BackgroundObservational studies suggested an association between diabetes and the risk of various geriatric conditions (i.e., cognitive impairment, dementia, depression, mobility impairment, disability, falls, and urinary incontinence). However, the magnitude and impact of diabetes on older adults have not been reviewed.Methodology/Principal FindingsMEDLINE and PSYCINFO databases were searched through November 2007 for published studies, supplemented by manual searches of bibliographies of key articles. Population-based, prospective cohort studies that reported risk of geriatric outcomes in relation to diabetes status at baseline were selected. Two authors independently extracted the data, including study population and follow-up duration, ascertainment of diabetes status at baseline, outcomes of interest and their ascertainment, adjusted covariates, measures of association, and brief results. Fifteen studies examined the association of DM with cognitive dysfunction. DM was associated with a faster decline in cognitive function among older adults. The pooled adjusted risk ratio (RR) for all dementia when persons with DM were compared to those without was 1.47 (95% CI, 1.25 to 1.73). Summary RRs for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia comparing persons with DM to those without were 1.39 (CI, 1.16 to 1.66) and 2.38 (CI, 1.79 to 3.18), respectively. Four of 5 studies found significant association of DM with faster mobility decline and incident disability. Two studies examined the association of diabetes with falls in older women. Both found statistically significant associations. Insulin users had higher RR for recurrent falls. One study for urinary incontinence in older women found statistically significant associations. Two studies for depression did not suggest that DM was an independent predictor of incident depression.Conclusions/SignificanceCurrent evidence supports that DM is associated with increased risk for selected geriatric conditions. Clinicians should increase their awareness and provide appropriate care. Future research is required to elucidate the underlying pathological pathway.

Dementia is a complex human disease. The incidence of dementia among the elderly population is rising rapidly worldwide. In the United States, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading type of dementia and was the fifth and eighth leading cause of death in women and men aged > or = 65 years, respectively, in 2003. In Taiwan and many other counties, dementia is a hidden health issue because of its underestimation in the elderly population. In Western countries, the prevalence of AD increases from 1-3% among people aged 60-64 years to 35% among those aged > 85 years. In Taiwan, the prevalence of dementia for people aged > or = 65 years was 2-4% by 2000. Therefore, it is important to identify protective and risk factors for dementia to prevent this disease at an early stage. Several factors are related to dementia, e.g. age, ethnicity, sex, genetic factors, physical activity, smoking, drug use, education level, alcohol consumption, body mass index, comorbidity, and environmental factors. In this review, we focus on studies that have evaluated the association between these factors and the risk of dementia, especially AD and vascular dementia. We also suggest future research directions for researchers in dementia-related fields.

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BackgroundAccumulated evidences have shown that vascular risk factors, e.g., hypertension, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia, may be related to the risk of dementia. This study investigated the association between genetic polymorphisms of a vascular susceptibility gene, Ninjurin2 (NINJ2), and the risk of dementia, which has not been explored previously.MethodsA total of 275 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and 119 vascular dementia (VaD) patients aged 50 or older were recruited from three teaching hospitals from 2007 to 2010. Healthy controls (n = 423) with the same age of cases were recruited from the health checkup and volunteers worked at the hospital during the same time period. Five common (frequency >5%) haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (htSNPs) in NINJ2 were genotyped to test for the association between sequence variants of NINJ2 and dementia risk, and how vascular risk factors modify this association.ResultsHomozygosity of two NINJ2 SNPs was significantly associated with a decreased risk of AD [rs11833579: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.43; 95% confidence interval (CI)  = 0.23–0.80; rs12425791: AOR  = 0.33, 95% CI  = 0.12–0.96]. Five common haplotypes (cumulative frequency  = 97%) were identified. The global test for the association between NINJ2 haplotypes and AD was significant (p = 0.03). Haplotype CAGGA was significantly associated with a decreased risk of AD (AOR  = 0.32, 95% CI  = 0.11–0.94). No associations were observed for VaD.ConclusionInherited polymorphisms of the vascular susceptibility gene NINJ2 were associated with AD risk.

Sunlight/UV (ultraviolet)-induced degradation is still a critical issue for outdoor applications of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. Therefore, effective UV-blocking structures that can prevent OLED displays from sunlight/UV degradation and still keep the OLED panels’ display performance is necessary. In this report, modified distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) structures having UV-absorbing dielectric materials and adjusted layer/pair thicknesses were developed to realize effective UV blocking properties (nearly 0% transmittance below 400 nm), constantly high transmittance like glass in the visible range (∼92%) required for display applications, and sharp transition in transmission between the UV and the visible ranges. Furthermore, under the rigorous IEC 60068-2-5 solar test condition, it was verified that the developed modified, UV-blocking DBR can effectively enhance the OLED panel’s resistance against UV/solar-induced degradation, effectively reducing voltage shifts of OLED devices after repeated solar test cycles.

Background The three geriatric conditions, depression, dementia and delirium (3D’s), are common among hospitalized older patients and often lead to impairments of activities of daily living. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of depression, dementia and delirium on activities of daily living (ADLs) during and after hospitalization. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted between 2012 and 2013 in a tertiary medical center in Taiwan. Patients who aged over 65 years and admitted to the geriatric ward were invited to this study. Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, Mini-Mental State and Confusion Assessment Method were used to identify patients with depression, dementia and delirium on admission, respectively. Barthel Index (BI) was used to evaluate patients’ functional status on admission, at discharge, 30-day, 90-day and 180-day after discharge. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) was used to calculate the associations between 3 D’s and BI. Results One-hundred-and-forty-nine patients were included in this study. Twenty-seven patients (18.1%) had depression, 37 (24.8%) had dementia, and 85 (57.0%) had delirium. The study demonstrated that all the geriatric patients with functional decline presented gradual improvements of physical function up to 180 days after discharge. Whether depression exists did not substantially affect functional recovery after discharge, whilst either dementia or delirium could impede elder people functional status. The recovery of functional improvement in delirium or dementia was relatively irreversible when comparing with depression. Once delirium or dementia was diagnosed, poorer functional restore was expected. In brief, intensive work and strategies on modifying delirium or dementia should be put more effort as early as possible. Conclusions Old hospitalized patients with depression can recover well after adequate intervention. We emphasize that early detection of dementia and delirium is imperative in subsequent functional outcome, even if at or before admission. Comprehensive plan must be implemented timely.

Background The three geriatric conditions, depression, dementia and delirium (3D’s), are common among hospitalized older patients and often lead to impairments of activities of daily living. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of depression, dementia and delirium on activities of daily living (ADLs) during and after hospitalization. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted between 2012 and 2013 in a tertiary medical center in Taiwan. Patients aged 65 years and older admitted to the geriatric ward were invited to this study. Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, Mini-Mental State and Confusion Assessment Method were used to identify patients with depression, dementia and delirium on admission, respectively. Barthel Index (BI) was used to evaluate patients’ functional status on admission, at discharge, 30-day, 90-day and 180-day after discharge. Generalized Estimating Equation was used to calculate the associations between 3 D’s and BI. Results One-hundred-and-forty-nine patients were included in this study. Twenty-seven patients (18.1%) had depression, 37 (24.8%) had dementia, and 85 (57.0%) had delirium. There were significant lower BI scores in patients with dementia and delirium compared with those without up to 180 days after discharge, but no difference was seen in the depression group. In general, patients had delirium or dementia had worsening functional status, even though significant magnitude of improvements on BI scores after discharge. Conclusions Depression does not affect patients’ ADLs. On the other hand, dementia and delirium can persistently limit patients’ physical function. Future care should focus more on dementia and delirium to restore function.