Anticholinergic drug exposure is associated with prevalence, worsening and incidence of dysphagia among hospitalized older adults.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed at evaluating the association between anticholinergic drug exposure and prevalence, worsening, and incidence of dysphagia among hospitalized older individuals.

Design And Setting: We used data from the REPORT-Age project, a multicenter cohort study including patients aged 65 years or more, admitted to acute care hospitals of the Italian National Institute for Health and Sciences on Aging (INRCA-IRCCS) between 2011 and 2019.

Participants: 4,005 older patients aged 84.

"Loneliness is a sad disease": oldest old adults' empirical definition of loneliness and social isolation from a mixed-method study in Northern Italy.

Background: Loneliness and social isolation can occur at any stage of life, but some predictors may be more common among older adults. Due to growing population ageing, loneliness and social isolation are relevant social issues. Many studies apply the main definitions of loneliness and social isolation offered by the literature without considering how individual representations, socio-cultural context and the culture of care may influence their perception.

Action observation treatment may improve daily living activities and verb recovery in Parkinson's disease-dementia: findings from a preliminary randomized controlled trial.

Background And Objectives: Action observation treatment (AOT) is a novel rehabilitation approach aimed to the recovery of both motor and linguistic deficits in subjects with brain lesions. The aim of the present randomized controlled study was to assess the benefits of AOT treatment in the activities of daily living (ADLs) and in the linguistic abilities of the patients with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) at mild-moderate stage (Hoehn & Yahr's stage scale: 2-3).

Methods: Twenty patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to an experimental group (submitted to AOT) or to a control group.

Length of hospital stay, delayed pneumonia diagnosis and post-discharge mortality. The Pneumonia in Italian Acute Care for Elderly units (PIACE)-SIGOT study.

Background: High-income countries are currently decreasing length of hospital stay (LOS), with the aim of improving resource utilization. Little is known about the contribution of LOS to short-term post-discharge mortality in older patients with pneumonia.

Aim: to identify factors independently associated with LOS and to determine whether LOS predicts 3-month post-discharge death in older patients hospitalized for pneumonia.

Prevalence, risk factors, and treatment of anemia in hospitalized older patients across geriatric and nephrological settings in Italy.

Anemia is a common but often underdiagnosed and undertreated geriatric syndrome in hospitalized older patients. In this retrospective multicenter study, we aimed at characterizing the prevalence, risk factors, diagnostic and treatment approach to anemia in older patients admitted to acute care hospitals, focusing on differences between nephrology and geriatrics units. Prevalence and risk factors for anemia, diagnostic inertia (lack of iron, vitamin B12, and folate status assessment), replacement inertia (omitted treatment with iron, vitamin B12 or folic acid), and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) inertia were explored.

Biomarkers of chronic kidney disease in older individuals: navigating complexity in diagnosis.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in older individuals is a matter of growing concern in the field of public health across the globe. Indeed, prevalence of kidney function impairment increases with advancing age and is often exacerbated by age-induced modifications of kidney function, presence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disorders, and increased burden related to frailty, cognitive impairment and sarcopenia. Accurate assessment of CKD in older individuals is crucial for timely intervention and management and relies heavily on biomarkers for disease diagnosis and monitoring.

Interactions between patterns of multimorbidity and functional status among hospitalized older patients: a novel approach using cluster analysis and association rule mining.

Background: Multimorbidity (MM) is generally defined as the presence of 2 or more chronic diseases in the same patient and seems to be frequently associated with frailty and poor quality of life. However, the complex interplay between MM and functional status in hospitalized older patients has not been fully elucidated so far. Here, we implemented a 2-step approach, combining cluster analysis and association rule mining to explore how patterns of MM and disease associations change as a function of disability.

Preact to lower the risk of falling by customized rehabilitation across Europe: the feasibility study protocol of the PRECISE project in Italy.

Introduction: Falls are a major worldwide health problem in older people. Several physical rehabilitation programs with home-based technologies, such as the online DigiRehab platform, have been successfully delivered. The PRECISE project combines personalized training delivered through the application with an artificial intelligence-based predictive model (AI-DSS platform) for fall risk assessment.

Short physical performance battery is not associated with falls and injurious falls in older persons: longitudinal data of the SCOPE project.

Introduction: Falls and fall-related injuries in older persons are a major public health problem. Our objective was to study the predictive value of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) in the cohort of the SCOPE project on falls, injurious falls, and possible difference of prediction between indoors and outdoors falls.

Methods: For this sub-study of the SCOPE project participants reporting no falls at baseline, and survey data on falls at the 12-month and 24-month follow-up were included.

Predictors of Deterioration in Mental Well-Being and Quality of Life among Family Caregivers and Older People with Long-Term Care Needs during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced access to care services and fear of infection prompted families to increase home care for their older relatives with long-term care needs. This had negative effects on both members of the caring dyad, impacting their quality of life (QoL) and mental well-being. This study investigated the factors that influenced the mental well-being and QoL of 239 dyads, before and after the first pandemic wave in Italy.

