Plasma GDF15 affects long-term dementia risk and alters neuro-immune signaling.

Growth/differentiation factor-15 (GDF15) is a secreted peptide hormone and cytokine that is strongly associated with dementia risk. However, the extent to which plasma GDF15 represents a biomarker and driver of dementia risk remains unclear. Across multiple cohorts, we demonstrated that plasma GDF15 is associated with greater dementia risk over 15-to 25-year follow-up periods when measured in midlife, with stronger associations observed for vascular dementia compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Weight Loss in Midlife, Chronic Disease Incidence, and All-Cause Mortality During Extended Follow-Up.

Importance: Few studies have examined long-term health benefits among individuals with sustained weight loss beyond its association with decreased diabetes risk.

Objective: To examine the long-term association of body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) changes during healthy midlife (ages 40-50 years) with later-life morbidity and mortality.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study analyzed data from 3 cohorts that included repeated height and weight measurements: the Whitehall II study (WHII; baseline, 1985-1988), Helsinki Businessmen Study (HBS; baseline, 1964-1973), and Finnish Public Sector study (FPS; baseline, 2000).

Clustering Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension Using the Plasma Proteome.

Patients with pulmonary hypertension are classified according to clinical criteria to inform treatment decisions. Knowledge of the molecular drivers of pulmonary hypertension might better inform treatment choice. To investigate plasma protein clusters in patients with a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension.

Social disadvantage accelerates aging.

Social disadvantage, like advanced age, is a risk factor for a broad range of health conditions; however, whether it influences the aging process remains unclear. Here, using a multicohort approach, we investigated the associations of social disadvantage with age-related plasma proteins and age-related diseases. We found proteomic signatures of accelerated immune aging and 14 specific age-related proteins linked to social disadvantage during both early and later life.

Health benefits of leisure-time physical activity by socioeconomic status, lifestyle risk, and mental health: a multicohort study.

Background: Regular physical activity is recommended for all aged 5 years and older, but the health benefits gained might differ across population subgroups. The aim of this study was to examine these benefits in terms of years lived free from major non-communicable diseases in subgroups with varying levels of risk factors.

Methods: Our analysis was based on a multicohort study of initially healthy European adults from the IPD-Work Consortium and initially healthy participants from the UK Biobank study.

Trajectories of antidepressant use and 6-year change in body weight: a prospective population-based cohort study.

Background: Antidepressant drug treatment may be associated with weight gain, but long-term studies are lacking.

Methods: We included 3,127 adults (1,701 women) from the REGICOR study, aged 55.6 (SD = 11.

Towards a Field-Based Bayesian Evidence Inference from Nested Sampling Data.

Nested sampling (NS) is a stochastic method for computing the log-evidence of a Bayesian problem. It relies on stochastic estimates of prior volumes enclosed by likelihood contours, which limits the accuracy of the log-evidence calculation. We propose to transform the prior volume estimation into a Bayesian inference problem, which allows us to incorporate a smoothness assumption for likelihood-prior-volume relations.

Psychological distress and health behaviours in people living with and beyond cancer: a cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to examine whether psychological distress was cross-sectionally associated with meeting World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) recommendations in people living with and beyond cancer. Participants were adults living with and beyond breast, prostate and colorectal cancer, participating in the baseline wave of the Advancing Survivorship after Cancer Outcomes Trial (ASCOT). Anxiety/depression was assessed using the EQ-5D-5L and dichotomised into any/no problems.

Obesity and risk of diseases associated with hallmarks of cellular ageing: a multicohort study.

Background: Ageing hallmarks, characterising features of cellular ageing, have a role in the pathophysiology of many age-related diseases. We examined whether obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing such hallmark-related diseases.

Methods: In this multicohort study, we included people aged 38-72 years with data on weight, height, and waist circumference measured during a clinical examination at baseline between March 13, 2006, and Oct 1, 2010, from the UK Biobank with follow-up until Nov 12, 2021.

Systemic inflammation, lifestyle behaviours and dementia: A 10-year follow-up investigation.

Objectives: Lifestyle behaviours have been linked to dementia incidence, but their cumulative impact on dementia and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study investigated the association of co-occurring lifestyle behaviours with dementia incidence and the mediating role of systemic inflammation in this association.

Methods: The sample comprised 3131 participants (55.

Depressive Symptoms, Socioeconomic Position, and Mortality in Older People Living With and Beyond Cancer.

Objective: Evidence shows that higher depressive symptoms are associated with mortality among people living with and beyond cancer (LWBC). However, prior studies have not accounted for a wider range of potential confounders, and no study has explored whether socioeconomic position (SEP) moderates the association. This study aimed to examine the association between depressive symptoms and mortality among people LWBC, and moderation by SEP.

Impact of physical and sexual abuse on risk of hospitalisations for physical and mental illnesses: insights from two large prospective cohort studies.

Background: Physical abuse can lead to severe health consequences that extend beyond immediate harm. We explored the associations of physical abuse experienced during childhood and adulthood with a wide range of adult health conditions requiring hospital treatment.

Methods: We utilised data from a sub-cohort of 157,366 UK Biobank participants (46.

Cardiovascular Disease Events in Adults with a History of State Care in Childhood: Pooling of Unpublished Results from 9 Cohort Studies.

Background: Individuals who were separated from their biological family and placed into the care of the state during childhood (out-of-home care) are more prone to developing selected physical and mental health problems in adulthood, however, their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is uncertain. Accordingly, we pooled published and unpublished results from cohort studies of childhood care and adult CVD.

Methods: We used two approaches to identifying relevant data on childhood care and adult CVD (PROSPERO registration CRD42021254665).

Predicting long-term sickness absence with employee questionnaires and administrative records: a prospective cohort study of hospital employees.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the utility of risk estimation derived from questionnaires and administrative records in predicting long-term sickness absence among shift workers.

Methods: This prospective cohort study comprised 3197 shift-working hospital employees (mean age 44.5 years, 88.

Obesity and psychological distress.

The relationship between high body weight and mental health has been studied for several decades. Improvements in the quality of epidemiological, mechanistic and psychological research have brought greater consistency to our understanding of the links. Large-scale population-based epidemiological research has established that high body weight is associated with poorer mental health, particularly depression and subclinical depressive symptoms.

Systemic inflammation and subsequent risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Prospective cohort study.

Background: While systemic inflammation has been implicated in the etiology of selected neurodegenerative disorders, its role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a condition with high case-fatality, is untested. Accordingly, we quantified the relationship of C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute-phase reactant and marker of systemic inflammation, with subsequent ALS occurrence.

Methods: We used data from UK Biobank, a prospective cohort study of 502,649 participants who were aged 37 to 73 years when examined at research centers between 2006 and 2010.

Dementia in former amateur and professional contact sports participants: population-based cohort study, systematic review, and meta-analysis.

Background: Although there is growing evidence that former professional athletes from sports characterised by repetitive head impact subsequently experience an elevated risk of dementia, the occurrence of this disorder in retired amateurs, who represent a larger population, is uncertain. The present meta-analysis integrates new results from individual-participant analyses of a cohort study of former amateur contact sports participants into a systematic review of existing studies of retired professionals and amateurs.

Methods: The cohort study comprised 2005 male retired amateur athletes who had competed internationally for Finland (1920-1965) and a general population comparison group of 1386 age-equivalent men.