The Effects of Depressed Affect on Functional Disability Among Rural Older Adults

This study investigates functional disability among some of the nation's most vulnerable older adults: rural Medicaid recipients. Data were provided by 221 older adults (mean age = 75.9 years; 82% women) who were receiving community-based long-term care services through Medicaid. Participants self-reported functional ability involving the completion of six basic activities of daily living (BADLs), three cognitive instrumental activities of daily living (IADLS), and four physical IADLs. Self-reports of depressed affect and the number of physical health conditions were also obtained. Path analysis was used to examine all of the associations among age, gender, number of chronic health conditions, depressed affect and functional disability. The tested model was significant [chi2 (DF = 3, n = 221) = 5.052, p = 0.168; TLI = 0.945; CFI = 0.992; RMSEA = 0.056] and explained 45.1% of the variance in BADL disability. Depressed affect significantly predicted disability in cognitive IADLs and physical IADLs, which predicted disability in BADLs. Age and gender had indirect effects on BADL, through their association with cognitive IADLs and physical IADLs. The number of chronic health conditions exerted both indirect and direct effects on BADL disability. Results are discussed within the context of the growing literature that suggests the importance of psychological variables as predictors of functional disability. Moreover, we discuss whether community-based long-term care is appropriate for older adults with high levels of functional disability.     

Health practices and incident disability among the elderly.

This investigation examines the relationships between certain personal health practices and point-incident physical limitations over a five-year period among initially physically robust elders living in the communities. Slowed down physical activities (for elderly women) and a history of cigarette smoking (for elderly men) achieved associations with subsequent physical limitations; no firm associations between current lifestyle practices and onset of disability could be demonstrated.     

中国老年人口健康预期寿命性别差异多元变化趋势的研究:2020―2050年

  目的  分析2020―2050年中国老年人口健康预期寿命(health expectancy,HE)及其性别差异的变化趋势,为中国人口长寿和健康之间的关系及其性别差异在未来的发展趋势提供证据和线索。  方法  基于2010年人口普查数据和1987年、2006年全国残疾人抽样调查数据,使用多状态人口预测模型(population-development-environment Analysis, PDE)和流行病学计算方法预测了死亡率和残疾率。使用Sullivan方法估计了2020―2050年50岁及以上人口分性别、年龄的无残疾预期寿命(disability-free life expectancy, DFLE)和伴随残疾预期寿命(life expectancy with disability, LwD)。  结果  中国老年人口的预期寿命(life expectancy,LE)在2020―2050年持续上升。其中,女性中LE的上升由LwD的上升所主导,而男性中DFLE的贡献略高。在75岁以下的女性和65岁以下的男性中呈现“功能残障扩张”且男性中更不明显;整个研究期间,80岁及以上女性的余寿中会有超过一半的时间伴随残疾度过,占比高于男性。女性的DFLE高于男性,绝对性别差异整体上随时期缩小,但在高龄老人中相对保持稳定;女性DLFE的占比低于男性,在2040年之后相对差异开始缩小,且在高龄老人中更明显。  结论  未来中国老年人口的功能状况可能会不断恶化。虽然在2040年之后DFLE的相对性别差异开始缩小,但这建立在LwD占比较高的情况下。在重点关注女性高龄老年人的功能状况的同时,应尽快建立起完备的长期照护体系。     

Are neighbourhood social capital and availability of sports facilities related to sports participation among Dutch adolescents?

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to explore whether availability of sports facilities, parks, andneighbourhood social capital (NSC) and their interaction are associated with leisure timesports participation among Dutch adolescents. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on complete data from the last wave of theYouRAction evaluation trial. Adolescents (n = 852) completed a questionnaire asking forsports participation, perceived NSC and demographics. Ecometric methods were used toaggregate perceived NSC to zip code level. Availability of sports facilities and parks was assessed by means of geographic information systems within the zip-code area and within a1600 meter buffer. Multilevel logistic regression analyses, with neighborhood and individualas levels, were conducted to examine associations between physical and social environmentalfactors and leisure time sports participation. Simple slopes analysis was conducted todecompose interaction effects. RESULTS: NSC was significantly associated with sports participation (OR: 3.51 (95%CI: 1.18;10.41))after adjustment for potential confounders. Availability of sports facilities and availability ofparks were not associated with sports participation. A significant interaction between NSCand density of parks within the neighbourhood area (OR: 1.22 (90%CI: 1.01;1.34)) wasfound. Decomposition of the interaction term showed that adolescents were most likely toengage in leisure time sports when both availability of parks and NSC were highest. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that leisure time sports participation is associated with levelsof NSC, but not with availability of parks or sports facilities. In addition, NSC andavailability of parks in the zip code area interacted in such a way that leisure time sportsparticipation is most likely among adolescents living in zip code areas with higher levels ofNSC, and higher availability of parks. Hence, availability of parks appears only to beimportant for leisure time sports participation when NSC is high.     

