Population-based Longitudinal Study Research Articles

Increased risk of cardiovascular events under the treatments with Janus kinase inhibitors versus biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a retrospective longitudinal population-based study using the Japanese health insurance database

ObjectivesTo compare the risk of cardiovascular events among Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKIs), biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) (tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFIs) and non-TNFIs) and methotrexate (MTX) in Japanese patients...

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children overweight in Japan in 2020.

This study aimed to explore the association between the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and overweight incidence among preadolescent elementary school children in Japan. A population-based longitudinal study was conducted in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan, using data from the Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study. The control group (2016-2018) comprised 434 children, and the COVID-19 exposure group (2018-2020) included 3500 children. Overweight was defined as a body mass index (BMI) z-score of 1 SD or more according to the World Health Organization standards. The study design involved comparing BMI z-scores before and after exposure to the pandemic, considering the associated lifestyle changes and potential consequences on physical activity, parental employment status and income. By 6th grade, the prevalence of overweight increased from 17.7% to 19.2% in the control group and 22.5% to 29.5% in the COVID-19 exposure group. Difference-in-differences analysis revealed that children's exposure to COVID-19 significantly increased BMI z-scores (coefficient 0.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14-0.29) and a higher odds ratio of overweight (odds ratio 2.51, 95% CI 1.12-5.62), even after adjusting for time-varying covariates. The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with an increased prevalence of overweight among elementary school children in Japan.

Association of sleep fragmentation with general and abdominal obesity: a population-based longitudinal study.

To evaluate the causal relationship between sleep fragmentation (SF) parameters with general and abdominal obesity in free-living conditions. SF parameters were assessed by ActiGraph accelerometers for 7 consecutive days. Obesity was measured at baseline and 1-year follow-up with InBody S10 body composition analyzer. At baseline, the mean age of the study population was 18.7 years old (SD = 0.9) and 139 (35.7%) were male. Each 1-unit increase of baseline sleep fragmentation index (SFI) was associated with 0.08 kg/m2-increase of body mass index (BMI) (95% CI: 0.03, 0.14), 0.20%-increase of percentage of body fat (PBF) (95% CI: 0.07, 0.32), 0.15 kg-increase of fat mass (FM) (95% CI: 0.03, 0.27), 0.15 cm-increase of waist circumference (WC) (95% CI: 0.03, 0.26) and 0.91 cm2-increase of visceral fat area (VFA) (95% CI: 0.36, 1.46) at the 1-year follow-up. In addition, each 1-unit increase of baseline SFI was associated with 15% increased risk of general obesity (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.04-1.28; p = 0.006) and 7% increased risk of abdominal obesity (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01-1.13; p = 0.021) in the following year. Fragmented sleep is independently associated with an increased risk of both general and abdominal obesity. The result highlights SF as a modifiable risk factor for the prevention and treatment of obesity.

Colliding harms of gambling and gaming: A four-wave longitudinal population study of at-risk gambling and gaming in Finland.

Aims: Both gambling and digital gaming are growing in popularity and there is ongoing discussion about their convergence. This population-based longitudinal survey study investigated how gambling and digital gaming types contribute to at-risk gambling and gaming. Methods: The study was based on a representative sample of 18-75-year-olds from mainland Finland. Survey data were collected at 6-month intervals in 2021-2022, starting in April 2021. Of original T1 respondents, 58.95% took part in all four time points. In total, 3,608 observations from 902 individuals were analysed. Outcome measures were at-risk gambling and gaming based on the Problem Gambling Severity Index and the Internet Gaming Disorder Test. Various types of gambling and gaming were investigated. Results: Population-averaged models showed that different forms of gambling were associated with a higher risk of at-risk gaming. Online casino games were associated with the highest likelihood of at-risk gambling and gaming. Prevalence of digital gaming problems was low. Hybrid models were used to investigate the longitudinal within-person and between-person effects of gambling and gaming activities. Online casino games and offline slot machines increased at-risk gambling. Microtransactions within digital games increased at-risk gambling and gaming over time, but the amount of money spent on digital gaming was small compared to gambling. Conclusions: Our results underline the risks of EGMs and online gambling for the participants. Although gambling and gaming are converging, harm is mostly based on gambling.

