Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 in relation to future hearing impairment: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) is associated with cardiovascular disease, itself a risk factor for hearing impairment, and, in animal studies, molecular evidence suggests a role for IGF-1 in hearing function. However, the link between IGF-1 and the occurrence of hearing impairment is untested in population-based studies of humans. A total of 4390 participants aged ≥50 y (mean [SD] age 64.2 [8.0] years at baseline, 55% women) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing provided serum levels of IGF-1 in 2008 and again in 2012. Hearing acuity was assessed by an objective hearing test (HearCheck handheld device) in 2014 when the prevalence was 38.2%. In the full cohort, IGF-1 was not associated with subsequent hearing impairment (OR5nmol/L increase; 95% CI: 1.01; 0.94, 1.09). However, this relationship appeared to differ by age (p-value for interaction = 0.03). Thus, in younger participants (aged 50-60 y, n = 1400), IGF-1 was associated with lower odds of hearing impairment (0.86; 0.73, 1.00) after adjustment for a range of potential confounders. Among people ≥60 y (n = 2990) there was a non-significant 'J'-shaped association. Our observational evidence that higher levels of IGF-1 appeared to confer some protection against hearing impairment in some older adults warrants replication in other prospective cohort studies

Risk Factors for Hospital Admission After a Fall: A Prospective Cohort Study of Community-Dwelling Older People

Background: Falls in later life that require admission to hospital have well-established consequences for future disability and health. The likelihood and severity of a fall will result from the presence of one or more risk factors. The aim of this study is to examine risk factors identified for their ability to prevent falls and to assess whether they are associated with hospital admission after a fall. / Methods: Analyses of data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), a prospective cohort study. In a sample of 3783 men and women older than 60 years old, a range of potential risk factors measured at Wave 4 (demographic, social environment, physical, and mental functioning) were examined as predictors of fall-related hospitalizations, identified using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) code from linked hospital records in the United Kingdom. Subdistribution hazard models were used to account for competing risk of death. / Results: Several risk factors identified by previous work were confirmed. Suffering from urinary incontinence (subdistribution hazard ratio = 1.49; 95% CI: 1.14, 1.95) and osteoporosis (subdistribution hazard ratio = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.07), which are not commonly considered at an early stage of screening, were found to be associated with hospital admission after a fall. Both low and moderate levels of physical activity were also found to somewhat increase the risk of hospital admission after a fall. / Conclusions: Several predictors of having a fall, severe enough to require hospital admission, have been confirmed. In particular, urinary incontinence should be considered at an earlier point in the assessment of risk

Socioeconomic trajectories of body mass index and waist circumference: results from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

OBJECTIVES: To explore age trajectories of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) and to examine whether these trajectories varied by wealth. DESIGN: Nationally representative prospective cohort study. SETTING: Observational study of people living in England. PARTICIPANTS: 7416 participants aged 52 and over of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2004-2012). PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: BMI and WC assessed objectively by a trained nurse. MAIN EXPOSURE MEASURE: Total non-pension household wealth quintiles defined as financial wealth, physical wealth (such as business wealth, land or jewels) and housing wealth (primary and secondary residential housing wealth), minus debts. RESULTS: Using latent growth curve models, we showed that BMI increased by 0.03 kg/m2 (95% CI 0.02 to 0.04, p<0.001) per year and WC by 0.18 cm (95% CI 0.15 to 0.22, p<0.001). Age (linear and quadratic) showed a negative association with BMI and WC baseline and rates of change, indicating that older individuals had smaller body sizes and that the positive rates of change flattened to eventually become negative. The decline occurred around the age of 71 years for BMI and 80 years for WC. Poorest wealth was significantly related to higher baseline levels of BMI (1.97 kg/m2 95% CI 0.99 to 1.55, p<0.001) and WC (4.66 cm 95% CI 3.68 to 2.40, p<0.001). However, no significant difference was found in the rate of change of BMI and WC by wealth, meaning that the age trajectories of BMI and WC were parallel across wealth categories and that the socioeconomic gap did not close at older ages. CONCLUSIONS: Older English adults showed an increase in BMI and WC over time but this trend reversed at older old age to display a sharp decrease. At any given age wealthier people had more favourable BMI and WC profile

