Physical activity, function, and longevity among the very old.

Background: Recommendations encouraging physical activity (PA) set no upper age limit, yet evidence supporting the benefits of PA among the very old is sparse. We examined the effects of continuing, increasing, or decreasing PA levels on survival, function, and health status among the very old.

Methods: Mortality data from ages 70 to 88 years and health, comorbidity, and functional status at ages 70, 78, and 85 years were assessed through the Jerusalem Longitudinal Cohort Study (1990-2008).

Reading daily predicts reduced mortality among men from a cohort of community-dwelling 70-year-olds.

Objectives: Although social and physical components of leisure activity have proven beneficial to successful aging, the influence of solitary and nonstrenuous activity on subsequent aging is unclear. This study examined reading activity to investigate the relationship of a solitary, nonstrenuous activity on aging and mortality.

Methods: A cohort of visually and cognitively intact community-dwelling participants born in 1920-1921, taken from the Jerusalem Longitudinal Study, underwent comprehensive assessment at ages 70 and 78.

Going outdoors daily predicts long-term functional and health benefits among ambulatory older people.

Objective: This article examines the association between frequency of going out of the house and health and functional status among older people.

Method: A randomly chosen cohort of ambulatory participants born in 1920 or 1921 from the Jerusalem Longitudinal Study underwent assessments for health, functional, and psychosocial variables at ages 70 and 77. Twelve-year mortality data were collected.

Holocaust survivors in old age: the Jerusalem Longitudinal Study.

Objectives: To examine the hypothesis that Holocaust exposure during young adulthood negatively affects physical aging, causing greater morbidity, faster deterioration in health parameters, and shorter survival.

Design: A longitudinal cohort study of the natural history of an age-homogenous representative sample born in 1920/21 and living in Jerusalem.

Setting: Community-based home assessments.

Glomerular filtration rate estimation and mortality in an elderly population.

Background: Few studies have addressed the link between minor renal dysfunction and mortality in the elderly.

Aim: To compare three equations for estimated GFR (eGFR) in assessing renal dysfunction and predicting mortality in an elderly population.

Design: Longitudinal observational study.

Evolution of medication use in Jerusalem elders: Results from the Jerusalem Longitudinal Study.

Background: While overall rates of medication use have been increasing over time, less is known about how medication use changes within individuals as they age.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in medication use and predictors of medication accrual among community-dwelling elders followed for a 7-year period, from age 70 +/- 1 years to age 77 +/- 1 years.

Methods: The study was a community-based, longitudinal, cohort study.

Closure of a home hospital program: impact on hospitalization rates.

Home hospitalization (HH), as a substitute to in-patient care, is an area of growing interest, particularly amongst the elderly. Debate nonetheless exists concerning its economic justification. This study describes a natural experiment that arose following spending cuts and closure of the 400 patient Jerusalem HH program.

Aspirin prophylaxis and the prevalence of anaemia.

Background: Anaemia and vascular disease are both common amongst the elderly and frequently co-exist. Whilst a consensus exists concerning the benefits of low-dose aspirin in reducing risk from atheromatous disease, nonetheless concerns arise in view of its harmful effect on gastric mucosa and its influence upon haemostasis, with the possibility of subsequent gastrointestinal bleeding. This study examined the relationship between chronic low-dose aspirin therapy and the presence of anaemia.

Chronic back pain among the elderly: prevalence, associations, and predictors.

Study Design: A longitudinal age homogeneous cohort study.

Objective: To describe the prevalence, nature, and predictors of chronic back pain (CBP) in older people.

Summary Of Background Data: CBP is a growing source of morbidity among the elderly.

Working late: the impact of work after 70 on longevity, health and function.

Background And Aims: Although many older persons choose to postpone retirement, the health consequences of this decision are still debated. This study aimed at determining the impact of continued employment on life-style, well-being, health and survival in a cohort of community-dwelling 70-year-olds.

Methods: A longitudinal study of a homogeneously aged cohort was conducted in two stages.

Global sleep satisfaction of older people: the Jerusalem Cohort Study.

