Chronic stress and functional health in older adults with concerns about falling: a study protocol of a randomized controlled trial with multicomponent exercise intervention (FEARFALL).

BACKGROUND: Maintenance of physical function, mobility, and independent living are important goals for older adults. However, concerns about falling (CaF) play a central role in the vicious cycle of CaF, inflammation, loss of muscle mass, and decreasing physical function ultimately resulting in negative health outcomes. CaF, like other states of chronic stress and anxiety, can be considered as enduring adverse stimuli affecting the stress systems and the inflammatory system. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate whether a reduction of CaF leads to a reduction of stress and therefore possibly reduces chronic low-grade inflammation. Understanding the role and directionality of the effects of inflammation on CaF increases our understanding of age-related loss of mobility and physical function. METHODS: In this study, community-dwelling older adults, aged 70 years and older, will be randomly assigned to either a 4-month, multi-component intervention with exercise training and cognitive-behavioral components or to a sham control group with light stretching exercises, cognitive training, and educational health lectures. For the operationalization of specific CaF, the Falls Efficacy Scale-International will be used. Stress and related psychological symptoms will be monitored using established self-reports and by measuring salivary cortisol. Concentrations of C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, interleukin 10, and tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha, as well as gene expression of selected inflammatory transcripts, will be used as surrogate parameters of the inflammatory status at baseline, after the 4-month intervention and 8-month follow-up. DISCUSSION: This study will be the first to test whether CaF are related with stress system activity or reactivity or with markers of inflammation in the context of a multi-component intervention with exercise training and cognitive-behavioral components addressing CaF. The reduction of specific CaF or general psychological symptoms should reverse alterations in stress systems, and / or slow down low-grade inflammation. Changes in activity, as well as psychological and biological pathways leading from CaF to muscle loss will be measured, to disentangle the individual contribution to sarcopenia, and to provide an additional pathway to break or slow-down the vicious cycle of CaF and sarcopenia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS): DRKS00029171 . Registered 22 July 2022.

Instruments for measuring the neuromuscular function domain of vitality capacity in older persons: an umbrella review.

PURPOSE: Recently, handgrip, knee extensor and respiratory muscle strength were proposed as candidate biomarkers to assess the neuromuscular function of vitality capacity in older persons. This umbrella review aims to provide an overview of the available instruments and their measurement properties to assess these biomarkers. METHODS: The databases PubMed, Web of Science and Embase were systematically screened for systematic reviews and meta-analyses reporting on handgrip, knee extensor or respiratory muscle strength assessments, resulting in 7,555 articles. The COSMIN checklist was used to appraise psychometric properties and the AMSTAR for assessing methodological quality. RESULTS: Twenty-seven systematic reviews were included in this study. Some of the identified reviews described the psychometric properties of the assessment tools. We found five assessment tools that can be used to measure neuromuscular function in the context of healthy ageing. Those are the handheld dynamometer for handgrip strength, the dynamometer for knee extensor strength and regarding respiratory muscle strength, the sniff nasal inspiratory pressure, maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP). CONCLUSION: The handheld dynamometer for hand grip strength, the dynamometer for knee extensor strength, sniff nasal inspiratory pressure, MIP and MEP were identified. Therefore, these assessments could be used to identify community-dwelling older adults at risk for a declined neuromuscular function in the context of vitality capacity.

