Sample Of Older People Research Articles

Lifelong traumatic events, social support, and health-related quality of life among older adults.

The present study aimed to investigate the relation between lifelong exposure to traumatic life events, social support, and health-related quality of life (QOL) in a sample of older people. A sample of 172 participants (mean age = 68.81, SD = 7.15; 68.6% female and 31.4% male) was involved in this study. The participants completed scales measuring lifelong exposure to traumatic events, social support, and health-related QOL. The results showed that lifelong exposure to traumatic events was negatively related to physical and mental health-related QOL. Moreover, social support moderated the relation between traumatic life events exposure and mental health-related QOL. Geriatric services could identify and implement adequate measures to provide social support and to improve different dimensions of QOL among older adults.

The association between motivation and diet quality in older runners

OBJECTIVE: To associate motivation with diet quality in older people (OP) who practice running. METHODS: Cross-sectional observational analytical study, which was applied to a probabilistic sample of OP who practice running. Each participant was applied a survey including sociodemographic variables and experiences concerning the practice of Running, diet quality questionnaire for OP (ECAAM, for its acronym in Spanish) and the Motivation of Marathoners Scales-34 (MOMS-34) were used. RESULTS: The total number of participants was 68, who were mostly men (69.1%), the predominant age was 60–69 years (69.1%). Women showed a higher proportion in diet quality when compared to men (71.4% vs 36.2%). The association between motivation subscales and food groups showed that the Weight Concern subscale was associated with junk food (Δ=1.55 (95% CI: 0.58; 2.52). The Personal goal achievement-Competition subscale was associated with meat (Δ=1.81 (95% CI: 0.62; 3.00). Recognition was associated with meat (Δ=1.12 (95% CI: 0.22; 2.03), and Health Orientation with alcohol (Δ=0.76 (95% CI: 0.02; 1.50). CONCLUSIONS: Motivation is positively associated with diet in OP who practice running, especially for the motivation subscales Weight Concern, Personal goal achievement-Competition, Recognition and Health orientation.

Bartonella spp. infection in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A pilot study.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a neurological disorder at the transition between normal cognitive decline and dementia. Despite the potential role of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of MCI, infectious triggers remain mostly unknown. Infection with Bartonella spp., a zoonotic bacterium, has recently been associated with diffuse neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Given the preferential endothelial localization of Bartonella spp. and the role of vascular changes in neurocognitive decline, we hypothesized that there is an association between Bartonella spp. infection and pathologically accelerated decline in cognitive function in aging. To test this hypothesis, we collected serological and molecular markers of past and present Bartonella spp. infection in a sample of older people with and without MCI. Samples were processed in a blinded way to exclude laboratory biases. Contrary to our hypothesis, people with MCI were not more likely than people without MCI to have an active Bartonella spp. infection as measured by droplet digital PCR (p = 0.735) and quantitative PCR (p = 1). In addition, there was no significant difference in positive serological results between cases and controls (p = 0.461). Overall, higher-than-expected active Bartonella spp. infection (37% by ddPCR) and seroreactivity (71% by indirect fluorescent antibody assay) were found in people without MCI. Conclusions require caution, as our study was limited by the small number of cases with MCI. Overall, our results identified a higher than previously recognized rate of exposure and infection with Bartonella spp. in this older study population but does not support a specific role for such infection in MCI.

Elicitation Study Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour that analyses the intention to Adopt Electronic Commerce in the Elderly

The adoption of electronic commerce has been widely studied through various theories. However, the elderly segment has been relatively excluded from these studies. Focusing on older people is relevant due to the significant increase in the aging of the world population and the digital divide that marginalises them from the benefits of technological advances. In this context, and based on the theory of planned behaviour, this study aims to build an instrument that measures older people’s behavioural, normative, and control beliefs about electronic commerce. The instrument is developed through an elicitation study following a qualitative methodology. Thirty-four older Chilean people were interviewed based on a questionnaire of open questions associated with consequences, social referents, and obstacles to the use of electronic commerce. The 443 responses were examined through content analysis, which led to the determination of measures of behavioural beliefs, evaluation, normative beliefs, motivation to comply, control beliefs, and perceived facilitation. The measures determined are the basis for the proposal of a novel instrument that contains 66 items personalised to this age group. The findings of new variables obtained from the elicitation process highlight the importance of considering ad-hoc measurement scales in the development of public policies to promote the use of electronic commerce in older people. Future research could validate this instrument through a quantitative study in a sample of older people. The methodology followed can be replicated in this population to understand the use of other information technologies such as smartphones and social network sites, among others.

