Older individuals

BACKGROUND: Increasing fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption is associated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk in observational studies but with little evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs). The impact of concurrent pharmacological therapy is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To pool data from six RCTs to examine the effect of increasing FV intake on blood pressure (BP) and lipid profile, also exploring whether effects differed by medication use. DESIGN: Across trials, dietary intake was assessed by diet diaries or histories, lipids by routine biochemical methods and BP by automated monitors...

INTRODUCTION: Enrolling individuals from underrepresented ethnoracial groups in aging research is often a challenge. METHODS: We sought a diverse sample of older adults from a small-town area for a longitudinal aging study. We employed an intensive community engagement approach encompassing a range of recruitment strategies. RESULTS: Over 4 years a steady trickle of individuals, 66% self-identifying as Black, signed up for study information; the proportion of those who eventually enroll in the study has been rising each year, from 68% to 94%...

Beyond mere prognostication, optimal biomarkers of aging provide insights into qualitative and quantitative features of biological aging and might, therefore, offer useful information for the testing and, ultimately, clinical use of gerotherapeutics. We aimed to develop a proteomic aging clock (PAC) for all-cause mortality risk as a proxy of biological age. Data were from the UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project, including 53,021 participants aged between 39 and 70 years and 2923 plasma proteins assessed using the Olink Explore 3072 assay®...

AIMS: Advances in type 1 diabetes management are enabling more to reach older ages. Frailty is known to complicate type 2 diabetes. However, frailty in people with type 1 diabetes has not been extensively researched. This review summarises the available evidence on frailty in those with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: A systematic search strategy was applied to multiple databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane) including grey literature (Scopus, OAIster, OpenGrey, dissertation and thesis database)...

OBJECTIVES: Search for possible associations between bone elemental concentration and the presence of porous skeletal lesions (PSLs), considering the sex, age, and cause of death (COD) of the individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised 107 non-adult individuals (56 females, 51 males) aged 0-20 (x̄ = 13.2, SD = 5.8) from the Coimbra and Lisbon Identified Skeletal Collections. Cribra cranii, orbitalia, humeralis, and femoralis were recorded as present/absent, and elemental concentrations were assessed by portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF)...

Debates within moral philosophy have long centered on the question of whether we are more obligated to help those close to us compared to those who are farther away. Despite these debates, we have little understanding of our psychological intuitions about these issues. In the current study, we presented adults and children (5- to 9-year-olds) in the United States ( N = 406) with hypothetical scenarios involving pairs of socially and physically close and far strangers and asked about their obligations to help one another...

OBJECTIVE: The relevance of pets in long-term home care is increasingly recognised because of their effects on health outcomes in clients and the rising number of clients receiving long-term care at home (further referred to as clients receiving home care). Currently, there is a lack of supportive materials that address pet-related challenges within home care. This study aimed to develop a toolkit for clients receiving home care with pets, their family, and professional caregivers using a participatory research approach...

BACKGROUND: Heart failure has an estimated global prevalence of 64.3 million cases, with an average age of a person living with heart failure at 75.2 years. Approximately 20% of residents living in nursing homes (a long-term residential care environment for some individuals) report living with heart failure. Residents living with heart failure in nursing home environments are often frail, have reduced quality of life, higher rates of rehospitalisation and mortality, and greater complications in heart failure management...

BACKGROUND: In Canada, one out of five people lives with chronic pain, a condition frequently co-occurring with other chronic illnesses. As with most chronic illnesses, successful engagement in symptom management is key. In the context of multiple illnesses, self-management involves daily prioritization of symptoms and conditions and decision-making, which can be challenging. Self-management of chronic illnesses can require more complex competence and tasks to address the different implications of each condition...

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbances frequently affect Alzheimer's disease (AD), with up to 65% patients reporting sleep-related issues that may manifest up to a decade before AD symptoms. OBJECTIVE: To construct a nomogram that synthesizes sleep quality and cognitive performance for predicting cognitive impairment (CI) conversion outcomes. METHODS: Using scores from three well-established sleep assessment tools, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Screening Questionnaire, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale, we created the Sleep Composite Index (SCI), providing a comprehensive snapshot of an individual's sleep status...

