Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-04-08eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igag026
Jarrod E Dalton, Paul R Gunsalus, Adam T Perzynski, Lyla Mourany, Elizabeth R Pfoh, Madeleine M Blazel, Douglas D Gunzler, Kathryn A Martinez, Glen B Taksler
{"title":"Simulation modeling of neighborhood-level differences in life course health outcomes: a proof of concept.","authors":"Jarrod E Dalton, Paul R Gunsalus, Adam T Perzynski, Lyla Mourany, Elizabeth R Pfoh, Madeleine M Blazel, Douglas D Gunzler, Kathryn A Martinez, Glen B Taksler","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igag026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igag026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Adults in low-resource neighborhoods face greater burden of preventable diseases than the general population. Methodologies to measure the impact of population-level efforts to reduce neighborhood-level disparities in health outcomes are lacking. We introduce a simulation modeling approach for incident disease and mortality risk over the life course and apply the model to assess the impact of a hypothetical population health initiative to reduce neighborhood-level disparities.</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>Using electronic health records, we constructed a probabilistic dynamic systems model that simulated the life course of each patient in a large primary care population, taking into account specific relationships by sex and Area Deprivation Index (ADI) quintile. The model predicted long-term incidence of 10 chronic conditions and all-cause mortality.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The model was reliable, with strong discrimination (C-statistic for 10-year mortality: 0.871) and calibration. Predicted median life expectancy was nearly a decade lower for patients ages 40-45 who resided in the highest (ADI quintile 5) vs the lowest (quintile 1) deprivation neighborhoods (difference [95% CI]; women, 8.6 [8.2, 9.0] years; men, 10.0 [9.6, 10.3]. A hypothetical initiative to reduce the number of smokers by 10% had minimal effect on disparities in life expectancy when implemented in the general patient population (women, -0.4 years; men, -0.2), but meaningfully narrowed disparities when focused on high-deprivation neighborhoods (women, -0.8 years; men, -0.6).</p><p><strong>Discussion and implications: </strong>In a broad patient population, it was feasible to measure socioeconomic disparities in health outcomes and life expectancy and evaluate interventions to improve health equity.</p>","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 5","pages":"igag026"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13123857/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147770514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-04-07eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igag037
Eunsol Song, Jinho Kim
{"title":"The longitudinal relationship between pain and depressive symptoms in later life: the buffering effects of social and physical activities among older Koreans.","authors":"Eunsol Song, Jinho Kim","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igag037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igag037","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>This study examined the longitudinal relationship between pain intensity and depressive symptoms among older adults and assessed the buffering effects of social and physical activities. In addition, it explored whether these buffering effects vary by gender and educational attainment.</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>Using 8 waves (2006-2020) of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, we analyzed a sample of 7,238 older adults aged 65 years and older. Longitudinal fixed-effects models were employed to assess how within-person changes in pain intensity were associated with within-person changes in depressive symptoms. Interaction terms were included to test the buffering effects of informal and formal social activity, as well as physical activity. Stratified analyses were conducted to explore potential heterogeneity by educational attainment and gender.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The fixed-effects models indicated that increases in pain intensity were significantly associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Interaction analyses revealed that this positive association was moderated by informal social activity, formal social activity, and physical activity. Specifically, older adults with higher levels of social or physical activity exhibited a weaker association between pain and depressive symptoms than those with lower levels of engagement. No clear differences in moderating effects were observed by education or gender.</p><p><strong>Discussion and implications: </strong>These findings highlight that social and physical activities act as key protective factors against the adverse psychological consequences of pain among older adults. Integrative interventions that promote sustained social engagement and physical activity may help mitigate depression risk in this population.</p>","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 5","pages":"igag037"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13138375/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147837405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-04-07eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igag027
Annabel X Tan, Sylvie Dobrota Lai, Vishnu Ravi, J David Rhodes, Suzanne E Judd, Michelle C Odden
