Dairy intake and incident functional disability among older Japanese adults: the Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study

Fermented Dairy Products, Musculoskeletal and Mental Health in Older Adults: is There Evidence to Support Benefits that go Beyond Those of Non-Fermented Dairy Products?

Fermented dairy products have recently gained popularity due to their purported health benefits, nevertheless, their role in ageing remains uncertain. This narrative review aims to evaluate evidence from observational (prospective) and interventional studies on the potential benefits of fermented dairy product consumption for musculoskeletal and mental health in older adults. Additionally, it seeks to determine whether any observed benefits surpass those of non-fermented dairy products and to identify directions for future research. Prospective studies support either favourable or neutral associations of fermented dairy products with outcomes of musculoskeletal health or neutral associations with mental health outcomes, whilst it remains unclear if the benefits observed with fermented dairy products go beyond those of the non-fermented dairy foods. Few interventional studies suggest overall favourable effects of yogurt and cheese on musculoskeletal health in older adults but given their small number (N = 6) and heterogeneity, they do not allow a clear assessment or definitive recommendations for fermented dairy intake. Interventional studies reporting mental health outcomes are largely lacking for this age group (N = 1). Given the very limited evidence for the effectiveness of fermented dairy products, future well-designed prospective and randomized controlled trials are needed to better understand their benefits (especially compared to those of non-fermented dairy foods), their characteristics and the quantities required to offer protection against musculoskeletal and/or mental health ageing.

Utilization of Japanese long-term care-related data including Kaigo-DB: An analysis of current trends and future directions

Despite high expectations from the government and researchers regarding data utilization, comprehensive analysis of long-term care (LTC)-related data use has been limited. This study reviewed the use of LTC-related data, including Kaigo-DB, in Japan after 2020. There was an increase in studies using LTC-related data in Japan between 2020 and 2021, followed by a stabilization period. The national government provided 13.5% of this data (6.5% from Kaigo-DB), while prefectures and municipalities contributed 85.2%, and facilities provided 1.3%. The linked data used in 90.4% of the studies primarily consisted of original questionnaire or interview surveys (34.6%) and medical claims (34.0%). None of the studies based on Kaigo-DB utilized linked data. In terms of study design, cohort studies were the most common (84.6%), followed by descriptive (5.1%), cross-sectional (3.2%), and case-control studies (1.3%). Among the 138 individual-based analytical descriptive studies, the most frequently used LTC-related data as an exposure was LTC services (26.8%), and the most common data used as an outcome was LTC certification or care need level (43.5%), followed by the independence degree of daily living for the older adults with dementia (18.1%). To enhance the use of LTC-related data, especially the valuable national Kaigo-DB, insights can be gleaned from how researchers effectively utilize municipal and prefectural data. Streamlining access to Kaigo-DB and enabling its linkage with other datasets are promising for future research in this field.

Association between psychological distress and disability-free life expectancy in the older Japanese adults

BACKGROUND

Our study aimed to investigate the association between psychological distress and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE).

METHODS

In 2006, a cohort study was conducted of 12,365 Japanese individuals aged ≥65 years, who were followed-up for 13 years. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler 6-item psychological distress scale and was categorized into no (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-12), and serious distress (13-24). The number of participants was 1277 (22.4 %) for mild distress, 330 (5.8 %) for moderate, and 208 (3.6 %) for serious in men, and was 1635 (24.6 %), 467 (7.0 %), and 384 (5.8 %) in women. Sex-specific DFLE was defined as the mean years a person could expect to live without disability and calculated by Interpolated Markov Chain (IMaCh) software.

RESULTS

Compared to no distress, DFLE loss per person was 1.21, 2.61, and 4.43 years for mild, moderate, and serious distress respectively in men. At population level, DFEL loss (i.e., DFLE loss per person×number of participants) was 1545.17, 861.30, and 921.44 years for mild, moderate, and serious distress respectively in men. Accordingly, 46.4 % of the total DFLE loss was attributable to mild distress, 25.9 % to moderate, and 27.7 % to serious in men. Similarly, the results were 42.2 %, 25.4 %, and 32.4 % in women.

LIMITATIONS

Psychological distress was measured only once at baseline, and 2409 participants were excluded from the analysis because of missing data on exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

At population level, almost half of the total DFLE loss could be attributable to mild distress, underscoring the importance of population strategy for all levels of distress in promoting healthy aging.

Alzheimer's Disease Genetic Influences Impact the Associations between Diet and Resting-State Functional Connectivity: A Study from the UK Biobank

BACKGROUND

Red wine and dairy products have been staples in human diets for a long period. However, the impact of red wine and dairy intake on brain network activity remains ambiguous and requires further investigation.

METHODS

This study investigated the associations between dairy and red wine consumption and seven neural networks' connectivity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from a sub-cohort of the UK Biobank database. Linear mixed models were employed to regress dairy and red wine consumption against the intrinsic functional connectivity for each neural network. Interactions with Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk factors, including apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) genotype, TOMM40 genotype, and family history of AD, were also assessed.

RESULT

More red wine consumption was associated with enhanced connectivity in the central executive function network and posterior default mode network. Greater milk intake was correlated with more left executive function network connectivity, while higher cheese consumption was linked to reduced posterior default mode network connectivity. For participants without a family history of Alzheimer's disease (AD), increased red wine consumption was positively correlated with enhanced left executive function network connectivity. In contrast, participants with a family history of AD displayed diminished network connectivity in relation to their red wine consumption. The association between cheese consumption and neural network connectivity was influenced by APOE4 status, TOMM40 status, and family history, exhibiting contrasting patterns across different subgroups.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study indicate that family history modifies the relationship between red wine consumption and network strength. The interaction effects between cheese intake and network connectivity may vary depending on the presence of different genetic factors.