Mediating pathways between neighborhood disadvantage and cardiovascular risk: quasi-experimental evidence from a Danish refugee dispersal policy.

Research has documented that neighborhood disadvantage is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk, but it is unclear which mechanistic pathways mediate this association across the life course. Leveraging a natural experiment in which refugees to Denmark were quasi-randomly assigned to neighborhoods across the country during 1986-1998, and using 30 years of follow-up data from population and health registers, we assessed whether and how individual-level poverty, unstable employment, and poor mental health mediate the relation between neighborhood disadvantage and the risk of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and type 2 diabetes among Danish refugees (n = 40 811). Linear probability models using the discrete time-survival framework showed that neighborhood disadvantage was associated with increased risk of hypertension (0.

An assessment of the mediating role of hypertension in the effect of long-term air pollution exposure on dementia.

Background: Growing evidence links air pollution exposure to the risk of dementia. We hypothesized that hypertension may partially mediate this effect.

Methods: We previously documented an association between air pollution and dementia in the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 3069 adults ≥75 years across four US sites who were evaluated for dementia every 6 months from 2000-2008.

The impact of falls on activities of daily living in older adults: A retrospective cohort analysis.

Background: Falls contribute to impairments in activities of daily living (ADLs), resulting in significant declines in the quality of life, safety, and functioning of older adults. Understanding the magnitude and duration of the effect of falls on ADLs, as well as identifying the characteristics of older adults more likely to have post-fall ADL impairment is critical to inform fall prevention and post-fall intervention. The purpose of this study is to 1) Quantify the association between falls and post-fall ADL impairment and 2) Model trajectories of ADL impairment pre- and post-fall to estimate the long-term impact of falls and identify characteristics of older adults most likely to have impairment.

Harmonization of cognitive screening tools for dementia across diverse samples: A simulation study.

Introduction: Research focusing on cognitive aging and dementia is a global endeavor. However, cross-national differences in cognition are embedded in other sociocultural differences, precluding direct comparisons of test scores. Such comparisons can be facilitated by co-calibration using item response theory (IRT).

An Examination of the Joint Effect of the Social Environment and Air Pollution on Dementia Among US Older Adults.

Unlabelled: Evidence suggests exposure to air pollution increases the risk of dementia. Cognitively stimulating activities and social interactions, made available through the social environment, may slow cognitive decline. We examined whether the social environment buffers the adverse effect of air pollution on dementia in a cohort of older adults.

Change in gait speed and fall risk among community-dwelling older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment: a retrospective cohort analysis.

Background: Although slow gait speed is an established risk factor for falls, few studies have evaluated change in gait speed as a predictor of falls or considered variability in effects by cognitive status. Change in gait speed may be a more useful metric because of its potential to identify decline in function. In addition, older adults with mild cognitive impairment are at an elevated risk of falls.

The local impacts of coal and oil power plant retirements on air pollution and cardiorespiratory health in California: An application of generalized synthetic control method.

Background: This study capitalized on coal and oil facility retirements to quantify their potential effects on fine particulate matter (PM) concentrations and cardiorespiratory hospitalizations in affected areas using a generalized synthetic control method.

Methods: We identified 11 coal and oil facilities in California that retired between 2006 and 2013. We classified zip code tabulation areas (ZCTA) as exposed or unexposed to a facility retirement using emissions information, distance, and a dispersion model.

Air pollution and plasma amyloid beta in a cohort of older adults: Evidence from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study.

Air pollution has been linked to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), but the mechanisms connecting air pollution to ADRD have not been firmly established. Air pollution may cause oxidative stress and neuroinflammation and contribute to the deposition of amyloid beta (Aβ) in the brain. We examined the association between fine particulate matter<2.

Air pollution and dementia in older adults in the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study.

Introduction: Growing evidence implicates air pollution as a risk factor for dementia, but prior work is limited by challenges in diagnostic accuracy and assessing exposures in the decades prior to disease development. We evaluated the impact of long-term fine particulate matter (PM ) exposures on incident dementia (all-cause, Alzheimer's disease [AD], and vascular dementia [VaD]) in older adults.

Methods: A panel of neurologists adjudicated dementia cases based on extensive neuropsychological testing and magnetic resonance imaging.

A national cohort study (2000-2018) of long-term air pollution exposure and incident dementia in older adults in the United States.

Air pollution may increase risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the U.S., but the extent of this relationship is unclear.

Examining the joint effects of heatwaves, air pollution, and green space on the risk of preterm birth in California.

Background: Exposure to high air temperature in late pregnancy is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for preterm birth (PTB). However, the combined effects of heatwaves with air pollution and green space are still unexplored. In the context of climate change, investigating the interaction between environmental factors and identifying communities at higher risk is important to better understand the etiological mechanisms and design targeted interventions towards certain women during pregnancy.

