Current aging science最新文献

Background: The relationship between environmental diversity and the health status of older adults has been less considered in studies. This study seeks to investigate the causal relationship among the environment, falling, fear of falling, and the imbalance of older adults in southern Iran in 2021.

Objective: The investigation into the relationship between environmental pollution to the imbalance and fear of falling, especially in comparing urban and rural aging societies is the aim of current study.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 489 older samples from rural and urban areas were chosen randomly and their experience of falling, fear of falling, imbalance, and IADL were examined. The ordinal and nominal logistic regression and ANOVA were performed using IBM-SPSS.

Results: With a mean age of 71.8 (SD = 8.3), older participants have long time chronic disease (69.6%) and falling experience twice a year (42.7%). The values of effect size indicated the high effectiveness of settlement in explaining IADL, health situation, experience and fear of falling, and imbalance (Eta squared > 30). The odds ratio for being in the urban settlement was 5.51, indicating the imbalance score increased by approximately 5.52 times.

Conclusion: Imbalance in older people leads to the fear and experience of falling. This imbalance is strongly influenced by the environment. Urban pollution can contribute to this problem. Future studies on aging need to focus on environmental pollution and diversity in the experience of falling and imbalance.

Background: Increasing age and the added disadvantage of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) put the individual at a higher risk of falls and reduced functional fitness. However, there is a dearth of literature on multifactorial balance intervention, especially targeting the needs of older adults with DPN.

Objective: The current study aimed to determine the effect of a multifactorial balance rehabilitation program on fall risk and functional fitness in older adults with DPN.

Methods: In this pre-post experimental study, 30 independently ambulating older adults (71.2 ± 4.70 years) with DPN, who were at risk of falling (timed up and go score ≥ 9.4 seconds), were recruited. Along with the standard care, all the participants received 12 weeks of the multifactorial balance rehabilitation program.

Results: Fall risk using the Fullerton Advanced Balance scale and functional fitness using the Senior Fitness Test were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks of the intervention. The intervention reduced the risk of falling score significantly (MD = 6.17, p < .001). All six parameters of functional fitness improved after 12 weeks of intervention. The improvement in lower limb strength (MD = 1.53 times), upper limb strength (MD = 2.48 times), endurance (MD = 16.07 seconds), lower limb flexibility (MD = 2.02 inches), upper limb flexibility (MD = 1.47 inches), and dynamic balance (MD = 1.53 seconds) was statistically significant at p < 0.05.

Conclusion: This study provided encouraging evidence about the potential of multifactorial balance rehabilitation to reduce the risk of falling and improve functional fitness in older adults with DPN.

Background: Caregivers of chronically ill geriatric patients face several problems throughout the disease progression of the patients under their care. This is a prospective crosssectional study conducted from September 2017 to September 2018, including 130 caregivers of geriatric patients from Attica, Greece.

Objectives: This study investigates caregivers' anxiety, perception of changes in their lives, and quality of life.

Methods: The questionnaires administered were the revised Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale (rBCOS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Linear Analogue Scale Assessment (LASA).

Results: Influencing factors associated with rBCOS, STAI and LASA were care timespan and energy levels. Only the State Anxiety Scale and the Patient-caregiver Relationship rBCOS questionnaire seemed to be affected by a cancer diagnosis.

Conclusion: Our findings revealed that anxiety, low quality of life, and perception of changes in the lives of caregivers are the underlying factors. Significant factors were time spent caring for the patient, the status of their relationship, the diagnosis, especially in life-threatening and life-limiting diseases, and the caregivers' energy levels. These results are important in order to comprehend the lives of caregivers and assess by what means could the healthcare system and society further assist them.

In 2016, a mini-issue of Current Aging Science (CAS) entitled "Effects of Aging on Circadian and Sleep Timing" has been published to report the state of the art in the studies of the effects of aging on the circadian and sleep regulating processes. The emphasis has been given to the regulatory processes involved in age-specific problems with sleep timing, continuity, and duration. Such problems can serve as targets for novel treatments for geriatric and sleep disorders. In the following 6 years, some new findings provided further insight into the previously recognized age-specific problems and highlighted new questions of research on the relation of aging to the regulatory mechanisms underlying circadian rhythmicity, sleep, and sleepiness. The theoretic framework of one of the directions of this research regards the interaction between the competing drives for sleep and wake as one of the basic features of regulatory processes underlying circadian rhythms, including such rhythms as the sleep-wake cycle and the diurnal variation in alertnesssleepiness levels. Here, earlier and more recently highlighted questions of the research in this framework were briefly reviewed.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the possible interrelationships between sarcopenia and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Background: Sarcopenia and AD are two common geriatric syndromes; however, the relationship between AD and sarcopenia has not been evaluated in detail so far.

