BMC geriatrics
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Cognitive ageing is a major burden for society and a major influence in lowering people's independence and quality of life. It is the most feared aspect of ageing. There are large individual differences in age-related cognitive changes. Seeking the determinants of cognitive ageing is a research priority. A limitation of many studies is the lack of a sufficiently long period between cognitive assessments to examine determinants. Here, the aim is to examine influences on cognitive ageing between childhood and old age. ⋯ The principal strength of this cohort is the rarely captured phenotype of lifetime cognitive change. There is additional rich information to examine the determinants of individual differences in this lifetime cognitive change. This protocol report is important in alerting other researchers to the data available in the cohort.
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Mortality after perforated and bleeding peptic ulcer increases with age. Limited data exist on how the higher burden of comorbidity among elderly patients affects this association. We aimed to examine the association of age with short-term mortality after perforated and bleeding peptic ulcer and to determine the impact of comorbidity on this association. ⋯ Ageing is a strong predictor for a poor outcome after perforated and bleeding peptic ulcer independently of comorbidity.
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Fall-related injuries in older adults are a major health problem. Although the aetiology of falls is multifactorial, physical factors are assumed to contribute significantly. The "Timed up and go test" (TUG) is designed to measure basic mobility function. This report evaluates the association between TUG times and history of falls. ⋯ TUG is statistically associated with a history of falls in men but not in women. The ability to classify fallers is poor, and the clinical value of the association is therefore limited.
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The Doloplus-2 is used for behavioural pain assessment in cognitively impaired patients. Little data exists on the psychometric properties of the Doloplus-2. Our objectives were to test the criterion validity and inter-rater reliability of the Doloplus-2, and to explore a design for validations of behavioural pain assessment tools. ⋯ It was challenging to conduct such a study in patients with cognitive impairment and the study has several limitations. The results do not support the validity of the Doloplus-2 in its present version and they indicate that it demands specific administration skills.
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Pain is highly prevalent in nursing homes (NH) in several countries. Data about pain in Dutch NH's, where medical care is delivered by specifically trained NH-physicians, are not available. The aim of the present study is to determine prevalence, course, correlates, recognition and treatment of pain among Dutch NH-patients and to make a comparison with international data. ⋯ Pain occurred frequently also among Dutch NH-patients and was associated with depression and anxiety. Recognition and treatment by NH-physicians proved sub-optimal. Future studies should focus on interventions to improve recognition and treatment of pain.