Both anxiety disorders and subclinical anxiety symptoms are related to poorer health and function... more Both anxiety disorders and subclinical anxiety symptoms are related to poorer health and functioning in later life. Because worry is an important component of anxiety, the accurate measurement of worry is crucial to studying the etiology, prevention and treatment of anxiety disorders. Assessment of the trait worry has emerged as the most widely used strategy to establish the presence and extent of pathological worry. However, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), the most widely used measure of the trait worry, has not been validated cross-culturally in groups outside of the U.S.A. We tested the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of an 8 item abbreviated version of the PSWQ (PSWQ-A) in American (N = 206) and Spanish (N = 137) older adult samples. Internal consistency was high and analyses supported a unidimensional solution in both samples. Measurement invariance was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch models. Results of the CFA suggest that measurement invariance between the samples can be assumed for women but not for men. Rasch modeling results by gender suggested that three items have different endorsability levels in the two samples, suggesting that certain items may more closely represent the construct of the trait worry in American and Spanish older adults. Overall, the PSWQ-A appears appropriate for cross-cultural use, although deletion of one item (item 6) may improve the psychometric properties of the scale across different populations.
Psychometric properties of the mental health scale from the OARS, which is also called the Short ... more Psychometric properties of the mental health scale from the OARS, which is also called the Short Psychiatric Evaluation Schedule (SPES), were explored in a large (N = 2015) cross-sectional sample ranging in age from 26 to 86 years. Results indicated that the 15 SPES items represented three distinctive factors--alienation, somatic symptoms, and depression. Only on somatic symptoms was there a pattern of greater endorsement by older respondents. The results illustrate that global test scores can be misleading, especially when applied to different age groups.
... addition, continuing-education offerings could fa-cilitate career shifts or updating of profe... more ... addition, continuing-education offerings could fa-cilitate career shifts or updating of professional skills (Seltzer, Sterns, & Hickey, 1978).2 6 ... Paper presented at the Fourth Ver-mont Conference on the Primary Prevention of Psy-chopathology: Promoting Competence and Coping ...
We sought to identify two sets of familial/genetic risk factors for major depression (MD): 1) hig... more We sought to identify two sets of familial/genetic risk factors for major depression (MD): 1) high familial loading for MD, which we predicted would be most prominent in cases of MD with an early age at onset (AAO), and 2) high familial loading for vascular disease (VD), which should be strongest in MD cases with a late AAO. We examined 4785 twin pairs from the Swedish Twin Registry, assessed at a mean age of 54.0 (SD = 7.4), where both members of the pair were evaluated by interview and at least one member reported a lifetime history of modified DSM-IV MD. Risk for VD was assessed from hospital discharge information and death certificates. Using Cox proportional hazard models and controlling for zygosity, age, and sex, early AAO in depressed twins predicted risk for MD in their cotwins, whereas late AAO predicted cotwin risk for VD. Using piecewise regression, the hazard ratio (HR) relating AAO per decade to risk for MD in cotwin was much stronger for AAO from 13-23 years (HR = .62) than for AAO 24-65 years (HR = 0.94). The HR relating AAO of MD in twin and risk for VD in cotwin was twice as strong for AAO from 47-65 years (HR = 1.17) as for AAO 13-46 years (1.08). From a familial/genetic perspective, MD is etiologically heterogeneous. Early and late onset MD are indexed, respectively, by the risk for MD and VD in relatives.
A long distance caregiver program was developed by the Alzheimer's Association of... more A long distance caregiver program was developed by the Alzheimer's Association of Los Angeles to provide services to caregivers living at a distance from Los Angeles. Data on demographic characteristics and service use were compared between 90 long distance and 187 local caregivers. Similar to local caregiving families, the most frequently used services by long distance families included written materials,
The Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Sep 1, 1996
The effects of long-term and recent conjugal bereavement were investigated in a sample of 2,104 S... more The effects of long-term and recent conjugal bereavement were investigated in a sample of 2,104 Swedish twins followed between 1984 and 1993. In co-twin-control analyses, the bereaved twin experienced significantly more depressive symptoms, more loneliness, and less life satisfaction than the married co-twin. This association existed for recently widowed (< 3 years) of both sexes. Long-term widowed (> 5 years) reported more loneliness than married individuals, and for women there was also a difference in life satisfaction. There were no effects of bereavement on perceived physical health. Individual analyses, which included all respondents regardless of the co-twin's bereavement status, showed the same pattern of results. There was also evidence for an anticipation effect of widowhood indicated by elevated depressive symptoms prior to the spouse's death. Finally, longitudinal analyses showed that it is more stressful to be bereaved when young-old than old-old, but revealed no age differences in adaptation.