Objective: The objective is to evaluate the relationship between AD and sarcopenia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed retrospectively on 128 patients with probable AD, with a mean age of 76.56±7.54 years. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, including the activities of daily living (ADLs), malnutrition, frailty, mini-mental state examination (MMSE), and orthostatic hypotension was performed. Sarcopenia was defined according to the revised EWGSOP-2 criteria.

Results: The frequency of probable sarcopenia and definitive sarcopenia was 54.7% and 18.7%, respectively. AD patients with probable sarcopenia had lower MMSE and ADLs scores and were frailer. Clinical dementia rating (CDR) score, MMSE, and basic and instrumental ADLs were independently related to probable sarcopenia in the patients (p=0.003, p<0.001, p=0.001, and p=0.001, respectively). The prevalence of probable sarcopenia in those with CDR 2 was higher than in those with CDR 0.5 and 1 (p=0.002).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that probable sarcopenia seems to be related to worse MMSE and ADLs scores and frailty in patients with AD and seems to be related to the severity of AD. Considering adverse health outcomes and the burden of sarcopenia on the patients and their caregivers, optimal care and treatment of sarcopenia in patients with AD are of great importance.

Background: Parkinson's disease is a complicated, gradually progressive neurological illness characterized by locomotor and non-motor symptomatology that impedes daily activities. Despite significant advances in symptomatic therapies with various extents of negative effects, there are currently no disease-modifying medicinal alternatives. Symptoms worsen, creating an additional strain that reduces living quality and creates the perception that prescription drugs are no longer productive.

Objective: Adopting healthy lifestyle habits can help patients feel more empowered, promote wellness, relieve symptoms, and potentially slow neurodegeneration. Nutrition, intellectual stimulation, physical exercise, and stress reduction are all examples of lifestyle habits that improve cognitive health and life satisfaction. We discuss how changes in lifestyle, nutrition, yoga, exercise, and acupuncture can help with managing the disease's symptoms.

Methods: We searched Google Scholar for various research papers and review articles from publishers, such as Bentham Science, Elsevier, Taylor and Francis, Springer Nature, and others for gathering the data for the study.

Results: Pesticide exposure, environmental hazards, dietary choices, stress, and anxiety all have an indirect or immediate influence on the commencement of Parkinson's disease. Naturopathic remedies, such as nutraceuticals, yoga, exercise, and acupuncture, have been shown to help with Parkinson's disease management.

Conclusion: Various preclinical and clinical studies have shown that the various factors mentioned are beneficial in the management of the disease, but more research is needed to validate the extent to which such factors are beneficial.

Background: The risk of falling increases with neuromusculoskeletal and cognitive changes resulting from aging. Physical exercise shows beneficial effects on the risk of falling, but the results are unknown when associated with cognitive activity dual-task (DT).

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the impacts of the Otago Exercise Program (OEP) plus DT cognitive activity on the risk of falling in older adults.

Methods: 36 older adults (83.5 ± 5.7 years) participated in a quasi-experimental study, distributed in two experimental groups and a control group: 1) OEP (OEPG; n=12), 2) OEP plus DT (OEPDTG; n = 12), and a control group (CG; n=12). Older adults were evaluated at pre- and post- 12 weeks of intervention. The thresholds for the risk of falling were considered as multiparameter scores of the 10 Meter Walking Test (10MWT), evocative 10MWT, Timed Up and Go (TUG), Sit to Stand Test (STS), and The Four-Stage Balance Test (Four-Stage), and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), to test the cognitive impairment.

Results: At baseline, all groups were homogeneous. Post-intervention, the experimental groups presented significant functional differences, in comparison to the CG, for 10MWT (OEPDTG: p= 0.002; OEPG: p= 0.002); evocative 10MWT (OEPDTG: p=0.001; OEPG: p=0.001); TUG (OEPDTG: p=0.034); STS (OEPDTG: p<0.001; OEPG: p<0.001) and cognitive for MoCA (OEPDTG: p<0.019). Significant intra-group differences (pre-post) were observed in all intervention groups, but none in CG. The risk of falling (Four-Stage) in experimental groups (OEPDTG: 33.3%; OEPG: 41.7%) was considerably lower than CG (83.3%).

