Life satisfaction and frailty in community-based older adults: cross-sectional and prospective analyses

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1709-1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip D. St John ◽  
Suzanne L. Tyas ◽  
Patrick R. Montgomery

ABSTRACTBackground:Frailty may be associated with reduced life satisfaction (LS). The objectives of this paper are to determine if (1) frailty is associated with LS in community-dwelling older adults in cross-sectional analyses; (2) frailty predicts LS five years later; and (3) specific domains of LS are preferentially associated with frailty.Methods:This paper presents analysis of an existing population-based cohort study of 1,751 persons aged 65+ who were assessed in 1991, with follow-up five years later. LS was measured using the terrible–delightful scale, which measures overall LS and LS in specific domains. Frailty was measured using the Brief Frailty Instrument. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, education, and marital status.Results:Frailty was associated with overall LS at time 1 and predicted overall LS at time 2. This was seen in unadjusted analyses and after adjusting for confounding factors. Frailty was associated with all domains of LS at time 1, and predicted LS at time 2 in all domains except housing and self-esteem. However, the effect was stronger for LS with health than with other domains for both times 1 and 2.Conclusions:Frailty is associated with LS, and the effect is strongest for LS with health.

Author(s):  
Miji Kim ◽  
Jeremy D Walston ◽  
Chang Won Won

Abstract Background Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is associated with disease progression, mitochondrial dysfunction, and mortality. Elevated GDF-15 level was recently reported to be associated with poorer physical performance in healthy adults. However, the association between serum GDF-15 level and sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults has not been well characterized. Methods We conducted cross-sectional (n = 929) and two-year prospective analyses (n = 788) among participants aged 70–84 years enrolled in the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. Participants with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 were excluded. Appendicular lean mass was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia status was determined according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia-2019 algorithm. Results At baseline, 16.6% of the participants had sarcopenia. Median GDF-15 concentration was higher in the sarcopenic group than in the non-sarcopenic group (1221 pg/mL vs. 1019 pg/mL, p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis adjusted for cardiometabolic risk and biological factors, the highest GDF-15 tertile (≥1245 pg/mL) had an increased likelihood of sarcopenia (odds ratio, 1.96; 95% confidence interval, 1.16–3.33) than the lowest tertile (<885 pg/mL). During the two-year follow-up period, 67 (10.1%) individuals without sarcopenia at baseline developed sarcopenia. There were no significant associations between baseline serum GDF-15 levels and incident sarcopenia or its components (all p>0.05). Conclusions Elevated GDF-15 was associated with prevalent sarcopenia but not able to predict incident sarcopenia in the 2-year follow-up. Further studies are needed to explore the pathophysiological roles of GDF-15 in the development of sarcopenia.


Author(s):  
Hyungchul Park ◽  
Jihye Lim ◽  
Ji Yeon Baek ◽  
Eunju Lee ◽  
Hee-Won Jung ◽  
...  

(1) Background: As the clinical relevance of constipation and sarcopenia is not well studied, we aimed to investigate the association between them in older adults. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1278 community-dwelling older adults in South Korea. The Rome IV criteria were used to identify patients with clinically defined constipation, while sarcopenia was defined by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia consensus. The cohort was classified into three groups: no constipation, self-reported constipation only, and clinically defined constipation. (3) Results: The presence of constipation was associated with sarcopenia and slow gait speed (p < 0.001). After adjustment for possible covariates, the association with sarcopenia attenuated, while that for slow gait speed persisted. In terms of geriatric parameters, both groups with clinically defined and self-reported constipation had a higher burden of cognitive impairment, IADL disability, and lower QOL scores (p < 0.05) compared with those without constipation. (4) Conclusions: Sarcopenia and slow gait speed associated with constipation in community-dwelling older adults. Individuals with self-reported constipation symptoms alone showed comparable sarcopenic and geriatric burden to those with clinically defined constipation. Clinical suspicion for possible co-existing sarcopenia is warranted in older patients with constipation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 819-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana E. Clarke ◽  
Jean Y. Ko ◽  
Constantine Lyketsos ◽  
George W. Rebok ◽  
William W. Eaton

