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Background Epigenetic ageing is among the most promising ageing biomarkers and may be a useful marker of physical function decline, beyond chronological age. This study investigated whether epigenetic age acceleration (AA) is associated with the change in frailty scores over 7 years and the 7-year risk of incident frailty and persistent Activities of Daily Living (ADL) disability among 560 Australians (50.7% females) aged ≥70 years. Methods Seven AA indices, including GrimAge, GrimAge2, FitAge and DunedinPACE, were estimated from baseline peripheral-blood DNA-methylation. Frailty was assessed using both the 67-item deficit-accumulation frailty index (FI) and Fried phenotype (Fried). Persistent ADL disability was defined as loss of ability to perform one or more basic ADLs for at least 6 months. Linear mixed models and Cox proportional-hazard regression models were used as appropriate. Results Accelerated GrimAge, GrimAge2, FitAge and DunedinPACE at baseline were associated with increasing FI scores per year (adjusted-Beta ranged from 0.0015 to 0.0021, P  < 0.05), and accelerated GrimAge and GrimAge2 were associated with an increased risk of incident FI-defined frailty (adjusted-HRs 1.43 and 1.39, respectively, P  < 0.05). The association between DunedinPACE and the change in FI scores was stronger in females (adjusted-Beta 0.0029, P 0.001 than in males (adjusted-Beta 0.0002, P 0.81). DunedinPACE, but not the other AA measures, was also associated with worsening Fried scores (adjusted-Beta 0.0175, P 0.04). No associations were observed with persistent ADL disability. Conclusion Epigenetic AA in later life is associated with increasing frailty scores per year and the risk of incident FI-defined frailty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of factors which influence health after a cardiovascular disease (CVD) event will assist with reducing the high health and economic burden of CVD. We undertook a systematic review to investigate the association between social health (lower social isolation, higher social support and lower loneliness) and health and well‐being after a CVD event among people living in Australia and New Zealand. Four electronic databases were systematically searched until June 2020. Two reviewers undertook title/abstract screen. One reviewer undertook full‐text screen and data extraction. A second author either independently extracted or checked data. Narrative thematic analysis was undertaken. Of the 752 unique records retrieved, 39 papers from 29 studies met our inclusion criteria. Included studies recruited between 10 and 1,455 participants, aged 12–96 years, and the majority were male. Greater social health was consistently associated with better mental health outcomes (lower depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and psychological distress). Lower social isolation and higher social support were associated with the extent to which patient needs were being met. Living situation was not associated with mental health outcomes, and being married or living with someone was associated with greater medication adherence. Our systematic review demonstrates that greater social health is associated with better mental health outcomes and met patient needs among cardiac patients. As partner status and living status did not align with social isolation and social support findings in this review, we recommend they not be used as social health proxies when assessing health outcomes among CVD patients. Our review highlights the need for more research focused on women and the importance of gender‐disaggregated reporting. Further assessment is required to evaluate whether loneliness is associated with health and well‐being outcomes after a CVD event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous research has demonstrated that lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with higher morbidity and mortality, especially in-patient groups. The association of HRQoL with all-cause mortality in community samples requires further investigation. This study aimed to examine whether HRQoL predicts all-cause mortality in older healthy community-dwelling people from Australia and the United States (U.S.) enrolled in the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial. We also explored whether this association varies by gender or country. Method: A prospective cohort of 19,106 individuals aged 65–98 years, who were without a dementia diagnosis or a known major life-limiting disease, and completed the 12-item short-form-HRQoL at recruitment (2010–2014). They were followed until June 2017. Cox proportional-hazard models were used to determine the association between the physical (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS) of HRQoL and all-cause mortality, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, health-related behaviours and clinical measures. Hazards ratios were estimated for every 10-unit increase in PCS or MCS. Results: There were 1052 deaths over a median 4.7-years (interquartile range 3.6–5.7) of follow-up, with 11.9 events per 1000 