Associations between frequency of tea consumption and health and mortality: evidence from old Chinese

Tea consumption may be associated with reduced risk of morbidity and mortality; however, this association is not conclusive and has rarely been investigated among very old adults. The present study examines how self-reported frequency of tea consumption in daily life is associated with health and mortality among very old adults in China. The data are from a national longitudinal data set that included 32 606 individuals (13 429 men and 19 177 women) aged 65 years and older: 11 807 respondents aged 65 to 84 years and 20 799 respondents aged 85 years and older. A total of four measurements between 1998 and 2005 resulted in 51 668 observations. Hazard regressions showed that men who drink tea almost every day have a 10–20 % lower risk of death compared to their counterparts who seldom drink tea, after adjusting for numerous confounders including baseline health. This relationship was stronger in younger male elders aged 65 to 84 years than in the oldest-old men aged 85 years and older. However, frequency of tea consumption was not significantly associated with mortality in women. Our analyses further show that high frequency of tea consumption is significantly associated with reduced OR of disability in activities of daily living, cognitive impairment, self-rated poor health, cumulative health deficits and CVD in both young elders and the oldest-old, and in both men and women. These results suggest that the health benefit of drinking tea is universal. We conclude that frequent tea consumption probably helps one achieve healthy longevity and that men benefit more from such lifestyles.

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Abstract TMP46: Is There an Effect of Statins on Ischemic Stroke Functional Outcomes in the Oldest Old?

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.48.suppl_1.tmp46 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Matthew Alcusky ◽

Anne L Hume ◽

Kate L Lapane

Keyword(s):

Ischemic Stroke ◽

Functional Status ◽

Functional Outcomes ◽

Acute Treatment ◽

Functional Dependence ◽

Oldest Old ◽

Health Benefit ◽

Neuroprotective Effects ◽

Data Set ◽

Statin Use

Background: The net health benefit of statin use in the oldest patients remains controversial. Preclinical models and previous clinical studies have suggested statins may exhibit neuroprotective effects in stroke, however evidence in the very old remains limited. Our objective was to compare changes in functional status before and after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) between statin users and non-users in a national cohort. Methods: A patient’s first hospitalization for AIS from 04/01/11 to 12/31/2012 was selected from Medicare Part A claims. Patients with a pre-hospitalization nursing home Minimum Data Set assessment and a post-hospitalization assessment in a skilled nursing facility were included. Pre-stroke statin exposure was defined using Part D claims. Functional status was measured continuously and categorically (dependent:<20, partially dependent(PD):20-59, assisted independent(AI):60-100) using Shah’s modified Barthel Index (mBI). Multivariable logistic regression examined the association of statins with a minimum clinically important mBI decrease of 10 points among non-dependent patients. Results: Among 10,203 patients with an assessment before hospitalization, 7.2% died, and 48.7% were included (mean age: 83.6±9.6; 74.5% women). Statin use was common (36.5%), while acute treatment was infrequent (thrombolysis: 4.9%; thrombectomy: 0.1%). The distribution of functional dependence, PD, and AI shifted from 17.3%, 56.1%, and 26.7% at baseline to 49.7%, 44.4%, and 5.9% post-stroke, respectively. A consistent association with 10-point mBI decline was observed for statin exposure among all non-dependent (OR: 0.8; 95%CI: 0.7-1.0) and within strata of PD (OR:0.8; 95%CI: 0.7-1.0) and AI patients (OR: 0.8; 95%CI: 0.5-1.3). In contrast, acute treatment was more strongly associated with function in AI (OR: 0.5; 95%CI: 0.2-1.0) versus PD patients (OR: 1.0; 95%CI: 0.7-1.5). Conclusion: In this high-burden population, our results are suggestive of a possible protective association for pre-stroke statin exposure. Further research is needed to examine temporal and dose-response relationships between statin exposure and functional outcomes across diverse patient populations.

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Self-Rated Health Predicts Mortality in Very Old Men—the Manitoba Follow-Up Study

Canadian Geriatrics Journal ◽

10.5770/cgj.22.391 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 199-204

Author(s):

Christian R. Hanson ◽

Philip D. St John ◽

Robert B. Tate

Keyword(s):

