Welcome from the Ageing SIG Co-chairs

We are delighted to welcome a new co-chair and one communication officer to the leadership team of the Ageing SIG. We also thank Dr. Libby Richards and Dr Shilpa Dogra for their outstanding contribution to the SIG leadership team.

It was wonderful to see those of you who attended the Ageing SIG meeting in Omaha.  

In this newsletter we congratulate the presenters who were awarded best poster and oral presentation during our annual meeting, and we also announce the SIG awards. 

We also have a few asks. We are seeking expressions of interest to join our leadership team. Further, the Ageing SIG will have the opportunity to host a 2-4 hour workshop the morning of the first day of the Annual Meeting next year. If you have an idea for a workshop, please share with us at ageing_sig@isbnpa.org 

We hope you enjoy the August newsletter!  

Follow us on X at @ISBNPA_Ageing or contact us at: ageing_sig@isbnpa.org 

Dr Hattie Wright and Dr Marina Pinheiro 

Welcome to the new members of the leadership team

Co-chair: Dr Marina Pinheiro 

Communication officer: Dr Natalia Gomes Gonçalves. 

We would like to welcome Dr Natalia Gomes Gonçalves to the Ageing SIG leadership team. Natalia will be a communication officer and work alongside Mr Corey Linton. We also welcome Dr Marina Pinheiro who is stepping up as the co-chair of the SIG. 

We also have two members of the leadership team stepping down. We would like to thank Dr Libby Richards (immediate past co-chair) and Dr Shilpa Dogra (Webinar officer) for their outstanding contribution over the years to the SIG leadership team.

PRESENTATION AWARDS

At our annual meeting we presented awards for best poster and oral presentation.  

Congratulations to the winners Dr Lieke J.E. Duijsens and Prof. Delfien Van Dyck. 

Best Poster 

Lieke J.E. Duijsens, Catherine A.W. Bolman, Alissa S. Paas, Trijntje Völlink, Denise A. Peels, and Lilian Lechner, Unveiling the Tapestry of Healthy Ageing among Older Adults: A Qualitative Exploration of Motivators, Facilitators and Impediments in Predominantly Low Socioeconomic Conditions  

Best Oral

Prof. Delfien Van Dyck: Why and in which contexts do older adults sit? An EMA study to identify the context- and time-depending determinants of sedentary behavior in older adults. 

AWARD RECIPIENTS

We would like to announce our Ageing SIG Award winners. Thank you everyone who submitted their applications and congratulations to the winners.

Early Career Award 

SHIHO AMAGASA 

Senior Assistant Professor 

Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health 

Japan 

Distinguished Scientist Award (photo below)

Dr Heather McKay 

Professor, The University of British Columbia 

Principal Scientist Active Aging Research Team 

The ISBNPA AGEING SIG leadership committee is currently looking for new members!

Joining the SIG leadership team is an excellent way to network and collaborate with researchers with similar interests across the world.  

We are in particular need to grow our NUTRITION researchers in our SIG. We are also looking for new members to join: 

• WEBIBAR sub-committee: activities include organizing Webinars (1-2 per year) for our members.  



If you are interested in joining or learning more about the SIG, contact us via: ageing_sig@isbnpa.org 

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Highlighting below a few recent publications from members of our Ageing SIG.  

• Rachele JN, Mavoa S, Sugiyama T, Kavanagh A, Giles-Corti B, Brown WJ, Inoue S, Amagasa S, Turrell G. Changes in neighbourhood walkability and body mass index: An analysis of residential mobility from a longitudinal multilevel study in Brisbane, Australia. Health & Place. 2024 May 1;87:103245. 

This study examined associations between changes in neighbourhood walkability and body mass index (BMI) among 1041 residents who relocated within Brisbane, Australia between 2007 and 2016 over five waves of the HABITAT study. Measures included spatially-derived neighbourhood walkability (dwelling density, street connectivity, and land use mix) and self-reported height and weight. No associations were found between any neighbourhood walkability characteristics and BMI. Examining these associations over the life course, and the impact of residential relocation in the younger years, remains a priority for future research. 

