Dyspnoea and mortality in older people in the community: a 10-year follow-up.

Background: examine baseline dyspnoea and subsequent 10-year mortality adjusting for age and gender and determine whether dyspnoea is related to early or late mortality or both. Examine the relationship between dyspnoea and mortality adjusting for confounding effects of underlying diseases.

Methods: we sent modified Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea questionnaire to identify breathlessness in 1,404 randomly selected subjects from general practitioner lists of 5,002 subjects aged 70 years and over living in the community.

Leukaemia incidence in Welsh children linked with low level radiation--making sense of some erroneous results published in the media.

A series of self-published epidemiological reports purporting to show a major excess risk of leukaemia in pre-school children living near the Irish Sea coast of Wales have been presented in the media as evidence of the harmful effects of low level radiation arising from Sellafield. The Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), the body responsible for population-based cancer information in Wales, can provide insights into the validity of these reports, which appear to be a consequence of various mistakes. This raises important questions about the research governance of such reports and the communication of scientific findings via the mass media.

Left ventricular systolic dysfunction and atrial fibrillation in older people in the community--a need for screening?

Background: Heart failure and stroke are major causes of morbidity and mortality in older people. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors improve symptoms and survival in left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Anticoagulants are effective in stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation with aspirin being a less effective alternative.

European reference values for Doppler indices of left ventricular diastolic filling.

The European Study Group on diastolic heart failure requires objective evidence of abnormal left ventricular diastolic function to establish the diagnosis of diastolic heart failure, which is common in older people. Reference values for Doppler indices of transmitral flow, used to assess left ventricular diastolic function, have not been reported for people 70 years and over in Europe. The aim of this study was to establish reference values for these Doppler indices of transmitral flow in older people.

Inhaler technique in older people in the community.

Background: Good inhaler technique and medication concordance is important for symptom and disease control in chronic airways disease.

Objectives: Establish the prevalence of inhaler use; the main inhaler devices used by older people at home; their ability to use the inhalers they have been prescribed; and the relationship between perceived ease of use and actual performance.

Design: Cross-sectional population based study.

Diastolic heart failure in older people.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of diastolic heart failure in older people in the community, identify associated risk factors and measure its impact on function and quality of life.

Design: Cross-sectional population-based study.

Methods: A two-stage random sample of 500 subjects was drawn from 5,002 subjects aged 70 years and over living at home.