1,721,006 research outputs found
Pre-pandemic cognitive function and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: cohort study.
Full text linkBackground: Whereas several predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy have been reported, the role of cognitive function is largely unknown. Accordingly, our objective was to evaluate the association between scores from an array of cognitive function tests and self-reported vaccine hesitancy after the announcement of the successful testing of the first COVID-19 vaccine (Oxford University/AstraZeneca). Methods: We used individual-level data from a pandemic-focused study ('COVID Survey'), a prospective cohort study nested within United Kingdom Understanding Society ('Main Survey'). In the week immediately following the announcement of successful testing of the first efficacious inoculation (November/December 2020), data on vaccine intentionality were collected in 11,740 individuals (6702 women) aged 16–95 years. Pre-pandemic scores on general cognitive function, ascertained from a battery of six tests, were captured in 2011/12 wave of the Main Survey. Study members self-reported their intention to take up a vaccination in the COVID-19 Survey. Results: Of the study sample, 17.2% (N = 1842) indicated they were hesitant about having the vaccine. After adjustment for age, sex, and ethnicity, study members with a lower baseline cognition score were markedly more likely to be vaccine hesitant (odds ratio per standard deviation lower score in cognition; 95% confidence interval: 1.76; 1.62, 1.90). Adjustment for mental and physical health plus household shielding status had no impact on these results, whereas controlling for educational attainment led to partial attenuation but the probability of hesitancy was still elevated (1.52; 1.37, 1.67). There was a linear association for vaccine hesitancy across the full range of cognition scores (p for trend: p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Erroneous social media reports might have complicated personal decision-making, leading to people with lower cognitive ability being vaccine-hesitant. With individuals with lower cognition also experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 in studies conducted prior to vaccine distribution, these new findings are suggestive of a potential additional disease burden.</p
Language and movement in the brain: How does motor impairment in motor neuron disease influence the processing of action verbs?
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Letter Fluency in Motor Neurone Disease: Is there a specific action word deficit?
No full textRecent studies have demonstrated that there is a specific verb, or action word, deficit in patients with a comorbid diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and dementia of the frontotemporal type. However, there has been less research examining this deficit in patients with non-demented MND. Using a test of letter fluency, this study examined if there was a specific deficit in producing verbs and action words in patients with non-demented MND compared to controls. MND patients and controls produced a similar percentage of verbs, however, MND patients produced a significantly smaller percentage of action words than controls, suggesting that MND patients do not have a deficit producing verbs per sé, but that the deficit is specific to verbs involving movement. This result further advances the idea of a continuum from MND to frontotemporal dementia, as previous research has shown an action word impairment in both demented MND patients and patients with frontotemporal dementia. Now there is growing evidence to suggest that this impairment is also present in patients with non-demented MND. The current study also examined if physical disability in MND patients had an effect on the types of action words produced. Action words were categorised into which part of the body the movement involves. MND patients with impairment to specific body regions were examined to see if they produced fewer verbs involving movement of that body part. They were compared to MND patients without impairment to this body region and controls. However, it was found that although MND patients produced fewer action words overall, physical disability did not interact with the types of action words produced. The findings of this study offer support that knowledge of actions are impairment in MND
Health literacy, cognitive ability and health
Full text linkPoorer health literacy—the ability to acquire, understand and use health information
to make better health decisions—has been associated with worse health outcomes.
Poorer cognitive ability has also been found to predict increased risk of morbidity
and mortality. Health literacy is often assessed using brief tests of health-related
reading comprehension and numeracy. Scores on tests of health literacy have
moderate-to-strong correlations with cognitive ability test scores. Despite this, few
studies have investigated the associations of both health literacy and cognitive
ability with respect to health outcomes. This thesis examined whether health literacy
and cognitive ability, when studied together, have unique associations with health.
