Handgrip strength (HGS) is used as a biomarker for the state of health of older people, but the number of research publications containing the normative values of HGS in older adult populations is ...limited. The aim of the study was to define reference values and factors associated with HGS in older adults living in southeastern Poland. A cross-sectional study including 405 participants aged 65 and older was conducted. Handgrip strength for the dominant hand was assessed by the average of three trials using a JAMAR dynamometer. The sample was categorized into the following age groups: 65-69 years, 70-74 years, 75-79 years, 80-84 years, 85 and over. The average HGS was 19.98 kg (16.91 kg for women and 26.19 kg for men). There was a decrease in handgrip strength across the age range in both sexes. The average handgrip strength of the older people was 17.97 kg (14.47 kg for women and 25.66 kg for men) for those aged 80-85 and 16.68 kg (13.51 kg for women and 21.77 kg for men) in the group over 85 years old. In both sexes, marital status was an independent factor associated with reduced handgrip strength. In conclusion, this study described, for the first time, handgrip strength values for the southeastern Polish population aged ≥ 65 years according to age and gender.
Introduction. Low muscle strength is common and important in geriatric syndromes including frailty and sarcopenia. The epidemiology of grip strength of older people under long-term care facilities ...has been little explored. Purpose. The aim of this study was to assess handgrip strength of older women and men covered by institutional care and to analyse the associations between HGS and mobility, leg strength, flexibility, and postural balance. Materials and Methods. This is a cross-sectional study carried out at care homes in southeastern Poland. After considering the inclusion criteria, 209 older people aged 65 to 85 were included in the study. Sociodemographic data were collected, and tests of muscular strength, mobility, flexibility, and postural balance were carried out by the use of the stabilometric platform CQ Stab 2P. Results. The average handgrip strength in the study group amounted to 19.8 kg, including 14.8 kg in women and 25.9 kg in men. Low grip strength was found in 67.83% women and 52.13% men in institutional care. A negative correlation between handgrip strength (HGS) and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test was demonstrated, both with and without cognitive task and strength of lower limbs. Gait speed and dynamic balance were positively correlated with HGS. A negative correlation was found between the total length of the centre of pressure (COP) path, the length of the COP path in the lateral-medial direction, and the sway area delimited by the COP and HGS for the dominant hand. Speaking of women, gait speed was most strongly associated with HGS, while among men, it was upper limb flexibility. Conclusion. Regardless of gender, HGS is associated with mobility, strength of the lower limbs, and dynamic balance. By means of simple tools, early diagnosis will facilitate the planning of appropriate interventions in order to prevent disability and mortality in long-term care facilities.
Abstract
Introduction
Over the last few decades, the quality of care and the quality of life of nursing home (NH) residents have significantly improved, but insufficient physical activity and social ...involvement still represent substantial challenges in modern nursing facilities. The main aim of this research was to assess the influence of physical exercises with dance movement therapy (DMT) elements on strength and other fitness components of the upper limbs and the overall functional performance of NH residents in wheelchairs compared to standard exercise programmes and usual care.
Method
The study participants were persons aged 68–85 who lived in NH and used manual wheelchairs as a primary means of mobility. Individuals meeting the inclusion criteria were assigned to one of the three groups: Group 1, basic exercise/BE group (
n
= 55); group 2, physical exercises with elements of dance movement therapy/PED group (
n
= 55); and group 3, control group, usual care/CO group (
n
= 55). The intervention for both exercising groups consisted of a 30-min session, two times a week, for 12 weeks in total. Outcome assessments were performed at baseline, 12 weeks after baseline (immediately after the intervention) and 24 weeks after baseline (12 weeks after the intervention). The main outcome was observed for hand grip strength (HGS), while secondary outcomes for box and block test (BBT), arm curl test (ACT), back scratch test (BS), chair sit-and-reach (CSR), peak expiratory flow (PEF), Barthel Index (BI), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the range of motion of the shoulder.
