| 1. |
- Balducci, Marco, et al.
(författare)
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SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and risk of infectious diseases in hospitalized older patients
- 2024
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Ingår i: European Geriatric Medicine. - 1878-7649 .- 1878-7657. ; 15:2, s. 509-517
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose Vaccinations, for example flu vaccine, may be a cause of cross-reactive immunostimulation that prevents a larger spectrum of infections. However, whether SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations may also determine this effect is unclear. This study aims, first, to assess the incidence of infections at hospital admission and during the hospitalization in older inpatients vaccinated and unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2; second, to compare length of hospital stay and in-hospital mortality between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.Methods This retrospective study included 754 older inpatients admitted to the Geriatrics and Orthogeriatrics Units of the University Hospital of Ferrara (Italy) between March 2021 and November 2021. Sociodemographic and health-related data, and the diagnosis of infections at hospital admission and during hospitalization were collected from medical records.Results The sample’s mean age was 87.2 years, 59.2% were females, and 75.5% were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. Vaccinated individuals had 36% lower odds of intra-hospital infections (OR = 0.64, 95%CI 0.44–0.94) and 39% lower in-hospital death (HR = 0.61, 95%CI 0.39–0.95), also after adjusting for potential confounders, while no significant results emerged about infections at hospital admission. Considering the hospitalization’s endpoints, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was associated with a lower probability of being transferred to long-term care or other hospital departments than returning home (OR = 0.63, 95%CI 0.40–0.99).Conclusions In older inpatients, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination seems to be associated with a lower likelihood of intra-hospital infectious diseases not caused by SARS-CoV-2 and all-cause in-hospital mortality. The vaccination coverage in the older population could limit not only the onset and severity of COVID-19 but also the occurrence of other infectious diseases.
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| 2. |
- Curreri, Chiara, et al.
(författare)
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The influence of occupation type and complexity on cognitive performance in older adults
- 2022
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Ingår i: Psychiatry Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0925-4927 .- 1872-7506. ; 326
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sociodemographic factors, such as education and occupation, may influence the individual's cognitive reserve. We explored the extent to which the type and complexity of previous work activities influence cognitive performance (evaluated with Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE, and the Animal Naming Test, ANT) in 799 older people with or without brain damage. The presence of cortical/subcortical ischemic brain lesions and right/left hippocampal atrophy was derived from magnetic resonance imaging. We found that individuals who had done intellectual work had better MMSE and ANT scores than their counterparts in the presence of brain lesions or hippocampal atrophy. Among the manual workers there were significant differences between the MMSE scores of individuals with and without brain damage (mean MMSE difference (2.09 [SD: 0.68], p=0.01), but not among the intellectuals (0.19 [SD: 0.29], p=0.36) nor the service providers (1.67 [SD: 0.55], p=0.21). Occupations involving more complex dealings with people were associated with better MMSE scores in the presence of brain lesions [β=-0.41, 95%CI: -0.72,-0.09] and hippocampal atrophy [β=-0.29, 95%CI:-0.58,-0.001]. These results indicate that in more cognitively stimulating work with greater social interaction may help older individuals preserve cognitive functions, even in the presence of brain damage.
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| 3. |
- Grandieri, Andrea, et al.
(författare)
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Relationship between People's Interest in Medication Adherence, Health Literacy, and Self-Care : An Infodemiological Analysis in the Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Era
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Personalized Medicine. - 2075-4426. ; 13:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The prevalence of non-communicable diseases has risen sharply in recent years, particularly among older individuals who require complex drug regimens. Patients are increasingly required to manage their health through medication adherence and self-care, but about 50% of patients struggle to adhere to prescribed treatments. This study explored the relationship between interest in medication adherence, health literacy, and self-care and how it changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used Google Trends to measure relative search volumes (RSVs) for these three topics from 2012 to 2022. We found that interest in self-care increased the most over time, followed by health literacy and medication adherence. Direct correlations emerged between RSVs for medication adherence and health literacy (r = 0.674, p < 0.0001), medication adherence and self-care (r = 0.466, p < 0.0001), and health literacy and self-care (r = 0.545, p < 0.0001). After the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, interest in self-care significantly increased, and Latin countries showed a greater interest in self-care than other geographical areas. This study suggests that people are increasingly interested in managing their health, especially in the context of the recent pandemic, and that infodemiology may provide interesting information about the attitudes of the population toward chronic disease management.
