Background: Immunosenescence, the gradual deterioration of the immune system, is critical for aging-related diseases. However, the lack of detailed population-level immune data has limited our understanding, underscoring the need for innovative analytical approaches. The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the United States provides a unique opportunity to examine T and B lymphocyte subsets using compositional data analysis and dimension reduction techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is growing recognition of the importance of immune health for understanding the origins of ageing-related disease and decline. Numerous studies have demonstrated consistent associations between the social determinants of health and immunosenescence (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomarkers in population health research serve as indicators of incremental physiological deterioration and contribute to our understanding of mechanisms through which social disparities in health unfold over time. Yet, few population-based studies incorporate biomarkers of aging in early midlife, when disease risks may emerge and progress across the life course. We describe the distributions of several biomarkers of inflammation and neurodegeneration and their variation by sociodemographic characteristics using blood samples collected during Wave V of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (ages 33-44 years).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A growing body of literature examines the relationship between peripheral immune function and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in human populations. Our living systematic review summarizes the characteristics and findings of these studies, appraises their quality, and formulates recommendations for future research.
Methods: We searched the electronic databases PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science, and reviewed references of previous reviews and meta-analyses to identify human studies examining the relationship between any peripheral immune biomarkers and AD up to September 7th, 2023.
Introduction: Prior reviews synthesized findings of studies on long-term cardiac complications of COVID-19. However, the reporting and methodological quality of these studies has not been systematically evaluated. Here, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on long-term cardiac complications of COVID-19 and examined patterns of reported findings by study quality and characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Poor immune function is associated with increased risk for a number of age-related diseases, however, little is known about the impact of early life trauma on immune function in late-life.
Methods: Using nationally representative data from the Health and Retirement Study (n = 5,823), we examined the association between experiencing parental/caregiver death or separation before age 16 and four indicators of immune function in late-life: C-reactive Protein (CRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble Tumor Necrosis Factor (sTNFR), and Immunoglobulin G (IgG) response to cytomegalovirus (CMV). We also examined racial/ethnic differences.
Cognitive aging is a lifelong process with implications for Alzheimer's disease and dementia. This study aims to fill major gaps in research on the natural history of and social disparities in aging-related cognitive decline over the life span. We conducted integrative data analysis of four large U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is growing body of literature on the long-term cardiac symptoms following COVID-19. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize and evaluate related evidence to inform clinical management and future studies.
Methods: We searched two preprint and seven peer-reviewed article databases from January 1, 2020 to January 8, 2022 for studies investigating cardiac symptoms that persisted for at least 4 weeks among individuals who survived COVID-19.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to understand variation in immunosenescence at the population-level. Thus far, population patterns of immunosenescence have not well described.
Methods: We characterized measures of immunosenescence from the 2016 Venous Blood Study from the nationally representative U.
Introduction: Much of the heterogeneity in the rate of cognitive decline and the age of dementia onset remains unexplained, and there is compelling data supporting psychosocial stressors as important risk factors. However, the literature has yet to come to a consensus on whether there is a causal relationship and, if there is, its direction and strength. This study estimates the relationship between lifecourse traumatic events and cognitive trajectories and predicted dementia incidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to understand variation in immunosenescence at the population-level. Thus far, population patterns of immunosenescence are not well described.
Methods: We characterized measures of immunosenescence from newly released venous blood data from the nationally representative U.
Background: Occupational characteristics are associated with late-life cognition. However, little is known about the association between occupational factors and cognition in early adulthood, especially when controlling for early life socioeconomic status (SES) and cognition in childhood. Importantly, sex may shape the impact of occupational characteristics that provide cognitive stimulation given that education, occupational status, and workplace experiences differ by sex.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dysregulation of some metabolic factors increases the risk of dementia. It remains unclear if overall metabolic dysregulation, or only certain components, contribute to cognitive aging and if these associations are sex specific.
Methods: Data from the 2006-2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) was used to analyze 7 103 participants aged 65 and older at baseline (58% women).
Psychoneuroendocrinology
November 2021
Background: The etiology of dementias and cognitive decline remain largely unknown. It is widely accepted that inflammation in the central nervous system plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of dementia. However, less is known about the role of the peripheral immune system and interactions with cortisol, though evidence suggests that these, too, may play a role.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Prior studies in humans have suggested that telomere shortening may be accelerated by infection, but research on multiple pathogens and use of large population-based study samples has been limited. We estimated cross-sectional associations between seropositivity to five persistent pathogens (Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 (HSV-1), Herpes Simplex Virus Type-2 (HSV-2), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori), and Hepatitis B) as well as total pathogen burden and leukocyte telomere length.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic infections and the subsequent immune response have recently been shown to be risk factors for cognitive decline and Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD). While some studies have shown an association between cytomegalovirus (CMV), a chronic and highly prevalent infection, and cognition and/or ADRD, these studies have been limited by nonrepresentative and small samples. Using 2016 data on 5,617 adults aged 65 years or more from the Health and Retirement Study, we investigated the cross-sectional associations of both CMV serostatus and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody response with cognitive function using linear regression models adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2013, the under-5 mortality rate in Liberia was 71 deaths per 1,000 live births, with malaria responsible for 22% of those deaths. One of the primary existing control tools, long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs), is thought to be dually effective, acting as a physical barrier but also decreasing the mosquito population in communities. However, there has been little investigation into the protective effects of community-wide bed net use above and beyond the individual level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A substantial proportion of infants born with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) die in infancy. A better understanding of the heterogeneity associated with TOF, including extracardiac malformations and chromosomal anomalies is vital to stratifying risk and optimizing outcomes during infancy.
Methods: Using the North Carolina Birth Defects Monitoring Program, infants diagnosed with TOF and born between 2003 and 2012 were included.
Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol
November 2016
Background: Geographic variation in congenital heart disease is not well-described. This study uses geographic information systems (GIS) to describe the spatial epidemiology of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), in North Carolina (NC) and to compare travel time for cases to congenital heart centers in NC.
Methods: Using the NC Birth Defects Monitoring Program database, live births with TOF born between 2003 and 2012 were identified.
The social patterning of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and its implication in aging suggest that the virus may partially contribute to socioeconomic disparities in mortality. We used Cox regression and inverse odds ratio weighting to quantify the proportion of the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and all-cause mortality that was attributable to mediation by CMV seropositivity. Data were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (1988-1994), with mortality follow-up through December 2011.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNAD(+) is both a co-enzyme for hydride transfer enzymes and a substrate of sirtuins and other NAD(+) consuming enzymes. NAD(+) biosynthesis is required for two different regimens that extend lifespan in yeast. NAD(+) is synthesized from tryptophan and the three vitamin precursors of NAD(+): nicotinic acid, nicotinamide and nicotinamide riboside.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNAD is a coenzyme for redox reactions and a substrate of NAD-consuming enzymes, including ADP-ribose transferases, Sir2-related protein lysine deacetylases, and bacterial DNA ligases. Microorganisms that synthesize NAD from as few as one to as many as five of the six identified biosynthetic precursors have been identified. De novo NAD synthesis from aspartate or tryptophan is neither universal nor strictly aerobic.
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