Midlife Vascular Risk Factors, Parkinson Disease, and Parkinson Disease-Dementia: The ARIC Study.

Background And Objectives: Vascular risk factors (VRFs) such as smoking, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes are associated with dementia, but their importance in Parkinson disease (PD) and PD-dementia (PDD) is less well understood. Previous studies demonstrated that smoking may be protective of PD, but its role in PDD is unclear. The primary objective was to examine the association between midlife VRFs and the risk of developing PD and PDD in older adults.

Comparing methods for glomerular filtration rate estimation.

Background: The glomerular filtration rate (GFR), estimated from serum creatinine (SCr), is widely used in clinical practice for kidney function assessment, but SCr-based equations are limited by non-GFR determinants and may introduce inaccuracies across racial groups. Few studies have evaluated whether advanced modeling techniques enhance their performance.

Methods: Using multivariable fractional polynomials (MFP), generalized additive models (GAM), random forests (RF), and gradient boosted machines (GBM), we developed four SCr-based GFR-estimating equations in a pooled data set from four cohorts ( = 4665).

Genome-wide association meta-analysis of human olfactory identification discovers sex-specific and sex-differential genetic variants.

Smelling is a human sense, expressing strong sexual dimorphisms. We aim to improve the knowledge of the genetics of human olfactory perception by performing an exploratory genome-wide association meta-analysis of up to 21,495 individuals of European ancestry. By sex-stratified and overall analysis of the identification of twelve odours and an identification score, we discovered ten independent loci, seven of them novel, with trait-wise genome-wide significance (p < 5 × 10) involving five odours.

Olfaction and Plasma Biomarkers of Alzheimer Disease and Neurodegeneration in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Background And Objectives: Investigation of olfactory impairment, an early manifestation of Alzheimer disease (AD), in relation to plasma biomarkers of AD and neurodegeneration could provide insights into the disease's pathophysiology. Because few such studies based on large, diverse, community-based populations exist, we investigated associations of odor identification ability with plasma biomarkers of AD and other neurodegenerative pathologies in community-dwelling Black and White older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional investigation included participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study who attended visit 5 (2011-2013) and who completed olfactory testing and brain MRI examinations and had plasma biomarkers measured (namely, amyloid-beta [Aβ]/Aβ ratio, phosphorylated-tau at threonine-181 [p-tau], p-tau/Aβ ratio, glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP], and neurofilament light chain [NfL]).

Characterizing the olfaction and dementia association in the community-based ARIC study.

Introduction: Few studies have characterized the association of olfaction with dementia in detail across diverse sociodemographic subgroups.

Methods: We examined the association of one-time-point olfactory status with incident dementia overall and by age, race, sex, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 status (n = 4470, mean age: 75 ± 5 years, 21% Black), and 5-year olfactory change with incident dementia (n = 2658) in the community-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

Results: Compared to good olfaction, moderate olfaction (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.

Self-Reported Motor and Nonmotor Symptoms, Prodromal Parkinson's Disease Probability, and Incident Parkinson's Disease in US Farmers.

Background: Few studies have assessed motor and nonmotor symptoms and the prodromal probability of Parkinson's disease (PD) among farming populations.

Objective: The aim was to assess self-reported nonmotor and motor symptoms and the prodromal PD probability in relation to incident PD among US farmers.

Methods: The study included 16,059 farmers (aged 65.

Longitudinal Association of Olfactory Function with Frailty in Older Adults: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that olfactory dysfunction may be a marker of frailty, a key predictor of adverse health outcomes in aging populations. This study examines the association between olfactory impairment and frailty in older adults.

Methods: We analyzed data from 5,231 participants (mean age: 75.

Poor Olfaction and Risk of Stroke in Older Adults: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Background: Poor olfaction may be associated with adverse cerebrovascular events, but empirical evidence is limited. We aimed to investigate the association of olfaction with the risk of stroke in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Methods: We included 5799 older adults with no history of stroke at baseline from 2011 to 2013 (75.

Associations of Mild Behavioral Impairment Domains with Brain Volumes: Cross-sectional Analysis of Atherosclerosis Risk in Community (ARIC) Study.

Background: Mild behavioral impairment (MBI) has been associated with global brain atrophy, but the regional neural correlates of MBI symptoms are less clear, particularly among community-dwelling older individuals without dementia.

Objective: Our objective was to examine the associations of MBI domains with gray matter (GM) volumes in a large population-based sample of older adults without dementia.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 1445 community-dwelling older adults in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study who underwent detailed neurocognitive assessment and brain magnetic resonance imaging in 2011-2013.

Lung Function and Brain MRI Outcomes in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study.

Background: Brain imaging studies may provide etiologic insight into observed links between lung function and dementia and stroke.

Objective: We evaluated associations of lung function measures with brain MRI markers of vascular and neurodegenerative disease in the ARIC Neurocognitive Study, as few studies have examined the associations.