• Walia AS, King AC, Campero MI, Garcia DM, Lee RE, Zamora AN. Exploring the Relationship between Built Environment Attributes and Physical Activity in Lower-Income Aging Adults: Preliminary Insights from a Multi-Level Trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2024 May 9;21(5):607. 

The built environment has been linked to physical activity (PA) behaviors, yet there is limited knowledge of this association among lower-income midlife and older adults who are insufficiently active. The present cross-sectional study utilized baseline data collected between October 2017 and November 2019 from a clustered randomized controlled trial to determine how built environment attributes were associated with PA behaviors among midlife and older adults (n = 255) residing in or near affordable housing sites (n = 10). At each site, perceptions of the built environment were collected and scored at the participant level via the abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Survey (NEWS-A), while objective built environment attributes were measured and scored by trained research staff using the Physical Activity Resource Assessment (PARA). Multiple PA behaviors—walking, total PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (min/wk)—were measured using the validated Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) questionnaire. Adjusted linear regression models examined associations between NEWS-A measures and PA behaviors, and site-level correlations between PARA measures and PA behaviors were examined using Spearman’s rank correlations. At the participant level, adjusted models revealed that a one point increase in the NEWS-A aesthetics score was associated with a 57.37 min/wk increase in walking (β = 57.37 [95% CI: 20.84, 93.91], p = 0.002), with a similar association observed for street connectivity and MVPA (β = 24.31 min/wk [95% CI: 3.22, 45.41], p = 0.02). At the site level, MVPA was positively correlated with the quality of the features of local, PA-supportive environmental resources (ρ = 0.82, p = 0.004). Findings indicate that participant- and site-level measures of the built environment may play a role in promoting PA behavior among this demographic and similar populations. Results also suggest that improvements in aesthetic attributes and street connectivity, along with enhancing the quality of local, PA-supportive environmental resources, may be effective strategies for promoting physical activity among lower-income midlife and older adults. 

• Berntzen BJ, Tolvanen A, Kujala UM, Silventoinen K, Vuoksimaa E, Kaprio J, Aaltonen S. Longitudinal leisure-time physical activity profiles throughout adulthood and related characteristics: a 36-year follow-up study of the older Finnish Twin Cohort. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2024 Apr 26;21(1):47. 

Personalized interventions aiming to increase physical activity in individuals are effective. However, from a public health perspective, it would be important to stimulate physical activity in larger groups of people who share the vulnerability to be physically inactive throughout adulthood. To find these high-risk groups, we identified 36-year leisure-time physical activity profiles from young adulthood to late midlife in females and males. Moreover, we uncovered which anthropometric-, demographic-, lifestyle-, and health-related characteristics were associated with these physical activity profiles. 

We included 2,778 females and 1,938 males from the population-based older Finnish Twin Cohort Study, who responded to health and behavior surveys at the mean ages of 24, 30, 40 and 60. Latent profile analysis was used to identify longitudinal leisure-time physical activity profiles. 

We found five longitudinal leisure-time physical activity profiles for both females and males. Females’ profiles were: 1) Low increasing moderate (29%), 2) Moderate stable (23%), 3) Very low increasing low (20%), 4) Low stable (20%) and 5) High increasing high (9%). Males’ profiles were: 1) Low increasing moderate (29%), 2) Low stable very low (26%), 3) Moderate decreasing low (21%), 4) High fluctuating high (17%) and 5) Very low stable (8%). In both females and males, lower leisure-time physical activity profiles were associated with lower education, higher body mass index, smoking, poorer perceived health, higher sedentary time, high blood pressure, and a higher risk for type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, lower leisure-time physical activity was linked to a higher risk of depression in females. 

