Montani Semper Liberi: Age And Depression Among Veterans In Appalachia

Depression is higher in rural areas and military veterans (Kimron et al., 2019; Bedard-Gilligan et al., 2018). West Virginia, the only state contained entirely within Appalachia, has a higher percentage of military service among its citizenry than other states. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the association between veteran status and depression among adults in WV. Using 2018 WV data from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we examined depression as a function of veteran status and age, among 612 younger adults, 1813 middle-aged adults, and 2445 older adults (N = 4,870; 12.4% veterans). Our ANOVA revealed a significant overall effect, F(5, 4864) = 14.64, p < .001, a main effect for veteran status (18.8% of veterans and 26% of non-veterans reported depression), and an age effect emerged, with more younger (28.6%) and middle-aged adults (30.5%) reporting depression than did older adults (20.3%). No significant interaction between age and veteran status emerged, F(2, 4864) = 1.75, p = .175. Of note, 25% of the sample reported having depression. Given that place-based mental health disparities exist, this finding is not unexpected. But fewer older adults and fewer veterans reported depression. At least three possibilities warrant further investigation. Future studies should examine whether these age and veteran status differences in depression reflect differences in resilience, differences in reporting, and/or differences in selective survival.

Frailty prevalence and association with mortality across birth cohorts in Swedish registry data

Frailty is associated with poor health outcomes, reduced quality of life, and mortality. To understand how prevalence of frailty may have changed across birth cohorts, we investigated frailty prevalence at ages 75, 85, and 95 in people born in 1910, 1920, and 1930 in Swedish national registry data. Frailty was assessed with the Hospital Frailty Risk Score, a weighted sum of 109 ICD codes, which we calculated for each year leading up to the specified ages. We additionally investigated the association between frailty and mortality in these birth cohorts. We observed, at 75, a decrease in prevalence of frailty across birth cohorts (16.9%, 10.8%, and 8.8%, respectively). Interestingly, at 85, we found a U-shaped pattern, where those born in 1920 (14.1%) had lower prevalence of frailty than those born in either 1910 (27.7%) or 1930 (25.1%). At age 95, we saw a low prevalence of frailty in the 1910 (7.3%) and 1920 (3.8%) birth cohorts –potentially because of selective survival. There were not substantial differences in prevalence of frailty by sex or birth country. In Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for sex, frailty was consistently associated with mortality. We observed the greatest hazard ratios in the 1930 birth cohort at 75 (HR=2.79, 95% CI 2.62, 2.97) and 85 (HR=2.26, 95% CI 2.01, 2.53) and the 1920 birth cohort at 75 (HR=2.19, 95% CI 2.09, 2.29), where risk was double that of those who were not frail. Understanding changes in prevalence of frailty will help inform public health and intervention measures.

Enterococcus spp. have higher fitness for survival, in a pH-dependent manner, in pancreatic juice among duodenal bacterial flora

Objectives: Bacterial infection is involved in the progression of many gastrointestinal diseases, including cancer; however, how and which bacteria colonize in pancreatic juice and tissue have yet to be elucidated. Recently, we reported that Enterococcus faecalis exists in the pancreatic juice and tissues of patients with chronic pancreatic disease. Here, we investigated the survival of E. faecalis in duodenal juice with different pH conditions. Methods: Pancreatic juice samples from 62 patients with cancers of the duodeno-pancreato-biliary region were evaluated for the presence of E. faecalis. 16S ribosomal RNA PCR and 16S-based metagenome analyses were performed to determine the bacterial composition. The survival of E. faecalis in various pancreatic juice conditions was evaluated. Results: Of 62 samples, 27% (17/62) were positive for Enterococcus spp., among which 71% (12/17) contained E. faecalis. Enterococcus spp. showed the highest fitness for survival in alkaline pancreatic juice among various bacterial species. The microbiome of pancreatic juice from patients with pancreatic and bile duct cancer showed diversity, but Enterococcus spp. were enriched among duodenal tumors and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms. Conclusions: Alkalinity is important for the selective survival of E. faecalis among microbiota. E. faecalis may induce pancreatic inflammation with changes in pancreatic juice conditions.

Ethics and Practice in the Excavation, Examination, Analysis, and Preservation of Historical Mummified Human Remains

European perspectives on the study of human remains, particularly mummified individuals with associated material culture, highlight the multidisciplinary research potential of these rare discoveries. The diverse evidence associated with mummified remains offers unique potential to consider how the deceased was experienced over time. Scientific analyses reveal the complex taphonomic processes leading to the selective survival of tissue and cultural items. Medical approaches to mummies have been long established, but historical examples can combine cultural and historical sources with the palaeopathological to develop more nuanced understandings of disease and lifestyle, identifying both individual biographies and wider cultural trends in mortuary practice. Study of mummies raises ethical considerations similar to those for skeletonized remains, but given the greater recognition of their humanity, further social and religious considerations are relevant. Investigation needs to be set against the local legislation and the feelings of the mummies’ gatekeepers and, in some cases, their descendant communities.

Genes of DNA repair proteins and lifetime

Гены белков репарации ДНК интересны с точки зрения их роли в формировании многофакторных заболеваний. Нами изучена изменчивость 8 SNP в 6 генах белков репарации ДНК в разных возрастных когортах жителей г. Томска. Для rs473297 в гене MRE11 выявлены возраст-зависимые изменения частот аллелей и генотипов: для старшей возрастной когорты зарегистрированы различия по частотам аллелей и генотипов как с младшей когортой (p=0,04 и p=0,047 соответственно), так и с долгожителями (p=0,02 и p=0,047 соответственно). Аллель T rs473297 ассоциирован, с одной стороны, с долгожительством (p=0,02 за счет генотипов TT и GT), с другой - со смертностью от сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний в возрасте до 55 лет (только генотипы TT, p=0,03). То есть, rs473297 в гене MRE11 может быть вовлечен в определение продолжительности жизни через селективную выживаемость носителей разных генотипов, больных сложно-наследуемыми заболеваниями. Genes of DNA repair proteins are interesting from the point of view of involvement of formation of common diseases. We studied variability of 8 SNP in the six DNA repair proteins genes in different age cohorts of residents of Tomsk. For rs473297 (MRE11), age-dependent changes alleles and genotypes frequencies were identified: for the older age cohort of the population sample, differences in alleles and genotypes frequencies were recorded with both the younger cohort (p=0.04 and p=0.047, respectively) and long-livers (p=0.02 and p=0.047, respectively). Allele T rs473297 is associated, on the one hand - with longevity (p=0.02, due to genotypes TT and GT), on the other - with mortality from cardiac death under 55 years of age (only homozygotes TT, p=0.03). That is, rs473297 (MRE11) may be involved in determining lifetime through selective survival of carriers of different genotypes suffering from common diseases.