Withdrawal from long-term use of zopiclone, zolpidem and temazepam may improve perceived sleep and quality of life in older adults with primary insomnia.

Long-term use of benzodiazepines or benzodiazepine receptor agonists is widespread, although guidelines recommend short-term use. Only few controlled studies have characterized the effect of discontinuation of their chronic use on sleep and quality of life. We studied perceived sleep and quality of life in 92 older (age 55-91 years) outpatients with primary insomnia before and after withdrawal from long-term use of zopiclone, zolpidem or temazepam (BZDA).

Long-term persistence of withdrawal of temazepam, zopiclone, and zolpidem in older adults: a 3-year follow-up study.

Background: Studies on persistence of benzodiazepine agonist (BZDA) withdrawal in older outpatients are few, and few studies on long-term persistence over years have yet been published. To describe the persistence of temazepam, zolpidem, and zopiclone (BZDA) withdrawal among older outpatients at 3 years from the beginning of withdrawal, as well as any changes in use of other medications.

Methods: 92 outpatients (≥55 years) with primary insomnia, long-term BZDA use as hypnotics (mean duration of BZDA use 9.

High sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), cardiovascular events and mortality in the aged: a prospective 9-year follow-up study.

Objective: The clinical utility of application of hsCRP categorization and the association of hsCRP with vascular disease (VD) events are less studied among the aged. This study investigated whether an elevated hsCRP has an additive effect on conventional vascular risk factors in predicting cardiovascular morbidity and all-cause mortality among the aged.

Methods And Results: a prospective population-based study with a 9-year follow-up among persons aged ≥64 and without VD and C-reactive protein (CRP)<10mg/L at baseline (n=771).

Handgrip strength and balance in older adults following withdrawal from long-term use of temazepam, zopiclone or zolpidem as hypnotics.

Background: Benzodiazepines and related drugs affect physical functioning negatively and increase fall and fracture risk. As impaired muscle strength and balance are risk factors for falls, we examined the effects of hypnotic withdrawal on handgrip strength and balance in older adult outpatients during and after long-term use of temazepam, zopiclone and zolpidem (here collectively referred to as "benzodiazepines").

Methods: Eighty-nine chronic users (59 women, 30 men) of temazepam, zopiclone or zolpidem aged ≥55 years participated in a benzodiazepine withdrawal study.

Sex hormones and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A 9-year follow up among elderly men in Finland.

Aim: To analyze whether sex hormone levels predict the incidence of type2 diabetes among elderly Finnish men.

Methods: This was a prospective population-based study, with a 9-year follow up period. The study population in the municipality of Lieto, Finland, consisted of elderly (age ≥64 years) men free of type 2 diabetes at baseline in 1998-1999 (n = 430).

Effect of withdrawal from long-term use of temazepam, zopiclone or zolpidem as hypnotic agents on cognition in older adults.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of withdrawal from the long-term use of temazepam, zopiclone or zolpidem as hypnotics drugs (here referred to as BZD) on cognitive performance.

Methods: Ninety-two adults (age ≥55 years) with primary insomnia and who were long-term daily users of BZD volunteered to participate in a 1-month medically supported withdrawal attempt from BZD use, with a subsequent 5-month follow-up. Withdrawal was based on plasma BZD measurements at baseline, at 1 month and during subsequent regular clinical appointments.

Melatonin for sedative withdrawal in older patients with primary insomnia: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Aim: We compared the efficacy of melatonin and placebo as adjuvants in the withdrawal of patients from long term temazepam, zopiclone or zolpidem (here 'BZD') use.

Methods: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial was conducted in a primary health care outpatient clinic. Ninety-two men or women (≥55 years) with primary insomnia and chronic BZD use received controlled release melatonin 2 mg (CRM) (n = 46) or placebo (n = 46) during the 1 month withdrawal from BZDs.

Midlife sleep characteristics associated with late life cognitive function.

Study Objectives: Previous studies with limited follow-up times have suggested that sleep-related traits are associated with an increased risk of incident dementia or cognitive decline. We investigated the association between midlife sleep characteristics and late life cognitive function.

Design: A follow-up study with a median follow-up time of 22.

Does high sensitive CRP improve cardiovascular risk prediction in metabolic syndrome among the aged?

Objectives: To analyze whether an elevated level of high hsCRP has an additive effect on metabolic syndrome (MetS) in predicting future cardiovascular events (CVEs) as well as on all-cause mortality among the aged subjects.

Design: A prospective, population-based study with a 9-year follow-up. The study population consisted of persons aged 64 and above in 1998-99 without vascular disease and CRP less than 10 mg/l at baseline (n = 733).

Midlife cardiovascular risk factors and late cognitive impairment.

Cardiovascular risk factors increase the risk of dementia in later life. The aims of the current study were to assess the effect of multiple midlife cardiovascular risk factors on the risk of cognitive impairment in later life, and to assess the validity of the previously suggested CAIDE Study risk score predicting dementia risk 20 years later. A total of 2,165 Finnish twins were followed and at the end of the follow-up their cognitive status was assessed with a validated telephone interview.

Self-neglect of the elderly. An overview.

Self-neglect is characterized by the inability to perform essential self-care tasks threatening a person's health and safety. The exact prevalence of self-neglect in a community-based aged population is not known. Cognitive impairment is the most important predisposing factor of self-neglect.

