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Jennifer Weuve

@epidancer.bsky.social

1.1K followers 120 following 190 posts

Professor of epidemiology, BUSPH | #dementia | neuropsych health (and not) |#environmentalhealth | a secret chord | stick shift

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Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 30

Additional gratitude to The @tejenson.bsky.social for orchestrating the session, which included the best marketing prose on an epi/EH methods seminar invite in recent memory.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 30

What was esp helpful about Amanda's talk was getting a firmer sense of seeing how ITB plays out with exposures distributed on a continuum (an expansion on the examples many of us have seen that involve dichotomous exposures).

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 30

In the true-story example she chronicled, effects estimated using a design that induced ITB were impressively large (one might call a HR of 51 gargantuan). Upon correction, they all shrank. & though some remained large (that HR of 51 became a HR of 5.5), some previously adverse findings became null.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 30

A big holler-y grateful shout-out to **Amanda Gassett**, Research Scientist at University of Washington, for presenting clearly and constructively on dodging immortal time bias in studies of air pollution's health effects. #EnviroBrain #CONFAB @busph.bsky.social

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Patterns of earnings trajectories (age 25 thru 60) differed by sex and a bit by birth cohort.

Cognitive decline was faster among ppl w earnings trajectories that cycled and that were consistently low. Those w consistently high earnings had the slowest mean decline.

@melodem.bsky.social

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

@ccolvin94.bsky.social presents meticulously thought-thru & generated results on life course earnings trajectories & cognitive decline, by birth cohort. The #MELODEM2025 equivalent of a walk-off HR will launch us into deep thoughts, conversations, and collaborations over the coming weeks and months.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Proposed setting/Discovery cohort: WHICAP Offspring Study (many wmn had not entered menopause as of baseline)

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

More enlightening lightning (talks) at #MELODEM2025: Justina Avila-Rieger dares to wade thru the thicket that is reproductive status (and aging) in relation to dementia risk. Idea: exploit DNA methylation, which can reflect changes in the endocrine system and hormonal status.

@melodem.bsky.social

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Exposure to fluoride was assoc'd w higher achievement in education (e.g., math). Not at all assoc'd w cogn at age 60.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

So ... how about cogn later on in life?

Setting: High School & Beyond

Exposure: Based on location of pt's secondary school (>1000 high schools are represented here) and the fluoridation status of water there. Sufficient for none, part, or all of childhood.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Fluoride. Great for oral health and stunning teeth. Does it exposure to it in childhood related to cogn later in life? @ #MELODEM2025, Rob Warren (U MN) points out the extraordinarily high exposures in studies of kids' IQs: not relevant to what's in our public water supply.

@melodem.bsky.social

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Trend 1: cardiometabolic RF prevalence has been increasing
Trend 2: dementia incidence and prevalence have been decreasing

But, in the absence of trend 1, trend 2 (the decreases in dementia inc and prev) would have been steeper.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Now up @ #MELODEM2025, @astokespop.bsky.social teases out the contribution of secular trends in midlife cardiometabolic health in relation to trends in dementia incidence and prevalence in the US.

@melodem.bsky.social

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Cool innovation here: this is about the cog effects of incident trauma, not the effects of prevalent (historical) trauma.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Our next lightning bolt @ #MELODEM2025 is from Katrina Kezios, presenting research on incident traumatic experiences in relation to cog change in older adults. Upshot: these exp were assoc'd w cog decline, esp among those w worse financial well-being.

@melodem.bsky.social

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

@melodem.bsky.social

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Iris Strangmann issues the first bolt of a lightning talk in today's #MELODEM2025. Does being multilingual offer cognitive benefits in older age? She is using data from LASI-DAD to answer this q, evaluating assns within strata of urbanicity and SES.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Younger age, male (v fem), being White (not Latinx, Black), higher mid-life income, lower cog scores, more disability, and more comorbidities. (Others coming to a journal near you.)

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Carrying the #MELODEM2025 baton now is Melinda Power (GW). Among ppl who have #dementia, a large % have not been diagnosed. What predicts who gets diagnosed in a timely fashion?

@melodem.bsky.social

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

A shout-out to yesterday afternoon's and todays moderators--Suzanne Judd, @ermayeda.bsky.social, @relajoie.bsky.social, & @miguelarce.bsky.social--for shrewdly ensuring that talks run on time and discussions are inclusive.

@melodem.bsky.social

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

A key ingredient to the appeal and success of #MELODEM2025 (as with other #MELODEM mtgs) comes from the generous blocks of time dedicated to discussion. And a key ingredient of that discussion is excellent moderating.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Broader context: A4 was viewed as innovative bc it started earlier in the course of disease. It was 5 years long. Is longer treatment duration needed? Or maybe a different agent operating via a different mechanism?

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

little evidence of cognitive benefit in spite of amyloid reduction. So not much in way of mediation.

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

... and adopted an IV approach that is a complement to mediation analysis.

1. % of treatment effect mediated by the surrogate (amyloid)
2. Assess treatment effect (on cogn) per change in surrogate

Jennifer Weuve @epidancer.bsky.social · Jun 25

Now at #MELODEM2025 Is reducing/removing amyloid from the brain a reasonable surrogate for slowing/stopping cognitive decline in dementia? @sfackley.bsky.social uses data from the A4 RCT (of solanezumab) to answer this q, ...

@melodem.bsky.social