Background: The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) is recommended for UK older adults, but how age moderates effectiveness is unclear.
Methods: Three annual cohorts of primary-care patients aged≥65y from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink selected from 2003-5 created a natural experiment (n = 324,804), reflecting the staged introduction of the vaccine. The outcome was symptoms consistent with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia (CAP) requiring antibiotics or hospitalisation. We used the prior event rate ratio (PERR) approach to address bias from unmeasured confounders.
Results: Vaccinated patients had higher rates of CAP in the year before vaccination than their controls, indicating the potential for confounding bias. After adjustment for confounding using the prior event rate ratio (PERR) method, PPV23 was estimated to be effective against CAP for two years after vaccination in all age sub-groups with hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 0.86 (0.80 to 0.93), 0.74 (0.65 to 0.85) and 0.65 (0.57 to 0.74) in patients aged 65-74, 75-79 and 80+ respectively in the 2005 cohort. Age moderated the effect of vaccination with predicted risk reductions of 8% at 65y and 29% at 80y.
Conclusions: PPV23 is moderately effective at reducing CAP among UK patients aged≥65y, in the two years after vaccination. Vaccine effectiveness is maintained, and may increase, in the oldest age groups in step with increasing susceptibility to CAP.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9560513 | PMC |
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0275642 | PLOS |
JMIR Form Res
January 2025
School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, 418 Curie Blvd, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States, 1 8123695216.
Background: While the significance of care navigation in facilitating access to health care within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other (LGBTQ+) communities has been acknowledged, there is limited research examining how care navigation influences an individual's ability to understand and access the care they need in real-world settings. By analyzing private sector data, we can bridge the gap between theoretical research findings and practical applications, ultimately informing both business strategies and public policy with evidence grounded in real-world efficacy.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of specialized virtual care navigation services on LGBTQ+ individuals' ability to comprehend and access necessary care within a national cohort of commercially insured members.
Clin EEG Neurosci
January 2025
Palma Sola Neurology Associates, Bradenton, FL, USA.
Evoked potential metrics extracted from an EEG exam can provide novel sources of information regarding brain function. While the P300 occurring around 300 ms post-stimulus has been extensively investigated in relation to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), with decreased amplitude and increased latency, the P200 response has not, particularly in an oddball-stimulus paradigm. This study compares the auditory P200 amplitudes between MCI (28 patients aged 74(8)) and non-MCI, (35 aged 72(4)).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur Psychiatry
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Background: Temperature increases in the context of climate change affect numerous mental health outcomes. One such relevant outcome is involuntary admissions as these often relate to severe (life)threatening psychiatric conditions. Due to a shortage of studies into this topic, relationships between mean ambient temperature and involuntary admissions have remained largely elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Appl Thromb Hemost
January 2025
Cardiovascular Research Institute, Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Percutaneous valve implantation or surgical replacement with mechanical or biological valves are standard therapies for severe valvular heart diseases. Prosthetic valve thrombosis, though rare, is a serious complication, particularly with mechanical prostheses. This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of platelet volume parameters, including mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and platelet-large cell ratio (P-LCR), for valvular thrombosis risk in patients undergoing valve replacement therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJMIR Serious Games
January 2025
Department of Interaction Design, National Taipei University of Technology, Rm.701-4, Design Building, No.1, Sec.3, Chung-hsiao E. Rd, Taipei, 10608, Taiwan, 886 912-595408, 886 2-87732913.
Background: Complications due to dysphagia are increasingly prevalent among older adults; however, the tediousness and complexity of conventional tongue rehabilitation treatments affect their willingness to rehabilitate. It is unclear whether integrating gameplay into a tongue training app is a feasible approach to rehabilitation.
Objective: Tongue training has been proven helpful for dysphagia treatment.
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!