Objectives: To describe the nature of global sleep satisfaction (GSS) of older people and the factors associated with it.

Design: A 7-year follow-up of an age-homogenous cohort.

Setting: Community based.

Moderate renal insufficiency at 70 years predicts mortality.

Background: Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) diminishes with age. Kidney function in the elderly is often assessed by serum creatinine alone, although it is insensitive in this age group. Formulae for predicting GFR are not widely used.

The impact of visual impairment on health, function and mortality.

Background And Aims: Our aim was to determine the impact of visual impairment on self-rated health, function and mortality amongst a community-dwelling elderly cohort.

Methods: The study design was prospective and longitudinal, subjects being taken from an age-homogeneous, community-dwelling cohort comprising 452 subjects aged 70 in 1990 and 839 subjects aged 77 in 1998. Comprehensive data were collected by structured interviews and medical examinations carried out during home visits.

Candidate genes associated with ageing and life expectancy in the Jerusalem longitudinal study.

In an exploratory study, 11 common polymorphisms were examined for contributing to longevity including: apolipoprotein E (apoE), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), cathepsin D (CAD), superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), angiotensinogen (AGT) and insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), Leiden factor 7, p53 oncogene, dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) and the serotonin transporter (SERT). Genotype and allele frequencies of these genes were compared in 224 older (75 years) Jewish Jerusalem residents of Ashkenazi ethnicity to a group of 441 younger subjects (22 years). Nominally significant results provide suggestive evidence in the Ashkenazi group that apoE, MHTFR, SOD2, IGF2 ApaI, and factor VII are risk factors for a single outcome, survival to 75.

Strategies to enhance longevity and independent function: the Jerusalem Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: To analyze the impact of medical and social factors on survival and function from age 70 to 82 and point to possible genetic basis for differences.

Materials And Methods: Longitudinal, cohort study of a representative sample of Jerusalem residents, born 1920-1921. At age 70, 463 subjects underwent a thorough interview eliciting social determinants as well as a medical history and examination and laboratory investigation.

Home hospitalization.

Context: Home Hospital is a worldwide phenomenon that provides acute and subacute medical care in the home in an attempt to reduce the need for hospitalization.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical parameters of a home hospitalization program operating in Jerusalem for 8 years.

Design: The Jerusalem Home Hospitalization (HH) program admits inpatients for early discharge from the hospital or accepts patients from the community when hospitalization is imminent.

Effect of exercise on ease in performing activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living from age 70 to 77: the Jerusalem longitudinal study.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of independence and ease of performance in activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) at ages 70 and 77 in a well-characterized cohort and to measure the effect of regular exercise at age 70 on independence and ease of performance 7 years later.

Design: Two stages of a longitudinal study of an age-homogeneous cohort employing extensive interview data, physical examination, and clinical laboratory investigation.

Setting: Home-based interviews and examinations in Jerusalem.

The effects of physical activity on mortality in the Jerusalem 70-Year-Olds Longitudinal Study.

Objective: To study the association between physical activity and mortality in older men and women.

Design: A community-based cohort study: the Jerusalem 70-Year-Olds Longitudinal Study.

Participants: A systematically selected and representative sample of all residents of the western part of Jerusalem born in 1920-1921: 456 subjects, 25% of the total population.

Independence in instrumental activities of daily living and its effect on mortality.

Factors relating to six-year mortality in a representative sample of seventy-year-old Jerusalem residents (N = 605) were investigated using logistic regression techniques. Around 16.3% of the study population died during the six-year post-interview period.

The siesta in the elderly: risk factor for mortality?

Background: During the siesta, blood pressure declines like it does during night sleep. Because cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events cluster during the morning hours, when hemodynamic changes from nocturnal baseline are maximal, we hypothesized that an additional sleep period during the day (the siesta) may increase cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, and thus mortality.

Methods: A prospective population-based cohort study of 455 70-year-old residents of Jerusalem, Israel, using self-reported siesta at baseline and 6 1/2 years of total mortality data.