Rose Anne Kenny

Trinity College Dublin | TCD · Department of Medical Gerontology

Background: Falls are a common cause of injury, hospitalisation, functional decline, and residential care admission among older adults. Cardiovascular disorders are recognised risk factors for falls. This systematic review assesses the association between cardiovascular disorders and falls in older adults. Methods: Systematic searches were conduc...

Introduction: Among older adults, falls are the most common cause of injury, hospitalisation, functional decline, and residential care admission. Cardiovascular abnormalities are recognised as risk factors for falls. The purpose of this review was to search and analyse cardiovascular abnormalities associated with falls (both syncopal and non-syncop...

In this cross-sectional study, the relationship between noninvasively measured neurocardiovascular signal entropy and physical frailty was explored in a sample of community-dwelling older adults from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). The hypothesis under investigation was that dysfunction in the neurovascular and cardiovascular system...

Religious attendance is sometimes associated with better health outcomes, although the link between religion and cognitive ageing is inconclusive. We aimed to assess differences in cognitive performance trajectories by religious affiliation and religious attendance. We further sought to test possible mechanisms for an association.Data from the Iris...

Background: Research has shown the associations between negative aging perceptions and cognitive and physical decline may be mediated through behavioral and psychological pathways, but they are rarely examined simultaneously. We aimed at assessing the difference in the probability of following a high-, mid-, or low-performing cognitive trajectory,...

Importance With the global population aging, falls and fall-related injuries are ubiquitous, and several clinical practice guidelines for falls prevention and management for individuals 60 years or older have been developed. A systematic evaluation of the recommendations and agreement level is lacking. Objectives To perform a systematic review of...

Background Previous research showed that up to 56% of all dementia cases in Latin America could potentially be prevented if all modifiable risk factors were eliminated. Trends of studies in Latin America show, however, that lifestyles are declining. In absence of a cure, prevention is crucial. The aim was to develop a tool that can be used in prima...

Background: Many healthcare services were cancelled or postponed during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, likely impacting the management of chronic conditions prevalent among older adults in Ireland. Methods: Data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing COVID-19 study and previous waves were used. Taking healthcare demand into account,...

The belief that one is in a worse situation than similar others (Relative Deprivation) has been associated with involvement in a range of maladaptive escape behaviors, including excessive risk taking. Yet not everyone scoring high on measures of relative deprivation makes maladaptive choices. We hypothesized that hope may ameliorate the negative ef...

Background: Older adults are the most at-risk of contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and among the most affected by measures put in place to prevent the spread of the virus. While the full effect of the public health measures, such as social distancing and wearing masks in public spaces, implemented since March...

Background Orthostasis is a potent physiological stressor which adapts with age. The age-related accumulation of health deficits in multiple physiological systems may impair the physiological response to orthostasis and lead to negative health outcomes such as falls, depression and cognitive decline. Research to date has focused on changes with ort...

Brain-predicted age difference scores are calculated by subtracting chronological age from ‘brain’ age, which is estimated using neuroimaging data. Positive scores reflect accelerated ageing and are associated with increased mortality risk and poorer physical function. To date, however, the relationship between brain-predicted age difference scores...

Objectives Orthostatic hypotension, characterized by delayed blood pressure (BP) recovery after standing, is a risk factor for falls but the longitudinal relationship with fracture is not yet known. The aim of this study was to examine the prospective risk of fracture associated with delayed BP recovery. Design Longitudinal study with 8-year follo...

The monitoring of physiological function and dysfunction is an important principle in modern medicine. Heart rate is a basic example of this type of observation, particularly assessing the neurocardiac system, which entails the autonomic nervous system and intracardiac processes. The neurocardiac axis is an underappreciated and often overlooked sys...

The uncertainty surrounding high intakes of folic acid and associations with cognitive decline in older adults with low vitamin B12 status has been an obstacle to mandatory folic acid fortification for many years. We estimated the prevalence of combinations of low/normal/high vitamin B12 and folate status and compared associations with global cogni...