Results
Prior to the start of the exercise programmes, all the tested groups were homogeneous. After 12 weeks the PED group presented higher statistically significant scores in HGS
L
, BBT, ACT, BS, CSR, BI, BBS:
p
< 0.001 and HGS
R
:
p
= 0.01, compared to the BE group. After 24 weeks from the beginning of the intervention the comparison between the PED group and the BE group showed statistically significant differences (
p
< 0.001) in favour of PED group in almost all areas: HGS
R
, HGS
L
, BBT: ACT, PEF, BS, CSR, BI. After 12 and 24 weeks both intervention groups performed better than the CO in all measures except for Katz ADL and shoulder extension.
Conclusion
Twelve weeks of physical exercises had beneficial effects on the strength and fitness of the upper limbs and overall functional performance in both exercise groups. This study demonstrated that group performing physical exercises with elements of DMT obtained statistically better scores in the majority of analysed domains than other groups.
Trial registration
The study was registered in the Sri Lanka Clinical Trials Registry (Registration Number - SLCTR/2018/014 - Date of Registration 16/05/2018. Accessed on
https://slctr.lk/trials/1045
).
Abstract
Introduction
The study aimed to assess the emotional state, the occurrence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as the quality of life of adults living in Poland during ...the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method
The study was conducted on a group of 700 people aged 18 and over living in Poland. An anonymous online questionnaire was used in this cross-sectional study. The psychological impact of COVID-19 was measured using the Revised Event Impact Scale (IES-R) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS - 21). The quality of life was assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF.
Results
In Poland, a high average level of post-traumatic stress was found as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with at least the minimum level occurring in all surveyed people. There was also a high incidence of depression (48.00%), anxiety (39.29%), and stress (54.86) in the first phase of the pandemic. The average level of quality of life in Poland was the lowest for the physical domain and amounted to 49.56 (SD = 11.71). The standard of living in the psychological domain was 60.26 (SD = 13.14).
Conclusions
The pandemic is having a significant impact on human mental health. The very high average levels of post-traumatic stress, stress, anxiety, and depression as well as low quality of life make it necessary to consider interventions that will favor the use of more adaptive defense mechanisms and build mental resilience during an infectious disease pandemic and its long-term consequences.
Rehabilitation is considered a key health strategy in the 21st century. The aim of rehabilitation is to optimize the functioning of patients. The International Classification of Functioning, ...Disability and Health (ICF) is a framework for describing and organizing information on functioning and disability. Current international efforts to implement ICF in rehabilitation practise include the implementation of ICF Core Sets and operationalize ICF tools for clinics. The aim of the study is to create simple, intuitive descriptions and an initial reference guide for the assessment of the ICF Rehabilitation Set in Polish practice. The development of the Polish version of ICF Rehabilitation Set involved the following steps: (1) identification of ICF Rehabilitation Set categories; (2) development simple, intuitive descriptions; (3) the drafting of the rating reference guide by a multidisciplinary panel following the process employed to develop the Japanese version. The Polish version of ICF Rehabilitation Set, the simple, intuitive descriptions for 29 categories and the rating reference guides were successfully developed. The Polish version of ICF Rehabilitation Set proposed by us is a reference framework for the harmonization of existing information on the functioning and disability of people participating in the rehabilitation process.
The assessment of disability in a population is an important part of public health management. In this article, we examine the psychometric properties and validation of the Polish version of the ...12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. (12-item WHODAS 2.0).
A systematic random sample comprised 584 adult urban residents. The Polish version of the 12-item WHODAS 2.0 and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF, Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire were used to assess disability and quality of life, respectively. Basic sociodemographic data and selected health-related data (e.g., pain and depressive moods) were also collected.
Good scale score reliability for the entire tool was confirmed in the study population (Cronbach's α = 0.90; Composite reliability = 0.95). In confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), satisfactory values of the fit indices were obtained (comparative fit index, CFI = 0.999; Tucker-Lewis Index, TLI = 0.999; root mean square error of approximation, RMSEA = 0.004; standardized root mean square residual, SRMR = 0.043, p = 0.454). Good consistency was noted over time (correlation coefficient = 0.88). The tool was found to have an appropriate level of validity.
