Sarcopenic patients "get even": The impact of COVID-19 vaccination on mortality.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19), driven by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has disproportionately affected the elderly, with comorbidities like sarcopenia worsening prognosis. Considering the significant impact of RNA vaccines on survival rates in this population, our objective is to investigate the impact of vaccination on the survival of hospitalized elderly patients with COVID-19, considering the presence or absence of sarcopenia. METHODS: Prospective study conducted on 159 patients aged>65 years from September 2021 to March 2022. Data about clinical and body composition, and mortality at 12-months after discharge were recorded. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the 2019 European Consensus criteria. RESULTS: At the twelfth month post-discharge, vaccinated sarcopenic individuals exhibited a mortality risk similar to vaccinated non-sarcopenic individuals, and lower than unvaccinated non-sarcopenic patients. Cox regression analysis, adjusted for age, gender, comorbidity, functional and vaccinal status, showed that the presence of sarcopenia did not significantly impact the risk of death within 12-months post-discharge. DISCUSSION: Vaccination emerges as a protective measure for sarcopenic patients, countering the potential adverse effects of sarcopenia on COVID-19 outcomes, underscoring the importance of immunization in the frail elderly with a call for meticulous monitoring of its benefits. CONCLUSIONS: Our study represents the first attempt to analyze the vaccine's effect on survival in sarcopenic hospitalized older adults with COVID-19. The administration of vaccination to sarcopenic patients proves pivotal, as its omission could lead to notably unfavorable outcomes within this specific population.

Can the Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) be a predictive instrument for mortality in older adult liver transplant candidates?

PURPOSE: The most recent guidelines recommend that selection of liver transplant recipient patients be guided by a multidimensional approach that includes frailty assessment. Different scales have been developed to identify frail patients and determine their prognosis, but the data on older adult candidates are still inconclusive. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of the Liver Frailty Index (LFI) and the Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) as predictors of mortality in a cohort of older people patients being evaluated for liver transplantation. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted on 68 patients > 70 years being followed at the University Hospital of Padua in 2018. Clinical information on each patient, Model For End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), Body Mass Index (BMI), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), LFI, MPI, and date-of-death, were recorded. The observational period was 3 years. RESULTS: We studied 68 individuals (25 women), with a mean age 72.21 ± 1.64 years. Twenty-five (36.2%) patients died during the observational period. ROC curve analysis showed both MPI and LFI to be good predictors of mortality (AUC 0.7, p = 0.007, and AUC 0.689, p = 0.015, respectively). MELD (HR 1.99, p = 0.001), BMI (HR 2.34, p = 0.001), and poor ADL (HR 3.34, p = 0.04) were risk factors for mortality in these patients, while male sex (HR 0.1, p = 0.01) and high MNA scores (HR 0.57, p = 0.01) were protective factors. CONCLUSION: Our study confirmed the prognostic value of MPI in older adult patients awaiting liver transplantation. In this cohort, good nutritional status and male sex were protective factors, while high MELD and BMI scores and poor functional status were risk factors.

The influence of occupation type and complexity on cognitive performance in older adults.

Sociodemographic factors, such as education and occupation, may influence the individual's cognitive reserve. We explored the extent to which the type and complexity of previous work activities influence cognitive performance (evaluated with Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE, and the Animal Naming Test, ANT) in 799 older people with or without brain damage. The presence of cortical/subcortical ischemic brain lesions and right/left hippocampal atrophy was derived from magnetic resonance imaging. We found that individuals who had done intellectual work had better MMSE and ANT scores than their counterparts in the presence of brain lesions or hippocampal atrophy. Among the manual workers there were significant differences between the MMSE scores of individuals with and without brain damage (mean MMSE difference (2.09 [SD: 0.68], p=0.01), but not among the intellectuals (0.19 [SD: 0.29], p=0.36) nor the service providers (1.67 [SD: 0.55], p=0.21). Occupations involving more complex dealings with people were associated with better MMSE scores in the presence of brain lesions [ß=-0.41, 95%CI: -0.72,-0.09] and hippocampal atrophy [ß=-0.29, 95%CI:-0.58,-0.001]. These results indicate that in more cognitively stimulating work with greater social interaction may help older individuals preserve cognitive functions, even in the presence of brain damage.

Orthostatic hypotension and night-time dipper patterns in geriatric outpatients.

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) and blood pressure circadian dysfunctions are common in older adults and may be related to aging-related autonomic nervous system deficits. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between orthostatic and nocturnal blood pressure changes in geriatric outpatients. This cross-sectional study was carried out with 425 Italian individuals aged ≥65 years (mean age 75.8 ± 7.1 years) who attended a hypertension outpatient clinic from January 2013 to January 2020. Each patient underwent orthostatic testing and noninvasive 24-h blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). OH was detected in 38.1% of patients, and these individuals were more likely to have abnormal circadian blood pressure patterns (reverse and nondipper) than those without OH (61.7% vs. 51.7%; p = 0.045). In linear regression, after adjusting for potential confounders, orthostatic and nocturnal changes in systolic blood pressure were inversely associated (ß = -0.63, 95% CI [-0.95; -0.32]; p < 0.001). This association was stronger in patients ≥80 years. OH is highly prevalent in older patients and is associated with altered nocturnal blood pressure profiles, especially in the oldest old. Because both OH and altered blood pressure patterns are associated with elevated cardiovascular risk and mortality, our study suggests that elderly patients with OH should undergo noninvasive 24-h blood pressure monitoring.

