Association between housing environment and depressive symptoms among older people: a multidimensional assessment.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common mental disorder among older people. This study aimed to assess the association between housing environment factors and depressive symptoms among older people using a multidimensional assessment method. METHODS: The study uses a population-based cross-sectional design. A total of 950 participants aged ≥ 60 years were selected using a complex multistage sampling design from 22 locations in China. All data were collected using questionnaires by face-to-face interviews. A total of 938 participants were included in the analysis, and 17.1% of males and 23.1% of females were identified as having depressive symptoms. The depressive symptoms were assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. The housing environment was assessed on the basis of four dimensions: physical, social, psychological, and cognition and physical function. Cumulative logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between housing environment and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The Cochran-Armitage trend test showed that the depressive symptom scores were linearly negatively associated with self-assessed housing environment, living arrangement, life satisfaction, and other physical environment factors and linearly positively associated with cognitive and physical function scores. The results of cumulative logistic regression analysis showed that the housing environment was significantly associated with depressive symptoms. The participants' self-assessed housing environment was strongly associated with the levels of depressive symptom scores, and the odds ratio was 3.47 (95% CI, 1.14-10.82, P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: The housing environment was significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Our results suggest that multi-dimensional assessment in the housing environment may be an effective way to develop intervention strategies of depressive symptoms among older people.

Interferon-lambda: New role in intestinal symptoms of COVID-19.

The tremendous public health and economic impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a huge challenge globally. There is increasing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 induces intestinal infections. Type III interferon (IFN-λ) has an antiviral role in intestinal infection, with focused, long-lasting, and non-inflammatory characteristics. This review presents a summary of the structure of SARS-CoV-2, including its invasion and immune escape mechanisms. Emphasis was placed on the gastrointestinal impact of SARS-CoV-2, including changes to the intestinal microbiome, activation of immune cells, and inflammatory responses. We also describe the comprehensive functions of IFN-λ in anti-enteric SARS-CoV-2 infection, and discuss the potential application of IFN-λ as a therapeutic agent for COVID-19 with intestinal symptoms.

Structure Composition and Intracellular Transport of Clathrin-Mediated Intestinal Transmembrane Tight Junction Protein.

Tight junctions (TJs) are located in the apical region of the junctions between epithelial cells and are widely found in organs such as the brain, retina, intestinal epithelium, and endothelial system. As a mechanical barrier of the intestinal mucosa, TJs can not only maintain the integrity of intestinal epithelial cells but also maintain intestinal mucosal permeability by regulating the entry of ions and molecules into paracellular channels. Therefore, the formation disorder or integrity destruction of TJs can induce damage to the intestinal epithelial barrier, ultimately leading to the occurrence of various gastrointestinal diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, a large number of studies have shown that TJs protein transport disorder from the endoplasmic reticulum to the apical membrane can lead to TJs formation disorder, in addition to disruption of TJs integrity caused by external pathological factors and reduction of TJs protein synthesis. In this review, we focus on the structural composition of TJs, the formation of clathrin-coated vesicles containing transmembrane TJs from the Golgi apparatus, and the transport process from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane via microtubules and finally fusion with the plasma membrane. At present, the mechanism of the intracellular transport of TJ proteins remains unclear. More studies are needed in the future to focus on the sorting of TJs protein vesicles, regulation of transport processes, and recycling of TJ proteins, etc.