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, Jan 5, 2015
We asked whether anxiety is associated with prospective risk of dementia, and the extent to which... more We asked whether anxiety is associated with prospective risk of dementia, and the extent to which genetic influences mediate this association. Nondemented twins (n = 1082) from the Swedish Adoption Twin Study of Aging completed an assessment of anxiety symptoms in 1984 and were followed for 28 years. Baseline anxiety score, independent of depressive symptoms, was significantly associated with incident dementia over follow-up (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.06). There was 48% increased risk of becoming demented for those who had experienced high anxiety at any time compared with those who had not. In co-twin analyses, the association between anxiety symptoms and dementia was greater for dizygotic (HR = 1.11; 95% CI = 1.02-1.20) compared with monozygotic twins (HR = 1.06; 95% CI = 0.95-1.20), indicating genetic mediation. Anxiety symptoms were associated with increased risk of dementia. Genetic factors common to dementia and anxiety partially mediated ...
Harmonizing measures in order to conduct pooled data analyses has become a scientific priority in... more Harmonizing measures in order to conduct pooled data analyses has become a scientific priority in aging research. Retrospective harmonization where different studies lack common measures of comparable constructs presents a major challenge. This study compared different approaches to harmonization with a crosswalk sample who completed multiple versions of the measures to be harmonized. Through online recruitment, 1061 participants aged 30 to 98 answered two different depression scales, and 1065 participants answered multiple measures of subjective health. Rational and configural methods of harmonization were applied, using the crosswalk sample to determine their success; and empirical item response theory (IRT) methods were applied in order empirically to compare items from different measures as answered by the same person. For depression, IRT worked well to provide a conversion table between different measures. The rational method of extracting semantically matched items from each o...
Despite emerging interest in gene-environment interaction (GxE) effects, there is a dearth of stu... more Despite emerging interest in gene-environment interaction (GxE) effects, there is a dearth of studies evaluating its potential relevance apart from specific hypothesized environments and biometrical variance trends. Using a monozygotic within-pair approach, we evaluated evidence of G×E for body mass index (BMI), depressive symptoms, and cognition (verbal, spatial, attention, working memory, perceptual speed) in twin studies from four countries. We also evaluated whether APOE is a 'variability gene' across these measures and whether it partly represents the 'G' in G×E effects. In all three domains, G×E effects were pervasive across country and gender, with small-to-moderate effects. Age-cohort trends were generally stable for BMI and depressive symptoms; however, they were variable-with both increasing and decreasing age-cohort trends-for different cognitive measures. Results also suggested that APOE may represent a 'variability gene' for depressive symptoms and spatial reasoning, but not for BMI or other cognitive measures. Hence, additional genes are salient beyond APOE.
From the IGEMS Consortium, data were available from 26,579 individuals aged 23 to 102 years on 3 ... more From the IGEMS Consortium, data were available from 26,579 individuals aged 23 to 102 years on 3 subjective health items: self-rated health (SRH), health compared to others (COMP), and impact of health on activities (ACT). Marital status was a marker of environmental resources that may moderate genetic and environmental influences on subjective health. Results differed for the 3 subjective health items, indicating that they do not tap the same construct. Although there was little impact of marital status on variance components for women, marital status was a significant modifier of variance in all 3 subjective health measures for men. For both SRH and ACT, single men demonstrated greater shared and nonshared environmental variance than married men. For the COMP variable, genetic variance was greater for single men vs. married men. Results suggest gender differences in the role of marriage as a source of resources that are associated with subjective health.
