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- Bellelli, Giuseppe, et al.
(author)
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Duration of Postoperative Delirium Is an Independent Predictor of 6-Month Mortality in Older Adults After Hip Fracture
- 2014
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In: Journal of The American Geriatrics Society. - : Wiley. - 0002-8614 .- 1532-5415. ; 62:7, s. 1335-1340
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between number of days with delirium and 6-month mortality in elderly adults after hip fracture surgery. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with 6-month follow-up. SETTING: Orthogeriatric Unit (OGU). PARTICIPANTS: Individuals (mean age = 84.3 +/- 6.4) admitted to the OGU between October 2011 and April 2013 with hip fracture (N = 199). MEASUREMENTS: Postoperative delirium (POD) was assessed daily using the Confusion Assessment Method algorithm and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, criteria. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to evaluate the association between POD of and 6-month mortality after surgery, after adjustment for covariates including age, prefracture residence, Katz activity of daily living score, New Mobility score, diagnosis of prefracture dementia, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, albumin serum levels, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and length of OGU stay. RESULTS: Fifty-seven participants (28.6%) developed POD. In the 6-month period after surgery, 35 (17.6%) participants died: 16 of 57 (28.1%) with POD and 19 / of 142 (13.4%) with no POD. The average duration of POD was 2.0 +/- 3.2 days for participants who died and 0.7 +/- 1.8 days for those who survived (P < .001). After adjusting for covariates, each day of POD in the OGU increased the hazard of dying at 6 months by 17% (hazard ratio = 1.17, 95% confidence interval = 1.07-1.28). CONCLUSION: In older adults undergoing hip fracture surgery, duration of POD is an important prognostic factor for 6-month mortality. Efforts to reduce duration of POD are therefore crucial for these individuals.
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- Biffi, Annalisa, et al.
(author)
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Adherence to Antidepressants and Mortality in Elderly Patients with Cardiovascular Disease
- 2018
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In: Clinical drug investigation. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1173-2563 .- 1179-1918. ; 38:7, s. 593-602
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and ObjectiveConflicting findings from studies evaluating the association between use of antidepressant drugs and mortality have been reported. We tested the hypothesis that better adherence to antidepressant therapy may reduce mortality.MethodsThe cohort included 29,845 individuals aged >= 65 years from several Italian health units who were newly treated with antidepressant drugs after hospital discharge with a diagnosis for cardiovascular disease during 2008-2010. These individuals were observed from the first prescription until the end of data availability (i.e. 2012-2014, depending on the local database). During this period, information on (1) prescription of antidepressants and other medications and (2) death from any cause (outcome) was recorded. Proportional hazards models were fitted to estimate the association between better adherence to antidepressants (defined as proportion of days covered > 75%) and outcome, by adjusting and stratifying for several covariates.ResultsPatients with better adherence to antidepressants had a reduced mortality of 9% (95% CI 3-14). Patients who did not use other medicaments during follow-up had reduced mortality associated with better adherence to antidepressants of 21% (- 1-38), 14% (7-20), 20% (13-26) and 13% (7-19) for no users of antihypertensive agents, lipid-lowering agents, other cardiovascular drugs and antidiabetics, respectively.ConclusionsBetter adherence to antidepressants is associated with reduced all-cause mortality, mainly in patients who did not use other pharmacological treatments. Behavioural changes to enhance adherence among the elderly with cardiovascular disease might offer important benefits in reducing their mortality.
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- Cantarutti, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Association of Treated and Untreated Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in the First Year of Life with the Subsequent Development of Asthma
- 2021
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In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 18:18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as well as its treatment with acid-suppressive medications have been considered possible risk factors for the development of asthma, but few studies have disentangled the role of GERD with that of its treatment. The present study aimed at estimating the association of treated and untreated GERD in the first year of life with the risk of asthma.Methods: Retrospective cohort study including all children born between 2004 and 2015 registered in Pedianet, an Italian primary care database. We analyzed the association of children exposed to GERD (both treated and untreated) in the first year of life with the risk of developing clinically assessed asthma (clinical asthma) after 3 years. Secondary outcomes included asthma identified by anti-asthmatic medications (treated asthma) and wheezing after 3 years. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated comparing children with and without GERD, stratifying by treatment with acid-suppressive medications.Results: Out of 86,381 children, 1652 (1.9%) were affected by GERD in the first year of life, of which 871 (53%) were treated with acid-suppressive medications. Compared with controls, children with GERD were at increased risk of clinical asthma (HR: 1.40, 95% CI 1.15-1.70). Risks were similar between treated and untreated GERD (p = 0.41). Comparable results were found for treated asthma, but no risk increase was seen for wheezing.Discussion: Early-life GERD was associated with subsequent childhood asthma. Similar risks among children with treated and untreated GERD suggest that acid-suppressive medications are unlikely to play a major role in the development asthma.
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- Rea, Federico, et al.
(author)
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Adherence of Elderly Patients with Cardiovascular Disease to Statins and the Risk of Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease : Evidence from an Italian Real-World Investigation
- 2018
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In: Drugs & Aging. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1170-229X .- 1179-1969. ; 35:12, s. 1099-1108
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between adherence to statin therapy and the risk of exacerbation among elderly individuals affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease.Methods Using the healthcare utilisation databases of five Italian territorial units accounting for nearly 35% of the Italian population, we recruited a cohort of 6263 elderly persons (i.e. aged 65 years or older) with co-existing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease who initiated statin therapy. Exposure was adherence to statins measured by the proportion of days of follow-up covered. Outcome was the first hospital admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease occurring in the period of observation. A proportional hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals for the exposure-outcome association, after adjusting for several covariates. A set of sensitivity analyses was performed to account for sources of systematic uncertainty.Results During an average follow-up of about 4 years, 1307 cohort members experienced the outcome. Compared with patients with low adherence (proportion of days of follow-up covered <= 40%), those with intermediate (proportion of days of follow-up covered 41-80%) and high (proportion of days of follow-up covered >80%) adherence exhibited a lower risk of exacerbation of 16% (95% confidence interval 3-27) and 23% (95% confidence interval 10-34).Conclusions In a real-world setting, we observed evidence that adherence to statin therapy markedly reduced the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations in elderly patients with co-existing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease. Given the limited and controversial evidence from trials, more randomised controlled trials are urgently needed to better examine the potential benefits of statins as adjunct therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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- Zanchetti, Alberto, et al.
(author)
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Blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol lowering for prevention of strokes and cognitive decline: a review of available trial evidence.
- 2014
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In: Journal of Hypertension. - 1473-5598. ; 32:9, s. 1741-1750
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is well established by a large number of randomized controlled trials that lowering blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by drugs are powerful means to reduce stroke incidence, but the optimal BP and LDL-C levels to be achieved are largely uncertain. Concerning BP targets, two hypotheses are being confronted: first, the lower the BP, the better the treatment outcome, and second, the hypothesis that too low BP values are accompanied by a lower benefit and even higher risk. It is also unknown whether BP lowering and LDL-C lowering have additive beneficial effects for the primary and secondary prevention of stroke, and whether these treatments can prevent cognitive decline after stroke.
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