Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Nov 2013
Developing and validating a Japanese version of the Assessment of Pain in Elderly People with Communication Impairment.
This study aimed to develop a Japanese version of the Assessment of Pain in Elderly People with Communication Impairment (PACSLAC-J) and evaluate the validity and reliability of the scale for use in older patients with dementia in Japan. All patients from 2 dementia wards at a geriatric hospital and 2 aged care facilities were asked to participate. Demographic data, medical prescriptions, Behavior Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale (BEHAVE-AD) score, and PACSLAC-J score were obtained from the patients or their medical charts. ⋯ PACSLAC-J total score was not associated with BEHAVE-AD score. Multiple regression analysis showed that total dependence on assistance during transfer (β=0.32, p=0.001), and psychiatric medication prescription (β=0.26, p=0.003) were independently associated with PACSLAC-J score. We found sufficient evidence of the validity and reliability of the PACSLAC-J.
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Nov 2013
The ability of three different models of frailty to predict all-cause mortality: results from the European Male Aging Study (EMAS).
Few studies have directly compared the ability of the most commonly used models of frailty to predict mortality among community-dwelling individuals. Here, we used a frailty index (FI), frailty phenotype (FP), and FRAIL scale (FS) to predict mortality in the EMAS. Participants were aged 40-79 years (n=2929) at baseline and 6.6% (n=193) died over a median 4.3 years of follow-up. ⋯ Compared to robust men, those who were FP frail at baseline had a HR for death of 3.84, while those who were FS frail had a HR of 3.87. All three frailty models significantly predicted future mortality among community-dwelling, middle-aged and older European men after adjusting for potential confounders. Our data suggest that the choice of frailty model may not be of paramount importance when predicting future risk of death, enabling flexibility in the approach used.