Association of pre-pandemic high-density lipoprotein cholesterol with risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation and death: The UK Biobank cohort study

There is growing evidence of, and biological plausibility for, elevated levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) being related to lower rates of respiratory disease. We tested whether pre-pandemic HDL-C within the normal range is associated with subsequent COVID-19 hospitalisations and death. We analysed data on participants from UK Biobank, a prospective cohort study, baseline data for which were collected between 2006 and 2010. Follow-up for COVID-19 was via hospitalisation records (1845 events in 317,306 individuals) and a national mortality registry (458 deaths in 317,833 individuals). After controlling for a series of confounding factors which included health behaviours, inflammatory markers, and socio-economic status, higher levels of HDL-C were related to a lower risk of later hospitalisation. The effect was linear (p-value for trend 0.001), whereby a 0.2 mmol/L increase in HDL-C was associated with a 7% lower risk (odds ratio; 95% confidence interval: 0.93; 0.90, 0.96). Corresponding relationships for mortality were markedly weaker, such that statistical significance at conventional levels were not apparent for both the linear trend (p-value 0.25) and the odds ratio per 0.2 mmol/L increase (0.98; 0.91, 1.05). While our finding for HDL-C and hospitalisations for COVID-19 raise the possibility that favourable modification of this cholesterol fraction via lifestyle changes or drug intervention may impact upon the risk of the disease, it warrants testing in other studies

Food environment and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Obesity is influenced by a complex, multifaceted system of determinants, including the food environment. Governments need evidence to act on improving the food environment. The aim of this study was to review the evidence from spatial environmental analyses and to conduct the first series of meta-analyses to assess the impact of the retail food environment on obesity. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and random-effects meta-analyses, focusing on geographical–statistical methods to assess the associations between food outlet availability and obesity. We searched OvidSP-Medline, Scielo, Scopus and Google Scholar databases up to January 2022. The search terms included spatial analysis, obesity and the retail food environment. Effect sizes were pooled by random-effects meta-analyses separately according to food outlet type and geographical and statistical measures. FINDINGS: Of the 4118 retrieved papers, we included 103 studies. Density (n=52, 50%) and linear and logistic regressions (n=68, 66%) were the main measures used to assess the association of the food environment with obesity. Multilevel or autocorrelation analyses were used in 35 (34%) studies. Fast-food outlet proximity was positively and significantly associated with obesity (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.30, p=0.02). Fresh fruit and vegetable outlet density and supermarket proximity were inversely associated with obesity (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.90 to 0.96, p<0.001; OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.82 to 0.98, p=0.02). No significant associations were found for restaurants, convenience stores or any of the body mass index measures. CONCLUSIONS: Food outlets which sell mostly unhealthy and ultra-processed foods were associated with higher levels of obesity, while fruit and vegetable availability and supermarket accessibility, which enable healthier food access, were related to lower levels of obesity. The regulation of food outlets through zoning laws may not be enough to tackle the burden of obesity. Regulations that focus on increasing the availability of healthy food within stores and ensure overall healthy food environments require further attention

Ethnic Disparities in Hospitalization for COVID-19: a Community-Based Cohort Study in the UK

Importance: Differentials in COVID-19 incidence, hospitalization and mortality according to ethnicity are being reported but their origin is uncertain. Objective: We aimed to explain any ethnic differentials in COVID-19 hospitalization based on socioeconomic, lifestyle, mental and physical health factors. Design: Prospective cohort study with national registry linkage to hospitalisation for COVID-19. Setting: Community-dwelling. Participants: 340,966 men and women (mean age 56.2 (SD=8.1) years; 54.3% women) residing in England from the UK Biobank study. Exposures: Ethnicity classified as White, Black, Asian, and Others. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s): Cases of COVID-19 serious enough to warrant a hospital admission in England from 16-March-2020 to 26-April-2020. Results: There were 640 COVID-19 cases (571/324,306 White, 31/4,485 Black, 21/5,732 Asian, 17/5,803 Other). Compared to the White study members and after adjusting for age and sex, Black individuals had over a 4-fold increased risk of being hospitalised (odds ratio; 95% confidence interval: =4.32; 3.00-6.23), and there was a doubling of risk in the Asian group (2.12; 1.37, 3.28) and the Other non-white group (1.84; 1.13, 2.99). After controlling for 15 confounding factors which included neighbourhood deprivation, education, number in household, smoking, markers of body size, inflammation, and glycated haemoglobin, these effect estimates were attenuated by 33% for Blacks, 52% for Asians and 43% for Other, but remained raised for Blacks (2.66; 1.82, 3.91), Asian (1.43; 0.91, 2.26) and other non-white groups (1.41; 0.87, 2.31). Conclusions and Relevance: Our findings show clear ethnic differences in risk of hospitalization for COVID-19 which do not appear to be fully explained by known explanatory factors. If replicated, our results have implications for health policy, including the targeting of prevention advice and vaccination coverage

