Combined measurement of serum albumin and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol strongly predicts mortality in frail older nursing-home residents.

Background And Aims: The aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that a combined measurement of albumin and HDL-C might predict total mortality in institutionalized frail older residents.

Methods: Participants were 344 older subjects (272 F, 72 M), living in the "Istituto Riposo Anziani" (I.R.

Body mass index, body cell mass, and 4-year all-cause mortality risk in older nursing home residents.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between body composition (assessed using body mass index (BMI) and body cell mass (BCM)) and all-cause mortality in a sample of older nursing home residents.

Design: Prospective study with a median follow-up period of 3.5 years.

Predictors of two-year mortality in older nursing home residents. The IRA study. Istituto di Riposo per Anziani.

Besides functional impairment, several factors have been associated with mortality in institutionalized older subjects, including advanced age, gender, comorbidity, and malnutrition. We investigated the possible association of a large number of factors, including functional, anthropometric, nutritional, metabolic, clinical, and demographic variables, with two-year all-cause mortality in a sample of 344 institutionalized older subjects (> or = 65 years) without evidence of acute illness at the time of observation. Although a number of factors were associated with mortality risk, multivariate analysis showed that only severe disability (6 vs 0-1 lost ADL, O.

Benzodiazepines with different half-life and falling in a hospitalized population: The GIFA study. Gruppo Italiano di Farmacovigilanza nell'Anziano.

In recent years, the use of benzodiazepines has been recognized as an independent risk factor for falls among the elderly. To evaluate the role of different types of benzodiazepines in determining falls in a hospitalized geriatric population, we conducted a prospective study among 7908 patients consecutively admitted in 58 clinical centers of the Gruppo Italiano di Farmacovigilanza nell'Anziano (GIFA), during an 8-month observation period (1991 and 1993). Over 70% of the patients were older than 65 years, 50% were women, and 23.