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Background: Metformin has been suggested to reduce dementia risk; however, most epidemiologic studies have been limited by immortal time bias or confounding due to disease severity. Objectives: To investigate the association of metformin initiation with incident dementia using strategies that mitigate these important sources of bias. Methods: Residents of Ontario, Canada ≥66 years newly diagnosed with diabetes from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2017 entered this retrospective population‐based cohort. To consider the indication for metformin monotherapy initiation, people with hemoglobin A1c of 6.5%–8.0% and estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥45 mL/min/1.73 m2 were selected. Using the landmark method to address immortal time bias, exposure was grouped into "metformin monotherapy initiation within 180 days after new diabetes diagnosis" or "no glucose‐lowering medications within 180 days." To address disease latency, 1‐year lag time was applied to the end of the 180‐day landmark period. Incident dementia was defined using a validated algorithm for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) and confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated from propensity‐score weighted Cox proportional hazard models. Results: Over mean follow‐up of 6.77 years from cohort entry, metformin initiation within 180 days after new diabetes diagnosis (N = 12,331; 978 events; 65,762 person‐years) showed no association with dementia risk (aHR [95% CI] = 1.05 [0.96–1.15]), compared to delayed or no glucose‐lowering medication initiation (N = 22,369; 1768 events; 117,415 person‐years). Conclusion: Early metformin initiation was not associated with incident dementia in older adults newly diagnosed with diabetes. The utility of metformin to prevent dementia was not supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study aimed to determine whether the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia (QUALID) scale is responsive to changes in behaviour due to therapeutic intervention. Method 31 long-term care residents with moderate to severe AD and agitation/aggression entered a three-month, open-label trial of memantine 10 mg BID. The relationships between the QUALID and BPSD, global improvement, and cognition at baseline and endpoint, as well as the changes in these scales as a result of treatment, were examined. Results Despite a significant improvement in agitation and aggression (NPI agitation, F3,90 = 3.721, p =.014; CMAI total, F3,90 = 6.301, p =.001) and overall behaviour (NPI total, F3,90 = 4.035, p =.010), there was no significant change in QUALID score (t30 =-0.278, p =.783). The QUALID was correlated with NPI at baseline (τ = 0.270, p =.037) and endpoint (τ = 0.404, p =.002), but change scores were not correlated (τ = 0.107, p =.412). Conclusion While the QUALID correlates with behavioural measures at single time points, it does not appear to correlate with changes longitudinally associated with treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the introduction of mandatory Canadian folic acid flour fortification in mid-1997, the incidence of selected childhood cancers that declined in Ontario prior to and subsequent to this public policy initiative was examined. A population-based cohort study of all incident cases of childhood malignancy in Ontario between the years 1985 and 2006 was conducted. Participants were identified from a database provided by the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario and included children 0 to 4 years of age and 5 to 9 years of age who were diagnosed with cancer. Among children aged 0 to 4 years, the incidence rate of Wilms’ tumor declined from 1.94 to 1.43 per 100 000 (incidence rate ratio 0.74, 95% confidence interval, 0.57-0.95). No significant change was seen in the prefortification vs postfortification time periods for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, brain cancers, or embryonal cancers among the 0- to 4-year or 5- to 9-year age groups. There was an approximately 30% reduction in risk of Wilms’ tumor following introduction of the initiative. This corroborates a recent case-control study from Germany. These data may also provide some reassurance that universal flour fortification does not heighten the risk of pediatric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background and Purpose: Many patients with ischemic stroke present with multiple comorbidities that threaten survival and recovery. This study sought to determine the risks of adverse long-term stroke outcomes associated with multimorbid diabetes mellitus and depression., Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on consecutive patients without premorbid dementia admitted from the community for a first-ever acute ischemic stroke to comprehensive stroke centers across Ontario, Canada (2003-2013). Premorbid histories of diabetes mellitus and depression were ascertained within 5 years before stroke admission. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHR [95% CI]) of admission to long-term care, incident dementia, readmission for stroke or transient ischemic attack and all-cause mortality, over time among those discharged back into the community poststroke., Results: Among 23 579 stroke admissions, n=20 201 were discharged back into the community. Diabetes mellitus and depression were associated with synergistic hazards of admission to long-term care (X 2 =5.4; P =0.02) over a median follow-up of 5.6 years. This interaction was observed among women specifically; depression multimorbidity showed particularly high hazards of admission to long-term care (aHR Depression =1.57 [1.24-1.98]) and incident dementia (aHR Depression =1.85 [1.40-2.44]) among women with diabetes mellitus. In the whole cohort, diabetes mellitus and depression were associated individually with long-term care admission (aHR Diabetes =1.20 [1.12-1.29]; aHR Depression =1.19 [1.04-1.37]), incident dementia (aHR Diabetes =1.14 [1.06-1.23]; aHR Depression =1.27 [1.08-1.49]), stroke/transient ischemic attack readmission (aHR Diabetes =1.18 [1.10-1.26]; aHR Depression =1.24 [1.07-1.42]), and all-cause mortality (aHR Diabetes =1.29 [1.23-1.36]; aHR Depression =1.16 [1.05-1.29])., Conclusions: The risks of dementia and needing long-term care in the years after surviving a stroke were particularly elevated among women when premorbid diabetes mellitus and depression occurred together. Long-term stroke recovery strategies might target high-risk patients with mood and metabolic multimorbidity.

Background/aims: Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a frequent problem encountered in the elderly. The aim of this study was to elucidate the factors that influence ADEs in an elderly population with cognitive impairment., Methods: 242 patients were recruited from dementia clinics and assessed after 6 months for ADEs. The use of natural health products (NHPs) was also documented., Results: Backward logistic regression found that higher age (OR = 1.06; 95% CI 1.01-1.12), and greater cognitive impairment (OR = 0.94; 95% CI 0.90-0.98) were associated with an increased risk of developing an ADE while the use of NHPs (OR = 0.32; 95% CI 0.13-0.79) was associated with a decreased risk (chi(2) = 27.6, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Risk of ADEs increased with greater age and cognitive impairment but decreased with the use of NHPs.

Objective: Herbal medicines and conventional drug therapies are often taken in combination. The objective of our study was to identify the range of natural health products and conventional drug therapies used by older adults (aged 65 years and over) attending a memory clinic, and to specifically evaluate the frequency of potential interactions between herbal medicines and conventional drug therapies., Design: We interviewed consecutive patients attending the Memory Disorders Clinic at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, a University of Toronto teaching hospital, between 4 July and 15 August 2000. Patients were asked to bring to their appointment all natural health products (i.e. herbal medicines, vitamins and minerals) and conventional drug therapies (i.e. prescription and over-the-counter) they were currently using. We collected information on current and previously used natural health products and current conventional drug therapies. Patients were classified as having the potential for an interaction if they were using a current herbal medicine in combination with a conventional drug therapy and the interaction had been reported previously in the medical literature., Participants: We interviewed 195 consecutive patients attending the Memory Disorders Clinic at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ontario, Canada., Results: Of the 195 patients in our sample, 33 (17%) were 'current users', 19 (10%) were 'past users', and 143 (73%) were 'never users' of herbal medicines. Among the 52 patients who were 'current or past users', the most frequently used herbal medicines were ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) [39 users], garlic (n = 10), glucosamine sulphate (n = 9) and echinacea (n = 8). Among the 33 patients who were current users, the most commonly used herbal medicines were Ginkgo biloba (n = 22), glucosamine sulphate (n = 8) and garlic (n = 6). Among the 33 current users, we identified 11 potential herb-drug interactions in nine patients. The 11 herb-drug interactions we identified were between ginkgo and aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) [n = 8], ginkgo and trazodone (n = 1), ginseng and amlodipine (n = 1) and valerian and lorazepam (n = 1)., Conclusions: Herbal medicines are widely used. Almost one-third of current users of herbal medicines were at risk of a herb-drug interaction. The most common potential herb-drug interaction was between ginkgo and aspirin. This finding has important potential implications because both of these products are regularly used by older people. Physicians and other healthcare providers should be aware of potential herb-drug interactions and should monitor and inform their patients accordingly.