More Like this

1. Associations between grip strength, brain structure, and mental health in > 40,000 participants from the UK Biobank

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02490-2  

   Jiang, Rongtao ; Westwater, Margaret L. ; Noble, Stephanie ; Rosenblatt, Matthew ; Dai, Wei ; Qi, Shile ; Sui, Jing ; Calhoun, Vince D. ; Scheinost, Dustin ( September 2022 , BMC Medicine)

   Grip strength is a widely used and well-validated measure of overall health that is increasingly understood to index risk for psychiatric illness and neurodegeneration in older adults. However, existing work has not examined how grip strength relates to a comprehensive set of mental health outcomes, which can detect early signs of cognitive decline. Furthermore, whether brain structure mediates associations between grip strength and cognition remains unknown.

   Based on cross-sectional and longitudinal data from over 40,000 participants in the UK Biobank, this study investigated the behavioral and neural correlates of handgrip strength using a linear mixed effect model and mediation analysis.

   In cross-sectional analysis, we found that greater grip strength was associated with better cognitive functioning, higher life satisfaction, greater subjective well-being, and reduced depression and anxiety symptoms while controlling for numerous demographic, anthropometric, and socioeconomic confounders. Further, grip strength of females showed stronger associations with most behavioral outcomes than males. In longitudinal analysis, baseline grip strength was related to cognitive performance at ~9 years follow-up, while the reverse effect was much weaker. Further, baseline neuroticism, health, and financial satisfaction were longitudinally associated with subsequent grip strength. The results revealed widespread associations between stronger grip strength and increased grey matter volume, especially in subcortical regions and temporal cortices. Moreover, grey matter volume of these regions also correlated with better mental health and considerably mediated their relationship with grip strength.

   Overall, using the largest population-scale neuroimaging dataset currently available, our findings provide the most well-powered characterization of interplay between grip strength, mental health, and brain structure, which may facilitate the discovery of possible interventions to mitigate cognitive decline during aging.

    

   more » « less
2. Sleep Disorders and Cognitive Aging Among Cognitively Impaired Versus Unimpaired Older Adults

   https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad152  

   Lee, Soomi ; Nelson, Monica E. ; Hamada, Fumiko ; Wallace, Meredith L. ; Andel, Ross ; Buxton, Orfeu M. ; Almeida, David M. ; Lyketsos, Constantine ; Small, Brent J. ; Gaugler, ed., Joseph E. ( November 2023 , The Gerontologist)

   Sleep disorders often predict or co-occur with cognitive decline. Yet, little is known about how the relationship unfolds among older adults at risk for cognitive decline. To examine the associations of sleep disorders with cognitive decline in older adults with unimpaired cognition or impaired cognition (mild cognitive impairment and dementia).

   A total of 5,822 participants (Mage = 70) of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center database with unimpaired or impaired cognition were followed for 3 subsequent waves. Four types of clinician-diagnosed sleep disorders were reported: sleep apnea, hyposomnia/insomnia, REM sleep behavior disorder, or “other.” Cognition over time was measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) or an estimate of general cognitive ability (GCA) derived from scores based on 12 neuropsychological tests. Growth curve models were estimated adjusting for covariates.

   In participants with impaired cognition, baseline sleep apnea was related to better baseline MoCA performance (b = 0.65, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = [0.07, 1.23]) and less decline in GCA over time (b = 0.06, 95% CI = [0.001, 0.12]). Baseline insomnia was related to better baseline MoCA (b = 1.54, 95% CI = [0.88, 2.21]) and less decline in MoCA over time (b = 0.56, 95% CI = [0.20, 0.92]). Furthermore, having more sleep disorders (across the 4 types) at baseline predicted better baseline MoCA and GCA, and less decline in MoCA and GCA over time. These results were only found in those with impaired cognition and generally consistent when using self-reported symptoms of sleep apnea or insomnia.

   Participants with sleep disorder diagnoses may have better access to healthcare, which may help maintain cognition through improved sleep.

    

   more » « less
3. Cardiovascular risks and sociodemographic correlates of multidimensional sleep phenotypes in two samples of US adults

   https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpac005  

   Lee, Soomi ; Smith, Claire E. ; Wallace, Meredith L. ; Andel, Ross ; Almeida, David M. ; Patel, Sanjay R. ; Buxton, Orfeu M. ( February 2022 , SLEEP Advances)

   Sleep is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular conditions. Holistic examination of within-person, multidimensional sleep patterns may offer more detailed information about the sleep-cardiovascular condition link, including who is more vulnerable to both. This study aimed to identify common sleep phenotypes in adulthood, establish the validity of the phenotypes in relation to cardiovascular conditions, and explore sociodemographic and background characteristics of the phenotypes.

   Across two independent samples of adults (N1 = 4600; N2 = 2598) from the Midlife in the United States Study, latent class analysis (LCA) extracted sleep phenotypes using five key self-reported sleep dimensions. Log-binomial regression was used to determine whether sleep phenotypes differentially predicted cardiovascular conditions, adjusting for known risk factors. LCA with covariates was used to compare sociodemographic characteristics of the identified sleep phenotypes.

