Antibodies to Human Herpesviruses and Rate of Incident Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality in the UK Biobank Infectious Disease Pilot Study.

Background: Associations between human herpesviruses (HHVs) and cardiovascular disease/mortality have been reported, but evidence is inconsistent. We investigated associations between 3 common herpesviruses and (1) incident stroke or myocardial infarction (MI) and (2) all-cause mortality.

Methods: We included participants from the UK Biobank Infectious Disease pilot study with valid serum antibody (IgG) measurements taken at cohort entry (2006-2010) for herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1), varicella zoster virus (VZV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV).

Anticoagulant prescribing for atrial fibrillation and risk of incident dementia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between oral anticoagulant type (direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) vs vitamin K antagonists (VKAs)) and incident dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: Using linked electronic health record (EHR) data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink in the UK, we conducted a historical cohort study among first-time oral anticoagulant users with incident non-valvular AF diagnosed from 2012 to 2018. We compared the incidence of (1) clinically coded dementia and (2) MCI between patients prescribed VKAs and DOACs using Cox proportional hazards regression models, with age as the underlying timescale, accounting for calendar time and time on treatment, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, clinical comorbidities and medications.

Ethnic Differences in Dementia Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Globally around 50 million people have dementia. Risk factors for dementia such as hypertension and diabetes are more common in Black, Asian, and other ethnic minorities. There are also marked ethnic inequalities in care seeking, likelihood of diagnosis, and uptake of treatments for dementia.