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

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The 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 RESULTS: Prospective 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. CONCLUSIONS: The 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.

The mutual association between dyspnea and depressive symptoms in older adults: a 4-year prospective study.

Objectives: dyspnea in daily living (DDL), night-time dyspnea (NTD) and depression are common symptoms in older people. However, how changes in dyspnea may influence and be influenced by modifications in depressive symptoms, so far has not been fully evaluated. We aimed to estimate the extent to which both DDL and NTD could be mutually associated to depressive symptoms in older adults with chronic conditions.Methods: this prospective study includes 2322 community-dwelling individuals aged ≥65 years enrolled in the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.). At baseline and after 4.4 years, we evaluated the following parameters: DDL, assessed by the Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (MRC); self-reported NTD, assessed by personal interview; depressive symptoms, assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). The strength of the association between dyspnea and depression over the follow-up was evaluated through logistic regression and estimated by odds ratios and 95%Confidence Intervals (95%CI). Corrected risk ratios (RR) were then approximated from odds ratios.Results: GDS changes over the follow-up positively correlated with MRC changes (ß = 0.938). Individuals with baseline DDL or NTD and those with incident/worsening DDL showed higher risk of developing or worsening depressive symptoms compared with their counterparts (RR = 3.36 [95%CI 2.11-5.06] for incident depression in people with worsening DDL). Incident or persistent depression increased more than twice the risk of developing DDL and NTD (for incident depression RR = 2.33 [95%CI 1.85-2.83] for DDL, and RR = 2.01 [95%CI 1.27-3.11] for NTD).Conclusions: older people may benefit from a comprehensive evaluation of respiratory and psychological symptoms, which seem to be related to each other in advanced age.

Difficulties with Fine Motor Skills and Cognitive Impairment in an Elderly Population: The Progetto Veneto Anziani.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate dysfunction in fine motor skills in a cohort of older Italian adults, identifying their prevalence and usefulness as indicators and predictors of cognitive impairment. DESIGN: Population-based longitudinal study with mean follow-up of 4.4 years. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Older men and women enrolled in the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.) (N = 2,361); 1,243 subjects who were cognitively intact at baseline were selected for longitudinal analyses. MEASUREMENTS: Fine motor skills were assessed by measuring the time needed to successfully complete two functional tasks: putting on a shirt and a manual dexterity task. Cognitive impairment was defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score less than 24. RESULTS: On simple correlation, baseline MMSE score was significantly associated with the manual dexterity task (correlation coefficient (r) = -0.25, P < .001) and time needed to put on a shirt (r = -0.29, P < .001). Over the study period, changes in time needed to perform the fine motor tasks were significantly associated with changes in MMSE (putting on a shirt: ß = 0.083, P = .003; manual dexterity task: ß = 0.098, P < .001). Logistic regression analyses confirmed that worse results on tasks were associated with cognitive impairment at baseline (odds ratio (OR) = 2.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.74-3.50, for the fourth quartile of time needed to put on a shirt; OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.42-2.76, for the fourth manual dexterity task quartile) and greater risk of cognitive impairment developing during follow-up (OR = 4.38, 95% CI = 2.46-7.80, for the fourth quartile of time needed to put on a shirt; OR = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.30-3.72, for the fourth manual dexterity task quartile). CONCLUSIONS: Difficulties with fine motor skills are common in older adults, and assessing them may help to identify early signs of dementia, subjects at high risk to develop cognitive decline, and individuals who can be referred to specialists.

Semmes-Weinstein Monofilament Examination for Predicting Physical Performance and the Risk of Falls in Older People: Results of the Pro.V.A. Longitudinal Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament examination (SWME) was associated with, and could predict, measures of physical performance and the risk of fall in older people. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Older participants (N=2826) enrolled in the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.) study and a subsample of persons (n=1885) who did not report falls at baseline for longitudinal analyses. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Falls reported in the year preceding the assessment and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) were recorded at baseline and again after 4.4 years. RESULTS: At baseline, 830 participants (29.4%) had experienced falls in the previous year, with a higher prevalence of falls in those positive at SWME than in those negative at SWME (35.8% vs 28.0%; P=.001). Using logistic regression, participants positive at SWME had a (significant) 66% higher risk of presenting worse SPPB score (95% confidence interval, 1.51-1.83) and between 25% and 32% higher risks of having experienced ≥1 fall or recurrent falls than did those negative at SWME. The incidence of falls at follow-up was higher in the positive SWME group than in the negative SWME group (42.2% vs 30.7%; P=.001), and multinomial logistic regression showed that the former had a 13% higher risk of decline in SPPB scores (95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.25), particularly for gait and balance; 48% higher risk of having had 1 fall; and 77% higher risk of recurrent falls. At both baseline and follow-up, the larger the extension of neuropathy (negative SWME vs unilateral impairment in positive SWME vs bilateral impairment in positive SWME), the greater its negative effect on falls and physical performance. CONCLUSIONS: SMWE was associated with, and could predict, lower extremity physical performance and falls in older people.

