scholarly journals Anthropometric characteristics of healthy Italian nonagenarians and centenarians

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Ravaglia ◽  
Pietro Morini ◽  
Paola Forti ◽  
Fabiola Maioli ◽  
Federica Boschi ◽  
...  

Available anthropometric reference values for elderly people do not include specific norms for over-90-year-old subjects despite their increasing number. In the present study, weight, height and a number of anthropometric variables related to body muscle and fat mass were collected from fifty-seven nonagenarian and forty-one centenarian healthy, non-institutionalized subjects living in an Italian area. Recumbent anthropometry was used to avoid errors associated with impaired mobility. Nonagenarians and centenarian men were taller and heavier than women of corresponding age and had a greater amount of muscle and trunk fat, whereas women showed a marked peripheral adipose distribution. Anthropometric values of both age-groups were generally lower than published norms for 70–89-year-old American and European elderly people. However, differences were less marked when comparing Italian nonagenarians and centenarians with French and British people aged 85 years and over than when comparing Italian subjects with American octogenarians and younger European elderly people. Taken together these findings suggest a dramatic loss of muscle and fat mass in over-90-year-old subjects with respect to younger elderly people. However, changes between successive generations and geographical influences cannot be excluded. The need for local and age-specific norms in nutritional assessment of over-90-year-old people is emphasized. It is also suggested that current anthropometric indices may not be reliable when evaluating the oldest elderly subjects.

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Navin Suthahar ◽  
Laura M. G. Meems ◽  
Coenraad Withaar ◽  
Thomas M. Gorter ◽  
Lyanne M. Kieneker ◽  
...  

AbstractBody-mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio are commonly used anthropometric indices of adiposity. However, over the past 10 years, several new anthropometric indices were developed, that more accurately correlated with body fat distribution and total fat mass. They include relative fat mass (RFM), body-roundness index (BRI), weight-adjusted-waist index and body-shape index (BSI). In the current study, we included 8295 adults from the PREVEND (Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-Stage Disease) observational cohort (the Netherlands), and sought to examine associations of novel as well as established adiposity indices with incident heart failure (HF). The mean age of study population was 50 ± 13 years, and approximately 50% (n = 4134) were women. Over a 11 year period, 363 HF events occurred, resulting in an overall incidence rate of 3.88 per 1000 person-years. We found that all indices of adiposity (except BSI) were significantly associated with incident HF in the total population (P < 0.001); these associations were not modified by sex (P interaction > 0.1). Amongst adiposity indices, the strongest association was observed with RFM [hazard ratio (HR) 1.67 per 1 SD increase; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37–2.04]. This trend persisted across multiple age groups and BMI categories, and across HF subtypes [HR: 1.76, 95% CI 1.26–2.45 for HF with preserved ejection fraction; HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.25–2.06 for HF with reduced ejection fraction]. We also found that all adiposity indices (except BSI) improved the fit of a clinical HF model; improvements were, however, most evident after adding RFM and BRI (reduction in Akaike information criteria: 24.4 and 26.5 respectively). In conclusion, we report that amongst multiple anthropometric indicators of adiposity, RFM displayed the strongest association with HF risk in Dutch community dwellers. Future studies should examine the value of including RFM in HF risk prediction models.


Author(s):  
Vida Vakili ◽  
Ali Taghipour ◽  
Ehsan Mosa Farkhani ◽  
Hamid Reza Bahrami ◽  
Behnaz Beygi ◽  
...  

Introduction: Falling is one of the most common problems of the elderly people with a multi factorial nature and frequent cases. This study aimed to determine the risk factors of falls in old people covered by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This retrospective case-control study was conducted on 15,600 elderly participants. Data were extracted from Sina Electronic Health Record System (SinaEHR®, Iran). The obtained data were analyzed using STATA through odds ratio formula. Results: Risk factors of falls in the elderly subjects included age, fear of falling, higher body mass index, diabetes, anemia, gastrointestinal problems, hypothyroidism, use of sedatives, and smoking, after adjusting the potentially confounding effects of other variables. Conclusion: The current study provides evidence that patient-related factor such as diabetes, anemia, hypothyroidism and smoking are associated with falls in the elderly. The results of the present research can be used by health policy-makers to reduce fall-related costs of the old people by focusing on care services and high-risk individuals.


2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 949-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su-Mei Xiao ◽  
Shu-Feng Lei ◽  
Xiang-Ding Chen ◽  
Man-Yuan Liu ◽  
Wei-Xia Jian ◽  
...  

