Determinants of frailty development and progression using a multidimensional frailty index: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

This work was supported by grant number 689592 "my-AHA" from the Horizon 2020 research funding framework of the European Commission (https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en).Open Access articl

Dietary patterns are related to cognitive functioning in elderly enriched with individuals at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease

PURPOSE: To investigate cross-sectional associations between dietary patterns and cognitive functioning in elderly free of dementia. METHODS: Data of 389 participants from the German DELCODE study (52% female, 69 ± 6 years, mean Mini Mental State Score 29 ± 1) were included. The sample was enriched with elderly at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) by including participants with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and siblings of AD patients. Mediterranean and MIND diets were derived from 148 Food Frequency Questionnaire items, and data-driven patterns by principal component analysis (PCA) of 39 food groups. Associations between dietary patterns and five cognitive domain scores were analyzed with linear regression analyses adjusted for demographics (model 1), and additionally for energy intake, BMI, other lifestyle variables and APOe4-status (model 2). For PCA-derived dietary components, final model 3 included all other dietary components. RESULTS: In fully adjusted models, adherence to Mediterranean and MIND diet was associated with better memory. The 'alcoholic beverages' PCA component was positively associated with most cognitive domains. Exclusion of MCI subjects (n = 60) revealed that Mediterranean and MIND diet were also related to language functions; associations with the alcoholic beverages component were attenuated, but most remained significant. CONCLUSION: In line with data from elderly population samples, Mediterranean and MIND diet and some data-derived dietary patterns were related to memory and language function. Longitudinal data are needed to draw conclusions on the putative effect of nutrition on the rate of cognitive decline, and on the potential of dietary interventions in groups at increased risk for AD

Meat Consumption, Cognitive Function and Disorders: A Systematic Review with Narrative Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

Cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia are increasing in prevalence worldwide, while global dietary patterns are transitioning to a ‘western type’ with increasing meat consumption. Studies which have explored the associations between cognitive function and meat intakes have produced inconsistent findings. The aim of this systematic review was to explore the evidence linking meat intake with cognitive disorders. Twenty-nine studies were retrieved, including twelve cohort, three case-control, thirteen cross-sectional studies, and one intervention study. The majority (21/29) showed that meat consumption was not significantly associated with cognitive function or disorders. Meta-analysis of five studies showed no significant differences in meat consumption between cases with cognitive disorders and controls (standardized mean difference = −0.32, 95% CI: −1.01, 0.36); however, there was considerable heterogeneity. In contrast, a meta-analysis of five studies showed reduced odds of cognitive disorders by consuming meat weekly or more (OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.57, 0.88); however, potential publication bias was noted in relation to this finding. Overall, there was no strong association between meat intake and cognitive disorders. However, the evidence base was limited, requiring more studies of high quality to isolate the specific effect of meat consumption from dietary patterns to confirm these associations

Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Function among Older Community-Dwelling Adults.

Diet may be an important modifiable risk factor for maintenance of cognitive health in later life. This study aimed at examining associations between common dietary indices and dietary patterns defined by factor analysis and cognitive function in older community-dwelling adults. Dietary information for 1499 participants from the Rancho Bernardo Study was collected in 1988⁻1992 and used to calculate the alternate Mediterranean diet score, Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)-2010 score and factor scores derived from factor analysis of nutrients. Global cognitive function, executive function, verbal fluency and episodic memory were assessed at approximate four-year intervals from 1988⁻2016. Linear mixed models were used to examine associations between dietary patterns and cognitive trajectories. Estimates for the highest vs. lowest tertile in models adjusting for age, sex, education, energy intake, lifestyle variables and retest effect showed greater adherence to the Mediterranean score was associated with better baseline global cognitive function (β (95% CI) = 0.33 (0.11, 0.55)). The AHEI-2010 score was not significantly associated with cognitive performance. Higher loading on a plant polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)/vitamin E factor was associated with better baseline global cognitive function and executive function (β = 0.22 (0.02, 0.42) and β = -7.85 (-13.20, -2.47)). A sugar/low protein factor was associated with poorer baseline cognitive function across multiple domains. Dietary patterns were not associated with cognitive decline over time. Adherence to a healthy diet with foods high in PUFA and vitamin E and a low sugar to protein ratio, as typified by a Mediterranean diet, may be beneficial for cognitive health in late life

Incorporación de los foros en una propuesta de enseñanza virtual de un tema de álgebra

