Arch Intern Med
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Predictors of sleep-disordered breathing in community-dwelling adults: the Sleep Heart Health Study.
Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is common, but largely undiagnosed in the general population. Information on demographic patterns of SDB occurrence and its predictive factors in the general population is needed to target high-risk groups that may benefit from diagnosis. ⋯ A significant proportion of occult SDB in the general population would be missed if screening or case finding were based solely on increased body habitus or male sex. Breathing pauses and obesity may be particularly insensitive for identifying SDB in older people. A better understanding of predictive factors for SDB, particularly in older adults, is needed.
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Unexplained wide variability exists in the performance of key initial processes of care associated with improved survival of elderly patients (those > or =65 years) hospitalized with pneumonia. The objective of this study was to assess which patient and hospital characteristics are associated with performance of these key initial processes of care for hospitalized elderly patients with pneumonia. ⋯ Minority race, fever, nurse-bed ratio, hospital size and teaching status, and southern location are among the major patient and hospital characteristics associated, either negatively or positively, with the timeliness of performance of initial antibiotic administration and blood culture collection for patients hospitalized with pneumonia. Because performance of these processes of care is associated with improved likelihood of survival, medical providers should seek to eliminate the variations in care associated with these patient and hospital characteristics. In addition, the impact of nurse staffing changes on performance of key time-sensitive processes of care should be weighed carefully.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Association between thyroid dysfunction and total cholesterol level in an older biracial population: the health, aging and body composition study.
Thyroid dysfunction increases with age. Less is known about the prevalence of thyroid disease in older black adults and whether an association between thyroid function and serum cholesterol level exists, as in older white adults. ⋯ Healthy community-dwelling older black adults have a lower prevalence of thyroid dysfunction compared with older white adults, but the association between increased thyrotropin and increased cholesterol levels is similar in both races.