Methods: Lung function was measured at participants' midlife in 1990-1992 (mean age = 56±5 years) and later-life in 2011-2013 (mean age = 76±5 years), and brain MRI was performed in 2011-2013.

Normative Data for the 12-Item Sniffin' Sticks Odor Identification Test in Older Adults.

Objective: Quantitative olfactory assessment has demonstrated clinical utility for the evaluation of a range of neurologic, psychiatric, and sinonasal conditions. Here, we provide age, sex, race, and education-specific normative data for the 12-item Sniffin Sticks Odor Identification Test (SSOIT-12) in older Black and White U.S.

Factors Associated with Poor Olfaction and Olfactory Decline in Older Adults in the ARIC Neurocognitive Study.

Olfactory function has significant implications for human health, but few risk factors for olfactory decline have been identified. We examined the factors associated with olfactory status and decline over five years in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Neurocognitive Study. A 12-item odor identification test was used to assess olfaction in 6053 participants in 2011-2013 (ARIC visit 5, mean age: 75.

Association of Olfaction and Microstructural Integrity of Brain Tissue in Community-Dwelling Adults: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study.

Background And Objectives: Research on olfaction and brain neuropathology may help understand brain regions associated with normal olfaction and dementia pathophysiology. To identify early regional brain structures affected in poor olfaction, we examined cross-sectional associations of microstructural integrity of the brain with olfaction in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study.

Methods: Participants were selected from a prospective cohort study of community-dwelling adults; selection criteria included the following: evidence of cognitive impairment, participation in a previous MRI study, and a random sample of cognitively normal participants.

Association of Lung Function With Cognitive Decline and Incident Dementia in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

We examined the associations between lung function and incident dementia and cognitive decline in 12,688 participants in the ARIC Study who provided lung function measurements in 1990-1992. Cognitive tests were administered up to 7 times, and dementia was ascertained through 2019. We used shared parameter models to jointly fit proportional hazard models and linear mixed-effect models to estimate lung-function-associated dementia rate and cognitive change, respectively.

Late Midlife Subclinical Infarct Burden and Risk of Dementia: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study.

At visit 3 (1993-1995) of the ARIC Study, 1.5T brain MRI was completed in 1,881 stroke-free participants (Mean age = 62.9±4.

Associations of Pulmonary Function with MRI Brain Volumes: A Coordinated Multi-Study Analysis.

Background: Previous studies suggest poor pulmonary function is associated with increased burden of cerebral white matter hyperintensities and brain atrophy among elderly individuals, but the results are inconsistent.

Objective: To study the cross-sectional associations of pulmonary function with structural brain variables.

Methods: Data from six large community-based samples (N = 11,091) were analyzed.

Associations of Prior Head Injury With Olfaction in Older Adults: Results From the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Importance: Traumatic brain injury has been associated with short-term olfactory dysfunction, but the association of number of prior head injuries and head injury severity with both subjective and objective long-term olfactory function is less clear.

Objective: To investigate the associations of prior head injury, number of prior head injuries, and head injury severity with subjective and psychophysical (objective) olfactory function in older adults and to examine concordance between subjective and objective olfactory function among individuals with and without head injury.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective cohort study included 5951 participants who attended Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study visit 5 (2011 through 2013).

Use of permethrin and other pyrethroids and mortality in the Agricultural Health Study.

Objectives: Pyrethroid insecticides have been linked with multiple health outcomes. One study reported an association with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Given the widespread use of pyrethroids, these findings warrant confirmation.

Completeness of cohort-linked U.S. Medicare data: An example from the Agricultural Health Study (1999-2016).

Medicare Fee for Service (FFS) claims data, including inpatient (Part A) and outpatient (Part B) services, provide a valuable resource for research on older adults (≥65 year) in linked U.S. cohorts.

High Pesticide Exposure Events and Dream-Enacting Behaviors Among US Farmers.

Background: Dream-enacting behavior is a characteristic feature of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, the most specific prodromal marker of synucleinopathies. Pesticide exposure may be associated with dream-enacting behaviors, but epidemiological evidence is limited.

Objectives: To examine high pesticide exposure events in relation to dream-enacting behaviors among farmers in the Agricultural Health Study.

Associations of Serum Magnesium with Brain Morphology and Subclinical Cerebrovascular Disease: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities-Neurocognitive Study.

Circulating magnesium has been associated with a lower risk of dementia, but the physiologic effects by which magnesium may prevent neurological insults remain unclear. We studied 1466 individuals (mean age 76.2 ± 5.

Epigenome-Wide DNA Methylation and Pesticide Use in the Agricultural Lung Health Study.

Background: Pesticide exposure is associated with many long-term health outcomes; the potential underlying mechanisms are not well established for most associations. Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, may contribute. Individual pesticides may be associated with specific DNA methylation patterns but no epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) has evaluated methylation in relation to individual pesticides.