Happiness of Centenarians a Severely Neglected Area of Research
A systematic review by researchers at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), UNSW Sydney has highlighted the need for clearer definitions of ‘happiness’, ‘life satisfaction’ and ‘positive affect’ in centenarians. This is the first systematic review to summarise the literature on the subjective wellbeing of this unique age group.
The review, published in Aging & Mental Health, identified 18 studies that followed patients from several weeks to 18 years and looked at subjective wellbeing, comprising a cognitive component and an affective component.
The cognitive component is represented as ‘life satisfaction’ and the affective or mood component defined in relation to a person’s immediate emotional state.
Funding Success to Develop iSupport Program in Australia and Greater China
Co-Director of UNSW Sydney’s Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), Professor Henry Brodaty, along with a team of national and international researchers, have been the successful recipients of a $400,000 award to strengthen professional collaboration in dementia caregiver education and research in Australia and Greater China.
The project, led by Flinders University, will showcase Australia’s excellence in dementia care and research by developing a Chinese iSupport program. It is funded by the Australian Government’s National Foundation for Australia-China Relations; an initiative established in 2020 to strengthen understanding and engagement between Australia and China.
Self-Reported Hearing Loss Linked to Increased Risk of Dementia
A six-year study of older Australians in CHeBA’s Sydney Memory and Ageing Study has uncovered an Australian-first association between the impact of hearing loss on cognitive abilities and increased risk for dementia.
In Australia, hearing loss affects 74% of people aged over 70. International studies estimate that people with severe hearing loss are five times more likely to develop dementia. Addressing midlife hearing loss could prevent up to 9% of new cases of dementia – the highest of any potentially modifiable risk factor identified by a commissioned report published in The Lancet in 2017.
A research collaboration between the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), UNSW Sydney and Macquarie University’s Centre for Ageing, Cognition and Wellbeing has confirmed significant associations between self-reported hearing loss and cognition, as well as increased risk for mild cognitive impairment or dementia.