Geriatrics as a specialty: Insights from Mexican medical students' decision-making process.

Main Objective: To identify the elements associated with the decision to select or reject geriatrics as a medical specialty in Mexico.

Methods: Qualitative, with the focus group technique to obtain data. Two groups included students who rejected geriatrics, regardless of the specialty they chose, and two groups included students who chose geriatrics, interviews via Zoom were conducted.

Structural inequality linked to brain volume and network dynamics in aging and dementia across the Americas.

Structural inequality, the uneven distribution of resources and opportunities, influences health outcomes. However, the biological embedding of structural inequality in aging and dementia, especially among underrepresented populations, is unclear. We examined the association between structural inequality (country-level and state-level Gini indices) and brain volume and connectivity in 2,135 healthy controls, and individuals with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobe degeneration from Latin America and the United States.

The Potential of Automated Assessment of Cognitive Function Using Non-Neuroimaging Data: A Systematic Review.

The growing incidence of cognitive impairment among older adults has a significant impact on individuals, family members, caregivers, and society. Current conventional cognitive assessment tools are faced with some limitations. Recent evidence suggests that automating cognitive assessment holds promise, potentially resulting in earlier diagnosis, timely intervention, improved patient outcomes, and higher chances of response to treatment.

Association between a lower T-CD4+ /CD8+ lymphocyte ratio and cognitive impairment in older persons with HIV.

Purpose: To ascertain the association between the LT-CD4 + /CD8 + ratio and cognitive impairment in older people living with HIV.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, including 207 adults aged > 50 years with HIV, receiving care at a tertiary-care hospital in Mexico City. Participants underwent a standardized geriatric and neuropsychological assessment to establish the presence of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder according to the validated Antinori criteria.

Brain clocks capture diversity and disparities in aging and dementia across geographically diverse populations.

Brain clocks, which quantify discrepancies between brain age and chronological age, hold promise for understanding brain health and disease. However, the impact of diversity (including geographical, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, sex and neurodegeneration) on the brain-age gap is unknown. We analyzed datasets from 5,306 participants across 15 countries (7 Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC) and 8 non-LAC countries).

Educational disparities in brain health and dementia across Latin America and the United States.

Background: Education influences brain health and dementia. However, its impact across regions, specifically Latin America (LA) and the United States (US), is unknown.

Methods: A total of 1412 participants comprising controls, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) from LA and the US were included.

Brain clocks capture diversity and disparity in aging and dementia.

Brain clocks, which quantify discrepancies between brain age and chronological age, hold promise for understanding brain health and disease. However, the impact of multimodal diversity (geographical, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, sex, neurodegeneration) on the brain age gap (BAG) is unknown. Here, we analyzed datasets from 5,306 participants across 15 countries (7 Latin American countries -LAC, 8 non-LAC).

Age-friendly initiatives: Mexico.

While the implementation of these initiatives varies globally and continues to face low uptake in the global south, it is crucial to underscore key ongoing efforts, particularly in developing nations. This allows us to have knowledge about progress and identify areas that require more effective strategies to advance the cause of global healthy aging. The aim of this mini-review was to describe some of the key age-friendly initiatives made in Mexico through Governmental and Non-Governmental entities to promote healthy aging, at different levels of health and social institutions, covering the healthcare systems, community, and education.

Higher frailty levels are associated with lower cognitive test scores in a multi-country study: evidence from the study on global ageing and adult health.

Background: Frailty has been recognized as a growing issue in older adults, with recent evidence showing that this condition heralds several health-related problems, including cognitive decline. The objective of this work is to determine if frailty is associated with cognitive decline among older adults from different countries.

Methods: We analyzed the baseline the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE), that includes six countries (Ghana, South Africa, Mexico, China, Russia, and India).

Characterization of data-driven geriatric syndrome clusters in older people with HIV: a Mexican multicenter cross-sectional study.

Background: As living with HIV has been proposed as a condition that may accelerate aging, the main objective of this work was to estimate the prevalence of geriatric syndromes (GS) among older Mexicans with HIV dwelling in the community. Secondly, to evaluate whether the accumulation of GS could be associated with an adverse HIV-related clinical profile, independent of chronological age.

Methods: Multicenter, cross-sectional study including 501 community-dwelling people aged ≥50 years with HIV.

The Gut Microbiota-Brain Axis during Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: Role of Tau Protein, β-Amyloid and LPS in Serum and Curli Protein in Stool.

Currently, there is an increasing number of people with mild cognitive (MCI) impairment and dementia (D). In the present work we studied the role of tau protein, β-amyloid, LPS (lipopolysaccharide), and curli protein of elderly adults with MCI or D and the contribution of gut microbiota. Four groups were studied: young subjects, healthy adults older than 60 years (A), elderly adults with MCI (MCI), and elderly adults with dementia (D).

