Association of psychotropic drug use with falls among older adults in Germany. Results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults 2008-2011 (DEGS1)

<div><p>Purpose</p><p>To investigate the association of psychotropic drug use with falls among older adults in Germany based on data from the National Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults 2008–2011 (DEGS1).</p><p>Methods</p><p>DEGS1 collected data on drug use in the past 7 days and on falls occurred in the last 12 months. Study participants were older adults aged 65–79 years with complete data on drug use and falls (N = 1,833). Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were derived from logistic regression models adjusting for potential confounders including socio-demographic characteristics, health-related behaviors (alcohol drinking), body mass index and health conditions (frailty, vision impairment, disability, polypharmacy, blood pressure) as well as use of potential falls-risk-increasing drugs. SPSS complex sample methods were used for statistical analysis.</p><p>Results</p><p>Compared to people without falls, people with falls (n = 370) had a higher psychotropic drug use (33.1% vs. 20.7%, p < .001). After adjusting for potential confounders, use of psychotropic drugs overall was associated with a higher risk of falls (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.14–2.37). This was particularly true for the use of synthetic psychotropic drugs (1.57, 1.08–2.28), antidepressants overall (2.88, 1.63–5.09) or synthetic antidepressants (2.66, 1.50–4.73), specifically, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (6.22, 2.28–17.0). Similar results were found for recurrent falls.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Use of psychotropic drugs overall, especially synthetic antidepressants like SSRIs, is associated with higher risks of falls and recurrent falls among community dwelling older adults aged 65–79 years in Germany.</p></div

Association of psychotropic drug use and risk of recurrent falls.

<p>German national health interview and examination survey 2008–2011 (DEGS1).</p

Descriptive characteristics of study population.

<p>German national health interview and examination survey 2008–2011 (DEGS1).</p

Association of psychotropic drug use with risks of falls.

<p>German national health interview and examination survey 2008–2011 (DEGS1).</p

Prevalence of psychotropic drug use and potential falls-risk-increasing drug use among older adults with and without falls.

<p>German national health interview and examination survey 2008–2011 (DEGS1).</p

First-Principles Study of Intrinsic Defects in Ammonia Borane

Solid ammonia borane is a promising hydrogen storage material but suffers from a slow and ill-controlled dehydrogenation process. We studied intrinsic point defects that might play a role for hydrogen release by means of first-principles calculations augmented with van der Waals (vdW) corrections. The vdW corrections proved to be crucial for structural properties and also for energies in some cases. For vacancy and interstitial defects of single H as well as of molecular (NH₃, BH₃) type, we determined formation energies and local lattice structures of the defects in various charge states. Atomic H-related vacancies and interstitials exist predominantly in charged states in agreement with their chemical, i.e., protonic or hydridic, character. For molecular defects, some NH₃- and BH₃-related neutral defects have rather low formation energies, suggesting that the dehydrogenation of undoped ammonia borane is initiated by the cleavage of the B–N bond. The relaxation pictures associated with H-related defects can explain the observation of a variety of oligomeric products in experiment. Besides, some low-energy defects are found to form H₂ molecules spontaneously and thus might catalyze the dehydrogenation reaction of doped ammonia borane

Nanocomposite Membranes via the Codeposition of Polydopamine/Polyethylenimine with Silica Nanoparticles for Enhanced Mechanical Strength and High Water Permeability

A defect-free and stable selective layer is of critical significance for thin film composite membrane with excellent separation performance and service durability. We report a facial strategy for fabricating thin film nanocomposite (TFN) nanofltration membranes (NFMs) based on the codeposition of polydopamine, polyetheylenimine, and silica nanoparticles. Tripled water flux can be obtained from the TFN NFMs as compared with those NFMs without silica nanoparticles. This is ascribed to the improved wettability of the membrane surfaces and the enlarged pore sizes of the selective layer. The interfacial compatibility of the inorganic fillers and the polymer matrices can be enhanced by the electrostatic interactions of silica nanoparticles with polyethylenimine and the adhesive characteristics of polydopamine, resulting in a defect-free selective layer and then good rejection for both bivalent cations and neutral solutes. The rigid silica nanoparticles also improve the surface mechanical strength of the TFN NFMs effectively and lead to structural stability and compaction resistance during the long-term filtration process

Nanofiltration Membrane with a Mussel-Inspired Interlayer for Improved Permeation Performance

A mussel-inspired interlayer of polydopamine (PDA)/polyethylenimine (PEI) is codeposited on the ultrafiltration substrate to tune the interfacial polymerization of piperazine and trimesoyl chloride for the preparation of thin-film composite (TFC) nanofiltration membranes (NFMs). This hydrophilic interlayer results in an efficient adsorption of piperazine solution in the substrate pores. The solution height increases with the PDA/PEI codeposition time from 45 to 135 min due to the capillary effect of the substrate pores. The prepared TFC NFMs are characterized with thin and smooth polyamide selective layers by ATR/IR, XPS, FESEM, AFM, zeta potential, and water contact angle measurements. Their water permeation flux measured in a cross-flow process increases to two times as compared with those TFC NFMs without the mussel-inspired interlayer. These TFC NFMs also show a high rejection of 97% to Na₂SO₄ and an salt rejection order of Na₂SO₄ ≈ MgSO₄ > MgCl₂ > NaCl

Age-classified current MHT use prevalence in the two German national health surveys conducted before (1997–1999) and after (2003–2004) the EPT-WHI study

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Differences in Menopausal Hormone Therapy Use among Women in Germany between 1998 and 2003"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6874/7/19</p><p>BMC Women's Health 2007;7():19-19.</p><p>Published online 18 Oct 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2233614.</p><p></p> MHT = Menopausal hormone therapy. EPT-WHI = combined estrogen plus progestin therapy arm of the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.001, compared to age specific prevalence in the 1997–1999 survey

Intermolecular Hydrogen Abstraction from Hydroxy Group and Alkyl by T₁(ππ*) of 1‑Chloro-4-nitronaphthalene

Nanosecond transient absorption and theoretical calculations have been used to investigate the intermolecular hydrogen abstractions from alcohols and 1-naphthol by the lowest excited triplet (T₁) of 1-chloro-4-nitronaphthalene upon excitation of the compound in organic solvents. The hydrogen abstraction of T₁ from hydroxy group of 1-naphthol takes place through an electron transfer followed by a proton transfer through hydrogen bonding interaction with rate constants of ∼10⁹ M^–1 s^–1. Hydrogen-bonding is crucial in this process, indicated by the observation of a half reduction for T₁ yield when increasing the concentration of 1-naphthol. The hydrogen abstraction in this way can be decelerated by increasing solvent polarity and hydrogen-bonding donor ability. The T₁ of 1-chloro-4-nitronaphthalene can undergo one-step H atom abstraction from alkyl hydrogen in alcoholic solvents, with rate constants of ∼10⁴ M^–1 s^–1, and produce radical intermediates with the absorption maximum at 368 nm. DFT calculation results indicate both oxygens of the nitro group are active sites for hydrogen abstraction, and the difference of activation barriers for formation of two radical isomers is only 1.0 kcal/mol