En el siguiente trabajo se presentan algunos resultados de la implementación de un modelo basado en un esquema de red implementado para la enseñanza del tema Rectas en el Espacio de la asignatura Algebra y Geometría Analítica de primer año de ingeniería. Se muestran los resultados obtenidos en los foros implementados para alumnos de estilo de aprendizaje activo, según la clasificación de Felder y fue desarrollado como parte del proyecto “Sistema Adaptativo Aplicado a la Enseñanza del Álgebra” (PID UTN1733). El objetivo de dicho proyecto fue crear un sistema basado en tecnología de e-learning, que permitiera establecer una secuencia adaptable a determinadas características de los estudiantes y posteriormente, realizar un estudio experimental para evaluar los aportes de este tipo de sistemas.Eje: Educación en Tecnología.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Assessing the impact of a community-based pro-active monitoring program addressing the need for care of community-dwelling citizens aged more than 80: protocol for a prospective pragmatic trial and results of the baseline Assessment

The aim of this paper is to describe the protocol of a study assessing the impact of a Community-based pro-Active Monitoring Program, by measuring the effect in counteracting the adverse outcomes related to frailty

Gender-based clinical study on the association of cognitive impairment with drinking and smoking

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking among the elderly population of a Chinese city with a risk of developing cognitive decline and dementia.Methods: In this study, 1687 participants from the suburban town of Yanliang in Xi'an Sub-province, Shanxi Province, China in the age group of 60 - 65 years and who have not develop cognitive decline were assessed over a 6-year period. The study involved the evaluation of gender-based effect on alcohol consumption and smoking cigarette and its impact on cognitive functions.Results: The study observed that smokers have a higher risk of cognitive decline than non-smokers (odds ratio = 1.51; 95 % CI = (1.07 – 2.11). Interestingly, the odds ratio of the smokers among the female subjects was 1.54; 95 % CI (1.02 - 2.49) compared to female non-smokers. Moreover, a dosedependent relationship was observed for those female smoker with higher pack-years compared to nonsmokers (p = 0.003). On the other hand, regular alcohol consumption also increased the possibility of dementia and cognitive decline (odds ratio = 1.69; CI at 95 % = (1.03 – 2.75), hence a dose-dependent relationship was observed between male users (p = 0.042).Conclusion: The results suggest that alcohol consumption and smoking are linked with cognitive decline among the female subjects in the age group of 60 – 65 years. Thus, the relationship between these factors is characterized by gender difference which may be due to female sex hormones.Keywords: Cognitive health, Alcohol consumptions, Smoking, Elderly populatio

Correlation of physical and cognitive impairment in diabetic and hypertensive frail older adults

Background: Diabetes and hypertension are common in older adults and represent established risk factors for frailty. Frailty is a multidimensional condition due to reserve loss and susceptibility to stressors with a high risk of death, hospitalizations, functional and cognitive impairment. Comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension play a key role in increasing the risk of mortality, hospitalization, and disability. Moreover, frail patients with diabetes and hypertension are known to have an increased risk of cognitive and physical impairment. Nevertheless, no study assessed the correlation between physical and cognitive impairment in frail older adults with diabetes and hypertension. Methods: We evaluated consecutive frail older patients with diabetes and hypertension who presented at ASL (local health unit of the Italian Ministry of Health) Avellino, Italy, from March 2021 to October 2021. The inclusion criteria were: a previous diagnosis of diabetes and hypertension with no evidence of secondary causes; age > 65 years; a frailty status; Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score < 26. Results: 179 patients successfully completed the study. We found a strong and significant correlation between MoCA score and 5-m gait speed test (r: 0.877; p < 0.001). To further verify our results, we performed a linear multivariate analysis adjusting for potential confounding factors, with MoCA score as dependent variable, which confirmed the significant association with glycemia (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This is the first study showing a significant correlation between 5-m gait speed test and MoCA score in frail diabetic and hypertensive older adults

Enseñanza del álgebra y sistemas adaptativos

Se encuentra en desarrollo un proyecto tecnológico e investigación experimental , en cual se trabaja en la transposición de un contenido disciplinar de la asignatura Álgebra y Geometría Analítica, en términos de la teoría didáctica para la enseñanza de la matemática denominada APOE (Acciones, Procesos, Objetos y Esquemas). Para esto se aplica un procedimiento denominado descomposición genética, el cual permite describir las construcciones mentales que los alumnos realizan durante el proceso de aprendizaje, permitiendo realizar una predicción de cómo un concepto matemático es modelado cognitivamente por ellos. El modelo elaborado será representado mediante una red semántica, implementada en la plataforma Moodle, tomando como parámetros adaptativos el rendimiento y los estilos de aprendizaje de los alumnos. Posteriormente los grupos experimental y de control de estudiantes, operarán sobre el modelo durante el desarrollo de la experiencia, para obtener una base de datos con la información de las interacciones y actividades de los alumnos. Paralelamente a lo anterior, se desarrollará el software necesario para extraer la información de la base de datos generada, con el fin de realizar el análisis comparativo de resultados y elaborar conclusiones, respecto del modelo de enseñanza propuesto y el proceso de aprendizaje realizado por los estudiantes.Eje: Tecnología Informática Aplicada en EducaciónRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI