Activity

To explore the views of those in later life on the usability of a smartphone application (app) which could assist in negotiating the external environment, particularly during extreme weather and local environmental changes.

Seven adults aged over 55years (four women, three men) living in Sydney, Australia, participated in focus groups. Responses were analysed thematically.

The findings demonstrate older adults would use a reliable and relevant app to assist in accessing their external environment if it could provide assistance with accurate, up-to-date transport options, road closures, community events and weather.

If relevant, in real time and locally focussed adults aged over 55 could find value in a mobile app to assist them to navigate their external environment. These results suggest an age-friendly, specifically designed app will have an impact on accessibility to the local environment with the potential to lead to increased walking and social engagement.

If relevant, in real time and locally focussed adults aged over 55 could find value in a mobile app to assist them to navigate their external environment. These results suggest an age-friendly, specifically designed app will have an impact on accessibility to the local environment with the potential to lead to increased walking and social engagement.

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of dementia in patients with COVID-19 and its association with mortality. We also aimed to discover whether age, sex and other comorbidities might affect the association between dementia and mortality.

We carried out a systematic literature search using PubMed, SCOPUS, EuropePMC and the Cochrane Central Database. The outcome of interest was mortality, defined as clinically validated mortality/death/non-survivor in the studies. The pooled effect estimates were presented as odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio.

A total of 56 577 patients from 10 studies were included. The prevalence of dementia in this pooled analysis was 10% (7-13%). Dementia was associated with increased mortality in both pooled unadjusted (odds ratio 2.80, 95% CI 1.85-4.24, P < 0.001; I

= 93.7%) and adjusted effect estimates (adjusted odds ratio 1.80, 95% CI 1.45-2.24, P < 0.001; I

= 72.9%). The association between dementia and mortality was influenced by age (coefficient -0.047, P < 0.001) and hypertension (coefficient -0.009, P = 0.020).

This study showed that dementia was associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 patients. The association was affected by age and comorbidities. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; 21 172-177.

This study showed that dementia was associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 patients. The association was affected by age and comorbidities. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; 21 172-177.

To give an overview of the recently reported literature on the aetiologies of meningitis and encephalitis in western sub-Saharan Africa.

We conducted a scoping review following PRISMA guidance on published meningitis and encephalitis cases in the 16 countries of the United Nations-defined western sub-Saharan African region as identified in cohort studies, case series, and case reports, published 01/01/2000-08/01/2020, and available in four databases in August 2020 with an abstract in English, French or Italian.

There were 38 distinct pathogens identified from 91 cohort studies’ data and 48 case reports or case series’ data. In cohort-level data, the majority of cases were caused by Neisseria meningitidis (71.5%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (17.6%) and Haemophilus influenzae (7.3%). In case report- and case series-level data, 40.5% of patients were <18years old, 28.6% were female, and 28.6% were known to be immunocompromised. The case fatality rate was 39.3%. The most commonly reported pathogens among immunocompetent patients were Salmonella species (13 cases) and Ebola virus (9 cases), and the most commonly reported pathogen among immunocompromised patients was Cryptococcus neoformans (18 cases). Most cohort cases (52.3%) derived from Niger followed by Burkina Faso (28.6%). Ulonivirine Most cases from single reports or series were reported from Nigeria (21.4%), Mali (20.2%) and Burkina Faso (19.0%).

Given the small number of pathogens reported, our findings underscore the need to better screen, diagnose and monitor populations in western sub-Saharan Africa for additional CNS pathogens, including those posing significant outbreak risks.

Given the small number of pathogens reported, our findings underscore the need to better screen, diagnose and monitor populations in western sub-Saharan Africa for additional CNS pathogens, including those posing significant outbreak risks.

We aimed to assess the prevalence, components and evolution of polypharmacy and to evaluate risk factors associated with polypharmacy.

A retrospective dynamic cohort study was performed, using a primary healthcare database comprising Flemish community-dwelling adults aged ≥40years between 2011 and 2015. Polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy were defined as the use of 5-9 or minimum 10 different medications during 1year, respectively. Temporal changes were analysed using an autoregressive error model. Risk factors for polypharmacy were evaluated using logistic regression.

In total, 68426 patients were included in the analysis. The prevalence of polypharmacy was 29.5% and 16.1% for excessive polypharmacy in 2015. The age-standardised prevalence rate of patients using minimum five medications increased with 1.3% per year (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1968-2.4279). The mean number of unplanned hospital admissions was 0.07 (standard deviation (SD) 0.33) for polypharmacy patients and 0.19 (SD 0.53) for excessive polypharmacy patients. Four risk factors were found to be significantly correlated with polypharmacy age (odds ratio (OR) 1.015; 95% CI 1.013-1.017), female gender (OR 1.161; 95% CI 1.108-1.216), number of chronic diseases (OR 1.126; 95% CI 1.114-1.139) and number of general practitioner contacts (OR 1.283; 95% CI 1.274-1.292).

The prevalence of polypharmacy increased between 2011 and 2015. Polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy patients appeared to differ based on our observations of characteristics, drug therapy and outcomes. Age, female gender, number of chronic diseases and number of general practitioner contacts were associated with polypharmacy.

The prevalence of polypharmacy increased between 2011 and 2015. Polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy patients appeared to differ based on our observations of characteristics, drug therapy and outcomes. Age, female gender, number of chronic diseases and number of general practitioner contacts were associated with polypharmacy.