Public Health.

Background: Individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 may continue to experience symptoms long after infection. Research suggests that the COVID-19 virus may be linked to brain pathology and dementia risk, possibly due to neurological complications and long-term cognitive effects. Mild Behavioral Impairment (MBI) is an early indicator of dementia risk characterized by later life onset of persistent changes in behavior or personality.

Public Health.

Background: Short sleep duration, low physical activity and high sedentary time are associated with higher dementia risk. To date, previous studies have considered these behaviors in isolation, and not as inter-related behaviors part of the 24-h day. Compositional data analysis (CoDA) treats these behaviors as inter-related within a constrained 24hrs.

Public Health.

Background: Frailty is a complex clinical state that is associated with poorer health outcomes and increased dementia risk in older adults. It is routinely measured using the Frailty Index, which is a proportional score based on the number of 'deficits' that an individual has. Whilst such measures are useful for risk assessment, the aggregation of highly heterogeneous deficit profiles in genetic studies may obscure important insights into the underlying biology of frailty.

Public Health.

Background: Disease modifying therapies (DMTs) for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been approved in some countries although these treatments will require substantial health resources for their implementation. Initial capacity planning to identify the resources required to support DMTs begins with estimating the number of people with dementia who may be eligible for DMTs. We estimated the potential number of individuals with dementia who are eligible for DMTs using population-based data in Alberta, Canada.

Public Health.

Background: This study describes the total healthcare costs integrating direct, indirect, and intangible or emotional cost components across the severity stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in US.

Method: Utilizing Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data (1994-2018), a bi-annual US national survey of older adults, we assessed out-of-pocket and indirect costs, including unpaid caregiving services, missed workdays, and early retirement. HRS, analyzed with sampling weights, provided a representative US national sample.

Public Health.

Background: Social media provides dementia prevention researchers with additional opportunities to engage diverse audiences, including healthy individuals who unaware of their eligibility to take part in dementia-related research. However, practical social media guidance that reflects the values and priorities of potential participants is needed. To address this gap, we sought to create consensus recommendations with research professionals and community experts.

Public Health.

Background: Asian Americans and Asian Canadians (ASACs) are the fastest growing minority group in the US and Canada. However, ASACs are under-sampled in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. To address the need of culturally appropriate clinical protocols and community-based recruitment approaches for ASACs, the Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD), the first large dementia genetics cohort focusing on Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese, launched in 2021 to examine genetic and non-genetic risk factors for AD among ASACs.

Identifying Needs and Support Services for Family Caregivers of Older Community-Based Family Members: Mixed-Method Research Findings.

A recent Canadian study conducted in one province identified family caregiver support needs and essential support services when caring for older community-based family members requiring assistance with activities of daily living. Weekly interviews of 150 volunteer caregivers over 6 months identified 11 support needs and 5 essential support services. Scoping literature reviews of the 11 needs found they had all been identified before.

Public Health.

Background: The global population of adults over the age of 65 is expected to surpass 2 billion by 2050. Alongside this rise in the aging population, the incidence of age-related cognitive decline and dementia will continue to grow. Importantly, women are at an elevated risk of cognitive decline compared to men.

Suspected fenugreek ( L.) toxicosis in a herd of Saskatchewan beef cattle.

An apparent outbreak of fenugreek forage toxicosis occurred in a beef cattle herd near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in February-May 2022. The herd had consumed fenugreek hay from late fall to early winter. Clinical signs included various degrees of weakness, ataxia, knuckling, walking on hocks, and recumbency.

Public Health.

Background: The Enhanced Dementia Surveillance Initiative (EDSI), led by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), supports the implementation of Canada's first national dementia strategy. To improve the national monitoring of dementia and its health impacts, the EDSI projects focused on priority data gaps: dementia by cause, progression stages and impacts; socio-demographic characteristics, risk and protective factors; and caregivers.

Method: PHAC collaborated on 15 projects with multiple stakeholders (universities/research institutions, health organizations, and federal/provincial government departments).

Public Health.

Background: Physically inactivity is associated with increased risk of dementia including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Prior work from the Harvard Aging Brain Study (HABS) suggests that lower baseline physical activity in cognitively unimpaired individuals with elevated amyloid burden is associated with faster prospective cognitive decline. However, whether this detrimental effect on cognition in preclinical AD is mediated by accelerated tau pathology remains unclear.

