The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Feb 2014
Racial differences on association of depressive symptoms with combined basic and instrumental activities of daily living.
Depressive symptoms are predictive of multiple degenerative diseases in older age adults. However, the association of depressive symptoms with onset and progression of disability have not been studied. ⋯ Depressive symptoms increased the risk of onset of disability in blacks and whites. This risk tended to increase over time only among whites. A similar race-specific pattern was observed for time-dependent changes due to depressive symptoms in the rate of progression in disability after onset.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Jan 2014
Comparative StudyRelationship between obesity and obesity-related morbidities weakens with aging.
A weak relationship exists between obesity and mortality risk in older populations, however, the influence of age on the relationship between obesity and morbidity is unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of age on the relationship between obesity and cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. ⋯ A stronger association between obesity and prevalent metabolic conditions exists in young and middle-aged populations than in old and very old populations. Longitudinal studies are needed to verify these findings and to confirm the benefits of weight loss on health across the life span.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Dec 2013
Insomnia and health services utilization in middle-aged and older adults: results from the Health and Retirement Study.
Complaints of poor sleep are common among older adults. We investigated the prospective association between insomnia symptoms and hospitalization, use of home health care services, use of nursing homes, and use of any of these services in a population-based study of middle-aged and older adults. ⋯ In this study, insomnia symptoms experienced by middle-aged and older adults were associated with greater future use of costly health services. Our findings raise the question of whether treating or preventing insomnia in older adults may reduce use of and spending on health services among this population.
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Mobility limitations are common and hazardous in community-dwelling older adults but are largely understudied, particularly regarding the role of the central nervous system (CNS). This has limited development of clearly defined pathophysiology, clinical terminology, and effective treatments. Understanding how changes in the CNS contribute to mobility limitations has the potential to inform future intervention studies. ⋯ In addition to greater cross-disciplinary research, there is a need for new approaches to training clinicians and investigators, which integrate concepts and methodologies from individual disciplines, focus on emerging methodologies, and prepare investigators to assess complex, multisystem associations.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Oct 2013
Observational StudyThe sequential organ failure assessment score predicts 30-day mortality in a geriatric acute care setting.
Several tools to predict patients' survival have been proposed in medical wards, though they are often time consuming and difficult to apply. The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) is a promising tool that has been validated in intensive care units but never in acute medical wards. The aim of this study was to assess whether the SOFA score predicts short-term (30 days) mortality in a population of elderly patients admitted to a geriatric ward. ⋯ The SOFA score, a user-friendly tool used in intensive care units to estimate prognosis, is able to predict 1-month mortality also in patients admitted to an acute geriatric setting.