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Poor nutrition is a risk factor for dental decay in younger people. However, except for sugar, it is unclear if this is true in older age groups. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible associations between overall dietary intake of nutrients and diet quality and the presence of dental decay in community-dwelling older men. A cross-sectional analysis of a longitudinal study with a standardized validated diet history assessment and comprehensive oral health examination in 520 community-dwelling men (mean age: 84 years) participating in the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project. Nutrient reference values were used to determine if individual micronutrients and macronutrients were meeting recommendations. Acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges (AMDRs) were attained for fat and carbohydrate intakes and were incorporated into a dichotomous variable to determine if the participants were consuming a high fat-low carbohydrate diet. Diagnosis of coronal caries was based on visual criteria and inspection and was completed on each of the five coronal surfaces. Root surface caries was textual changes across four root surfaces. This diagnosis was used to categorize participants by the presence and severity of coronal and root caries. The adjusted logistic regression showed not meeting the recommended intakes for thiamin (odds ratio [OR]: 2.32 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–4.67), and zinc (OR: 3.33, 95% CI: 1.71–6.48) were associated with presence of severe root decay. Adjusted analysis also showed that participants who were outside the recommended AMDR for fat (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.38–0.98) and those who consumed a high fat and low carbohydrate diet (OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.35–0.91) were less likely to have coronal tooth decay. Our study shows associations between micronutrients and macronutrients and coronal and root surface decay. Although this study cannot prescribe causality or be generalized to all older adults, diet has a possible association with dental decay in older men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Established drug therapies for Alzheimer disease (cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine) do not modify the disease course and provide only modest clinical benefit. Biomarker measures of amyloid, tau and neurodegeneration have been integral to Alzheimer disease clinical trials for biologic drugs, for patient selection and efficacy monitoring. At the time of writing, two monoclonal antibodies targeting the amyloid-beta protein (aducanumab and lecanemab) have been approved in the USA, and two agents (lecanemab and donanemab) are under evaluation by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia. Clinical trials have demonstrated that monoclonal antibodies are effective at removing amyloid from the brain in people with early Alzheimer disease. Cognitive benefits are statistically significant, but do not achieve the minimal clinically important difference. Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities of vasogenic oedema and microhaemorrhages occur more frequently on treatment; although these are usually asymptomatic or transient, in some people they are serious or fatal. Targeting amyloid as a unimodal strategy is unlikely to be sufficient and future therapies may need to be multimodal, targeting multiple pathogenic pathways. The burden of dementia is greatest in the older population where mixed dementia pathology dominates; the relationship between biomarkers, clinical phenotype and pathology attenuates; and frailty and comorbidity impact cognition. This creates challenges in identifying effective therapies for the group where dementia is most prevalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a cohort of older Australian men and explore the association between their general health conditions, socio‐demographic factors and OHRQoL. Methods: The Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP) is a cohort study of the health of a representative sample of Australian men, initiated in 2005–2006 with an initial sample of 1705 men 70 years or over. Participants completed a self‐administered health and socio‐demographic questionnaire and attended an interview and clinical assessment at baseline and each of three follow‐up assessments. Information on oral health and responses to the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP‐14) were collected in the 4th follow‐up in which 778 men completed the OHIP‐14 questionnaire and 614 men had a dental assessment. The prevalence of oral health impact was defined as a response of fairly often or very often to one or more of the OHIP‐14 questions. Mean OHIP‐14 scores were calculated for the 14 questions and used as the dependent variable in the regression analyses. Zero‐inflated Poisson regression was used to estimate prevalence rate ratios (PRR). Results: Only 10% of men presented oral health impacts. In multivariate regression modelling, being born in Italy/Greece (PRR: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.93–2.42) or in other countries (PRR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.89–2.38), having poor self‐rated general health (PRR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.24–1.53), having poor mental wellbeing (PRR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.04–1.24), having ≥6 depressive symptoms (PRR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.05–1.32), being a current smoker (PRR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.06–1.70) and having more decayed tooth surfaces (PRR:1.01, 95% CI: 1.00–1.02) were associated with higher impact scores. Conclusions: Overall, older Australian men exhibit good oral health‐related quality of life. The inter‐relationship between perceptions of general health and well‐being, health and oral health variables and social background supports policy objectives of closer integration of general health and oral health services for older Australian men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]