RESUMEN
PURPOSE: To date, the assessment of disability in older people is obtained utilizing a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA). However, it is often difficult to understand which areas of CGA are most predictive of the disability. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possibility to early predict-1 year ahead-the disability level of a patient using machine leaning models. METHODS: Community-dwelling older people were enrolled in this study. CGA was made at baseline and at 1 year follow-up. After collecting input/independent variables (i.e., age, gender, schooling followed, body mass index, information on smoking, polypharmacy, functional status, cognitive performance, depression, nutritional status), we performed two distinct Support Vector Machine models (SVMs) able to predict functional status 1 year ahead. To validate the choice of the model, the results achieved with the SVMs were compared with the output produced by simple linear regression models. RESULTS: 218 patients (mean age = 78.01; SD = 7.85; male = 39%) were recruited. The combination of the two SVMs is able to achieve a higher prediction accuracy (exceeding 80% instances correctly classified vs 67% instances correctly classified by the combination of the two linear regression models). Furthermore, SVMs are able to classify both the three categories, self sufficiently, disability risk and disability, while linear regression model separates the population only in two groups (self-sufficiency and disability) without identifying the intermediate category (disability risk) which turns out to be the most critical one. CONCLUSIONS: The development of such a model can contribute to the early detection of patients at risk of self-sufficiency loss.
RESUMEN
CONCLUSION: The study suggests that Mozart therapy could be a valid alternative to the common sound therapy methods in tinnitus patients. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of the Mozart effect as indexed by a variation in tinnitus intensity and tolerability. METHOD: Sixty-two individuals aged between 22 and 78 years, reporting tinnitus for at least 1 year, were enrolled for the study. All patients attended a 1 h cognitive behavioral counseling session and listened to Mozart's sonata k448 for 1 h per day for a month. Afterwards patients listened to Beethoven's Für Elise sonata for 1 h per day for a month. To evaluate the general stress level, the impact of tinnitus on patients' quality of life, and the intensity of tinnitus, patients were invited to participate in three tests: the Measure du Stress Psychologique (MSP) questionnaire, the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), and a 0 to 10 visual analog scale (VAS). RESULTS: For all the parameters investigated, MSP, THI, and intensity, there was a general significant improvement between the pre- and post-listening evaluation. A significant improvement, as regards THI and intensity, could already be appreciated after a single exposure to Mozart's sonata.