Square-stepping exercise in older inpatients in early geriatric rehabilitation. A randomized controlled pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Preservation of mobility and fall prevention have a high priority in geriatric rehabilitation. Square-Stepping Exercise (SSE) as an evaluated and standardized program has been proven to be an effective training for older people in the community setting to reduce falls and improve subjectively perceived health status. This randomized controlled trial (RCT), for the first time, examines SSE in the context of inpatient early geriatric rehabilitation compared to conventional physiotherapy (cPT). METHODS: Data were collected in a general hospital in the department of acute geriatric care at admission and discharge. Fifty-eight inpatients were randomized to control (CG, n = 29) or intervention groups (IG, n = 29). CG received usual care with cPT five days per week during their hospital stay. For the IG SSE replaced cPT for at least six sessions, alternating with cPT. Physical function was measured with the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and Timed "Up & Go" (TUG). Gait speed was measured over a distance of 10 m. In a subgroup (n = 17) spatiotemporal gait parameters were analyzed via a GAITRite® system. RESULTS: Both the SPPB total score improved significantly (p = < 0.001) from baseline to discharge in both groups, as did the TUG (p < 0.001). In the SPPB Chair Rise both groups improved with a significant group difference in favor of the IG (p = 0.031). For both groups gait characteristics improved: Gait speed (p = < 0.001), walk ratio (p = 0.011), step length (p = < 0.001), stride length (p = < 0.001) and double support (p = 0.009). For step length at maximum gait speed (p = 0.054) and stride length at maximum gait speed (p = 0.060) a trend in favor of the IG was visible. CONCLUSIONS: SSE in combination with a reduced number of sessions of cPT is as effective as cPT for inpatients in early geriatric rehabilitation to increase physical function and gait characteristics. In the Chair Rise test SSE appears to be superior. These results highlight that SSE is effective, and may serve as an additional component for cPT for older adults requiring geriatric acute care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: DRKS00026191.

Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Chronic Heart Failure and Modulating Role of Chronic Kidney Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Sarcopenia, heart failure (HF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are common among the older people. Our objective was to evaluate the frequency of sarcopenia, among community-dwelling older adults with HF, possible causative factors, and the additive factor of CKD. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis of 1,420 older people living in the community was carried out. Participants (aged 75 years and more) came from a European multicenter prospective cohort (SCOPE study). Global geriatric assessment including short physical performance battery, handgrip strength test, and bioelectrical impedance analysis was performed. Previous known HF was defined as physician-diagnosed HF registered in the patient's medical record or the use of HF-related medications, regardless of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Sarcopenia was defined by the updated criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2). Estimated glomerular filtration rate was calculated using Berlin Initiative Study (BIS) to define the stages of CKD. Two-year mortality was also collected. RESULTS: A total of 226 (15.9%) participants had a prior chronic HF diagnosis, with a median age of 80.0 (5.0), and 123 (54.4%) were women. Using EWGSOP2 definition, 11.5% HF and 10.7% in non-HF participants met diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia. In multivariate analyses, only a lower body mass index (BMI) (odds ratios [OR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73-0.93) and lower short physical performance battery score (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.69-0.96) were associated with sarcopenia. Patients with HF and sarcopenia have a similar all-cause mortality risk but higher 2-year cardiovascular mortality risk (p = 0.047). DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: One out of ten community-dwelling older adults with concurrent clinical stable chronic HF, without considering LVEF, have sarcopenia. Lower BMI and poor physical performance are associated with sarcopenia in this population, but not CKD.

Short physical performance battery is not associated with falls and injurious falls in older persons: longitudinal data of the SCOPE project.

INTRODUCTION: Falls and fall-related injuries in older persons are a major public health problem. Our objective was to study the predictive value of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) in the cohort of the SCOPE project on falls, injurious falls, and possible difference of prediction between indoors and outdoors falls. METHODS: For this sub-study of the SCOPE project participants reporting no falls at baseline, and survey data on falls at the 12-month and 24-month follow-up were included. Participant´s characteristics were assessed during the baseline interview and medical examinations. Falls as well as injurious falls and fall circumstances were obtained self-reported. SPPB and its association with fallers vs. no fallers at 12 and at 24 months were studied with logistic regression models. RESULTS: The 1198 participants had a median age of 79 years (77-82), and a median SPPB of 10 (8-11), with a 52.5% of female. A total of 227 and 277 falls (12- and 24- month visits, respectively) were reported. In the crude model, the SPPB sum scores (p < 0.001) as well as most single item scores were significant different between fallers and non-fallers over time. However, the association was attenuated in models adjusted for age, sex, marital status, number of medications, quality of life, handgrip strength, and muscle mass [e.g., 12 months; OR 0.94 (0.87-1.02)]. While SPPB fails to differentiate between injurious and non-injurious falls (p = 0.48), a lower SPPB score was associated with falls at home (p < 0.01) after 24 months. CONCLUSION: SBPP was not able to significantly predict the risk of falling as well as experiencing an injurious fall. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered prospectively on 25th February 2016 at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02691546).

