[Functional mobility tests of proclivity for falls in nursing home patients].

Falls of nursing home patients can lead to serious injury and the start or increase of a downwards spiral as far as functional dependence is concerned. Interventions aimed at fall prevention can be successful, therefore it is important to be able to detect patients with a high risk of falling. Medline helped to research literature covering the diagnostic value (sensitivity and specificity) of the available functional (or performance-oriented) mobility tests.

[Nursing home rehabilitation, functional independence and quality of life: a pilot study of somatic nursing home rehabilitation patients].

In a pilot study of 18 patients the relation between nursing home rehabilitation, functional independence and quality of life was examined. Furthermore, measurement instruments and study design were evaluated. Nursing home rehabilitation proved to be associated with (partially significant) improvement in functional independence and quality of life.

Smoking and diabetes mellitus.

The goal of this review is to determine the effects of smoking on diabetes mellitus, whether it aggravates diabetic complications or influences insulin metabolism and action. Also available anti-smoking programmes applicable for diabetic patients have been studied. The prevalence of smoking among diabetic patients has been investigated by conducting a meta-analysis.