School belonging mediates the association between negative school climate and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents: a national population-based longitudinal study

BackgroundA negative school climate is an important factor affecting students’ mental health. However, few studies have focused on the mechanisms underlying the relationship. This study aimed to explore the mediating effect of school belonging on the association between negative school climate and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents, using a nationwide longitudinal survey.MethodsWe conducted a longitudinal study using data from the 2013 (T1) and 2014 (T2) waves of the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS). A negative school climate was assessed by school administrators’ reports. School belonging and depressive symptoms were evaluated using adolescents’ self-reports. We used a cross-lagged panel model to explore the mediating effect of school belonging on the association between negative school climate and depressive symptoms, adjusting for a set of covariates.ResultsIn total, 7,049 Chinese adolescents with a mean age of 12.9 years were included in this study. The results of the cross-lagged model showed that negative school climate at T1 was significantly negatively associated with school belonging at T2 (β = −0.089, 95%CI = −0.111–−0.067, p < 0.001), and was positively associated with depressive symptoms at T2 (β = 0.032, 95%CI = 0.012–0.054, p = 0.002). In addition, school belonging at T1 was significantly negatively associated with depressive symptoms at T2 (β = −0.025, 95%CI = −0.050–−0.001, p = 0.045). Mediation analysis showed that school belonging played a mediating role in the association between negative school climate and depressive symptoms (β = 0.002, 95%CI = 0.001–0.005, p = 0.041).ConclusionAmong Chinese adolescents, a negative school climate is associated with a greater risk of depressive symptoms. Improving school belonging may be helpful in decreasing the impact of a negative school climate on depressive symptoms in adolescents.

The Link between Abdominal Obesity Indices and the Progression of Liver Fibrosis: Insights from a Population-Based Study.

There is currently no available information on the correlation between abdominal obesity indices and the risk of liver fibrosis progression. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and the visceral adiposity index (VAI) with the progression of liver fibrosis. The study also evaluated the association between these indices and the prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and liver fibrosis. A total of 1403 subjects participated in the cross-sectional and longitudinal population-based study. Liver stiffness was assessed via transient elastography, at baseline and follow-up (median: 4.2 years). The subgroup with dysglycemia was also analyzed. In the cross-sectional study, the highest quartile of VAI, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, and abdominal obesity showed significant associations with the prevalence of MASLD and liver fibrosis, as well as with fibrosis progression. However, VAI showed no association with MASLD incidence. Among the dysglycemic subjects, there was no observed association between VAI and the incidence of MASLD or the progression of fibrosis. In conclusion, the BMI, WC, and the VAI are associated with an increased risk of progression to moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis in the general population. However, the VAI does not perform better than the BMI and WC measurement.

Polycystic ovary syndrome presents as a multimorbid condition by age 50: birth cohort linkage to national register data.

This population-based follow-up study investigated register-based disease diagnoses and medication use up till age of 50 years among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) that were identified from a population-based birth cohort. Population-based longitudinal cohort study. Women reporting oligo/amenorrhea and hirsutism at age 31 and/or who were diagnosed with PCOS by a physician by age 46 (n = 244) and women without PCOS symptoms or diagnosis (n = 1556) in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. National register data on diagnosed diseases (International Statistical Classification of Diseases [ICD]-8-10) and medication use (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical) until the age of 50. Women with PCOS had a 26% higher risk for any registered diagnosis (risk ratio [RR]: 1.26 [1.09-1.46]) and a 24% higher risk for medication use (RR: 1.24 [1.05-1.46]) compared with non-PCOS women, even after adjusting for several confounders. Several main ICD categories were more prevalent among women with PCOS versus non-PCOS controls, eg, endocrine, metabolic, nervous system, musculoskeletal, and genitourinary diseases in addition with different symptoms and injuries. Surprisingly, even though the overall morbidity was only increased in women with PCOS with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2, there were several ICD main categories that showed higher comorbidity risk especially in women with PCOS with a BMI < 25 kg/m2. Several medications were prescribed more often to women with PCOS versus non-PCOS controls, eg, medications related to the alimentary tract and metabolism, the cardiovascular system, genitourinary system drugs and sex hormones, dermatologic and hormonal preparations, and medications to treat the musculoskeletal, nervous, and respiratory systems. Women with PCOS are burdened with multimorbidity and higher medication use, independent of BMI and other confounders. Accordingly, preventive strategies are needed to alleviate the disease burden and improve the health outcomes of women with PCOS.

