Leisure Activities and Their Relationship With MRI Measures of Brain Structure, Functional Connectivity, and Cognition in the UK Biobank Cohort.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Anaturk M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8635062 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate the independent relationship of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to the type and severity of pulmonary patterns on spirometry compared to the pulmonary patterns in general population controls.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we investigated the association of RA with pulmonary function measures on spirometry among subjects in the UK Biobank who underwent spirometry for research purposes. RA cases were identified based on self-report and current disease-modifying antirheumatic drug/glucocorticoid use. Controls were subjects without RA from the general population. Outcome measures included continuous forced expiratory volume in 1 second percent predicted (FEV1 %) and forced vital capacity percent predicted (FVC%), type of spirometric pattern (restrictive or obstructive), and severity of the restrictive or obstructive pattern. We used multivariable regression to estimate the effects in RA cases compared to the effects in controls, adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and smoking status/pack-years.ResultsAmong 350,776 analyzed subjects who underwent spirometry (mean age 56.3 years; 55.8% female; 45.5% ever smokers), we identified 2,008 cases of treated RA. In multivariable analyses, RA was associated with lower FEV1 % (β = -2.93 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) -3.63, -2.24]), FVC% (β = -2.08 [95% CI -2.72, -1.45]), and FEV1 /FVC (β = -0.008 [95% CI -0.010, -0.005]) compared to controls. RA was additionally associated with restrictive patterns (odds ratio [OR] 1.36 [95% CI 1.21, 1.52]) and obstructive patterns (OR 1.21 [95% CI 1.07, 1.37]) independent of confounders, and was most strongly associated with severe restrictive and obstructive patterns.ConclusionRA is associated with increased odds of restrictive and obstructive patterns, and this relationship is not explained by confounders, including smoking status. In addition to restrictive lung disease, clinicians should also be aware that airway obstruction may be a pulmonary manifestation of RA.
| S-EPMC8568623 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundMultimorbidity is associated with higher mortality, but the relationship with cancer and cardiovascular mortality is unclear. The influence of demographics and type of condition on the relationship of multimorbidity with mortality remains unknown. We examine the relationship between multimorbidity (number/type) and cause of mortality and the impact of demographic factors on this relationship.MethodsData source: the UK Biobank; 500,769 participants; 37-73 years; 53.7% female. Exposure variables: number and type of long-term conditions (LTCs) (N = 43) at baseline, modelled separately. Cox regression models were used to study the impact of LTCs on all-cause/vascular/cancer mortality during median 7-year follow-up. All-cause mortality regression models were stratified by age/sex/socioeconomic status.ResultsAll-cause mortality is 2.9% (14,348 participants). Of all deaths, 8350 (58.2%) were cancer deaths and 2985 (20.8%) vascular deaths. Dose-response relationship is observed between the increasing number of LTCs and all-cause/cancer/vascular mortality. A strong association is observed between cardiometabolic multimorbidity and all three clinical outcomes; non-cardiometabolic multimorbidity (excluding cancer) is associated with all-cause/vascular mortality. All-cause mortality risk for those with ≥ 4 LTCs was nearly 3 times higher than those with no LTCs (HR 2.79, CI 2.61-2.98); for ≥ 4 cardiometabolic conditions, it was > 3 times higher (HR 3.20, CI 2.56-4.00); and for ≥ 4 non-cardiometabolic conditions (excluding cancer), it was 50% more (HR 1.50, CI 1.36-1.67). For those with ≥ 4 LTCs, morbidity combinations that included cardiometabolic conditions, chronic kidney disease, cancer, epilepsy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, osteoporosis and connective tissue disorders had the greatest impact on all-cause mortality. In the stratified model by age/sex, absolute all-cause mortality was higher among the 60-73 age group with an increasing number of LTCs; however, the relative effect size of the increasing number of LTCs on higher mortality risk was larger among those 37-49 years, especially men. While socioeconomic status was a significant predictor of all-cause mortality, mortality risk with increasing number of LTCs remained constant across different socioeconomic gradients.ConclusionsMultimorbidity is associated with higher all-cause/cancer/vascular mortality. Type, as opposed to number, of LTCs may have an important role in understanding the relationship between multimorbidity and mortality. Multimorbidity had a greater relative impact on all-cause mortality in middle-aged as opposed to older populations, particularly males, which deserves exploration.
