Exploring temperature and humidity environment combined with air quality index, black carbon, the short-term effect of combined exposure on respiratory disease mortality in Southwest China

by Hengyu Su, Di Wu, Song Chen, Kaiyang Guo, Huifang Xie

This study investigates the correlation, impact, and hysteresis effect of joint exposure to the Temperature-Humidity Index (THI), Air Quality Index (AQI), and Black Carbon (BC) on respiratory disease mortality (RDM) in urban areas of the southwest basin of China, characterized by a subtropical monsoon climate. Dose-response analysis of THI, AQI, BC using a non-restrictive cubic spline model, a time series analysis was conducted to assess the relative risk (RR) of death from respiratory diseases using the distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) and the generalized additive model (GAM) based on the quasi-Poisson distribution. The RCS curve of THI exhibits a ‘U’ shape, with THI=67 representing the lowest point of mortality risk. The RCS curves for BC and AQI are linear and demonstrate a positive correlation with mortality outcomes. The peak mortality risk associated with the AQI typically occurs at Lag 2-3, with T3A3 (THI ≥ 75 and AQI ≥ P90) contributing to the highest excess mortality [excess increased risk rate (ER) = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.20, 0.81]. The peak risk of mortality associated with BC occurs at Lag0, with the highest excess mortality resulting from T3B3 (THI ≥ 75 and BC ≥ P90) combined events (ER=0.28, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.58). The cumulative relative risk (CRR) was highest in T3, with the peak CRR of 3.99 (95% CI: 1.26, 7.11) observed in definition T3A3. The relative risk of interaction (RERI) reveals varying degrees of positive additive interactions (RERI > 0) among AQI, BC, and THI.

Rehabilitation effects of game therapy in people living with dementia: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Background

As a devastating neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer's disease (AD) imposes a considerable direct and indirect financial burden. However, effective drug treatment options are limited. In recent years, game therapy has become a research hotspot in this field.

Aims

The purpose of this study was to synthesize the conclusions of existing studies and integrate the data to evaluate the effects of game therapy on people living with dementia (PLWD).

Methods

We included randomized clinical trials and quasi-experimental studies which assessed the impacts of game therapy on PLWD and took cognitive function, quality of life, and depression as outcome indicators. Two trained researchers independently screened the studies, evaluated the quality, and extracted the data. Statistical analysis was performed by Review Manager (Revman) 5.3 and STATA16.0 software.

Results

There were 12 studies involving 877 PLWD included, total. The results of the meta-analysis demonstrated that the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores of the test group were significantly higher than that of the control group (SMD = 2.69, 95% CI [1.88, 3.51], p < .01), and the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia scores of the test group were significantly lower than those of the control group (SMD = −4.28, 95% CI [−6.96, −1.60], p < .01); but in terms of quality of life (SMD = 0.17, 95% CI [−0.82, 1.16], p = .74), the difference was not statistically significant.

Linking Evidence to Action

Game therapy can improve cognitive function and depression in PLWD. The combination of different types of games can improve the different clinical symptoms of PLWD, and different intervention time also have different effects on the outcome, which shows that we can develop unique, systematic, safe, and scientific game intervention programs for PLWD to improve their cognitive function and depression.