Rates of Hospital-Based Care among Older Adults in the Community and Residential Care Facilities: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study

ObjectiveWe examine annual rates of emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admissions, and alternate levels of care (ALC) days (ie, the number of days that an older adult remained in hospital when they could not be safely discharged to an appropriate setting in their community) among older adults.DesignRepeated cross-sectional study.Setting and ParticipantsLinked, individual-level health system administrative data on community-dwelling persons, home care recipients, residents of assisted living facilities, and residents of nursing homes aged 65 years and older in Ontario, Canada, from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2019.MethodsWe calculated rates of ED visits, hospital admissions, and ALC days per 1000 individuals per older adult population per year. We used a generalized linear model with a gaussian distribution, log link, and year fixed effects to obtain rate ratios.ResultsThere were 1,655,656 older adults in the community, 237,574 home care recipients, 42,600 older adults in assisted living facilities, and 94,055 older adults in nursing homes in 2013; there were 2,129,690 older adults in the community, 281,028 home care recipients, 56,975 older adults in assisted living facilities, and 95,925 older adults in nursing homes in 2019. Residents of assisted living facilities had the highest rates of ED visits (1260.69₂₀₁₉ vs 1174.91₂₀₁₃), hospital admissions (482.63₂₀₁₉ vs 480.19₂₀₁₃), and ALC days (1905.57₂₀₁₉ vs 1443.03₂₀₁₃) per 1000 individuals. Residents of assisted living facilities also had significantly higher rates of ED visits [rate ratio (RR) 3.30, 95% CI 3.20, 3.41), hospital admissions (RR 6.24, 95% CI 6.01, 6.47), and ALC days (RR 25.68, 95% CI 23.27, 28.35) relative to community-dwelling older adults.Conclusions and ImplicationsThe disproportionate use of ED visits, hospital admissions, and ALC days among residents of assisted living facilities may be attributed to the characteristics of the population and fragmented licensing and regulation of the sector, including variable models of care. The implementation of interdisciplinary, after-hours, team-based approaches to home and primary care in assisted living facilities may reduce the potentially avoidable use of ED visits, hospital admissions, and ALC days among this population and optimize resource allocation in health care systems.     

Physical and psychological predictors for the onset of certification of long-term care insurance among older adults living independently in a community a 40-month follow-up study

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain predictors for the onset of different levels of certification of long-term care insurance among older adults living independently in a community. METHODS: Out of all residents aged 65 years and over living in Yoita town, Niigata prefecture, Japan (n = 1,673), 1,544 persons participated in the baseline interview survey in 2000 (response rate, 92.3%). Among these participants, 1,229 persons (79.6% of responders) were ranked as level 1, based on the hierarchical mobility level classification. They were followed up for the subsequent 3 years and 4 months to see whether they continued without certification of long-term care insurance or suffered onset of a "mild level", certified as levels "needing support" and 1 for long-term care insurance, or a "severe level" as 2-5. The Cox proportional hazards model with a stepwise method was used to identify the most parsimonious combination of predictors for each type of long-term care insurance certification. RESULTS: Of those who were followed up, 1,151 persons showed no disability in basic activities of daily living (ADL) at baseline nor died before application for long-term care during the follow-up and thus served for analysis. 1,055 persons (91.7%) remained as "no event", but 49 (4.3%) and 47 persons (4.1%) had onset of the "mild level" and the "severe level" during the follow-up, respectively. The final model for prediction of the "mild level" in both genders included advanced age and poor walking ability (hazard ratio (HR) for either unable or with difficulty: 7.22[95% CI, 1.56-33.52] in males and both unable and with difficulty: 3.28[95% CI, 1.28-8.42] in females). The final model for prediction of the "severe level" in both genders included advanced age and poor instrumental ADL (HR for < or = 4 marks: 3.74[95% CI, 1.59-8.76] in males and 3.90[95% CI, 1.32-11.54] in females). Severe cognitive decline was a predictor only for the "severe level" in males. A history of hospitalization during past 1 year and poor chewing ability were predictive only for the "mild level" in females. CONCLUSIONS: Among older adults living independently in a community, most predictors for subsequent onset of mild level-certification of long-term care insurance, except for advanced age, may be controlled by preventive strategies. Evaluating effectiveness of programs for this purpose warrants further study.     