| S-EPMC6456941 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionDementia is a debilitating syndrome characterized by the gradual loss of memory and cognitive function. Although there are currently limited, largely symptomatic treatments for the diseases that can lead to dementia, its onset may be prevented by identifying and modifying relevant life style risk factors. Commonly described modifiable risk factors include diet, physical inactivity, and educational attainment. Importantly, however, to maximize the utility of our understanding of these risk factors, tangible and meaningful changes to policy must also be addressed.ObjectivesHere, we aim to identify the mechanism(s) by which educational attainment influences cognition.MethodsWe investigated data from 502,357 individuals (Mage = 56.53, SDage = 8.09, 54.40% female) from the UK Biobank cohort via Structural Equation Modelling to illustrate links between predictor variables (i.e., Townsend Deprivation Index, coastal distance, greenspace, years of education), covariates (i.e., participant age) and cognitive function as outcome variables (i.e., pairs-matching, trail-making task B, fluid intelligence).ResultsOur model demonstrated that higher education was associated with better cognitive performance (ps < 0.001), and this relationship was mediated by indices of deprivation, and coastal distance.ConclusionAccordingly, our model evinces the mediating effect of socioeconomic and environmental factors on the relationship between years of education and cognitive function. These results further demonstrate the utility and necessity of adapting public policy to encourage equitable access to education and other supports in deprived areas.
| S-EPMC10568007 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPsychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are risk factors for the development of psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia, particularly if associated with distress. As PLEs have been related to alterations in both white matter and cognition, we investigated whether cognition (g-factor and processing speed) mediates the relationship between white matter and PLEs.MethodsWe investigated two independent samples (6170 and 19 891) from the UK Biobank, through path analysis. For both samples, measures of whole-brain fractional anisotropy (gFA) and mean diffusivity (gMD), as indications of white matter microstructure, were derived from probabilistic tractography. For the smaller sample, variables whole-brain white matter network efficiency and microstructure were also derived from structural connectome data.ResultsThe mediation of cognition on the relationships between white matter properties and PLEs was non-significant. However, lower gFA was associated with having PLEs in combination with distress in the full available sample (standardized β = -0.053, p = 0.011). Additionally, lower gFA/higher gMD was associated with lower g-factor (standardized β = 0.049, p < 0.001; standardized β = -0.027, p = 0.003), and partially mediated by processing speed with a proportion mediated of 7% (p = < 0.001) for gFA and 11% (p < 0.001) for gMD.ConclusionsWe show that lower global white matter microstructure is associated with having PLEs in combination with distress, which suggests a direction of future research that could help clarify how and why individuals progress from subclinical to clinical psychotic symptoms. Furthermore, we replicated that processing speed mediates the relationship between white matter microstructure and g-factor.
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Project description:ImportanceThe associations between muscle strength and cognitive outcomes have sparked interest in interventions that increase muscle strength for prevention of dementia, but the associations between muscle strength and cognitive aging are unclear, particularly among middle-aged adults.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between handgrip strength (HGS) and dementia, reduced cognition, and poorer neuroimaging outcomes in a UK population of middle-aged adults.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study evaluated UK Biobank participants aged 39 to 73 years enrolled from 2006 to 2010 with measured HGS and prospectively followed up for dementia diagnosis. Data were analyzed from October 2021 to April 2022.ExposuresHGS assessed in both hands via dynamometer.Main outcomes and measuresOutcomes included cognitive test scores (fluid intelligence and prospective memory), brain magnetic resonance imaging measures (total brain volume, white matter hyperintensity, and hippocampal volume), and incident dementia (all-cause, vascular, and Alzheimer disease [AD] from primary care, hospital, or death records) over a median (IQR) of 11.7 (11.0-12.4) years of follow-up. Mixed-effects linear and logistic regressions and Cox proportional-hazard models were used to estimate associations, stratified by gender and adjusted for covariates. Estimates are presented per 5-kg decrement in HGS. To evaluate reverse causation, we assessed whether a polygenic risk score for AD is associated with HGS.ResultsA subsample of 190 406 adult participants in the UK Biobank (mean [SD] age, 56.5 [8.1] years; 102 735 women [54%]) were evaluated. A 5-kg decrement in HGS was associated with lower fluid intelligence scores in men (β, -0.007; 95% CI, -0.010 to -0.003) and women (β, -0.04; 95% CI, -0.05 to -0.04. A 5-kg decrement in HGS was associated with worse odds of correctly responding to a prospective memory task for men (odds ratio, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.90 to 0.92) and women (odds ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.87 to 0.90). A 5-kg decrement in HGS was associated with greater white matter hyperintensity volume in men (β, 92.22; 95% CI, 31.09 to 153.35) and women (β, 83.56; 95% CI, 13.54 to 153.58). A 5-kg decrement in HGS was associated with incident dementia for men (hazard ratio, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.28) and women (hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.26). The AD genetic risk score was not significantly associated with HGS.Conclusions and relevanceThese findings suggest that HGS is associated with measures of neurocognitive brain health among men and women and they add to a growing body of research indicating that interventions designed to increase muscle strength, particularly among middle-aged adults, may hold promise for the maintenance of neurocognitive brain health.