To increase our understanding of the relationships of trunk fat mass (FMtrunk) and four anthropometric indices in Chinese males, 1090 males aged 20–40 years were randomly recruited from the city of Changsha, China. Waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were measured using standardized equipment, and three other anthropometric indices of BMI, waist:hip ratio (WHR) and conicity index (CoI) were calculated using weight, height, HC and WC. FMtrunk (in kg) was measured using a Hologic QDR 4500 W dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanner. There was an increasing trend of FMtrunk, %FMtrunk (percentage of FMtrunk) and BMI, WC, WHR, CoI in successively older age groups (e.g. the mean FMtrunk values were 4·63 (sd 2·58), 5·39 (sd 2·74), 5·93 (sd 2·82), 6·57 (sd 2·94) in four 5-year age groups, respectively). FMtrunk and %FMtrunk were significantly correlated with four anthropometric indices with the Pearson's correlation coefficients ranging from 0·25 to 0·86. Principal component analysis was performed to form three principal components that interpreted over 99·5% of the total variation of four related anthropometric indices in all age groups, with over 65% of the total variation accounted by principal component 1. Multiple regression analyses showed that three principal components explained a greater variance (R2 70·0–80·1%) in FMtrunk than did BMI or WC alone (R2 57·8–74·1%). The present results suggest that there is an increasing trend of FMtrunk and four anthropometric indices in successively older age groups; that age has important effects on the relationships of FMtrunk and studied anthropometric indices; and that the accuracy of predicting FMtrunk using four anthropometric indices is higher than using BMI or WC alone.


2021 ◽  
pp. 219256822198964
Author(s):  
Siyu Zhou ◽  
Zhuoran Sun ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Da Zou ◽  
Weishi Li

Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Objective: To provide the age- and pelvic incidence-related variations of sagittal alignment in asymptomatic Chinese population. Methods: This study recruited asymptomatic adult subjects. All subjects undertook the standing whole spinal radiograph and the sagittal parameters were measured: sagittal vertical axis (SVA), T1 pelvic angle (TPA), lumbar lordosis (LL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), pelvic incidence (PI) and pelvic tilt (PT). All subjects were divided into young, middle aged and elderly groups, then each age group was further divided into 5 subgroups (very low, low, average, high and very high) based on PI values. The relations between PI, age and other parameters were evaluated. The differences in sagittal parameters of each PI subgroup were compared. Results: 546 subjects were included with an average age of 38.6 years (18 to 81). The number of subjects over 70 years and with very low PI was relatively small. The average of PI, TPA, PT and LL were 45.9° ± 8.4°, 6.4° ± 6.2°, 11.9° ± 6.6° and 49.2° ± 10.1°, respectively. SVA, TPA, TK and PT increased with age ( P < 0.05), while SVA, TPA, PT, PI-LL also increased with PI ( P < 0.05). LL, PT, TPA, PI-LL and LL-TK were different among the 5 PI subgroups ( P < 0.05). However, the values of LL in elderly subjects with high and very high PI were similar. Conclusion: The age- and PI-related variations in sagittal alignment of Chinese population were provided. The sagittal parameters were significantly influenced by age and PI. The individual pelvic morphology should be carefully considered during the assessment and restoration of sagittal balance.


Author(s):  
Irena Carpentier Reifova ◽  
Sylvie Fišerová

This article proposes a theoretical framework for studying new media and its use by elderly people in risk society. Old people and their practices of new media use are discussed in light of the concepts of age cohort, generation and media generation. The article detects homology between individualization (a backbone of the second modernity as defined by Ulrich Beck) in the management of new risks and operation of new media language. Consequently, the concept of “double individualization of responsibility” is coined and connection is made to the effects of new media and new risks on ontological security. The argument is taken further onto the ground of critical gerontology, which claims that individual decision-making and fluidity of the second modernity is a source of insecurity and anxiety mainly for the old people. The article eventually presents the area of e-health as a research field for further exploration of how old people experience autonomy, individual decision making, and the absence of (or conflict with) external authority while dealing with the health risks on-line.


2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 289-300
Author(s):  
Lærke Taudorf ◽  
Ane Nørgaard ◽  
Gunhild Waldemar ◽  
Thomas Munk Laursen

Background: It remains unclear whether the increased focus on improving healthcare and providing appropriate care for people with dementia has affected mortality. Objective: To assess survival and to conduct a time trend analysis of annual mortality rate ratios (MRR) of dementia based on healthcare data from an entire national population. Methods: We assessed survival and annual MRR in all residents of Denmark ≥65 years from 1996–2015 using longitudinal registry data on dementia status and demographics. For comparison, mortality and survival were calculated for acute ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cancer. Results: The population comprised 1,999,366 people (17,541,315 person years). There were 165,716 people (529,629 person years) registered with dementia, 131,321 of whom died. From 1996–2015, the age-adjusted MRR for dementia declined (women: 2.76 to 2.05; men: 3.10 to 1.99) at a similar rate to elderly people without dementia. The sex-, age-, and calendar-year-adjusted MRR was 2.91 (95%CI: 2.90–2.93) for people with dementia. MRR declined significantly more for acute IHD and cancer. In people with dementia, the five-year survival for most age-groups was at a similar level or lower as that for acute IHD and cancer. Conclusion: Although mortality rates declined over the 20-year period, MRR stayed higher for people with dementia, while the MRR gap, compared with elderly people without dementia, remained unchanged. For the comparison, during the same period, the MRR gap narrowed between people with and without acute IHD and cancer. Consequently, initiatives for improving health and decreasing mortality in dementia are still highly relevant.


