Complementary medicine use by community-dwelling older Australians.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Lefevre A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8754473 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BACKGROUND: Foot problems are common in older people and are associated with impaired mobility and quality of life. However, the characteristics of foot problems in older Australians for whom English is a second language have not been evaluated. METHODS: One hundred and four community-dwelling people aged 64 to 90 years with disabling foot pain (according to the case definition of the Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index, or MFPDI) were recruited from four Greek elderly citizens clubs in Melbourne, Australia. All participants completed a Greek language questionnaire consisting of general medical history, the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire, the MFPDI, and specific questions relating to foot problems and podiatry service utilisation. In addition, all participants underwent a brief clinical foot assessment. RESULTS: The MFPDI score ranged from 1 to 30 (median 14), out of a total possible score of 34. Women had significantly higher total MFPDI scores and MFPDI subscale scores. The MFPDI total score and subscale scores were significantly associated with most of the SF-36 subscale scores. The most commonly reported foot problem was difficulty finding comfortable shoes (38%), and the most commonly observed foot problem was the presence of hyperkeratotic lesions (29%). Only 13% of participants were currently receiving podiatry treatment, and 40% stated that they required more help looking after their feet. Those who reported difficulty finding comfortable shoes were more likely to be female, and those who required more help looking after their feet were more likely to be living alone and have osteoarthritis in their knees or back. CONCLUSIONS: Foot problems appear to be common in older Greek Australians, have a greater impact on women, and are associated with reduced health-related quality of life. These findings are broadly similar to previous studies in English-speaking older people in Australia. However, only a small proportion of this sample was currently receiving podiatry treatment, and a substantial number stated that they required more help looking after their feet. To address this issue, steps need to be taken to increase awareness of podiatry services among older Greek Australians.
| S-EPMC3212908 | biostudies-other
Project description:IntroductionIt is not known to what extent medication use has been comprehensively assessed in prospective cohort studies of older Australians. Understanding the varying methods to assess medication use is necessary to establish comparability and to understand the opportunities for pharmacoepidemiological analysis. The objective of this review was to compare and contrast how medication-related data have been collected in prospective cohorts of community-dwelling older Australians.MethodsMEDLINE and EMBASE (1990-2014) were systematically searched to identify prospective cohorts of ≥1000 older participants that commenced recruitment after 1990. The data collection tools used to assess medication use in each cohort were independently examined by two investigators using a structured approach.ResultsThirteen eligible cohorts were included. Baseline medication use was assessed in participant self-completed surveys (n = 3), by an investigator inspecting medications brought to a clinic interview (n = 7), and by interviewing participants in their home (n = 3). Five cohorts sought participant consent to access administrative claims data. Six cohorts used multiple methods to assess medication use across one or more study waves. All cohorts assessed medication use at baseline and 12 cohorts in follow-up waves. Twelve cohorts recorded prescription medications by trade or generic name; 12 cohorts recorded medication strength; and 9 recorded the daily medication dose in at least one wave of the cohort. Seven cohorts asked participants about their "current" medication use without providing a definition of "current"; and nine cohorts asked participants to report medication use over recall periods ranging from 1-week to 3-months in at least one wave of the cohort. Sixty-five original publications, that reported the prevalence or outcomes of medication use, in the 13 cohorts were identified (median = 3, range 1-21).ConclusionThere has been considerable variability in the assessment of medication use within and between cohorts. This may limit the comparability of medication data collected in these cohorts.
