No abstract

We investigated the association of sex and age with the occurrence of apolipoprotein E (apoE) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genotypes in healthy aging and longevity in 1344 healthy individuals and 64 centenarians. As compared to participants younger than 60 years, a significant higher frequency of the apoE/epsilon2 was observed in men aged 60-90 years (p <.001) and in centenarians (p <.001). Logistic regression analysis confirmed this outcome in both participants aged 60-90 years (odds ratio [OR] = 1.897; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.227-2.931) and centenarians (OR = 3.263; 95% CI, 1.860-5.722). A further significant association of ACE/D allele and age was observed in centenarians (OR = 2.135; 95% CI, 1.253-3.636). Heterosis was also observed at the ACE locus. No relationship between apoE and ACE polymorphism was found. These findings suggest a role of sex in the association of apoE and ACE gene polymorphisms with healthy aging and longevity.

No abstract

Up to now, controversy still exists regarding the role of secondhand smoking (SHS) in developing cognitive impairment. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of SHS in hospitalized older patients with cognitive deficit, particularly in those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Smoking history was classified into four groups: never smokers, former-active smokers/no SHS, active smokers, and secondhand smokers, and cognitive function into three levels: normal cognition (C), MCI, and dementia. A total of 933 older subjects with diagnoses of MCI (n = 98), dementia (n = 124), or C (n = 711) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. As expected, patients with dementia had significantly higher frequency of former-active smokers than cognitively normal. Moreover, patients with MCI showed a significantly higher frequency of active and secondhand smokers than patients with dementia or C. A smoking history is very frequent in older patients with dementia. Patients with MCI had even higher rate of exposure to active or secondhand smoking.