Influence of individuals' determinants including vaccine type on cellular and humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

Vaccine development targeting SARS-CoV-2 in 2020 was of critical importance in reducing COVID-19 severity and mortality. In the U.K. during the initial roll-out most individuals either received two doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2) or the adenovirus-based vaccine from Oxford/AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1-nCoV-19). There are conflicting data as to the impact of age, sex and body habitus on cellular and humoral responses to vaccination, and most studies in this area have focused on determinants of mRNA vaccine immunogenicity. Here, we studied a cohort of participants in a population-based longitudinal study (COVIDENCE UK) to determine the influence of age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and pre-vaccination anti-Spike (anti-S) antibody status on vaccine-induced humoral and cellular immune responses to two doses of BNT162b2 or ChAdOx-n-CoV-19 vaccination. Younger age and pre-vaccination anti-S seropositivity were both associated with stronger antibody responses to vaccination. BNT162b2 generated higher neutralising and anti-S antibody titres to vaccination than ChAdOx1-nCoV-19, but cellular responses to the two vaccines were no different. Irrespective of vaccine type, increasing age was also associated with decreased frequency of cytokine double-positive CD4+T cells. Increasing BMI was associated with reduced frequency of SARS-CoV-2-specific TNF+CD8% T cells for both vaccines. Together, our findings demonstrate that increasing age and BMI are associated with attenuated cellular and humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Whilst both vaccines induced T cell responses, BNT162b2 induced significantly elevated humoral immune response as compared to ChAdOx-n-CoV-19.

A critique and examination of the polysocial risk score approach: predicting cognition in the Health and Retirement Study.

Polysocial risk scores were recently proposed as a strategy for improving the clinical relevance of knowledge about social determinants of health. Our objective in this study was to assess whether the polysocial risk score model improves prediction of cognition and all-cause mortality in middle-aged and older adults beyond simpler models including a smaller set of key social determinants of health. We used a sample of 13 773 individuals aged ≥50 years at baseline from the 2006-2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a US population-based longitudinal cohort study. Four linear mixed models were compared: 2 simple models including a priori-selected covariates and 2 polysocial risk score models which used least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regularization to select covariates among 9 or 21 candidate social predictors. All models included age. Predictive accuracy was assessed via R2 and root mean-squared prediction error (RMSPE) using training/test split validation and cross-validation. For predicting cognition, the simple model including age, race, sex, and education had an R2 value of 0.31 and an RMSPE of 0.880. Compared with this, the most complex polysocial risk score selected 12 predictors (R2=0.35 and RMSPE=0.858; 2.2% improvement). For all-cause mortality, the simple model including age, race, sex, and education had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.747, while the most complex polysocial risk score did not demonstrate improved performance (AUROC=0.745). Models built on a smaller set of key social determinants performed comparably to models built on a more complex set of social "risk factors."

Impact of aging on acute myeloid leukemia epidemiology and survival outcomes: A real-world, population-based longitudinal cohort study.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a severe and fatal form of leukemia that is prevalent in the older population. In this longitudinal retrospective study, we investigated the epidemiology and survival rates of patients diagnosed with de novo acute myeloid leukemia in South Korea from Jan 1, 2011, to Aug 31, 2020. We used real-world data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database. We observed an increase in the number of acute myeloid leukemia cases, with age-specific incidence rates escalating in older patients. In contrast a long-term decrease from 1.94 to 1.77 per 100,000 individuals was found in the age-standardized incidence rates. Meanwhile, age-standardized prevalence rates ascended from 8.93 to 9.67 per 100,000 individuals, with a remarkable increase in the age-specific prevalence rate for those aged 80 years and above. Survival rates were notably better in younger or treated patients, and in those who underwent Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The time of diagnosis did not affect the survival of patients younger than 65 years. However, the most recent survival rates were significantly lower for patients 65 or older, as shown in the unadjusted Cox survival analysis. After adjustments in the analysis, it was found that the overall survival rates of the most recently diagnosed group improved significantly compared with those diagnosed earlier, with a hazard ratio of 0.90 (95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.97). This improvement may potentially be influenced by the enhanced treatment alternatives available for newly diagnosed older patients aged 65 years or older. In conclusion, aging appears to fuel an increase in the number of acute myeloid leukemia cases and mortality. Further studies are warranted to understand the impact of aging on acute myeloid leukemia treatment outcomes and devise efficacious care strategies for older patients.