person-years. Higher PCS was associated with lower all-cause mortality (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.77, 0.89) in the entire sample, while higher MCS was associated with lower mortality among U.S. participants only (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.63, 0.95). Gender differences in the association of either PCS or MCS with mortality were not observed. Conclusion: Our large study provides evidence that HRQoL is inversely associated with all-cause mortality among initially healthy older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been shown to predict adverse health outcome in the general population.Objective: We examined the cross-sectional association between HRQoL and cognitive performance at baseline. Next, we explored whether baseline HRQoL predicted 5-year incident cognitive decline and dementia and whether there were gender differences.Methods: 19,106 community-dwelling participants from the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial, aged 65-98 years, free of major cognitive impairments, and completed the HRQoL 12-item short-form (SF-12) at baseline (2010-2014), were followed until June 2017. The physical (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS) of SF-12 were calculated. The cognitive tests were assessed at baseline, year 1, 3, 5, and 7 or close-out visit. Cognitive decline was defined as > 1.5 SD drop from baseline on any of the cognitive tests. Dementia was adjudicated according to DSM-IV criteria. Linear and Cox proportional-hazards regressions were used to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations respectively.Results: At baseline, higher PCS and MCS were associated with better cognition. Over a median 4.7-year follow-up, higher MCS was associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia (12% and 15% respectively, per 10-unit increase) and a 10-unit higher PCS was associated with a 6% decreased risk of cognitive decline. PCS did not predict dementia incidence. Findings were not different by gender.Conclusion: Our study found that higher HRQoL, in particular MCS, predicted a reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia over time in community-dwelling older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a measure of an individual's self-perceived health status. Few studies have examined HRQoL as a risk factor for mortality. This study examined whether HRQoL predicts all-cause mortality in older community-dwelling individuals from Australia and the United States enrolled in the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial, and if this association varies across gender. Methods The 19,106 persons aged 65–98 years and free of known major life-limiting disease, who completed the 12-item short form (SF-12) HRQoL at ASPREE-baseline (2010–2014) were followed prospectively until 2017 for all-cause mortality. Cox proportional-hazard models were used to determine the association between the physical (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS) of HRQoL and all-cause mortality, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, health-related behaviours, and clinical measures. Results There were 1,052 deaths over a median 4.7-year of follow-up, with 11.9 events per 1,000 person-years. A 10-unit increase in PCS was associated with a 17% decrease in all-cause mortality (95%CI: 0.77, 0.89). MCS was not associated with all-cause mortality. There was no evidence these associations were different between males and females (P-values for interaction: PCS 0.13 and MCS 0.44). Conclusions PCS, but not MCS, was inversely associated with all-cause mortality in this large cohort of healthy older individuals. Key messages Our findings support the decision of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care to incorporate the SF-12 into the routine collection of Patient Reported Outcome Measures as a policy goal for the Australian health system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a cross sectional study among children aged 12-13 years in Yongon, Myanmar to assess the oral health status and oral hygiene habits. The studied 220 students were from two high schools, one urban and the other rural. We conducted an oral health examination following WHO criteria and used a self-administrated questionnaire. The prevalence rate of dental caries among the study population was 53.2%. The mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) was 1.7 +/- 2.1 teeth per person (decayed, 1.5 +/- 1.9); missing 0.0 +/- 0.2; filled, 0.1 +/- 0.4). Multivariate analysis revealed significant risk factors for dental caries were: the geographical location of the school (adjusted OR=2.24; 95% CI: 1.01-4.94), occupational status of the father (adjusted OR=2.83; 95% CI: 1.05-7.62) and the child's attitude about dental caries (adjusted OR=2.35; 95% CI: 1.18-4.67). Knowledge and oral hygiene habits were not associated with dental caries. The results of this study suggest the need to change from restoration orientated dentistry to dental public health care services, to reduce of the high level of dental caries in this age group.