Evaluation of risk of falls in patients at a memory impairment outpatient clinic.

Aim: We investigated the usefulness of the fall-predicting score, a simple screening test to identify patients at high risk of falls in outpatients with cognitive impairment.

Methods: This was a 1-year prospective study. Seventy-nine patients (28 men and 51 women, 78.

[Fall risk assessment in regular exercising elderly women].

Aim: Fall prevention is important for elderly people to maintain their functional independence. We made a longitudinal fall-risk assessment using our "Fall-predicting score" of women who are 60 years or older and who exercised regularly.

Methods: We sent "fall-predicting questionnaires" to 632 elderly women aged 60 years or older (mean 65.

[Muscle and bone health as a risk factor of fall among the elderly. An approach to identify high-risk fallers by risk assessment].

Fall-induced hip fracture is one of the major causes rendering the elderly to be in a low ADL or bed-ridden status. Fall is not only the cause for fractures, but it lowers elderly peoples'ADL. History of fall, age, decline of motor function, orthostatic hypotension, balance deficit, dementia, drug and environmental factors were raised as possible risk factor for falls.

["Activity scale for the elderly" as a measurement for the QOL of local elderly individuals and the assessment of the influence of age and exercise].

Aim: To study the influence of exercise on the QOL of local elderly individuals, we created an activity scale for the elderly (ASE) and investigated its reliability and validity.

Methods: We created 36-item ASE and performed factor analysis. The reliability of the ASE was tested by determining Cronbach's coefficient alpha and confirmatory factor analysis in a cohort of 5,280 people, living in the community.

[Creatinine clearance estimation in the extremely elderly subjects].

Background: It has been reported that elderly outpatients take at least 6 different kinds of medication.

Purpose: To know which formula will best predict creatinine clearance, because 24-hour urine collection is difficult for elderly outpatients.

Patients And Methods: We compared four types of formulae (Cockcroft and Gault, Yasuda, Orita, Walser) to estimate creatinine clearance using serum creatinine of 143 elderly inpatients (73 men, 70 women, mean age 82.