The relationships between physical function, nutrition, cognitive function, depression, and sleep quality for facility-dwelling older adults with dynapenia.

BACKGROUND: The growing population of older adults worldwide is associated with an extended life expectancy and an increasing proportion of older adults with dynapenia. Most research on dynapenia has involved only populations of older adults living in the community; little research has examined the effects of risk factors on sleep quality among older adults with dynapenia residing in assisted living facilities. AIM: This study examined the relationships among physical function, nutrition, cognitive function, depression, and sleep quality among older adults with dynapenia residing in assisted living facilities. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, data on physical function, nutrition, cognitive function, depression, and sleep quality was collected from 178 older adults with dynapenia residing in assisted living facilities, who were selected using purposive sampling. Descriptive statistical analysis, independent-sample t tests, chi-squared tests, and logistic regression analysis were performed using SPSS 25.0. RESULTS: The statistical analyses revealed correlations between sleep quality and age (t = 2.37, p < 0.05), level of education (χ2 = 3.85, p < 0.05), grip strength (t = 3.40, p < 0.01), activities of daily living (t = 4.29, p < 0.001), instrumental activities of daily living (t = 2.23, p < 0.001), calf circumference (t = 2.89, p < 0.01), Mini Nutritional Assessment scores (t = 2.29, p < 0.05), Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) scores (t = 4.50, p < 0.001), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) scores (t = - 4.20, p < 0.001). Calf circumference (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.650.97, p < 0.05), GDS score (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.05-1.92, p < 0.05), and MMSE score (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.73-0.97, p < 0.05) were related to sleep quality among the sample population. CONCLUSION: Physical function, nutrition, cognitive function, and depression affect the sleep quality of older adults with dynapenia residing in assisted living facilities. Facility nurses must regularly assess these aspects of their patients to ensure that facility-dwelling older adults can maintain their physical function and improve their health to improve the quality of their sleep.

Children With Unilateral Hearing Loss After Newborn Hearing Screening in Taiwan.

PURPOSE: We explored the intervention characteristics and language outcomes of children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) in Taiwan after the implementation of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) to highlight changes in attitudes and actions toward hearing-related treatments. METHOD: Data of 132 children with UHL in birth cohorts from 2012 to 2019 were included. This retrospective study examined differences in age at identification, hearing aid (HA) fitting, and seeking supportive services. Commonly requested attributes of services, reasons for HA rejection, and children's language performance were investigated. RESULTS: The age at identification decreased from 50.3 months in 2012 to 2.6 months in 2019. Similar trends of declining age were obtained for the age at HA fitting and age at first service contact. In addition, 40% of the parents did not seek support until the child became older (M = 30.5 months) and showed more noticeable behaviors related to hearing loss, and only 64% of the children were consistent HA users. Children with UHL enrolled in the intervention programs approximated the average language performance of the assessment norm; however, they showed depressed language levels when compared to the norm group at the 75th percentile. CONCLUSIONS: UNHS had a positive impact on early identification and intervention in children with UHL. Compared to parents of children with all types of hearing loss, parents of children with UHL seemed to be more uncertain about aural habilitation at the early stage.