Estimating the rates of dementia using administrative data linked to cohort studies.

Background: Current estimates of dementia and Alzheimer's disease incidence and prevalence are required to understand the health needs of the elderly.

Objective: We used two Australia cohort studies, administrative datasets, and data linkage techniques to estimate dementia rates in Australia.

Methods: The study used Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health and the Health in Men Cohort Study.

Community-based dementia risk management and prevention program for Aboriginal Australians (DAMPAA): a randomised controlled trial study protocol.

Introduction: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples of Australia. Up to 45% of dementia in these populations is due to potentially modifiable risk factors. The Dementia Prevention and Risk Management Program for Aboriginal Australians (DAMPAA) is an Aboriginal Health Practitioner led programme that aims to reduce cognitive decline and functional impairment in older Aboriginal people.

Alcohol pharmacotherapy dispensing trends in Australia between 2006 and 2023.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate acamprosate and naltrexone dispensing patterns in Australia.

Methods: A 10% representative sample of medications subsidized by the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) was used to identify individuals who were dispensed naltrexone or acamprosate between January 2006 and December 2023. Data were used to examine concurrent dispensing, medication switching and treatment episode length, as well as changes in prevalence and incidence over time.

Research Letter: Dispensing of psychotropic medications in Australia between 2013 and 2022.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of Australians dispensed psychotropic medications between 2013 and 2022 according to their age.

Methods: Services Australia provided a de-identified 10% random Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme sample that allowed us to determine, for each year, the proportion of Australians dispensed at least one script for antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics, or hypnotics. The classification of medications followed Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical coding.

Supply of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and molnupiravir for patients with COVID-19 in the first eight months since listing on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme: A retrospective observational study.

Objectives: To compare the supply of molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in relation to patient characteristics and other co-prescribed medicines and to estimate the number of patients without contraindications to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir who were treated with molnupiravir.

Study Design, Setting: Retrospective observational study of patients identified in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) 10 % sample dataset who were supplied with either molnupiravir or nirmatrelvir/ritonavir between May and December 2022. We supplemented the PBS dataset with aggregated counts from published literature to determine prevalence of clinical contraindications to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir.

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations Between Treatment for Herpes Virus Infection and the Dispensing of Antidementia Medicines: An Analysis of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Database.

Background: Evidence from previous observational studies suggest that infection by herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) increase the risk of dementia.

Objective: To investigate if older adults exposed to HSV treatment have lower risk of dementia than the rest of the population.

Methods: We used the 10% Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) database from 2013 to 2022 to ascertain the cross-sectional, time-series and longitudinal association between exposure to HSV treatment and the dispensing of antidementia medicines.

Physical comorbidities of older age bipolar disorder (OABD) patients: A global replication analysis of prevalence and sex differences.

Objectives: To compare the prevalence of physical morbidities between older aged patients with bipolar disorder (OABD) and non-psychiatric comparisons (NC), and to analyze sex differences in prevalence.

Methods: OABD was defined as bipolar disorder among adults aged ≥50 years. Outcomes analyzed were the prevalence of diseases affecting the cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, renal, musculoskeletal, and endocrine systems.

Cross-sectional, case-control and longitudinal associations between exposure to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and the dispensing of antidepressants.

Aim: To determine if the dispensing of glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonists is associated with increased dispensing of antidepressants.

Materials And Methods: We used cross-sectional, case-control and retrospective cohort study designs to examine the association between dispensed GLP-1 receptor agonists and antidepressants between 2012 and 2022 in the 10% random sample of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data. PBS-listed GLP-1 receptor agonists, exenatide, dulaglutide and semaglutide were the exposures.

Observational evidence linking psychotropic medicines to the dispensing of opioid agents in later life.

Background: The use of opioid medicines is common in developed countries, particularly among older adults and those with mental health disorders. It is unclear if the association between mental disorders and opioid medicines is causal, or is due to reverse causality or confounding.

Methods: We used a 10% random sample of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (years 2012-2022) to examine the cross-sectional, case-control and longitudinal association between the dispensing of antidepressants, anxiolytics, hypnotics, antipsychotics and lithium, and opioid medicines.

Bipolar symptoms, somatic burden and functioning in older-age bipolar disorder: A replication study from the global aging & geriatric experiments in bipolar disorder database (GAGE-BD) project.

Objectives: The Global Aging & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder Database (GAGE-BD) project pools archival datasets on older age bipolar disorder (OABD). An initial Wave 1 (W1; n = 1369) analysis found both manic and depressive symptoms reduced among older patients. To replicate this finding, we gathered an independent Wave 2 (W2; n = 1232, mean ± standard deviation age 47.

Measuring the success of programmes of care for people living with dementia: a protocol for consensus building with consumers to develop a set of Core Outcome Measures for Improving Care (COM-IC).

Introduction: The Core Outcome Measures for Improving Care (COM-IC) project aims to deliver practical recommendations on the selection and implementation of a suite of core outcomes to measure the effectiveness of interventions for dementia care.

