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There is a growing evidence that elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with adverse neurocognitive outcome, though no study has examined whether morphometric differences are found in persons across the adult life span. We compared 201 healthy individuals in normal weight, overweight, and obese groups (aged 17-79). After correcting for demographic differences, obese individuals showed smaller whole brain and total gray matter volume than normal weight and overweight individuals. These findings support an independent relationship between BMI and brain structure and demonstrate that these differences are not limited to older adults.

Background Bariatric surgery is associated with improved cognition and it is possible that such improvements are found at extended follow-ups. We hypothesized that cognitive improvement would be maintained 3 years post-bariatric surgery. Methods Fifty bariatric patients were recruited from the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery parent project. Participants completed a computerized cognitive test battery to assess cognitive function at 12-weeks, 12-months, 24-months, and 36-months post-surgery. Results Repeated measures revealed main effects for attention, executive function, and memory. Attention improved up to 24-months and then slightly declined, though still fell within the average range at 36-months. Improvements in executive function reached its peak at 36-months post-surgery. Short-term improvements in memory were maintained at 36-months. No main effect emerged for language. Conclusion Bariatric surgery may lead to lasting improvements in cognition. Prospective studies with extended follow-ups (e.g., 10 years) should examine whether bariatric surgery can attenuate cognitive decline in severely obese persons.

Much recent work has focused on occupational stress in veterinary medicine, although little is known about the possible contribution of client-based factors. Clients providing care for a companion animal with protracted illness are likely to experience 'caregiver burden' and reduced psychosocial functioning, which may ultimately lead to increased veterinarian stress. This cross-sectional observational study assessed caregiver burden and psychosocial function in 238 owners of a dog or cat, comparing owners of an animal with chronic or terminal diseases (n=119) with healthy controls blindly matched for owner age/sex and animal species (n=119). Results showed greater burden, stress and symptoms of depression/anxiety, as well as poorer quality of life, in owners of companion animals with chronic or terminal disease (p<0.001 for all). Higher burden was correlated with reduced psychosocial function (p<0.001 for all). Owners of a sick companion animal exhibit elevated caregiver burden, which is linked to poorer psychosocial functioning. This knowledge may help veterinarians understand and more effectively handle client distress in the context of managing the challenges of sick companion animal caregiving. Future work is needed to determine whether clients with this presentation impact veterinarian stress and how burden in this population might be reduced.

Objective Treatment recommendation and guidelines for patients with heart failure (HF) can be complex, and past work has shown HF patients to demonstrate low rates of adherence to recommended health behaviors. While previous work has identified several medical, demographic, and psychosocial predictors of HF persons’ capacity to adhere to treatment recommendations, little is known about the contribution of cognitive impairment to reported treatment adherence in this population. Methods 149 persons with HF (68.08 years; SD = 10.74) completed a brief fitness assessment and neuropsychological testing. Treatment adherence was assessed using the Heart Failure Compliance Questionnaire, a brief measure that asks participants to report their adherence to a variety of recommended health behaviors (i.e., medication management, diet, exercise, among others). Results 16.1% of participants reported poor overall adherence, with particularly high rates of non-adherence to dietary and exercise recommendations. Hierarchical regression analyses adjusting for possible confounds revealed reduced performance on attention (β = .26, p = .01), executive function (β = .18, p = .04), and language (β = .22, p = .01) were associated with poorer overall adherence. Follow-up analyses showed these cognitive domains were associated with behaviors such as keeping doctor appointments, medication management, and dietary recommendations (p < .05 for all). Conclusion The current findings demonstrate that cognitive function is an independent contributor to adherence in older adults with HF. Prospective studies that objectively measure treatment adherence are needed to clarify these findings and identify possible strategies to improve outcomes in this population.