5 results
1 Sex Differences in Associations Between APOE ε2 and Longitudinal Cognitive Decline
- Madeline Wood, Lisa Xiong, Yuen Yan Wong, Rachel F Buckley, Walter Swardfager, Mario Masellis, Andrew Lim, Emma Nichols, Renaud La Joie, Kaitlin Casaletto, Raj Kumar, Kristen Dams-O’Connor, Priya Palta, Kristen George, Claudia Satizabal, Lisa L Barnes, Julie A Schneider, Judy Pa, Adam Brickman, Sandra Black, Jennifer Rabin
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 405-406
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Objective:
Women have a greater lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia than men, a sex/gender disparity that cannot be explained by female longevity alone. There is substantial evidence for sex differences in the effects of APOE £4 on risk for AD. While APOE e4 increases AD risk in both sexes, women who carry APOE e4 are disproportionately vulnerable to cognitive impairment and AD compared to their counterpart men. In contrast to APOE e4, APOE £2 is associated with slower cognitive decline and a lower risk of AD. Although a less robust literature, APOE e2 may also have sex-specific effects. Because APOE e2 is the rarest major APOE allele, well-powered studies are needed to examine sex-specific effects. The objective of the present study was to examine sex-specific associations of APOE e2 carriage with longitudinal cognitive decline in a large cohort of clinically unimpaired adults.
Participants and Methods:We used observational data from two sources: the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) and the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center (ROS/MAP/MARS) studies. We included data from clinically unimpaired adults who were >50 years old at baseline who self-identified as non-Hispanic White (NHW) or non-Hispanic Black (NHB). Participants were categorized as APOE £2, £4, or £3/e3 carriers. APOE e2/e4 carriers were excluded. The same battery of neuropsychological tests was used to assess global cognition in participants from both data sources. Linear mixed models examined interactive associations of genotype (£2 or £4 vs. £3/£3), sex, and time on longitudinal cognition in NHW and NHB participants separately. Analyses were first performed in a pooled sample of NACC and ROS/MAP/MARS participants and if significant they were repeated separately in each data source.
Results:Across both data sources, 9,766 NHW (mean (SD) age=73.0(9.00) years, mean (SD) education=16.3(2.83) years, n(%) women=6,344(65.0)) and 2,010 NHB participants (mean(SD) age=71.3(7.59) years, mean(SD) education=14.9(3.10) years, n(%) women=1,583(78.8)) met inclusion criteria. Sex modified the association between APOE £2 and cognitive decline in NHW (ß=0.097, 95% CI: 0.023-0.172, pint=.01) but not NHB participants (ß=-0.011, 95% CI: -0.153-0.131, pint=.9). In sex-stratified analyses of NHW participants, APOE £2 (vs. £3/£3) carriage was associated with attenuated cognitive decline in men (ß=0.096, 95% CI: 0.037-0.155, p=.001), but not women (ß=-0.001, 95% CI: -0.044-0.043, p=.97). In analyses comparing men and women APOE £2 carriers, men exhibited slower cognitive decline than women (ß=0.120, 95% CI: 0.051-0.190, p=.001). Analyses performed separately in NACC and ROS/MAP revealed the same pattern of male-specific APOE £2 protection in NHW participants in both data sources.
Conclusions:In light of the longstanding view that APOE £2 protects against AD and dementia, our results provide evidence that APOE £2 is associated with attenuated cognitive decline in men but not women among NHW adults. This male-specific protection may contribute to sex differences in AD-related cognitive decline. Our findings have important implications for understanding the biological drivers of sex differences in AD risk, which is crucial for developing sex-specific strategies to prevent and treat AD dementia.
Trends in referrals to liaison psychiatry teams from UK emergency departments for patients over 65
- Sarah Bradbury, George Crowther, Manimegalai Chinnasamy, Laura Shaw, Sara Ormerod, Alison Wilkinson, Rebecca Chubb, Mazen Daher, Pramod Kumar, Andrew Gaskin, Karen Williams, Angus Brown, Eleanor Stebbings, Sunita Sahu, Roger Smyth, Hilary Kinsler, Stephen O'Connor, Andrew Wells, Ross Overshott, Kehinde Junaid, Aparna Mordekar, Jenny Humphries, Karen James, Shweta Mittal, Sarita Dasari, Hugh Grant-Peterkin, Niall Campbell, Robert West, Professor George Tadros, Elizabeth Sampson
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- Journal:
- BJPsych Open / Volume 7 / Issue S1 / June 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 18 June 2021, pp. S311-S312
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Aims
The number of people over the age of 65 attending Emergency Departments (ED) in the United Kingdom (UK) is increasing. Those who attend with a mental health related problem may be referred to liaison psychiatry for assessment. Improving responsiveness and integration of liaison psychiatry in general hospital settings is a national priority. To do this psychiatry teams must be adequately resourced and organised. However, it is unknown how trends in the number of referrals of older people to liaison psychiatry teams by EDs are changing, making this difficult.
