Clinical Interventions in Aging最新文献

As we are aging, a number of cutaneous and extracutaneous disorders will be developed. Although the pathogenesis of these aging-associated disorders is not clear yet, abnormalities in the skin are linked to some aging-associated disorders at least to some extent. Inflammatory dermatoses such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis predispose to the development of cardiovascular diseases, obesity and type 2 diabetes. In addition, both chronologically aged skin and individuals with some aging-associated systemic conditions display altered epidermal function, such as reduced stratum corneum hydration levels, which can provoke cutaneous inflammation. Because aged skin exhibits higher expression levels of inflammatory cytokines, which play a pathogenic role in a variety of aging-associated health condition, the association of the skin with some aging-associated disorders is likely mediated by inflammation. This postulation is supported by the evidence that improvement in either epidermal function or inflammatory dermatoses can mitigate some aging-associated disorders such as mild cognitive impairment and insulin sensitivity. This perspective discusses the association of the skin with aging-associated disorders and highlights the potential of improvement in cutaneous conditions in the management of some health conditions in the elderly.

Purpose: The efficacy of mortality risk prediction models among older patients in China remains uncertain. We aimed to validate and compare the performances of the Walter Index, Geriatric Prognostic Index (GPI), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and FRAIL Scale in predicting 1-year all-cause mortality post-discharge in geriatric inpatients in China.

Patients and methods: This study was conducted at a geriatric ward of a tertiary Hospital in Beijing, including patients aged 70 years or older with a documented comprehensive geriatric assessment, discharged between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021. Patients with a hospital stay ≤24 h or >60 days were excluded. All-cause mortality data within one year of discharge were collected from medical files and telephone interviews between August 2022 and February 2023. Multiple imputation, Logistic regression analysis, Brier scores, C-statistics, Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit-test, and calibration plots were employed for statistical analysis.

Results: We included 832 patients with a median (interquartile range) age of 77 (74-82) years. One-hundred patients (12.0%) died within one year. After adjusting for covariates-marital status, social support, cigarette use, length of stay, number of medications, hemoglobin levels, handgrip strength, and Short Physical Performance Battery-CCI scores of 3-4 and >4, and increased Walter Index, GPI, and FRAIL Scale scores were significantly associated with 1-year mortality risk. The Brier scores varied from 0.07 (Walter Index) to 0.10 (FRAIL Scale). The C-statistic ranged from 0.74 (95% confidence interval, 0.69-0.78) for FRAIL Scale to 0.88 (95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.91) for the Walter Index. Calibration curves showed that the Walter Index, GPI, and FRAIL Scale were well calibrated, while the CCI was poor.

Conclusion: Combining the Brier score, discrimination and calibration, the Walter Index was confirmed for the first time to be the best model to predict the 1-year mortality risk of geriatric inpatients in China among the four models.

Background: The prognosis of elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is poor, and this study aimed to investigate the characteristics and predictors of preoperative AMI in elderly hip fracture patients and to propose a valid clinical prediction model.

Methods: We collected clinical data of older hip fracture patients from January 2019 to December 2020. The data collected include demographic and clinical characteristics, underlying diseases and laboratory results. In AMI patients, we further collected type of myocardial infarctions, clinical symptoms, electrocardiogram (ECG), Killip class and diagnosis method. The prediction model was constructed by using Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and multivariate logistic regression analyses. In addition, the constructed prediction model was transformed into a nomogram. The performance of the model was evaluated using the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Bootstrapping was used for validation.

Results: There are 40 (4.2%) cases developed AMI in all 958 patients. There were 685 (71.5%) female patients and 273 (28.5%) male patients. Among 40 AMI patients, 38 (95.0%) had Type 2 myocardial infarction (T2MI) and 2 (5.0%) had Type 1 myocardial infarction (T1MI). The majority of these ECG were ST segment depression (57.5%). Most elderly AMI patients (67.5%) presented asymptomatic. Predictors for preoperative AMI were higher age (OR 2.386, 95% CI 1.126-5.057), diabetes (OR 5.863, 95% CI 2.851-12.058), Hb≤100 g/L (OR 3.976, 95% CI 1.478-10.695), CRP≥40 mg/L (OR 6.998, 95% CI 2.875-17.033), and ALB≤35 g/L (OR 2.166, 95% CI 1.049-4.471). Good discrimination and calibration effect of the model was showed. Interval validation could still achieve the C-index value of 0.771. DCA demonstrated this nomogram has good clinical utility.