Methods And Analysis: COM-IC embeds a participatory action approach to using the Alignment-Harmonisation-Results framework for measuring dementia care in Australia. Using this framework, suitable core outcome measures will be identified, analysed, implemented and audited.

Changes in thyroid function and evolution of subclinical thyroid disease in older men.

Objective: Prevalence of subclinical thyroid disease increases with age, but optimal detection and surveillance strategies remain unclear particularly for older men. We aimed to assess thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) concentrations and their longitudinal changes, to determine the prevalence and incidence of subclinical thyroid dysfunction in older men.

Design, Participants And Measurements: Longitudinal study of 994 community-dwelling men aged ≥70 years without known or current thyroid disease, with TSH and FT4 concentrations assessed at baseline and follow-up (after 8.

Dispensing of antineoplastic medications and their impact on the dispensing of anti-dementia drugs for adults aged ≥60 years: A cohort study.

History of cancer has been associated with decreased risk of dementia, but it is unclear if this is due to the use of antineoplastic medications. Participants were 442,795 adults aged ≥60 years, of whom 235,841 (53.26 %) were women.

Sex Differences Among Older Adults With Bipolar Disorder: Results From the Global Aging & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder (GAGE-BD) Project.

Objective: Sex-specific research in adult bipolar disorder (BD) is sparse and even more so among those with older age bipolar disorder (OABD). Knowledge about sex differences across the bipolar lifespan is urgently needed to target and improve treatment. To address this gap, the current study examined sex differences in the domains of clinical presentation, general functioning, and mood symptoms among individuals with OABD.

Prospective Association Between the Dispensing of Antidepressants and of Medications to Treat Osteoporosis in Older Age.

Background: Osteoporosis is a common condition associated with fragility fractures, especially in older individuals and women. Antidepressants have emerged as a potential risk factor, but their association with bone fragility remains uncertain because the results of past studies are difficult to generalize. We aimed to investigate the association between antidepressant exposure and subsequent treatment for osteoporosis in a nationally representative sample of Australians.

Health morbidities associated with the dispensing of lithium to males and females: Cross-sectional analysis of the 10 % Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme sample for 2022.

Objectives: This study examined the association of gender on the physical morbidity of individuals likely living with bipolar disorder (BD) using a comprehensive health-related database. It investigated the association between lithium dispensing (a surrogate marker for BD) and other health morbidities, considering age and sex.

Methods: The cross-sectional study design used the 10 % Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) database in Australia for 2022.

Stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness: A cross-sectional survey of Australian medical students.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the degree of stigmatizing attitudes and psychological distress amongst Australian medical students in order to better understand factors that may impact help-seeking behaviours of students. We hypothesize that sociodemographic factors will not significantly predict stigmatizing attitudes, and increasing levels of psychological distress will be associated with increasing stigma.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was distributed to medical students at Western Australian universities and members of the Australian Medical Students' Association.

Exposure to low-level ambient air pollution and the relationship with lung and bladder cancer in older men, in Perth, Western Australia.

Background: Air pollution is a cause of lung cancer and is associated with bladder cancer. However, the relationship between air pollution and these cancers in regions of low pollution is unclear. We investigated associations between fine particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide, and black carbon (BC), and both these cancers in a low-pollution city.

Long-term exposure to low-concentration PM and heart disease in older men in Perth, Australia: The Health in Men Study.

Unlabelled: Exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM) is associated with increased risk of heart disease, but less is known about the relationship at low concentrations. This study aimed to determine the dose-response relationship between long-term PM exposure and risk of incident ischemic heart disease (IHD), incident heart failure (HF), and incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in older men living in a region with relatively low ambient air pollution.

Prevalence of mental disorders among older Australians: Contrasting evidence from the 2020-2021 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing among men and women and the Health In Men Data Linkage Study.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of common mental disorders among older Australians included in the Health In Men Data Linkage Study and compare those with the results of the 2020-2021 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHW).

Method: We used longitudinal record linkage to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders from age 65 years in a random sample of 38173 Australian men aged 65-85 years living in the Perth metropolitan region. Outcome was the proportion of participants affected by depressive episodes or dysthymia, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder and alcohol use disorder.

Balance and Strength Measures are Associated With Mortality in Older Men.

Objectives: As people age, rates of morbidity and mortality are heterogenous. Balance and strength performance may contribute to this, offering modifiable risk factors for mortality. We aimed to compare relationships of balance and strength performance with all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Lithium Dispensed for Adults Aged ≥ 50 Years Between 2012 and 2021: Analyses of a 10% Sample of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Background: Lithium use seems to be declining in clinical practice. We examined the proportion of adults aged ≥ 50 years dispensed lithium between 2012 and 2021, and investigated the proportion of lithium users dispensed other medications.

Methods: We used a 10% random sample data of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from 2012 to 2021, and limited our analyses to adults aged ≥ 50 years.