A volunteer-supported walking programme to improve physical function in older people with restricted mobility (the POWER Study): a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Regular physical activity has multiple health benefits, especially in older people. Therefore, the World Health Organization recommends at least 2.5 h of moderate physical activity per week. The aim of the POWER Study was to investigate whether volunteer-assisted walking improves the physical performance and health of older people. METHODS: We approached people aged 65 years and older with restricted mobility due to physical limitations and asked them to participate in this multicentre randomised controlled trial. The recruitment took place in nursing homes and the community setting. Participants randomly assigned to the intervention group were accompanied by volunteer companions for a 30-50 min walk up to three times a week for 6 months. Participants in the control group received two lectures that included health-related topics. The primary endpoint was physical function as measured with the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) at baseline and 6 and 12 months. The secondary and safety endpoints were quality of life (EQ-5D-5L), fear of falling (Falls Efficacy Scale), cognitive executive function (the Clock Drawing Test), falls, hospitalisations and death. RESULTS: The sample comprised 224 participants (79% female). We failed to show superiority of the intervention with regard to physical function (SPPB) or other health outcomes in the intention-to-treat analyses. However, additional exploratory analyses suggest benefits in those who undertook regular walks. The intervention appears to be safe regarding falls. CONCLUSIONS: Regular physical activity is essential to preserve function and to improve health and quality of life. Against the background of a smaller-than-planned sample size, resulting in low power, and the interference of the COVID-19 pandemic, we suggest that community based low-threshold interventions deserve further exploration. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered with the German Clinical Trials Register ( www.germanctr.de ), with number DRKS00015188 on 31/08/2018.

Quality of Life and Kidney Function in Older Adults: Prospective Data of the SCOPE Study.

A longitudinal alteration in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) over a two-year period and its association with early-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression was investigated among 1748 older adults (>75 years). HRQoL was measured by the Euro-Quality of Life Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS) at baseline and at one and two years after recruitment. A full comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed, including sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF), Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The association between EQ-VAS decline and covariates was investigated by multivariable analyses. A total of 41% of the participants showed EQ-VAS decline, and 16.3% showed kidney function decline over the two-year follow-up period. Participants with EQ-VAS decline showed an increase in GDS-SF scores and a greater decline in SPPB scores. The logistic regression analyses showed no contribution of a decrease in kidney function on EQ-VAS decline in the early stages of CKD. However, older adults with a greater GDS-SF score were more likely to present EQ-VAS decline over time, whereas an increase in the SPPB scores was associated with less EQ-VAS decline. This finding should be considered in clinical practice and when HRQoL is used to evaluate health interventions among older adults.

[The Complexity in Fall Prevention and Mobility in Older Persons]. / Die Komplexität in der Sturzprävention und Mobilität bei älteren Menschen.

The Complexity in Fall Prevention and Mobility in Older Persons Abstract: Falls have often far-reaching consequences for the older person. In contrast to the positive development in fall prevention over the last 20 years, the number of falls is still increasing in the older population worldwide. In addition, the fall risk varies between different settings, as for the community-dwelling older population fall rates of about 33% are reported whereas in the long-term care setting rates of about 60% are described. In the hospital setting fall rates are also higher than in community-dwelling older persons. Falls are seldom caused by just one single risk factor. The complexity of the interacting risk factors ranges from biological, socioeconomical, environmental, and behavioral risk factors. The following article will address the complexity and the dynamic interaction of these risk factors. Special interest will be given to the behavioral and environmental risk factors, as well as an effective screening and assessment, which are also presented in the new recommendations by the World Falls Guidelines (WFG).

Why should clinical practitioners ask about their patients' concerns about falling?