Effects of Mindfulness Based Interventions in Adults and Older Adults Caregivers of Patients with Early Stage Alzheimer's Disease: A Randomized Pilot Study.

Background: Many studies have highlighted the effect of training with mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on the psycho-physical rebalancing of patients suffering from various pathologies, and their families.

Objective: In this study, the effect of a training with mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on quality of life and emotion regulation (depression) was verified in caregivers (CGs) of patients affected by Alzheimer's disease at early stage (AD-P).

Methods: In this randomized controlled study, 22 CGs (age≥60 years) were treated with MBIs, in particular MBSR, and 22 CGs had no treatment.

Using temperament and character dimensions (TCI) to analyze the personality profiles of adults and older adults with cancer managed in outpatient settings.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate profiles of personality evaluated by temperament and character dimensions (TCI) in 638 adult and older adult patients (CP) who had recently been diagnosed with breast, colon, lung, and other kinds of cancer (female and male subjects were assessed). Tests: Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Statistical analysis: cluster K-means analysis for personality traits.

Association between low values of mean arterial pressure and impaired cognitive performance in older patients with mild cognitive impairment: cross-sectional preliminary findings from the STRENGTH Project.

Background: Uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) is a risk factor for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and dementia.

Aims: This study examined the relationship between BP and clinical/cognitive/neuropsychological aspects in MCI individuals.

Methods: MCI patients underwent clinical, functional, cognitive and metacognitive, as well as psychological assessments.

Comparing the cross-national impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on care received by community-dwelling older adults in 2020 and 2021: restoring formal home care versus polarizing informal care?

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the supply of formal and informal home care to older adults in many countries across the world. This study aims to compare the initial picture of how the supply of formal and informal home care to older adults in European countries and Israel changed during the first pandemic year (from mid-2020 to mid-2021) and to examine the changes that these countries made in the provision of adequate care to older adults. Using data from the two COVID-19 waves of SHARE, we show that the provision of formal home care services improved in the investigated period, as in 2021 the share of those who reported difficulties in receiving formal home care dropped significantly compared to the previous year.

Kidney function and other associated factors of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults: The SCOPE study.

Aim: Sarcopenia is associated with several factors and medical conditions among older adults, though previous research has shown limitations and inconsistencies, especially regarding chronic kidney disease (CKD). We investigated the clinical and laboratory variables associated with sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia in older adults, focusing on kidney function measures.

Methods: Data from community-dwelling adults aged ≥75 years participating in the SCOPE multicenter prospective cohort study were assessed cross-sectionally.

Mitochondrial genome study in blood of maternally inherited ALS cases.

Background: ALS is a heterogeneous disease in which different factors such as mitochondrial phenotypes act in combination with a genetic predisposition. This study addresses the question of whether homoplasmic (total mitochondrial genome of a sample is affected) and/or heteroplasmic mutations (wildtype and mutant mitochondrial DNA molecules coexist) might play a role in familial ALS. Blood was drawn from familial ALS patients with a possible maternal pattern of inheritance according to their pedigrees, which was compared to blood of ALS patients without maternal association as well as age-matched controls.

Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) in Patients with Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Study.

Bachground In this study, we hypothesize that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) may improve well-being and the related outcomes in Alzheimer's dementia patients (AD-P) at an early stage. MBIs consist of the practice of consciously observing the psychic contents in the present moment (thoughts, sensations, feelings, and other events). This attention allows one to become aware of the psychic contents and integrate them, thus favoring the quality of life and an increase in the mood of practitioners.

The Impact of Digital Coaching Intervention for Improving Healthy Ageing Dimensions among Older Adults during Their Transition from Work to Retirement.

Retirement is a critical step in older adults' lives, so it is important to motivate them to stay physically active, mentally healthy, and socially connected in the transition from work to retirement, including through digital health coaching programs. This study aims to: evaluate the impact of a digital coaching intervention to enhance three healthy ageing dimensions, i.e.

Association between Sense of Loneliness and Quality of Life in Older Adults with Multimorbidity.

Background: Multimorbidity has been associated with adverse health outcomes, such as reduced physical function, poor quality-of-life (QoL), poor self-rated health.

Objective: The association between quality of life, social support, sense of loneliness and sex and age in older adult patients affected by two or more chronic diseases (multimorbidity) was evaluated.

Methods: Patients n.

Inflammaging and Blood Pressure Profiles in Late Life: The Screening for CKD among Older People across Europe (SCOPE) Study.

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a marker for systemic inflammation. Since inflammation plays a relevant role in vascular aging, the aim of this study was to investigate whether NLR is associated with blood pressure profiles in older adults. This study was performed within the framework of the SCOPE study including 2461 outpatients aged 75 years and over.