This study examined the effectiveness of a digital communication intervention aimed at increasing physical activity among older adults through persuasive messages. Given the demographic changes that are particularly pronounced in Italy and the increasing importance of sustainable health in older age, the promotion of physical activity is crucial to support the autonomy and well-being of people over 50. Previous studies have shown that adults in this age group are particularly receptive to emotionally meaningful content and that outcomes related to mental health, such as improved mood or mental clarity, may serve as stronger motivators than physical health benefits. To examine this, the present study builds on previous research that emphasizes the role of message valence and content in shaping health behaviors.We tested the effects of prefactual (i.e., “if… then") messages that differ in valence (gain vs. non-loss) and content (mental vs. physical health outcomes). A total of 312 Italian adults aged 50 years and older were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions or to a control group. Participants downloaded the PsyMe app and completed a questionnaire at the beginning of the study, which recorded psychosocial variables and physical activity habits. Over the following 14 days, participants in the experimental conditions received daily physical activity promotion messages consisting of different combinations of valence and health focus, while the control group received neutral reminders. All messages were brief, visually appealing, and included examples of activities, accompanied by icons and the university’s logo. The use of a prefactual structure was chosen to promote mental simulation of health outcomes and increase engagement in the recommended behaviors. Post-intervention measures included message ratings and participants’ self-reported levels of light and moderate physical activity and sedentary behavior. Results showed that the non-loss mental messages led to a significant increase in light and moderate physical activity and a decrease in sedentary behavior. Thus, mental health content appears to be largely persuasive in promoting physical activity in adults over 50, especially when framed as prevention of negative outcomes. The effectiveness of the messages also depended on participants’ health interests, with non-loss physical messages being more effective for participants with a high interest in physical health. These findings highlight the need to tailor the content and wording of messages to motivational profiles to effectively promote physical activity in adults over 50.

In the context of an aging population, the promotion of mental wellbeing in old age is recognized as a public health priority. Theoretical models of Active Aging and Successful Aging provide a framework for understanding how personal and environmental factors support participation, autonomy, and adaptation in older adulthood. The aim of this study is to identify protective and risk factors associated with depression in Italian adults aged 65 years and older. A longitudinal survey design was chosen. The first wave of data collection was conducted online between July and August 2024 and included a representative sample of 1,907 older adults across genders, age groups, geographic areas and education levels. The same participants are surveyed again after one year to track longitudinal trends. Using a hierarchical regression on data of the first wave, we examined the contribution of sociodemographic, intrapersonal, interpersonal and behavioral variables to depression symptoms. The overall model explained 45.5% of the variance in depression. Sociodemographic variables, such as gender and geographic region, showed limited predictive power. In contrast, the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and behavioral dimensions significantly increased the explanatory power of the model. Mindfulness, engagement, savoring, mentalization, autonomy in daily life, moderate physical activity, perceived social support, and age-related stereotypes proved to be significant predictors. Understanding the multidimensional factors that influence depression in older adults is essential for effective interventions and public policies. These results provide actionable insights for the development of health services, public health strategies and technological support systems to promote healthy and active aging in Italy.

Global challenges, due to socio-demographic transformations, population aging, pervasiveness of digital technologies and ecosystemic effects of climate change require, today and in the future, different organizations of the living space and its surroundings more focused on people health and wellbeing, capable of responding adequately to this changing and multifaceted. On the other side, the "One health" or "Planetary health” perspectives highlight, more than ever, the need to adopt the ecological vision of health, as a transactional concept, which does not consider the single individual as a unit of reference, but focuses the different systems of which he or she is part, focusing on the effects of the interdependence between the individual and the different components of the ecosystem (Thompson et al. 2017).

Built environment, intended as all environmental elements made by humans that provide a setting for people’s lives, work, and activities to the different scales plays a crucial role in health and wellbeing, including functioning and longevity (Andalib et al., 2024; Antonovsky, 1979). Both in direct and indirect way, buildings, neighbourhoods and cities affect people and communities in different ways, all lifelong, acting on the subjective and objective health status, especially of older persons that may improve or damage their quality and quantity of remaining years of life (Wister, 2005). Especially for fragile and low-income people, poor-quality neighbourhoods and housing increase the exposure illness and to environmental hazards, favouring the translation of socio-economic and environmental inequality into health inequality, that is a major challenge in public health (European Public Health Alliance 2019; Pagnani, 2023)

Despite that, health and built environment usually remain separate topics in practices and polices (Jackson, 2013). Health care and built environment specialists rarely interact in interdisciplinary teams, nor considering appraising issues in the local built environment affecting public health and find effective and sustainable solutions for citizen and inhabitants (Am et al., 2020).

In line with the recent definition of health proposed by the WHO—as an individual's capacity to adapt to the surrounding environment and maintain autonomy—this paper focuses on the role of the built environment as a social determinant of health and well-being, within the framework of the life-course approach to ageing.

Specifically, it presents the outputs and outcomes of the research activities conducted in Task 3.1 of WP3 of the project. The focus is on disciplines related to the built environment, which in this case have been shaped to engage in a dialogical contribution with biomedical and psychosocial expertise, aiming to explore new integrated, proactive, and person-centered approaches to identifying and managing health needs, particularly in the context of chronic diseases.

The main results include both research studies and the development of tools and technologies, such as:

• a protocol for the prevention of fall risks for older adults, in both indoor and outdoor environments;
• a toolkit for the assessment and design of SHAFE (Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments) buildings and neighborhoods;
• a methodology to contribute to use cases by integrating the blueprint persona approach with the spatial and architectural components of living environments.