Socioeconomic inequalities in dementia risk among a French population-based cohort: quantifying the role of cardiovascular health and vascular events.

This study aimed to investigate the role of cardiovascular health (CVH) and vascular events as potential contributors to socioeconomic inequalities in dementia using causal mediation analyses. We used data from the Three-City Cohort, a French population-based study with 12 years of follow-up, with active search of dementia cases and validated diagnosis. Individual socioeconomic status was assessed using education, occupation and income.

Environmental Risk Factors for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

Typically, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is clinically characterized by slow vertical saccades or supranuclear gaze palsy, levodopa-resistant parkinsonism with predominant axial symptoms, and cognitive executive impairment. Over the past decades, various PSP phenotypes, including PSP with predominant parkinsonism, PSP with corticobasal syndrome, PSP with progressive gait freezing, and PSP with predominant frontal dysfunction, have been identified from pathologically confirmed cases. Expanding knowledge led to new diagnostic criteria for PSP that with increased disease awareness led to increased PSP prevalence estimates.

Spatial variation in the joint effect of extreme heat events and ozone on respiratory hospitalizations in California.

Extreme heat and ozone are co-occurring exposures that independently and synergistically increase the risk of respiratory disease. To our knowledge, no joint warning systems consider both risks; understanding their interactive effect can warrant use of comprehensive warning systems to reduce their burden. We examined heterogeneity in joint effects (on the additive scale) between heat and ozone at small geographical scales.

Respiratory hospitalizations and wildfire smoke: a spatiotemporal analysis of an extreme firestorm in San Diego County, California.

Unlabelled: Wildfire smoke adversely impacts respiratory health as fine particles can penetrate deeply into the lungs. Epidemiological studies of differential impacts typically target population subgroups in terms of vulnerability to wildfire smoke. Such information is useful to customize smoke warnings and mitigation actions for specific groups of individuals.

Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Cognitive Function Among Hispanic/Latino Adults in San Diego, California.

Background: Hispanics/Latinos in the United States are more likely to live in neighborhoods with greater exposure to air pollution and are projected to have the largest increase in dementia among race/ethnic minority groups.

Objective: We examined the associations of air pollution with performance on cognitive function tests in Hispanic/Latino adults.

Methods: We used data from the San Diego site of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, an ongoing cohort of Hispanics/Latinos.

Residential Greenness and Cardiovascular Disease Incidence, Readmission, and Mortality.

Background: Living in greener areas of cities was linked to increased physical activity levels, improved mental well-being, and lowered harmful environmental exposures, all of which may affect human health. However, whether living in greener areas may be associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease incidence, progression, and premature mortality is unclear.

Objectives: We conducted a cohort study to examine the associations between residential green spaces and the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure (HF), post-AMI and HF hospital readmissions, and mortality.

Santa Ana Winds of Southern California Impact PM With and Without Smoke From Wildfires.

Fine particulate matter (PM) raises human health concerns since it can deeply penetrate the respiratory system and enter the bloodstream, thus potentially impacting vital organs. Strong winds transport and disperse PM, which can travel over long distances. Smoke from wildfires is a major episodic and seasonal hazard in Southern California (SoCal), where the onset of Santa Ana winds (SAWs) in early fall before the first rains of winter is associated with the region's most damaging wildfires.

Extreme heat episodes and risk of preterm birth in California, 2005-2013.

Background: Preterm birth is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Identifying potentially modifiable triggers toward the end of gestation, such as extreme heat, can improve understanding of the role of acute stress on early deliveries and inform warning systems. In this study we examined the association between extreme heat, variously defined during the last week of gestation, and risk of preterm birth among mothers in California.

The role of cardiovascular disease in the relationship between air pollution and incident dementia: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Evidence suggests a link between air pollution and dementia. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) may be a potential determinant of dementia. This motivated us to quantify the contribution of CVD to the association between air pollution and dementia.

A quantile regression approach to examine fine particles, term low birth weight, and racial/ethnic disparities.

Background: Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) during pregnancy has been shown to be associated with reduced birth weight and racial/ethnic minorities have been found to be more vulnerable. Previous studies have focused on the mean value of birth weight associated with PM, which may mask meaningful differences. We applied a quantile regression approach to investigate the variation by percentile of birth weight and compared non-Hispanic (NH) Black, NH White, and Hispanic mothers.

Pregnancy history and cognitive aging among older women: the Rancho Bernardo Study.

Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the association of pregnancy history with trajectories of cognitive function in older women.

Methods: Participants were 1,025 women (mean age = 73.1 ± 9.