Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Nov 2018
Relationship between swallowing muscles and trunk muscle mass in healthy elderly individuals: A cross-sectional study.
A decrease of swallowing muscle strength causes dysphagia, and a relationship between swallowing muscle strength and appendicular muscle mass has been reported. Moreover, the effect of trunk retention function on swallowing function has been clinically recognized. However, the relationship between trunk muscle mass and swallowing muscle strength is unclear. We aimed to clarify the association between these variables in elderly individuals. ⋯ Until now, the relationship between swallowing muscles and whole body muscle mass has been reported using ASMI as the indicator of whole body muscle mass. This study suggests that TMI may be used as a highly relevant indicator of swallowing muscles rather than ASMI.
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Nov 2018
General health perception, depression and quality of life in geriatric grandmothers providing care for grandchildren.
To investigate levels of depression, quality of life, general health perception, and factors affecting these in grandmothers providing care for their grandchildren. ⋯ Grandchild care positively affected the grandmothers' quality of life, depression levels, and general health perception, with the exception of custodial grandmothers.
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Sep 2018
Age-related declines in the swallowing muscle strength of men and women aged 20-89 years: A cross-sectional study on tongue pressure and jaw-opening force in 980 subjects.
Swallowing muscle strength weakens with aging. Although numerous studies have investigated tongue pressure (TP) changes with age, studies on jaw-opening force (JOF), an indicator of suprahyoid muscle strength, are lacking. We investigated differences between age-related declines in TP and JOF in a cross-sectional study of 980 healthy and independent participants (379 men, 601 women) without dysphagia. ⋯ TP declined more steeply than did JOF. Thus, the age related-decline in TP was similar to that of the HGS, but not the JOF. The results reveal that different patterns exist in the age-related decline in swallowing muscle strength, and suggest that maintenance of JOF might contribute to safe swallowing in healthy elderly individuals.
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Jul 2018
Continuously declining incidence of hip fracture in Finland: Analysis of nationwide database in 1970-2016.
Hip fractures of older adults are a major public health issue. ⋯ The decline in the incidence of hip fracture in Finland has continued through the entire new millennium. Despite this we have to effectively continue implementation of the fracture prevention efforts, because our elderly population will grow rapidly in the near future.
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · May 2018
The Surgical Apgar Score predicts outcomes of emergency abdominal surgeries both in fit and frail older patients.
The Surgical Apgar Score (SAS) is a simple and rapid scoring system predicting postoperative mortality and morbidity. However, it remains unknown whether it might be useful in fit and frail older patients undergoing abdominal emergency surgery.