Darina Bassil - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Darina Bassil

Research paper thumbnail of Lower Incidence of Dementia Following Cancer Diagnoses: Evidence from a Large Cohort and Mendelian Randomization Study

˜The œJournal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease/JPAD, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Exposure to Adversity and its Impact on Later Life Cognitive, Mental, and Physical Health

International journal of public health, Jun 19, 2024

Objectives: We aimed to assess later-life health responses to childhood and lifetime adversity in... more Objectives: We aimed to assess later-life health responses to childhood and lifetime adversity in a cohort of rural, Black South African adults. Methods: We performed ordinary least squares regression using two waves of data from Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) to estimate a decline in cognitive, mental, and physical health over approximately 3 years. Our analytic sample consisted of 1,993 women and 1,496 men. Results: Associations between several types of adversity and health outcomes point to declines in health. At the same time, many adverse experiences are associated with improvements in cognitive, mental, and physical health in later life. The direction of the association varied by type of exposure, health outcome, and gender. Conclusion: In populations exposed to many adversities during life, specific adverse experiences may sometimes be associated with greater improvements (and not just greater decline) in health in later life. Further research is needed to unpack the mechanisms at play in these populations.

Research paper thumbnail of Mid-life household food insecurity and subsequent memory function and rate of decline in rural South Africa, 2004-2022

Neuroepidemiology, Jun 10, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Mid-life employment trajectories and subsequent memory function and rate of decline in rural South Africa, 2000–22

International journal of epidemiology, Feb 14, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Associations between cohort derived dementia and COVID-19 serological diagnosis among older Black adults in rural South Africa

Frontiers in Public Health, Jan 4, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Association of brain arterial diameters with demographic and anatomical factors in a multi-national pooled analysis of cohort studies

The Neuroradiology Journal, Dec 25, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Reading between the lines: the association between education, literacy, and dementia in a cohort of older South African adults

Alzheimer's & Dementia, Nov 30, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Cerebrovascular disease is associated with memory function in the Health and Aging in Africa Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community in rural South Africa

Alzheimer's & Dementia, Nov 30, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Estimating Dementia Prevalence in Rural South Africa with Remote Consensus Diagnoses and Algorithmic Modeling

Research paper thumbnail of Dementia Prevalence Among Older South Africans: Integrating Remote Diagnoses and Algorithmic Modeling Approaches

Research paper thumbnail of A Multi‐National Collaboration to Assess the Feasibility and Sustainability of Implementing Multimodal Brain Health Promotion Strategies in Sub‐Saharan Africa (The AFRICA‐FINGERS Project)

Alzheimer's & Dementia, Nov 30, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of a Cash Transfer Intervention on Memory Decline and Dementia Probability in Older Adults in Rural South Africa: An Ancillary Extension to a Phase 3 Randomized Controlled Trial

Research paper thumbnail of Prospective Evaluation of Cognitive Health and Related Factors in Elderly at Risk for Developing Alzheimer’s Dementia: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, 2019

Background: The CHARIOT PRO Main study is a prospective, non-interventional study evaluating cogn... more Background: The CHARIOT PRO Main study is a prospective, non-interventional study evaluating cognitive trajectories in participants at the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) classified by risk levels for developing mild cognitive impairment due to AD (MCI-AD). Objectives: The study aimed to characterize factors and markers influencing cognitive and functional progression among individuals at-risk for developing MCI-AD, and examine data for more precise predictors of cognitive change, particularly in relation to APOE ε4 subgroup. Design: This single-site study was conducted at the Imperial College London (ICL) in the United Kingdom. Participants 60 to 85 years of age were classified as high, medium (amnestic or non-amnestic) or low risk for developing MCI-AD based on RBANS z-scores. A series of clinical outcome assessments (COAs) on factors influencing baseline cognitive changes were collected in each of the instrument categories of cognition, lifestyle exposure, mood, and...

Research paper thumbnail of Telomere Length, Health, and Mortality in a Cohort of Older Black South African Adults

The Journals of Gerontology: Series A

Telomere length (TL) may be a biomarker of aging processes as well as age-related diseases. Howev... more Telomere length (TL) may be a biomarker of aging processes as well as age-related diseases. However, most studies of TL and aging are conducted in high-income countries. Less is known in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as South Africa, where life expectancy remains lower despite population aging. We conducted a descriptive analysis of TL in a cohort of older adults in rural South Africa. TL was assayed from venous blood draws using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (T/S ratio). We examined the correlation between TL and biomarkers, demographic characteristics, mental/cognitive health measures, and physical performance measures in a subsample of the Wave 1 2014–2015 “Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa” (HAALSI) cohort (n = 510). We used logistic regression to measure the association between TL and mortality through Wave 3 (2021–2022). In bivariate analyses, TL was significantly correlated with age (r = −0.29, p ...

