Effects of Shopping Rehabilitation on Older People’s Daily Activities

In an aged society, the deterioration of physical and cognitive functions is prevalent. To motivate the rehabilitation of older persons, an initiative known as “shopping rehabilitation” incorporates shopping as an element of a nudge. The purpose of this study was to clarify motor function changes and cognitive functions of participants during shopping rehabilitation, through a semi-experimental study. We measured changes in the Kihon Checklist score before and after rehabilitation interventions. A paired t-test was used to analyze changes in the overall score of the basic checklist before and after the rehabilitation intervention. In December 2020, 59 participants answered the Kihon Checklist after their shopping rehabilitation intervention. During the 6-month intervention period, the number of participants with a checklist score of 8 or higher was significantly reduced after the intervention (p = 0.050). In the sub-analysis, the score improved significantly for the group with families (p = 0.050). Improvement was observed in the group living alone, but the difference was not significant (p = 0.428). The shopping rehabilitation intervention improved the Kihon Checklist score. Continuous observations and research are necessary to measure the long-term effects of shopping rehabilitation and the mechanisms that foster their maintenance and effects.

Visual Function and Visual Perception among Senior Citizens with Mild Cognitive Impairment in Taiwan

Purpose: With the benefits of advanced medical technology, Taiwan has gradually changed from an aged society to a super-aged society. According to previous studies, the prevalence rate of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) over the age of 60 is 15% to 20%. Therefore, the main purpose of our study was to analyze the correlation of cognitive function with visual function (specifically, binocular vision and visual perception) in Taiwanese volunteers aged 60 years or older. Methods: Thirty-six healthy participants who were not taking psychiatric medications and who had not been diagnosed with any retinal or optic nerve diseases were enrolled. Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination III (ACE-III), binocular visual function, and visual perception evaluation were performed, and the data analyzed statistically by t-test, χ2, linear regression, and MANOVA. Results: Cognitive function was closely correlated with visual function and visual perception; the horizontal adjustment time of binocular eye movement, stereopsis, the motor-free visual perception test-4 (MVPT-4), and peripheral awareness actually displayed higher explanatory power in predicting cognitive function. In addition, various interactive parameters between visual function and visual perception were found to affect specific aspects of ACE-III. Discussion: Our study revealed that there was a close correlation of cognitive function with visual function; as such, it may be possible to predict visual function deficits in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Racial disparities in hospitalization expenditures of older adults in Singapore

The World Population Prospects 2019 reports that the proportion of people who aged 65 and above takes up 9 per cent globally in 2019, reaching up to 16 per cent by 2050. Asia has the fastest rise: from 1 in 9 people aged 65 and above to 1 in 4 in 2050. Rapid growth in older adults has strong implications for diseases and healthcare expenditure. For Singapore, the transition from ‘ageing society’ (7% seniors) in 1999 to ‘super-aged society’ (20% seniors) in 2026 is projected to take 27 years, much faster than Japan’s 36 years. We used the Singapore Multi-Ethnic Cohort (MEC) of 14,465 subjects aged 21 to 94, and the Future Elderly Model (FEM) microsimulation model to project disease burden and hospitalization expenditures to 2050. We found that Chinese females had the highest life expectancy of 86.0 years, followed by Indian and Malay females with 80.4 and 75.6 years respectively. In all racial groups, women lived longer than men by 5-7 years. Cumulative hospitalization expenditures of older adults aged 51+ was US$69,500 for Chinese, US$67,600 for Malays and US$86,100 for Indians; US$71,200 for males and US$70,700 for females. The increased hospitalization spending for all three ethnic groups was due to the underlying manifestation of chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke. Variations in environmental risk factors such as diet, cigarette smoking and physical activity across ethnic groups may contribute to racial differences in chronic diseases and disability. Therefore, targeted interventions are needed to reduce racial disparities.