ABSTRACTBackground: Apathy, a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome, commonly affects patients with Alzheimer's disease. Prevalence estimates for apathy range widely and are based on cross-sectional data and/or clinic samples. This study examines the relationships between apathy and cognitive and functional declines in non-depressed community-based older adults.Methods: Data on 1,136 community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study, with 1 and 13 years of follow-up, were used. Apathy was assessed with a subscale of items from the General Health Questionnaire. Logistic regression, t-tests, χ2 and Generalized Estimating Equations were used to accomplish the study's objectives.Results: The prevalence of apathy at Wave 1 was 23.7%. Compared to those without, individuals with apathy were on average older, more likely to be female, and have lower Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and impairments in basic and instrumental functioning at baseline. Apathy was significantly associated with cognitive decline (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.06, 2.60) and declines in instrumental (OR = 4.42; 95% CI = 2.65, 7.38) and basic (OR = 2.74; 95%CI = 1.35, 5.57) function at 1-year follow-up, even after adjustment for baseline age, level of education, race, and depression at follow-up. At 13 years of follow-up, apathetic individuals were not at greater risk for cognitive decline but were twice as likely to have functional decline. Incidence of apathy at 1-year follow up and 13-year follow-up was 22.6% and 29.4%, respectively.Conclusions: These results underline the public health importance of apathy and the need for further population-based studies in this area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 1465-1470
Author(s):  
Olivier Beauchet ◽  
Harmehr Sekhon ◽  
Cyrille P. Launay ◽  
Pierrette Gaudreau ◽  
José A. Morais ◽  
...  

Background: Motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are two pre-dementia stages with an overlap, which may influence the risk for dementia. Objective: The study aims to examine the association of MCR, MCI, and their combination with incident dementia in Quebec community-dwelling older adults. Methods: 1,063 older adults (i.e., ≥65) were selected from a population-based observational cohort study known as the “Nutrition as a determinant of successful aging: The Quebec longitudinal study” (NuAge). Participants were separated into four groups at the baseline assessment: those without MCR and MCI (i.e., cognitively healthy individual; CHI), those with MCR alone, those with MCI alone, and those with MCR plus MCI. Incident dementia was recorded at each annual visit during a 3-year follow-up. Results: The prevalence of CHI was 87.2%, MCR 3.0%, MCI 8.8%, and MCR plus MCI 0.9%. The overall incidence of dementia was 2.4% and was significantly associated with MCR alone (Odd Ratio (OR) = 5.00 with 95% Confidence interval (CI) = [1.01;24.59] and p = 0.049), MCI alone (OR = 6.04 with 95% CI = [2.36;15.47] and p≤0.001), and the combination of MCR and MCI (OR = 25.75 with 95% CI = [5.32;124.66] and p≤0.001). Conclusion: Combining MCR and MCI increased the risk for incident dementia. These results also demonstrated that this combination is a better predictor of dementia than MCI or MCR alone.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402199969
Author(s):  
Eduardo Luiz Mendonça Martins ◽  
Laís Cunha Salamene ◽  
Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti ◽  
Giancarlo Lucchetti

Background: Despite major advancements in understanding of the factors associated with mental health in older adults, studies assessing positive behaviours, attitudes and virtues are still scarce in the literature. Aims: This study aims to investigate whether factors related to positive behaviours, attitudes and virtues are associated with mental health (i.e. depression, anxiety and stress) and satisfaction with life in Brazilian community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study of Brazilian older adults who were users of the public health system and seen by Family Health teams was conducted in 2017. Instruments were applied to assess cognition, physical activity, sleep, quality of life, social support, religiousness, spirituality, satisfaction with life, resilience, altruism, volunteerism, loneliness, meaning in life and mental health (i.e. depression, anxiety and stress). Analyses were carried out using linear and logistic regression models. Results: A total of 534 (93.5%) older adults were included. Positive behavioural factors and values including volunteerism, meaning in life, resilience, peace, loneliness, faith and religiousness were associated with mental health outcomes (i.e. depression, anxiety and stress), as were traditional factors, such as sleep, gender, social support and cognitive state. Conclusions: Aspects related to positive behaviour, attitudes and virtues can impact the mental health of the older population. These results can serve to alert health professionals on the importance of addressing these factors and help guide the implementation of preventive measures and interventions for this age group.


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