Conclusion: This model has a good predictive effect on preoperative AMI in elderly patients with hip fracture, which can help to better plan clinical evaluation.

Purpose: A lack of coordinated care leads to multiple adverse effects for older adults with multimorbidity, including high treatment burdens, adverse health outcomes, reduplicated healthcare service utilization, and catastrophic healthcare expenditure. To foster healthy aging, person-centered integrated care that is responsive to older adults has been proposed by the World Health Organization. The objective of this study was to identify factors that impact the successful implementation of integrated care for older adults with multimorbidity in China.

Patients and methods: From July 2022 to May 2023, 33 healthcare providers and managers involved in the delivery and management of healthcare services for older adults with multimorbidity were recruited from Zhejiang Province, China using purposeful and maximum variation sampling methods. Semi-structured, face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted by the same interviewer in the participants' native Chinese language until data saturation was reached. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data, and then, themes were mapped onto six dimensions using the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care to allow for a comprehensive view of the study's findings.

Results: Eleven themes were generated as facilitators and barriers to integrated care for older adults with multimorbidity in China. These themes include (1) clinical integration: patient-centered care, (2) professional integration: interdisciplinary teams and training, (3) organizational integration: resources and accessibility, (4) system integration: community and funds, incentives, and health insurance, (5) functional integration: electronic health record systems, workforce, and guidelines, and (6) normative integration: shared mission.

Conclusion: Guided by the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care, various factors at both micro, meso, and macro levels that impact the implementation of integrated care for older adults with multimorbidity in the Chinese context have been identified in this study. The strategies for future interventions and policies should focus on promoting facilitators and addressing barriers.

Background: The measurement of serum biomarkers is a promising decision aid in the assessment of atherosclerosis. However, data on the levels and epidemiological distribution of serum biomarkers of carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) in the oldest-old are limited. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of CAS serum biomarkers in the oldest-old over 80 and explore their predictive value for CAS.

Methods: As part of the China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study, a total of 1565 individuals over 80 years old were included. Atherosclerosis was assessed by carotid plaque and carotid intima-media thickness. Serum biomarker levels, demographic indicators, and physical examination indicators were detected. Prediction factors correlated to the CAS were explored by logistic regression and verified by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Multivariate regression models were fitted, along with subgroup analysis and robustness tests.

Results: Among the oldest-old population, 83.5% (1306) had CAS. In a fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression model, systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rhythm (HR), serum homocysteine (Hcy), and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) levels were significantly and positively associated with CAS in the oldest-old (P_S < 0.001). ROC analysis indicated that the combination of serum Hcy, ApoB, SBP, and HR increased the predictive value for CAS in the oldest-old (area under the curve: 0.856, 95% CI: 0.803-0.879; sensitivity: 81.8%; specificity: 85.9%).

Conclusion: SBP, HR, Hcy and ApoB are independent risk factors for CAS in the oldest-old. The specific set of biomarkers and their combination with other risk markers may be a promising strategy for assessing CAS in the elderly, especially in global aging.

Purpose: Frailty is an important geriatric syndrome associated with aging and adverse events, especially in patients with severe infection. To help guide prognosis for elderly patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) who experience acute infection, this study investigated whether baseline (pre-infection) frailty may be associated with adverse outcomes in elderly patients undergoing MHD who suffer SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection.

Patients and methods: Patients (aged ≥60 y) receiving MHD had been assessed for overall frailty and the 5 frailty components based on the Fried Frailty Phenotype scale within 3 months prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Results: There were 59 and 98 patients in the frail and non-frail groups, respectively. Three months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, 21 (13.4%) and 45 (28.7%) patients had died or were in hospital. The multivariate COX proportional risk model suggested that the all-cause mortality rate in patients judged overall frail or with low activity was significantly higher compared with that of the non-frail (P = 0.049; 0.003). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that hospitalization 3 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with both overall frailty and low activity (OR 2.276, 95% CI: 1.034-5.010, P = 0.041; OR 2.809, 95% CI: 1.311-6.020, P = 0.008, respectively).

