Impact of depression and activities of daily living on the fear of falling in Korean community-dwelling elderly.

This study determined the predictors of the fear of falling (FOF) in 213 South Korean community-dwelling elderly. The Fall Efficacy Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Korean Geriatric Depression Screening Scale, and Barthel Index were used to measure the FOF, sleep quality, depression, and activities of daily living, respectively. In addition, information regarding the participants' demographic details and the number of types of medication was collected. The data were analyzed by using hierarchical regression. The general regression model, with the FOF as a dependent variable, was statistically significant. The FOF variance was partially explained. Depression and activities of daily living significantly influenced the FOF. Thus, the results indicate that the FOF in community-dwelling elderly Koreans is affected by depression and activities of daily living. Therefore, an older adult with recognized signs of depression must be provided with more appropriate care and the allocation of specific interventional strategies in order to maintain activities of daily living should be developed to manage the FOF.

[Fall prediction model for community-dwelling elders based on gender].

PURPOSE: This study was done to explore factors relating to number of falls among community-dwelling elders, based on gender. METHODS: Participants were 403 older community dwellers (male=206, female=197) aged 60 or above. In this study, 8 variables were identified as predictive factors that can result in an elderly person falling and as such, supports previous studies. The 8 variables were categorized as, exogenous variables; perceived health status, somatization, depression, physical performance, and cognitive state, and endogenous variables; fear of falling, ADL & IADL and frequency of falls. RESULTS: For men, ability to perform ADL & IADL (ß(32)=1.84, p<.001) accounted for 16% of the variance in the number of falls. For women, fear of falling (ß(31)=0.14, p<.05) and ability to perform ADL & IADL (ß(32)=1.01, p<.001) significantly contributed to the number of falls, accounting for 15% of the variance in the number of falls. CONCLUSION: The findings from this study confirm the gender-based fall prediction model as comprehensive in relation to community-dwelling elders. The fall prediction model can effectively contribute to future studies in developing fall prediction and intervention programs.

Allergen-induced CD11b+ CD11c(int) CCR3+ macrophages in the lung promote eosinophilic airway inflammation in a mouse asthma model.

Although the recruitment of macrophages to the lung is a central feature of airway inflammation, its function in ongoing T(h)2 cell-mediated eosinophilic airway inflammation remains controversial. Here, we have demonstrated that the allergen-induced CD11b(+) CD11c(int) macrophage expressing CC chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3) in the lung performs a crucial function in the induction of eosinophilic asthma in a murine model. In the lungs of normal mice, residential cells evidencing high granularity phenotypically evidenced CD11b(int) CD11c(+) or CD11b(+) CD11c(int) cells, appearing at a 2:1 ratio. After allergen challenge, however, this reverses dramatically, up to a ratio of one to six. Approximately 91% of increased CD11b(+) CD11c(int) cells evidenced the expression of the CCR3 eotaxin receptor, but not other chemokine receptors, such as CCR5 and CXCR4. Interestingly, the CD11b(+) CD11c(int) cells purified from the lungs of OVA (ovalbumin)-sensitized and challenged mice evidenced higher antigen-presenting activity than was observed in CD11b(int) CD11c(+) cells. In order to investigate the in vivo function of CD11b(+) CD11c(int) cells, the cells were isolated from the lungs of OVA-sensitized and challenged mice and then adoptively transferred prior to the allergen challenge of normal mice. In the CD11b(+) CD11c(int)-transferred mice airway hyperresponsiveness, eosinophilic inflammation in the lung and T(h)2 cytokine secretion in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids were significantly enhanced as the result of OVA challenge, as compared with the mice that received OVA-primed CD90(+) T cells or CD11b(int) CD11c(+) cells. These findings show that CD11b(+) CD11c(int) macrophages expressing CCR3 as key pro-inflammatory cells are both necessary and sufficient for allergen-specific T cell stimulation during ongoing eosinophilic airway inflammation.