Prospective association of occupational and leisure-time physical activity with orthostatic blood pressure changes in older adults

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is common in older people. We examined the influence of self-reported occupational-related physical activity (PA) and leisure-time physical exercise (PE) on orthostatic response in a sample of older people over a 2 year period. Supine and orthostatic systolic blood pressure (sBP), diastolic blood pressure (dBP), and mean blood pressure (mBP) were assessed in response to Active Stand (AS) test in 205 older subjects (> 60 years old) at baseline and 2-year follow-up. OH was found in 24 subjects (11.71%) at baseline and 20 subjects (9.76%) after 2 years, with a significant degree of variability in the occurrence of OH after 2 years. Twenty-two subjects who had OH at baseline were free of it after 2 years, two subjects had persistent OH at baseline and after 2 years. After 2 years, adults with occupational PA showed no significant decrease of blood pressure in response to AS test, while lack of undertaking an occupation-related PA was significantly related with a greater decrease in sBP and mBP in response to AS testing in the 1st min. Occupation-related PA and leisure-time-related PE were related to an increase in the response of BP on AS in change between baseline and after 2 years. High between-subjects variance in OH over 2 years was noted. Occupations that involved continuous physical activity and leisure-time physical exercise in middle age were both protective for BP decline on orthostatic stress test within 2 years.

Towards Household Blood Glucose Meter in a Sample of Older People

This paper constructed a new model by integrating the product design factors into the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which aimed to investigate the relationship between the design elements of the household blood glucose meter and the use intention of the elderly users. 184 valid samples were collected and the software of SPSS 23.0 and SPSSAU online were used to test the model and hypotheses. The results are shown as below: (1) Older people's perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) toward household blood glucose meter has a significantly positive effect on their use intention (UT); Older people's perceived ease of use (PEOU) toward household blood glucose meter has a significantly positive effect on their perceived usefulness(PU); (2) The functional design(FD) factors of household blood glucose meter has a significant positive effect both on older people's perceived usefulness(PU) and on their perceived ease of use (PEOU), and it also has a positive effect on older people’s use intention (UT) directly; The appearance design (AD) factors of household blood glucose meter has a significant positive effect both on older people's perceived ease of use (PEOU) and on their perceived usefulness (PU); And the interaction design (ID) factors of household blood glucose meter has a weakly negative effect on older people's perceived ease of use (PEOU) and has a weakly positive effect on their perceived usefulness (PU); (3) The past-experience (UX) of older people has no moderating effect between use perception and use intention (UT) of household blood glucose meter. Finally, some reasonable suggestions are given from product design based on the quantitative analysis to make the design of the home blood glucose meter more consistent with the cognition of the elderly users, so as to improve the interest of blood sugar self monitoring in elderly diabetes group, shape their healthy living and lifestyle.

Relationship of the Behavior of Older Participants with Body Composition Change: Results of the Second Wave of the Cognition of Older People, Education, Recreational Activities, Nutrition, Comorbidities, and Functional Capacity Studies (COPERNICUS).

To examine the relationship between the frequency of physical activities and food product consumption with body composition change after two years in a sample of older people. Body composition, mass change, frequency of physical activity, and food products consumption were measured. Depression severity, health self-assessment, cognitive function, and demographic data were included as confounders. There were no significant changes in body composition except for a reduction in visceral fat level within two years (p < 0.05). Drinking beer and eating sweets a few times per week were associated with a significant increase in body fat percentage (p < 0.05). Drinking green or white tea more frequently than a few times per year was related to an increase in body fat (3.18 to 3.88%, p < 0.05). Contrarily, daily consumption of coffee was related to a decrease in body fat (p = 0.029). Subjects who ate sweets once a week or more frequently consumed coffee more often. More frequent drinking of beer or of green or white tea and consumption of sweets were related to an increase in body fat percentage, while daily coffee consumption was related to a decrease in body fat percentage after two years in older, healthy subjects. Noteworthily, the frequencies of food product consumption are interrelated.