{"title":"Seasonal variation in temperature and life-space mobility among older adults: a pilot study using mobile health technology.","authors":"Annabel X Tan, Sylvie Dobrota Lai, Vishnu Ravi, J David Rhodes, Suzanne E Judd, Michelle C Odden","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igag027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igag027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Extreme outdoor temperatures are known barriers to physical activity and may constrain life-space mobility, the geographic footprint of where people live, work, and recreate, and an important indicator of health and independence among older adults. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of a mobile health (mHealth) app designed to objectively capture life-space and to demonstrate its utility through a downstream analysis of ambient temperature and life-space mobility.</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>Using data collected via an iPhone app from 82 participants in an ongoing cohort study (June 2023-January 2024), we used linear mixed-effects models to examine associations between daily average temperature and 3 objective life-space measures: ellipse area, maximum distance traveled, and total distance traveled. Models were stratified by season and adjusted for relative humidity and sociodemographic covariates.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The app successfully captured high-resolution longitudinal mobility data over 2 weeks per participant. There was a significant negative nonlinear association between higher daily average temperature and life-space in the summer. With the peak life-space ellipse area observed at 28.8 °C, for every degree Celsius greater than 28.8 °C, we found a statistically significant decrease in ellipse area by 2.97 km<sup>2</sup> (95% CI: -5.45, -0.51; <i>p </i>= .02). Findings were similar for the outcomes of maximum and total distances traveled.</p><p><strong>Discussion and implications: </strong>This study demonstrates that mHealth technology is a feasible tool for assessing life-space mobility in older adults. Higher temperatures are associated with lower life-space metrics, highlighting the potential of app-derived metrics as digital biomarkers for mobility research.</p>","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 5","pages":"igag027"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13138379/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147837390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-03-30eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igag028
Alisa Bedrov, Erin D Bouldin, Roxana E Delgado, Mary Jo Pugh
{"title":"The \"healthy dyad\" bias in veteran-caregiver dyadic research: a methodological caution.","authors":"Alisa Bedrov, Erin D Bouldin, Roxana E Delgado, Mary Jo Pugh","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igag028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igag028","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 5","pages":"igag028"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13127415/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147814655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-03-18eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igag020
Peter J Young, Dawn C Mackey
{"title":"Outcomes of older adult physical activity participation that matter to health care professionals.","authors":"Peter J Young, Dawn C Mackey","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igag020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igag020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>There is extensive heterogeneity in outcome domain selection and reporting in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of physical activity interventions for older adults. Physical activity researchers need a core outcome set that recommends a minimum set of outcome domains to measure consistently, guided by input from health care professionals to ensure clinical relevance. This study aimed to identify the outcome domains related to older adults' physical activity participation that are most important to health care professionals.</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>Health care professionals completed an online survey in which they rated the importance of measuring 24 candidate outcome domains in future RCTs of physical activity interventions for older adults and ranked their top four.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>225 health care professionals participated (72% female; mean [SD] age, 37.8 [11.2] years; 21 general practitioners, 99 physiotherapists, and 105 kinesiologists). The 5 outcome domains most frequently rated as \"highly important\" (6-7 of 7) were Falls (92.0%), Quality of Life (91.5%), Independence (87.9%), Balance (84.4%), and Mobility (82.7%). The 5 outcome domains that most frequently appeared in participants' top 4 importance rankings were Quality of Life (67.1%), Independence (50.2%), Risk and Management of Chronic Disease (40.2%), Mobility (33.3%), and Falls (32.9%).</p><p><strong>Discussion and implications: </strong>Health care professionals prioritized Quality of Life, Independence, Falls, and Mobility as key outcome domains to measure in RCTs of physical activity interventions for older adults. These results will help align research with clinical priorities, support physical activity promotion, and guide the development of a core outcome set.</p>","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 5","pages":"igag020"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13082369/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147698745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-03-16eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igag022
Martin Chi Kit Yan, Siraj Farid, Jay Chillala, Robert A Harper
{"title":"Visual screening in an orthogeriatric rehabilitation setting: a feasibility evaluation.","authors":"Martin Chi Kit Yan, Siraj Farid, Jay Chillala, Robert A Harper","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igag022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igag022","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Vision loss is a significant risk factor for falls. Given the associated morbidity and mortality, proactive risk-reduction strategies are warranted. This evaluation aimed to assess the feasibility and potential clinical value of bedside visual screening in an orthogeriatric rehabilitation setting and to estimate the proportion of previously unrecognized visual deficits among older inpatients admitted following a fall.</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>In this prospective, single-center feasibility evaluation, 21 patients aged ≥65 years admitted post-falls were assessed. Eligible participants scored >6 on the Abbreviated Mental Test Score. Bedside assessments included unaided vision, visual acuity (VA), low-contrast VA, and visual fields using Logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution (LogMAR) charts and the Melbourne Rapid Fields web-based platform. Ocular history and participant feedback on the screening experience were also collected.