New tool helps predict mortality risk in dementia patients

Researchers have developed a A new tool that predicts risk of death and admission to a long-term care facility for patients with dementia may help conversations between health care providers, patients and their families. The research has been published in the CMAJ - Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The recent tragic outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term care homes highlight the need to have care discussions with residents and their caregivers.

"The majority of residents in long-term care homes have been diagnosed with dementia. Our study shows that the survival of many people with dementia is poor. It may be that many would choose care that focuses on comfort care and quality of life should they become acutely ill," says Dr. Peter Tanuseputro, a family physician and researcher with the Bruyère Research Institute, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and ICES, Ottawa, Ontario.

 

We have developed a tool that asks simple questions about a person at the time of dementia diagnosis and translates it to the chance of dying and of entering a nursing home over the next 5 years. This information can be used in conversations about what to expect," says Dr. Tanuseputro. "For newly diagnosed dementia patients and their families, personalized information about their trajectory may be helpful to plan for the future, including advance care planning and planning for additional supports."

The study used linked data from ICES on more than 108 000 people living in the community in Ontario who were newly diagnosed with dementia from 2010 through 2012.

 Researchers found that more than half of individuals (55%) died within 5 years -- comparable to many cancers -- and almost half of those who died (28%) lived in institutions. Only 1 in 4 people were still alive and living in the community 5 years after diagnosis.

Older age, male sex and presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure and kidney failure at the time of diagnosis of dementia were the most important factors that predicted death and admission to long-term care. The impact of organ failure on prognosis in people with dementia has not been well documented in other studies.  

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.      https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations   https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes     https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

Covid-19 or the Flu: How to Tell the Difference

As infection rates of the coronavirus continue to surge and lockdowns are gradually implemented pretty much everywhere around the world, it is important to be vigilant and aware of the virus symptoms. The tricky part is that Covid-19 shares quite a few symptoms with the flu and the common cold, which are both very likely to spread at this time of the year as well. But there are still some minor yet important differences, which are worth knowing and paying attention to. 

Both Covid-19 and the influenza are transmitted the same way, through respiratory droplets, and they can both be transmitted by a carrier before they show any symptoms. There are several overlapping symptoms like fever, tiredness and a dry throat. The body’s normal temperature usually shifts between 36-37°C / 98°F. Any body temperature that is above 38°C/ 100.4°F is classified as a fever!

So How Are They Different?

There are a few symptoms that are typical to the flu but rarely occur in cases of Covid-19, like muscle pain and headache. The incubation period for the flu is shorter, thus symptoms appear sooner. This table outlines in detail the slight differences in symptoms:


coronavirus vs flu vs common cold
                                      COVID           flu                      cold
Incubation period        1-14 days          1-4 days            1-3 days
symptom onset            gradual             abrupt               gradual
fever                           common            common           rare
cough                          common              common          mild-moderate
fatigue                       common              common          sometimes
runny nose               sometimes          sometimes         common
nasal congestion      sometimes           sometimes         common
diarrhea                   sometimes           sometimes          rare
body ache                 sometimes             common             slight
sore throat                sometimes            sometimes         common
headache                  sometimes           common              rare
loss of appetite         sometimes            common            sometimes
loss of breath            common            sometimes            mild
respiratory issues     common              sometimes         sometimes
        


Level of Contagiousness: Covid-19 is found to be more contagious than the flu. To work out how fast a disease is likely to spread, epidemiologists use a measure called ‘basic reproduction number’, also known as the R naught or R0. The R0 for Covid-19 is 2.5 - meaning any sick person is likely to infect 2 or 2.5 other people. The R0 for the flu, on the other hand, is just 1.3, which makes the new coronavirus almost twice as contagious.

Mortality Rate: For both diseases, the severity of symptoms can vary between mild to severe. However, the fraction of people who develop severe symptoms that require intensive care is higher for Covid-19, and the mortality rate is higher as well. For the seasonal flu, it tends to be 0.1 percent, which means one in 1000 people dies of the disease.

At the moment, 14% of all closed Covid-19 cases have resulted in death. But it is important to note that the true and precise mortality rate will take some more time to fully understand and determine.
The Group Most Affected: Another major difference is the population most susceptible to infection. While children and pregnant women tend to become very sick with the flu, they don’t seem to be significantly affected by Covid-19 to date. Those who are most at risk of being infected with Covid-19 and developing complications are older age groups and people with chronic illnesses and weakened immune systems. Data shows people in their 60s have the highest rate of diagnosis, but health authorities stressed that it does not mean young adults should not be complacent about the virus. The possibility of getting a severe form of the disease in younger patients does exist, and the preventative measures required by the WHO and CDC apply to everyone.