Social participation and the onset of functional disability by socioeconomic status and activity type: The JAGES cohort study

The impact of social participation on older adults' health may differ by individual socioeconomic status (SES). Consequently, we examined SES effect modification on the associations between types of social activity participation and incident functional disability. Cohort data from the 2003 Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) was utilized. This included individuals who were aged 65 or older and functionally independent at baseline. Analysis was carried out on 12,991 respondents after acquisition of information about their long-term care (LTC) status in Japan. Incident functional disability was defined based on medical certification and LTC information was obtained from municipal insurance databases. Cox proportional hazard regression was conducted for analysis. Results indicated that participants in a sport (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.51, 0.85) or hobby group (HR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.55, 0.87), or who had a group facilitator role (HR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.66, 1.02) were less likely to be disabled. While men with 13 or more years of education were less likely to become disabled if they held facilitator roles, this association was weak among men with 0–5 years of education (HR of interaction term between 0 and 5 years of education and facilitator role dummy variable = 3.95; 95% CI: 1.30, 12.05). In conclusion, the association between group participation and smaller risk of the functional disability was stronger among highly educated older adults. Intervention programs promoting social participation should consider participants' socioeconomic backgrounds.     

Gender differences in discharge destination among older adults following traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability, and the highest in-patient admission rates are among older adults. We identified that gender independently influences discharge destination following TBI in older adults. In this cross-sectional study, we examined discharge destinations of patients admitted to acute care over a 4-year period, as captured by the Ontario Trauma Registry (n = 3,480). Following TBI, women were significantly more likely than men to be sent to long term care facilities rather than home settings (p < .05), controlling for age, injury severity, mechanism of injury, and comorbidities.     

Role of weight history on functional limitations and disability in late adulthood: the ARIC study

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations of weight history with functional limitations and disability in white and African-American men and women. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Data were from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (n = 11,177). Associations of recalled weight status at age 25 and weight change from age 25 to ages 45 to 64 with functional limitations, activities of daily living (ADLs), and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) at follow-up (ages 52 to 75) were examined using logistic regression. RESULTS: Obesity (BMI > or = 30 kg/m2) at age 25 was associated with functional limitations and ADL and IADL impairment at follow-up in white and African-American men and women. For example, obese compared with normal weight (BMI, 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m(2)) white women had higher odds of mild [odds ratio (95% confidence interval), 1.97 (1.18 to 3.29)] and severe [9.81 (5.92 to 16.27)] functional limitations and ADL [3.48 (2.36 to 5.13)] and IADL [2.95 (2.00 to 4.33)] impairment. In African-American women, obesity was associated with higher odds of mild [2.71 (1.14 to 6.41)] and severe [6.01 (2.53 to 14.26)] functional limitations and ADL [1.82 (1.10 to 3.00)] and IADL [2.39 (1.47 to 3.90)] impairment. Similar associations were found in men. Compared with weight maintenance (+/-10 lbs), large weight gain (>30 lbs) from age 25 to ages 45 to 64 was also associated with functional limitations and ADL and IADL impairment in white and African-American men and women. DISCUSSION: Maintenance of a healthy body weight throughout adulthood may play a role in preventing or delaying the onset of functional limitations and disability, resulting in increased quality of life and decreased health care costs.     

上海市长宁区老年人长期照护服务需求与费用测算

目的了解老年人健康状况和长期照护服务需求并测算相关费用,为完善老年人长期照护体系提供建议。方法采用问卷调查方法,评估1 576个60岁及以上调查对象的生活自理能力和长期照护服务需求,通过主观长期照护服务需求来测算总费用。结果根据《日常生活能力量表》得分情况,31.34%的调查对象的日常生活自理能力有明显障碍。经测算,要满足2012年上海市长宁区60岁及以上15.78万户籍老年人长期照护服务需求共需资金9.47亿元,是当年区GDP的1.26%或财政支出的8.33%。结论本测算方法能测算老年人长期照护需求的费用,为建立社会化老年人长期照护体系提供决策依据。     

Gender Differences in Discharge Destination Among Older Adults Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability, and the highest in-patient admission rates are among older adults. We identified that gender independently influences discharge destination following TBI in older adults. In this cross-sectional study, we examined discharge destinations of patients admitted to acute care over a 4-year period, as captured by the Ontario Trauma Registry (n = 3,480). Following TBI, women were significantly more likely than men to be sent to long term care facilities rather than home settings (p < .05), controlling for age, injury severity, mechanism of injury, and comorbidities.     