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| 4. |
- Onder, Graziano, et al.
(författare)
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Italian guidelines on management of persons with multimorbidity and polypharmacy
- 2022
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Ingår i: Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1594-0667 .- 1720-8319. ; 34:5, s. 989-996
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Multimorbidity and polypharmacy are emerging health priorities and the care of persons with these conditions is complex and challenging. The aim of the present guidelines is to develop recommendations for the clinical management of persons with multimorbidity and/or polypharmacy and to provide evidence-based guidance to improve their quality of care. The recommendations have been produced in keeping with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Overall, 14 recommendations were issued, focusing on 4 thematic areas: (1.) General Principles; (2.) target population for an individualized approach to care; (3.) individualized care of patients with multimorbidity and/or polypharmacy; (4.) models of care. These recommendations support the provision of individualized care to persons with multimorbidity and/or polypharmacy as well as the prioritization of care through the identification of persons at increased risk of negative health outcomes. Given the limited available evidence, recommendations could not be issued for all the questions defined and, therefore, some aspects related to the complex care of patients with multimorbidity and/or polypharmacy could not be covered in these guidelines. This points to the need for more research in this field and evidence to improve the care of this population.
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| 5. |
- Remelli, Francesca, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence and impact of polypharmacy in older patients with type 2 diabetes
- 2022
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Ingår i: Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1594-0667 .- 1720-8319. ; 34:9, s. 1969-1983
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Polypharmacy is a prevalent condition in older adults, especially those with multiple chronic diseases, and has been largely associated with adverse outcomes, including disability, hospitalizations, and death.Aims This systematic review focused on diabetes and aimed to investigate the prevalence and impact of polypharmacy in older adults affected by such disease.Methods Observational (either cross-sectional or longitudinal) or experimental studies investigating the frequency and impact of polypharmacy in older adults with diabetes were identified from scientific databases and grey literature until August 2021. The prevalence and the 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) of polypharmacy in older people with diabetes were summarized by a random-effects meta-analysis.Results From a total of 1465 records, 9 were selected for the qualitative synthesis, and 8 for the quantitative synthesis. Most studies defined polypharmacy using a cut-off for the minimum number of medications ranging from 4 to 6 drugs/day. The pooled prevalence of polypharmacy in older people with diabetes was 64% (95% CI 45–80%). Considering studies that used the same definition of polypharmacy (i.e. ≥ 5 drugs/day), the pooled prevalence was 50% (95% CI 37–63%). The between-studies heterogeneity was high. Across the selected studies, polypharmacy seemed to negatively influence both diabetes-specific (poor glycemic control and risk of hypoglycemia) and health-related (risk of incident falls, syncope, hospitalization, and death) outcomes.Conclusion This systematic review confirms the high prevalence of polypharmacy in older people with diabetes and its strong impact on several health-related outcomes, including mortality. These results strengthen the need to improve care strategies for management of these patients.
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| 6. |
- Roso-Llorach, Albert, et al.
