1,720,990 research outputs found
Glucose and insulin measurements from the oral glucose tolerance test and mortality prediction.
No full textOBJECTIVE:
To verify what information from oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) independently predicts mortality.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:
A total of 1,401 initially nondiabetic participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging aged 17-95 years underwent one or more OGTTs (median 2, range 1-8), with insulin and glucose measurements taken every 20 min over the course of 2 h included in this study. Proportional hazards using the longitudinally collected data and Bayesian model averaging were used to examine the association of OGTT measurements individually and grouped with mortality, adjusting for covariates.
RESULTS:
Participants were followed for a median 20.3 years (range 0.5-40). The first-hour OGTT glucose and insulin levels increased only modestly with age, whereas levels during the second hour increased 4% per decade. Individually, 100- and 120-min glucose measures and fasting and 100-min insulin levels were all independent predictors of mortality. When all measures were considered together, only higher 120-min glucose was a significant independent risk factor for mortality.
CONCLUSION:
The steeper rise with age of the OGTT 2-h glucose values and the prognostic primacy of the 120-min glucose value for mortality is consistent with previous reports and suggests the value of using the OGTT in clinical practice
Psychological, physical, and sensory correlates of fear of falling and consequent activity restriction in the elderly: The InCHIANTI study
No full textObjective: To identify psychological, physical, and sensory function parameters that are specifically associated with fear of failing (FF) and fear-induced activity restriction in a population-based sample of older adults. Design: FF, fear-induced activity restriction, cognition, depression, personal mastery, chair-stand performance, standing balance, lower-limb and grip strength, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, and vibrotactile sensitivity were evaluated in the population-based, older cohort (n = 926, age >= 65) enrolled in the InCHIANTI study. Results: Nearly 50% participants reported FF. Of these, 65% reported some activity restriction. Personal mastery (P < 0.001) and chair-standing performance (P = 0.001) were independently associated with FF. In those who did not-have depression, personal mastery, standing balance, lower-limb strength, and visual contrast sensitivity were associated with activity restriction (P < 0.001-0.011). In those who were depressed, total FF was the major factor strongly associated with activity restriction (P < 0.001), with marginal but significant associations for cognition (P = 0.027) and standing balance (P = 0.015). Conclusion: Psychological and physical factors are independently associated with FF. Presence of depression possibly modulates which factors, in addition to fear of falling, affect fear-induced activity restriction. A longitudinal study is warranted to substantiate causal relationships
Screening for poor performance of lower extremity in primary care: the Camucia Project
No full textBackground and aims: Individuals with poor lower extremity performance are prime candidates for disability prevention. The Camucia Project is a collaborative study between geriatricians and primary care physicians (PCPs) testing the hypothesis that PCPs can use a simple performance-based test to identify older persons with poor lower extremity function, without excessive interference with their clinical routine. We also hypothesized that the number needed to screen (NNTS) a positive case would be lower in physicians' clinics than in the general population. Methods: 23 PCPs administered the short physical performance battery (SPPB) to 360 consecutive, non-disabled and non-demented, 70- to 79-year-old outpatients. PCPs were asked to: 1) evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of administering the SPPB; 2) ascertain selected diseases according to predefined criteria; 3) identify causes of poor lower extremity function in patients with a SPPB score less than or equal to9 NNTS from this study were compared with those estimated in non-disabled and non-demented, 70- to 79-year-old persons randomly selected from the InCHIANTI study population. Results: The majority of PCPs (20/23) reported that using the SPPB to evaluate older patients was feasible and useful. The NNTS in the outpatient clinics was lower than in the InCHIANTI participants (1.6 vs 4.3). Poor lower extremity performance was attributed to musculo-skeletal diseases in 75%, to more than one cause in 55% (128/234), and to no specific cause in 16.2% (37/234) of the participants with SPPB less than or equal to9. Conclusions: Screening of older persons with poor lower extremity performance by PCPs is feasible and efficient. (C) 2004, Editrice Kurtis
Relation of plasma leptin to C-reactive protein in older adults (from the Invecchiare nel Chianti Study)
No full textObese subjects have higher circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) than normal subjects, and it has been shown that CRP per se may contribute to atherogenesis. The mechanism linking increased fat mass with high CRP levels has not been exhaustively explained. It has been suggested that adipose tissue-produced cytokines, including interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin-1beta, represent the causal link between increased body fat and high CRP levels. It has been hypothesized that the hormone leptin, released by fat cells, may stimulate CRP production independent of cytokines. This study measured circulating leptin, CRP, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and interleukin-8 in 946 community-dwelling older subjects (398 men, 548 women; age range 65 to 102 years) enrolled in a large population-based study. Confounders included demographics, functional, cognitive and affective status, diet and lifestyle, body composition, drugs, and chronic diseases. A direct association was found between leptin and CRP (p = 0.004), independent of cytokines and other possible confounders. The association was stronger in younger than in older subjects but was not influenced by gender or body mass index. In conclusion, these findings suggest that leptin may directly stimulate the production of CRP independent of fat-cell produced cytokines in older adults
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Lower plasma vitamin e levels are associated with the frailty syndrome: The InCHIANTI study
No full textBackground. The primary biologic mechanism that causes frailty in older persons has never been adequately explained. According to recent views, oxidative stress may be the driving force of this condition. We tested the hypothesis that, independent of confounders, low plasma levels of vitamin E (alpha-locopherol), the main fat-soluble human antioxidant, are associated with the frailty syndrome in older persons free from dementia and disability. Methods. The study sample included 827 older (>= 65 years) persons (women, 54%) who participated in a population based epidemiological study. Frail participants were identified based on the presence of at least three of live of the following features: self-reported weight loss, low energy, slow gait speed, low grip strength, and low physical activity. Participants with none of these features were considered nonfrail, while participants with one or two were considered intermediate frail. Plasma vitamin E levels were determined using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Measured confounders included lower extremity muscle strength, cognitive function, diseases, and factors related to vitamin E metabolism. Results. Age- and gender-adjusted levels of vitamin E decreased gradually from the nonfrail to the frail group (p for trend=.015). In the logistic model adjusted for multiple potential confounders, participants in the highest vitamin E tertile were less likely to be frail than were participants in the lowest vitamin E tertile (odds ratio, 0.30; 95% confidence interval, 0.10-0.91). Conclusions. Our findings show an association between low circulating levels of one of the most important components of the human antioxidant system and the presence of frailty
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