Earlier life leisure-time physical activity in relation to age-related frailty syndrome.

BACKGROUND: frailty syndrome is common amongst older people. Low physical activity is part of frailty, but long-term prospective studies investigating leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) during the life course as a predictor of frailty are still warranted. The aim of this study is to investigate whether earlier life LTPA predicts frailty in older age. METHODS: the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) included older adults (aged 60-77 years) from the general population who were at increased risk of cognitive decline. Frailty was assessed for 1,137 participants at a baseline visit using a modified version of Fried's phenotype, including five criteria: weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, slowness and low physical activity. Self-reported data on earlier life LTPA were available from previous population-based studies (average follow-up time 13.6 years). A binomial logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between earlier life LTPA and pre-frailty/frailty in older age. RESULTS: the prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty was 0.8% and 27.3%, respectively. In the analyses, pre-frail and frail groups were combined. People who had been physically very active (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.23-0.60) or moderately active (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.32-0.65) earlier in life had lower odds of becoming pre-frail/frail than individuals who had been sedentary. CONCLUSIONS: frailty was rare in this relatively healthy study population, but almost a third of the participants were pre-frail. Earlier life LTPA was associated with lower levels of pre-frailty/frailty. The results highlight the importance of physical activity when aiming to promote healthy old age.

Evaluation and treatment of older patients with hypercholesterolemia: a clinical review.

IMPORTANCE: Hypercholesterolemia is common among people older than 80 years. Substantial functional heterogeneity exists among older patients, and decision making for statin use differs in older patients relative to younger ones. OBJECTIVE: To discuss the presentation, modifying factors, and treatment of hypercholesterolemia (usually with statins) among persons older than 80 years. EVIDENCE REVIEW: MEDLINE and other sources were searched from January 1990 to June 2014. Personal libraries and a hand search of reference lists from guidelines and reviews from January 2000 to June 2014 were also used. FINDINGS: No randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of statin or any other hypocholesterolemic medication included persons older than 80 years at baseline. Findings from 75- to 80-year-old patients enrolled in RCTs and information from observational studies support statin treatment for secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and probably in patients with diabetes without ASCVD. Harms from statin drugs are not increased in older patients, so the use of these agents for primary prevention is possible. Because people older than 80 years are biologically heterogeneous with varying life expectancy, may have frailty or comorbid conditions, and may take multiple medications, the decision to treat with statins must be individualized. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Ideally, treatment of hypercholesterolemia for patients at risk of ASCVD should start before they turn 80 years old. No RCT evidence exists to guide statin initiation after age 80 years. Decisions to use statins in older individuals are made individually and are not supported by high-quality evidence.