scholarly journals Vitamin E status and quality of life in the elderly: influence of inflammatory processes

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (10) ◽  
pp. 1390-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucile Capuron ◽  
Aurélie Moranis ◽  
Nicole Combe ◽  
Florence Cousson-Gélie ◽  
Dietmar Fuchs ◽  
...  

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a characteristic of ageing that may lead to alterations in health status and quality of life. In addition to intrinsic biological factors, recent data suggest that poor nutritional habits may largely contribute to this condition. The present study aimed at assessing mental and physical components of quality of life and at determining their relationship to vitamin E status, inflammation and tryptophan (TRP) metabolism in the elderly. Sixty-nine elderly subjects recruited from the Three-City cohort study participated in the study. Quality of life was assessed using the medical outcomes study thirty-six-item short-form health survey (SF-36). Biological assays included the measurement of plasma vitamin E (α-tocopherol), inflammatory markers, including IL-6 and C-reactive protein, and TRP metabolism. Results showed that participants with poor physical health status, as assessed by the SF-36, exhibited lower circulating concentrations of α-tocopherol together with increased concentrations of inflammatory markers. Similarly, poor mental health scores on the SF-36 were associated with lower concentrations of α-tocopherol, but also with decreased concentrations of TRP. These findings indicate that nutritional status, notably as it relates to vitamin E, is associated with immune function and quality of life in the elderly.

Author(s):  
Deise Aparecida de Almeida Pires-Oliveira ◽  
André Wilson Oliveira Gil ◽  
Laís Campos De Oliveira ◽  
Felipe Micheletti Bento ◽  
Camila Silva Tomioto Mendes ◽  
...  

Introduction: Old age brings several factors that alter the physiological system, which results in loss of functionality in the elderly. Falls are a leading cause of death in this population or activity restrictions, social isolation, decline in health and increased risk of institutionalization. The quality of life in old age is a major challenge, it is necessary for improvement in all aspects of daily. Analyze physical exercise on quality of life of older physically active drives to see how exercise influences the improvement of the basic aspects to a healthier life, referring to physical and mental aspects of the elderly, prevention of the consequences arising from the process natural aging, such as falls. Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze quality of life in elderly practitioners of physical activity and relationship with risk of falls. Method: The sample was 84 seniors, recruited from the community of Londrina PR, physical activity practitioners, aged over 60 years who roam with or without assistive device, of both sexes . The evaluation was through structured questionnaires that focused on socioeconomic - demographic questionnaire falls which was used the Timed Up and Go (TUGT), analysis of quality of life (SF-36) and analysis of the risk of falls. Results: In relationship the anthropometrics characteristics of elderly subjects analyzed, the same presentation mean age 68 years, weight 63.5 kg, height 1.52, and body mass index 27.10. Was regarding correlation between TUGT and falls in the last year (P=0,048) e correlation between TUGT and Physicals Components of SF-36 (P=0,001), and was regarding that elderly with better scores in TUGT were better scores of Physical Components of SF-36 (P=0,003). Conclusion: The quality of life is directly linked to the physical condition of the elderly, elderly practicing physical exercises have a better quality of life and less prone to falls.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Xie ◽  
Sean Fournier ◽  
Susan Hiller ◽  
Joyce Oen Hsiao ◽  
Rachel P Dreyer

Introduction: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an evidence-based program to improve secondary prevention outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lower health-related quality of life is a known risk factor for worse CVD outcomes. We examined the effects of a patient-driven appointment-based CR program on health-related quality of life. Methods: We utilized data from the Yale New-Haven Health (YNHH) CR program over a 6-year period (2012-2017). Data was collected on patient demographics, clinical characteristics and socioeconomic status. The Medical Outcome Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-36) was used to measure general health status. We evaluated SF-36 score changes pre and post CR with paired T-tests and conducted logistic regression analysis to examine predictors of improvements in health-related quality of life. Results: Over the 6-year study period, a total of 2,135 patients (27.9% women, mean age 65±12 years) were enrolled in the CR program. Patients demonstrated significant improvements in both the SF-36 physical, mental and health transition components (P<0.001) (Table) . In particular, patients had significant improvement in the social functioning domain (measures limitations patients see in their ability to participate in social activities due to physical/emotional issues), with an increase of 23.3 points out of 100. Physician-reported patient stress and/or depression on intake medical exam were significant negative predictors for improvement in the total SF-36 score (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.08-0.80, P=0.021), with the effect driven largely by its impact on the physical component of SF-36 (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.09-0.83, P=0.022). Conclusion: We demonstrated that a novel appointment-based CR program produced improvements in patient-reported health-related quality of life. Appointment-based CR could be a viable alternative for patients who prefer more scheduling flexibility, to optimize health status improvement and CVD outcomes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
Retno Wahyuningsih ◽  
Darmono SS ◽  
Ani Margawati

