Limitations of SARC-F in the diagnosis of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults

PurposeThe SARC-F is a recommended screening tool for sarcopenia; however, its sensitivity is reported to be very low. This study aimed to confirm the diagnostic efficacy of the SARC-F and whether it is affected by population characteristics.MethodsIn this study, 2 cohorts of 1060 community-dwelling older adults, who were monitored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, were included. In addition to the overall dataset, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to obtain the SARC-F results for sarcopenia among the datasets for only those older in age (over 75 years), those with higher frailty points (above the median total score for the Kihon Checklist points), those with lower grip strength (below the median), lower gait speed (below the median), and those with comorbidities (hypertension, cerebral vascular disease, heart disease, and diabetes mellitus).ResultsIn the overall dataset, sensitivity and specificity were 3.9% and 97.3%, respectively. In analyzing the area under the curve, sensitivity and specificity for older age and low physical function datasets were significant, but had low values. The diabetes dataset had higher values but did not effectively diagnose sarcopenia at a cutoff value of 4.ConclusionThe SARC-F had high specificity for the diagnosis of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults with low physical function. However, its sensitivity was low. Despite these limitations, it may be used as a screening tool for sarcopenia in selected populations, such as adults in hospitals or nursing homes.     

Challenges and needs of informal caregivers in elderly care: Qualitative research in four European countries,the TRACE project

BackgroundProviding informal care may affects caregivers' life in different ways. Determining the needs of caregivers and supporting them can improve both the quality of life of the caregivers, as well as the elderly they take care of.ObjectiveTo explore the experiences and needs of the informal caregivers in four countries.DesignQualitative research method was used in the study.MethodsThe qualitative data was collected through focus groups and individual interviews between December 2016–May 2017. In all countries interviews were conducted in the mother language of the informants.Informants of the qualitative research were adult people who take primary care of an individual with chronic diseases, aged 65 years or older. Data were collected from 72 informal caregivers from four European countries. Inductive content analysis was performed.ResultsInformal caregivers identified 2 themes, 5 subthemes, 19 categories and 7 subtcategories. The themes highlighted two major issues: informal caregiver's challenges and needs related to the management of care of elderly and caregivers' personal needs.ConclusionThe important and charming results of the present study are, difficulties of managing caregiver's own life, and coping with emotions are common in four countries. Identifying challenges and needs of informal caregivers enable healthcare professionals to develop care strategies and plan interventions focused to support and help to reduce the burden of care for elderly with chronic diseases.     

Psychosocial reactions to relocation to a nursing home among Chinese older adults

ObjectivesThis study aimed to describe the psychosocial reactions to relocation to a nursing home from the perspective of older adults.MethodThis study applied a qualitative interview design. Narratives from 23 Chinese nursing home residents in a life review program in Fuzhou, China were recorded, transcribed into sentences, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe following psychosocial reactions to relocation to a nursing home emerged: fear, struggle, compromise, acceptance, and contribution. The fear resulted from negative labels attached to nursing homes, fear of disconnection to society, fear of difficulties in establishing new relationships, and fear of being abandoned by their families. The behaviors of ‘struggle’ were complaining about family members, thinking of returning home, praying for change, and taking action to leave. The keys to compromise were a choice between maintaining harmony in family relations and the companionship of relatives, a choice between professional care and family care, and a choice between the cost and effectiveness of family care and nursing home care. The process of acceptance included accepting life yet with worries, affirming the benefits of living in a nursing home, and embracing nursing home life. Contribution was mainly reflected in two aspects, a sense of ownership and bring into full play their self-worth.DiscussionsThis study generates new insights into knowledge on the psychosocial reactions to relocation to a nursing home. It provides both family members and nursing home staff with direction on how to ensure a smoother relocation process.     

Spatiotemporal gait parameters for older adults – An interactive model adjusting reference data for gender,age, and body height

IntroductionSince it is well documented that spatiotemporal gait parameters are affected by body size, it is of limited clinical value to compare individual scores against reference values without taking body size into consideration. For older adults, reference values have been presented in recent reports, but unfortunately the effect of body size on gait characteristics was not taken into account and neither prediction intervals nor percentile ranks were included. It is the aim of this study to present and assess a model where individual spatiotemporal gait parameter values for older adults can be compared to reference values adjusted for gender, age, and body height.MethodsReference gait data were collected from l464 older adults aged 69–80 years with no impairments believed to affect gait, stratified by gender, intermediately adjusted to a common body height using a pendulum model and entered into a simple regression model for each parameter with age as predictor. From the regression coefficients predicted gait parameter values could be back transformed to the individual body height of a new subject. Calculations were done using spreadsheet formulae and equations.ResultsA spreadsheet based graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed in Microsoft Excel® where individual spatiotemporal gait data is entered for comparison with reference data taking gender, age and body height into account, and returning predicted point estimates with confidence intervals, prediction intervals, and percentile ranks.SignificanceA GUI solution where individual spatiotemporal gait data is compared to reference data is feasible to researchers and for clinical use. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first model presented for comparison of basic gait parameters between individuals and reference data from older adults where gender, age, and body height are taken into account.     

