@article{00fdb305d0794069b0f24517d4d889b3,
title = "Effects of Cable News Watching on Older Adults{\textquoteright} Physiological and Self-Reported Stress and Cognitive Function",
abstract = "Older adults are the largest consumer of cable news, which includes negative and politicized content and may constitute a daily stressor. As older adults are also vulnerable to the negative consequences of stress, we hypothesized that cable news watching could induce a stress reaction and impair cognitive function. We tested exposures to cable news (i.e., Fox News and MSNBC) in a within-subject randomized controlled design in 34 healthy older adults. We also included negative (Public Broadcasting Station) and positive (trier social stress test) controls. Cable news watching had no effect on psychological stress, physiological stress, or cognitive function. This remained true even if the news exposures were discordant with participants{\textquoteright} political affiliation. We conclude that brief cable news watching does not induce a physiological or subjective stress response or cognitive impairment among healthy older adults.",
keywords = "aging, cognition, cortisol, memory, stressors, television",
author = "Caroline Deal and Ryan Bogdan and Miller, {J. Phil} and Tom Rodebaugh and Charlene Caburnay and Mike Yingling and Tammy Hershey and Julia Schweiger and Lenze, {Eric J.}",
note = "Funding Information: Tammy Hershey, MD, is a professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM). Her research is in the fields of cognitive and clinical neuroscience and has been supported by numerous foundation and NIH R01 awards. She is the deputy lab chief for the Neuroimaging Labs at WUSM and chair of the Neuroscience PhD Admissions Committee. She has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty in clinical neuroscience fields and codirected a Peer Mentoring Program at WUSM for several years. Funding Information: J. Phil Miller, AB, is an applied biostatistician with over 40 years of experience at Washington University School of Medicine. He directs the Research Design and Biostatistics Group, a component of the Institute of Clinical Translational Sciences at Washington University, supported by a Clinical and Translational Science Awards grant. He is the primary statistician for two multicenter trials of interventions in older adults. The MEDEX trial tests whether exercise/mindfulness can improve age-associated memory loss and utilizes neuroimaging and metabolic endpoints. The OPTIMUM trial tests whether a structured treatment strategy can successfully treat resistant late-life depression. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2017.",
year = "2018",
month = sep,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1177/0091415017729684",
language = "English",
volume = "87",
pages = "111--123",
journal = "International Journal of Aging and Human Development",
issn = "0091-4150",
number = "2",
}