MethodWe performed a national multi-centre retrospective service evaluation, analysing existing psychiatry referral data from EDs of people over 65. Sites were selected from a convenience sample of older peoples liaison psychiatry departments. Departments from all regions of the UK were invited to participate via the RCPsych liaison and older peoples faculty email distribution lists. From departments who returned data, we combined the date and described trends in the number and rate of referrals over a 7 year period.
ResultReferral data from up to 28 EDs across England and Scotland over a 7 year period were analysed (n = 18828 referrals). There is a general trend towards increasing numbers of older people referred to liaison psychiatry year on year. Rates rose year on year from 1.4 referrals per 1000 ED attenders (>65 years) in 2011 to 4.5 in 2019 . There is inter and intra site variability in referral numbers per 1000 ED attendances between different departments, ranging from 0.1 - 24.3.
ConclusionTo plan an effective healthcare system we need to understand the population it serves, and have appropriate structures and processes within it. The overarching message of this study is clear; older peoples mental health emergencies presenting in ED are common and appear to be increasingly so. Without appropriate investment either in EDs or community mental health services, this is unlikely to improve.
The data also suggest very variable inter-departmental referral rates. It is not possible to establish why rates from one department to another are so different, or whether outcomes for the population they serve are better or worse. The data does however highlight the importance of asking further questions about why the departments are different, and what impact that has on the patients they serve.
Meta-analysis across Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium provides evidence for an association of serum vitamin D with pulmonary function
- Jiayi Xu, Traci M. Bartz, Geetha Chittoor, Gudny Eiriksdottir, Ani W. Manichaikul, Fangui Sun, Natalie Terzikhan, Xia Zhou, Sarah L. Booth, Guy G. Brusselle, Ian H. de Boer, Myriam Fornage, Alexis C. Frazier-Wood, Mariaelisa Graff, Vilmundur Gudnason, Tamara B. Harris, Albert Hofman, Ruixue Hou, Denise K. Houston, David R. Jacobs, Jr, Stephen B. Kritchevsky, Jeanne Latourelle, Rozenn N. Lemaitre, Pamela L. Lutsey, George O’Connor, Elizabeth C. Oelsner, James S. Pankow, Bruce M. Psaty, Rebecca R. Rohde, Stephen S. Rich, Jerome I. Rotter, Lewis J. Smith, Bruno H. Stricker, V. Saroja Voruganti, Thomas J. Wang, M. Carola Zillikens, R. Graham Barr, Josée Dupuis, Sina A. Gharib, Lies Lahousse, Stephanie J. London, Kari E. North, Albert V. Smith, Lyn M. Steffen, Dana B. Hancock, Patricia A. Cassano
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- Journal:
- British Journal of Nutrition / Volume 120 / Issue 10 / 28 November 2018
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 12 September 2018, pp. 1159-1170
- Print publication:
- 28 November 2018
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The role that vitamin D plays in pulmonary function remains uncertain. Epidemiological studies reported mixed findings for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)–pulmonary function association. We conducted the largest cross-sectional meta-analysis of the 25(OH)D–pulmonary function association to date, based on nine European ancestry (EA) cohorts (n 22 838) and five African ancestry (AA) cohorts (n 4290) in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium. Data were analysed using linear models by cohort and ancestry. Effect modification by smoking status (current/former/never) was tested. Results were combined using fixed-effects meta-analysis. Mean serum 25(OH)D was 68 (sd 29) nmol/l for EA and 49 (sd 21) nmol/l for AA. For each 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV1) was higher by 1·1 ml in EA (95 % CI 0·9, 1·3; P<0·0001) and 1·8 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·5; P<0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·06), and forced vital capacity (FVC) was higher by 1·3 ml in EA (95 % CI 1·0, 1·6; P<0·0001) and 1·5 ml (95 % CI 0·8, 2·3; P=0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·56). Among EA, the 25(OH)D–FVC association was stronger in smokers: per 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, FVC was higher by 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·3) for current smokers and 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·2, 2·1) for former smokers, compared with 0·8 ml (95 % CI 0·4, 1·2) for never smokers. In summary, the 25(OH)D associations with FEV1 and FVC were positive in both ancestries. In EA, a stronger association was observed for smokers compared with never smokers, which supports the importance of vitamin D in vulnerable populations.