CNS medications as predictors of precipitous cognitive decline in the cognitively disabled aged: a longitudinal population-based study.

Background/aims: Psychotropics and antiepileptics (AE) are medications commonly used among the aged with cognitive decline or dementia, although they may precipitate further cognitive decline. Our aim was to analyze the relationships between the use of (i) psychotropics (i.e.

Shorter adult stature increases the impact of risk factors for cognitive impairment: a comparison of two Nordic twin cohorts.

We analyzed the association between mean height and old age cognition in two Nordic twin cohorts with different childhood living conditions. The cognitive performance of 4720 twin individuals from Denmark (mean age 81.6 years, SD = 4.

Metabolic syndrome defined by modified International Diabetes Federation criteria and type 2 diabetes mellitus risk: a 9-year follow-up among the aged in Finland.

The aim was to analyse the relationship between metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus risk among the aged. This was a prospective population-based study, with a 9-year follow-up. All subjects of the municipality of Lieto in Finland aged ≥64 in 1998-1999 with no type 2 diabetes mellitus at baseline (n=1117) were included.

Fractures as an independent predictor of functional decline in older people: a population-based study with an 8-year follow-up.

Background: Fractures among older people are common, but there is scant evidence about the impact of fractures on functional decline in an unselected older population.

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of lower and upper body fractures on functional performance among older adults during an 8-year follow-up.

Methods: A population-based cohort of 616 Finnish persons aged 65 and over was followed for up to 8 years, and the association between fractures and the risk of short-term (0-2 years) and long-term (up to 8 years) functional decline was analyzed.

Morbidity in aged Finns: a systematic review.

Aim: The aim was to carry out a systematic review of original studies about morbidity in the aged in Finland.

Methods: Publications with data on morbidity in the aged (≥65 years) in peer-reviewed scientific journals in Finnish and English were systematically searched for in literature databases, websites of National Institute of Health and Welfare (NIHW), National Public Health Institute (NPHI), and Stakes and reference lists of retrieved articles. Publications from 1990 onwards were included.

Use of CNS medications and cognitive decline in the aged: a longitudinal population-based study.

Background: Previous studies have found associations between the use of central nervous system medication and the risk of cognitive decline in the aged. Our aim was to assess whether the use of a single central nervous system (CNS) medication and, on the other hand, the combined use of multiple CNS medications over time are related to the risk of cognitive decline in an older (≥ 65 yrs) population that is cognitively intact at baseline.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal population-based study of cognitively intact older adults.

Self-neglect in the case of the elderly. Where are we now?

Unlabelled: Self-neglect in an elderly person is a behavior that threatens his/her own health and safety. It is present when a person refuses to adequately feed, water, shelter, or clothe himself, refuses medication or medical care, and personal safety measures.

Material And Method: This is a multicentric study of self-neglect in three geriatric units from Finland, Greece and Romania The medical, social, psychological and behavioral profile analysis was based on a questionnaire; this questionnaire relied on existing studies and social, economic and medical facts in the three countries.

Metabolic syndrome and vascular risk: a 9-year follow-up among the aged in Finland.

The aim was to analyze the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and vascular risk among the aged. A prospective population-based study, with a 9-year follow-up. All subjects of the municipality of Lieto in Finland aged ≥64 in 1998-99 participated (n = 1183).

[The effects of antidepressive drugs among the patients with memory disturbances--a systematic review].

The aim was to provide a systematic review of the effects of antidepressive drugs on depression among the aged with memory disturbances or dementia. Randomized, controlled trials (RCT) published in 1980-2009 were searched in Medline (PubMed) and Cochrane databases. The material consisted of 11 original RCT's.

Myocardial infarction events and cardiovascular risk factor levels in Finnish- and Swedish-speaking populations of Finland.

BACKGROUND. The Swedish-speaking minority of Finland is unique, because it has a higher socioeconomic status (SES) and longer life expectancy than the Finnish-speaking majority. We hypothesized that this minority may have a lower attack rate of coronary events and analysed whether this could be explained by their higher SES.

Midlife alcohol consumption and later risk of cognitive impairment: a twin follow-up study.

In this prospective follow-up study, we monitored the effects of midlife alcohol consumption and drinking patterns on cognitive impairment risks in late life. 1,486 subjects recruited from the Finnish Twin Cohort were included in the analyses. Alcohol consumption data was obtained with structured questionnaires in 1975 and 1981, and subjects were contacted between 1999 and 2007 to conduct a telephone interview evaluating cognitive function.

Coffee drinking in middle age is not associated with cognitive performance in old age.

Background: The lack of effective disease-modifying treatments highlights the need for research on the prevention of dementia. It has been suggested that coffee has a protective effect on cognitive performance in old age, but only some of the previous studies have shown this association.

Objective: The aim of our study was to analyze the potential association between coffee drinking in middle age and cognitive performance in old age in a large sample of Finnish twins.

Fractures as predictors of excess mortality in the aged-a population-based study with a 12-year follow-up.

Introduction And Objective: The association between fractures and excess mortality in old age is ambiguous. The objective of this study was to analyze the long-term gender-specific association between fractures and mortality among older persons by controlling several survival related confounders.

Methods: A population-based prospective cohort study in the municipality of Lieto, south-western Finland.