We found several longitudinal leisure-time physical activity profiles with unique changes in both sexes. Fewer profiles in females than in males remained or became low physically active during the 36-year follow-up. We observed that lower education, higher body mass index, and more smoking already in young adulthood were associated with low leisure-time physical activity profiles. However, the fact that several longitudinal profiles demonstrated a change in their physical activity behavior over time implies the potential for public health interventions to improve leisure-time physical activity levels 

Do you have a new paper you would like highlighted? Email us at ageing_sig@isbnpa.org

SPOTLIGHT ON AN EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER

One of the aims of the Ageing SIG is to enhance networking, advertise post doc positions, job opportunities and research exchanges. We would like to use the newsletter to invite one Early-Stage Researcher to talk about their PhD topic and future expectations.



Suggest any of your PhD students for our next issue. Please send them to: ageing_sig@isbnpa.org

Spotlight on Dr Corey Linton

PhD student and Associate lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, The University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. 

1.Tell us about your area of research. What attracted you to this area of research? 

My current research is predominantly my thesis where I am exploring the influence of diets inflammatory effect on musculoskeletal health in community dwelling older adults and exploring how we can improve the accuracy of calculating the dietary inflammatory potential of a diet. The reason is twofold, firstly I wanted to expand dietary recommendations to assist dietitians combatting musculoskeletal conditions in the community and secondly, through using the Dietary inflammatory Index to quantify the diets inflammatory effect, I noticed discrepancies in its published use and want to ensure the accuracy of this tool in research moving forward. I am an Accredited Practicing Dietitian that finds strength in statistics and making clinical sense of the numbers and statistics.  

2.    What have been your most exciting achievements to date?    

I was involved with a research team which explored the real and perceived physical, psychological and qualitative outcomes of older adults participating in a community lead exercise program. The findings from this study lead to the improvement of our local council's community lead exercise program tailored for older adults.  

I have also had the privilege of presenting findings from my PhD thesis at several national conferences. I will be presenting findings exploring the association between the diet inflammatory potential and musculoskeletal health at the upcoming Dietitians Australia national conference, which I am excited for. I believe as researchers, we need continual improvement at disseminating our findings to the clinicians whose work is informed by our research, and that is something I am excited to continue working on through these presentation opportunities.  

3.  Tell us about your current role? 

I am in the last 6-months of my PhD where I aim to submit early 2025 and I currently hold a position as a teaching focused academic in the School of Health within the Nutrition and Dietetic team at the University of the Sunshine Coast. I coordinate and teach into both the Bachelor of Nutrition and Bachelor of Deictics offerings as well as our School’s new Masters in Dietetics (Sports Nutrition).  

4. What research publications would you like to highlight? 

The below publications highlight the key work of our team in exploring the health of older adults and my PhD thesis.  

• Linton C, Wright HH, Wadsworth DP, Schaumberg MA. Dietary inflammatory index and associations with sarcopenia symptomology in community-dwelling older adults. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 15;14(24):5319. 

• Fien S, Linton C, Mitchell JS, Wadsworth DP, Szabo H, Askew CD, Schaumberg MA. Characteristics of community-based exercise programs for community-dwelling older adults in rural/regional areas: a scoping review. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. 2022 Jul;34(7):1511-28. 

• Wadsworth DP, Tulloch K, Wright H, Linton C, Baker J, Fien S, Szabo H, Askew CD, Schaumberg MA. Learning from the lived experience of functionally healthy older adults: What does it mean to be “healthy”?. Collegian. 2023 Jun 1;30(3):407-16. 

• Wright HH, Walker MA, Broadbent S, Linton C, Keech JJ, Rune KT, Davis CL, Morris M, Zhang A, Newton RU, Marshall S. The effect of dietary interventions or patterns on the cardiometabolic health of individuals treated with androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer: A systematic review. Maturitas. 2024 Feb 20:107940. 

5.     What do you like to do for fun?   

I am heavily involved in Surf Lifesaving, so when I am not working, I am generally down at my local surf club. I am the head coach of our Surf Rescue team and hold a position on the committee as Vice Club Captain. I also love to read philosophical novels; I am currently reading the entirety of Milan Kundera’s work.  

Have anything to add to the next issue? Let us know by sending an email to ageing_sig@isbnpa.org