Patricia A. Thomas
Social Sciences · Purdue University West Lafayette
Publications
104
Citations
3,134
Est. group size
~4
Recurring co-author estimate
Active years
59
Publishing since 1968
Patricia A. Thomas studies aging and health, focusing on how social relationships, family experiences (like the death of a sibling or child), racial and ethnic disparities, and life-course events such as childhood adversity or religious change affect older adults' cognitive function, mental health, and physical well-being. Her work often uses long-term survey data to examine how social connectedness and support influence outcomes like dementia risk, depression, and longevity. Some of her publications also address medical education and curriculum design related to chronic disease and aging.
Publication output has been relatively steady but has slowed somewhat in recent years, dropping from around 6-8 papers per year in 2017-2022 to about 4 per year in 2023-2025.
Generated by claude-sonnet-5 from public bibliographic data · Jul 20, 2026
- Bidirectional longitudinal associations of family/friend social support with cognitive function in late life
The Journals of Gerontology Series B · 2026
- Racial and Ethnic Differences in Community Belonging and its Impact on Cognitive Function in Older Adults
The Journals of Gerontology Series B · 2025
- Does Pet Touch Influence Mental Health?
Innovation in Aging · 2025
- Social connectedness, functional capacity, and longevity: A focus on positive relations with others
Social Science & Medicine · 2023
- A Time of Healing: Can Social Engagement After Bereavement Reduce Trajectories of Depression After the Death of a Child?
The Journals of Gerontology Series B · 2023
- Seeing the Light, Feeling the Heat
2023
- Effect of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation vs Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement on All-Cause Mortality in Patients With Aortic Stenosis
JAMA · 2022
- Matters of the Heart: Childhood Maltreatment, Religious Transitions, and Cardiovascular-Related Problems over the Life Course
Journal of Aging and Health · 2022
- Basal glutamate in the hippocampus and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia: Relationships to cognitive proficiency investigated with structural equation modeling
Research Square · 2022
- Sibling Deaths, Racial/Ethnic Disadvantage, and Dementia in Later Life
The Journals of Gerontology Series B · 2021
- Do Early-Life Social, Behavioral, and Health Exposures Increase Later-Life Arthritis Incidence?
Research on Aging · 2021
- Gaining Faith, Losing Faith: How Education Shapes the Relationship between Religious Transitions and Later Depression
Journal of Health and Social Behavior · 2021
- PAEAN: Pain in Aging, Educational Assessment of Need - An Interprofessional Collaboration
Innovation in Aging · 2021
- Exacerbating Inequalities: Social Networks, Racial/Ethnic Disparities, and the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States
The Journals of Gerontology Series B · 2020
- Lost Touch? Implications of Physical Touch for Physical Health
The Journals of Gerontology Series B · 2020
- Innovation in Aging×13
- The Journals of Gerontology Series B×11
- Journal of Aging and Health×4
- The Gerontologist×3
- Research on Aging×3
- Madison R Sauerteig-Rolston
Social Sciences · Indiana University
- Shawn Bauldry
Social Sciences · Purdue University West Lafayette
- Adam R. Roth
Social Sciences · Indiana University
- Kenneth F. Ferraro
Social Sciences · Purdue University West Lafayette
- Elizabeth Teas
Social Sciences · Purdue University West Lafayette
This profile was generated automatically from public scholarly data (OpenAlex). Group size and activity levels are estimates derived from co-authorship patterns.
Last updated Jul 20, 2026.
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