Background Cocooning or shielding, i.e. staying at home and reducing face-to-face interaction with other people, was an important part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic for older people. However, concerns exist regarding the long-term adverse effects cocooning may have on their physical and mental health. Aim To examine health trajectories...

Background Identification of those who are most at risk of developing specific patterns of disease across different populations is required for directing public health policy. Here, we contrast prevalence and patterns of cross-national disease incidence, co-occurrence and related risk factors across population samples from the U.S., Canada, England...

Objective To establish normative reference values for total grey matter cerebral blood flow (CBFGM) measured using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling (pCASL) MRI in a large cohort of community-dwelling adults aged 54 years and older. Background Quantitative assessment of CBFGM may provide an imaging biomarker for the early detection of thos...

Recent studies suggest that the lived environment can affect cognition across the lifespan. We examined, in a large cohort of older adults (n = 3447), whether susceptibility to a multisensory illusion, the Sound-Induced Flash Illusion (SIFI), was influenced by the reported urbanity of current and childhood (at age 14 years) residence. If urban envi...

Background Research has often found a U or J-shaped association between parity and mortality. Many researchers have suggested repeated pregnancy, childbirth and lactation taxes the body beyond a certain parity level. Available research has concentrated on populations with controlled fertility or historic populations. Ireland presents an opportunity...

Cognitive impairment occurs in 30%-50% of patients with non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Exercise is beneficial in preventing and treating cognitive impairment and cardiometabolic abnormalities in many chronic inflammatory diseases, but there are few studies investigating the impact of exercise in HCV infection. The study ai...

https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4912/rapid-responses

Aims To estimate the association between patterns of anticholinergic, benzodiazepine and Z‐drug medication use and change in cognitive function in middle‐aged and older adults. Methods This prospective cohort study used data from the first three waves of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), including community‐dwelling adults aged ≥50 y...

Cerebral blood flow and oxygenation are crucial for maintaining healthy brain structure and function, with hypoperfusion and hypometabolism associated with neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric conditions. Chronic stress and elevated cortisol have also been associated with cognitive decline, poor mental health and peripheral vascular and cerebrova...

Cardiovascular risk factors are increasingly recognized as modifiable risks for cognitive decline and dementia in later life. The Life’s Simple 7, an ideal CV health scoring system, has been recently put forward as a tool for the promotion of brain health. This study aims to evaluate the LS7 as risk prediction tool for cognitive decline trajectorie...

Detecting functional decline is critical in recognizing clinical progression into mild cognitive impairment and dementia as people age. This study aimed to investigate differences in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) and associations with cognition by gender. Data are from five waves of TILDA, a nationally representative cohort of 8,17...

The chapters in the report cover key issues such as risk factors for COVID-19 infection, including frailty, multimorbidity and medication usage; the utilisation of healthcare and home care and the types of health coverage; the contributions of older people to Ireland’s society and economy; access to and use of the internet among the older populatio...

Background Vasovagal syncope (VVS) is the most common form of syncope, accounting for 50-60% of unexplained syncope. Currently diagnosis is achieved via clinical assessment combined with the Head-Up Tilt Test (HUT). Aim To examine the utility of the active stand test (AS) to identify those with a positive HUT or diagnosis of VVS. Design Retrospec...

Objectives To assess 1) differences in the hemodynamic response to the active stand test in older adults with a clinical diagnosis of vasovagal syncope compared to age-matched controls 2) if the active stand test combined with machine learning approaches can be used to identify the presence of vasovagal syncope in older adults. Approach Adults age...

Vitamin D is a hormone that acts on many genes expressed by immune cells. Evidence linking vitamin D deficiency with COVID-19 severity is circumstantial but considerable—links with ethnicity, obesity, institutionalization; latitude and ultraviolet exposure; increased lung damage in experimental models; associations with COVID-19 severity in hospita...

