Prevalence of Frailty Syndrome in the Elderly and Associated Factors in Brazil

This paper aims to identify the prevalence of frailty syndrome and its association with demographic, economic, health, psychological and functional variables in Brazilian population. The study was cross-sectional and composed of 385 elderly aged from 65 years, an average age of 73.92 years. A multivariate Poisson regression was used to check for conditions associated with frailty and to determine the prevalence (α = 0.05). The prevalence of frailty was 8.7% and pre-frailty of 50.4%. The frail and pre-frail older adults showed larger and increasing prevalence ratios for marital status, difficulty performing instrumental activities of daily living, old age, involuntary loss of feces, depression and negative affections. These results can guide the establishment of preventive measures and the development of intervention strategies aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of frailty in elderly people.

Hospitalization and Occurrence of Death in Frail Older Adults: An Integrative Review

Objective: To identify the relationship between hospitalization and occurrence of death among frail older adults in the scientific productions on the topic. Method: An integrative literature review is conducted by elaborating the research question, searching in the databases using descriptors, presenting and interpreting the results, and synthesizing the knowledge. Results: The search performed in April 2023 yielded 5804 studies, of which seven remained after applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria. There was an association between frailty and postoperative mortality in the older adults, p p Conclusion: An association was verified between frailty and in-hospital death, signaling frailty as a prognosis for negative outcomes. It is considered fundamental to assess frailty in frail aged people.

The decision-making process for senior cancer patients: treatment allocation of older women with operable breast cancer in the UK

Objective: Up to 40% of women over 70 years with primary operable breast cancer in the UK are treated with primary endocrine therapy(PET) as an alternative to surgery. A variety of factors are important in determining treatment for older breast cancer patients. This study aimed to identify the patient and tumor factors associated with treatment allocation in this population.Methods: Prospectively collected data on treatment received(surgery vs. PET) were analysed with multivariable logistic regression using the variables age, modified Charlson Comorbidity Index(CCI), activities of daily living(ADL) score, Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE) score, HER2 status, tumour size, grade and nodal status. Results: Data were available for 1,122 cancers in 1,098 patients recruited between February 2013 and June 2015 from 51 UK hospitals. About 78% of the population were treated surgically, with the remainder being treated with PET. Increasing patient age at diagnosis, increasing CCI score, large tumor size(5 cm or more) and dependence in one or more ADL categories were all strongly associated with non-surgical treatment(P<0.05).Conclusion: Increasing comorbidity, large tumor size and reduced functional ability are associated with reduced likelihood of surgical treatment of breast cancer in older patients. However, age itself remains a significant factor for non-surgical treatment; reinforcing the need for evidence-based guidelines.

Factors associated with activities of daily living among the disabled elders with stroke

Objective:To determine the factors associated with activities of daily living(ADL)among the disabled elders post-stroke.Methods:A total of 158 patients were chosen from community health service stations in eighteen regions of Tianjin city by convenience sampling from March to November in 2013.The Barthel Index(BI)and the short-formmini-nutritional assessment(MNA-SF)were used to evaluate the ADL,the nutritional status respectively.Statistical analysis was performed using independent sample t-test,one-way ANOVA,Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analysis.Barthel ADL index was the main outcome.Results:The mean score of ADL was 50.50±27.125.The multiple linear regression showed that the factors which had significant impact on ADL were stroke frequency,types of stroke,nutritional status,financial status,and age.Conclusions:Disabled elders with recurrent strokes,hemorrhagic stroke,dependent financial resources,older age,worse nutritional status and living with family had poorer strokerelated outcome.Healthcare providers can discover the high-risk groups of disability and implement individualized preventive interventions in accordance with the related factors.