Study of the effectiveness of training using the “NeuroChat” brain–computer interface at a later age

BACKGROUND: This article examines the effectiveness of training using the increasingly popular braincomputer interface NeuroChat on a sample of older people.&#x0D; AIM: The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness and characteristics of training using the NeuroChat device.&#x0D; MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 41 patients 6 men and 35 women aged 55 to 89 years with various comorbid conditions, undergoing planned treatment at the Russian Gerontology Research and Clinical Centre of the N.I. Pirogov Russian national research medical University. As research methods, a set of diagnostic tests was used: Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-test), Bourdons test (correction test), 10-word auditory-speech memory test, visual memory test, thinking test 4-th superfluous (4 subtests were used), The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Rating Scale (HADS), as well as the neurotraining using the NeuroChat braincomputer interface.&#x0D; RESULTS: By comparing the control test data with the test data conducted at the beginning of the study, the following results were obtained. Significant changes were found between groups in the 10-word memory test. It is also possible to note an improvement in the indicator of cognitive functioning in general (MoCA screening test), however, this indicator significantly improved in the control group. There was no correlation between the effectiveness of neurotraining with the use of the NeuroChat device and the number of sessions conducted. Changes in the psycho-emotional component of the life of the subjects were not found.&#x0D; CONCLUSION: The use of trainings using the NeuroChat device has a positive effect on the cognitive characteristics of older people without affecting the psycho-emotional sphere. The improvement in the characteristics of the cognitive sphere is confirmed by the results of diagnostic tests and occurs after the first use of the NeuroChat braincomputer interface. The authors consider it necessary to study the relationship between training using the NeuroChat device and improving the cognitive characteristics of people of different age groups, especially the improvement of auditory-speech memory.

Appraising Virtual Technologies' Impact on Older Citizens' Mental Health-A Comparative between 360° Video and Virtual Reality.

Aging populations across the world are facing a number of challenges in the context of health and healthcare. These challenges are driven by the aging process and the illnesses associated with aging. Healthcare for older people has become a point of concern with most health organizations, and this is particularly the case with palliative care. In this instance, the movement of the patient may be restricted to a room with no or limited access to the outdoors. This research focuses on the active integration of immersive technologies with healthcare. By addressing the problem of providing patients with the experience of being present in an outdoors space, the associated psychological and physiological benefits can be identified. In this mixed methods research paper, the impact of a crossover study to discern technology preferences in relation to immersive technologies among a sample of older people is reported. In addition, the study highlights factors that contribute to a meaningful immersive experience that can improve psychological and physiological wellbeing. The study identifies that there are two significant categorical aspects that contribute to such immersive experiences, technological aspects (including, for example, the weight of headsets, visual impairment, pixelation, and gamification) and emotive aspects (for example, joy, anger, and fear). The study suggests that older people prefer immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environments rather than 360 video experiences. This can be attributed to the greater flexibility in the provision of interactivity in virtual reality systems.

From each according to means, to each according to needs? Distributional effects of abolishing asset-based payments for residential care in Austria

BackgroundMost countries in Europe require out-of-pocket payments (OPPs) for nursing homes based on users’ income and often assets. This was also the case in Austria until 2018 when asset-based contributions to residential care —denoted the ‘Pflegeregress’ – were abolished, leaving a shortfall in revenue. We aim to determine how the Pflegeregress was distributed across different groups in Austria prior to 2018, what the distributional consequences of its abolishment were, and what the distributional impact of different financing alternatives would be.MethodsCircumventing data availability issues, we construct a micro-simulation model using a matched administrative dataset on residential care users receiving the Austrian care allowance (Pflegegeldinformation, PFIF, HVB, and Pflegedienstleistungsstatistik, Statistik Austria) and survey data (SHARE, wave 6). Using this model, we estimate the expected duration of residential care and OPPs under the Pflegeregress of a representative sample of older people aged 65 + in Austria, as well as OPPs under budgetary neutral financing alternatives to the abolished asset-based contribution, namely an inheritance tax and a social insurance scheme. The distributional impact of abolishing the Pflegeregress and these alternative scenarios is assessed through a number of measures, such as ability to pay, Concentration Indices (CI) and a needs-standardized measure.ResultsWe find that lower income individuals and homeowners disproportionately contributed to asset-based OPPs for residential care prior to 2018, due in large part to their higher use of residential care and the low asset-exemption thresholds. These groups were therefore the largest beneficiaries of its abolishment. The alternative financing scenarios tested would result in a more progressive distribution of payments (i.e. concentrated on more affluent individuals).ConclusionOur findings indicate the limited ability of asset-based OPPs to target those with higher assets, thus questioning the fairness of these instruments for financing residential care facilities for older people in Austria. Findings also suggest that the parameterization of such OPPs (such as asset exemption thresholds) and patterns of residential care use are key variables for assessing the distribution of asset-based OPPs for residential care use. Policy alternatives that decouple payments from use would entail greater transfers from healthy to less healthier individuals.