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Project description:Spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) provides high resolution images enabling identification of individual retinal layers. We included 32,923 participants aged 40-69 years old from UK Biobank. Questionnaires, physical examination, and eye examination including SD-OCT imaging were performed. SD OCT measured photoreceptor layer thickness includes photoreceptor layer thickness: inner nuclear layer-retinal pigment epithelium (INL-RPE) and the specific sublayers of the photoreceptor: inner nuclear layer-external limiting membrane (INL-ELM); external limiting membrane-inner segment outer segment (ELM-ISOS); and inner segment outer segment-retinal pigment epithelium (ISOS-RPE). In multivariate regression models, the total average INL-RPE was observed to be thinner in older aged, females, Black ethnicity, smokers, participants with higher systolic blood pressure, more negative refractive error, lower IOPcc and lower corneal hysteresis. The overall INL-ELM, ELM-ISOS and ISOS-RPE thickness was significantly associated with sex and race. Total average of INL-ELM thickness was additionally associated with age and refractive error, while ELM-ISOS was additionally associated with age, smoking status, SBP and refractive error; and ISOS-RPE was additionally associated with smoking status, IOPcc and corneal hysteresis. Hence, we found novel associations of ethnicity, smoking, systolic blood pressure, refraction, IOPcc and corneal hysteresis with photoreceptor thickness.
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Project description:In a porcine experimental model of myocardial infarction, a localised, layer-specific, circumferential left ventricular strain metric has been shown to indicate chronic changes in ventricular function post-infarction more strongly than ejection fraction. This novel strain metric might therefore provide useful prognostic information clinically. In this study, existing clinical volume indices, global strains, and the novel, layer-specific strain were calculated for a large human cohort to assess variations in ventricular function and morphology with age, sex, and health status. Imaging and health data from the UK Biobank were obtained, including healthy volunteers and those with a history of cardiovascular illness. In total, 710 individuals were analysed and stratified by age, sex and health. Significant differences in all strain metrics were found between healthy and unhealthy populations, as well as between males and females. Significant differences in basal circumferential strain and global circumferential strain were found between healthy males and females, with males having smaller absolute values for both (all p≤$$ p\le $$ 0.001). There were significant differences in the functional variables left ventricular ejection fraction, end-systolic volume, end-systolic volume index and mid-ventricular circumferential strain between healthy and unhealthy male cohorts aged 65-74 (all p≤$$ p\le $$ 0.001). These results suggest that whilst regional circumferential strains may be useful clinically for assessing cardiovascular health, care must be taken to ensure critical values are indexed correctly to age and sex, due to the differences in these values observed here.
