Factors associated with change in objectively measured physical activity in older people - data from the physical activity cohort Scotland study.

Background: Cross-sectional relationships between physical activity and health have been explored extensively, but less is known about how physical activity changes with time in older people. The aim of this study was to assess baseline predictors of how objectively measured physical activity changes with time in older people.

Methods: Longitudinal cohort study using data from the Physical Activity Cohort Scotland.

Spironolactone for People Age 70 Years and Older With Osteoarthritic Knee Pain: A Proof-of-Concept Trial.

Objective: To determine whether spironolactone could benefit older people with osteoarthritis (OA), based on a previous study showing that spironolactone improved quality of life.

Methods: This parallel-group, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial randomized community-dwelling people ages ≥70 years with symptomatic knee OA to 12 weeks of 25 mg daily oral spironolactone or matching placebo. The primary outcome was between-group difference in change in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain subscale scores.

Social, environmental and psychological factors associated with objective physical activity levels in the over 65s.

Objective: To assess physical activity levels objectively using accelerometers in community dwelling over 65 s and to examine associations with health, social, environmental and psychological factors.

Design: Cross sectional survey.

Setting: 17 general practices in Scotland, United Kingdom.

Do pedometers increase physical activity in sedentary older women? A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of a behavior change intervention (BCI) with or without a pedometer in increasing physical activity in sedentary older women.

Design: Prospective randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Primary care, City of Dundee, Scotland.

Cranberry or trimethoprim for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections? A randomized controlled trial in older women.

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of cranberry extract with low-dose trimethoprim in the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in older women.

Patients And Methods: One hundred and thirty-seven women with two or more antibiotic-treated UTIs in the previous 12 months were randomized to receive either 500 mg of cranberry extract or 100 mg of trimethoprim for 6 months.

Results: Thirty-nine of 137 participants (28%) had an antibiotic-treated UTI (25 in the cranberry group and 14 in the trimethoprim group); difference in proportions relative risk 1.

Long-term follow-up of very old heart failure patients enrolled in a trial of exercise training.

Little is known about how physical and psychological status changes with time in older heart failure patients. The authors followed up a cohort of 82 patients (mean age, 80.5 years) enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of exercise training in heart failure.

Effects of an exercise intervention for older heart failure patients on caregiver burden and emotional distress.

Background: The impact of exercise programmes for heart failure on those close to the patient is largely unknown. We examined the effect of a hospital and home-based exercise intervention on burden, anxiety and depression of informal caregivers.

Design: The study was a randomized, controlled trial.

Predictors of exercise capacity and everyday activity in older heart failure patients.

Background: Exercise capacity and daily activity are key outcomes for older, frail heart failure patients. Little is known about the determinants of these outcomes in this patient group.

Aims: To explore predictors of exercise capacity and daily activity in older, frail heart failure patients.

Effect of a seated exercise program to improve physical function and health status in frail patients > or = 70 years of age with heart failure.

Eighty-two patients aged > or = 70 years with heart failure were randomized to a gentle, seated exercise program or to usual care. Six-minute walk distance and quality of life did not change between groups, but daily activity as measured by accelerometry increased in the exercise group relative to the control group.