Trends in care practices and outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes.

Background: While diabetes is a major issue for the aging U.S. population, few studies have described the recent trends in both preventive care practices and complications among the Medicare population with diabetes.

Role of nondiagnostic exercise-induced ST-segment abnormalities in predicting future coronary events in asymptomatic volunteers.

Background: Whether exercise-induced ST-segment depression <1 mm is an independent predictor of future coronary events (CEs) in asymptomatic subjects is unknown.

Methods And Results: We performed maximal treadmill exercise tests on 1083 volunteers from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging who were free from clinical coronary heart disease. Exercise ST-segment changes were stratified by Minnesota code criteria: 11:1 (n=213), flat or downsloping ST depression > or =1 mm; 11:2 (n=66), flat or downsloping ST depression > or =0.

The physical functioning inventory: a procedure for assessing physical function in adults.

The Physical Functioning Inventory, an instrument designed to assess changes in how and how often activities are performed in persons reporting difficulty with a task as well as in those who do not, is described. The measure is designed for adults. Interrater and test-retest reliability were assessed with active participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA).

Early repolarization: an electrocardiographic predictor of enhanced aerobic fitness.

The presence or absence of early repolarization on the electrocardiogram at rest was correlated with aerobic exercise capacity in healthy volunteers from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Patients with early repolarization had both longer treadmill exercise duration and higher peak oxygen consumption than age-and gender-matched control subjects.

Independent prognostic significance of ischemic ST-segment response limited to recovery from treadmill exercise in asymptomatic subjects.

Background: Although exercise-induced ST depression is an independent predictor of future coronary events in asymptomatic populations, the predictive value of ST depression beginning after exercise cessation is unknown.

Methods And Results: We analyzed the treadmill exercise tests of 825 healthy volunteers who were 22 to 89 years of age from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. All subjects were free from coronary heart disease by history, physical examination, and resting ECG.

Age related changes in visual acuity.

Longitudinal visual acuity assessments of men, and cross-sectional assessments of men and women in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging are presented. The longitudinal data relate presenting far, uncorrected far, presenting near and uncorrected near visual acuities to age. The cross-sectional data relate presenting far acuity to age.