BACKGROUND: In recent years, studies have examined the acceptability and attitudes that influence the intention to early screen for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the general population, older people, carers, and asymptomatic individuals who report a family history of AD. However, it remains unclear what specific factors promote or reduce the acceptability of pre-symptomatic screening. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore the attitudes of family and non-family members as well as caregivers and non-caregivers toward the pre-symptomatic screening of AD...

BACKGROUND: Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) frequently experience sleep disorders, which may elevate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Yet, sleep types in MCI patients and the factors influencing them have not been sufficiently investigated. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore potential sleep typing and its influencing factors in patients with MCI using latent class analysis. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jiangsu Province, China...

BACKGROUND: Digital dementia risk reduction interventions are cost-effective and scalable. However, it is unknown how they are perceived by people already experiencing cognitive concerns or decline. OBJECTIVE: To understand the current use, interest, and preferences for online learning courses and interest in learning about factors influencing brain health and dementia risk among adults ≥45. To explore potential differences between individuals experiencing cognitive concerns and those without...

OBJECTIVE: Breakthrough COVID-19 infections are common following immunisation with various types of vaccines. The patterns of infections have not been well established. We aimed to analyse the signs and symptoms of post vaccination infections in addition to the need for hospital admission, ER visit and supplemental oxygen in relation to age and gender. METHODS: A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted in JUH from March 2021 to August 2022, we interviewed 1479 individuals who are >15 years of age and got a breakthrough infection...

BACKGROUND: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) in older individuals has been implicated as a possible precursor to Alzheimer's disease. Poor sleep quality and anxiety/depressive symptoms have been linked to the progression of SCD, but these associations and older adults' worries have yet to be fully established in the Chinese older adult population, which is one of the largest in the world. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between sleep quality, anxiety/depression symptoms, and worries, and SCD prevalence among Chinese community-dwelling older individuals...

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic brought on a range of stressors in homes and workplaces. With no sign of ending after one year, burnout was a concern. Resilience has been known to shield against the effects of stress. While often thought of as an individual trait, previous studies have shown social support to improve resilience. The study aimed to examine the extent of burnout in the Singapore population and whether social support and resilience cushioned the impact of COVID-19 related stressors a year into the pandemic...

OBJECTIVE: Frailty and activities of daily living (ADL) disability are common conditions among older population. Studies on the bidirectional relationship between frailty and ADL are limited. The current study examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between frailty and ADL in middle-aged and older Chinese individuals. METHODS: The data was collected through the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), conducted in 2011, 2013, and 2015, encompassing 17,284 individuals aged ≥45 years...

BACKGROUND: Age-friendly environments intend to promote active ageing by facilitating social, mental, and physical participation. This could potentially delay the onset of chronic complex conditions, enabling people to live longer independently at home, and prevent loneliness. This study investigates a community-based living environment in Norway called Helgetun and aims to explore how it can facilitate active ageing. METHOD: We chose an ethnographic approach consisting of observation, informal conversations, and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 residents (11 female, 4 male, ages 62-84)...

Vascular calcification is a strong predictor of cardiovascular events. Essential metals play critical roles in maintaining human health. However, the association of essential metal levels with risk of aortic arch calcification (AoAC) remains unclear. We measured the plasma concentrations of nine essential metals in a cross-sectional population and evaluated their individual and combined effects on AoAC risk using multiple statistical methods. We also explored the mediating role of fasting glucose. In the logistic regression model, higher quartiles of magnesium and copper were associated with the decreased AoAC risk, while higher quartile of manganese was associated with higher AoAC risk...

Background Over the past two decades, there have been numerous advances in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) care. We assessed the impact of these advances on the trend of AMI-related mortality. Methods This retrospective analysis of the Centers for Disease Control's Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC_WONDER) database focused on AMI-related mortality in individuals aged 65 and older in the United States from 1999 to 2020. Trends -n crude and age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) were assessed based on socio-demographic and regional variables using Joinpoint Regression software (Joinpoint Regression Program, Version 5...