COVID-19 and Seasonal Influenza: No Room for Two

Objective With the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019 fears were expressed for a possible twindemic in the coming flu seasons. Fortunately, this was not the case for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 flu seasons as flu showed very low historical rates during these periods. The objective of our study was to look at the existing flu data for the 2019-2021 period and analyze possible reasons for the near absence of seasonal flu. Methods We performed retrospective surveillance regarding seasonal influenza rates for the years 2019-2021, the years that the COVID-19 was present. Epidemiological data concerning seasonal influenza for the years 2019-2021 were collected and analyzed Results Extremely low numbers of flu cases were reported in FluNet, FluView, and TESSy influenza surveillance systems during the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 compared to previous years prior to COVID-19. Conclusions A twindemic outbreak during the 2019-2021 flu seasons did not occur despite expressed concerns. The worldwide implementation of mitigation measures for individuals and communities to control severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission, the increased flu vaccination rate, the virus interference and the lower rate of testing for flu are the main reasons for the marked decrease in reported flu cases during 2019-2021 flu seasons

Ischemic heart disease and vascular risk factors are associated with accelerated brain aging

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been linked with poor brain outcomes. Brain age estimated from structural brain features and its deviation from actual age (brain-age delta in years, positive for accelerated brain aging) can express individual brain health in neurologically intact adults. Prevalent IHD is associated with accelerated brain aging and increased risk of dementia, that is not fully explained by microvascular injury. Besides shared vascular risk factors, additional disease-related mechanisms might contribute to abnormal aging. Brain-age delta may serve as an effective communication tool to illustrate the impact of modifiable risk factors and disease supporting preventative strategies

ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE AND VASCULAR RISK FACTORS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ACCELERATED BRAIN AGING

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been linked with poor brain outcomes. Brain age estimated from structural brain features and its deviation from actual age (brain-age delta in years, positive for accelerated brain aging) can express individual brain health in neurologically intact adults. Prevalent IHD is associated with accelerated brain aging and increased risk of dementia, that is not fully explained by microvascular injury. Besides shared vascular risk factors, additional disease-related mechanisms might contribute to abnormal aging. Brain-age delta may serve as an effective communication tool to illustrate the impact of modifiable risk factors and disease supporting preventative strategies