| S-EPMC9773168 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Moderate alcohol consumption is widespread but its impact on brain structure and function is contentious. The relationship between alcohol intake and structural and functional neuroimaging indices, the threshold intake for associations, and whether population subgroups are at higher risk of alcohol-related brain harm remain unclear. 25,378 UK Biobank participants (mean age 54.9 ± 7.4 years, 12,254 female) underwent multi-modal MRI 9.6 ± 1.1 years after study baseline. Alcohol use was self-reported at baseline (2006-10). T1-weighted, diffusion weighted and resting state images were examined. Lower total grey matter volumes were observed in those drinking as little as 7-14 units (56-112 g) weekly. Higher alcohol consumption was associated with multiple markers of white matter microstructure, including lower fractional anisotropy, higher mean and radial diffusivity in a spatially distributed pattern across the brain. Associations between functional connectivity and alcohol intake were observed in the default mode, central executive, attention, salience and visual resting state networks. Relationships between total grey matter and alcohol were stronger than other modifiable factors, including blood pressure and smoking, and robust to unobserved confounding. Frequent binging, higher blood pressure and BMI steepened the negative association between alcohol and total grey matter volume. In this large observational cohort study, alcohol consumption was associated with multiple structural and functional MRI markers in mid- to late-life.
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Project description:The association between adversity and cognition varies according to the specific adversity, when the adversity was experienced, and the cognitive domains investigated. Disentangling the effect of adversity and the underlying mechanistic pathway is therefore difficult. The association between adversity (i.e., maltreatment) accumulated over the life course and cognitive flexibility, as well as two potential mediators (i.e., intra-individual variability in reaction time and depression) of this association, were investigated. Data stem from the baseline population of the UK Biobank study (N = 73,489, Mdnage = 56, SDage = 7.628, 55.740% of women). Cumulative life course adversity (specifically maltreatment) was measured with items based on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTS-5) and items adapted from the British Crime Survey. Depression was assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Intra-individual variability in reaction time was measured with a reaction time test "snap game" and the Trail Making Test A and B were used as a measure of cognitive flexibility. A path analysis was performed on these data. Higher cumulative adverse experiences were associated with lower performance in cognitive flexibility (β = .016, p < .001, 95% CI [0.009, 0.024]), and this effect was partly mediated by the level of depression (22.727% of the total effect of cumulative life course adversity on cognitive flexibility was mediated by depression (β = .005, p < .001, 95% CI [0.004, 0.007])). No association between cumulative life course adverse experiences and intra-individual variability in reaction time was found, nor was any indirect association between cumulative life course adversity and performance in cognitive flexibility via intra-individual variability in reaction time. The association between cumulative life course adversity, depression, and performance in cognitive flexibility has been highlighted. In contrast, no indirect effect between cumulative life course adversity and performance in cognitive flexibility via intra-individual variability in reaction time was found, suggesting that it is not a potential mechanism underlying the association between cumulative life course adversity and executive function.
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Project description:Social distancing policies have been implemented around the world to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These measures have included temporary restrictions on mass gatherings and the closure of public facilities, limiting the pursuit of leisure activities such as travel while allowing more time for at-home pursuits, including creative activities such as gardening and painting. Previous research has demonstrated the benefits of physical activity for psychological well-being during COVID-19, but less attention has been given to the potential benefits of creative pursuits, such as arts and music. The present study investigated changes in the pursuit of creative, non-creative, and physical leisure activities and the relationship between engaging in leisure, the motivations for and barriers to pursuing these activities, and psychological well-being during COVID-19. A total of 3,827 participants from 74 countries completed an online leisure activities questionnaire and the World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index. Logistic regression indicated that gender, age, social distancing adherence, and employment status significantly predicted leisure engagement during COVID-19. Compared to sports and outdoor pursuits, participation in creative activities was generally more likely to increase during this period, while participation in non-creative activities was less likely to increase. Multiple linear regression indicated that maintaining or increasing time on leisure activities significantly predicted well-being during COVID-19, with increased time spent on home crafts and artisanship, fine arts, musical and performing arts engagement, sports and outdoor pursuits, niche and IT interests, and language activities each predicting higher well-being outcomes. Motivations such as seeking creative expression and mental stimulation, keeping fit, and maintaining social connections also predicted higher well-being. These findings suggest that participation in both physical and creative leisure activities may offer protective benefits for well-being during COVID-19, and that strategies to promote engagement in creative activities should also be considered in future guidance for mental health during periods of lockdown or isolation.
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