The effect of childcare activities on cognitive status and depression in older adults: gender differences in a 4.4-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: Although involvement in childcare activities seems to promote better physical and mental health in older adults, its impact on cognitive status and depression has not yet been fully elucidated. We aimed to analyze the association between engagement in childcare activities and cognitive and psychological status over a 4.4-year period in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Two thousand one hundred four subjects older than 65 years without severe cognitive impairment at baseline were categorized according to the frequency of their involvement in childcare activities (everyday, occasionally, never). The participants' cognitive status and depressive symptoms were evaluated at baseline and after 4.4 years. RESULTS: During the follow-up, 269 (12.8%) new cases of cognitive impairment and 229 (10.9%) new cases of depression were registered. Men engaged in childcare showed an almost 20% lower risk of cognitive impairment and cognitive decline. Women demonstrated similar results, except for those occasionally involved in childcare, who had a higher risk of cognitive decline compared with women who never engaged in it. The risk of developing depression was reduced in men involved daily (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.30-0.62, p < 0.0001) and occasionally in childcare, who also demonstrated a lower risk of exacerbating depressive symptoms compared with subjects who never involved in it. The onset of depression was reduced in women occasionally engaged in childcare (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.56-0.82, p < 0.0001), but not significantly in those daily involved in it. CONCLUSIONS: Involvement of older adults in childcare activities seems to lower the risk of cognitive impairment in both genders and to prevent onset or worsening of depression particularly in older men. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Anthropometric parameters and the incidence of atrial fibrillation in older people: the PRO.V.A study.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been associated with body size and central obesity, but the impact of different anthropometric measures in this relationship has been inadequately investigated. HYPOTHESIS: In this study, we examined the association between baseline anthropometric parameters with the incidence of AF in older people, hypothesizing that body size could impact the onset of AF more than fat distribution. METHODS: Our study included 1764 participants with a mean age of 74.3 ± 6.9 years and no AF at baseline. Body mass index (BMI), body height, body surface area (BSA), waist and hip circumference, waist-to-stature ratio, waist-to-hip ratio, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) were measured by trained physicians. AF was assessed after a 4.4-year follow-up. RESULTS: There were 115 new cases of AF observed after the follow-up. Taking lower values of these measures for reference, the adjusted AF risk was 2.42 (95% confidence interval [CI]:1.88-3.12) for the highest stature quartile, 1.36 (95% CI:1.15-1.62) for BMI ≥30 kg/m2 , 2.12 (95% CI:1.73-2.59) for the highest BSA quartile, 1.38 (95% CI: 1.21-1.56) for higher MUAC, and 1.39 (95% CI: 1.23-1.58, P < 0.0001) for higher hip circumference values. Central obesity did not seem to relevantly predict the onset of AF in our sample. Stature revealed the strongest impact on the onset of AF (5% higher risk of developing AF per 1 cm increase in height). CONCLUSIONS: Body size, particularly tall stature and obesity, but not fat distribution, seems to be associated with the risk of AF in the elderly.

Orthostatic Changes in Blood Pressure and Cognitive Status in the Elderly: The Progetto Veneto Anziani Study.

We studied a cohort of 1408 older subjects to explore whether postural changes in blood pressure (BP; defined as orthostatic hypo- or hypertension) can predict the onset of cognitive deterioration. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a drop of 20 mm Hg in systolic or 10 mm Hg in diastolic BP and orthostatic hypertension as a rise of 20 mm Hg in systolic BP. Orthostatic BP values were grouped into quintiles for secondary analyses. Two cognitive assessments were considered: (1) cognitive impairment, that is, Mini-Mental State Examination scores ≤24/30, and (2) cognitive decline (CD), that is, a 3-point decrease in Mini-Mental State Examination score from the baseline to the follow-up. At the baseline, the prevalence of orthostatic hypotension and hypertension was 18.3% and 10.9%, respectively. At the follow-up (4.4±1.2 years), 286 participants were found cognitively impaired and 138 had a CD. Using logistic regression analysis adjusted for potential baseline confounders, participants with orthostatic hypertension were at significantly higher risk of CD (odds ratio =1.50; 95% confidence intervals =1.26-1.78). Neither orthostatic hypotension nor orthostatic hypertension raised the risk of developing a cognitive impairment. Using quintiles of orthostatic BP values, we found that both decreases and increases in systolic and diastolic BP raised the risk of CD, but not of cognitive impairment. In conclusion, we found that orthostatic hypertension predicts the onset of CD, but not of cognitive impairment in the elderly, whereas orthostatic hypotension predicts neither of these conditions. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.