Fifteen - Social work mobility in Europe: a case study from Ireland
- Edited by Allen Bartley, The University of Auckland, Liz Beddoe, The University of Auckland
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- Book:
- Transnational Social Work
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 12 April 2022
- Print publication:
- 07 February 2018, pp 241-260
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Summary
A case study of social work mobility in Ireland
The phenomenon of transnational social worker mobility can be viewed against the background of the ambition to internationalise social work, dating from 1928 (International Conference of Social Work, Paris, 1928 – see the International Federation of Social Workers [IFSW] website, available at: http://ifsw.org/news/milestones-in-the-early-history-of-the-ifsw/). Such mobility occurs in a context of the increased global movements of people. Mobility has been shown to be a fluid process impacted by political and economic factors, as well as national and regional policies in a globalised world (Bartley et al, 2012; Williams and Graham, 2014). International mobility is not a universal right. In the case of the European Union (EU), one of the foundational principles and ambitions of the European project has been the free movement of workers between the member states as part of the concept of the Common Market. However, significant differences have always existed between mobility within the member states and from outside.
Pan-European contextual factors
Since the international war on terror following the 2001 ‘9/11’ attacks on the US, a confluence of separate but intertwined global events have thrown established European migration policies into disarray. These events include the global financial crisis of 2007/08 and the subsequent Eurozone crisis, which saw the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and other indebted peripheral European states (Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus) enter a ‘bailout’ programme provided by a ‘troika’ of international lenders comprising the European Commission (EC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB). Financial assistance was accompanied by the imposition of stringent austerity measures in all cases. Ireland exited its bailout programme in 2013 but the legacy of austerity endures across health, social services and other sectors.
More critically, the Syrian and Iraqi wars and resultant humanitarian refugee crises have given rise to severe tensions between European partners on the issue of migration. The threat to the Schengen passport-free zone for Europeans and the tightening of European borders in the wake of the Daesh terrorist attacks in Belgium, France and Germany since November 2015 are also having a profound impact.
Efficacy of the Omega-3 Index in predicting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in overweight and obese adults: a pilot study
- Helen M. Parker, Helen T. O’Connor, Shelley E. Keating, Jeffrey S. Cohn, Manohar L. Garg, Ian D. Caterson, Jacob George, Nathan A. Johnson
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- Journal:
- British Journal of Nutrition / Volume 114 / Issue 5 / 14 September 2015
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 23 July 2015, pp. 780-787
- Print publication:
- 14 September 2015
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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an independent predictor of CVD in otherwise healthy individuals. Low n-3 PUFA intake has been associated with the presence of NAFLD; however, the relationship between a biomarker of n-3 status – the Omega-3 Index – and liver fat is yet to be elucidated. A total of eighty overweight adults (fifty-six men) completed the anthropometric and biochemical measurements, including the Omega-3 Index, and underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy assessment of liver fat. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression analyses were performed with reference to prediction of liver fat percentage. The mean Omega-3 Index was high in both NAFLD (intrahepatic lipid concentration≥5·5 %) and non-NAFLD groups. The Omega-3 Index, BMI, waist circumference, glucose, insulin, TAG, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were positively correlated, and HDL and erythrocyte n-6:n-3 ratio negatively correlated with liver fat concentration. Regression analysis found that simple anthropometric and demographic variables (waist, age) accounted for 31 % of the variance in liver fat and the addition of traditional cardiometabolic blood markers (TAG, HDL, hsCRP and ALT) increased the predictive power to 43 %. The addition of the novel erythrocyte fatty acid variable (Omega-3 Index) to the model only accounted for a further 3 % of the variance (P=0·049). In conclusion, the Omega-3 Index was associated with liver fat concentration but did not improve the overall capacity of demographic, anthropometric and blood markers to predict NAFLD.