We found that the 12-item WHODAS is short and easy to use, and it is suitable for use in the form of an interview during screening tests. This tool is appropriate for measuring the health status, functioning, and disability of an average population. It may be more relevant for studying populations with health problems. The 12-item WHODAS can be used to successfully obtain information about the general level of disability in a population.
Purpose
To examine psychometric properties of the Polish version of the 36-item WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) in the population with hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Methods
...This was a longitudinal study with repeated measures during retest examinations. Subjects from a Polish Specialist Hospital (age = 68.3 ± 9.2years, 71% female, 44.2% knee OA, 55.8% hip OA) were tested three times. They completed the Polish version of the 36-item WHODAS 2.0, the SF-36 Health Survey 2.0, the Western Ontario and Macmaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index 3.1, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Numerical Rating Scale.
Results
The 36-item WHODAS 2.0—Polish version demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha for total = 0.94), and test–retest reliability (Total ICC
2,1
= 0.98). High construct validity was found as 12 out of 15 a priori hypotheses (80%) were confirmed. Most domains and Total Scores in the 36-item WHODAS 2.0 (Total ES = − 0.62, SMR = − 1.09) showed a moderate degree of responsiveness. Minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the Total WHODAS 2.0 was 3.29 in patients undergoing rehabilitation for knee or hip OA.
Conclusions
The Polish version of the 36-item WHODAS 2.0 assesses disability according to ICF in a reliable, valid and responsive way. Therefore, it provides considerable support in clinical practice and national and international scientific research of patients with hip or knee OA.
In Poland, the number of the oldest-old people is increasing. The prevalence of health problems increases with age, which expands the cost of medical and social care. Therefore, there is a need to ...assess factors affecting the level of disability and quality of life in order to modify them.
The study was carried out in a group of 498 people aged 80 and over who live in community in south-eastern Poland. The researchers collected socio-demographic and health data, the WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire was used to assess disability and functioning. Quality of life was studied using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire.
The general average level of disability was 37.41, with women having a higher level of general disability than men (38.94 vs. 33.94). The highest levels of disability occurred in areas such as mobility, life activity and participation. Statistically, a significantly higher level of disability develops in women who are older, with lower education, social involvement, not able to get help from other people and having more chronic diseases. In men, disability increased with age and greater number of chronic illnesses. The general quality of life of the study group was average (62.53) and comparable for both genders. The lowest quality of life was found in the domain of physical health. A significantly lower quality of life appeared in lonely people, with more chronic diseases, lower education, physical and social inactivity, as well as a lack of help from other people and non-adjustment to the environment.
Factors affecting the disability and quality of life of the oldest-old people should be considered in developing senior health policy in Poland.
The monitoring of children with cerebral palsy (CP) should include a precise assessment of the nutritional status to identify children and adolescents at risk of nutrition disorders. Available ...studies assessing the nutritional status of children with CP mainly focus on the relationship between body composition and the coexistence of motor dysfunctions, frequently overlooking the role of muscle tone. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between body composition and muscle tone in children with CP. In a case-control study (
= 118; mean age 11 y; SD = 3.8), the children with CP presented various stages of functional capacities, corresponding to all the levels in gross motor function classification system (GMFSC), and muscle tone described by all the grades in Ashworth scale. The control group consisted of healthy children and adolescents, strictly matched for gender and age in a 1:1 case-control manner. The children with CP were found with significantly lower mean values of fat-free mass (FFM kg = 29.2 vs. 34.5,
< 0.001), muscle mass (MM kg = 18.6 vs. 22.6,
< 0.001), body cell mass (BCM kg = 15.1 vs. 18.3,
< 0.001), and total body water (TBW L = 23.0 vs. 26.7,
< 0.001). The same differences in body composition were identified with respect to gender (
< 0.01 respectively). Moreover, children with higher muscle tone (higher score in Ashworth scale) were found with significantly lower values of fat mass (FM), FFM, MM, BCM, and TBW (
< 0.05). The findings showed lower parameters of body composition in the children with CP compared to the healthy children, and a decrease in the parameters coinciding with higher muscle tone in the study group. This observation suggests that it is necessary to measure muscle tone while assessing nutritional status of children with CP.
PDF