Effectiveness of a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program in Mexico against symptomatic COVID-19, hospitalizations, and death: a retrospective analysis of national surveillance data.

Objectives: Vaccination has been effective in ameliorating the impact of COVID-19. Here, we report vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the nationally available COVID-19 vaccines in Mexico.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of a COVID-19 surveillance system to assess the VE of the BNT162b2, messenger RNA (mRNA)-12732, Gam-COVID-Vac, Ad5-nCoV, Ad26.

Classification of Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia using routine clinical and cognitive measures across multicentric underrepresented samples: A cross sectional observational study.

Background: Global brain health initiatives call for improving methods for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in underrepresented populations. However, diagnostic procedures in upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) and lower-middle income countries (LMICs), such as Latin American countries (LAC), face multiple challenges. These include the heterogeneity in diagnostic methods, lack of clinical harmonisation, and limited access to biomarkers.

Effect of a geriatric unit in the outcomes of hospitalized older Mexican adults with cancer: A case-control study.

Introduction: Geriatric interventions may improve the care of hospitalized older adults with cancer, but information regarding their effect on geriatric-specific outcomes is lacking. We studied the effect of a specialized geriatrician-led inpatient geriatric management unit compared with a conventional internal medicine ward on the outcomes of hospitalized older adults with cancer in Mexico.

Materials And Methods: Case-control study including persons aged ≥65 years with solid malignancies who had a cancer-related hospitalization at a university-affiliated hospital in Mexico City.

A Lower CD4/CD8 Ratio Predicts Activities of Daily Living Decline Among Older Adults with HIV.

Aging of people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a worldwide reality, and age-related conditions, including disability, have also increased. Efforts are being made to search for more specific markers of immune system malfunction, which serve as good predictors of adverse health-related outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the relationship between the CD4/CD8 ratio and functional decline in activities of daily living (ADL).

Veterans Aging Cohort Study Index and Frailty: One Part of the Whole.

In HIV medicine, the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) index is associated to some geriatric syndromes and has also been recently used as a proxy of frailty. However, using it as a proxy for the frailty phenotype may inadvertently interchange two different concepts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate to what extent the frailty phenotype may be explained by the index.

Infectious diseases and cognition: do we have to worry?

Objectives: Age-related physiological changes, particularly immune system decline, may contribute to greater vulnerability to infectious diseases in older individuals. A growing body of evidence shows that both, acute, and chronic infections may be accompanied by cognitive disturbances as part of their manifestations. Given the importance of cognition in aging trajectories, the objective of this article was to review current knowledge on cognitive outcomes of infectious diseases in older adults, and to emphasize the importance of considering cognition as a domain of interest in its own rights in these diseases.

Towards an approach of disability along a continuum from robustness, pre-frailty, frailty to disability.

Background: frailty and disability are very prevalent in older age and although both are distinct clinical entities, they are commonly used indistinctly in order to identify vulnerable older adults.

Objective: to propose a hierarchical indicator between frailty and disability among older adults along a single continuum.

Design: population-based cohort study.

Prevalence and Biological Correlates of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Outpatients of a Geriatric Evaluation Clinic: A Brief Report.

Background: Oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) is a relevant disease among older adults and is associated with serious adverse health-related outcomes, such as malnutrition, sarcopenia, or frailty. Increasing its recognition and the related mechanisms will allow us to its prevention and treatment at different levels of care.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and biological correlates of OD in outpatient older adults.

Older Adults and the COVID-19 Pandemic, What About the Oldest Old? The PACOVID Population-Based Survey.

The literature draws a mitigated picture of the psychosocial effects of the lockdown in older adults. However, the studies conducted so far are mainly based on web surveys which may involve selection bias. The PACOVID survey relies on a population-based design and addresses the attitudes, psychological and social experiences of the oldest old regarding the pandemic and lockdown and their impact.

Higher Veterans Aging Cohort Study 2.0 Index Score Predicts Functional Decline Among Older Adults Living with HIV.

Living with HIV has been proposed as a risk factor for the early development of functional decline. Composite marker tools like the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) Index, which includes HIV-associated and non-HIV-related markers of disease may better reflect multiorgan system injury and potentially predict functional outcomes. Therefore, the objective of this work is to determine whether higher VACS 2.

The Social Vulnerability Index, Mortality and Disability in Mexican Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

The social vulnerability index (SVI) independently predicts mortality and others adverse outcomes across different populations. There is no evidence that the SVI can predict adverse outcomes in individuals living in countries with high social vulnerability such as Latin America. The aim of this study was to analyze the association of the SVI with mortality and disability in Mexican middle-aged and older adults.