(författare)
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12-year evolution of multimorbidity patterns among older adults based on Hidden Markov Models
- 2022
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Ingår i: Aging. - : Impact Journals, LLC. - 1945-4589. ; 14:24, s. 9805-9817
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The evolution of multimorbidity patterns during aging is still an under-researched area. We lack evidence concerning the time spent by older adults within one same multimorbidity pattern, and their transitional probability across different patterns when further chronic diseases arise. The aim of this study is to fill this gap by exploring multimorbidity patterns across decades of age in older adults, and longitudinal dynamics among these patterns.Methods: Longitudinal study based on the Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K) on adults ≥60 years (N=3,363). Hidden Markov Models were applied to model the temporal evolution of both multimorbidity patterns and individuals' transitions over a 12-year follow-up.Findings: Within the study population (mean age 76.1 years, 66.6% female), 87.2% had ≥2 chronic conditions at baseline. Four longitudinal multimorbidity patterns were identified for each decade. Individuals in all decades showed the shortest permanence time in an Unspecific pattern lacking any overrepresented diseases (range: 4.6-10.9 years), but the pattern with the longest permanence time varied by age. Sexagenarians remained longest in the Psychiatric-endocrine and sensorial pattern (15.4 years); septuagenarians in the Neuro-vascular and skin-sensorial pattern (11.0 years); and octogenarians and beyond in the Neuro-sensorial pattern (8.9 years). Transition probabilities varied across decades, sexagenarians showing the highest levels of stability.Interpretation: Our findings highlight the dynamism and heterogeneity underlying multimorbidity by quantifying the varying permanence times and transition probabilities across patterns in different decades. With increasing age, older adults experience decreasing stability and progressively shorter permanence time within one same multimorbidity pattern.
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| 7. |
- Tazzeo, Clare, et al.
(författare)
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Multimorbidity patterns and risk of frailty in older community-dwelling adults : a population-based cohort study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Age and Ageing. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0002-0729 .- 1468-2834. ; 50:6, s. 2183-2191
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: the aim of this study was to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of different multimorbidity patterns with physical frailty in older adults.Methods: we used data from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen to generate a physical frailty measure, and clusters of participants with similar multimorbidity patterns were identified through fuzzy c-means cluster analyses. The cross-sectional association (n= 2,534) between multimorbidity clusters and physical frailty was measured through logistic regression analyses. Six- (n= 2,122) and 12-year (n= 2,140) longitudinal associations were determined through multinomial logistic regression analyses.Results: six multimorbidity patterns were identified at baseline: psychiatric diseases; cardiovascular diseases, anaemia and dementia; sensory impairments and cancer; metabolic and sleep disorders; musculoskeletal, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases; and an unspecific pattern lacking any overrepresented diseases. Cross-sectionally, each pattern was associated with physical frailty compared with the unspecific pattern. Over 6 years, the psychiatric diseases (relative risk ratio [RRR]: 3.04; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.59-5.79); cardiovascular diseases, anaemia and dementia (RRR 2.25; 95% CI: 1.13-4.49) and metabolic and sleep disorders (RRR 1.99; 95% CI: 1.25-3.16) patterns were associated with incident physical frailty. The cardiovascular diseases, anaemia and dementia (RRR: 4.81; 95% CI: 1.59-14.60); psychiatric diseases (RRR 2.62; 95% CI: 1.45-4.72) and sensory impairments and cancer (RRR 1.87; 95% CI: 1.05-3.35) patterns were more associated with physical frailty, compared with the unspecific pattern, over 12 years.Conclusions: we found that older adults with multimorbidity characterised by cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric disease patterns are most susceptible to developing physical frailty.
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| 8. |
- Trevisan, Caterina, et al.
(författare)
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Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations between Peak Expiratory Flow and Frailty in Older Adults
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Medicine. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-0383. ; 8:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peak expiratory flow (PEF) has been linked to several health-related outcomes in older people, but its association with frailty is still unclear. This study investigates the association between PEF and prevalent and incident frailty in older adults. Data come from 2559 community-dwelling participants (age >= 60 years) of the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K). Baseline PEF was expressed as standardized residual (SR) percentiles. Frailty was assessed at baseline and over six years, according to the Fried criteria. Associations between PEF and frailty were estimated cross-sectionally through logistic regressions, and longitudinally by multinomial logistic regression, considering death as alternative outcome. Obstructive respiratory diseases and smoking habits were treated as potential effect modifiers. Our cross-sectional results showed that the 10th-49th and <10th PEF SR percentile categories were associated with three- and five-fold higher likelihood of being frail than the 80th-100th category. Similar estimates were confirmed longitudinally, i.e., adjusted OR = 3.11 (95% CI: 1.61-6.01) for PEF SR percentiles < 10th, compared with 80th-100th percentiles. Associations were enounced in participants without physical deficits, and tended to be stronger among those with baseline obstructive respiratory diseases, and, longitudinally, also among former/current smokers. These findings suggest that PEF is a marker of general robustness in older adults, and its reduction exceeding that expected by age is associated with frailty development.