Conclusion: Otago Exercise Program alone can reduce the risk of falling due to improved functionality, but adding the dual task also improves cognitive capacity in older adults. The clinical significance of these interventions goes beyond statistics.

Background: Dementia is a neurocognitive disorder associated with the aging brain and mainly affects the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. The Hippo signaling pathway and autophagy proteins have been found to be perturbed in the brain affected by dementia processes.

Objective: This systematic review aims to elaborate on the involvement of the Hippo signaling pathway and autophagy in modulating the progression and severity of dementia in aging.

Methods: Searches were conducted on MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science databases.

Results: The Hippo signaling pathway is dependent upon the transcriptional co-activator YAP/TAZ, which forms complexes with TEAD in the nucleus in order to maintain cell homeostasis. When the expression YAP/TAZ is reduced, transcriptional repression-induced atypical cell death, ballooning cell death, and necrosis will consequently occur in the neurons. Moreover, the autophagic proteins, such as LC3, ATG proteins, and Beclin, are reduced, resulting in the disruption of autophagosome formation and accumulation and the spread of misfolded proteins in the brain suffering from dementia.

Conclusion: The impairment of the Hippo signaling pathway and autophagy in the dementia process in aging should be considered since it might predict the severity, treatment, and prevention of dementia.

Purpose: Falls are a common public health problem in older adults regarding increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Determining the factors associated with falls is of utmost importance for detecting at risk people. We present here a field study conducted to examine the prevalence of falls and the associated factors among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: In this population-based cross-sectional study, we included adults aged > 60 years living in the Fatih District of the Istanbul Province between November 2014-May 2015, through a simple random sampling method. We noted age, sex, falls, fear of falling, number of diseases and medications, the presence of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, urinary and fecal incontinence, and chronic pain. Frailty was assessed with the FRAIL questionnaire. Functional capacity was evaluated by Katz's 6-item ADL and Lawton Brody's 8-item IADL scales. The European quality-5 dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire was used for the quality of life assessment. The cognitive status screening was conducted with a Mini-cog test. Depressive mood was evaluated with the Geriatric Depression scale short form (GDS-SF). Malnutrition screening was conducted by the mini-nutritional assessment short form. Handgrip strength (HGS) was measured with a hand dynamometer. Body composition was assessed through a bioimpedance analysis. The 4-meter usual gait speed was recorded. The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People2 (EWSGOP2) criteria was used for the sarcopenia definition. The Romberg and the postural instability tests were evaluated for balance and gait. Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation or median and interquartile range for descriptive statistics, while categorical variables were expressed as the number and percentages. The differences between groups were determined through an independent sample t-test or Mann-Whitney U test when required, and Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were applied for categorical variables. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent factors associated with falls among the factors identified as significant in univariate analyses.

Results: The prevalence of falls was 28.5% [mean age: 75.4 ± 7.3 (range: 61-101 years), 53.6% female], and a significant association was identified between falls and the number of diseases and medications, diabetes, chronic pain, frailty, ADL, IADL, and EQ-5D scores, dementia, GDS-SF score and level of ambulation in univariate analyses (p = 0.001, 0.030, 0.030, 0.010, 0.004, 0.040, 0.007, 0.003, 0.030 and 0.007, respectively). In the multivariate analysis, positive dementia (OR = 3.66, 95% CI = 1.40-9.53; p = 0.010) and frailty screenings (OR =1.47, 95% CI = 1.05-2.06; p = 0.020) were identified as associates of falls.

Conclusion: Falls were independently associated with positive dementia and f

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD or AMD) is a progressive, sight-threatening disease. The pathogenesis of ARMD is complex, involving many factors, such as metabolic, functional, genetic, and environmental factors. Recently, long interspersed nuclear element-1 (L1)- mediated reverse transcription (RT) of Alu RNA into cytoplasmic Alu complementary DNA (cDNA) has been associated with retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) destruction. These findings provide a strong input for a new direction in the management of ARMD, as certain human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drugs, such as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), were found to suppress inflammation and protect cells of the retina.