Research paper thumbnail of Feasibility of an online consensus approach for the diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia in rural South Africa

Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring

Research paper thumbnail of OUP accepted manuscript

International Journal Of Epidemiology, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Protocol of the Cognitive Health in Ageing Register: Investigational, Observational and Trial Studies in Dementia Research (CHARIOT): Prospective Readiness cOhort (PRO) SubStudy

Introduction The Cognitive Health in Ageing Register: Investigational, Observational and Trial St... more Introduction The Cognitive Health in Ageing Register: Investigational, Observational and Trial Studies in Dementia Research (CHARIOT): Prospective Readiness cOhort (PRO) SubStudy (CPSS), sponsored by Janssen Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC, is an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) biomarker enriched observational study that began 3 July 2015 CPSS aims to identify and validate determinants of AD, alongside cognitive, functional and biological changes in older adults with or without detectable evidence of AD pathology at baseline. Methods and analysis CPSS is a dual-site longitudinal cohort (3.5 years) assessed quarterly. Cognitively normal participants (60–85 years) were recruited across Greater London and Edinburgh. Participants are classified as high, medium (amnestic or non-amnestic) or low risk for developing mild cognitive impairment–Alzheimer’s disease based on their Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status performance at screening. Additional AD-relat...

Research paper thumbnail of Is There an Association Between Cancer and Dementia in Cohorts with and Without T2DM? A National Observational Study

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Background: Previous studies have suggested an inverse association and a hypothesized mutually pr... more Background: Previous studies have suggested an inverse association and a hypothesized mutually protective effect between several forms of cancer and late-onset dementia (LOD). Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is an established important risk factor for both diseases; however, the precise relationships between T2DM, cancer and LOD still remain poorly understood. This thesis investigates the relationship between different cancers and risk of LOD, and explores the role of prediabetes or T2DM in these associations. Methodology: Using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a massive UK primary care database, in years, 1998-2015, a sample of individuals ≥ 65 years old, with and without T2DM were identified. All individuals aged ≥ 65 years old, with and without a T2DM diagnosis were included in this analysis. Individuals with an LOD diagnosis prior to 65 years of age or prior to a T2DM diagnosis, were excluded. All study participants were followed up from the index date to the censor date. Participants were censored at point of LOD diagnosis, death, end of observation period (2015) or last data upload date (last date of follow-up), whichever came first. It was required that participants have been under observation by CPRD for > 1 year prior to cohort entry. Exploratory analyses were performed to investigate the incidence rates of LOD in both non-T2DM and T2DM cohorts. Cox proportional hazard models, with time-dependent covariates, were used to determine the risk of LOD in individuals with and without a cancer diagnosis in both non-T2DM and T2DM cohorts. The cause-specific hazard ratio (csHR) and sub-distribution hazard ratio (sdHR) for overall LOD and death in individuals with cancer were computed, to account for death as a competing risk. Results: Separate analyses amongst 217,335 individuals with T2DM and 739,061 without T2DM were performed. The mean age (SD) of individuals with T2DM at cohort entry was 71.62 (7.09) years (47.3% females) vs.70.80 (7.66) years (56.9 % females) in the non-T2DM cohort. During follow-up, a total of 165,272 (22 %) and 32,022 (15 %) cancer cases and 51,733 (7 %) and 11,450 (5%) LOD cases were identified in the non-T2DM and T2DM cohorts, respectively. In the non-T2DM cohort, 10,602 (6 %) had both LOD and cancer diagnosis vs.

Research paper thumbnail of Late-Life Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Factors as Determinants of Neurocognitive Trajectories: Data from the Cognitive Health in Ageing Register for Investigational and Observational Trials Prospective Readiness Cohort (Chariot Pro) Main Study

Research paper thumbnail of Limitations of platform assays to measure serum 25OHD level impact on guidelines and practice decision making

Metabolism: clinical and experimental, Jan 15, 2018

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) is the preferred method to measure 25 hydroxyv... more Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) is the preferred method to measure 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels, but laboratories are increasingly adopting automated platform assays. We assessed the performance of commonly used automated immunoassays, with that of LC-MS/MS, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reference values, to measure 25OHD levels. We compared serum 25OHD levels obtained from 219 elderly subjects, enrolled in a vitamin D trial, using the Diasorin Liaison platform assay, and the tandem LC-MS/MS method. We also assessed the performance of the Diasorin and Roche automated assays, expressed as mean % bias from the NIST standards, based on the vitamin D External Quality Assessment Scheme (DEQAS) reports, from 2013 to 2017. Serum 25OHD levels were significantly lower in the Diasorin compared to LC-MS/MS assay at baseline, 18.5 ± 7.8 vs 20.5 ± 7.6 ng/ml (p < 0.001), and all other time points. Diasorin (25OHD) = 0.76× LC-MS/MS (25OHD...

