Reducing Your Risk of Alzheimer’s Dementia: Building a Better Brain as We Age

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1257-1265
Author(s):  
David A Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cohort Studies ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Religious Orders ◽  
Medical Risk ◽  
Alzheimer Dementia ◽  
Medical Risk Factors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Dementia Onset

Abstract Alzheimer’ dementia is a large and growing public health problem. Of utmost importance for limiting the impact of the disease on society is the prevention of dementia, that is, delay onset either by years whereby death ensues prior to dementia onset. The Religious Orders Study and the Rush Memory and Aging Project are two harmonized cohort studies of aging and dementia that include organ donation at death. Ongoing since 1994 and 1997, respectively, we published on the association of numerous experiential, psychological, and medical risk factors for dementia, many of which are potentially modifiable. Here, selected findings are reviewed based on a presentation at the 2020 National Academy of Neuropsychology given virtually in Chicago in October of 2020.

scholarly journals Using general practice data to monitor influenza vaccination coverage in the medically at risk: a data linkage study

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e031802
Author(s):  
Dauda Badmus ◽  
Robert Menzies
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
At Risk ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Influenza Vaccination ◽  
Vaccination Coverage ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Medical Risk ◽  
Medical Risk Factors ◽  
Adult Vaccination ◽  
The Impact

ObjectiveTo examine the possibility of using data from a network of Australian General Practices (GPs) to estimate influenza vaccination coverage in Australians medically at risk.DesignData electronically extracted from a large national network of Australian GP clinics (MedicineInsight) was analysed for annual influenza vaccination coverage from 2008 to 2014. We compared the results with the 2009 and 2014 Adult Vaccination Survey. We adjusted for differences in the distribution of age, risk groups and provider types.SettingAll states in Australia.ParticipantsGPs participating in MedicineInsight programme.InterventionsNot applicable.Main outcome measuresAnnual vaccination coverage across risk groups as recorded in Adult Vaccination Survey in 2009 and 2014 were compared with vaccination coverage in MedicineInsight. The impact of National Immunisation Programme expansion of free vaccine in 2010 to cover patients aged <65 years with medical risk factors.ResultsThe proportion of MedicineInsight patients aged ≥18 years and diagnosed with medical risk factors was higher in 2014 (33.2%), compared with the AVS in 2009 (25%). In 2009, influenza vaccination coverage estimates for those aged 18–64 years with medical risk factors was lower for MedicineInsight patients compared with the AVS (26% vs 36%). There was no evidence of any change in coverage between 2008 and 2014, despite the vaccine being available free of charge to this group from 2010.ConclusionGeneral practice databases have the potential to help fill the gap in vaccination coverage data in patients with medical risk factors.

Health, Medical Risk Factors, and Bicycle Use in Everyday Life in the Over-50 Population

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Huy ◽  
Simone Becker ◽  
Uwe Gomolinsky ◽  
Thomas Klein ◽  
Ansgar Thiel
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Leisure Time Physical Activity ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Medical Risk ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Medical Risk Factors ◽  
The Impact

Few middle-aged and elderly people get enough exercise from sports or leisure-time physical activity. Therefore, the impact of everyday physical activity on health is a matter of interest. The main objective of this study was to establish whether bicycle use in everyday life is positively associated with health. A sample of 982 randomly selected men and 1,020 women age 50–70 were asked in a computer-assisted telephone interview to provide information including a self-assessment of their health and physical activity. Self-assessed health correlates positively with bicycle use in everyday life (OR = 1.257; 95% CI: 1.031–1.532). Likewise, people who regularly cycle for transport are less likely to have medical risk factors (OR = 0.794; 95% CI: 0.652–0.967). This negative correlation is not diminished when sporting activity is controlled for. This indicates that positive effects of physical activity on risk factors can be also achieved solely by integrating more physical activity into routine everyday life.

Delirium in Palliative Care Patients: Focus on Pharmacotherapy

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 501-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Zimmerman ◽  
James Rudolph ◽  
Marci Salow ◽  
L. Michal Skarf
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Subsequent Treatment ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Medical Risk ◽  
Multiple Risk Factors ◽  
Medical Risk Factors ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Adverse Effects ◽  
The Impact

Patients receiving palliative care often possess multiple risk factors and predisposing conditions for delirium. The impact of delirium on patient care in this population may also be far-reaching: affecting not only quality of remaining life but the dying process experienced by patients, caregivers, and the medical team as well. As palliative care focuses on comfort and symptom management, the approach to assessment and subsequent treatment of delirium in palliative care patients may prove difficult for providers to navigate. This article summarizes the multifactorial nature, numerous predisposing medical risk factors, neuropsychiatric adverse effects of palliative medications, pharmacokinetic changes, and challenges complicating delirium assessment and provides a systematic framework for assessment. The benefits, risks, and patient-specific considerations for treatment selection are also discussed.

Substance Abuse and Drug-Related Death, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicide: A Review

Crisis ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Mino ◽  
Arnaud Bousquet ◽  
Barbara Broers
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Hiv Epidemic

The high mortality rate among drug users, which is partly due to the HIV epidemic and partly due to drug-related accidental deaths and suicides, presents a major public health problem. Knowing more about prevalence, incidence, and risk factors is important for the development of rational preventive and therapeutic programs. This article attempts to give an overview of studies of the relations between substance abuse, suicidal ideation, suicide, and drug-related death. Research in this field is hampered by the absence of clear definitions, and results of studies are rarely comparable. There is, however, consensus about suicidal ideation being a risk factor for suicide attempts and suicide. Suicidal ideation is also a predictor of suicide, especially among drug users. It is correlated with an absence of family support, with the severity of the psychosocial dysfunctioning, and with multi-drug abuse, but also with requests for treatment. Every clinical examination of a drug user, not only of those who are depressed, should address the possible presence of suicidal ideation, as well as its intensity and duration.