Very Old ◽

Time To Death ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

Cox Proportional Hazard ◽

Specific Distribution ◽

Long Time ◽

Cox Proportional Hazard Models ◽

Old Men ◽

Second World

BackgroundSelf-rated health (SRH) predicts death, but there are few studies over long-time horizons that are able to explore the effect age may have on the relationship between SRH and mortality.Objectives1. To determine how SRH evolves over 20 years; and 2. To determine if SRH predicts death in very old men.MethodsWe analyzed a prospective cohort study of men who were fit for air crew training in the Second World War. In 1996, a regular questionnaire was administered to the 1,779 surviving participants. SRH was elicited with a 5-point Likert Scale with the categories: excellent, very good, good, fair and poor/bad. We examined the age-specific distribution of SRH in these categories from the age of 75 to 95 years, to the end of the follow-up period in 2018. We constructed age-specific Cox proportional hazard models with an outcome of time to death. ResultsSRH declined with age. The gradient in risk of death persisted across all ages; those with poor/fair/bad SRH had consistently higher mortality rates. However, the discrimination between good and excellent was less in those aged 85+. ConclusionsSRH declines with advancing age, but continues to predict death in older men.

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Tea consumption and measures of attention and psychomotor speed in the very old: the Newcastle 85+ longitudinal study

BMC Nutrition ◽

10.1186/s40795-020-00361-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Edward Jonathan Okello ◽

Nuno Mendonça ◽

Blossom Stephan ◽

Graciela Muniz-Terrera ◽

Keith Wesnes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Sustained Attention ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Tea Consumption ◽

Psychomotor Speed ◽

Very Old ◽

Old Adults ◽

Global Cognitive Function ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background A number of studies have indicated a beneficial effect of tea consumption on the reduction of risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in older aged populations. However, there is a paucity of data on these associations in the very old, defined as individuals aged 85 years and over. We investigated the relationship between tea consumption in the very old and measures of global cognitive function, memory, attention and psychomotor speed. Method Longitudinal (5-years), population-based cohort study of individuals aged 85+ years in the North East of England, United Kingdom. Participants were community-dwelling and institutionalized men and women recruited through general medical practices (n = 676). Baseline tea consumption and longitudinal measures of global and domain specific (memory, speed and attention) cognitive function were assessed. Linear mixed models, controlling for demographic (e.g. age, sex and education) and health variables were used to determine whether tea consumption was protective against cognitive decline. Results Tea consumption was not associated with cognitive function at baseline on any measure (unadjusted and adjusted analyses). In the linear mixed effects models adjusted for age, sex, education and disease co-morbidity, higher tea consumption was associated with significantly better attention (focused and sustained attention), and psychomotor speed (complex tasks only) over five-years follow-up. However, there was no association between tea consumption and global cognitive function, memory or performance on simple speed tasks over time. Conclusions In this cohort study of non-demented very old adults we found that higher (vs. lower) tea consumption was associated with better performance over time on measures of focused and sustained attention and some psychomotor speed tasks. No associations with global cognition, memory or easy speed tasks (simple Reaction Time or Word Recognition) were detected. The results have implications for the development of possible diet-based interventions focused on improving cognitive function in the very old age group. These findings need to be confirmed in a sufficiently powered and well-designed RCT with non-demented very old adults.

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Associations of Wellbeing Levels, Changes, and Within-Person Variability With Late-Life All-Cause Mortality Across 12 Years: Contrasting Hedonic vs. Eudaimonic Wellbeing Among Very Old Adults

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750891 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Oliver Karl Schilling ◽

Markus Wettstein ◽

Hans-Werner Wahl

Keyword(s):

Old Age ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Structural Equation Models ◽

Oldest Old ◽

Residual Lifetime ◽

Very Old ◽

Old Adults ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Mortality Predictors ◽

Eudaimonic Wellbeing

Advanced old age has been characterized as a biologically highly vulnerable life phase. Biological, morbidity-, and cognitive impairment-related factors play an important role as mortality predictors among very old adults. However, it is largely unknown whether previous findings confirming the role of different wellbeing domains for mortality translate to survival among the oldest-old individuals. Moreover, the distinction established in the wellbeing literature between hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing as well as the consideration of within-person variability of potentially relevant mortality predictors has not sufficiently been addressed in prior mortality research. In this study, we examined a broad set of hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing indicators, including their levels, their changes, as well as their within-person variability, as predictors of all-cause mortality in a sample of very old individuals. We used data from the LateLine study, a 7-year longitudinal study based on a sample of n = 124 individuals who were living alone and who were aged 87–97 years (M = 90.6, SD = 2.9) at baseline. Study participants provided up to 16 measurement occasions (mean number of measurement occasions per individual = 5.50, SD = 4.79) between 2009 and 2016. Dates of death were available for 118 individuals (95.2%) who had deceased between 2009 and 2021. We ran longitudinal multilevel structural equation models and specified between-person level differences, within-person long-term linear change trends, as well as the “detrended” within-person variability in three indicators of hedonic (i.e., life satisfaction and positive and negative affect) and four indicators of eudaimonic wellbeing (i.e., purpose in life, autonomy, environmental mastery, and self-acceptance) as all-cause mortality predictors. Controlling for age, gender, education, and physical condition and testing our sets of hedonic and eudaimonic indictors separately in terms of their mortality impact, solely one eudaimonic wellbeing indicator, namely, autonomy, showed significant effects on survival. Surprisingly, autonomy appeared “paradoxically” related with mortality, with high individual levels and intraindividual highly stable perceptions of autonomy being associated with a shorter residual lifetime. Thus, it seems plausible that accepting dependency and changing perceptions of autonomy over time in accordance with objectively remaining capabilities might become adaptive for survival in very old age.