   Four sleep phenotypes were identified consistently across the two samples: good sleepers, nappers, dissatisfied/inefficient sleepers, and irregular sleepers. Compared to good sleepers (reference), dissatisfied/inefficient sleepers exhibited a higher risk of cardiovascular conditions in both samples (RRSample1: 29%, RRSample2: 53%) and consisted of relatively more racial/ethnic minorities. Nappers exhibited a higher risk of cardiovascular conditions in one sample (RRSample1: 38%) and consisted of more women and older adults. Irregular sleepers exhibited no significantly different cardiovascular risk and were relatively younger.

   Common sleep phenotypes in adulthood exhibit differential risks for cardiovascular conditions. Cooccurring sleep dissatisfaction and inefficiency, in particular, may relate to increased risk of cardiovascular conditions. Certain sociodemographic groups (racial minorities, women, older adults) disproportionately fit within high-risk sleep phenotypes.

    

   more » « less
4. Acoustic enhancement of sleep slow oscillations in mild cognitive impairment

   https://doi.org/10.1002/acn3.796  

   Papalambros, Nelly A. ; Weintraub, Sandra ; Chen, Tammy ; Grimaldi, Daniela ; Santostasi, Giovanni ; Paller, Ken A. ; Zee, Phyllis C. ; Malkani, Roneil G. ( July 2019 , Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology)

   Slow‐wave activity (SWA) during sleep is reduced in people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and is related to sleep‐dependent memory consolidation. Acoustic stimulation of slow oscillations has proven effective in enhancingSWAand memory in younger and older adults. In this study we aimed to determine whether acoustic stimulation during sleep boostsSWAand improves memory performance in people withaMCI.

   Nine adults withaMCI(72 ± 8.7 years) completed one night of acoustic stimulation (stim) and one night of sham stimulation (sham) in a blinded, randomized crossover study. Acoustic stimuli were delivered phase‐locked to the upstate of the endogenous sleep slow‐waves. Participants completed a declarative recall task with 44 word‐pairs before and after sleep.

   During intervals of acoustic stimulation,SWAincreased by >10% over sham intervals (P < 0.01), but memory recall increased in only five of the nine patients. The increase inSWAwith stimulation was associated with improved morning word recall (r = 0.78,P = 0.012).

   Acoustic stimulation delivered during slow‐wave sleep over one night was effective for enhancingSWAin individuals withaMCI. Given established relationships betweenSWAand memory, a larger or more prolonged enhancement may be needed to consistently improve memory inaMCI.

    

   more » « less
5. Testing reciprocal associations between child anxiety and parenting across early interventions for inhibited preschoolers

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13879  

   Novick, Danielle R. ; Meyer, Christian T. ; Wagner, Nicholas J. ; Rubin, Kenneth H. ; Danko, Christina M. ; Dougherty, Lea R. ; Druskin, Lindsay R. ; Smith, Kelly A. ; Chronis‐Tuscano, Andrea ( August 2023 , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry)

   Given the robust evidence base for the efficacy of evidence‐based treatments targeting youth anxiety, researchers have advanced beyond efficacy outcome analysis to identifymechanismsof change and treatment directionality. Grounded in developmental transactional models, interventions for young children at risk for anxiety by virtue of behaviorally inhibited temperament often target parenting and child factors implicated in the early emergence and maintenance of anxiety. In particular, overcontrolling parenting moderates risk for anxiety among highly inhibited children, just as child inhibition has been shown to elicit overcontrolling parenting. Although longitudinal research has elucidated the temporal unfolding of factors that interact to place inhibited children at risk for anxiety, reciprocal transactions between these child and parent factors in the context of early interventions remain unknown.

   This study addresses these gaps by examining mechanisms of change and treatment directionality (i.e., parent‐to‐child vs. child‐to‐parent influences) within a randomized controlled trial comparing two interventions for inhibited preschoolers (N = 151): the multicomponent Turtle Program (‘Turtle’) and the parent‐only Cool Little Kids program (‘CLK’). Reciprocal relations between parent‐reported child anxiety, observed parenting, and parent‐reported accommodation of child anxiety were examined across four timepoints: pre‐, mid‐, and post‐treatment, and one‐year follow‐up (NCT02308826).

   Hypotheses were tested via latent curve models with structured residuals (LCM‐SR) and latent change score (LCS) models. LCM‐SR results were consistent with the child‐to‐parent influences found in previous research on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for older anxious youth, but only emerged in Turtle. LCS analyses revealed bidirectional effects ofchangesin parent accommodation and child anxiety during and after intervention, but only in Turtle.

   Our findings coincide with developmental transactional models, suggesting that the development of child anxiety may result from child‐to‐parent influences rather than the reverse, and highlight the importance of targeting parentandchild factors simultaneously in early interventions for young, inhibited children.

    

   more » « less