Individual and Area-Based Socioeconomic Factors Associated With Dementia Incidence in England: Evidence From a 12-Year Follow-up in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

This is the final version. Available from the AMA via the DOI in this record.This article was corrected on July 3, 2018, to clarify ambiguous statements in the Results section of the Abstract and the Findings section of the Key Points that affected interpretation. Correction available at: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.1696Importance: Lower educational attainment is associated with a higher risk of dementia. However, less clear is the extent to which other socioeconomic markers contribute to dementia risk. Objective: To examine the relationship of education, wealth, and area-based deprivation with the incidence of dementia over the last decade in England and investigate differences between people born in different periods. Design, Setting, and Participants: Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a prospective cohort study that is representative of the English population, were used to investigate the associations between markers of socioeconomic status (wealth quintiles and the index of multiple deprivation) and dementia incidence. To investigate outcomes associated with age cohorts, 2 independent groups were derived using a median split (born between 1902-1925 and 1926-1943). Main Outcomes and Measures: Dementia as determined by physician diagnosis and the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly. Results: A total of 6220 individuals aged 65 years and older enrolled in the study (median [interquartile range] age at baseline, 73.2 [68.1-78.3] years; 3410 [54.8%] female). Of these, 463 individuals (7.4%) had new cases of dementia ascertained in the 12 years between 2002-2003 and 2014-2015. In the cohort born between 1926 and 1943, the hazard of developing dementia was 1.68 times higher (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.68 [95% CI, 1.05-2.86]) for those in the lowest wealth quintile compared with those in the highest quintile, independent of education, index of multiple deprivation, and health indicators. Higher hazards were also observed for those in the second-highest quintile of index of multiple deprivation (HR = 1.62 [95% CI, 1.06-2.46]) compared with those in the lowest (least deprived) quintile. Conclusions and Relevance: In an English nationally representative sample, the incidence of dementia appeared to be socioeconomically patterned primarily by the level of wealth. This association was somewhat stronger for participants born in later years.The work was supported by the National Institute on Aging (grants 5218182, RO1AG7644-01A1, and RO1AG017644). The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing is funded by the National Institute on Aging (grant RO1AG7644) and by a consortium of UK government departments coordinated by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Office for National Statistics. Dr Batty is also supported by the UK Medical Research Council

Health behaviour changes after type 2 diabetes diagnosis: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Healthy lifestyle is key for type 2 diabetes (T2D) management. It is unclear whether individuals change health behaviours in response to T2D diagnosis. We compared smoking, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake and alcohol consumption at three times (pre-diagnosis, at diagnosis, 2-4 years post-diagnosis) in individuals who developed T2D and controls. Behaviours were assessed in 6877 individuals at waves 3-7 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine differences by group and time and group-by-time interactions. The T2D group were less active (p < 0.001) and consumed less alcohol (p < 0.001). Smoking (p < 0.001), alcohol consumption (p = 0.037) and physical activity (p = 0.042) decreased over time in the overall sample, fruit and vegetable intake (p = 0.012) and sedentary activity (p < 0.001) increased. A group-by-time interaction was found for smoking, with the T2D group having greater reductions in smoking over time (p < 0.001). No significant interactions were detected for other behaviours. We found limited evidence that T2D diagnosis encourages behaviour change, other than a reduction in smoking. Given the importance of lifestyle for T2D outcomes, strategies for motivating behaviour change need to be identified