1994 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope J. Neild ◽  
Denise Syndercombe-Court ◽  
W. R. Keatinge ◽  
G. C. Donaldson ◽  
M. Mattock ◽  
...  

1. Six elderly (66-71 years) and six young (20-23 years) subjects (half of each group women) were cooled for 2 h in moving air at 18°C to investigate possible causes of increased mortality from arterial thrombosis among elderly people in cold weather. Compared with thermoneutral control experiments, skin temperature (trunk) fell from 35.5 to 29.5°C, with little change in core temperature. 2. Erythrocyte count rose in the cold from 4.29 to 4.69 × 1012/l, without a change in mean corpuscular volume, indicating a 14% or 438 ml decline in plasma volume; increased excretion of water, Na+ and K+ accounted for loss of only 179 ml of extracellular water. 3. Plasma cholesterol and fibrinogen concentrations rose in the elderly subjects from 4.9 mmol/l and 2.97 g/l (control) to 5.45 mmol/l and 3.39 g/l in the cold, and in the young subjects from 3.33 mmol/l and 1.84 g/l (control) to 3.77 mmol/l and 2.07 g/l in the cold. Increases were significant for the elderly subjects, the young subjects and the group as a whole, except for cholesterol in the young subjects, and all were close to those expected from the fall in plasma volume. 4. Plasma levels of Protein C and factor X did not increase significantly in the cold in the elderly subjects, young subjects, or the group as a whole. 5. The results suggest that loss of plasma fluid in the cold concentrates major risk factors for arterial thrombosis, while small molecules, including protective Protein C, redistribute to interstitial fluid.


1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-205
Author(s):  
L.L. Borger ◽  
S.L. Whitney ◽  
M.S. Redfern ◽  
J.M. Furman

Postural sway during stance has been found to be sensitive to moving visual scenes in young adults, children, and those with vestibular disease. The effect of visual environments on balance in elderly individuals is relatively unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare postural sway responses of healthy elderly to those of young subjects when both groups were exposed to a moving visual scene. Peak to peak, root mean squared, and mean velocity of the center of pressure were analyzed under conditions combining four moving scene amplitudes ( 2 . 5 ∘ , 5 ∘ , 7 . 5 ∘ , 10 ∘ ) and two frequencies of scene movement (0.1 Hz, 0.25 Hz). Each visual condition was tested with a fixed floor and sway referenced platform. Results showed that elderly subjects swayed more than younger subjects when experiencing a moving visual scene under all conditions. The elderly were affected more than the young by sway referencing the platform. The differences between the two age groups were greater at increased amplitudes of scene movement. These results suggest that elderly are more influenced by dynamic visual information for balance than the young, particularly when cues from the ankles are altered.


Author(s):  
Natalia Pavlovna Ganyukova ◽  
Victoria Pavlovna Gladenkova ◽  
Marina Georgievna Popova

The article aims the evaluation of various aspects of the physical development of the subject based on measuring his anthropometric characteristics, the morphofunctional indicators describing various aspects of his physical development in order to form training tasks of the physical development of the subject. The correlation between anthropometric indices and body component composition of young males is given in the form of a diagram. There have been considered indexes allowing a comprehensive assessment of the morphofunctional state of the subject. All indices are divided into two groups: indices whose values are monitored in the continuous mode (15 indices), and indices whose values are monitored at the beginning and at the end of each stage of a training course or at the end of the entire course (6 indices). A formula for integral indicator is also given, it characterizes the morphofunctional condition of the subject. The general functional diagram of the decision support system in the provision of services for sport and physical development of the subject is also given. The question of necessary correcting training tasks based on evaluating current values of morphofunctional parameters of the subject is the general problem of the decision-making process for persons providing services on sport and physical development. Software implementation of the suggested scheme will become a reliable means of significant improvement of the effectiveness of decisions made in the process of providing services and make the training process more adequate to the goals


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-220
Author(s):  
Syam'ani Syam'ani

The population of the population in the world is increasing day by day. One of the age groups that have a significant increase in the elderly group. Projections and data found about the elderly are a concern that is of interest to the whole world because along with the increase in population it is accompanied by physical and psychological problems that accompany it. This study aims to identify factors that affect depression in retired elderly people. The design used in this study uses a research design: "CROSS-SECTIONAL". In this study, the population is elderly retirees who live in the area of Jekan Raya Subdistrict, Palangka Raya City. The sampling technique in this study uses consecutive sampling technique, which is the best type of non-probability sampling, that is, all objects that come sequentially and meet the selection criteria are included in the study until the number of subjects needed is fulfilled, namely as many as 100 people. The results showed that there was no significant relationship between sex (p: 0.671), employment status (p: 0.994), marital status (p: 0.726), education (p: 0.988), and the level of depression in retired civil servants in Jekan Subdistrict Raya Kota Palangka Raya. This research is expected to contribute positively to the management of elderly people with depression so that they are able to adapt to changes that occur due to the aging process.


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