The association of health literacy with intention to vaccinate and vaccination status. A systematic review

Despite health literacy (HL) being recognized as a driver of health-promoting behavior, its influence on the vaccination decision-making process remains unclear. This study summarized current evidence on the association between HL and both intention to vaccinate and vaccination status. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, retrieving observational studies published until January 2022 that used HL-validated tools to investigate the above associations for any vaccine. Quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. Twenty-one articles were included; of these, six investigated the intention to vaccinate and the remainder vaccination status. Articles on intention looked at SARS-CoV-2 vaccination using heterogeneous HL tools and were of high/fair quality. Vaccination status, mainly for influenza or pneumococcal vaccines, was explored using various HL tools; the quality was generally high. We found inconsistent results across and within vaccine types, with no clear conclusion for either vaccination intention or status. A weak but positive association was reported between a high HL level and influenza vaccination uptake for individuals aged more than 65 years. HL did not seem to significantly influence behavior towards vaccination. Differences in the methods used might explain these results. Further research is needed to investigate the role of HL in the vaccination decision-making process

Physical decline and cognitive impairment in frail hypertensive elders during COVID-19

Background: Hypertension is common in older adults and its incidence increases with age. We investigated the correlation between physical and cognitive impairment in older adults with frailty and hypertension. Methods: We recruited frail hypertensive older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, between March 2021 and December 2021. Global cognitive function was assessed through the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), physical frailty assessment was performed following the Fried criteria, and all patients underwent physical evaluation through 5-meter gait speed test. Results: We enrolled 203 frail hypertensive older adults and we found a significant correlation between MoCA score and gait speed test (r: 0.495; p<0.001) in our population. To evaluate the impact of comorbidities and other factors on our results, we applied a linear regression analysis with MoCA score as a dependent variable, observing a significant association with age, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and gait speed test. Conclusions: Our study revealed for the first time a significant correlation between physical and cognitive impairment in frail hypertensive elderly subjects

Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Identification of Novel and Recurrent NF1 Gene Variants and Correlations with Neurocognitive Phenotype

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common genetic tumor predisposition syndrome, caused by mutations in the NF1. To date, few genotype-phenotype correlations have been discerned in NF1, due to a highly variable clinical presentation. We aimed to study the molecular spectrum of NF1 and genotype-phenotype correlations in a monocentric study cohort of 85 NF1 patients (20 relatives, 65 sporadic cases). Clinical data were collected at the time of the mutation analysis and reviewed for accuracy in this investigation. An internal phenotypic categorization was applied. The 94% of the patients enrolled showed a severe phenotype with at least one systemic complication and a wide range of associated malignancies. Spine deformities were the most common complications in this cohort. We also reported 66 different NF1 mutations, of which 7 are novel mutations. Correlation analysis identified a slight significant inverse correlation between age at diagnosis and delayed acquisition of psychomotor skills with residual multi-domain cognitive impairment. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval showed a higher prevalence of learning disabilities in patients carrying frameshift mutations. Overall, our results aim to offer an interesting contribution to studies on the genotype-phenotype of NF1 and in genetic management and counselling