Should Slowing Be Considered a Distinct Geriatric Syndrome?

Anorexia is a relevant geriatric syndrome because it accounts for most malnutrition in older adults. Constipation has been suggested as a risk factor for anorexia. This study aimed to examine the association between anorexia and functional constipation in community-dwelling older adults. Data on 899 subjects aged 72–86 years were obtained from a follow-up survey of the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study in 2018. Anorexia was assessed using the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ), while functional constipation was diagnosed based on Rome IV criteria. Anorexia and functional constipation were present in 30.9% and 19.6% of the participants, respectively. Age, female sex, chewing problems, malnutrition, polypharmacy, low Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score, depressed mood, low serum albumin, and functional constipation were associated with anorexia in the univariate analysis. In the multivariate logistic regression, functional constipation was associated with anorexia (OR 1.478, 95% CI 1.038–2.104) after adjusting for age, female sex, and MMSE score. However, after further adjusting for depressed mood (OR 2.568) and chewing problems (OR 2.196), the relationship was no longer significant. This study showed that functional constipation is associated with anorexia in community-dwelling older adults, but this association is confounded by depressed mood and chewing problems.

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Neuroprotective Metabolites of Hericium erinaceus Promote Neuro-Healthy Aging

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22126379 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (12) ◽

pp. 6379

Author(s):

Elisa Roda ◽

Erica Cecilia Priori ◽

Daniela Ratto ◽

Fabrizio De Luca ◽

Carmine Di Iorio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Molecular Layer ◽

Dietary Supplementation ◽

Purkinje Neurons ◽

Geriatric Syndrome ◽

Oral Supplementation ◽

Erinacine A ◽

And Oxidative Stress

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome associated with both locomotor and cognitive decline, typically linked to chronic systemic inflammation, i.e., inflammaging. In the current study, we investigated the effect of a two-month oral supplementation with standardized extracts of H. erinaceus, containing a known amount of Erinacine A, Hericenone C, Hericenone D, and L-ergothioneine, on locomotor frailty and cerebellum of aged mice. Locomotor performances were monitored comparing healthy aging and frail mice. Cerebellar volume and cytoarchitecture, together with inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways, were assessed focusing on senescent frail animals. H. erinaceus partially recovered the aged-related decline of locomotor performances. Histopathological analyses paralleled by immunocytochemical evaluation of specific molecules strengthened the neuroprotective role of H. erinaceus able to ameliorate cerebellar alterations, i.e., milder volume reduction, slighter molecular layer thickness decrease and minor percentage of shrunken Purkinje neurons, also diminishing inflammation and oxidative stress in frail mice while increasing a key longevity regulator and a neuroprotective molecule. Thus, our present findings demonstrated the efficacy of a non-pharmacological approach, based on the dietary supplementation using H. erinaceus extract, which represent a promising adjuvant therapy to be associated with conventional geriatric treatments.

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Frailty transitions and cognitive function among South Korean older adults

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-90125-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fatima Nari ◽

Bich Na Jang ◽

Hin Moi Youn ◽

Wonjeong Jeong ◽

Sung-In Jang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Daily Living ◽

Mini Mental State Examination ◽

Adult Population ◽

Geriatric Syndrome ◽

South Korean ◽

Adl Disability ◽

Older Adult Population ◽

State Examination

AbstractFrailty is considered a multidimensional geriatric syndrome, manifested by the accumulation of age-associated deficits. The consequences of frailty transitions are still understudied. This study evaluated the influence of frailty transitions on cognitive function in the older adult population. We used data derived from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) (2008–2018) on older adults aged ≥ 65 years. Frailty was assessed using a validated Korean frailty measure known as the frailty instrument (FI), and cognitive function was measured using the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE). Transitions in frailty and their relationship with cognitive function were investigated using lagged generalized estimating equations (GEE), t-tests, and ANOVA. Respondents who experienced frailty transitions (those with ameliorating frailty), those who developed frailty, and whose frailty remained constant, were more likely to have a lower cognitive function than those who were consistently non-frail. Older age, activities of daily living (ADL) disability, and instrumental ADL disability were more negatively associated with declining cognitive function, especially in the “frail → frail” group. Changes in all individual components of the frailty instrument were significantly associated with impaired cognitive function. The results suggest an association between frailty transitions and cognitive impairment. Over a 2-year span, the remaining frail individuals had the highest rate of cognitive decline in men, while the change from non-frail to frail state in women was significantly associated with the lowest cognitive function values. We recommend early interventions and prevention strategies in older adults to help ameliorate or slow down both frailty and cognitive function decline.

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Food Insecurity in the United States: Identification, Treatment, and Implications

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2791 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 772-773

Author(s):

Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili ◽

Connie Bales ◽

Julie Locher

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Older Adults ◽

At Risk ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

Health Clinic ◽

High Risk Population ◽

Geriatric Syndrome ◽

The Impact

Abstract Food insecurity is an under-recognized geriatric syndrome that has extensive implications in the overall health and well-being of older adults. Understanding the impact of food insecurity in older adults is a first step in identifying at-risk populations and provides a framework for potential interventions in both hospital and community-based settings. This symposium will provide an overview of current prevalence rates of food insecurity using large population-based datasets. We will present a summary indicator that expands measurement to include the functional and social support limitations (e.g., community disability, social isolation, frailty, and being homebound), which disproportionately impact older adults, and in turn their rate and experience of food insecurity and inadequate food access. We will illustrate using an example of at-risk seniors the association between sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and function, with rates of food security in the United States. The translational aspect of the symposium will then focus on identification of psychosocial and environmental risk factors including food insecurity in older veterans preparing for surgery within the Veterans Affairs Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health clinic. Gaining insights into the importance of food insecurity will lay the foundation for an intervention for food insecurity in the deep south. Our discussant will provide an overview of the implications of these results from a public health standpoint. By highlighting the importance of food insecurity, such data can potentially become a framework to allow policy makers to expand nutritional programs as a line of defense against hunger in this high-risk population.