Concerns (or 'fears') about falling (CaF) are common in older adults. As part of the 'World Falls Guidelines Working Group on Concerns about Falling', we recommended that clinicians working in falls prevention services should regularly assess CaF. Here, we expand upon these recommendations and argue that CaF can be both 'adaptive' and 'maladaptive' with respect to falls risk. On the one hand, high CaF can lead to overly cautious or hypervigilant behaviours that increase the risk of falling, and may also cause undue activity restriction ('maladaptive CaF'). But concerns can also encourage individuals to make appropriate modifications to their behaviour to maximise safety ('adaptive CaF'). We discuss this paradox and argue that high CaF-irrespective of whether 'adaptive' or 'maladaptive'-should be considered an indication that 'something is not right', and that is represents an opportunity for clinical engagement. We also highlight how CaF can be maladaptive in terms of inappropriately high confidence about one's balance. We present different routes for clinical intervention based on the types of concerns disclosed.

Characteristics of older cyclists with self-perceived needs for improvement in cycling competence: SiFAr trial.

BACKGROUND: Older cyclists are in great risk of being injured or killed in a traffic-related accident and their needs should find more consideration in safety guidelines, urban planning, and future intervention programs. OBJECTIVE: The aim for this cross-sectional analysis was to comprehensively explore characteristics of community-dwelling cyclists aged 65 years and older with a self-perceived need to increase cycle competence. METHODS: 118 older adults (mean age 73.3 ± 5.2 years, 61% women) performed a standardized cycle course representing specific cycling skills. Additionally, health and functional assessments were carried out and characteristics regarding demographic, health, falls, bicycle equipment/type and cycling biography/behavior were obtained. RESULTS: The majority (67.8%) of this community-dwelling adults reported being unsafe when cycling and 41.3% had a bicycle fall in the past year. More than half of the participants showed at least one limitation in each of the measured cycling skills. Women significantly had more frequent limitations in four of the cycling skills measured (p ≤ 0.001) compared to men. While no significant differences were found for falls, health and functional characteristics, women and men differed significantly in terms of bicycle type, equipment, and perceived safety (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Limitations in cycling should be compensated by preventive bicycle training and a safe cycling infrastructure. Bicycle fit, the wearing of bicycle helmets and promotion of a sense of security while cycling can further reduce accident risk and must find recognition in safety guidelines. In addition, educational initiatives have to dismantle gender-related bicycle stereotypes.

Safer cycling in older age (SiFAr): effects of a multi-component cycle training. a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The risk of older adults being injured or killed in a bicycle accident increases significantly due to the age-related decline of physical function. Therefore, targeted interventions for older adults to improve safe cycling competence (CC) are urgently needed. METHODS: The "Safer Cycling in Older Age" (SiFAr) randomized controlled trial investigated if a progressive multi-component training program related to cycling improves CC of older adults. Between June 2020 and May 2022, 127 community-dwelling persons living in the area Nürnberg-Fürth-Erlangen, Germany aged 65 years and older were recruited, who are either (1) beginners with the e-bike or (2) feeling self-reported unsteadiness when cycling or (3) uptaking cycling after a longer break. Participants were either randomized 1:1 to an intervention group (IG; cycling exercise program, 8 sessions within 3 months) or an active control group (aCG; health recommendations). The CC as primary outcome was tested not blinded in a standardized cycle course prior and after the intervention period and after 6-9 months, which consists of variant tasks requiring skills related to daily traffic situations. Regression analyses with difference of errors in the cycling course as dependent variable and group as independent variable adjusted for covariates (gender, number of errors at baseline, bicycle type, age and cycled distance) were performed. RESULTS: 96 participants (73.4 ± 5.1 years; 59.4% female) were analyzed for primary outcome. Compared to the aCG (n = 49), the IG (n = 47) made an average of 2.37 fewer errors in the cycle course after the 3 months intervention period (p = 0.004). People with more errors at baseline had higher potential for improvement (B=-0.38; p < 0.001). Women on average made 2.31 (p = 0.016) more errors than men, even after intervention. All other confounders had no significant effect on the difference in errors. The intervention effect was very stable until 6-9 months after the intervention (B=-3.07, p = 0.003), but decreased with a higher age at baseline in the adjusted model (B = 0.21, p = 0.0499). CONCLUSION: The SiFAr program increases cycling skills among older adults with self-perceived needs for improvement in CC and could easily be made available to a broad public due to its standardized structure and a train-the-trainer approach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04362514 (27/04/2020), https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04362514 .