A nutritional status survey of older adults in long-term care in the Yazd province of Iran

It is important to assess the nutritional status of older adults because of its role in ensuring health and quality of life and its association with functional status. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of an older adult population living in long-term care institutions in the Yazd province of Iran. Fifty elderly subjects were randomly selected from each of two long-term care institutions in Yazd. A 3-day food intake survey was conducted using the direct weighing method and anthropometric measurements for calculating body mass index (BMI) were also collected. Of the participants, 54% of women and 41% of men had a BMI less than 19.9 kg/m(2). The mean intakes of energy, protein, vitamins A and C, riboflavin, and niacin as well as the minerals calcium, phosphorus, and iron, were significantly less than Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for both genders. Thiamin intake was more than adequate in both women and men. In our study, the majority of elderly subjects displayed a poor reported nutritional intake according to the DRIs. Our findings support the development of national nutrition plans for older adults living in long-term care institutions as an important necessity.     

Does Laughter Predict Onset of Functional Disability and Mortality Among Older Japanese Adults? The JAGES Prospective Cohort Study

BackgroundWhile laughter is broadly recognized as a good medicine, a potential preventive effect of laughter on disability and death is still being debated. Accordingly, we investigated the association between the frequency of laughter and onset of functional disability and all-cause mortality among the older adults in Japan.MethodsThe data for a 3-year follow-up cohort including 14,233 individuals (50.3% men) aged ≥65 years who could independently perform the activities of daily living and participated in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study were analyzed. The participants were classified into four categories according to their frequency of laughter (almost every day, 1–5 days/week, 1–3 days/month, and never or almost never). We estimated the risks of functional disability and all-cause mortality in each category using a Cox proportional hazards model.ResultsDuring follow-up, 605 (4.3%) individuals developed functional disability, identified by new certification for the requirement of Long-Term Care Insurance, and 659 (4.6%) deaths were noted. After adjusting for the potential confounders, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio of functional disability increased with a decrease in the frequency of laughter (P for trend = 0.04). The risk of functional disability was 1.42 times higher for individuals who laughed never or almost never than for those who laughed almost every day. No such association was observed with the risk of all-cause mortality (P for trend = 0.39).ConclusionsLow frequency of laughter is associated with increased risks of functional disability. Laughter may be an early predictor of functional disability later on in life.Key words: laughter, long-term care, death, cohort study, Japan     

Exercise Guidelines to Counteract Physical Deconditioning in Long-Term Care Facilities: What to Do and How to Do It?

With age, older adults experience a decrease in muscle function and changes in body composition, which raise the risk of functional incapacity and loss of autonomy. These declines are more pronounced in older adults living in long-term care (LTC) facilities than those living in the community (ie, sarcopenia prevalence: ∼41% vs ∼10%; obesity prevalence: 30% vs17%). The main cause of these declines is chronic diseases, which are a driver of higher rates of sedentary behavior (85% of time in LTC). Exercise, however, is recognized to help counteract age-related decline, yet it is not integrated into clinical practice.     

Depressive symptoms in relation to physical health and functioning in the elderly

The associations between depressive symptoms and functional disability and chronic conditions are examined in an elderly cohort of 2,806 noninstitutionalized men and women living in New Haven, Connecticut who were interviewed in 1982 as a part of the Yale Health and Aging Project. The aim is to explore several potential sources of invalidity in using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D) to measure depressive symptoms in elderly populations. In particular, the authors are concerned with the possibility that prevalent physical illnesses and disabilities may cause the older person to report many somatic complaints, a major component of most measures of depressive symptomatology, and thereby inflate his or her CES-D score. Mean CES-D scores are 4.86 for those without any disabilities and range to 13.51 for those with major functional disabilities. However, physical disability is significantly associated with virtually every item on the CES-D scale not just those somatically-oriented items. The addition of functional disability to a multivariate model including age subfactor analysis of responses from this elderly sample produces results almost identical to those reported by earlier investigators who studied younger and middle-aged adults. The authors conclude that physical disabilities among the elderly do not appear to be a major threat to the validity of the CES-D scale and that the strong associations between physical and mental health should be rigorously investigated.     