Research paper thumbnail of Lower Incidence of Dementia Following Cancer Diagnoses: Evidence from a Large Cohort and Mendelian Randomization Study

˜The œJournal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease/JPAD, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Exposure to Adversity and its Impact on Later Life Cognitive, Mental, and Physical Health

International journal of public health, Jun 19, 2024

Objectives: We aimed to assess later-life health responses to childhood and lifetime adversity in... more Objectives: We aimed to assess later-life health responses to childhood and lifetime adversity in a cohort of rural, Black South African adults. Methods: We performed ordinary least squares regression using two waves of data from Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) to estimate a decline in cognitive, mental, and physical health over approximately 3 years. Our analytic sample consisted of 1,993 women and 1,496 men. Results: Associations between several types of adversity and health outcomes point to declines in health. At the same time, many adverse experiences are associated with improvements in cognitive, mental, and physical health in later life. The direction of the association varied by type of exposure, health outcome, and gender. Conclusion: In populations exposed to many adversities during life, specific adverse experiences may sometimes be associated with greater improvements (and not just greater decline) in health in later life. Further research is needed to unpack the mechanisms at play in these populations.

Research paper thumbnail of Mid-life household food insecurity and subsequent memory function and rate of decline in rural South Africa, 2004-2022

Neuroepidemiology, Jun 10, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Mid-life employment trajectories and subsequent memory function and rate of decline in rural South Africa, 2000–22

International journal of epidemiology, Feb 14, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Associations between cohort derived dementia and COVID-19 serological diagnosis among older Black adults in rural South Africa

Frontiers in Public Health, Jan 4, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Association of brain arterial diameters with demographic and anatomical factors in a multi-national pooled analysis of cohort studies

The Neuroradiology Journal, Dec 25, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Reading between the lines: the association between education, literacy, and dementia in a cohort of older South African adults

Alzheimer's & Dementia, Nov 30, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Cerebrovascular disease is associated with memory function in the Health and Aging in Africa Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community in rural South Africa

Alzheimer's & Dementia, Nov 30, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Estimating Dementia Prevalence in Rural South Africa with Remote Consensus Diagnoses and Algorithmic Modeling

Research paper thumbnail of Dementia Prevalence Among Older South Africans: Integrating Remote Diagnoses and Algorithmic Modeling Approaches

Research paper thumbnail of A Multi‐National Collaboration to Assess the Feasibility and Sustainability of Implementing Multimodal Brain Health Promotion Strategies in Sub‐Saharan Africa (The AFRICA‐FINGERS Project)

Alzheimer's & Dementia, Nov 30, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Effect of a Cash Transfer Intervention on Memory Decline and Dementia Probability in Older Adults in Rural South Africa: An Ancillary Extension to a Phase 3 Randomized Controlled Trial

Research paper thumbnail of Prospective Evaluation of Cognitive Health and Related Factors in Elderly at Risk for Developing Alzheimer’s Dementia: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, 2019

Background: The CHARIOT PRO Main study is a prospective, non-interventional study evaluating cogn... more Background: The CHARIOT PRO Main study is a prospective, non-interventional study evaluating cognitive trajectories in participants at the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) classified by risk levels for developing mild cognitive impairment due to AD (MCI-AD). Objectives: The study aimed to characterize factors and markers influencing cognitive and functional progression among individuals at-risk for developing MCI-AD, and examine data for more precise predictors of cognitive change, particularly in relation to APOE ε4 subgroup. Design: This single-site study was conducted at the Imperial College London (ICL) in the United Kingdom. Participants 60 to 85 years of age were classified as high, medium (amnestic or non-amnestic) or low risk for developing MCI-AD based on RBANS z-scores. A series of clinical outcome assessments (COAs) on factors influencing baseline cognitive changes were collected in each of the instrument categories of cognition, lifestyle exposure, mood, and...

Research paper thumbnail of Telomere Length, Health, and Mortality in a Cohort of Older Black South African Adults

The Journals of Gerontology: Series A

Telomere length (TL) may be a biomarker of aging processes as well as age-related diseases. Howev... more Telomere length (TL) may be a biomarker of aging processes as well as age-related diseases. However, most studies of TL and aging are conducted in high-income countries. Less is known in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as South Africa, where life expectancy remains lower despite population aging. We conducted a descriptive analysis of TL in a cohort of older adults in rural South Africa. TL was assayed from venous blood draws using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (T/S ratio). We examined the correlation between TL and biomarkers, demographic characteristics, mental/cognitive health measures, and physical performance measures in a subsample of the Wave 1 2014–2015 “Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa” (HAALSI) cohort (n = 510). We used logistic regression to measure the association between TL and mortality through Wave 3 (2021–2022). In bivariate analyses, TL was significantly correlated with age (r = −0.29, p ...