Elevated risk of sexually transmitted infections among adolescents and young adults with borderline personality disorder: a retrospective longitudinal nationwide population-based study.

In this study, we examined the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with borderline personality disorder (BPD). A total of 4649 AYAs with BPD and 46,490 age-, sex-, and socioeconomic-matched controls without BPD were enrolled from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan from 2001 to 2009 and were followed up until the end of 2011. Participants who contracted any STI during the follow-up period were identified. Cox regression analysis was conducted to examine the risk of contracting any STI among both patients and controls. A total of 4649 AYAs with BPD and 46,490 age-, sex-, and socioeconomic-matched controls without BPD were enrolled from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan from 2001 to 2009 and were followed up until the end of 2011. Participants who contracted any STI (ICD-9-CM code 042, 091-097, 087.11, 078.8, 078.88, 131, and 054.1) during the follow-up period were identified. Cox regression and sub-analyses stratified by sex, age, psychiatric comorbidity subgroups, and psychotropic medication usage were conducted to assess STI risk. AYAs with BPD were at a higher risk of contracting any STI (hazard ratio [HR] = 50.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 33.45-77.11) in comparison with controls, including HIV, syphilis, genital warts, gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and genital herpes. The association of BPD with an increased risk of any STI was prevalent in both sexes, adolescents, and young adult patients. BPD with or without psychiatric comorbid subgroup were all associated with an elevated risk of contracting any STI relative to the control group. AYAs with BPD are highly susceptible to contracting STIs. Future studies should examine the role of the core symptoms of BPD, sexual orientation, risky sex behaviors, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and substance use before sex in the risk of STIs among AYAs with BPD.

Association between blood pressure and new onset of chronic kidney disease in non-diabetic Japanese adults: A population-based longitudinal study from 1998 to 2023

Background and aimsHypertension is a risk factor for developing chronic kidney disease (CKD). Studies of adult participants in the USA reported that hypertension increased the risk of developing CKD even in the non-diabetic population. However, studies in non-diabetic populations are limited and additional studies in other races are required. This study aimed to examine the relationship between hypertension and the development of CKD in non-diabetic Asian adults. Methods and resultsIn this longitudinal study, non-diabetic Japanese adults who took annual checkups from 1998 to 2023 were included. CKD was defined as <60 mL/min/1.73 m2, and hypertension was classified into four levels according to the guidelines of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association. The Weibull accelerated failure time model was selected because the proportional hazards assumption was violated. Of the 7363 (men: 40.3%) people in the final cohort, 2498 (men: 40.1%) developed CKD after a mean follow-up of 7.99 years. Elevated blood pressure (BP) and hypertension stage 2 had a 9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1%–16%) and 11% (95% CI: 5%–17%) shorter survival time to CKD onset, respectively, than normal BP. Hypertension stage 1 also had a shorter survival to CKD onset by point estimate, but all 95% CIs crossed 1 in all models. ConclusionsIn a relatively healthy Asian population without diabetes, controlling BP to an appropriate range reduces the risk of developing CKD.

Child Sexual Abuse Victimization Amongst Detained Adolescents and Incarcerated Young Adults: Findings from an Australian Population-Based Birth Cohort Study

ABSTRACT To guide prevention and intervention efforts, the prevalence and impact of child sexual abuse (CSA) victimization among detained and incarcerated populations requires further examination, particularly with consideration of multi-type maltreatment experiences and sex-based variations. This longitudinal population-based study explores these relationships in an Australian birth cohort comprising all individuals born in Queensland in 1983 and 1984 (n = 82,409; 48.68% female). Data include all notified and substantiated harm(s) from child protection services (0 to 17 years), and sentences to youth detention and/or adult incarceration between ages 10 and 30. Findings indicate greater prevalence of CSA amongst detained/incarcerated individuals compared to the general population but emphasize the impact of cooccurring maltreatment (particularly neglect) on the likelihood of custodial outcomes. Important sex-based differences were noted in the intersection of CSA victimization and detention/incarceration. Findings reinforce the need for trauma-informed practices when working with custodial populations, particularly females, and highlight opportunities for prevention of detention/incarceration in at-risk populations, in line with a broader public health approach to child protection.

