PLoS medicine
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Late-life exposure to ambient air pollution is a modifiable risk factor for dementia, but epidemiological studies have shown inconsistent evidence for cognitive decline. Air quality (AQ) improvement has been associated with improved cardiopulmonary health and decreased mortality, but to the best of our knowledge, no studies have examined the association with cognitive function. We examined whether AQ improvement was associated with slower rate of cognitive decline in older women aged 74 to 92 years. ⋯ In this study, we found that greater improvement in long-term AQ in late life was associated with slower cognitive declines in older women. This novel observation strengthens the epidemiologic evidence of an association between air pollution and cognitive aging.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The impact of pictorial health warnings on purchases of sugary drinks for children: A randomized controlled trial.
Pictorial warnings on tobacco products are promising for motivating behavior change, but few studies have examined pictorial warnings for sugary drinks, especially in naturalistic environments. This study aimed to examine the impact of pictorial warnings on parents' purchases of sugary drinks for their children in a naturalistic store laboratory. ⋯ Pictorial warnings reduced parents' purchases of sugary drinks for their children in this naturalistic trial. Warnings on sugary drinks are a promising policy approach to reduce sugary drink purchasing in the US.
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Low lung function is associated with high mortality and adverse cardiopulmonary outcomes. Less is known of its association with broader health indices such as self-reported respiratory symptoms, perceived general health, and cognitive and physical performance. The present study seeks to address the association between forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), an indicator of lung function, with broad markers of general health, relevant to aging trajectory in the general population. ⋯ We observed graded associations between lower FEV1 with higher odds of disabling respiratory symptoms, perceived poor general health, and lower cognitive and physical performance. These findings support the broader implications of measured lung function on general health and aging trajectory.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Information nudges for influenza vaccination: Evidence from a large-scale cluster-randomized controlled trial in Finland.
Vaccination is the most effective means of preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Despite the proven benefits of vaccination, vaccine hesitancy keeps many people from getting vaccinated. ⋯ In this study, we found that sending reminders was an effective and scalable intervention strategy to increase vaccination coverage in an older adult population with low vaccination coverage. Communicating the social benefits of vaccinations, in addition to individual benefits, did not enhance vaccination coverage. The effectiveness of letter reminders about the benefits of vaccination to improve influenza vaccination coverage may depend on the prior vaccination history of the population.
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Dipender Gill and Stephen Burgess discuss the accompanying study by James Yarmolinsky and colleagues investigating the associations between genetically-proxied inhibition of antihypertensive drug targets and risk of common cancer subtypes using Mendelian randomization.