Characterising the Beyond 50 Cohort: Preliminary Exploration of Physical and Psychosocial Health Factors and Substance Use Among a Cohort of Community Dwelling Adults Aged 50–70 Years

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INTRODUCTION: Older adults exhibit unique risks associated with poor mental health and substance use. The Beyond 50 study is a longitudinal cohort investigating the determinants of healthy ageing, including relationships between physical and psychosocial health and substance use. We aim to characterise the Beyond 50 cohort and explore patterns of physical and psychosocial health and substance use. METHODS: Baseline data collection was completed between September 2023 and August 2024. Annual follow-up data collection commenced in September 2024. Descriptive statistics will be used to characterise the cohort at the time of baseline survey completion. RESULTS: Of the 1059 participants, the mean age was 61 years (standard deviation 0.2 years) and 46.8% were female. Just over half (52.4%, n = 555) received a positive screen for potentially hazardous alcohol consumption (past 12-month use), 8.7% (n = 92) reported recent tobacco use, 3.7% (n = 39) reported recent cannabis use and 5.5% (n = 58) reported other nonmedical substance use. Twelve percent (n = 134) screened positive for the symptoms of moderate to severe anxiety, 16.4% (n = 174) screened positive for the symptoms of moderate to severe depression, 15.7% (n = 166) were moderately to severely lonely and 22.6% (n = 239) reported being dissatisfied with their social relationships. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The Beyond 50 cohort displays high rates of alcohol use, with levels of social isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression comparable to the broader Victoria population. This lends to the cohort's ability to provide further insight into factors that affect healthy ageing and will allow for detailed analysis into the impacts of various physical and psychosocial factors on overall health and wellbeing.

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