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Unaided vision or habitual VA worse than 0.3 LogMAR (<6/12 Snellen equivalent) in at least one eye was observed in 67% of participants; 88% showed impaired low-contrast VA. Only 33% had been examined by a primary care optometrist in the year preceding admission. A proportion of deficits were potentially modifiable. Screening was well tolerated, with participants reporting a good understanding of the procedures.</p><p><strong>Discussion and implications: </strong>Bedside visual screening by trained non-ophthalmic specialists is feasible and potentially clinically informative in the orthogeriatric setting. The high proportion of undetected visual deficits suggests missed opportunities for falls prevention. Routine standardized visual assessments may enable timely referrals, improve visual outcomes, and reduce falls-related morbidity in older adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 5","pages":"igag022"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13082475/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147698709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-03-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igag021
Marie Y Savundranayagam, Annette Schumann, Grace Norris, Jennifer L Campos, Joseph B Orange
{"title":"Implementing virtual reality training for person-centered communication in dementia care: a longitudinal qualitative study.","authors":"Marie Y Savundranayagam, Annette Schumann, Grace Norris, Jennifer L Campos, Joseph B Orange","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igag021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igag021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Be EPIC-VR, developed to improve dementia care by teaching person-centered communication skills through virtual reality (VR) simulation training, integrates conversational artificial intelligence and structured feedback. Although VR training offers unique immersive learning experiences, implementing it to train care providers in long-term and home care settings remains challenging. This study aimed to examine factors influencing the implementation of Be EPIC-VR.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This longitudinal qualitative study was guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Eight managers from 4 care organizations participated in semi-structured interviews pre-implementation, 2 weeks post-implementation, and 5 months post-implementation. Data were analyzed using the framework method.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three themes emerged across time points: (1) a strong perceived need for dementia-specific person-centered communication training, indicating an urgency for change; (2) Be EPIC-VR's alignment with organizational values around person-centered and learning-centered care fostered engagement and sustained commitment; and (3) openness to VR training increased over time as managers observed implementation-relevant signals of feasibility and fit. Initial concerns about technology, staffing, and workflow integration diminished through experience and facilitator support. Managers developed tailored strategies such as phased rollouts, peer champions, and timing training to mesh with operational needs.</p><p><strong>Discussion and implications: </strong>Successful implementation and early sustainment planning required aligning Be EPIC-VR with organizational goals and workforce priorities. Experiencing Be EPIC-VR helped ease managers' concerns about staffing, technology, and compatibility with workflows and organizational values. Findings highlight the value of longitudinal qualitative inquiry and working collaboratively with managers to inform integration of VR-based training in dementia care.</p>","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 5","pages":"igag021"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13076933/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147690006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-03-04eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igaf125
Caroline Collins-Pisano, Rachel Weiskittle
{"title":"Predictors of care coordination versus social visitation with long-term care facility residents.","authors":"Caroline Collins-Pisano, Rachel Weiskittle","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igaf125","DOIUrl":"10.1093/geroni/igaf125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Most studies to date have assessed visitation between family and residents via the overall frequency of in-person visits. This approach fails to account for 2 different types of involvement included in visitation: care coordination and social visitation. This study aimed to identify facilitators and barriers of care coordination distinct from social visitation with a specific focus on long-term care (LTC) site characteristics and resident functionality.</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>One hundred and seventy-five adult participants in the United States with a close friend or relative residing in a LTC facility completed an online survey regarding their care coordination and social visitation in LTC facilities, LTC facility characteristics, and residents' functionality.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Shorter travel time and visitors' experiences communicating with the resident (e.g., comfort, frustration) emerged as the strongest predictors of both care coordination involvement and social visitation. Both greater comfort communicating with the resident and greater frustration predicted greater care coordination involvement, whereas only comfort communicating with the resident predicted social visitation. Resident length of stay, type of LTC facility, and resident communication factors (e.g., verbal abilities, recognition of visitors) were not significant predictors of care coordination involvement nor social visitation.</p><p><strong>Discussion and implications: </strong>Logistical barriers and visitors' emotional experiences when communicating with residents may have a stronger influence on visitor engagement compared to resident's functional abilities and LTC facility characteristics. Interventions targeting the identified facilitators of visitation may help to facilitate and support family involvement with residents of LTC facilities.</p>","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 3","pages":"igaf125"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12965327/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147377187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-03-04eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igaf132
