Proton pump inhibitors and risk of severe COVID-19 in older people.

INTRODUCTION: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a viral respiratory infection that can cause systemic disorders and lead to death, particularly in older people. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increase the risk of enteric and lung infections. Considering the broad use of PPIs in older people, the potential role of PPIs in COVID-19 could be of dramatic significance. The objective of our study was to evaluate the link between PPIs and severe COVID-19 in older people. METHOD: We performed a retrospective cohort study, including all patients aged ≥65, hospitalised for a diagnosis of COVID-19. Epidemiological, clinical and biological data were extracted and we performed an Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighing method based on a propensity score. RESULTS: From March 2020 to February 2021, a total of 834 patients were included, with a median age of 83 and 52.8% were male. A total of 410 patients had a PPIs prescription, 358 (87.3%) were long-term PPIs-users and 52 (12.7%) were recent PPIs-users. Among PPIs-users, 163 (39.8%) patients developed severe COVID-19 versus 113 (26.7%) in PPIs-non users (odds ratio (OR) = 1.59 [1.18-2.14]; P < 0.05). Moreover, the double dose PPI-users had a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 (OR = 3.36 [1.17-9.66]; P < 0.05) than the full dose PPI-users (OR = 2.15 [1.22-3.76]; P < 0.05) and the half dose PPI-users (OR = 1.64 [1.13-2.37]; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study reports evidence that the use of PPIs was associated with an increased risk of severe COVID-19 in older people.

Fear and time: Fear speeds up the internal clock.

We tested time perception in a bisection task featuring a wide range of durations (from 0.2 to about 8.0s) and highly arousing stimuli (delivery of an electric shock). In addition, self-report questionnaire responses and skin conductance responses were assessed to measure emotional reactivity. Results clearly demonstrated emotion-related time distortion, as stimulus durations were judged to be longer in the trials with an electric shock than in those without one. In addition, this lengthening effect increased with the length of durations. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis of an arousal-induced speeding up of the internal clock system.

Time perception and dynamics of facial expressions of emotions.

Two experiments were run to examine the effects of dynamic displays of facial expressions of emotions on time judgments. The participants were given a temporal bisection task with emotional facial expressions presented in a dynamic or a static display. Two emotional facial expressions and a neutral expression were tested and compared. Each of the emotional expressions had the same affective valence (unpleasant), but one was high-arousing (expressing anger) and the other low-arousing (expressing sadness). Our results showed that time judgments are highly sensitive to movements in facial expressions and the emotions expressed. Indeed, longer perceived durations were found in response to the dynamic faces and the high-arousing emotional expressions compared to the static faces and low-arousing expressions. In addition, the facial movements amplified the effect of emotions on time perception. Dynamic facial expressions are thus interesting tools for examining variations in temporal judgments in different social contexts.

Emotion and time perception: effects of film-induced mood.

Previous research into emotion and time perception has been designed to study the time perception of emotional events themselves (e.g., facial expression). Our aim was to investigate the effect of emotions per se on the subsequent time judgment of a neutral, non-affective event. In the present study, the participants were presented with films inducing a specific mood and were subsequently given a temporal bisection task. More precisely, the participants were given two temporal bisection tasks, one before and the other after viewing the emotional film. Three emotional films were tested: one eliciting fear, another sadness, and a neutral control film. In addition, the direct mood experience was assessed using the Brief Mood Introspective Scale that was administered to the participants at the beginning and the end of the session. The results showed that the perception of time did not change after viewing either the neutral control films or the sad films although the participants reported being sadder and less aroused after than before watching the sad film clips. In contrast, the stimulus durations were judged longer after than before viewing the frightening films that were judged to increase the emotion of fear and arousal level. In combination with findings from previous studies, our data suggest that the selective lengthening effect after watching frightening films was mediated by an effect of arousal on the speed of the internal clock system.