scholarly journals The malaria burden of Amerindian groups of three Venezuelan states: a descriptive study based on programmatic data

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan C. Gabaldón-Figueira ◽  
Carlos Chaccour ◽  
Jorge Moreno ◽  
Maria Villegas ◽  
Leopoldo Villegas
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Malaria Incidence ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Malaria Burden ◽  
Indigenous Groups ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Fifty-three percent of all cases of malaria in the Americas in 2019 came from Venezuela, where the epidemic is heavily focused south of the Orinoco river, and where most of the country’s Amerindian groups live. Although the disease is known to represent a significant public health problem among these populations, little epidemiological data exists on the subject. This study aims to provide information on malaria incidence, geospatial clustering, and risk factors associated to Plasmodium falciparum infection among these groups. Methods This is a descriptive study based on the analysis of published and unpublished programmatic data collected by Venezuelan health authorities and non-government organizations between 2014 and 2018. The Annual Parasite Index among indigenous groups (API-i) in municipalities of three states (Amazonas, Bolivar, and Sucre) were calculated and compared using the Kruskal Wallis test, risk factors for Plasmodium falciparum infection were identified via binomial logistic regression and maps were constructed to identify clusters of malaria cases among indigenous patients via Moran’s I and Getis-Ord’s hot spot analysis. Results 116,097 cases of malaria in Amerindian groups were registered during the study period. An increasing trend was observed between 2014 and 2016 but reverted in 2018. Malaria incidence remains higher than in 2014 and hot spots were identified in the three states, although more importantly in the south of Bolivar. Most cases (73.3%) were caused by Plasmodium vivax, but the Hoti, Yanomami, and Eñepa indigenous groups presented higher odds for infection with Plasmodium falciparum. Conclusion Malaria cases among Amerindian populations increased between 2014 and 2018 and seem to have a different geographic distribution than those among the general population. These findings suggest that tailored interventions will be necessary to curb the impact of malaria transmission in these groups.

Infant EEG Spectral Coherence Data during Quiet Sleep: Unrestricted Principal Components Analysis — Relation of Factors to Gestational Age, Medical Risk, and Neurobehavioral Status

2003 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank H. Duffy ◽  
Heidelise Als ◽  
Gloria B. McAnulty
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Principal Components Analysis ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Principal Components ◽  
Spectral Coherence ◽  
Quiet Sleep ◽  
Medical Risk ◽  
Medical Risk Factors ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Coherence Factors

EEG spectral coherence data in quiet sleep of 312 infants were evaluated, at 42 weeks post-menstrual age. All were medically healthy and living at home by time of evaluation. The sample consisted of prematurely born infants with a wide spectrum of underlying risk factors, as well as healthy fullterm infants. Initial 3040 coherence variables were reduced by principal components analysis in an unrestricted manner, which avoided the folding of spectral and spatial information into among-subject variance. One hundred fifty factors explained 90% of the total variance; 40 Varimax rotated factors explained 65% of the variance yielding a 50:1 data reduction. Factor loading patterns ranged from multiple spectral bands for a single electrode pair to multiple electrode pairs for a single spectral band and all intermediate possibilities. Simple left-right and anterior-posterior pairings were not observed within the factor loadings. By multiple regression analysis, the 40 factors significantly predicted gestational age at birth. By canonical correlation, significant relationships were demonstrated between the coherence factors and medical risk factors as well as neurobehavioral factors. Using discriminant analysis, the coherence factors successfully discriminated between infants with high and low medical risk status and between those with the best and worst neurobehavioral status. The two factors accounting for the most variance, and chosen across several analyses, indicated increased left central-temporal coherence from 6–24 Hz, and increased frontal-occipital coherence at 10 Hz, for the infants born closest to term with lowest medical risk factors and best neurobehavioral performance.

Fetal macrosomia: obstetrical, psychological and social aspects

2018 ◽  
pp. 36-39
Author(s):  
S.I. Zhuk ◽  
◽  
O.D. Shchurevska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Gestational Diabetes ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Fetal Macrosomia ◽  
Medical Problems ◽  
Medical Risk ◽  
Pregnancy And Childbirth ◽  
Medical Risk Factors ◽  
Forced Migrants

One of the main markers of socially unfavorable pregnancy is anthropometric indicators of newborns. They reflect not only the narrow medical problems of complicated gestation but also social problems in general, the quality and access to the medical care. The objective: to determine the risk factors for fetal macrosomia in pregnancy with high levels of psychosocial stress. Materials and methods. The course of pregnancy and childbirth, demographic and medical risk factors for a fetal macrosomia were analyzed in 140 pregnant women with different levels of psychosocial stress. They were divided into 2 groups: 1 group (main) – 56 women-forced migrants from Luhansk and Donetsk regions, 2 group – 84 women with low and moderate level stress according to the questionnaires and psychological tests (L. Reeder, Spielberg–Khanin scale). Results. Gestational diabetes was the main reason for the birth of heavy children in both groups. Women–forced migrants had late manifestation of impaired tolerance to carbohydrates and a higher frequency of pathological weight gain. Male neonates are at risk for macrosomia. Childbirth in women with macrosomia is accompanied by a high frequency of complications and abnormal births. Conclusions. The frequency of births of macrosomic children in women - forced migrants is higher than in women at low risk of psychosocial stress. Risk factors in this group of pregnants include: the level of stress and behavioral responses to stress, impaired carbohydrate tolerance due to gestational diabetes, abnormal weight gain due to malnutrition and male sex of the fetus. Keywords: macrosomia, pregnancy, childbirth, women–forced migrants psychosocial stress, gestational diabetes, weight gain.

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