Falls are common among older adults. One in 3 adults aged 65 years or older and 1 in 2 adults aged 80 years or older fall each year. Interventions for prevention have been identified; however, they ...are often not addressed in primary care practice. Screening all older adults annually for falls can identify who will benefit from further clinical evaluation and management. Falls and the need for care from subsequent injury increase with age. They adversely affect quality of life and are a financial burden on the health care industry. As a result, risk reduction is a key focus of prevention efforts, even among very elderly persons.
Dementia is associated with increased rates and often poorer outcomes of hospitalization, including worsening cognitive status. New evidence is needed to determine whether some admissions of persons ...with dementia might be potentially preventable.
To determine whether dementia onset is associated with higher rates of or different reasons for hospitalization, particularly for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs), for which proactive outpatient care might prevent the need for a hospital stay.
Retrospective analysis of hospitalizations among 3019 participants in Adult Changes in Thought (ACT), a longitudinal cohort study of adults aged 65 years or older enrolled in an integrated health care system. All participants had no dementia at baseline and those who had a dementia diagnosis during biennial screening contributed nondementia hospitalizations until diagnosis. Automated data were used to identify all hospitalizations of all participants from time of enrollment in ACT until death, disenrollment from the health plan, or end of follow-up, whichever came first. The study period spanned February 1, 1994, to December 31, 2007.
Hospital admission rates for patients with and without dementia, for all causes, by type of admission, and for ACSCs.
Four hundred ninety-four individuals eventually developed dementia and 427 (86%) of these persons were admitted at least once; 2525 remained free of dementia and 1478 (59%) of those were admitted at least once. The unadjusted all-cause admission rate in the dementia group was 419 admissions per 1000 person-years vs 200 admissions per 1000 person-years in the dementia-free group. After adjustment for age, sex, and other potential confounders, the ratio of admission rates for all-cause admissions was 1.41 (95% confidence interval CI, 1.23-1.61; P < .001), while for ACSCs, the adjusted ratio of admission rates was 1.78 (95% CI, 1.38-2.31; P < .001). Adjusted admission rates classified by body system were significantly higher in the dementia group for most categories. Adjusted admission rates for all types of ACSCs, including bacterial pneumonia, congestive heart failure, dehydration, duodenal ulcer, and urinary tract infection, were significantly higher among those with dementia.
Among our cohort aged 65 years or older, incident dementia was significantly associated with increased risk of hospitalization, including hospitalization for ACSCs.
Optimal mobility, defined as relative ease and freedom of movement in all of its forms, is central to healthy aging. Mobility is a significant consideration for research, practice, and policy in ...aging and public health. We examined the public health burdens of mobility disability, with a particular focus on leading public health interventions to enhance walking and driving, and the challenges and opportunities for public health action. We propose an integrated mobility agenda, which draws on the lived experience of older adults. New strategies for research, practice, and policy are needed to move beyond categorical promotion programs in walking and driving to establish a comprehensive program to enhance safe mobility in all its forms.
OBJECTIVES
To examine: (1) prevalence of fall risk–increasing drug (FRID) use among older adults with a fall‐related injury, (2) which FRIDs were most frequently prescribed, (3) whether FRID use was ...reduced following the fall‐related healthcare episode, and (4) which interventions have reduced falls or FRID use in older adults with a history of falls.
DESIGN
Systematic review.
PARTICIPANTS
Observational and intervention studies that assessed (or intervened on) FRID use in participants aged 60 years or older who had experienced a fall.
MEASUREMENTS
PubMed and EMBASE were searched through June 30, 2019. Two reviewers independently extracted data and evaluated studies for bias. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus.
RESULTS
Fourteen of 638 articles met selection criteria: 10 observational studies and 4 intervention studies. FRID use prevalence at time of fall‐related injury ranged from 65% to 93%. Antidepressants and sedatives‐hypnotics were the most commonly prescribed FRIDs. Of the 10 observational studies, only 2 used a design adequate to capture changes in FRID use after a fall‐related injury, neither finding a reduction in FRID use. Three randomized controlled studies conducted in various settings (hospital, emergency department, and community pharmacy) with 12‐month follow‐up did not find a reduction in falls with interventions to reduce FRID use, although the study conducted in the community pharmacy setting was effective in reducing FRID use. In a nonrandomized (pre‐post) intervention study conducted in an outpatient geriatrics clinic, falls were reduced in the intervention group.
CONCLUSIONS
Limited evidence indicates high prevalence of FRID use among older adults who have experienced a fall‐related injury and no reduction in overall FRID use following the fall‐related healthcare encounter. There is a need for well‐designed interventions to reduce FRID use and falls in older adults with a history of falls. Reducing FRID use as a stand‐alone intervention may not be effective in reducing recurrent falls. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1334–1343, 2020.