Research paper thumbnail of Feasibility of an online consensus approach for the diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia in rural South Africa

Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring

Research paper thumbnail of OUP accepted manuscript

International Journal Of Epidemiology, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Protocol of the Cognitive Health in Ageing Register: Investigational, Observational and Trial Studies in Dementia Research (CHARIOT): Prospective Readiness cOhort (PRO) SubStudy

Introduction The Cognitive Health in Ageing Register: Investigational, Observational and Trial St... more Introduction The Cognitive Health in Ageing Register: Investigational, Observational and Trial Studies in Dementia Research (CHARIOT): Prospective Readiness cOhort (PRO) SubStudy (CPSS), sponsored by Janssen Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC, is an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) biomarker enriched observational study that began 3 July 2015 CPSS aims to identify and validate determinants of AD, alongside cognitive, functional and biological changes in older adults with or without detectable evidence of AD pathology at baseline. Methods and analysis CPSS is a dual-site longitudinal cohort (3.5 years) assessed quarterly. Cognitively normal participants (60–85 years) were recruited across Greater London and Edinburgh. Participants are classified as high, medium (amnestic or non-amnestic) or low risk for developing mild cognitive impairment–Alzheimer’s disease based on their Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status performance at screening. Additional AD-relat...

Research paper thumbnail of Is There an Association Between Cancer and Dementia in Cohorts with and Without T2DM? A National Observational Study

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Background: Previous studies have suggested an inverse association and a hypothesized mutually pr... more Background: Previous studies have suggested an inverse association and a hypothesized mutually protective effect between several forms of cancer and late-onset dementia (LOD). Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is an established important risk factor for both diseases; however, the precise relationships between T2DM, cancer and LOD still remain poorly understood. This thesis investigates the relationship between different cancers and risk of LOD, and explores the role of prediabetes or T2DM in these associations. Methodology: Using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a massive UK primary care database, in years, 1998-2015, a sample of individuals ≥ 65 years old, with and without T2DM were identified. All individuals aged ≥ 65 years old, with and without a T2DM diagnosis were included in this analysis. Individuals with an LOD diagnosis prior to 65 years of age or prior to a T2DM diagnosis, were excluded. All study participants were followed up from the index date to the censor date. Participants were censored at point of LOD diagnosis, death, end of observation period (2015) or last data upload date (last date of follow-up), whichever came first. It was required that participants have been under observation by CPRD for > 1 year prior to cohort entry. Exploratory analyses were performed to investigate the incidence rates of LOD in both non-T2DM and T2DM cohorts. Cox proportional hazard models, with time-dependent covariates, were used to determine the risk of LOD in individuals with and without a cancer diagnosis in both non-T2DM and T2DM cohorts. The cause-specific hazard ratio (csHR) and sub-distribution hazard ratio (sdHR) for overall LOD and death in individuals with cancer were computed, to account for death as a competing risk. Results: Separate analyses amongst 217,335 individuals with T2DM and 739,061 without T2DM were performed. The mean age (SD) of individuals with T2DM at cohort entry was 71.62 (7.09) years (47.3% females) vs.70.80 (7.66) years (56.9 % females) in the non-T2DM cohort. During follow-up, a total of 165,272 (22 %) and 32,022 (15 %) cancer cases and 51,733 (7 %) and 11,450 (5%) LOD cases were identified in the non-T2DM and T2DM cohorts, respectively. In the non-T2DM cohort, 10,602 (6 %) had both LOD and cancer diagnosis vs.

Research paper thumbnail of Late-Life Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Factors as Determinants of Neurocognitive Trajectories: Data from the Cognitive Health in Ageing Register for Investigational and Observational Trials Prospective Readiness Cohort (Chariot Pro) Main Study

Research paper thumbnail of Limitations of platform assays to measure serum 25OHD level impact on guidelines and practice decision making

Metabolism: clinical and experimental, Jan 15, 2018

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) is the preferred method to measure 25 hydroxyv... more Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) is the preferred method to measure 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels, but laboratories are increasingly adopting automated platform assays. We assessed the performance of commonly used automated immunoassays, with that of LC-MS/MS, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reference values, to measure 25OHD levels. We compared serum 25OHD levels obtained from 219 elderly subjects, enrolled in a vitamin D trial, using the Diasorin Liaison platform assay, and the tandem LC-MS/MS method. We also assessed the performance of the Diasorin and Roche automated assays, expressed as mean % bias from the NIST standards, based on the vitamin D External Quality Assessment Scheme (DEQAS) reports, from 2013 to 2017. Serum 25OHD levels were significantly lower in the Diasorin compared to LC-MS/MS assay at baseline, 18.5 ± 7.8 vs 20.5 ± 7.6 ng/ml (p < 0.001), and all other time points. Diasorin (25OHD) = 0.76× LC-MS/MS (25OHD...