Tooth loss, denture use, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults: a community cohort study

ObjectivesThe available evidence on the connections between tooth loss, denture use, and mortality from all causes or specific causes among older adults is inconclusive. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between tooth loss, denture use, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults.MethodsA cohort of 5,403 participants aged 65 and older were recruited in the 2014 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey wave and followed up in the 2018 wave. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association between the number of natural teeth, denture use, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality.ResultsDuring a mean (SD) follow-up of 3.1  years (1.3), 2,126 deaths (39.3%) occurred. Individuals with 0 and 1–9 teeth had higher mortality due to all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and other causes (all p-trend <0.05) than those with 20+ teeth. At the same time, no association was found with respiratory disease mortality. Participants who used dentures had lower mortality due to all causes [hazard ratios (HR) 0.79, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.71–0.88], CVD (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.64–1.00), respiratory disease (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.48–0.92), and other causes (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.68–0.88) than those without dentures. Joint analysis revealed that older adults with fewer natural teeth and no dentures had higher mortality. Additionally, interaction analyses showed that the effects of the number of natural teeth on all-cause mortality were more pronounced in older adults aged <80  years (p-value for interaction = 0.03).ConclusionHaving fewer natural teeth, particularly less than 10 teeth, is linked to an increased risk of mortality from all causes, including CVD, cancer, and other causes, but not respiratory disease. The use of dentures would mitigate the adverse impact of tooth loss on all-cause and some cause-specific mortality

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

microRNA‐221 rescues the loss of dopaminergic neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease

Abstract Background Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common systemic neurodegenerative diseases and is related to the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Several studies verified that microRNA (miRNAs) targeting the Bim/Bax/caspase‐3 signaling axis is involved in the apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of miR‐221 in PD. Methods To examine the function of miR‐221 in vivo, we used a well‐established 6‐OHDA‐induced PD mouse model. Then we conducted adenovirus‐mediated miR‐221 overexpression in the PD mice. Results Our results showed that miR‐221 overexpression improved motor behavior of the PD mice. We demonstrated that overexpression of miR‐221 reduced the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra striatum by promoting their antioxidative and antiapoptosis capacities. Mechanistically, miR‐221 targets Bim, thus inhibiting Bim and Bax caspase‐3 mediated apoptosis signaling pathways. Conclusion Our findings suggest miR‐221 participates in the pathological process of PD and might be a potential drug target and provide new insight into PD treatment

The Responses of Stem and Leaf Functional Traits of <i>Medicago sativa</i> and <i>Bromus inermis</i> to Different Mixed Planting Patterns

This study investigated the differences in stem and leaf growth characteristics of Medicago sativa and Bromus inermis in the Jiaozhou region of China during 2019–2020 under three different planting modes of the two forages: monoculture, mixed species sowing in the same rows, and mixed species sowing in alternating rows. No special management of the experimental plots was carried out in this study to simulate as much as possible the growth of forages in their natural state. The stem and leaf characteristics influencing the dry matter weight were calculated using grey correlation. These characteristics included leaf length, leaf width, leaf thickness, leaf area, leaf fresh weight, stem length, stem diameter, stem fresh weight, stem–leaf ratio, fresh matter yield, dry matter yield, and protein yield of M. sativa and B. inermis under different sowing methods in different years. The results showed that the weight pattern of the characteristics affecting the yield of M. sativa and B. inermis production was leaf area > stem diameter > leaf length > stem length > leaf width > leaf thickness, leaf area > leaf length > stem length > leaf width > leaf thickness > stem diameter. Considering all the growth factors, the production capacity was ranked as mixed sowing in alternating rows > mixed sowing in same rows > monoculture. Thus, the suitable mode for M. sativa–B. inermis sowing was mixed sowing in alternating rows

Table_1_Tooth loss, denture use, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults: a community cohort study.pdf

ObjectivesThe available evidence on the connections between tooth loss, denture use, and mortality from all causes or specific causes among older adults is inconclusive. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between tooth loss, denture use, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults.MethodsA cohort of 5,403 participants aged 65 and older were recruited in the 2014 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey wave and followed up in the 2018 wave. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association between the number of natural teeth, denture use, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality.ResultsDuring a mean (SD) follow-up of 3.1  years (1.3), 2,126 deaths (39.3%) occurred. Individuals with 0 and 1–9 teeth had higher mortality due to all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and other causes (all p-trend ConclusionHaving fewer natural teeth, particularly less than 10 teeth, is linked to an increased risk of mortality from all causes, including CVD, cancer, and other causes, but not respiratory disease. The use of dentures would mitigate the adverse impact of tooth loss on all-cause and some cause-specific mortality.</p