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Swiss French version of the Older People\u2019s Quality of Life questionnaire (OPQOL-35-SF)

BackgroundThe proportion of the world population aged over 65 years is increasing in the world population. Quality of life is an important factor in the biopsychosocial management of older patients. The Older People’s Quality of Life-35 (OPQOL-35) questionnaire was developed specifically for assessment of the quality of life of older people. The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Swiss French version of the OPQOL-35 questionnaire (OPQOL-35-SF).MethodsForward–backward procedure was used to translate the original questionnaire from English into Swiss French. A sample of older people then completed the questionnaire. Construct validity of the OPQOL-35-SF was evaluated by comparing the results with those from three other questionnaires [World Health Organisation Quality of Life in older people questionnaire (WHOQOL-OLD), Control, Autonomy, Self-realization, Pleasure in 12 questions (CASP-12), and EuroQol-5-dimensions-5-levels (EQ-5D-5L)] and two visual analogue scales (health and quality of life). The structure of the OPQOL-35-SF questionnaire was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. To evaluate the reliability the OPQOL-35-SF questionnaire was completed a second time after 7–23 days.ResultsA total of 264 older people completed all the questionnaires at the first session, and 262 completed the OPQOL-35-SF again at the second session. Mean age of participants was 76.8 (standard deviation (SD) = 7.1) years. The majority of participants were women (73.9%). The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) was 0.86 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (p < 0.001). The result of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed 8 factors with eigenvalues greater than one, which explained 58% of the observed variance. All items had an acceptable loading (< 0.30) in at least one factor. The convergent validity presented low to moderate correlations (rho: 0.384–0.663). Internal consistency was good (Cronbach’s alpha 0.875 for test and 0.902 for retest). Test–retest reliability presented an intra-class correlation coefficient, two-way random effects, absolute agreement, single rater (ICC2.1) of 0.83 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78–0.87].ConclusionsThe Swiss French version of the OPQOL-35 questionnaire shows good psychometric properties, which permit its use in clinical practice or research. A supplementary sample would be necessary for a better distribution of the items in the different factors.

Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in seniors-Symptom-related analyses in younger and older seniors

HintergrundKraniomandibuläre Dysfunktionen (CMD) können auch im hohen Alter auftreten. Die Prävalenz von CMD-Symptomen bei Senioren wurde bisher nur wenig untersucht.Ziel der ArbeitZiel dieser Untersuchung war es, die Prävalenz von Symptomen einer CMD bei Senioren nach Befunderhebung mit den Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) zu bestimmen. Dabei sollten die Prävalenzwerte von jüngeren (60 bis 74 Jahren) und älteren (≥ 75 Jahre) Senioren verglichen werden.Material und MethodenIm Rahmen der Interdisziplinären Längsschnittstudie des Erwachsenenalters (ILSE) wurden Probanden nach repräsentativen Gesichtspunkten rekrutiert. Während der vierten Nachverfolgungswelle im Zeitraum von 2014 bis 2016 im Bereich des Studienzentrums Leipzig wurden die Probanden auf das Vorliegen von anamnestischen und klinischen CMD-Symptomen untersucht.ErgebnisseAnamnestische CMD-Symptome bei Senioren (n = 192) waren v. a. durch Schmerzen im Gesichtsbereich (13,0 %) gekennzeichnet. Das häufigste klinische CMD-Symptom waren Kiefergelenkgeräusche mit einer Prävalenz bis zu 35,5 %. Frauen gaben anamnestisch häufiger Kopfschmerzen/Migräne an. Kiefergelenkgeräusche und eine limitierte Mundöffnung wurden klinisch häufiger bei weiblichen Teilnehmenden beobachtet. Statistisch signifikante Unterschiede zeigten sich bei dem Vergleich von jüngeren und älteren Senioren hinsichtlich der Prävalenz von Kopfschmerzen/Migräne, jedoch nicht bei klinischen Symptomen.SchlussfolgerungAnamnestisch werden Gesichtsschmerzen von 13,0 % der Senioren angegeben. Kiefergelenkgeräusche werden bei jedem dritten Älteren klinisch beobachtet. CMD-Symptome scheinen bei jüngeren und älteren Senioren im ähnlichen Maße ausgeprägt zu sein.