Public Health.

Background: While age is the most significant risk factor for dementia, increased awareness and understanding of other modifiable risk factors of dementia, coupled with proactive lifestyle behavior changes, hold the potential to prevent dementia and improve the quality of life for older adults. Defy Dementia is a public health initiative, led by the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education (BARE) and funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. It involves curating, co-designing, and disseminating a series of knowledge products to raise public awareness of dementia prevention and reduce stigma associated with dementia.

Public Health.

Background: Existing studies on the health care utilization and costs associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have treated individuals with AD as a homogeneous group, though recent evidence suggests individuals with AD may be classified into biologically distinct subgroups with differing genetic and clinical profiles. The objective of our study is to examine differences in healthcare utilization and costs across cognitively defined AD subgroups.

Method: We utilize data from the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study (1994 - 2020), a population-based longitudinal study of aging and the incidence of and risk factors for dementia.

Public Health.

Background: Physical activity (PA) is an imperative factor to healthy cognitive and functional ageing and may act as a protective factor against cognitive decline. Evidence suggests that as we age, PA declines, leaving a large proportion of older adults (OAs) 'underactive' and 'unprotected'. Socialisation/social support is considered a beneficial influence on PA in OAs.

Public Health.

Background: Dementia is a heterogeneous syndrome caused by diseases that impact cerebral functioning leading to progressive cognitive decline and loss of functional independence. Approximately 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia; however, population-based estimates of dementia are challenging due to non-standardized surveillance in most countries. We estimated the number of dementia cases among Canadian residents in 2022.

Public Health.

Background: With the world population aging, the number of individuals living with dementia is expected to increase significantly. Vaccination against herpes zoster (HZ) with the live-attenuated zoster vaccine (ZVL) was associated with a lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia in previous studies. We aimed to determine whether the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) immunization is also associated with a reduced risk of dementia diagnosis.

Public Health.

Our current understanding of how exercise promotes cognitive function largely stems from animal studies and is restricted to aerobic exercise training (AT). It is widely hypothesized that AT induces neurotrophic factor cascades (i.e.

Public Health.

There is growing recognition that exercise is a potent stimulus for improving cognitive and brain function in both humans and rodents. While the mechanisms underlying the effect of exercise on cognition are very likely multifactorial, it is clear that the secretion and function of several classical factors are involved. Work done in rodents implicates several growth factors, including BDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF, in the ability of exercise to induce neuroplastic changes within key brain regions associated with learning and memory.

Lactation Support Services in Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Canada.

Introduction: Lactation support services can improve exclusive breastfeeding rates among infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). There are limited data on how many NICUs offer these services.

Objective: To assess prevalence and type of lactation services provided in level III Canadian NICUs.

Gender Data, Intersectionality, and a Feminist Politics of "Negotiated Refusal".

Gender and intersectional data are recognized as vital to addressing gender-based violence. We engage this thesis through a case study of a gender data project at the Colombia-Venezuela border. Coming from an underexplored vantage point in the literature, we trouble the assumption that more data are always better for advancing feminist objectives around GBV.

Public Health.

Background: Maintaining functional independence is an essential aspect of healthy aging. In fact, functional dependence to perform activities of daily living (ADL) is a fundamental part of a dementia diagnosis. Newer diagnostic criteria for MCI also consider functional impairments (FI) but not to the extent of compromising functional independence.

Public Health.

Background: Dementia incidence is projected to significantly increase, posing unique challenges to healthcare systems. Identifying non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors (RF) is crucial, including sex-specific factors, given the higher prevalence among females (60%). Here, we employed a network analysis to examine prominent RF in healthy controls compared to those with cognitive decline (CD), as well as the interrelationships and interactions of RF on CD.

Public Health.

Background: Walking is a key facilitator of healthy ageing and may reduce risk of cognitive decline in older adults. To develop suitable, accessible interventions, we must objectively consider the socio-ecological factors which influence participation in walking activities. For example, walking may be influenced by the volume and type of activities one's partner participates in (i.

Public Health.

Background: Evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) shows that aerobic exercise (AE) can benefit cognitive function among older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Growing research suggests that outdoor, natural (i.e.