Gender differences in the impact of metabolic syndrome components on mortality in older people: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and aimsThe influence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on mortality may be influenced by age- and gender-related changes affecting the impact of individual MetS components. We investigated gender differences in the association between MetS components and mortality in community-dwelling older adults.Methods and resultsProspective studies were identified through a systematic literature review up to June 2019. Random-effect meta-analyses were run to estimate the pooled relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality associated with the presence of MetS components (abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, high fasting glycemia, and high blood pressure) in older men and women. Meta-analyses considering all-cause (103,859 individuals, 48,830 men, 55,029 women; 10 studies) and CV mortality (94,965 individuals, 44,699 men, 50,266 women; 8 studies) did not reveal any significant association for abdominal obesity and high triglycerides in either gender. Low HDL was associated with increased all-cause (RR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.02–1.32) and CV mortality (RR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.03–1.74) among women, while weaker results were found for men. High fasting glycemia was associated with higher all-cause mortality in older women (RR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.22–1.50) more than in older men (RR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.13–1.30), and CV mortality only in the former (RR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.04–1.78). Elevated blood pressure was associated with increased all-cause mortality (RR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03–1.32) and showed marginal significant results for CV death only among women.ConclusionsThe impact of MetS components on mortality in older people present some gender differences, with low HDL cholesterol, hyperglycemia, and elevated blood pressure being more strongly associated to all-cause and CV mortality in women.     

我国老年视力残疾人服务需求满足度现状及关联因素分析

目的 了解老年视力残疾人服务需求满足度的现状及关联因素.方法 基于2006年全国残疾人抽样调查数据获得老年视力残疾人样本24 017例,研究人口、健康、社会、经济4个变量与健康服务需求(第Ⅰ类)、基本生存服务需求(第Ⅱ类)、环境支持性服务需求(第Ⅲ类)满足之间的关系.结果 老年视力残疾人第Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ类服务需求满足度分别为35.1％、9.3％和4.3％.参加养老保险(OR=1.64)、居住在城市(OR=1.54)、家庭人均年收入≥5 000元(OR=1.46)是老年视力残疾人第Ⅰ类需求获得满足的有利因素;年龄在≥80岁(OR=0.90)和男性(OR=0.93)是第Ⅰ类需求获得满足的不利因素.男性(OR=1.43)、居住在城市(OR=1.15)、鉴定为二级(OR=1.36)和一级(OR=1.70)残疾是第Ⅱ类需求获得满足的有利因素;年龄在15～59岁(OR=0.57)和≥60岁(OR=0.45)、家庭人均年收入在1 000～1 999元(OR=0.77)、2 000 ～4 999元(OR=0.58)和≥5 000元(OR=0.39)是第Ⅱ类需求获得满足的不利因素.居住在城市(OR=1.23)、鉴定为二级(OR=1.38)和一级(OR=1.34)残疾、参加养老保险(OR=1.62)和家庭人均年收入≥5 000元(OR=1.42)是第Ⅲ类需求获得满足的有利因素.结论 老年视力残疾人的满足程度普遍偏低,家庭收入水平、社会保险参与状况、年龄、残疾发现年龄、居住地、性别、残疾等级、婚姻、受教育程度是服务需求获得满足的重要关联因素.     

Characteristics of the least frail adults with intellectual disabilities: A positive biology perspective

The current study focuses on the characteristics of older people with intellectual disabilities with the lowest frailty levels. Frailty is an increased risk of adverse health outcomes and dependency. Older adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) show more signs of early frailty than the general population. Knowledge of the least frail group characteristics may provide insight into possibilities to prevent early frailty in older people with intellectual disabilities. This study was part of the Healthy Aging and Intellectual Disability study (HA-ID) which incorporated 1050 adults aged 50 years and over with all levels of ID. Frailty was measured with a frailty index. The least frail group was selected based on a frailty index score ≤0.10. Odds ratios were used to compare the occurrence of health deficits in the least frail group to the remaining group. The least frail group consisted of 65 participants, corresponding with 6.6% of the study population. The least frail group was significantly younger, had less severe levels of ID, and less often Down syndrome than the remaining group. The lack of mobility and physical fitness limitations, dependence, no signs of depression/dementia, and little medical problems characterized the least frail group. The percentage of 50+ adults with intellectual disabilities within the least frail group is very low compared to that in the general aging population (>43%). Interventions to prevent or delay frailty in this population are highly recommended and can focus on health characteristics of the least frail group.