Background Cognitive reserve (CR) enables individuals to maintain cognitive function despite the presence of brain pathology or atrophy [1]. CR is typically measured via proxy variables that reflect exposure to lifetime experiences, such as education [2]. Composite measures of multiple proxies combine contributions from several experiences and disp...

Background Little is known about risk factors of dementia in Latin American countries. Findings from western countries cannot be readily translated to Latin American countries. To inform risk stratification and targeted preventive strategies, we aimed to identify risk factors of incident dementia in Cuban older adults and explores how these change...

Multisensory perception might provide an important marker of brain function in ageing. However, the cortical structures supporting multisensory perception in ageing are poorly understood. In this study, we compared regional grey matter volume in a group of middle-aged (n = 101; 49 – 64 years) and older (n = 116; 71 – 87 years) adults from The Irish...

Vitamin D is a hormone that acts on many genes expressed by immune cells. Evidence linking vitamin D deficiency with COVID-19 severity is circumstantial but considerable - links with ethnicity, obesity, institutionalization; latitude and ultraviolet exposure; increased lung damage in experimental models; associations with COVID-19 severity in hospi...

BACKGROUND We hypothesized that cardiovascular physiology differs in reflex syncope patients compared with general population, predisposing such subjects to vasovagal reflex. METHODS In this multicohort cross-sectional study, we compared resting systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse pressure (PP) and heart rate (HR),...

At northern latitudes, non-ethnic population groups can be at an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency (defined as a 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] status ≤30 nmol/L). The vitamin D status of ethnic minority groups has been examined both in UK and European populations, but not in the Irish context. The aim of this study is to assess the vitamin D s...

Objective Cognitive impairment is prevalent in older ages. Associations with sleep are well established; however, ambiguity remains in which sleep characteristics contribute to this impairment. We examined cross‐sectional associations between both self‐reported and actigraphy‐based sleep and cognitive performance across a number of domains in commu...

Observational ecological and epidemiological studies have suggested increased risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity in groups with high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (older adults, and those with obesity, pre-existing medical conditions or darker skin). Emerging observational clinical studies have confirmed these associations, reporting h...

The aging process is characterized by the presence of high interindividual variation between individuals of the same chronical age prompting a search for biomarkers that capture this heterogeneity. Epigenetic clocks measure changes in DNA methylation levels at specific CpG sites that are highly correlated with calendar age. The discrepancy resultin...

Significance: Macular pigment (MP) confers potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects at the macula; however, its optical density in the eye is not routinely measured in clinical practice. Purpose: This study explored a range of surrogate biomarkers including anthropometric, clinical, and plasma measures that may be associated with lower MP...

There is growing evidence linking vitamin D deficiency with risk of COVID-19. It is therefore distressing that there is major disagreement about the optimal serum level for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and appropriate supplement dose. The UK Scientific Advisory Committee for Nutrition has set the lowest level for defining sufficiency (10 ng/ml or...

Background: Diabetes is associated with gait deficits, future falls and disability, however it is unclear if associations remain after controlling for relevant confounders. This study investigated (i) the effects of type II diabetes on spatiotemporal gait parameters in community-dwelling older adults and (ii) if diabetes status was independently a...

Exposure to indoor air pollution is known to affect respiratory and cardiovascular health, but little is known about its effects on cognitive function. We measured the concentrations and magnetite content of airborne particulate matter (PM) in the indoor environment arising from burning peat, wood or coal in residential open fires. Highest indoor P...

Sensory impairment is common in ageing, as are approaches to treat it. However, the impact of age-related sensory impairment upon multisensory perception remains unex-plored, despite the multisensory nature of our environment. Here, we used data from The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TILDA) to investigate whether common, age-related eye disea...

Purpose: Concerns exist around under-detection and under-treatment of urinary incontinence (UI) in specific patient groups, particularly older people. The aim of this study is to ascertain the prevalence of unreported UI in a large sample of older adults, to profile factors associated with under-reporting of UI and the association of unreported UI...