The potential of these results for further development is also discussed, especially in light of current environmental, health, and societal challenges.

References

Am C, Godinho MA, Murthy S, Manapure NH, Ramadevi N, Kinjawadekar A, Burdick W, Gilbert J, Fisher J, Vinod Bhat H. (2020) The built environment and health: fostering interprofessional collaboration for better policy recommendations. J Interprof Care. 2020 May-Jun;34(3):414-417. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2019.1650009. Epub 2019 Sep 13. PMID: 31516048.

Andalib, E., Temeljotov-Salaj, A., Steinert, M., Johansen, A., Aalto, P., & Lohne, J. (2024). The Interplay Between the Built Environment, Health, and Well-Being—A Scoping Review. Urban Science, 8(4), 184. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci8040184

Jackson RJ, Dannenberg AL, Frumkin H. (2013) Health and the built environment: 10 years after. Am J Public Health. Sep;103(9):1542-4. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301482. Epub 2013 Jul 18. PMID: 23865699; PMCID: PMC3780695.

Pagani, A., Christie, D., Bourdon, V., Wall Gago, C., Joost, S., Licina, D., Lerch, M., Rozenblat, C., Guessous, I., & Viganò, P. (2023). Housing, street and health: a new systemic research framework. Buildings and Cities, 4(1), pp. 629–649.

Thompson, S. R., Watson, M. C., & Tilford, S. (2017), “The Ottawa Charter 30 years on: still an important standard for health promotion”, International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 56/2, pp.73–84.

Wister, A.V. (2005) The Built Environment, Health, and Longevity, Journal of Housing For the Elderly, 19:2, 49-70, DOI: 10.1300/J081v19n02_04

Background: Skeletal muscle characteristics play a crucial role in understanding physical capacity, overall health and outcome (1). Muscle strength and muscle mass are key indicators of muscular function and sarcopenia (2). While previous research has explored biceps brachii muscle characteristics in isolation (3), there is a notable gap in comprehensive studies examining the direct correlation between biceps brachii muscle thickness (BMT), as measured by ultrasound, and muscle strength.

Material and Methods: In community dwelling elderly following physical capacity evaluations, anthropometric measurements, HGS, bioimpedance analysis and muscle ultrasound for the measurement of biceps brachii muscle thickness were performed.

Results: The study population consisted of 156 participants, ICC for ultrasound measurements resulted 0.96, 95% CI 0.94-0.98, indicating an excellent reliability. BMT was negatively correlated with age (p < 0.002). Female population presented lower HGS, and lower BMT (p<0.05). One-way ANOVA analysis revealed that muscle thickness differed between age tertiles both in male (p=0.0007) and female population (p= 0.002). Regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, BMI, muscle mass in percentage, revealed a significant and independent positive correlation between muscle strength and muscle thickness: R2=0.7, coef. beta=0.5 95% CI: 0.4-0.7 p<0.001.

Conclusions: Muscle thickness of biceps brachii measured by ultrasound and hand grip strength are characterized by a significant and positive relationship in older adults. Female population is characterized by lower muscle thickness compared to male population and the reduction of muscle thickness is parallel to increased age. Implementation of noninvasive ultrasound evaluation of muscle thickness could be helpful in the early detection of physical decline associated to ageing process.

Reference

1. Kim D, Lee J, Park R, Oh CM, Moon S (2024) Association of low muscle mass and obesity with increased all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in US adults. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 15, 240-254.
2. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J, Boirie Y, Bruyere O, Cederholm T, Cooper C, Landi F, Rolland Y, Sayer AA, Schneider SM, Sieber CC, Topinkova E, Vandewoude M, Visser M, Zamboni M, Writing Group for the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older P, the Extended Group for E (2019) Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing 48, 601.
3. Roberts HC, Denison HJ, Martin HJ, Patel HP, Syddall H, Cooper C, Sayer AA (2011) A review of the measurement of grip strength in clinical and epidemiological studies: towards a standardised approach. Age Ageing 40, 423-429.

Aging is a multifactorial process shaped by genetic, environmental, behavioral, and social influences. Cohort studies are essential for capturing the complexity of these interactions and understanding the mechanisms underlying diverse aging trajectories. Within this framework, the Novara Cohort Study (NCS) is the first population-based study on aging conducted in Eastern Piedmont—a region characterized by significant environmental burdens and socio-demographic diversity. Launched in 2022 by the Università del Piemonte Orientale and supported by UPO Biobank, the NCS aims to enroll 10,000 adults (≥18 years) to investigate the determinants of healthy and pathological aging.

Participants provide biospecimens, including blood, saliva, and urine, and undergo extensive assessments that encompass lifestyle, physical activity, sleep, mental health, cognitive function, and frailty. Blood samples are analyzed for over 80 hematochemical parameters related to blood cells, metabolism, organ function, inflammation, and allostatic load. As of May 2025, 900 individuals have been enrolled, with a mean age of 60, and 55% are women. The application of the FI-LAB (laboratory-based frailty index) and the PhenoAge algorithm is underway to enhance clinical and functional assessments. In parallel, multi-omics investigations are being conducted, including targeted proteomics (Olink), oxidative stress-oriented metabolomics, and SNP genotyping. This integrated analytical framework is expected to support the identification of biomarkers and risk patterns associated with distinct aging trajectories.

By combining deep phenotyping with molecular data, the NCS offers a robust platform to support precision public health and develop targeted strategies for promoting healthy longevity in the Italian population.