Validation of the German version of the Protein Screener 55.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The Protein Screener 55 + (Pro55 + ) is a brief food questionnaire to screen older community-dwelling adults for low protein intake. The result is the predicted probability of protein intake <1.0 g/kg adjusted body weight (aBW)/d ranging from 0-1. For purposes of cross-cultural validation, we translated the Pro55+ into German and tested its discriminative accuracy in detecting low protein intake of older community-dwelling people in Germany. SUBJECTS/METHODS: After translation and pilot-testing, the Pro55+ and the reference standard (3-day dietary record) were completed by 144 participants (81.6 ± 3.9 years, 61.8% female). Discriminative properties were tested by receiver operating characteristic curves and by calculating sensitivity and specificity for different cut-offs of predicted probability (>0.3/>0.5/>0.7) using <1.0 or <0.8 g/kg aBW/d to define low protein intake. RESULTS: Protein intake was <1.0 g/kg aBW/d in 39.6% of the sample and <0.8 g/kg aBW/d in 17.4%. Area under the curve was 62.0% (95%CI 52.6-71.5) and 68.8% (58.1-79.4), respectively. Specificity was 82-90% using probability cut-offs of 0.5 and 0.7 for both protein thresholds. Sensitivity was poor for protein threshold of 1.0 g/kg aBW/d regardless of the used probability cut-offs. For protein threshold of <0.8 g/kg aBW/d, sensitivity was 88.0% (71.8-96.9) using a probability cut-off of 0.09. CONCLUSION: The overall discriminative accuracy of the German Pro55+ to identify older community-dwelling people with low protein intake was poor. However, applying different probability cut-offs allows increasing specificity and sensitivity for 0.8 g/kg aBW/d to levels justifying the use for certain purposes e.g. excluding individuals with adequate protein intake. Further validation is needed.

Reference equations for harmonizing gait speed results of different test protocols in community-dwelling older adults.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Different gait speed assessment protocols regarding start and stop of walking make comparison between studies impossible. The aim of this study was providing reference equations to estimate a person´s steady-state gait speed from gait speed measured with a test protocol including static start and/or stop. METHODS: Gait speed of 150 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 80.5 ± 4.5 years; 61% women) was measured over 4 m with different assessment protocols regarding start and stop of walking on an instrumented walkway. Reference equations to estimate steady-state gait speed from the results of other test protocols were calculated by regression analysis within a fivefold cross-validation. RESULTS: Mean absolute errors and the root mean squared errors of all reference equations ranged from 0.063 m/s to 0.074 m/s and 0.082 m/s to 0.096 m/s, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The provided reference equations can help harmonizing results between studies in community-dwelling older adults.

WHO working definition of vitality capacity for healthy longevity monitoring.

Intrinsic capacity, a crucial concept in healthy ageing, is defined by WHO as "the composite of all the physical and mental capacities that an individual can draw on at any point in time". Vitality capacity is considered the underlying physiological determinant of intrinsic capacity. To advance the measurement and monitoring of vitality capacity, a working group of WHO staff members and twenty experts representing six WHO regions was convened to discuss and clarify the attributes of vitality capacity and to develop a clear working definition of the concept. Potential biomarkers to measure vitality capacity were identified, and the following consensual working definition was developed: vitality capacity is a physiological state (due to normal or accelerated biological ageing processes) resulting from the interaction between multiple physiological systems, reflected in (the level of) energy and metabolism, neuromuscular function, and immune and stress response functions of the body.

World guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults: a global initiative.