The first study in this thesis investigated the unique contributions of health literacy
and cognitive ability to smoking status in a sample of 8,734 middle-aged and older
adults from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Limited health literacy
(OR=1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.25) and poorer cognitive ability (OR per SD=0.94, 95% CI
0.89-0.99) were associated with increased odds of reporting ever smoking. These
associations were attenuated and non-significant after adjusting for education and
social class. In participants who reported ever smoking, limited health literacy
(OR=1.34, 95% CI 1.17-1.54) and poorer cognitive ability (OR=0.88, 95% CI 0.81-
0.95) were associated with being a current smoker, and this remained significant
even after adjusting for socioeconomic variables.
The second study investigated whether health literacy and cognitive ability were
independently associated with diabetes, using a sample of ELSA participants
(n=8,669). When examined concurrently, adequate health literacy (OR=0.82, 95%
CI 0.69-0.98) and higher cognitive ability (OR per SD=0.78, 95% CI 0.70-0.86) were
independently associated with lower odds of self-reported diabetes. Adjusting for
health behaviours attenuated these associations and they were no longer
significant. Individuals who did not have diabetes were then followed up for up to 10
years. Adequate health literacy (HR=0.72, 95% CI 0.59-0.87) and higher cognitive
ability (HR=0.79, 95% CI 0.71-0.88) were associated with a lower risk of developing
diabetes. These associations were attenuated by health behaviours and education.
The third study sought to determine the role of cognitive ability, measured in
childhood and in older age, in the association between health literacy and mortality.
Using data from 795 elderly participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, this
study found that lower scores on two tests of health literacy—the Newest Vital Sign
(OR per 1 point increase=0.89, 95% CI 0.80-0.99) and the shortened Test of
Functional Health Literacy in Adults (OR per 1 point increase=0.95, 95% CI 0.91-
0.98)—were significantly associated with increased risk of mortality. These
associations were almost unchanged when childhood cognitive ability was added to
the model. When additionally adjusting for cognitive ability in older age, the health
literacy-mortality associations were attenuated and no longer significant. Cognitive
ability in older adulthood, but not childhood cognitive ability, accounted for most of
the association between health literacy and mortality.
The genetic architecture of health literacy, cognitive ability, and health was
examined in the fourth study. This study investigated whether polygenic profile
scores for cognitive, education, and health-related traits were associated with
performance on a test of health literacy using 5,783 ELSA participants. Greater odds
of having adequate health literacy were associated with higher polygenic scores for
better cognitive ability (OR per SD increase=1.34, 95% CI 1.26-1.42) and more
years of schooling (OR=1.29, 95% CI 1.21-1.36). Reduced odds of having adequate
health literacy were associated with higher polygenic scores for poorer self-rated
health (OR=0.92, 95% CI 0.87-0.99) and schizophrenia (OR=0.91, 95% CI 0.85-
0.96). The association between health literacy, cognitive ability and health may, in
part, be due to shared genetic influences.
This thesis provided an examination of the role of health literacy and cognitive ability
in various aspects of health, including health behaviours, morbidity, and mortality.
The findings suggest that that at least some of the associations between health
literacy and health may be accounted for by cognitive ability, and that the
association between health literacy and cognitive ability may be partly due to shared
genetic aetiology. The degree of attenuation may depend on the health outcome
used and the health literacy and cognitive ability measures used
Genetic risk for neurodegenerative disorders, and its overlap with cognitive ability and physical function
Full text linkNeurodegenerative disorders are associated with impaired cognitive function and worse physical health outcomes. This study aims to test whether polygenic risk for Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is associated with cognitive function and physical health in the UK Biobank, a cohort of healthy individuals. Group-based analyses were then performed to compare the top and bottom 10% for the three neurodegenerative polygenic risk scores; these groups were compared on the cognitive and physical health variables. Higher polygenic risk for AD, ALS, and FTD was associated with lower cognitive performance. Higher polygenic risk for FTD was also associated with increased forced expiratory volume in 1s and peak expiratory flow. A significant group difference was observed on the symbol digit substitution task between individuals with high polygenic risk for FTD and high polygenic risk for ALS. The results suggest some overlap between polygenic risk for neurodegenerative disorders, cognitive function and physical health
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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