Publications by authors named "Pedro Paulo Marin"

Since 1948, the World Health Organization has been publishing the (ICD), a coded system of causes of disease and death with an in-depth revision every 10-15 years. In its latest revision, the ICD-11 uses nomenclature characterizing old age as "initial and final geriatric periods," implying the medicalization of this stage of life, which has created confusion and sparked controversy. This article discusses the new nomenclature proposed, given the current knowledge about old age and the aging process and its most accepted definition.

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Background: Inappropriate medication use in older people is an important source of adverse events and complications.

Aim: To determine the frequency of inappropriate medication use in the general population.

Material And Methods: As part of the 2010 Chilean National Health Survey, 1,048 persons aged 65 years or more were interviewed about medication use.

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Introduction: metabolic syndrome (MS) is a clustering of risk factors known to promote cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Environmental factors, such as unhealthy diet, play a major role in the development of this condition. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of MS and its association with food intake quality among Chilean adults.

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Background: Delirium is an important problem in older medical inpatients.

Aim: To assess if delirium is associated with higher mortality, functional decline or higher rates of readmission or institutionalization in a one year follow-up period.

Material And Methods: Prospective cohort study of consecutive patients 65 years and older, admitted to a general hospital medical ward.

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We report a 79-year-old male patient presenting with progressive memory loss associated with anxiety and muscular pain. An extensive biochemical control revealed high serum calcium and parathormone levels, and normal thyroid hormones. Cognitive assessment prior to surgery was compatible with mild cognitive impairment, showing significant improvement two months after parathyroidectomy.

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Introduction: An increase in visits to Emergency Departments by older adults has been reported, but there are no data available on this in countries in the early phases of demographic and epidemiological transition. This paper describes the characteristics of people over 60 years-old (AM) who visited the Emergency Department of the Hospital Clínico Universitario de la Pontificia Universidad Católica, Chile (SU-PUC), compared to those less than 60 years-old (AJ).

Material And Methods: Demographic data and reasons for admission and re-admission were collected retrospectively from the SU-PUC monthly statistics report.

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Background: there is no established definition of healthy aging in clinical practice, although it is a World Health Organization goal.

Aim: to develop a clinical protocol to identify healthy older people living in the community and study their clinical, laboratory and functional characteristics.

Material And Methods: healthy people aged 60 years or older, were invited to participate in the study, by newspapers and radio, if they selfperceived as healthy, lived in the community, were functionally independent and had low disease burden.

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Background: Delirium is an important problem especially in older medical inpatients.

Objective: The authors asked whether delirium and its duration are associated with higher mortality in a 3-month follow-up period.

Method: In this prospective cohort study, inpatients age 65 and older were assessed every 48 hours with the Confusion Assessment Method.

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The speed of growth of the population of older adults has been much faster than expected in every country. In Chile today one out of ten persons is an older adult and in the next twenty years this proportion will duplicate. Population aging is a success of development but also presents a medical and social challenge.

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Background: Delirium is a common underdiagnosed and undertreated problem in elderly inpatients, associated to higher morbidity, mortality and health cost.

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of delirium at hospital admission in medically ill elderly patients and the attending physician's diagnosis and treatment of delirium.

Patients And Methods: In a prospective and descriptive study, consecutive patients aged 65 years or more, admitted to an internal medicine ward were evaluated by independent physicians, during the first 48 h of admission, to asses the presence of delirium.

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Background: The aging speed in developing countries has been faster than predicted. Thus, health care systems must adapt to face this new scenario efficiently. The WHO designed the INTRA study to assess health promotion and protection actions in primary care, for people over 50 years of age.

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Background: Elderly people (>60 years) in Chile represented 11.4% (n=1,717,478) of the total population in 2002. The group with disabilities or mental problems is increasing and there is no reliable information about the number of institutionalized elderly subjects.

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Background: The number of nonagenarians is rapidly growing in Chile. This age group is mainly female, with higher frailty markers and in higher risk of being placed at nursing homes.

Aim: To describe features of nonagenarian women and compare them with a group of women between 60-89 years, both living in nursing homes, in terms of disability and resource use at the institution.

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Background: There is little information about Chilean elderly residents of long term care facilities, regarding their characteristics and need for resources.

Aim: To describe main characteristics and resource utilization of residents of one of the largest nursing homes in Chile, Fundación Las Rosas de Ayuda Fraterna.

Material And Methods: In a cross sectional and descriptive study, all residents were evaluated using the RUG T-18 method, that assess activities of daily living and the complexity of their clinical situation.

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Background: In Chile there is a program named "Vacations for Elderly during Low Season".

Aim: To characterize participants of this program and to measure the impact of traveling in their health and wellbeing.

Material And Methods: Two anonymous and voluntary questionnaires were applied to 4200 participants, before and after a ten days vacation package.

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Background: Falls are an important cause of disability and mortality among elderly subjects.

Aim: To study the features and incidence of falls in institutionalized elderly subjects.

Patients And Methods: Prospective recording of all falls, occurring in a period of eight months, to 453 subjects older than 60 years, living a home for the elderly.

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Background: Hip fractures are the most severe complication of osteoporosis, yet patients who suffer hip fracture rarely receive adequate treatment.

Aim: To assess diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis in patients with hip fracture.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective study in 203 patients admitted for hip fracture surgery at two medical institutions in Santiago, Chile.

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Chile's demographic and epidemiological transitions are among the most advanced in Latin America. This article documents the new importance of chronic disease and conditions that significantly affect the quality of life of the older population, noting that primary care-sensitive conditions such as poor vision, hearing, and dental care are among the most common unmet health needs of the older population. An overview of the health care system in Chile shows that it is a mixed public-private system in both insurance and provision, but the organization of the system forces most elderly persons into the public system.

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