BACKGROUND: falls and fall-related injuries are common in older adults, have negative effects on functional independence and quality of life and are associated with increased morbidity, mortality and health related costs. Current guidelines are inconsistent, with no up-to-date, globally applicable ones present. OBJECTIVES: to create a set of evidence- and expert consensus-based falls prevention and management recommendations applicable to older adults for use by healthcare and other professionals that consider: (i) a person-centred approach that includes the perspectives of older adults with lived experience, caregivers and other stakeholders; (ii) gaps in previous guidelines; (iii) recent developments in e-health and (iv) implementation across locations with limited access to resources such as low- and middle-income countries. METHODS: a steering committee and a worldwide multidisciplinary group of experts and stakeholders, including older adults, were assembled. Geriatrics and gerontological societies were represented. Using a modified Delphi process, recommendations from 11 topic-specific working groups (WGs), 10 ad-hoc WGs and a WG dealing with the perspectives of older adults were reviewed and refined. The final recommendations were determined by voting. RECOMMENDATIONS: all older adults should be advised on falls prevention and physical activity. Opportunistic case finding for falls risk is recommended for community-dwelling older adults. Those considered at high risk should be offered a comprehensive multifactorial falls risk assessment with a view to co-design and implement personalised multidomain interventions. Other recommendations cover details of assessment and intervention components and combinations, and recommendations for specific settings and populations. CONCLUSIONS: the core set of recommendations provided will require flexible implementation strategies that consider both local context and resources.

Reference values of gait characteristics in community-dwelling older persons with different physical functional levels.

BACKGROUND: Mobility is one major component of healthy ageing of older persons. It includes gait speed, nowadays valued as the sixth vital sign of ageing. Quantitative gait analysis can support clinical diagnostics, monitor progression of diseases and provide information about the efficacy of interventions. Fast gait speed is an additional marker in the area of functional ability. Our aim was to contribute reference values of gait parameters of older persons based on their functional ability. METHODS: We visualised and combined three different established frameworks that assess gait characteristics into a new framework based approach that comprises eight gait parameters: gait speed, stride length, walk ratio, single and double support time, step width, step width CV (coefficient of variance), stride length CV. Gait parameters were stratified by two instruments that indicate levels of functional ability: First, the LUCAS Functional Ability Index (FAI), a self-administered screening tool easy to apply to a public-health orientated approach and second the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), an established performance test widely used in comprehensive geriatric assessments (CGA). Gait parameters of older community-dwelling persons were measured with an objective Gait system (GAITRite) across differing functional ability ranging from robust to transient (postrobust and prefrail) to frail physical status. RESULTS: Of 642 community-dwelling participants (age 78.5 ± 4.8; n = 233 male, n = 409 female) categorisations by SPPB were 27.1% for robust (11-12 points), 44.2% for transient (8-10 points), 28.7% for frail (0-7 points), and 16.2, 50.3, 33.5% for robust, transient, frail by LUCAS FAI. Overall, our results showed that distinction by functional level only uncovers a wide spectrum of functional decline for all investigated gait parameters. Stratification by functional ability (biological age) revealed a greater range of differentiation than chronological age. CONCLUSIONS: Gait parameters, carefully selected by literature, showed clinically meaningful differences between the functional featuring a gradient declining from robust over transient to frail in most gait parameters. We found discriminative power of stratifications by SPPB to be the highest, closely followed by LUCAS FAI, age groups and dichotomous age making the application of the LUCAS FAI more cost and time effective than conducting SPPB.

Transient versus stable nature of fear of falling over 24 months in community-older persons with falls- data of the EU SCOPE project on Kidney function.

BACKGROUND: Fear of falling (FoF) is an important risk factor for falls among older people. The objectives of our investigations were: a.) to present characteristics of older community-dwelling (CD) fallers with persistent or transient FoF (P-FoF or T-FoF) over 12 months, and b.) to investigate clinical predictors of P-FoF and T-FoF and c.) to explore differences between P-FoF and T-FoF. METHODS: Our series consisted of 389 older people reporting a fall or injurious fall at baseline and during 24 months follow-up participating in a multicenter prospective study. T-FoF was defined as participants reported "not at all" at baseline and "somewhat/fairly/very concerned" at follow-up, or "not at all" at follow-up, and "somewhat/fairly/very concerned" at baseline, and P-FoF was defined as participants answered "somewhat/fairly/very concerned" in both assessments at baseline and at follow-up. The association between risk factors and T-FoF or P-FoF was investigated by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of fallers in our sample was 79.0 years (SD 6.0), and 54.2% were females. Out of 389 older adults with a fall history at baseline, 83 participants (21.3%) did not report any FoF over time, P-FoF and T-FoF were observed in 42.7% and 35.9% of participants, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders (e.g. age, gender), osteoporosis (OR = 2.04, 95%CI = 1.03-4.05) and impaired physical performance (OR = 2.38, 95%CI = 1.12-5.03) were significant predictors of T-FoF vs No-FoF. Osteoporosis (OR = 2.68, 95%CI = 1.31-5.48), depressive symptoms (OR = 3.54, 95%CI = 1.23-10.1) and living alone (OR = 2.44, 95%CI = 1.17-5.06) were significantly associated with P-FoF vs No-FoF. When comparing T-FoF and P-FoF, female gender (OR = 1.95, 95%CI = 1.16-3.27), BMI (OR = 1.08, 95%CI = 1.02-1.14), overall comorbidity (OR = 1.07, 95%CI = 1.02-1.13) and depression (OR = 2.55, 95%CI = 1.33-4.88) were significant predictors of P-FoF. CONCLUSIONS: T-FoF and P-FoF may be predicted by different sets of risk factors among older fallers. Thus, fallers should be screened for FoF especially when carrying specific risk factors, including female gender, osteoporosis, depression, living alone, impaired physical performance, BMI, comorbidity. These findings may be helpful in designing tailored intervention to blunt the risks related to consequence of FoF among older people experiencing falls. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The SCOPE study was registered prospectively at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02691546; 25/02/2016).

