Developmental assessment of preterm and term children at 18 months: reproducibility and validity of a postal questionnaire to parents

AIM: To examine the degree of agreement between the paediatrician's assessment and parental reporting of infants' development using a postal questionnaire. METHODS: The developmental status of 241 infants in the charge of 9 community paediatricians or discharged from one Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was assessed by their parents 18 mo after delivery, using a postal questionnaire regarding child's height, weight. respiratory, hearing and vision problems, and items taken mainly from the Griffiths' Developmental Scales. At this age, infants were seen by the community or NICU paediatricians, for a complete physical and neurodevelopmental examination. RESULTS: The mean agreement on items regarding developmental areas between parents and paediatricians was 93.0%. In general, parents and professionals agreed on items describing gross motor behaviour (k from 0.39 to 0.83) and disagreed on individual questions describing language/relational behaviour (k from 0 to 0.38). A 97.9% level of agreement was found for hearing status (k = 0), and 96.2% for assessment of vision (k = 0.29), whereas the level of agreement ranged from 43.2% to 86.2% (k from 0 to 0.15) for the three questions describing respiratory problems. The mean weight and height assessments by paediatricians and parents of infants at 18 mo of age were similar. CONCLUSIONS: Further improvement of the questionnaire is needed, but our findings suggest that this methodology can be considered for use in comparing large cohorts of infants included in randomized clinical trials.     

Association of Polypharmacy With 1-Year Trajectories of Cognitive and Physical Function in Nursing Home Residents: Results From a Multicenter European Study

Objectives

To test the association between polypharmacy and 1-year change in physical and cognitive function among nursing home (NH) residents.

Chewing problems and mortality in older adults in home care: results from the Aged in Home Care study

OBJECTIVES: To assess the association between chewing problems and risk of mortality in an older population receiving home care in Europe.
DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.
SETTING: Eleven European countries.
PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand seven hundred fifty-five older adults (mean age±standard deviation 82.2±7.2) in home care.
MEASUREMENTS: Data were collected using the Minimum Data Set for Home Care. Study personnel recorded chewing problems (inability to chew food easily and without pain or difficulties, regardless of cause) that presented in the last 3 days before baseline assessment. Data on mortality were collected over a 1-year period.
RESULTS: Three hundred ninety-five participants (14.3%) presented with chewing problems. One-year mortality differed significantly according to presence of chewing problems; 303 of 2,361 (12.8%) without chewing problems (crude incident rate per person-year (p-y)=0.15) and 80 of 394 (20.3%) participants with chewing problems (crude incident rate per p-y=0.24) died during follow-up. After adjusting for potential confounders, the risk of death was significantly higher for participants with chewing problems (adjusted hazard ratio (HR)=1.45, 95% confidence intervals (CI)=1.05–1.99). This association remained after exclusion of participants with cognitive impairment (adjusted HR=1.50, 95% CI=1.03–2.20) and those with unintended weight loss (adjusted HR=1.62, 95% CI=1.12–2.34).
CONCLUSION: In older adults in home care in Europe, chewing problems are associated with greater risk of mortality.     

Gastric cancer in Italy.

Although Gastric Cancer (GC) death rates are decreasing worldwide, in high risk areas GC is still a major public health problem. Italy is one of the European countries with the highest mortality rates for GC (males: 17.3; females: 8.2 x 100,000 inhabitants in 1987) which represents the third cause of death due to cancer in 1987, accounting for over 14,000 deaths per year (10% of cancer deaths). Reasons for the geographic variability in GC occurrence within the country are reviewed, discussing the results of two recent analytical epidemiological studies carried out in Italy. These large case-control studies focused on dietary factors, involving high and low-risk areas for GC (Florence, Siena, Forlì, Imola, Cremona, Genoa, Cagliari, and Milan). Low socio-economic status, family history of GC, residence in rural areas were associated to GC risk, while migration from southern areas and body mass index were inversely related to GC. Consumption of traditional soups, meat, salted and dried fish, cold cuts and seasoned cheeses, as well as the intake of animal proteins and nitrites were related to an increased GC risk. On the contrary consumption of fresh fruit, citrus fruit, raw vegetables, spices, garlic and olive oil, and vitamin C, E and beta-carotene intake were found to be protective factors. Among diet-related factors, preference for salty foods and frequent broiling were positively related to GC, while the longstanding availbility of a refrigerator or freezer and the habits of consuming frozen foods were associated with decreased GC risk. These results are discussed in detail, considering the main hypotheses on GC carcinogenesis.     

Three-point gait crutch walking: variability in ground reaction force during weight bearing

OBJECTIVE: To investigate variability in ground reaction force (GRF) and kinematics on both sides during 3-point partial weight-bearing (PWB) crutch walking. DESIGN: Within-subject comparisons of kinematic and kinetic data collected at different levels of 3-point crutch walking: 10%, 50%, and 90% PWB at comfortable speeds. SETTING: An applied biomechanics lab in a university setting.An applied biomechanics lab in a university setting. PARTICIPANTS: Twelve healthy college students (9 women, 3 men). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Spatial and temporal variables, major peak kinematic data, and peak GRFs from force platforms during the gait cycle. RESULTS: Large variations were found in replicating the target levels of PWB, particularly at 10% and 90% PWB. Subjects had a shorter stance phase and longer swing phase during the crutch walking gait cycle. Velocity significantly decreased (p =.006) because of decreased cadence (p =.002). Slightly greater hip abduction and external rotation on the noninvolved side and slightly less hip adduction and internal rotation on the involved side indicated that the center of gravity shifted slightly from the involved side toward the noninvolved side. There was no increase in vertical GRF, and there was a relatively constant loading pattern on the noninvolved side. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects have difficulty replicating a prescribed weight-bearing restriction. A shift of the center of gravity toward the noninvolved side may reduce the weight distribution on the involved side.     

Sexual disinhibition and dementia

To describe inappropriate sexual behaviour (ISB) observed in patients with dementia, we conducted searches using the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Web of Science to find relevant articles, chapters, and books published from 1950 to 2014. Search terms used included ‘hypersexuality’, ‘inappropriate sexual behaviors’, and ‘dementia’. Publications found through this indexed search were reviewed for further relevant references. Sexuality is a human's need to express intimacy, but persons with dementia may not know how to appropriately meet their needs for closeness and intimacy due to their decline in cognition. Generally, the interaction among brain, physical, psychological, and environmental factors can create what we call ISB. The most likely change in the sexual behaviour of a person with dementia is indifference. However, ISB in dementia appear to be of two types—intimacy‐seeking and disinhibited—that differ in their association with dementia type, dementia severity and, possibly, other concurrent behavioural disorder. Tensions develop from uncertainties regarding which, or when, behaviours are to be considered ‘inappropriate’ (i.e. improper) or abnormal. While most ISB occur in the moderate to severe stages of Alzheimer's dementia, they may also be seen in early stages of frontotemporal dementia because of the lack of insight and disinhibition. ISB are often better managed by non‐pharmacological means, as patients may be less responsive to psychoactive therapies, but non‐pharmacological interventions do not always stop the behaviour.