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ADEQUACY OF CURRENT AND FUTURE INCOME AND ASSETS AND THE RISK OF MORTALITY IN A COHORT OF OLDER MEN – THE MANITOBA FOLLOW-UP STUDY

Journal of Aging Research and Lifestyle ◽

10.14283/jarcp.2019.14 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

P.D. St John ◽

R.B. Tate

Keyword(s):

Marital Status ◽

Functional Status ◽

Older Men ◽

Very Old ◽

Current Income ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

Income Adequacy ◽

Future Income ◽

Old Men

Background: Income security is a determinant of health in most populations, but there is less evidence in very old men. Objective: To determine if self-reported current income adequacy or future expectation of income adequacy predicts death amongst older men. Design and Setting: We conducted an analysis of a prospective cohort of 3 983 men who have been followed since 1948. In 2006, 1001 men were alive, of whom 807 completed the annual survey without assistance. Two items in the 2006 survey were: “How well do you think your income and assets satisfy your current needs?” and “How well do you think your income and assets will satisfy your needs in the future?” We considered the categories: “very adequate, adequate and inadequate.” Time to death over the next 11 years was examined with the Cox proportional hazards models, and adjusted for age, marital status, and functional status. Results: The mean age in 2006 was 85 years old. The median follow-up time was 6.1 years, and 664 of the participants died. Satisfaction with current income did not predict mortality. Those with an expectation of inadequate future income had a higher risk of death: Hazard Ratio of 1.37 [(95%CI) 1.02, 1.84)] for “Not adequate” relative to “Very Adequate”. In models adjusted for age, marital status and functional status, this association was only marginally statistically significant (p=0.07). Conclusions: Perceived adequacy of future income predicts mortality in very old men. The effect may be confounded or mediated by functional decline.

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Tea consumption and measures of attention and psychomotor speed in the very old: The Newcastle 85+ Longitudinal Study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-22144/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Edward Jonathan Okello ◽

Nuno Mendonça ◽

Blossom Stephan ◽

Graciela Muniz-Terrera ◽

Keith Wesnes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Sustained Attention ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Tea Consumption ◽

Psychomotor Speed ◽

Very Old ◽

Old Adults ◽

Global Cognitive Function ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background: A number of studies have indicated a beneficial effect of tea consumption on the reduction of risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in older aged populations. However, there is a paucity of data on these associations in the very old, defined as individuals aged 85 years and over. We investigated the relationship between tea consumption in the very old and measures of global cognitive function, memory, attention and psychomotor speed.Method: Longitudinal (5-years), population-based cohort study of individuals aged 85+ years in the North East of England, United Kingdom. Participants were community-dwelling and institutionalized men and women recruited through general medical practices (n=676). Baseline tea consumption and longitudinal measures of global and domain specific (memory, speed and attention) cognitive function were assessed. Linear mixed models, controlling for demographic (e.g. age, sex and education) and health variables were used to determine whether tea consumption was protective against cognitive decline.Results: Tea consumption was not associated with cognitive function at baseline on any measure (unadjusted and adjusted analyses). In the linear mixed effects models adjusted for age, sex, education and disease co-morbidity, higher tea consumption was associated with significantly better attention (focused and sustained attention), and psychomotor speed (complex tasks only) over five-years follow-up. However, there was no association between tea consumption and global cognitive function, memory or performance on simple speed tasks over time.Conclusions: In this cohort study of non-demented very old adults we found that higher (vs. lower) tea consumption was associated with better performance over time on measures of focused and sustained attention and some psychomotor speed tasks. No associations with global cognition, memory or easy speed tasks (simple Reaction Time or Word Recognition) were detected. The results have implications for the development of possible diet-based interventions focused on improving cognitive function in the very old age group. These findings need to be confirmed in a sufficiently powered and well-designed RCT with non-demented very old adults.

