Estimating dementia prevalence using remote diagnoses and algorithmic modelling: a population-based study of a rural region in South Africa.

Background: Dementia is a leading cause of global death and disability. High-quality data describing dementia prevalence and burden remain scarce in sub-Saharan Africa. Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study in South Africa (HAALSI) fills evidence gaps with longitudinal data on cognition, biomarkers, and everyday function in a population-based cohort of Black South Africans, aged 40 years and older, in a rural subdistrict.

Mid-Life Household Food Insecurity and Subsequent Memory Function and Rate of Decline in Rural South Africa, 2004-2022.

Introduction: We aimed to investigate mid-life food insecurity over time in relation to subsequent memory function and rate of decline in Agincourt, rural South Africa.

Methods: Data from the longitudinal Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System (Agincourt HDSS) were linked to the population-representative Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI). Food insecurity (yes vs.

Mid-life employment trajectories and subsequent memory function and rate of decline in rural South Africa, 2000-22.

Aim: To investigate mid-life employment trajectories in relation to later-life memory function and rate of decline in rural South Africa.

Methods: Data from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System were linked to the 'Health and Ageing in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa' (HAALSI) in rural Agincourt, South Africa (N = 3133). Employment was assessed every 4 years over 2000-12 as being employed (0, 1, 2 and ≥3 time points), being employed in a higher-skill occupation (0, 1, 2 and ≥3 time points) and dynamic employment trajectories identified using sequence analysis.

Associations between cohort derived dementia and COVID-19 serological diagnosis among older Black adults in rural South Africa.

Objectives: This study investigates the association between cohort derived dementia and serologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, an underexplored phenomena in low-and middle-income countries. Examining this relationship in a rural South African community setting offers insights applicable to broader healthcare contexts.

Methods: Data were collected from Black South Africans in the Mpumalanga province who participated in the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa.

Association of brain arterial diameters with demographic and anatomical factors in a multi-national pooled analysis of cohort studies.

Background And Purpose: Brain arterial diameters are markers of cerebrovascular disease. Demographic and anatomical factors may influence arterial diameters. We hypothesize that age, sex, height, total cranial volume (TCV), and persistent fetal posterior cerebral artery (fPCA) correlate with brain arterial diameters across populations.

Protocol: the complexity of informal caregiving for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in rural South Africa.

Background:  With aging, many people develop Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (ADRD) as well as chronic physical health problems. The consequent care needs can be complicated, with heavy demands on families, households and communities, especially in resource-constrained settings with limited formal care services. However, research on ADRD caregiving is largely limited to primary caregivers and high-income countries.

Telomere Length, Health, and Mortality in a Cohort of Older Black South African Adults.

Telomere length (TL) may be a biomarker of aging processes as well as age-related diseases. However, most studies of TL and aging are conducted in high-income countries. Less is known in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as South Africa, where life expectancy remains lower despite population aging.

Feasibility of an online consensus approach for the diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia in rural South Africa.

Introduction: We describe the development and feasibility of using an online consensus approach for diagnosing cognitive impairment and dementia in rural South Africa.

Methods: Cognitive assessments, clinical evaluations, and informant interviews from Cognition and Dementia in the Health and Aging in Africa Longitudinal Study (HAALSI Dementia) were reviewed by an expert panel using a web-based platform to assign a diagnosis of cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia.

Results: Six hundred thirty-five participants were assigned a final diagnostic category, with 298 requiring adjudication conference calls.

Associations between cognitive function and marital status in the United States, South Africa, Mexico, and China.

We investigate the associations between marital status and cognitive well-being among adults aged 50 and older across four settings: the United States, rural South Africa, Mexico, and China. Using a standardized measure of immediate word recall, we assess whether people in each non-married status have worse cognitive function than their married counterparts, and the extent to which these associations vary across settings. We theorize that the practices around marriage in each setting, as well as the social stigma attached to marital dissolution, will reveal differing associations between marital status and cognition.

Corrigendum: Apolipoprotein E Genetic Variation and its Association With Cognitive Function in Rural-Dwelling Older South Africans.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.

Apolipoprotein E Genetic Variation and Its Association With Cognitive Function in Rural-Dwelling Older South Africans.

Apolipoprotein E () 𝜀4 allele carrier status is well known for its association with an increased likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease, but its independent role in cognitive function is unclear. genetic variation is understudied in African populations; hence, this cross-sectional study in a rural South African community examined allele and genotype frequencies, and their associations with cognitive function. Cognitive function was assessed using two different screening methods to produce a total cognition score and four domain-specific cognition scores for verbal episodic memory, executive function, language, and visuospatial ability.

Subjective social position and cognitive function in a longitudinal cohort of older, rural South African adults, 2014-2019.

Background: The relationship between subjective social position (SSP) and cognitive ageing unclear, especially in low-income settings. We aimed to investigate the relationship between SSP and cognitive function over time among older adults in rural South Africa.

Methods: Data were from 3771 adults aged ≥40 in the population-representative 'Health and Ageing in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa' from 2014/2015 (baseline) to 2018/2019 (follow-up).

