Posted on

Optimism, sense of purpose, and the condition of the immune system as we age

Harvard Pop Center Bell Fellow Hayami Koga, MD, PhD, is lead author on a study that aims to explore the relationship between optimism, a sense of purpose, and immune markers in aging. Findings point to there being an association between these two components of psychological well-being and an increase in certain T cells in the context of “immunosenescence” (the gradual deterioration of the immune system that is brought on by…

Continue reading “Optimism, sense of purpose, and the condition of the immune system as we age”

Posted on

Exploring the link between an optimistic attitude and physical functioning as women age

Bell Fellow Hayami Koga, along with Harvard Pop Center faculty members David Williams and Laura Kubzansky and their colleagues, have published a study in JAMA Psychiatry on the association between optimism and physical functioning among older women finding higher levels of optimism to be linked with better performance at baseline (grip strength and standing mobility) and slower rates of decline in several measures over a six-year period. Read about their…

Continue reading “Exploring the link between an optimistic attitude and physical functioning as women age”

Posted on

New York Times cites research by Koga & Kubzansky on why positive mind-set is one of the most powerful of their “7 Keys to Longevity”

The 7th “Key to Longevity” (“Cultivate a positive mind-set”) in this NYT piece is laced with links to research by our postdoc fellow, Hayami Koga, and faculty member Laura Kubzansky (& their colleagues) that supports the case for why a positive mind-set is right up there with physical activity when it comes to healthy practices that are associated with longevity.

Posted on

What is the association between social integration and mortality risk among African Americans?

Profiles of people cut out in paper

This examination followed over 5,000 African-Americans (until 2018) from the Jackson Heart Study who completed the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index (2000–2004). Watch this 90-second summary of a paper that was published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology with HCPDS faculty member Laura Kubzansky, PhD, and incoming Harvard Bell Postdoctoral Fellow Hayami Koga, MD, MPH, PhD, among its authors.

Posted on

Study on optimism and longevity in women led by GSA Hayami Koga receives high Altmetric score for being cited & shared digitally

Altmetric score of 1717

A study led by our graduate student affiliate Hayami Koga (faculty member Laura Kubzansky is also an author) received the highest Altmetric score (1717) for being the most cited, shared, and “talked about” article in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in 2022. The study, which was profiled in The Harvard Gazette, found that women across racial and ethnic groups who reported having a positive outlook, were more likely…

Continue reading “Study on optimism and longevity in women led by GSA Hayami Koga receives high Altmetric score for being cited & shared digitally”

Posted on

Study led by graduate student affiliate Hayami Koga focus of Harvard Gazette piece on optimism and longevity

The Harvard Gazette Optimism and Longevity piece

Our graduate student affiliate, Hayami Koga, is lead author of a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (faculty member Laura Kubzansky is also an author) that builds upon prior research on women and longevity by expanding across diverse racial and ethnic groups.