, and to analyze difference between age, playing positions and level of play.
METHODS: Descriptive study.
METHODS: Icelandic elite male handball players.
METHODS: 182 elite male handball players.
METHODS: Nine + screening battery.
RESULTS: Reliability test: Intra-class correlation for the total score was 0.95. The correlation of each of the test factors varied from 0.63 to 0.91. The mean total score was 22.3 ± 2.9 (95%CI 16.7-28.1), with no difference in total score comparing players age or level of play. Goalkeepers displayed a higher total score than other players (F3,151 = 5.75, p = 0.001). Junior players had a lower score than senior players in tests measuring abdominal strength and core stability; Test 5; │2(3, 182) = 41.5, p < 0.0001, Test 6; │2(3, 182) = 55.7, p < 0.0001, Test 7; │2(3, 182) = 11.8, p < 0.005, but higher scores in tests measuring trunk and shoulder mobility Test 8; │2(3, 182) = 18.2, p < 0.0001, Test 9; │2(3, 182) = 22.2, p = 0.006.
CONCLUSIONS: The 9+ intra-rater reliability was acceptable for the total score and individual tests. Age-related differences were provided in many individual tests.

UNASSIGNED: Incidence of falling in the older-elderly is higher than that of the younger-elderly. In addition, falls occur more in elderly women than in elderly men. However, it is unclear whether age and sex-specific differences exist in gait characteristics of the elderly. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate age- and sex-related differences in gait characteristics of the Korean elderly people.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 75 younger-elderly subjects (age of 65-74 yr; 21 men and 54 women) and 59 older-elderly subjects (age of 75-90 yr; 15 men and 44 women) participated in this study in 2014. All participants walked a distance of 8 m across a GaitRite walkway with self-selected speed. The effects of age and sex on spatiotemporal gait variables in the Korean elderly people were analyzed before and after adjusting height as covariate.
UNASSIGNED: The older-elderly group slowly walked with shorter stride length (P<0.05) and step length (P<0.05) compared to the younger-elderly, regardless of their height. There was no significant sex difference after adjusting height as covariate, although elderly women walked with shorter stride length (P<0.01) and step length (P<0.01) than elderly men. The elderly women group walked with more variable stride time (P<0.05) and with longer double support (P<0.01).
UNASSIGNED: Age-related changes and sex difference among the elderly existed in specific gait variables. Characterizing gait patterns of the Korean elderly people considering both age and sex would be beneficial to assess gait of the elderly with risk of falls for fall interventions.

Background and aims: Maximum phonation time (MPT), which is related to respiratory function, is widely used to evaluate maximum vocal capabilities, because its use is non-invasive, quick, and inexpensive. We aimed to examine differences in MPT by age, following recovery phase II cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Methods: This longitudinal observational study assessed 50 consecutive cardiac patients who were divided into the middle-aged group (<65 years, n = 29) and older-aged group (≥65 years, n = 21). MPTs were measured at 1 and 3 months after cardiac surgery, and were compared. Results: The duration of MPT increased more significantly from month 1 to month 3 in the middle-aged group (19.2 ± 7.8 to 27.1 ± 11.6 s, p < 0.001) than in the older-aged group (12.6 ± 3.5 to 17.9 ± 6.0 s, p < 0.001). However, no statistically significant difference occurred in the % change of MPT from 1 month to 3 months after cardiac surgery between the middle-aged group and older-aged group, respectively (41.1% vs. 42.1%). In addition, there were no significant interactions of MPT in the two groups for 1 versus 3 months (F = 1.65, p = 0.20). Conclusion: Following phase II, CR improved MPT for all cardiac surgery patients.

BACKGROUND: National joint replacement registries have reported a substantial growth in younger knee osteoarthritic patients (<55years old) undergoing total knee replacement, however this younger population is generally understudied. Importantly, studies examining experimentally controlled perturbation have shown age-related differences between younger and older healthy adults, whether similar age-related differences exist among total knee replacement patients is unknown.
METHODS: A total of 59 participants, including 29 unilateral total knee replacement patients (six-months post-surgery) made up the four experimental groups: 1) younger patient (54.3 (SD 7.9) years), 2) younger control (55.2 (SD 4.0) years), 3) older patient (76.9 (SD 4.7) years), and 4) older control (77.7 (SD 4.1) years). Using a tether-release method to perturb balance and simulate a forward fall, center of mass and stepping characteristics were analyzed.
RESULTS: Younger patients recovered following the perturbation with a significantly smaller center of mass displacement compared to the older patients (14.85 (SD 0.01) v. 18.13 (SD 0.02) %ht, p=0.02); utilizing a longer (0.43 (SD 0.02) v. 0.39 (SD 0.03) m, p<0.001) and higher velocity (2.01 (SD 0.2) v. 1.59 (SD 0.2) m/s, p=0.001) recovery step. Importantly, younger patients did not differ significantly from the younger controls in center of mass displacement or recovery step characteristics (p>0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The younger patients demonstrated superior center of mass control in response to a forward perturbation, suggesting that younger patients would be at a reduced risk of falling when recovering from a forward-directed postural perturbation compared to older patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Magnetic resonance volumetric measurement of inner ear endolymphatic space (ELS) was performed in patients without vertiginous or cochlear symptoms. The existence of the ELS in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) was shown. The ELS in the cochlea and vestibule was classified into four categories. These findings could be useful as a standard reference for further research.
OBJECTIVE: To identify normal values of the ELS in the cochlea and vestibule.
METHODS: Twenty-four patients with CRS were enrolled. Inner ear fluid space images and positive perilymph/positive endolymph images were acquired using a 3.0-tesla unit. Three-dimensional (3-D) images were constructed semi-automatically using both anatomical and tissue information by fusing the 3-D images of the inner ear fluid space and the ELS.
RESULTS: Among all patients, the mean ELS/the total fluid space (TFS) ratio in the cochlea was 8.8% and that in the vestibule was 16.2%. The ELS in the cochlea and vestibule was classified into four categories. Age-related differences were found in the TFS, ELS, and ELS/TFS ratio in the inner ear and the ELS and ELS/TFS ratio in the vestibule.