Publications by authors named "D A Chavarro-Carvajal"
In recent decades, Latin America and the Caribbean region have experienced accelerated aging. However, despite the significant progress of gerontology in the region, the number of geriatricians and professionals trained in the field is low; a notable gap in the training related to the assessment of older adults can also be observed. Therefore, in this literature review, we update the concept of Comprehensive Gerontological Assessment (CGA) for its application in the region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Older adults are particularly vulnerable to experiencing hospital-associated functional decline; a multifaceted phenomenon linked to poorer outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Given that functionality serves as a crucial indicator of health in the elderly, various scales have been developed to gauge the continuum of functional ability, potentially serving as prognostic tools to inform tailored interventions.
Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of hospital-associated functional decline in an acute geriatric unit and examine its correlation with the functional continuum through a descriptive analysis of the patient population and exploration of associated factors.
[Characterization of older adult patients admitted to an acute unit of a high complexity hospital in Bogotá, Colombia].
Rev Esp Geriatr Gerontol
November 2024
Article Synopsis
- - The study aimed to analyze the demographic and clinical characteristics of older adults hospitalized at the San Ignacio University Hospital between 2019 and 2021 to understand their outcomes better.
- - It reviewed 4,601 patient records, finding that most were highly dependent in daily activities, with common issues including malnutrition (32.2%), delirium (28.1%), and previous dementia (54.1%).
- - The findings highlighted the significant health challenges faced by older adults, revealing high rates of comorbidities and dependency, as well as a notable mortality rate of 10.8% during their hospital stay.
Background: In an aging population, there is an increasing need for easily accessible nutritional markers.
Aims: To determine whether the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) can serve as an effective nutritional indicator compared to the Mini-Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF) or other common markers such as albumin and body mass index (BMI).
Methods: Data were obtained from the SABE study in Ecuador, which included participants aged 60 years or older.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates how oral health affects self-rated health status (SRHS) in older Colombian adults, an area not thoroughly explored in previous research, especially relevant given the high prevalence of oral diseases and poor self-assessment of health in this demographic.
- - An analysis of data from the SABE-Colombia study revealed that a notable portion of older adults report poorer SRHS, and those in this group are often older with higher rates of dependence, cognitive impairments, and depressive symptoms, with worse SRHS linked to total edentulism.
- - Results indicate that having no teeth (edentulism) significantly raises the chance of reporting worse SRHS, while better oral health scores and the use of dental prosthetics are associated with