Dysmobility syndrome is associated with prevalent morphometric vertebral fracture in older adults: the Korean Urban-Rural Elderly (KURE) study

Abstract Background: Multimorbidity is defined as the co-occurrence of two or more than two diseases in the same person. With rising longevity, multimorbidity has become a prominent concern among the older population. Evidence from both developed and developing countries shows that older people are at much higher risk of multimorbidity, however, urban-rural differential remained scarce. Therefore, this study examines urban-rural differential in multimorbidity among older adults by decomposing the risk factors of multimorbidity and identifying the covariates that contributed to the change in multimorbidity.Methods: The study utilized information from 31,464 older adults (rural-20,725 and urban-10,739) aged 60 years and above from the recent release of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) wave 1 data. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate decomposition analysis techniques were used.Results: Overall, significant urban-rural differences were found in the prevalence of multimorbidity among older adults (difference: 16.3; p<0.001). Moreover, obese/overweight and high-risk waist circumference were found to narrow the difference in the prevalence of multimorbidity among older adults between urban and rural areas by 8% and 9.1%, respectively.Conclusion: There is a need to substantially increase the public sector investment in healthcare to address the multimorbidity among older adults, more so in urban areas, without compromising the needs of older adults in rural areas.

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Urban-rural differences in the prevalence of muscle weakness and slow gait speed: A cross-sectional analysis from the NHANES (2001-2002 and 2011-2014)

Journal of Aging Research and Lifestyle ◽

10.14283/jarlife.2021.4 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

J.J. Aziz ◽

K.F. Reid ◽

J.A. Batsis ◽

R.A. Fielding

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Older Adults ◽

Grip Strength ◽

Muscle Weakness ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Gait Speed ◽

The United States ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Comorbidity Burden ◽

Urban Rural

Background: Older adults living in rural areas suffer from health inequities compared to their urban counterparts. These include comorbidity burden, poor diet, and physical inactivity, which are also risk factors for sarcopenia, for which muscle weakness and slow gait speed are domains. To date, no study has examined urban-rural differences in the prevalence of muscle weakness and slow gait speed in older adults living in the United States. Objective: To compare the prevalence of grip strength weakness and slow gait speed between urban and rural older adults living in the United States. Design: A cross-sectional, secondary data analysis of two cohorts from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using gait speed or grip strength data, and urban-rural residency, dietary, examination, questionnaire and demographic data. Participants: 2,923 adults (≥ 60 yrs.). Measures: Grip weakness was defined as either, an absolute grip strength of <35 kg. and <20 kg. or grip strength divided by body mass index (GripBMI) of <1.05 and <0.79 for men and women, respectively. Slow gait speed was defined as a usual gait speed of ≤0.8m/s. Results: The prevalence of GripBMI weakness was significantly higher in urban compared to rural participants (27.4% vs. 19.2%; p=0.001), whereas their absolute grip strength was lower (31.75(±0.45) vs. 33.73(±0.48)). No urban-rural differences in gait speed were observed. Conclusions: Older adults residing in urban regions of the United States were weaker compared to their rural counterparts. This report is the first to describe urban-rural differences in handgrip strength and slow gait speed in older adults living in the United States.

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Loneliness and depression among rural empty-nest elderly adults in Liuyang, China: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016091 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (10) ◽

pp. e016091 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Guojun Wang ◽

Mi Hu ◽

Shui-yuan Xiao ◽

Liang Zhou

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Rural Elderly ◽

Elderly Adults ◽

Empty Nest ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Cohen’S D ◽

Major Depressive Episodes ◽

Depressive Episodes

ObjectiveTo compare loneliness, depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes between empty-nest and not-empty-nest older adults in rural areas of Liuyang city, Hunan, China.MethodsA cross-sectional multi-stage random cluster survey was conducted from November 2011 to April 2012 in Liuyang, China. A total of 839 rural older residents aged 60 or above completed the survey (response rate 97.6%). In line with the definition of empty nest, 25 participants who had no children were excluded from the study, while the remaining 814 elderly adults with at least one child were included for analysis. Loneliness and depressive symptoms in rural elderly parents were assessed using the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Major depressive episodes were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I).ResultsSignificant differences were found between empty-nest and not-empty-nest older adults regarding loneliness (16.19±3.90 vs. 12.87±3.02, Cohen’s d=0.97), depressive symptoms (8.50±6.26 vs. 6.92±5.19, Cohen’s d=0.28) and the prevalence of major depressive episodes (10.1% vs. 4.6%) (all p<0.05). After controlling for demographic characteristics and physical disease, the differences in loneliness, depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes remained significant. Path analysis showed that loneliness mediated the relationship between empty-nest syndrome and depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes.ConclusionLoneliness and depression are more severe among empty-nest than not-empty-nest rural elderly adults. Loneliness was a mediating variable between empty-nest syndrome and depression.

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