Physical activity trajectories and all-cause mortality in type 1 diabetes: A nationwide longitudinal study

AimsTo identify physical activity trajectories, explore the factors associated with them and assess their relationship with all-cause mortality. MethodsThis was a population-based longitudinal cohort study, with data from all specialist care units for type 1 diabetes in Sweden. A total of 48.921 adult patients were included, each with at least 3 registrations of physical activity, and a maximum follow-up of 14 years. The main outcomes were the longitudinal physical activity trajectories and all-cause mortality. ResultsOf 48.921 patients, 55.9% were males and mean (SD) age was 39.7(16.7). Four physical activity trajectories were identified: Steady Low (10.8%), Decreaser (12.7%), Increaser (20.7%) and Steady High (55.8%). Female sex, higher education, higher income, normal BMI, fewer comorbidities and foot free from diabetic disease were significantly associated with sustained high physical activity. Compared to the steady low group, the decreaser, increaser, and steady high physical activity groups exhibited lower adjusted risk of all-cause mortality (53–73% reduction). ConclusionsConsistently low physical activity is associated with higher all-cause mortality. This study underscores the importance of identifying patients at risk of low physical activity and tailoring personalized approaches to promote sustained physical activity in type 1 diabetes, ultimately improving outcomes.

Use of combined oral contraceptive pills in women with and without PCOS: A longitudinal population-based cohort study

Use of combined oral contraceptive pills in women with and without PCOS: A longitudinal population-based cohort study

The Chinese keratoconus (CKC) cohort study.

The Chinese keratoconus (CKC) cohort study is a population-based longitudinal prospective cohort study in the Chinese population involving a clinical database and biobanks. This ongoing study focuses on the prevention of KC progression and is the first to involve the effect of gene‒environment interactions on KC progression. The CKC cohort is hospital-based and dynamic and was established in Zhengzhou, China; KC patients (n = 1114) from a large geographical area were enrolled from January 2019 to June 2023, with a mean age of 22.23 years (6‒57 years). Demographic details, socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle, disease history, surgical history, family history, and visual and social function data are being collected using questionnaires. General physical examination, eye examination, biological specimen collection, and first-degree relative data were collected and analyzed in the present study. The primary focus of the present study was placed on gene, environment and the effect of gene‒environment interactions on KC progression. The follow-up of the CKC cohort study is expected to include data collection at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after the initial examination and then at the annual follow-up examinations. The first follow-up of the CKC cohort study was recorded. A total of 918 patients completed the follow-up by June 1, 2023, with a response rate of 82.40%. Aside from the younger age of patients who were followed up, no significant differences were found between patients who were followed up and patients who were not.

Nutritional risk and adverse health outcomes in Chinese community-dwelling older adults: A study based on the Elderly Nutritional Indicators for Geriatric Malnutrition Assessment (ENIGMA)

ObjectivesMalnutrition and nutritional risk are risk factors for many adverse health outcomes in older adults, but they have rarely been assessed in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the availability of Elderly Nutritional Indicators for Geriatric Malnutrition Assessment (ENIGMA), a nutritional scale originally developed to predict mortality, in assessing nutritional risks and predicting adverse health outcomes in Chinese community-dwelling older adults. MethodsThis was a population-based longitudinal cohort study (Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey), with a 4-y follow-up of 2063 community-dwelling adults aged 65 y or older. Nutritional risks were assessed via the use of ENIGMA and Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) at baseline (the 2014 wave). Cognitive impairment, functional limitation, and frailty were evaluated using the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living/Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale, and Frailty Index, respectively, at baseline and 4-y follow-up (the 2018 wave). Mortality was measured by survival status and duration of exposure to death from baseline to follow-up. The associations of nutritional risks with prevalent/incident cognitive impairment, functional limitation and frailty, and 4-y mortality were estimated using logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusting for confounders. The discriminatory accuracy of ENIGMA and GNRI for these adverse health outcomes were compared by receiver operating characteristic analyses. ResultsAccording to ENIGMA, 48.6% of the Chinese community-dwelling older adults (age: 86.5±11.3 y) showed moderate and high nutritional risk. Nutritional risks defined by the ENIGMA were significantly associated with increased prevalence and incidence of cognitive impairment, functional limitation, and frailty (odds ratio ranging from 1.79 to 89.6, values ranging from P < 0.001 to 0.048) but were mostly insignificant for that defined by GNRI. With respect to 4-y mortality, nutritional risks as defined by GNRI showed better prediction effects than those defined by ENIGMA. Receiver operating characteristic analyses indicated that nutritional risks defined by ENIGMA had better discriminatory accuracy than those defined by GNRI for prevalent and incident cognitive impairment (C = 0.73 vs 0.64, P < 0.001; C = 0.65 vs 0.59, P = 0.015, respectively), functional limitation (C = 0.74 vs 0.63, P < 0.001 at baseline; C = 0.61 vs 0.56, P = 0.016 at follow-up), frailty (C = 0.85 vs 0.67, P < 0.001 at baseline; C = 0.64 vs 0.55, P < 0.001 at follow-up), and even 4-y mortality (C = 0.68 vs 0.64, P = 0.020). ConclusionsENIGMA could serve as a nutritional risk screening tool that has a robust role in predicting cognitive impairment, functional limitation, and frailty in Chinese community-dwelling older adults. It may be recommended for early nutritional risk screening and has the potential to guide early nutritional intervention in communities and primary care settings in China.