The impact of socio-economic factors on functional status decline among community-dwelling older adults in China

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of baseline socio-economic factors on functional status decline over a period of 3 years among a sample of Chinese older men and women, using the China Health and Nutrition Surveys of 1997 and 2000. In addition, the study tries to determine whether risk differentials by these socio-economic factors can be explained by other demographic, health-related and nutritional risk factors. The eligible study population was defined as women and men aged 55 years and over who at baseline were free from any form of disablement in activities of daily living (ADLs) or instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) tasks. Among subjects with complete data at followed-up (N = 976), the overall incidence proportions of any functional status decline, IADL only and ADL declines were 25.8%, 18.9% and 6.9%, respectively. Our study found that education is strongly and inversely associated with incidence of combined functional status decline and IADL only but not with the onset of ADL disability. Similarly, household income per capita was inversely associated with functional status decline and IADL disability incidence, with a clear dose-response relationship, even after adjustment for age and gender. However, multivariate analysis demonstrated that the latter association was highly confounded by other demographic factors, especially urban-rural area of residence. Using a combined measure of socio-economic status that includes years of education and household income per capita, the age and gender-adjusted odds ratio for functional status decline and belonging to lower SES class as compared to middle, upper middle and upper classes was 3.82 (95% CI: 2.15, 6.77) and 2.77 (95% CI: 1.52, 5.03) after further adjustment for urban-rural area of residence and living arrangements. Hence, there are wide socio-economic disparities in the functional health of older adults in China, although such disparities are more seen for IADL decline and are almost exclusively attributed to differentials in educational attainment. Finally, nutritional and health-related risk factors do not seem to act as intermediate factors in this association and hence further research should try to uncover other mechanisms by which SES affects changes in functional health among older adults in China.     

Age and sex differences in the association between access to medical care and health outcomes among older Chinese

Background

Whether the association between access to medical care and health outcomes differs by age and gender among older adults in China is unclear. We aimed to investigate the associations between self-reported inadequate access to care and multiple health outcomes among older men and women in mainland China.

Methods

Based on four latest waves available so far from a national longitudinal study in mainland China in 2005–2014, we used multilevel random-effect logistic models to estimate the contemporaneous relationships between inadequate access to care and disabilities in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and cognitive impairment in men and women at ages 65–74, 75–84, 85–94, and 95+, separately. We also used multilevel hazard models to investigate the relationships between reported access to care and mortality in 2005–2014. Nested models were used to adjust for survey design, sociodemographic background, enrollment in health insurance, and health behaviors.

Results

Approximately 6.5% of older adults in China reported inadequate access to care in the period of 2005–2014; and the percentages increased with age and were higher among women at older ages (≥75?years). Overall, older adults with self-reported inadequate access to care had greater odds of IADL and ADL disabilities and cognitive impairment than those with adequate access to healthcare. The elevated odds ratios (ORs) in men were higher in middle-old (75–84) and old-old (85–94) age groups compared to other age groups; whereas the elevated ORs in women were higher in young-old (65–74) and middle-old (75–84) age groups. The relationship between access to care and the health outcomes was generally weakest at the oldest-old ages (95+). Inadequate access to care was also linked with higher mortality risk, primarily in adults aged 75–84, and it was somewhat more pronounced in women than in men.

Conclusions

Increased odds of physical disability and cognitive impairment and increased risk of mortality are linked with inadequate access to care. The associations were generally stronger in women than in men and varied across age groups. The findings of the present study have important implications for further improving access to health care and improving health outcomes of older adults in China.

     

A Nutritional Status Survey of Older Adults in Long-Term Care in the Yazd Province of Iran

It is important to assess the nutritional status of older adults because of its role in ensuring health and quality of life and its association with functional status. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of an older adult population living in long-term care institutions in the Yazd province of Iran. Fifty elderly subjects were randomly selected from each of two long-term care institutions in Yazd. A 3-day food intake survey was conducted using the direct weighing method and anthropometric measurements for calculating body mass index (BMI) were also collected. Of the participants, 54% of women and 41% of men had a BMI less than 19.9 kg/m². The mean intakes of energy, protein, vitamins A and C, riboflavin, and niacin as well as the minerals calcium, phosphorus, and iron, were significantly less than Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for both genders. Thiamin intake was more than adequate in both women and men. In our study, the majority of elderly subjects displayed a poor reported nutritional intake according to the DRIs. Our findings support the development of national nutrition plans for older adults living in long-term care institutions as an important necessity.