| S-EPMC4409061 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVES:To understand patterns of marijuana use in community-dwelling older adults in Colorado. DESIGN:Anonymous survey. SETTING:Two academic geriatric primary care clinics. PARTICIPANTS:English-speaking individuals. MEASUREMENTS:We assessed self-reported characteristics and patterns of marijuana use and effect on targeted symptoms. Survey analysis focused on current users, defined as individuals who had used marijuana in the past 3 years. RESULTS:Three hundred forty-five individuals completed the survey (55% response rate); 113 (32%) had used marijuana in the past, of whom 55 (16%) had used since legalization. More than half of current users were aged 75 and older, and one-quarter were aged 85 and older. Most current users were white women. Of current users, 44% used marijuana products at least weekly for common conditions including chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and insomnia, and most found marijuana helpful for these conditions. Most respondents reported obtaining marijuana recreationally (67%) without a prescription. Nine respondents reported negative side effects attributable to marijuana use. CONCLUSION:To our knowledge, this is the first study to characterize marijuana use of older adults in a state in which it is legal for medical and recreational use. Marijuana was used for several common geriatric conditions, and respondents reported few side effects. The small number of survey respondents, the lack of generalizability in states where marijuana sales are illegal, and participation bias were the main study limitations. Further research is needed to better understand useful or harmful effects in this population. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:2167-2171, 2018.
| S-EPMC6476562 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo examine the determinants of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use.Data sources/study settingU.S. nationally representative data on (n = 16,588) noninstitutionalized older adults (age ≥65) with drug use from the 2006-2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.Study designWe operationalized the 2012 Beers Criteria to identify PIM use during the year, and we examined associations with individual-level characteristics hypothesized to be quality enabling or related to need complexity.Principal findingsAlmost one-third (30.9 percent) of older adults used a PIM. Multivariate results suggest that poor health status and high-PIM-risk conditions were associated with increased PIM use, while increasing age and educational attainment were associated with lower PIM use. Contrary to expectations, lack of a usual care source of care or supplemental insurance was associated with lower PIM use. Medication intensity appears to be in the pathway between both quality-enabling and need-complexity characteristics and PIM use.ConclusionOur results suggest that physicians attempt to avoid PIM use in the oldest old but have inadequate focus on the high-PIM-risk conditions. Educational programs targeted to physician practice regarding high-PIM-risk conditions and patient literacy regarding medication use are potential responses.
| S-EPMC5517671 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND: In the many descriptive studies on prescribed psychotropic drug use by community-dwelling older persons, several sociodemographic and other factors associated with drug use receive inconsistent support. METHOD: Empirical reports with data on at least benzodiazepine or antidepressant drug use in samples of older persons published between 1990 and 2001 (n = 32) were identified from major databases and analyzed to determine which factors are most frequently associated with psychotropic drug use in multivariate analyses. Methodological aspects were also examined. RESULTS: Most reports used probability samples of users and non-users and employed cross-sectional designs. Among variables considered in 5 or more reports, race, proximity to health centers, medical consultations, sleep complaints, and health perception were virtually always associated to drug use. Gender, mental health, and physical health status were associated in about two-thirds of reports. Associations with age, marital status, medication coverage, socioeconomic status, and social support were usually not observed. CONCLUSIONS: The large variety of methods to operationalize drug use, mental health status, and social support probably affected the magnitude of observed relationships. Employing longitudinal designs and distinguishing short-term from long-term use, focusing on samples of drug users exclusively, defining drug use and drug classes more uniformly, and utilizing measures of psychological well-being rather than only of distress, might clarify the nature of observed associations and the direction of causality. Few studies tested specific hypotheses. Most studies focused on individual characteristics of respondents, neglecting the potential contribution of health care professionals to the phenomenon of psychotropic drug use among seniors.
| S-EPMC514897 | biostudies-other
Project description:The presence of olfactory dysfunction in individuals at higher risk of Alzheimer's disease has significant diagnostic and screening implications for preventive and ameliorative drug trials. Olfactory threshold, discrimination and identification can be reliably recorded in the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases. The current study has examined the ability of various olfactory functions in predicting cognitive decline in a community-dwelling sample. A group of 308 participants, aged 46-86 years old, were recruited for this study. After 3 years of follow-up, participants were divided into cognitively declined and non-declined groups based on their performance on a neuropsychological battery. Assessment of olfactory functions using the Sniffin' Sticks battery indicated that, contrary to previous findings, olfactory discrimination, but not olfactory identification, significantly predicted subsequent cognitive decline (odds ratio = 0.869; P<0.05; 95% confidence interval = 0.764-0.988). The current study findings confirm previously reported associations between olfactory and cognitive functions, and indicate that impairment in olfactory discrimination can predict future cognitive decline. These findings further our current understanding of the association between cognition and olfaction, and support olfactory assessment in screening those at higher risk of dementia.