Covid-19 or the Flu: How to Tell the Difference

Treatment and prevention: As influenza has been around for much longer, a vaccination against it has been developed. Because the strains mutate, every year doctors try to predict which ones will be most common and select the right vaccine components for that season.

There are also antiviral drugs for the flu, which are sometimes prescribed to help the body reduce symptoms.

Unfortunately, there is still no vaccination or drugs against Covid-19, though health experts and scientists are working towards developing them, and some clinical trials are already underway.

The only measure we can take against Covid-19 at the moment is doing our best to prevent it. The way to do that is:

    Avoiding crowds and gatherings of any size
    Standing at least 6ft (2 meters) apart from other people
    Maintaining good hygiene - washing hands frequently
    Avoiding touching the face
    Staying at home as much as possible, especially if feeling unwell.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

Irregularly shaped parks associated with lower mortality risk

While the discovery might sound strange, but the shape of the community parks is linked to the mortality risk of residents living around them.

Some community parks are square, a reflection of the city block they’re located at — and a new study has found that irregularly shaped parks reduce the mortality risk of residents living near them.

“Nearly all studies investigating the effects of natural environments on human health are focused on the amount of a community’s green space,” said the researchers.

“We found that the shape or form of green space has an important role in this association,” they added in the study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

In the study, researchers performed statistical analyses of Philadelphia land cover data to assess links between landscape spatial metrics and health outcomes.

They found that residents in census tracts with more connected, aggregated, and complex-shaped green spaces had a lower mortality risk.

“Our results suggest that linking existing parks with greenways or adding new, connected parks might be fiscally accessible strategies for promoting health,” said Huaquing Wang, a Ph.D. Urban and Regional Sciences student and Lou Tassinary, professor of visualisation.

Researchers explained that the complexity in the shape of the park was positively associated with lower mortality risk.

“This association might be attributable to the increased number of access points provided by complex-shaped green spaces,” they continued.

While lower mortality risk wasn’t associated with any particular form, the data supports the idea that the more complex the park shape, the better, Wang said.

The relationship between park shape and mortality is important to city designers and planners who seek to create healthier living environments, they said in the paper.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement     

Social isolation increases death risk

Findings of a recent study have linked social isolation to a higher risk of death. The study, says addressing social isolation holds promise if studies show interventions are effective, as they could be relatively simple and could influence other risk factors, as social isolation is also associated with hypertension, inflammation, physical inactivity, smoking, and other health risks.

Social isolation has been linked to higher mortality in studies comprising mostly white adults, yet associations among black adults are unclear. The new prospective cohort study, evaluated whether associations of social isolation with all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality differed by race and sex.

Investigators weighted several standard components of social isolation -marital status, the frequency of religious service attendance and club meetings/group activities, and a number of close friends/relatives--giving a score of 0 (least isolated) or 1 (most isolated) on each of the factors for a total on a 5-point isolation scale.
For instance, someone who was married, frequently attended religious services, attended club meetings and/or group activities, and had seven or more close friends were given an isolation score of 0. Someone with none of those would have an isolation score of 4.
They found overall, the race seemed to be a stronger predictor of social isolation than sex; white men and white women were more likely to be in the least isolated category than black men and women. In the full sample, a statistically significant, positive dose-response relationship was found between social isolation and all-cause mortality risk over the 30-year follow-up period. However, associations were significantly stronger in the first 15 years of follow up.

Social isolation score was positively associated with heart disease (CVD) mortality in all subgroups. Although there was a positive association between social isolation score and cancer mortality among white men and white women, there was no association between social isolation score and cancer mortality among black men or black women. Each social isolation component was associated with all-cause and CVD mortality, and all but one (having fewer close friends/relatives) was associated with cancer mortality.

"Current findings indicate that a composite measure of social isolation is a robust predictor of mortality risk among men, women, blacks, and whites," write the authors. "Compared with the least isolated, the most socially isolated black men and women had a more than the 2-fold higher risk of death from any cause, and white men and women had 60 per cent and 84 per cent greater risks of death, respectfully."

The authors say as the era of precision medicine develops, several influences on health, including social factors, are expected to become more important to clinical care. Addressing social isolation is aligned with this more holistic approach, they write, saying: "Lack of interpersonal connections seems particularly detrimental." 

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                             PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/   

FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                                    https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                              

FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com