The Mini Cog had high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing dementia in community dwelling older adults

A simple, short, cheap, and reasonably sensitive and specific screening tool assessing both nutritional and non-nutritional risk factors for sarcopenia is needed. Potentially, such a tool may be the Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment (MSRA) Questionnaire, which is available in a seven-item (MSRA-7) and five-item (MSRA-5) version. The study’s aim was Polish translation and validation of both MSRA versions in 160 volunteers aged ≥60 years. MSRA was validated against the six sets of international diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia used as the reference standards. PL-MSRA-7 and PL-MSRA-5 both had high sensitivity (≥84.9%), regardless of the reference standard. The PL-MSRA-5 had better specificity (44.7–47.2%) than the PL-MSRA-7 (33.1–34.7%). Both questionnaires had similarly low positive predictive value (PL-MSRA-5: 17.9–29.5%; PL-MSRA-7: 14.4–25.2%). The negative predictive value was generally high for both questionnaires (PL-MSRA-7: 89.8–95.9%; PL-MSRA-5: 92.3–98.5%). PL-MSRA-5 had higher accuracy than the PL-MSRA-7 (50.0–55% vs. 39.4–45%, respectively). Based on the results, the Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment questionnaire was successfully adopted to the Polish language and validated in community-dwelling older adults from Poland. When compared with PL-MSRA-7, PL-MSRA-5 is a better tool for sarcopenia risk assessment.

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Validation of the AUDIT and AUDIT-C for Hazardous Drinking in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18179266 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (17) ◽

pp. 9266

Author(s):

Yannic van Gils ◽

Erik Franck ◽

Eva Dierckx ◽

Sebastiaan P. J. van Alphen ◽

John B. Saunders ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Sensitivity And Specificity ◽

Roc Curves ◽

Hazardous Drinking ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Operating Characteristics ◽

Identification Test ◽

Alcohol Behavior ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽

Older Men And Women

Background: One of the best-known tools in screening for hazardous drinking is the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and its abbreviated form, the AUDIT-C. The aim of the present study is to determine the cut-offs of both instruments in identifying hazardous drinking in older adults. Method: A sample of 1577 older adults completed a questionnaire regarding alcohol behavior. Hazardous drinking was defined as drinking >10 units/week. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves of AUDIT and AUDIT-C were calculated and cut-off scores were derived. Results: Respectively 27.3% and 12.3% of older men and women drank >10 units/week. For the AUDIT the best trade-off between sensitivity and specificity was using a cut-off of ≥5 for men and ≥4 for women, which yielded in men sensitivity and specificity values respectively of 80.7% and 81.3% and in women 100% and 71.7%, respectively. We found the AUDIT-C to perform well with an optimal cut-off of ≥5 for men and ≥4 for women, which generated in men sensitivity and specificity values respectively of 76.5% and 85.3% and in women 100% and 74.1%, respectively. Conclusion: The AUDIT-C is accurate and sufficient in screening for hazardous drinking in community-dwelling older adults if the cut-offs are tailored by gender.

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Validation and Screening Capacity of the European Portuguese Version of the SUNFRAIL Tool for Community-Dwelling Older Adults

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041394 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1394

Author(s):

Ana Filipa Cardoso ◽

Elzbieta Bobrowicz-Campos ◽

Luísa Teixeira-Santos ◽

Daniela Cardoso ◽

Filipa Couto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Sensitivity And Specificity ◽

Internal Consistency ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Screening Tools ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Portuguese Version ◽

European Portuguese ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

Early detection of frailty may prevent or delay adverse health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults. In Portugal, there are currently no valid multidimensional frailty screening tools. SUNFRAIL is a user-friendly multidimensional tool for frailty screening that can be used in primary care. Aims: (i) to determine the validity and reliability of the European Portuguese version of the SUNFRAIL tool for use in community-dwelling older adults; (ii) to assess the screening capacity of this version of SUNFRAIL using Fried’s phenotypic model criteria for frailty as a reference test. Methods: Cross-sectional pilot study in a convenience sample of 128 community-dwelling older adults. Objective and subjective data were collected. Internal consistency, concurrent validity, sensitivity, and specificity (ROC curve analysis) were examined. Results: Internal consistency was low. Significant moderate to strong correlations were found between different domains and the total score. The differences between robust, pre-frail, and frail older adults were significant. SUNFRAIL was also correlated with multimorbidity. Sensitivity and specificity were satisfactory. Conclusions: The European Portuguese version of the SUNFRAIL tool is a promising frailty screening tool for community-dwelling older adults to be routinely used in clinical practice. However, more consistent results on its validity and reliability are needed to be used nationwide.

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