The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Jul 2019
Multimorbidity Patterns, Frailty, and Survival in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.
Frailty and multimorbidity are independent prognostic factors for mortality, but their interaction has not been fully explored. We investigated the importance of multimorbidity patterns in older adults with the same level of frailty phenotype. ⋯ Considering both multimorbidity patterns and frailty is important for identifying older adults at greater risk of mortality. Of the five patterns identified, the neuropsychiatric class was associated with lower survival across all frailty levels.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · May 2019
Does Combined Osteopenia/Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia Confer Greater Risk of Falls and Fracture Than Either Condition Alone in Older Men? The Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project.
It is unclear whether older men with osteopenia/osteoporosis and sarcopenia (so-called osteosarcopenia) are at greater risk of falls and fractures than those with either condition alone. ⋯ Community-dwelling older men with combined osteopenia/osteoporosis and sarcopenia do not have increased falls and fracture risk compared with those with either condition. Further research is required to clarify whether the term "osteosarcopenia" has any meaning above and beyond either term alone and therefore potential clinical utility for falls and fracture prediction.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Apr 2019
Mortality in Relation to Changes in a Healthy Aging Index: The Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study.
Baseline scores on a Healthy Aging Index (HAI), including five key physiologic domains, strongly predict health outcomes. This study aimed to characterize 9-year changes in a HAI and explore their relationship to subsequent mortality. ⋯ HAI scores tended to increase with advancing age and stratified mortality rates among participants remaining at year 10. The HAI may prove useful to understand changes in health with aging.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Apr 2019
Quality of Post-Acute Care in Skilled Nursing Facilities That Disproportionately Serve Black and Hispanic Patients.
Understanding and addressing racial and ethnic disparities in the quality of post-acute care in skilled nursing facilities is an important health policy issue, particularly as the Medicare program initiates value-based payments for these institutions. ⋯ Efforts to address disparities should focus attention on institutions that disproportionately serve minority patients and monitor unintended consequences of value-based payments to skilled nursing facilities.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Jan 2019
Multicenter StudyAssociation of Trajectories of Higher-Level Functional Capacity with Mortality and Medical and Long-Term Care Costs Among Community-Dwelling Older Japanese.
Higher-level functional capacity is crucial component for independent living in later life. We used repeated-measures analysis to identify aging trajectories in higher-level functional capacity. We then determined whether these trajectories were associated with all-cause mortality and examined differences in medical and long-term care costs between trajectories among community-dwelling older Japanese. ⋯ People with a low-decreasing aging trajectory in higher-level functional capacity had higher risks of death and had high monthly total costs.