Sol Morrissey, Stuart King, Ben Au-Yeung, Michael Hornberger
{"title":"Impact of a police safeguarding program on reducing dementia-related missing incidents in the United Kingdom.","authors":"Sol Morrissey, Stuart King, Ben Au-Yeung, Michael Hornberger","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igaf132","DOIUrl":"10.1093/geroni/igaf132","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>People living with dementia are at increased risk of missing episodes, which can have serious safety consequences for the individual as well as increasing burden for families, emergency services, and care services. A UK police safeguarding scheme was developed in response to reduce the risk of missing incidents through proactive risk management and early intervention. This study evaluates whether the safeguarding scheme effectively reduces the risk of missing incidents for individuals taking part in the scheme.</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a police database of 846 individuals living with dementia taking part in the safeguarding scheme. Descriptive statistics and proportion comparisons were used to evaluate changes in missing incident characteristics before and after joining the scheme, stratified by risk level and dementia subtype.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found that there were fewer missing incidents and fewer individuals with a recorded missing episode after joining the safeguarding scheme. Individuals with first missing incidents occurring after joining the scheme were found significantly faster (2.73 hours) than those with a first incident occurring before joining the scheme (5.39 hours). Among those identified as high-risk-individuals with a previous missing incident-81.21% did not go missing again after participating in the scheme. Individuals with Alzheimer's disease were more likely to go missing after taking part in the safeguarding scheme than those with vascular dementia. While individuals with a history of missing incidents remained at higher risk, the majority did not go missing again after joining the scheme.</p><p><strong>Discussion and implications: </strong>Overall, the safeguarding scheme was effective in reducing the rate of missing incidents among people with dementia. These findings promote the proactive use of police safeguarding programs and suggest that widespread implementation could improve safety and independence for people living with dementia.</p>","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 3","pages":"igaf132"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12962802/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147377190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovation in AgingPub Date : 2026-02-18eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igag013
Yiqi Zhu, Ramkrishna K Singh, Semere Bekena, David C Brown, Chen Chen, Matthew Blake, Jean-François Trani, Ganesh M Babulal
{"title":"Lost before forgetting: objective driving metrics track navigation deficits tied to preclinical Alzheimer's disease.","authors":"Yiqi Zhu, Ramkrishna K Singh, Semere Bekena, David C Brown, Chen Chen, Matthew Blake, Jean-François Trani, Ganesh M Babulal","doi":"10.1093/geroni/igag013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igag013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Navigation is a complex, multisensory process in which subtle changes may emerge before the onset of symptomatic Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigated whether navigation abilities were associated with amyloid and tau pathology in cognitively normal older adults.</p><p><strong>Research design and methods: </strong>Among 285 cognitively unimpaired older adults, navigation and objective driving behaviors were assessed using the self-reported Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale (SBSOD) and a datalogger, respectively. Amyloid and tau burden were quantified using PET-MRI 2 years post-initial driving data collection. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate the associations between biomarker status and longitudinal navigation changes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>At baseline, there were no significant differences in SBSOD, trip chaining, or entropy, a metric that quantifies the variability in one's driving patterns based on PET biomarker status. Over 6.1 years (<i>SD</i> = 3.3), compared to amyloid- participants, amyloid+ participants experienced faster declines in SBSOD and entropy and increases in trip chain counts and percentages of chained trips/distances, indicating more deliberate compensatory planning for subtle deficits. Conversely, tau+ participants exhibited slower declines in SBSOD and greater increases in driving unpredictability (i.e., higher entropy, greater percentages of chained trips/distances) across 5.6 years (<i>SD</i> = 2.9), but not in total trip counts compared to tau- participants.</p><p><strong>Discussion and implications: </strong>Changes in navigation may reflect the accumulation of amyloid (compensatory planning) and tau (diminished planning, increased randomness) in distinct brain regions. These findings highlight the promise of driving and navigation metrics as sensitive, noninvasive markers of preclinical AD, underscoring a critical window for intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":13596,"journal":{"name":"Innovation in Aging","volume":"10 5","pages":"igag013"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13099406/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147770521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}