Do You See What Eye See? Measurement, Correlates, and Functional Associations of Objective and Self-Reported Vision Impairment in Aging South Africans.

Our study investigates measurement, correlates, and functional associations of vision impairment (VI) in an aging population in rural South Africa. 1582 participants aged 40-69 reported on near (NVI) and distance vision impairment (DVI) and completed objective vision tests. Logistic and linear regression were used to evaluate sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial correlates of VI and assess relationships between VI and cognitive and physical function.

Grandchild Caregiving and Cognitive Health Among Grandparents in Rural South Africa.

We investigate how caregiving for grandchildren is associated with cognitive function among rural South Africans, and whether the association differs by gender. We further investigate whether measures of physical activity or social engagement mediate this association. Data were from interviews with 3668 Black, South African grandparents in the "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa" study, conducted between 2014 and 2015.

Incidence of Cognitive Impairment during Aging in Rural South Africa: Evidence from HAALSI, 2014 to 2019.

Introduction: Despite rapid population aging, there are currently limited data on the incidence of aging-related cognitive impairment in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to determine the incidence of cognitive impairment and its distribution across key demographic, social, and health-related factors among older adults in rural South Africa.

Methods: Data were from in-person interviews with 3,856 adults aged ≥40 who were free from cognitive impairment at baseline in the population-representative cohort, "Health and Aging in Africa: a Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa" (HAALSI), in Agincourt sub-district, Mpumalanga province, South Africa (2014-19).

Dimensionality and differential item endorsement of depressive symptoms among aging Black populations in South Africa: Findings from the HAALSI study.

Background: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale is a widely used measure of depressive symptoms, but its construct validity has not been adequately assessed in sub-Saharan Africa. This study validates the CES-D among an aging Shangaan-speaking and predominantly Black African sample in rural South Africa, with a special emphasis on gender differences.

Methods: An 8-item CES-D scale was administered in Shangaan to 5059 respondents, aged 40+ years, residing in Agincourt, South Africa.

Cognitive differences associated with HIV serostatus and antiretroviral therapy use in a population-based sample of older adults in South Africa.

Previous clinical studies have reported adverse cognitive outcomes for people living with HIV (PLWH), but there are no population-based studies comparing cognitive function between older PLWH and comparators without HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. We analyzed baseline data of 40 + years-old participants in "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa" (HAALSI) cohort. We measured cognition using a battery of conventional instruments assessing orientation, immediate- and delayed-recall, and numeracy (N = 4560), and the Oxford Cognitive Screen [OCS]-Plus, a novel instrument for low-literacy populations, assessing memory, language, visual-spatial ability, and executive functioning (N = 1997).

Social contact, social support, and cognitive health in a population-based study of middle-aged and older men and women in rural South Africa.

Background: Several theories seek to explain how social connections and cognitive function are interconnected in older age. These include that social interaction protects against cognitive decline, that cognitive decline leads to shedding of social connections and that cognitive decline leads to increased instrumental support. We investigated how patterns of social contact, social support and cognitive health in rural South Africa fit with these three theories.

Disparity in Educational Attainment Partially Explains Cognitive Gender Differences in Older Rural South Africans.

Objectives: Direction and magnitude of gender differences in late-life cognitive function are inextricably tied to sociocultural context. Our study evaluates education and literacy as primary drivers of gender equality in cognitive performance among middle-aged and older adults in rural South Africa.

Method: Data were collected on 1,938 participants aged 40-79 from Agincourt, South Africa.

Cognitive function and cardiometabolic disease risk factors in rural South Africa: baseline evidence from the HAALSI study.

Background: Evidence on cognitive function in older South Africans is limited, with few population-based studies. We aimed to estimate baseline associations between cognitive function and cardiometabolic disease risk factors in rural South Africa.

Methods: We use baseline data from "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa" (HAALSI), a population-based study of adults aged 40 and above in rural South Africa in 2015.

Trauma system resource preservation: A simple scene triage tool can reduce helicopter emergency medical services overutilization in a state trauma system.

Background: Helicopter emergency medical services improve survival in some injured patients but current utilization leads to significant overtriage with considerable numbers of transported patients discharged home from the emergency department or found to have non-time-sensitive injuries. Current triage models for utilization are complex and untested.

Methods: Data from a state trauma registry were reviewed from 1987 to 1993 and from 2013 to 2015 and compared.

Predictors of Futility in Near-Hanging and Therapeutic Hypothermia.

Favorable neurologic outcomes have been reported in near-hanging (NH) victims treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH), but variable methods and small samples sizes limit interpretability. This study examines the relationship between clinical predictors, TH, and outcomes in NH patients. A risk profile was created by examining relationships between variables.

Flail Chest: Influence on Length of Stay and Mortality in Blunt Chest Injury.

Flail chest is used as one of the indicators for rib fixation, which is being performed more frequently. Radiologic and clinical flail chest are not clearly differentiated in published studies and the relationship between radiologic flail chest (RFC) and outcomes are not clearly established. Our study was designed to evaluate the relationship of RFC to outcomes in patients with severe blunt chest injury.