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The Optimal Management of Acute Febrile Encephalopathy in the Aged Patient: A Systematic Review

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1155/2016/5273651 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Fereshte Sheybani ◽

HamidReza Naderi ◽

Sareh Sajjadi

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Mental Status ◽

The Elderly ◽

Altered Mental Status ◽

Cns Infection ◽

Geriatric Syndrome ◽

World Population ◽

Main Process ◽

Optimal Management ◽

Language Restriction

The elderly comprise less than 13 percent of world population. Nonetheless, they represent nearly half of all hospitalized adults. Acute change in mental status from baseline is commonly seen among the elderly even when the main process does not involve the central nervous system. The term “geriatric syndrome” is used to capture those clinical conditions in older people that do not fit into discrete disease categories, including delirium, falls, frailty, dizziness, syncope, and urinary incontinence. Despite the growing number of elderly population, especially those who require hospitalization and the high burden of common infections accompanied by encephalopathy among them, there are several unresolved questions regarding the optimal management they deserve. The questions posed in this systematic review concern the need to rule out CNS infection in all elderly patients presented with fever and altered mental status in the routine management of febrile encephalopathy. In doing so, we sought to identify all potentially relevant articles using searches of web-based databases with no language restriction. Finally, we reviewed 93 research articles that were relevant to each part of our study. No prospective study was found to address how should AFE in the aged be optimally managed.

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Aging clinical problems: a difficult balance between age and frailty

Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease ◽

10.4081/monaldi.2015.727 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 84 (1-2) ◽

Author(s):

Renzo Rozzini

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Weight Loss ◽

Elevated Risk ◽

Geriatric Syndrome ◽

Central Focus ◽

Health Practitioners ◽

And Function ◽

Public Health Practitioners ◽

Clinical Problems

Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome that embodies an elevated risk of catastrophic declines in health and function among older adults. Frailty is a condition associated with ageing with associated weakness, slowing, decreased energy, lower activity, and, when severe, unintended weight loss. As a population ages, a central focus of geriatricians and public health practitioners is to understand, and then beneficially intervene on, the factors and processes that put elders at such risk, especially the increased vulnerability to stressors (e.g. extremes of heat and cold, infection, injury, or even changes in medication) that characterizes many older adults. The syndrome of geriatric frailty is hypothesized to reflect impairments in the regulation of multiple physiologic systems, embodying a lack of resilience to physiologic challenges and thus elevated risk for a range of deleterious endpoints. The empirical assessment of geriatric frailty in individuals seeks to capture this or related features.RiassuntoFragilità è la predisposizione alla rottura, al danno. L’etimologia della parola fragilità da "frango", rompere, rimanda alla nozione di qualche cosa che se sottoposto a una pressione, a un impatto, rischia di danneggiarsi facilmente. E’ dunque una nozione ampia e intuitiva che può avere ambiti di precisazione più diversi a seconda che se ne parli in fisica (dove esistono dei coefficienti esatti) piuttosto che nei campi della morale o del sentimento, dove la valutazione sarà sempre più "poetica" e affidata alla sensibilità individuale.

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I. Geriatric Syndrome and Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment

Nihon Naika Gakkai Zasshi ◽

10.2169/naika.107.2420 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 107 (12) ◽

pp. 2420-2429

Author(s):

Takuma Kimura

Keyword(s):

Geriatric Assessment ◽

Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment ◽

Geriatric Syndrome

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Bridging the Gap: A Mixed Methods Study Investigating Caregiver Integration for People with Geriatric Syndrome

International Journal of Integrated Care ◽

10.5334/ijic.5577 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Isabelle Meulenbroeks ◽

Liz Schroeder ◽

Joanne Epp

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Geriatric Syndrome

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HOW DO COMMUNITY PHYSICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS CLASSIFY FRAILTY? A PILOT STUDY

Journal of Frailty & Aging ◽

10.14283/jfa.2014.32 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 1-4

Author(s):

K.P. ROLAND ◽

O. THEOU ◽

J.M. JAKOBI ◽

L. SWAN ◽

G.R. JONES

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Health ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Frailty Index ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Health Study ◽

Cardiovascular Health Study ◽

Geriatric Syndrome ◽

Dimensional Approach

Background: Frailty is a complex geriatric syndrome that is often difficult to diagnose, especially by healthcare professionals working in the community. Objectives, Measurements: This study examined how physical and occupational therapists classified community-dwelling clients using categories of ‘nonfrail’, ‘prefrail’ or ‘frail’ as compared to measurements of established frailty criteria from the Cardiovascular Health Study frailty index (CHSfi). Results: Results indicate that community therapists underestimate frailty in comparison to the CHSfi. Therapists’ classification of frailty suggested their perceptions of frailty may not only relate to client’s functional capacity, but the context in which the client receives care. Conclusion: A multi-dimensional approach is required to capture all aspects of frailty across the healthcare continuum that accounts for how the client thrives within their personal environment.

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