Exercising D. melanogaster Modulates the Mitochondrial Proteome and Physiology. The Effect on Lifespan Depends upon Age and Sex

Ageing is a major risk factor for many of the most prevalent diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and heart disease. As the global population continues to age, behavioural interventions that can promote healthy ageing will improve quality of life and relieve the socioeconomic burden that comes with an aged society. Exercise is recognised as an effective intervention against many diseases of ageing, but we do not know the stage in an individual’s lifetime at which exercise is most effective at promoting healthy ageing, and whether or not it has a direct effect on lifespan. We exercised w1118 Drosophila melanogaster, investigating the effects of sex and group size at different stages of their lifetime, and recorded their lifespan. Climbing scores at 30 days were measured to record differences in fitness in response to exercise. We also assessed the mitochondrial proteome of w1118 Drosophila that had been exercised for one week, alongside mitochondrial respiration measured using high-resolution respirometry, to determine changes in mitochondrial physiology in response to exercise. We found that age-targeted exercise interventions improved the lifespan of both male and female Drosophila, and grouped males exercised in late life had improved climbing scores when compared with those exercised throughout their entire lifespan. The proteins of the electron transport chain were significantly upregulated in expression after one week of exercise, and complex-II-linked respiration was significantly increased in exercised Drosophila. Taken together, our findings provide a basis to test specific proteins, and complex II of the respiratory chain, as important effectors of exercise-induced healthy ageing.

Exercising D. melanogaster Modulates the Mitochondrial Proteome and Physiology - The Effect on Lifespan Depends Upon Age and Sex

Ageing is a major risk factor for many of the most prevalent diseases, including neurodegenerative disease, cancer and heart disease. As the global population continues to age, behavioural interventions that can promote healthy ageing will improve quality of life and relieve the socio-economic burden that comes with an aged society. Exercise is recognised as an effective intervention against many diseases of ageing, but we don’t know the stage in an individual’s lifetime in which exercise is most effective at promoting healthy ageing and whether it has a direct effect on lifespan. We exercised w1118 Drosophila melanogaster, interrogating effects of sex and group size, at different stages of their lifetime and recorded their lifespan. Climbing scores at 30 days were measured to record differences in fitness in response to exercise. We also assessed the mitochondrial proteome of w1118 Drosophila that had been exercised for one week, alongside mitochondrial respiration measured using High-Resolution Respirometry, to determine changes in mitochondrial physiology in response to exercise. We found that age-targeted exercise interventions improve lifespan in male and female Drosophila, and grouped males exercised in late life had improved climbing scores, when compared with those exercised throughout their entire lifespan. The proteins of the electron transport chain were significantly upregulated in expression after one week of exercise, and complex II linked respiration was significantly increased in exercised -Drosophila. Taken together our study provides a basis to test specific proteins and complex II of the respiratory chain as important effectors of exercise induced healthy ageing.

Hemodialysis Initiation in Oldest-Old Patients: A Case Series

With an increase in the number of older adults worldwide, the oldest-old population, defined as individuals over the age of 90, is also growing. Japan is now facing the problem of a “super-aged society” in which over 21% of the population is aged over 65. The oldest-old constituted 1.8% (2.31 million) of the Japanese population in 2019. Such individuals have special health-care needs. In cases of acute or chronic (or both) renal failure in the oldest-old, it becomes difficult to decide whether dialysis should be initiated. The issue is controversial, and there is some debate on whether dialysis should be avoided in elderly people because of their frailty or if it should be initiated to enable them to spend their remaining years with their families by improving their quality of life. Herein, we describe our experience in 4 cases of hemodialysis initiated in patients over the age of 90. In our experience, dialysis enabled them to spend the rest of their lives with their families, which could not have been possible without it. Although further studies are needed, we concluded that oldest-old individuals in good general health could be eligible for and benefit from hemodialysis.

Health Promotion for Older Population in Japan: Importance of Preventive Care and Successful Assisted Living

Japan will face a super-aged society in the near future, in which 40% of the population will be over 65 years of age. However, prolongation of life expectancy is inevitably associated with greater numbers of frail old people who need help or assistance in their daily activities. The percentage of the old-old population in 2020, comprising more frail people compared with the young-old population, exceeded 14% of the total population in Japan. In such a situation, many older Japanese wish to be healthy for their entire life and continue to live in their hometown with a sense of security until the end of their life. Under such circumstances, we should establish a society in which old people can enjoy a healthy, satisfying life through social participation and contribution. In this review article, we discuss about the importance of preventive care and successful assisted living in health promotion policy for older population in Japan, a superaged country.