Social health and subsequent cognitive functioning in people aged 50 years and older: examining the mediating roles of depressive symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers in two European longitudinal studies

Social health markers, including marital status, contact frequency, network size, and social support, have been shown to be associated with cognition. However, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain poorly understood. We investigated whether depressive symptoms and inflammation mediated associations between social health and subsequent cognition. In the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a nationally representative longitudinal study in England, UK, we sampled 7136 individuals aged 50 years or older living in private households without dementia at baseline or at the intermediate mediator assessment timepoint, who had recorded information on at least one social health marker and potential mediator. We used four-way decomposition to examine to what extent depressive symptoms, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen mediated associations between social health and subsequent standardised cognition (verbal fluency and delayed and immediate recall), including cognitive change, with slopes derived from multilevel models (12-year slope). We examined whether findings were replicated in the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K), a population-based longitudinal study in Sweden, in a sample of 2604 individuals aged 60 years or older living at home or in institutions in Kungsholmen (central Stockholm) without dementia at baseline or at the intermediate mediator assessment timepoint (6-year slope). Social health exposures were assessed at baseline, potential mediators were assessed at an intermediate timepoint (wave 2 in ELSA and 6-year follow-up in SNAC-K); cognitive outcomes were assessed at a single timepoint (wave 3 in ELSA and 12-year follow-up in SNAC-K), and cognitive change (between waves 3 and 9 in ELSA and between 6-year and 12-year follow-ups in SNAC-K). The study sample included 7136 participants from ELSA, of whom 3962 (55·5%) were women and 6934 (97·2%) were White; the mean baseline age was 63·8 years (SD 9·4). Replication analyses included 2604 participants from SNAC-K, of whom 1604 (61·6%) were women (SNAC-K did not collect ethnicity data); the mean baseline age was 72·3 years (SD 10·1). In ELSA, we found indirect effects via depressive symptoms of network size, positive support, and less negative support on subsequent verbal fluency, and of positive support on subsequent immediate recall (pure indirect effect [PIE] 0·002 [95% CI 0·001-0·003]). Depressive symptoms also partially mediated associations between less negative support and slower decline in immediate recall (PIE 0·001 [0·000-0·002]) and in delayed recall (PIE 0·001 [0·000-0·002]), and between positive support and slower decline in immediate recall (PIE 0·001 [0·000-0·001]). We did not observe mediation by inflammatory biomarkers. Findings of mediation by depressive symptoms in the association between positive support and verbal fluency and between positive support and change in immediate recall were replicated in SNAC-K. The findings of this study provide new insights into mechanisms linking social health with cognition, suggesting that associations between interactional aspects of social health, especially social support, and cognition are partly underpinned by depressive symptoms. EU Joint Programme-Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) and Alzheimer's Society. For the Swedish translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Polygenic Risk Score for C-Reactive Protein is Associated With Accelerated Cortical Thinning and Increased Psychopathology in Adolescents: A Population-Based Longitudinal Cohort Study

Polygenic Risk Score for C-Reactive Protein is Associated With Accelerated Cortical Thinning and Increased Psychopathology in Adolescents: A Population-Based Longitudinal Cohort Study

Does the effect of adolescent health behaviours on adult cardiometabolic health differ by socioeconomic background? Protocol for a population-based cohort study

IntroductionAdolescence is a sensitive period for cardiometabolic health. Yet, it remains unknown if adolescent health behaviours, such as alcohol use, smoking, diet and physical activity, have differential effects across socioeconomic...