LINKED CONTENT This article is linked to Rhodes et al and Liu & Li papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15777 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16048

Background: Resilience has been found to moderate the association between childhood trauma and later depression. We examined whether resilience mediates the association between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and later life depression among older adults. Methods: : Data were from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a prospective st...

Background: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) can be assessed with non-invasive continuous beat-to-beat haemodynamic monitoring during active stand (AS) testing; this yields large volumes of data outside the scope of the traditional OH definition. We explored clinical associations of different AS patterns in participants from Wave 1 of the Irish Longit...

Background: Up to half of patients presenting with falls, syncope or dizziness are admitted to hospital. Many are discharged without a clear diagnosis for their index episode however, and therefore a relatively high risk of readmission. Aim: To examine the impact of ED-FASS (Emergency Department Falls & Syncope Service) a dedicated specialist se...

Background: This study aimed to examine associations of personality with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and physical activity (PA), PA with GAD, and PA mediates associations between personality and incident GAD. Methods: Participants aged ≥50 years completed the 60-item NEO-Five Factor Inventory questionnaire to assess personality and short-for...

Background Aspirin use for cardiovascular indications is widespread despite evidence not supporting use in patients without cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study characterises aspirin prescribing among people aged ≥50 years in Ireland for primary and secondary prevention, and factors associated with prescription. Methods This cross-sectional stu...

Objectives Antidepressant use is often reported as a risk factor for Orthostatic Hypotension (OH), however this relationship has never been explored in those with mild/moderate Alzheimer Disease (AD), who may represent a particularly vulnerable cohort. Methods We performed a cross‐sectional analysis of baseline data from the NILVAD study. Particip...

Background: Research on mortality at the population level has been severely restricted by an absence of linked death registration and survey data in Ireland. We describe the steps taken to link death registration information with survey data from a nationally representative prospective study of community-dwelling older adults. We also provide a pro...

Frailty is a common clinical syndrome that predisposes older adults to an increased risk of adverse health outcomes. With population aging, this will become an increasing challenge for the healthcare services; therefore, different models of healthcare training and provision are required to address these increasing demands. In Ireland, the National...

Cause of death is an important outcome in end-of-life (EOL) research. However, difficulties in assigning cause of death have been well documented. We compared causes of death in national death registrations with those reported in EOL interviews. Data were from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a nationally representative sample of com...

Background: A shift towards the dynamic measurement of physiologic resilience and improved technology incorporated into experimental paradigms in aging research is producing high-resolution data. Identifying the most appropriate analysis method for this type of data is a challenge. In this work, the functional principal component analysis (fPCA) wa...

Background SARS‐CoV‐2 coronavirus infection ranges from asymptomatic through to fatal COVID‐19 characterised by a “cytokine storm” and lung failure. Vitamin D deficiency has been postulated as a determinant of severity. Objectives To review the evidence relevant to vitamin D and COVID‐19 Methods Narrative review Results Regression modelling show...

This study aimed to investigate the independent and synergistic effects of childhood and adult social class, as well as the effect of social mobility, on type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in later life. Cross-sectional data from The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TILDA) (n = 4,998), a nationally representative probability sample of adults aged 50 and...

Allostatic Load (AL) is posited to provide a measure of cumulative physiological dysregulation across multiple biological systems and demonstrates promise as a sub-clinical marker of overall health. Despite the large heterogeneity of measures employed in the literature to represent AL, few studies have investigated the impact of different AL scorin...

Objectives To examine (1) the clustering of reduced falls-efficacy, social withdrawal, and physical activity withdrawal in Irish adults aged 50 years and older, and (2) the concurrent and prospective associations of these clustered behaviors with cognitive decline. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Setting and Participants Data were from 4571 par...

Objectives To establish agreement between self-reported and actigraphy-based total sleep time (TST). To determine the impact of self-reported sleep problems on these measurements. Design Cross-sectional study using data from Wave 3 of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (2014–2015). Participants Community-dwelling older adults, aged ≥50 years,...