Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mimics the influenza A (H1N1) virus in terms of clinical presentation, transmission mechanism, and seasonal coincidence. Comprehensive data for the clinical severity of adult patients co-infected by both H1N1 and SARS-CoV-2, and, particularly, the relationship with PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values are not yet available. All participants in this study were tested for H1N1 and SARS-CoV-2 simultaneously at admission. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and laboratory data were extracted from electronic medical records and compared among adults hospitalized for H1N1 infection, SARS-CoV-2 infection and co-infection with both viruses. Ct values for viral RNA detection were further compared within SARS-CoV-2 and co-infection groups. Score on seven-category ordinal scale of clinical status at day 7 and day 14 were assessed. Among patients with monoinfection, H1N1 infection had higher frequency of onset symptoms but lower incidence of adverse events during hospitalization than SAR-CoV-2 infection (P < 0.05). Co-infection had an increased odds of acute kidney injury, acute heart failure, secondary bacterial infections, multilobar infiltrates and admittance to ICU than monoinfection. Score on seven-category scale at day 7 and day 14 was higher in patients with coinfection than patients with SAR-CoV-2 monoinfection (P<0.05). Co-infected patients had lower initial Ct values (referring to higher viral load) (median 32) than patients with SAR-CoV-2 monoinfection (median 36). Among co-infected patients, low Ct values were significantly and positively correlated with acute kidney injury and ARDS (P = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). Co-infection by SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 caused more severe disease than monoinfection by either virus in adult inpatients. Early Ct value could provide clues for the later trajectory of the co-infection. Multiplex molecular diagnostics for both viruses and early assessment of SAR-CoV-2 Ct values are recommended to achieve optimal treatment for improved clinical outcome.

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Background: Higher visit-to-visit cholesterol has been associated with cognitive decline. However, the association between long-term increase or decrease in cholesterol and cognitive decline remains unclear.Methods: A total of 4,915 participants aged ≥45 years with normal cognition in baseline were included. The participants were divided into four groups, namely low–low, low–high, high–low, and high–high, according to the diagnostic thresholds of total cholesterol (TC), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (NHDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) after 4 years of follow-up. Cognitive function was assessed by episodic memory and mental intactness. Binary logistic regression was used to analyse the association of cholesterol variation with cognitive decline.Results: Among the participants, 979 (19.9%) experienced global cognitive decline. The odds ratio (OR) of global cognitive and memory function decline were remarkably lower in participants in the low–high NHDL-C group than those in the low–low group [OR and 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50 [0.26–0.95] for global cognitive decline, 0.45 [0.25–0.82] for memory function decline]. The lower OR was also significant in females (OR [95% CI]: 0.38 [0.17–0.87] for global cognitive decline; 0.44 [0.19–0.97] for memory function decline) and participants without cardiovascular disease (OR [95% CI]: 0.31 [0.11–0.87] for global cognitive decline; 0.34 [0.14–0.83] for memory function decline). The increases in other cholesterol were also negatively associated with the risk of cognitive decline although not significantly.Conclusions: A longitudinal increase in NHDL-C may be protective for cognition in females or individuals without cardiovascular disease.

Objectives : An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant occurred in Guangzhou in 2021. This study aimed to identify the transmission dynamics and epidemiological characteristics of the Delta variant outbreak to formulate an effective prevention strategy. Methods : A total of 13102 close contacts and 69 index cases were collected. The incubation period, serial interval, and time interval from the exposure of close contacts to the symptom onset of cases were estimated. Transmission risks based on exposure time and various characteristics were also assessed. Results : The mean time from exposure to symptom onset among non-household pre-symptomatic transmission was 3.83 ± 2.29 days, the incubation period was 5 days, and the serial interval was 3 days. The secondary attack rate was high within 4 days before onset and 4–10 days after symptom onset. Compared with other contact types, household contact had higher transmission risk. The transmission risk increased with the number and frequency of contact with index cases. Cycle threshold (Ct) values were associated with lower transmission risk (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.93 [95% CI 0.88–0.99] for ORF 1ab gene; adjusted OR 0.91 [95% CI 0.86–0.97] for N gene). Conclusion : The contact tracing period may need to be extended to 4 days before symptom onset. The Ct value of index cases, the number and frequency of contact with index cases, and household contact were associated with higher transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 Delta.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a recognised risk factor for cognitive dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between active treatment for DM and cognitive function in middle-aged (&lt; 60 years) and older adults (≥60 years), respectively.Methods: A total of 13,691 participants (58.55 ± 9.64 years, 47.40% of men) from the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were included. The participants were classified into three groups according to whether or not they have diabetes and to their diabetes treatment status: diabetes-free, treated-diabetes and untreated-diabetes, in which the diabetes-free group was regarded as reference specially. Cognitive function was assessed by two interview-based measurements for mental intactness and episodic memory.Results: Compared with the participants in the diabetes-free group, the older participants in the treated-diabetes group had better performance in terms of mental intactness (β = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.04–0.70). No significant association was observed in the middle-aged participants. In the subgroup analyses, the lower cognitive score was only observed in people without depression, who had never smoked and drunk, and with a normal weight (body mass index: 18.5–23.9 kg/m2).Conclusion: The cognitive function of actively treated diabetic patients was better than that of patients without diabetes, but the improvement was significant only in elderly people. Depression, smoking, drinking, and an abnormal weight may attenuate this effect.