Browsing by Author "Allen J"

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    Dataset comprising indices of healthy ageing among older New Zealand adults from the 2016-2018 waves of the Health, Work and Retirement longitudinal survey
    (Elsevier BV, 2020-08) Allen J; Alpass F; Stephens C
    This article describes data utilised in article C. Stephens, J. Allen, N. Keating, A. Szabó, F. Alpass, Neighborhood environments and intrinsic capacity interact to affect health related quality of life of older people in New Zealand, Maturitas 139 (2020) 1-5. Data represent self-report responses to a longitudinal postal survey of health and ageing in Aotearoa New Zealand, conducted as part of the Health, Work and Retirement study. Respondents were derived from a large random sample of older adults drawn from a nationally representative sampling frame. Data were collected in 2016 (n = 4029 respondents) and with follow-up conducted in 2018 (n = 3207 respondents from 2016 wave; 79.6% response rate). The dataset comprises responses from all participants in the 2016 survey wave, including those that did not meet criteria for inclusion in the research article. Additional data on sensory impairments, depression, health behaviours, material resources, survey design and response weights are included to facilitate future research. The data article presents tables charting the longitudinal indicators related to the WHO definition of Healthy Ageing collected in the 2016 and 2018 omnibus surveys and made available in the dataset, as well as indicating those to be assessed in the 2020 survey wave. As work is ongoing to identify key domains and indices of Healthy Ageing, provision of these data with relevant materials, metadata and analyses scripts support current research findings, and enable use of these data in future research.
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    Daytime fatigue as a predictor for subsequent retirement among older New Zealand workers
    (Elsevier Inc on behalf of National Sleep Foundation, 2021-12) Myllyntausta S; Gibson R; Salo P; Allen J; Gander P; Alpass F; Stephens C
    Objectives There is limited information on the role of fatigue on retirement, either independently or in association with poor sleep. The aim of this study was to examine the prospective association between daytime fatigue, measured as feeling tired or feeling worn out, independently and in relation to dissatisfaction with sleep, and subsequent retirement among 960 older workers in New Zealand. Methods Data from 2 consecutive surveys (2008 and 2010) of the New Zealand Health, Work, and Retirement Longitudinal Study were used. Poisson regression was used to investigate whether feeling tired and feeling worn out in 2008, along with dissatisfaction with sleep, were associated with self-reported retirement either due to health reasons or other reasons by 2010. Results The risk for retirement due to health reasons during a 2-year follow-up was 1.80-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16-2.45) among those who felt tired and 1.99-fold (95% CI 1.34-2.64) among those who felt worn out when compared to those not tired or not feeling worn out after adjusting for several sociodemographic, work characteristics and self-rated health. The risk for retirement due to health reasons was even higher when participant experienced both tiredness and feeling worn out. Dissatisfaction with sleep did not predict retirement due to health or other reasons. Conclusions Our results highlight that workers at risk of subsequent retirement due to health reasons may be identified with rather simple questions on tiredness and feeling worn out even among generally healthy older workers.
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    Integrating and extending cohort studies: lessons from the eXtending Treatments, Education and Networks in Depression (xTEND) study.
    (5/10/2013) Allen J; Inder KJ; Lewin TJ; Attia JR; Kay-Lambkin FJ; Baker AL; Hazell T; Kelly BJ
    BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies often struggle to adequately represent populations and outcomes of interest. Differences in methodology, data analysis and research questions often mean that reviews and synthesis of the existing literature have significant limitations. The current paper details our experiences in combining individual participant data from two existing cohort studies to address questions about the influence of social factors on health outcomes within a representative sample of urban to remote areas of Australia. The eXtending Treatments, Education and Networks in Depression study involved pooling individual participant data from the Australian Rural Mental Health Study (T0 N = 2639) and the Hunter Community Study (T0 N = 3253) as well as conducting a common three-year follow-up phase (T1 N = 3513). Pooling these data extended the capacity of these studies by: enabling research questions of common interest to be addressed; facilitating the harmonization of baseline measures; permitting investigation of a range of psychosocial, physical and contextual factors over time; and contributing to the development and implementation of targeted interventions for persons experiencing depression and alcohol issues. DISCUSSION: The current paper describes the rationale, challenges encountered, and solutions devised by a project aiming to maximise the benefits derived from existing cohort studies. We also highlight opportunities for such individual participant data analyses to assess common assumptions in research synthesis, such as measurement invariance, and opportunities for extending ongoing cohorts by conducting a common follow-up phase. SUMMARY: Pooling individual participant data can be a worthwhile venture, particularly where adequate representation is beyond the scope of existing research, where the effects of interest are small though important, where events are of relatively low frequency or rarely observed, and where issues are of immediate regional or national interest. Benefits such as these can enhance the utility of existing projects and strengthen requests for further research funding.