Non-Communicable Disease Mortality among a Sample of Older People in Iran from 2007 to 2018

Introduction: Increasing age is one of the most important predictors of mortality among aged population. Therefore, determining the causes of death among older people could be imperative. The purpose of this study was to investigate non-communicable disease mortality among a sample of older people in Iran from 2007 to 2018. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study that applied census sampling technique to investigate 1202 Medical Records of older adults (60 ≤ years old) died during 2007-2018 at three hospitals of Khuzestan province, Iran. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 24 software. Results: The mean age of participants was 77.4 ± 8.38. Of whom 50.7 % were male. The highest number of deaths were related to the internal ward (41.4%), CCU (29.3%) and ICU (25.6%), respectively. In addition, Angina pectoris, Respiratory disease and Cerebrovascular Accident were the most important cause of death among aged population. Also, the history of hospitalization (87.1%) and cardiovascular disease (82.2%), and hypertension (67.8%) were the prominent risk factors for mortality among aged population. According to chi-squared, there was a significant relationship between smoking and death attributed to cardiovascular diseases among older adults. Conclusion: Angina pectoris, Respiratory disease and Cerebrovascular accident diseases are the most important cause of death among older adults. Prevention and screening programs should be implemented to discern and screen these chronic diseases at the early stage among older people.

The Relationship Between Personality and Cognitive Performance in Adults with and without Late Life Depression

<h3>Introduction</h3> Personality plays an important role in an individual's well-being, impacting mental health and cognition (Sadeq 2018). In the context of aging, this relationship bears increased significance as cognitive capacity declines with advanced age, and personality may serve as a protective or risk factor for further cognitive decline (Sedeq 2018). Researchers have found significant relationships between personality traits and cognitive performance in older adults, although findings are sometimes inconsistent, and few, if any, studies have considered the impact of depression and personality traits in predicting performance on a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests. The aim of this study is to identify the extent to which neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, extraversion, and conscientiousness predict performance across across multiple cognitive domains, taking into consideration education level, sex, and depression status (currently or never depressed). We predict that higher neuroticism in the context of depression will negatively impact cognitive performance across multiple domains, while higher scores in openness and conscientiousness will positively predict cognitive performance. <h3>Methods</h3> Forty adults between the ages of 60-84 (17 depressed) participated in the study. Education (M = 16.2, SD = 2.2) and sex (20 female) were equivocal between the two groups. All participants under went psychiatric evaluation using the SCID-IV and completed an extensive cognitive battery. Personality was assessed using the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R). For data analyses, a series of stepwise linear regression models were were run, with education and sex entered in step 1, depression status entered in step 2, and NEO-PI factor score entered in step 3. Outcome variables included age-corrected measures of IQ, visuospatial skills, word knowledge, memory, executive functioning, complex attention, working memory, language, processing speed, and motor speed and dexterity. <h3>Results</h3> After accounting for education, sex, and MDD status, we found a positive association between agreeableness and performance on the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (DKEFS) sorting test. No other personality variables significantly predicted cognitive performance on any measure. <h3>Conclusions</h3> In this sample of older people with and without a history of depression, agreeableness was the sole personality factor that predicted cognitive performance, and was restricted to one measure of executive function. Previous findings on the relationship between agreeableness and cognitive performance have been largely inconsistent, with many researchers reporting finding no significant relationship between agreeableness and cognitive performance. Our findings highlight a need for further investigation on this relationship. Personality did not predict performance on any other cognitive measures in this sample. Many other studies utilized cognitive screening measures over the telephone to assess cognition, which may help to explain the discrepancy in these results from those of other studies. Further, the current sample is much smaller than those of comparison studies, limiting power to detect significant effects. <h3>Funding</h3> VA Research Rehabilitation and Development

Development of a brief screening method for identification of depression in older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa

Objectives To develop a brief, culturally appropriate screening tool for identifying late life depression (LLD), for use by non-specialist clinicians in primary and out-patient care settings in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Background Depressive disorders are a leading contributor to the global health burden. LLD is common and cases will increase as populations’ age, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as those in SSA. A chronic mental health workforce shortage and the absence of culturally adapted LLD screening tools to aid non-specialist clinicians have contributed to a significant diagnostic gap. Design A systematic random sample of older people attending general medical clinics were interviewed using a 30-item LLD questionnaire, developed utilizing a Delphi consensus analysis of items from the Geriatric Depression Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and questions developed from a study of lay conceptualisations of depression in Tanzania. The items were assessed for validity against blinded DSM 5 diagnosis of depression by a research doctor. Factor and item analysis were then used to refine the questionnaire. Results The 12-item Maddison Old-age Scale for Identifying Depression (MOSHI-D) was developed. It has good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.820) and construct and criterion validity (AUROC = 0.880). Conclusions On initial evaluation, the MOSHI-D showed good internal validity. It should be easy for non-specialists to administer. External validation and further refinement will be conducted. A culturally-appropriate LLD screen may improve mental health care integration into existing healthcare settings within SSA and facilitate greater patient access to care, in accordance with current WHO strategy.

Loneliness in Older Chilean People: Importance of Family Dysfunction and Depression

Loneliness is considered a public health problem that negatively affects wellbeing, especially in the older population. In Latin-American countries, most of the older population live with their family. Although this is thought to diminish feelings of loneliness, there is scarce data to support this. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of loneliness and evaluate its association with objective social networks, family functioning and perception of social support, in a sample of older people from Santiago, Chile. A survey was conducted of a representative sample of community older people (60–97 years) from Santiago, Chile, using the UCLA abbreviated scale of loneliness. Logistic regression was performed to test the variables related to the loneliness of older people. A total of 1,217 older people were interviewed. 88% were living with at least one person at home and 92% had living children. Using the UCLA abbreviated scale, 45% were found to perceive feelings of loneliness at least some of the time. Logistic regression showed significant association between loneliness and family dysfunction; depressive symptoms; living alone; not having a partner (widowed, separated or single); having little contact with relatives and friends; feeling a lack of social support; and sensation of poor self-efficacy. Loneliness is a prevalent public health problem in this older Latin-American community. Living accompanied does not protect against loneliness, particularly in vulnerable groups such as those with depression, or when there are family conflicts. The high prevalence of loneliness strongly conveys the need for public health policies to address loneliness in older people.

Executive Functions Are Associated with Fall Risk but not Balance in Chronic Cerebrovascular Disease.

Background: Older people’s deficits in executive functions (EF) have been shown to lead to higher fall risk, postural sway, and reduced speed. Crucially, EF impairments are even more pronounced in individuals with chronic cerebrovascular disease (CVD), namely vascular cognitive impairment. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we used a complete neuropsychological battery, including the Trail Making Test (TMT) and physical measures, such as the Morse fall and EQUI scales, to assess 66 individuals with chronic CVD. Linear regressions, Bayesian analyses, and model selection were performed to see the impact of EF, global cognition, and vascular parkinsonism/hemiplegia on physical measures (fall risk and balance). Results: The TMT part B and BA correlated (r = 0.44 and r = 0.45) with Morse fall scale. Only EF significantly explained fall risk, whereas global cognition and vascular parkinsonism/hemiplegia did not. These findings were confirmed by Bayesian evidence and parsimony model selection. Balance was not significantly correlated with any of the neuropsychological tests. Conclusions: This is the first study investigating the relationship between cognitive and physical measures in a sample of older people with chronic CVD. The results are consistent with previous findings that link EF with fall risk in CVD.

