The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Oct 2014
Amount of care per survivor in young and older patients hospitalized in intensive care unit: a retrospective study.
It is unknown whether the amount of care deployed in the intensive care unit population divided by the number of survivors, that is, amount of care per survivor including the care performed for nonsurvivors, differs between patients older and younger than 75 years of age. ⋯ Elderly patients required a significantly higher care load per survivor in comparison to younger patients. This excess was mainly due to patients with low initial severity.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Oct 2014
Functional capacity as a significant independent predictor of postoperative mortality for octogenarian ASA-III patients.
The American Society of Anesthesiology's (ASA) 6-point physical status classification remains one of the most significant predictors of perioperative morbidity and mortality and is the most widely used risk stratification tool worldwide. Its utility is significantly limited for octogenarians, however, as the majority of these patients are classified as ASA-III. Thus, for patients aged 80 or older, we hypothesized that incorporating patients' functional status, defined by the ability to perform activities of daily living independently, would improve perioperative risk stratification. ⋯ As evidenced by Kaplan-Meier and multivariate analyses, functional capacity was a significant independent predictor of mortality for ASA-III patients older than 80 years of age.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Sep 2014
Observational StudyAssociation of sarcopenia with short- and long-term mortality in older adults admitted to acute care wards: results from the CRIME study.
Sarcopenia is a common condition in older and frail populations, and it has been associated with adverse health outcomes. However, impact of sarcopenia on mortality in hospitalized older adults has rarely been evaluated. Aim of the present study was to investigate the association between sarcopenia and mortality during hospital stay and at 1 year after discharge in older individuals admitted to acute care wards. ⋯ Sarcopenia is a prevalent condition among older adults admitted to acute care wards and it is associated with increased short- and long-term mortality in hospitalized older adults.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Aug 2014
Comparative StudyDownregulation of E3 ubiquitin ligases and mitophagy-related genes in skeletal muscle of physically inactive, frail older women: a cross-sectional comparison.
Reduced lean mass and physical function is a characteristic of frailty. However, it is currently unknown if proteolysis through the E3 ubiquitin ligases and the autophagic lysosomal pathway is dysregulated in inactive frail older women. The purpose of this study was to determine the expression of key markers of ubiquitin-mediated and autophagic lysosomal proteolysis in inactive (N = 7) compared with active (N = 7) older women. ⋯ We conclude that physical inactivity in frail older women is associated with a downregulation of ubiquitin-mediated and autophagic lysosomal skeletal muscle gene expression, perhaps related to low muscle mass and poor physical function.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Jul 2014
Variants of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease genes and lung function decline in aging.
A substantial proportion of the general population has low lung function, and lung function is known to decrease as we age. Low lung function is a feature of several pulmonary disorders, such as uncontrolled asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The objective of this study is to investigate the association of polymorphisms in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease candidate genes with rates of lung function decline in a general population sample of aging men. ⋯ Our findings that genetic variants of genes involved in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are associated with lung function decline in normal aging participants suggest that similar genetic mechanisms may underlie lung function decline in both disease and normal aging processes.