Background: Infectious disease remains a health problem for the elderly. The elderly are susceptible to infection,because the body's ability to fight infection decreases immunity. The immune status can be improved through the effortsof immunization, and nutrition. However the elderly are not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of food, so probioticcould support nutritional adequacy.Objective: Analyze the effect of probiotic Lactobacillus helveticus Rosell-52 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus Rosell-11 onlevels of lymphocytes in the elderly in Tresna Elderly Social Institution Puspakarma Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara.Methods: This was quasi-experimental study, randomized pre-post control group design. The population is elderly aged60-75 years, involving 45 subjects were divided randomly into two groups, namely the treatment groups givenprobiotics and the control group was given a placebo. Probiotics were given for 4 weeks, with the provision of onecapsule a day. Immunity status in this study was lymphocytes. Data examined included the intake of nutrients (protein,vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, Fe, Zn), health status, quality of sleep, and levels of lymphocytes in the elderly. Datawere analyzed using bivariate with different test Independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman, Pearson,and Paired t-test.Results: Increasing number of lymphocytes were significantly in the treatment group (χ ± SD: 1.84 ± 1.85) and in thecontrol group (0.95 ± 5.0). There is no relationship between intake (protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, Fe, Zink),physical health status, and quality of sleep with levels of lymphocytes.Conclusion: Probiotics in 4 weeks is proven to increase the number of lymphocytes in the elderly.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1353-1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehud Bodner ◽  
Sara Cohen-Fridel

ABSTRACTBackground: This study is the first to explore the relations between attachment styles, ageism, and quality of life (QoL) among elderly people. The attachment theory describes how human beings relate to each other, according to their attachment style. Previous studies have examined the connection between attachment styles and prejudice toward distinctive social groups and minorities. Ageism as a form of prejudice is a way of relating negatively to people because they are old. QoL among the elderly was found to be associated with negative age-perceptions. It was therefore hypothesized that QoL, attachments styles, and demographic characteristics can explain ageism among the elderly.Methods: Four questionnaires were administered: Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA), which comprises four scales (separation, affective, stereotype, and intergeneration); Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, which measures four attachment styles (secure, dismissive, fearful, and preoccupied); SF-36 health status inventory (eight scales); and sociodemographic questions. Ninety-four elderly men and women aged 64–85 years living in the community completed the questionnaires.Results: MANCOVAS indicated that securely attached individuals score higher on separation than fearfully attached individuals, and that securely and dismissively attached individuals score higher than fearful and preoccupied individuals on seven QoL scales. Multiple regression analyses showed that attachment styles, age, gender, and some QoL scales contribute to the explained variance of ageism.Conclusions: Secure attachment in late life seems to be related to less ageism and a better QoL. The enhancement of a secure attachment base in elderly people may assist in moderating ageism and improving older people's QoL.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille L. Hancock Friesen ◽  
Mark Robertson ◽  
David Liu ◽  
Haley Burton ◽  
Katherine Fleming ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundCanadian Cardiovascular Society consensus guidelines recommend that tetralogy of Fallot patients be seen by a congenital cardiologist every 2 years. In Atlantic Canada, tetralogy of Fallot patients are followed up at either tertiary or satellite clinics, which are held in the community and attended by paediatric cardiologists. The effectiveness of satellite clinics in congenital cardiac disease follow-up is unproven. Our objective was to compare patient-reported quality of life measures to determine whether these were impacted by the site of follow-up.MethodsWe included patients with tetralogy of Fallot undergoing surgical repair at the Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre from 1 November, 1972 to 31 May, 2002. Quality of life surveys, SF-10 or SF-36v2, were administered to consenting patients. We analysed the subjective health status by patient age and site of follow-up.ResultsOf the 184 eligible patients, 72 were lost to follow-up. Of the locatable patients, 61% completed the questionnaires. In all, 90% (101 out of 112) were followed up at recommended intervals. Of the 112 (68%) patients, 76 were followed up at a tertiary clinic. These patients were older, with a mean age of 18.4 years versus 14.7 years, and scored higher on the SF-36 physical component summary (52.6 versus 45.7, p = 0.02) compared with satellite clinic patients. The SF-36 mental component summary scores were similar for patients regardless of the site of follow-up. SF-10 physical and psychosocial scores were similar regardless of the site of follow-up.ConclusionTetralogy of Fallot patients followed at either satellite or tertiary clinics have similar subjective health status.


2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Affini Borsoi Tamai ◽  
Sergio Márcio Pacheco Paschoal ◽  
Julio Litvoc ◽  
Adriana Nunes Machado ◽  
Pedro Kallas Curiati ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the effect on quality of life of elderly people enrolled in GAMIA – Multidisciplinary Care Group to Outpatient Elderly Subjects (Grupo de Assistência Multidisciplinar ao Idoso Ambulatorial) of the Geriatric Department, Hospital das Clinicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo. Methods: Between 2000 and 2002, 83 elderly participants of GAMIA were assessed by the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-bref) at the beginning and the end of the program. Functionality was assessed by Katz and Lawton scales and sociodemographic data were obtained from medical charts. Results: Females predominated (79.5%) and overall mean age was 69.30 years. Data analysis showed a reduction in the physical domain of WHOQOL-bref (p = 0.014) and increased psychological health and environment domains (p = 0.029 and p = 0.007, respectively), detecting a trend of increase in social relationships and in general domains (p = 0.062 and p = 0.052, respectively). Conclusions: The clinical evaluation of the elderly detected previously unknown diseases and determination of the use of new drugs, which might have been the predominant factor for the deterioration of their perception in the physical domain. Improvement in psychological health and the environment can be related to psychological and social support that the elderly received from peers and professionals and the benefits of group activities, as well as the upward trend observed in social relationships and general domains. Participation in a program to promote healthy aging was effective in improving the quality of life of the elderly.


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