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Attitudes towards oldest‐old adults (age ≥80 years): A survey and international comparison between Swedish and Austrian nursing students

Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences ◽

10.1111/scs.13005 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Birgit Heckemann ◽

Gerhilde Schüttengruber ◽

Axel Wolf ◽

Franziska Großschädl ◽

Christopher Holmberg

Keyword(s):

Nursing Students ◽

International Comparison ◽

Oldest Old ◽

Old Adults

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910. A Comprehensive, One Year, Hospital-Wide Snapshot of All Serious Infectious Complications in People Who Inject Drugs

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofaa439.1098 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S489-S490

Author(s):

John T Henderson ◽

Evelyn Villacorta Cari ◽

Nicole Leedy ◽

Alice Thornton ◽

Donna R Burgess ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Vertebral Osteomyelitis ◽

The United States ◽

Infectious Complications ◽

Data Set ◽

Cumulative Impact ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

Icu Admission ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background There has been a dramatic rise in IV drug use (IVDU) and its associated mortality and morbidity, however, the scope of this effect has not been described. Kentucky is at the epicenter of this epidemic and is an ideal place to better understand the health complications of IVDU in order to improve outcomes. Methods All adult in-patient admissions to University of Kentucky hospitals in 2018 with an Infectious Diseases (ID) consult and an ICD 9/10 code associated with IVDU underwent thorough retrospective chart review. Demographic, descriptive, and outcome data were collected and analyzed by standard statistical analysis. Results 390 patients (467 visits) met study criteria. The top illicit substances used were methamphetamine (37.2%), heroin (38.2%), and cocaine (10.3%). While only 4.1% of tested patients were HIV+, 74.2% were HCV antibody positive. Endocarditis (41.1%), vertebral osteomyelitis (20.8%), bacteremia without endocarditis (14.1%), abscess (12.4%), and septic arthritis (10.4%) were the most common infectious complications. The in-patient death rate was 3.0%, and 32.2% of patients were readmitted within the study period. The average length of stay was 26 days. In multivariable analysis, infectious endocarditis was associated with a statistically significant increase in risk of death, ICU admission, and hospital readmission. Although not statistically significant, trends toward mortality and ICU admission were identified for patients with prior endocarditis and methadone was correlated with decreased risk of readmission and ICU stay. FIGURE 1: Reported Substances Used FIGURE 2: Comorbidities FIGURE 3: Types of Severe Infectious Complications Conclusion We report on a novel, comprehensive perspective on the serious infectious complications of IVDU in an attempt to measure its cumulative impact in an unbiased way. This preliminary analysis of a much larger dataset (2008-2019) reveals some sobering statistics about the impact of IVDU in the United States. While it confirms the well accepted mortality and morbidity associated with infective endocarditis and bacteremia, there is a significant unrecognized impact of other infectious etiologies. Additional analysis of this data set will be aimed at identifying key predictive factors in poor outcomes in hopes of mitigating them. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

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Regional differences in the evolution of the merger of /ʃ/ and /ç/ in Luxembourgish

Journal of the International Phonetic Association ◽

10.1017/s0025100320000407 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

François Conrad

Keyword(s):

Language Contact ◽

Sound Change ◽

Young Generation ◽

The South ◽

Data Set ◽

West Germanic ◽

The North ◽

Minimal Pairs ◽

Old Men ◽

Middle Generation

The merger of post-alveolar /ʃ/ and palatal /ç/ into alveolopalatal /ɕ/ has recently gained growing interest in sociophonetic research, especially in the Middle German dialect area. In Luxembourgish, a Continental West Germanic language, the sound change has been linked to age differences, while its origins remain unclear. Two studies with a regional focus are presented in this paper. The first study examines the merger in the Centre and the South of Luxembourg. The acoustic examination of both the spectral peak and the centre of gravity of a spoken data set of five minimal pairs embedded in read and orally translated sentences from 48 speakers (three generations (old generation, 65–91 years; middle generation, 40–64 years; young generation, 20–39 years; each generation, n = 16), men and women) reveals interesting results related to their regional background. In the old generation, the merger is further advanced in the speech of old men from the former mining region in the South compared to their peers in the Centre, the former leading this sound change. On the other hand, young speakers in both regions produce only alveolopalatal /ɕ/, the merger being complete in this generation. The second study presents exploratory data from the East and the North of the country. The analysis of this smaller sample (n = 6 speakers) reveals patterns similar to the central region. Pointing to language contact with Romance in the South as cradle and/or catalyser of the merger, these results not only give further clues as to the development in Luxembourg, but also add to a deeper understanding of sound changes in process in complex sibilant systems.

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