Both anxiety disorders and subclinical anxiety symptoms are related to poorer health and function... more Both anxiety disorders and subclinical anxiety symptoms are related to poorer health and functioning in later life. Because worry is an important component of anxiety, the accurate measurement of worry is crucial to studying the etiology, prevention and treatment of anxiety disorders. Assessment of the trait worry has emerged as the most widely used strategy to establish the presence and extent of pathological worry. However, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), the most widely used measure of the trait worry, has not been validated cross-culturally in groups outside of the U.S.A. We tested the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of an 8 item abbreviated version of the PSWQ (PSWQ-A) in American (N = 206) and Spanish (N = 137) older adult samples. Internal consistency was high and analyses supported a unidimensional solution in both samples. Measurement invariance was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch models. Results of the CFA suggest that measurement invariance between the samples can be assumed for women but not for men. Rasch modeling results by gender suggested that three items have different endorsability levels in the two samples, suggesting that certain items may more closely represent the construct of the trait worry in American and Spanish older adults. Overall, the PSWQ-A appears appropriate for cross-cultural use, although deletion of one item (item 6) may improve the psychometric properties of the scale across different populations.
Psychometric properties of the mental health scale from the OARS, which is also called the Short ... more Psychometric properties of the mental health scale from the OARS, which is also called the Short Psychiatric Evaluation Schedule (SPES), were explored in a large (N = 2015) cross-sectional sample ranging in age from 26 to 86 years. Results indicated that the 15 SPES items represented three distinctive factors--alienation, somatic symptoms, and depression. Only on somatic symptoms was there a pattern of greater endorsement by older respondents. The results illustrate that global test scores can be misleading, especially when applied to different age groups.
... addition, continuing-education offerings could fa-cilitate career shifts or updating of profe... more ... addition, continuing-education offerings could fa-cilitate career shifts or updating of professional skills (Seltzer, Sterns, & Hickey, 1978).2 6 ... Paper presented at the Fourth Ver-mont Conference on the Primary Prevention of Psy-chopathology: Promoting Competence and Coping ...
We sought to identify two sets of familial/genetic risk factors for major depression (MD): 1) hig... more We sought to identify two sets of familial/genetic risk factors for major depression (MD): 1) high familial loading for MD, which we predicted would be most prominent in cases of MD with an early age at onset (AAO), and 2) high familial loading for vascular disease (VD), which should be strongest in MD cases with a late AAO. We examined 4785 twin pairs from the Swedish Twin Registry, assessed at a mean age of 54.0 (SD = 7.4), where both members of the pair were evaluated by interview and at least one member reported a lifetime history of modified DSM-IV MD. Risk for VD was assessed from hospital discharge information and death certificates. Using Cox proportional hazard models and controlling for zygosity, age, and sex, early AAO in depressed twins predicted risk for MD in their cotwins, whereas late AAO predicted cotwin risk for VD. Using piecewise regression, the hazard ratio (HR) relating AAO per decade to risk for MD in cotwin was much stronger for AAO from 13-23 years (HR = .62) than for AAO 24-65 years (HR = 0.94). The HR relating AAO of MD in twin and risk for VD in cotwin was twice as strong for AAO from 47-65 years (HR = 1.17) as for AAO 13-46 years (1.08). From a familial/genetic perspective, MD is etiologically heterogeneous. Early and late onset MD are indexed, respectively, by the risk for MD and VD in relatives.
A long distance caregiver program was developed by the Alzheimer's Association of... more A long distance caregiver program was developed by the Alzheimer's Association of Los Angeles to provide services to caregivers living at a distance from Los Angeles. Data on demographic characteristics and service use were compared between 90 long distance and 187 local caregivers. Similar to local caregiving families, the most frequently used services by long distance families included written materials,
The Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Sep 1, 1996
The effects of long-term and recent conjugal bereavement were investigated in a sample of 2,104 S... more The effects of long-term and recent conjugal bereavement were investigated in a sample of 2,104 Swedish twins followed between 1984 and 1993. In co-twin-control analyses, the bereaved twin experienced significantly more depressive symptoms, more loneliness, and less life satisfaction than the married co-twin. This association existed for recently widowed (< 3 years) of both sexes. Long-term widowed (> 5 years) reported more loneliness than married individuals, and for women there was also a difference in life satisfaction. There were no effects of bereavement on perceived physical health. Individual analyses, which included all respondents regardless of the co-twin's bereavement status, showed the same pattern of results. There was also evidence for an anticipation effect of widowhood indicated by elevated depressive symptoms prior to the spouse's death. Finally, longitudinal analyses showed that it is more stressful to be bereaved when young-old than old-old, but revealed no age differences in adaptation.