Gait characteristics in community-dwelling older persons with low skeletal muscle mass and low physical performance.

BACKGROUND: Demographic changes in the western world entail new clinical approaches and challenges in older persons. Low skeletal muscle mass and low physical performance in older persons are both predisposing conditions for disability and obtaining knowledge in this cohort is essential. AIM: The primary aim of the study was to analyze a broader spectrum of gait characteristics within this specific population and differentiate them across different test conditions. METHODS: Two centers participating at the SPRINTT project with hi-tech gait analysis available conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study on N = 115 community-dwelling older persons with low muscle mass and physical performance. Reference values of 13 gait parameters were collected across different conditions: usual gait speed, fast gait speed, and usual gait speed while simultaneously naming animals. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: This study shows the first spatio-temporal reference values in a community-dwelling older population composed of individuals with low skeletal muscle mass and low physical performance. In comparison to the normative spatio-temporal gait parameters in older persons reported in the literature, this population showed some differences. The mean gait speed was lower than 1 m/s, considered as a cutoff for vulnerable community-dwelling individuals, which corresponds to a greater risk of falls, hospitalization, and mortality. The stride length variability was higher, exposing to a greater risk of falling, and was also associated with a higher risk of developing cognitive decline. CONCLUSION: This study represents the first step in the development of quantitative reference values in community-dwelling older persons with low physical performance and low skeletal muscle mass.

[Functional status and quality of life of geriatric patients with wounds in acute hospitals : A comparison between patients with acute and chronic wounds: a cross-sectional study]. / Funktioneller Status und Lebensqualität von geriatrischen Patienten mit Wunden im Akutkrankenhaus : Ein Vergleich zwischen Patienten mit akuten und chronischen Wunden: eine Querschnittsstudie.

BACKGROUND: Geriatric patients are more predisposed to the occurrence of wounds due to age and disease, affecting functional status and quality of life. This aspect has rarely been researched in this population. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of chronic (cW) and acute wounds (aW) on the objective functional status and wound-related subjective quality of life in hospitalized geriatric patients. METHODS: In this exploratory cross-sectional analysis, data from 41 patients with wounds were examined. Patients were participating and recruited in the TIGER study (n = 244). Depending on the type of wound, patients were assigned to the aW (n = 19) or cW (n = 22) group. The two groups were compared in terms of physical function, hand strength, activities of daily living, depression, cognition, nutrition, quality of life (Wound-QoL) and sociodemographic data. RESULTS: There was a significant difference between the aW and cW groups in terms of gender (p = 0.045) and living conditions (p = 0.047). The type of wound was associated with the Barthel index (p = 0.010) and the Wound-QoL (p = 0.022). CONCLUSION: Compared to aW patients, cW patients were more limited in the physical and social dimensions and reported a lower quality of live. Living alone seems to play a relevant role. Among the patients of the TIGER study, men living alone were particularly more affected by cW. The care for these specific patients population should follow a holistic approach.