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    Personal and contextual determinants of health for older rural Australians
    Allen J; Inder KJ; Lewin TJ; Attia J; Kelly BJ
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    Quality of life impact of cardiovascular and affective conditions among older residents from urban and rural communities.
    (14/08/2013) Allen J; Inder KJ; Harris ML; Lewin TJ; Attia JR; Kelly BJ
    BACKGROUND: The demographic, health and contextual factors associated with quality of life impairment are investigated in older persons from New South Wales, Australia. We examine the impact of cardiovascular and affective conditions on impairment and the potential moderating influence of comorbidity and remoteness. METHODS: Data from persons aged 55 and over were drawn from two community cohorts sampling from across urban to very remote areas. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to assess: 1) the impact of cardiovascular and affective conditions on physical and psychological quality of life impairment; and 2) any influence of remoteness on these effects (N = 4364). Remoteness was geocoded to participants at the postal code level. Secondary data sources were used to examine the social capital and health service accessibility correlates of remoteness. RESULTS: Physical impairment was consistently associated with increased age, male gender, lower education, being unmarried, retirement, stroke, heart attack/angina, depression/anxiety, diabetes, hypertension, current obesity and low social support. Psychological impairment was consistently associated with lower age, being unmarried, stroke, heart attack/angina, depression/anxiety and low social support. Remoteness tended to be associated with lower psychological impairment, largely reflecting overall urban versus rural differences. The impacts of cardiovascular and affective conditions on quality of life were not influenced by remoteness. Social capital increased and health service accessibility decreased with remoteness, though no differences between outer-regional and remote/very remote areas were observed. Trends suggested that social capital was associated with lower psychological impairment and that the influence of cardiovascular conditions and social capital on psychological impairment was greater for persons with a history of affective conditions. The beneficial impact of social capital in reducing psychological impairment was more marked for those experiencing financial difficulty. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular and affective conditions are key determinants of physical and psychological impairment. Persons affected by physical-psychological comorbidity experience greater psychological impairment. Social capital is associated with community remoteness and may ameliorate the psychological impairment associated with affective disorders and financial difficulties. The use of classifications of remoteness that are sensitive to social and health service accessibility determinants of health may better inform future investigations into the impact of context on quality of life outcomes.
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    Trajectories of material living standards, physical health and mental health under a universal pension
    (BMJ Publishing Group, 10/03/2020) Allen J; Alpass FM
    Objective Aged pension schemes aim to support material and non- material well- being of older populations. The current work aimed to describe dominant trajectories of material living standards in the decades prior to and following eligibility for an aged pension, and describe associated trajectories of physical and mental health. Methods Longitudinal data on living standards and indices of health Short Form 12 were collected over 2–12 years follow- up from 4811 New Zealand adults aged 55–76. Growth mixture models were used to identify dominant trajectories of living standards with age. Latent growth curve models were used to describe trajectories of physical and mental health associated with each living standards trajectory class. results A group characterised by good living standards with age (81.5%) displayed physical and mental health scores comparable to those of the general adult population. Smaller groups experienced hardship but increasing living standards (11.8%) and hardship and declining living standards (6.8%). While both groups in hardship experienced poor health in the decade prior pension eligibility, mental health improved among those with increasing living standards, while physical and mental health declined among those with declining living standards. Conclusion Under the current policy settings, a majority of older adults in New Zealand maintain a good level of living standards and health in later life. However, significant proportions experience material hardship and poor health in the decade prior to pension eligibility. Alleviation of material hardship may reduce health inequalities in later life.