Falls among people aged ≥65 years are the leading cause of both injury deaths and emergency department visits for trauma. Research shows that many falls are preventable. In the clinical setting, an ...effective fall intervention involves assessing and addressing an individual's fall risk factors. This individualized approach is recommended in the American and British Geriatrics Societies' (AGS/BGS) practice guideline. This article describes the development of STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries), a fall prevention tool kit that contains an array of health care provider resources for assessing and addressing fall risk in clinical settings. As researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Injury Center, we reviewed relevant literature and conducted in-depth interviews with health care providers to determine current knowledge and practices related to older adult fall prevention. We developed draft resources based on the AGS/BGS guideline, incorporated provider input, and addressed identified knowledge and practice gaps. Draft resources were reviewed by six focus groups of health care providers and revised. The completed STEADI tool kit, Preventing Falls in Older Patients—A Provider Tool Kit, is designed to help health care providers incorporate fall risk assessment and individualized fall interventions into routine clinical practice and to link clinical care with community-based fall prevention programs.
Falls among older adults are neither purely accidental nor inevitable; research has shown that many falls are preventable. Primary care providers play a key role in preventing falls. However, fall ...risk assessment and management is performed infrequently in primary care settings. This article provides an overview of a clinically relevant, evidence-based approach to fall risk screening and management. It describes resources, including the STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries) tool kit that can help providers integrate fall prevention into their practice.
Objectives
To determine the prevalence and impact of common co‐occurring symptoms among community‐dwelling older adults in the United States.
Design
The National Health and Aging Trends Study is a ...nationally representative, prospective study with annual data collection between 2011 and 2017.
Setting
Community‐based, in‐person interviews (survey response rates, 71%–96%).
Participants
A total of 7,609 community‐dwelling Medicare beneficiaries, 65 years or older.
Measurements
Symptoms assessed at baseline include pain, fatigue, breathing difficulty, sleeping difficulty, depressed mood, and anxiety. Total symptom count ranged from zero to six. Several outcomes were examined, including grip strength, gait speed, and overall lower‐extremity function as well as incidence of recurrent falls (two or more per year), hospitalization, disability, nursing home admission, and mortality.
Results
Prevalence of zero, one, two, three, and four or more symptoms was 25.0%, 26.6%, 20.7%, 14.0%, and 13.6%, respectively. Symptom count increased with advancing age and was higher in women than in men. Pain and fatigue were the most common co‐occurring symptoms. Higher symptom count was associated with decreased physical capacity. For example, participants with one, two, three, and four or more symptoms had gait speeds that were 0.04, 0.06, 0.09, and 0.13 m/s slower, respectively, than those with no symptoms, adjusting for specific diseases, total number of diseases, and other potential confounders (P < .001). The risk of several adverse outcomes also increased with greater symptom count. For example, compared with those with no symptoms, the adjusted risk ratios for recurrent falls were 1.48 (95% confidence interval CI = 1.30–1.70), 1.54 (95% CI = 1.32–1.80), 1.90 (95% CI = 1.55–2.32), and 2.38 (95% CI = 2.00–2.83) for older adults with one, two, three, and four or more symptoms, respectively.
Conclusions
Symptoms frequently co‐occur among community‐dwelling older adults and are strongly associated with increased risk of a range of adverse outcomes. Symptoms represent a potential treatment target for improving outcomes and should be systematically captured in health records. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:223–231, 2019.
See related Editorial by Hunt et al. in this issue.
For the past 4 decades, many studies seeking to develop a definition and identify critical determinants of successful aging have been published. To date, there is still no consensus on a standard ...definition or measure of "successful aging." Most constructs have been one dimensional; although a few have been multidimensional, none has emerged as standard. The most serious limitation of contemporary successful aging constructs is the undue focus on physiologic aspects of aging. To move beyond this limited perspective that stresses disease and impairment, we postulate that successful aging may coexist with diseases and functional limitations if compensatory psychological and/or social mechanisms are used. With this premise, this article presents a new definition and conceptual framework of successful aging, together with an operational definition (measurement) that delineates our successful aging concept. We discuss how the proposed multidimensional measurement may be used as a screening tool, and address its relevance for health services research and health care delivery.
Falls contribute to impairments in activities of daily living (ADLs), resulting in significant declines in the quality of life, safety, and functioning of older adults. Understanding the magnitude ...and duration of the effect of falls on ADLs, as well as identifying the characteristics of older adults more likely to have post-fall ADL impairment is critical to inform fall prevention and post-fall intervention. The purpose of this study is to 1) Quantify the association between falls and post-fall ADL impairment and 2) Model trajectories of ADL impairment pre- and post-fall to estimate the long-term impact of falls and identify characteristics of older adults most likely to have impairment.
Study participants were from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study, a randomized controlled trial in older adults (age 75+) in the United States. Self-reported incident falls and ADL scores were ascertained every 6 months over a 7-year study period. We used Cox proportional hazards analyses (n = 2091) to quantify the association between falls and ADL impairment and latent class trajectory modeling (n = 748) to visualize trajectories of ADL impairment pre-and post-fall.
Falls reported in the previous 6 months were associated with impairment in ADLs (HR: 1.42; 95% CI 1.32, 1.52) in fully adjusted models. Based on trajectory modeling (n = 748), 19% (n = 139) of participants had increased, persistent ADL impairment after falling. Participants who were female, lived in a neighborhood with higher deprivation, or experienced polypharmacy were more likely to have ADL impairment post-fall.
Falls are associated with increased ADL impairment, and this impairment can persist over time. It is crucial that all older adults, and particularly those at higher risk of post-fall ADL impairment have access to comprehensive fall risk assessment and evidence-based fall prevention interventions, to help mitigate the negative impacts on ADL function.
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