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| 9. |
- Trevisan, Caterina, et al.
(författare)
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Falls may trigger body weight decline in nursing home residents
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.). - : Elsevier BV. - 0899-9007 .- 1873-1244. ; 90
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: The effect of falls on changes in body weight is still unknown. This study investigated the extent to which falls can modify the course of body weight in nursing home residents, and aimed to identify the factors that might modulate this effect.Methods: The sample included 132 residents aged ≥60 y who had experienced at least one fall after nursing home admission. Body weight was measured monthly in the 6 mo after the fall in the entire sample, and also in the 6 mo prefall in a subsample (n = 111). Sociodemographic and health data were obtained from medical records. Linear mixed models were used to estimate the average monthly changes in body weight after the fall in the total sample, and as a function of the sociodemographic and medical factors.Results: Falls modified the course of body weight in the total sample (β = −0.28, 95% confidence interval, −0.44 to −0.12, for the change in slope before and after fall) in all age classes and especially in individuals with severe cognitive impairment who received less-frequent informal visits (β = −0.55, 95% confidence interval, −0.87 to −0.22). Individuals aged ≥90 y and those with severe cognitive impairment had a steeper monthly weight decline in the 6 mo postfall, of 0.23 and 0.35 kg greater, respectively, than their younger and cognitively healthier counterparts.Conclusions: Falls may trigger a body weight loss in nursing home residents, especially in the oldest old people and those with severe cognitive impairment who receive little support from informal caregivers. These findings highlight the importance of monitoring nutritional status of people who live in institutions after falls.
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| 10. |
- Trevisan, Caterina, et al.
(författare)
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Frailty and the risk of infection-related hospitalizations in older age : Differences by sex
- 2023
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Ingår i: Maturitas. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-5122 .- 1873-4111. ; 168, s. 1-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To investigate the extent to which frailty is associated with infection-related hospitalizations in older men and women, and to explore whether, among women, previous exposure to endogenous estrogens in terms of age at menopause and number of pregnancies modify such a relationship.Study design: The sample comprised 2784 participants in the Progetto Veneto Anziani aged ≥65 years. At baseline and after 4.4 years, frailty was identified according to the presence of three or more of the following: weakness, exhaustion, weight loss, low physical activity, and low walking speed. A passive follow-up on infection-related hospitalizations and mortality was performed for 10 years of observation through linkage with regional registers.Main outcome measures: The association between frailty and infection-related hospitalizations was assessed through mixed-effects Cox regressions.Results: Frailty was significantly associated with a 78 % higher risk of infection-related hospitalization, with stronger results in men (hazard ratio = 2.32, 95 % confidence interval 1.63–3.30) than in women (hazard ratio = 1.54, 95 % confidence interval 1.18–2.02). Focusing on women, we found a possible modifying effect for the number of pregnancies but not menopausal age. Women who had experienced one or no pregnancy demonstrated a higher hazard of infection-related hospitalization as a function of frailty (hazard ratio = 3.00, 95 % confidence interval 1.58–5.71) than women who had experienced two or more pregnancies (hazard ratio = 1.68, 95 % confidence interval 1.18–2.39).Conclusion: Frailty in older age increases the risk of infection-related hospitalizations, especially in men. The “immunologic advantage” of the female sex in younger age seems to persist also after menopause as a function of the number of pregnancies a woman has experienced.
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