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, Jan 5, 2015
We asked whether anxiety is associated with prospective risk of dementia, and the extent to which... more We asked whether anxiety is associated with prospective risk of dementia, and the extent to which genetic influences mediate this association. Nondemented twins (n = 1082) from the Swedish Adoption Twin Study of Aging completed an assessment of anxiety symptoms in 1984 and were followed for 28 years. Baseline anxiety score, independent of depressive symptoms, was significantly associated with incident dementia over follow-up (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.06). There was 48% increased risk of becoming demented for those who had experienced high anxiety at any time compared with those who had not. In co-twin analyses, the association between anxiety symptoms and dementia was greater for dizygotic (HR = 1.11; 95% CI = 1.02-1.20) compared with monozygotic twins (HR = 1.06; 95% CI = 0.95-1.20), indicating genetic mediation. Anxiety symptoms were associated with increased risk of dementia. Genetic factors common to dementia and anxiety partially mediated ...
Harmonizing measures in order to conduct pooled data analyses has become a scientific priority in... more Harmonizing measures in order to conduct pooled data analyses has become a scientific priority in aging research. Retrospective harmonization where different studies lack common measures of comparable constructs presents a major challenge. This study compared different approaches to harmonization with a crosswalk sample who completed multiple versions of the measures to be harmonized. Through online recruitment, 1061 participants aged 30 to 98 answered two different depression scales, and 1065 participants answered multiple measures of subjective health. Rational and configural methods of harmonization were applied, using the crosswalk sample to determine their success; and empirical item response theory (IRT) methods were applied in order empirically to compare items from different measures as answered by the same person. For depression, IRT worked well to provide a conversion table between different measures. The rational method of extracting semantically matched items from each o...
Despite emerging interest in gene-environment interaction (GxE) effects, there is a dearth of stu... more Despite emerging interest in gene-environment interaction (GxE) effects, there is a dearth of studies evaluating its potential relevance apart from specific hypothesized environments and biometrical variance trends. Using a monozygotic within-pair approach, we evaluated evidence of G×E for body mass index (BMI), depressive symptoms, and cognition (verbal, spatial, attention, working memory, perceptual speed) in twin studies from four countries. We also evaluated whether APOE is a 'variability gene' across these measures and whether it partly represents the 'G' in G×E effects. In all three domains, G×E effects were pervasive across country and gender, with small-to-moderate effects. Age-cohort trends were generally stable for BMI and depressive symptoms; however, they were variable-with both increasing and decreasing age-cohort trends-for different cognitive measures. Results also suggested that APOE may represent a 'variability gene' for depressive symptoms and spatial reasoning, but not for BMI or other cognitive measures. Hence, additional genes are salient beyond APOE.
From the IGEMS Consortium, data were available from 26,579 individuals aged 23 to 102 years on 3 ... more From the IGEMS Consortium, data were available from 26,579 individuals aged 23 to 102 years on 3 subjective health items: self-rated health (SRH), health compared to others (COMP), and impact of health on activities (ACT). Marital status was a marker of environmental resources that may moderate genetic and environmental influences on subjective health. Results differed for the 3 subjective health items, indicating that they do not tap the same construct. Although there was little impact of marital status on variance components for women, marital status was a significant modifier of variance in all 3 subjective health measures for men. For both SRH and ACT, single men demonstrated greater shared and nonshared environmental variance than married men. For the COMP variable, genetic variance was greater for single men vs. married men. Results suggest gender differences in the role of marriage as a source of resources that are associated with subjective health.
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Papers by Margaret Gatz