Conclusion: Overall frailty and specifically low activity were significantly associated with all-cause mortality and hospitalization in this elderly MHD population after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Early assessment of frailty and effective interventions are recommended to improve the prognosis of patients receiving MHD who are at higher risk of acute infection.

The lack of activity, opportunity for providing input and participation in activities, and interaction with other people are the features of institutional living which reinforces dependency among nursing home residents. Residents are usually frustrated with paternalistic-type care. Arranging health-oriented meaningful activities for residents contributes to health promotion and enhancement of healthy aging. Moreover, it contributes to the cultivation of a positive meaning of life which is particularly important as residents reach the late geriatric stages of their lives. With exercise being seen as generally beneficial for health, Tai Chi as a Chinese-based exercise with a body-mind emphasis and unique characteristics becomes a particularly suitable exercise in aiding the residents in this major shift of lifestyle. This paper analyzes the appropriateness, feasibility, and effectiveness of Tai Chi in promoting healthy aging for residents. Theoretical considerations and scientific evaluations lend it appropriate, feasible, and effective in providing physiological and psychosocial health benefits to the residents. This paper recommends the use of Tai Chi to promote healthy aging in nursing home residents. With a rapidly aging population and mounting demand for residential geriatric care worldwide, this paper's timely findings should provide important implications for adopting Tai Chi to advance the quality of care delivered by nursing homes worldwide.

Aim: Informal caregivers are vital in assisting people with dementia. However, this role can significantly impact caregivers' lives and interventions to support them are crucial. This study aimed to develop a United Kingdom version of the Dementia Awareness for Caregivers (DAC) course and to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of delivering the course online to informal dementia caregivers.

Methods: This study comprised a mixed-methods pre-post intervention parallel group design. Fifty-one informal dementia caregivers were randomized into either an experimental (receiving the DAC course) or control group (treatment as usual). Outcomes relating to perceived burden, attitude, competence, relationship quality and positive caregiving aspects were measured at baseline and follow-up, alongside statistics relating to recruitment, retention, attendance, and adherence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore qualitative acceptability and impact among caregivers who completed the DAC course.

Results: The study found high retention and attendance rates with low levels of unexplained attrition. Analysis indicated positive change for four of the outcome measures in favor of the DAC course, however this was not statistically significant. Qualitative analysis generated 11 subthemes organized into four overarching main themes; "acceptability of course", "impact of course on caregivers", "using skills from course" and "outcome measures".

Conclusion: Findings provide promising evidence for the feasibility, acceptability and impact of the Dementia Awareness for Caregivers course when delivered online to informal caregivers in the United Kingdom.

Purpose: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) endangers the health and survival of the elderly. We tried to explore factors especially kidney function which affected mortality in elderly hypertensive patients with COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective research of 748 COVID-19 elderly patients (≥65 years old) at Zhejiang Hospital. This study compared demographic data, laboratory values, comorbidities, treatments, and clinical outcomes of hypertension and non-hypertension participants, and subgroup analysis of age and frailty was conducted in the hypertension population. Survival analysis was used to determine risk factors for death in elderly patients with COVID-19.

Results: Our study revealed that the elderly hypertensive patients with COVID-19 had higher blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum uric acid (UA), serum creatinine (Scr), lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), higher incidence of severity, admission to intensive care unit (ICU) and death, and longer in-hospital stay than non-hypertensive patients, which also occurred in the very elderly hypertensive patients compared with younger hypertensive patients and frail hypertensive patients compared with no-frail hypertensive patients. In addition, the prevalence of acute kidney injury (AKI) was higher in the oldest old hypertensive patients and frail hypertensive patients. Multivariate survival analysis indicated that the independent risk factors for death from COVID-19 were age ≥80 years, heart failure, antiviral therapy, calcium channel blocker (CCB) therapy, mechanical ventilation, AKI, and eGFR<60 mL/min per 1.73 m².

Conclusion: The results of the present study suggested that the elderly hypertensive patients with COVID-19 would have more serious kidney injury, more serious disease progression and higher mortality, which also occurred in very elderly and frailty subgroup. Kidney dysfunction was closely related to mortality in elderly patients with COVID-19.