Validity of the older people quality of life-7 domains (OQoL-7) scale

BackgroundThe Older people Quality of Life-7 domains (OQoL-7) is a 28-item multidimensional questionnaire developed to measure community-dwelling older people’s QoL. The OQoL-7 assesses both importance of and satisfaction in seven QoL domains (Material resources; Close entourage; Social and cultural life; Esteem and recognition; Health and mobility; Feeling of safety; and Autonomy). This study aimed to investigate concurrent and construct validity of the OQoL-7. A secondary aim was to compare different methods of weighting participants’ ratings of satisfaction according to their individual ratings of importance, as compared to the OQoL-7 total score (unweighted).MethodsData came from the first and second samples of the Lausanne cohort 65+ study, assessed at the same age of 72–77 years in 2011 (N = 1117) and 2016 (N = 1091), respectively. To assess concurrent validity, the OQoL-7 was compared to other measures of the same concept (single QoL item) or related concepts (self-rated health, SF-12). Construct validity was tested by comparing subscores in the seven QoL domains in the presence and absence of two stressful events during the preceding year (financial difficulties and relationship difficulties). The effect of importance weighting was assessed using moderated regression analysis.ResultsThe OQoL-7 total score was significantly associated with the single QoL item (Spearman’s rho 0.46), self-rated health (Spearman’s rho 0.34), SF-12 physical (Spearman’s rho 0.22) and mental (Spearman’s rho 0.28) component scores. Large differences (Cohen’s d > 0.8) were observed in the presence or absence of stressful events in the expected QoL domains: “Material resources” in the presence or absence of “Financial difficulties” (Cohen’s d 1.34), and “Close entourage” in the presence or absence of “Relationship difficulties” (Cohen’s d 0.84). Importance weighting resulted in a very small improvement in the prediction of the single QoL item (ΔR2 0.018). All results were highly consistent across 2011 and 2016 samples.ConclusionsThe OQoL-7 showed adequate concurrent and construct validity in two samples of older people. In future studies, the decision to use weighted or unweighted scores will depend on the priority given to either optimizing the prediction of QoL or limiting the burden on respondents and the amount of missing data.

Exploratory Validation Study of the Individual AUDIT-C Items among Older People.

The AUDIT-C is a brief and commonly used alcohol screening tool, with few data available on the relative validity of the three individual items in older adult populations. The aim of this study was to explore the validity of the AUDIT-C items in identifying unhealthy drinking among older people, with a view to developing a single-item screener. A sample of 143 older adults (mean age=71) were recruited from non-clinical settings in the UK. AUDIT-C scores were compared to an unhealthy drinking reference category of consuming more than the UK recommended weekly units of alcohol. Standard analyses were conducted for men and women, and for those prescribed medications for long term conditions. The AUDIT-C items performed well in identifying unhealthy drinking in this sample of older people, with generally high sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve. No significant differences were found in the validity of the three items, though the combined sensitivity and specificity scores and ROC values for item 3 were consistently slightly lower than for items 1 and 2. The findings were similar for men and women, and for participants prescribed medications for long-term conditions. AUDIT-C items 1 and 2 performed as well as item 3 in identifying unhealthy drinking among older people in this study. Both are reasonable single-item screener candidates, especially given relative ease of administration, with further validation study needed to examine psychometrics and how alcohol screening for older people can best be implemented in clinical settings.

Association between chronic diseases and falls among a sample of older people in Finland

BackgroundFalls are a major problem for older people and recurrent fallers are especially prone to severe consequences due to falls. This study investigated the association between chronic conditions and falls.MethodsResponses from 872 older persons (age 65–98) to a health questionnaire were used in the analyses. Characteristics and disease prevalence between recurrent fallers, one-time fallers and non-fallers were compared. A hierarchical clustering method was applied to find combinations of chronic conditions that were associated with recent recurrent falling.ResultsThe results showed that recurrent fallers had a higher number of diseases (median 4, interquartile range, IQR = 2.0–5.0) compared to non-fallers (median 2, IQR = 1.0–3.0). Eight clusters were formed based on the data. The participants in the low chronic disease cluster were younger, more physically active, not frail, and had fewer geriatric conditions. Multiple chronic disease cluster participants were older, less physically active, overweight (body mass index, BMI > 30), at risk of malnutrition, and had more geriatric conditions. Significantly increased risk of recurrent falls relative to the low chronic cluster was found for respondents in the osteoporosis cluster and multiple chronic disease cluster (OR = 5.65, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.23–25.85, p = 0.026, and OR = 13.42, 95% CI: 2.47–72.96, p = 0.002, respectively). None of the clusters were associated with increased risk of one-time falling.ConclusionsThe results implicate that the number of chronic diseases is related with risk of recurrent falling. Furthermore, the results implicate the potential of identifying certain combinations of chronic diseases that increase fall risk by analyzing health record data, although further studies are needed with a larger population sample.