Vitamin D and Dementia

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Researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute in Canada and the University of Exeter in the UK explored the relationship between vitamin D supplementation and dementia in more than 12,388 participants of the US National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center, who had a mean age of 71 and were dementia-free when they signed up. Of the group, 37 per cent (4,637) took vitamin D supplements.

In the study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, the team found that taking vitamin D was associated with living dementia-free for longer, and they also found 40 per cent fewer dementia diagnoses in the group who took supplements.

University of Exeter. “Taking vitamin D could help prevent dementia: Taking vitamin D supplements may help ward off dementia, according to a new, large-scale study..” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230301101511.htm (accessed March 1, 2023) — https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230301101511.htm

Journal Reference:

Maryam Ghahremani, Eric E. Smith, Hung‐Yu Chen, Byron Creese, Zahra Goodarzi, Zahinoor Ismail. Vitamin D supplementation and incident dementia: Effects of sex, APOE , and baseline cognitive status. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 2023; 15 (1) DOI: 10.1002/dad2.12404

Alcohol Consumption and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review [Internet]

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Twenty-five studies compared those who consumed alcohol with never drinkers. Approximately half of the studies reported significant findings that low average alcohol consumption (particularly without binge drinking) was associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality compared with never drinking alcohol, approximately half of the studies indicated no significant relationship, and two studies reported that low alcohol consumption was significantly associated with greater all-cause mortality compared to never drinking alcohol.

Mayer-Davis E, Leidy H, Mattes R, Naimi T, Novotny R, Schneeman B, Kingshipp BJ, Spill M, Cole NC, Butera G, Terry N, Obbagy J. Alcohol Consumption and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review [Internet]. Alexandria (VA): USDA Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review; 2020 Jul. PMID: 35353467. — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35353467/

I think I’ll have a beer.

Troubling Trends

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Early adolescence is characterized by wide-reaching hormonal changes, as well as physiological changes throughout the body. At the same time, all sorts of neural, cognitive and social shifts are happening. These changes could make social-media environments, such as those provided by Snapchat or TikTok, particularly alluring, but also especially impactful on mental health9–11. Several developmental-psychology studies have shown, for instance, that adolescents — particularly those in early to mid-adolescence — place increased importance on being able to interact with their peers, and on what their peers think of them12. Other studies suggest that although young children tend to view themselves positively, as they become adolescents, their ideas about themselves come to more closely align with what they perceive others to think of them13,14. Still more work has shown that being rejected or not being included has a greater impact on mood for those in early to mid-adolescence than for people older than 2515.

How social media affects teen mental health: a missing link — Nature 614, 410-412 (2023) — https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00402-9

I Thought I Told You To Put That Phone Down!

If I have to tell you one more time to Put The Phone Away…

Yikes!

Kaiser Permanente $4.5B loss in 2022

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Nonprofit hospital and health plan operator Kaiser Permanente on Friday posted a $4.5 billion net loss in 2022, compared to a $8.1 billion net gain in 2021, as the integrated system struggled with billions of dollars in investment losses, a rise in care volume and ongoing labor shortages.

Kaiser’s $4.5B loss in 2022 driven by labor expenses, investment losses — https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/kaiser-reports-13b-operating-loss-2022-driven-by-expenses-inflation/642595/

Yikes.

Meet Bobi, the World’s Oldest Dog

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At 30 years and 266 days old, a Portuguese dog named Bobi was crowned the world’s oldest dog ever on February 1, breaking an almost century-old record, per Guinness World Records (GWR). The previous titleholder, an Australian cattle dog named Bluey, was born in 1910 and lived for 29 years and 5 months. 

Meet Bobi, the World’s Oldest Dog — https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-bobi-the-worlds-oldest-dog-180981601/

See for yourself.

Bobi is 164 years old in human years. See https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/how-to-calculate-dog-years-to-human-years/

Food Addiction

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Addiction to Highly Processed Food Among Older Adults — https://www.healthyagingpoll.org/reports-more/report/addiction-highly-processed-food-among-older-adults

Read the press release here – https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/1-8-americans-over-50-show-signs-food-addiction-u-m-poll-finds

Read more about the Yale Food Addiction Scale here – https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/fastlab/yale-food-addiction-scale/

Step 1: I admit I am powerless over pizza.

The picture above is a normal size slice at Benny’s. The tall beer can was strictly in the picture to provide perspective. For more about Benny’s see https://garyskitchen.net/worship-the-whale/.

The Economic Cost of Obesity

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CONCLUSIONS: The 2-part models of instrumental variables, which estimate the causal effects of obesity on direct medical costs, showed that the effect of obesity is greater than suggested by previous studies, which estimated only correlations. Much of the aggregate national cost of obesity—$260.6 billion—represents external costs, providing a rationale for interventions to prevent and reduce obesity.

J Manag Care Spec Pharm, 2021 Mar;27(3):354-366.
https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2021.20410

HT to https://www.healthcare-economist.com/2023/02/08/estimating-the-economic-cost-of-obesity/