| S-EPMC3365262 | biostudies-other
Project description:Determine the association of insomnia symptoms with subsequent health services use, in a representative sample of U.S. older adults. Participants were 4,289 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries who had continuous fee-for-service Medicare coverage 30 days before, and 1 year after the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) Round 1 interview. Participants reported past-month insomnia symptoms (i.e. sleep onset latency >30 min, difficulty returning to sleep) which we categorized as 0, 1, or 2 symptoms. Outcomes were health services use within 1 year of interviews from linked Medicare claims: emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, 30-day readmissions, home health care (all measured as yes/no), and number of hospitalizations and ED visits. Overall, 18.5% of participants were hospitalized, 28.7% visited the ED, 2.5% had a 30-day readmission, and 11.3% used home health care. After adjustment for demographics, depressive and anxiety symptoms, medical comorbidities, and BMI, compared to participants with no insomnia symptoms, those with two insomnia symptoms had a higher odds of ED visits (odds ratio [OR) = 1.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.24-2.07, p < 0.001), hospitalizations (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.01-1.65, p < 0.05), and 30-day readmissions (OR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.88-3.29, p < 0.05). Reporting 2 insomnia symptoms, versus no insomnia symptoms, was associated with a greater number of ED visits and hospitalizations (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.23-1.87, p < 0.001; IRR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.02-1.44, p < 0.05, respectively) after adjusting for demographic and health characteristics. Among older adults, insomnia symptoms are associated with greater health services use, including emergency department use, hospitalization, and 30-day readmission. Targeting insomnia may lower health services use.
| S-EPMC8248478 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This concerns a cross-sectional cohort study of 356 Dutch community-dwelling older adults to study the association of the oral microbiota with poor taste, poor smell, poor appetite and undernutrition. Data-collection consisted of body measurements (incl. body weight, height, and body impedance analysis), extensive appetite and food frequency questionnaires, taste and smell tests, and a tongue swab. The oral microbiota composition was assessed with 16S rRNA sequencing.
| EGAS00001005319 | EGA
Project description:BACKGROUND:Concern has been expressed that preventive measures in older people might increase frailty by increasing survival without improving health. We investigated the impact of exercise on the probabilities of health improvement, deterioration and death in community-dwelling older people. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:In the Canadian Study of Health and Aging, health status was measured by a frailty index based on the number of health deficits. Exercise was classified as either high or low/no exercise, using a validated, self-administered questionnaire. Health status and survival were re-assessed at 5 years. Of 6297 eligible participants, 5555 had complete data. Across all grades of frailty, death rates for both men and women aged over 75 who exercised were similar to their peers aged 65 to 75 who did not exercise. In addition, while all those who exercised had a greater chance of improving their health status, the greatest benefits were in those who were more frail (e.g. improvement or stability was observed in 34% of high exercisers versus 26% of low/no exercisers for those with 2 deficits compared with 40% of high exercisers versus 22% of low/no exercisers for those with 9 deficits at baseline). CONCLUSIONS:In community-dwelling older people, exercise attenuated the impact of age on mortality across all grades of frailty. Exercise conferred its greatest benefits to improvements in health status in those who were more frail at baseline. The net effect of exercise should therefore be to improve health status at the population level.
| S-EPMC2702830 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The use of community-based social services additionally to regular home help services to support older persons at risk of institutionalization was studied. Structured interviews were held with 292 persons, who specifically pointed out that they prefer to remain independently at home. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were developed to study the association between social service use and personal, health-related and wellbeing characteristics. 195 respondents indicated that they made use of at least one social service (68%). Only three services (individual care, social-cultural activities and restaurant facilities), out of nine, were used regularly. Those who lived in a sheltered environment or were supported by informal caregivers or who visited day care had a significantly higher probability of using these services. More attention should be given to the nature and accessibility of community-based social services in order to have distinctive added value in enabling older persons to age in place.
| S-EPMC2921061 | biostudies-other