Cross-cultural adaptation of the Karnofsky Performance Status instrument to Brazilian Portuguese.

Introduction: The Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) is one of the most widely used tools for assessing the prognosis of oncology patients, providing an estimate of treatment efficiency and survival. Despite this, it is commonly used in free translations without validation. The objective of the present study was to perform the cross-cultural adaptation of the KPS instrument to Brazilian Portuguese (KPS-BR) through the stages of conceptual, semantic, operational, measurement, and functional equivalences.

The sensitivity and specificity of the WHO's ICOPE screening tool, and the prevalence of loss of intrinsic capacity in older adults: A scoping review.

Background: The World Health Organization has developed the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) program, a public health strategy to maintain older adults' functional abilities and promote healthier aging. The approach comprises a 5-step pathway. Step 1 is the screening for impairment in functions, and Step 2 is an in-depth evaluation to confirm the presence and severity of functional impairment.

Application of spatial environmental indicators in the assessment of degradation potential of water resources in water basins.

Changes in land use have been occurring in a continuous and disorderly way in recent decades due to rapid population growth and the growing demand for food. These constant changes result in a series of harmful effects to the environment, especially to water resources, significantly changing their availability and quality. This study aims to evaluate the degradation potential of watersheds through an evaluation of some environmental indicators using arithmetic means to construct an index called in this research "index of potential environmental degradation" (IPED).

Low phase angle in critically ill older patients is associated with late mortality: A prospective study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to ascertain the accuracy of phase angle (PhA) as a predictor of mortality during intensive care unit (ICU) stay (M) and at 28 (M) and 60 d (M) after ICU admission among patients aged >60 y.

Methods: Patients aged >60 y who were under mechanical ventilation (MV) ≥48 h were included once they were hemodynamically stable. PhA was measured by single-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis up to 48 h after admission.

Predictors of functional impairment and awareness in people with dementia, mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults from a middle-income country.

Objective: To investigate the demographic, clinical and cognitive correlates of functional capacity and its awareness in people with dementia (PwD; = 104), mild cognitive impairment (PwMCI; = 45) and controls (healthy older adults; = 94) in a sample from a middle-income country.

Methods: Dementia and MCI were diagnosed, respectively, with DSM-IV and Petersen criteria. Performance in activities of daily living (ADL) at three different levels [basic (The Katz Index of Independence), instrumental (Lawton instrumental ADL scale) and advanced (Reuben's advanced ADL scale)], measured through self- and informant-report, as well as awareness (discrepancy between self- and informant-report), were compared between groups.

Exercise with blood flow restriction improves muscle strength and mass while preserving the vascular and microvascular function and structure of older adults.

Background: Changes in muscle mass, strength, vascular function, oxidative stress, and inflammatory biomarkers were compared in older adults after resistance training (RT) performed with low-intensity without blood flow restriction (RT-CON); low-intensity with BFR (RT-BFR); and high-intensity without BFR (RT-HI).

Methods: Thirty-two untrained individuals (72±7 y) performed a 12-week RT after being randomized into three groups: RT-CON -30% of 1 repetition maximum (RM); RT-BFR -30% of 1RM and mild BFR (50% of arterial occlusion pressure); RT-HI -70% of 1 RM.

Results: Improvements in handgrip strength were similar in RT-BFR (17%) and RT-HI (16%) vs.

Correction: Normative reference values of handgrip strength for Brazilian older people aged 65 to 90 years: Evidence from the multicenter Fibra‑BR study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Association between fear of falling and spatial and temporal parameters of gait in older adults: the FIBRA-RJ study.

Purpose: To evaluate the association between fear of falling (FoF) and spatial and temporal parameters of gait in older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated 291 clients of a private health care insurance who were over 65 years of age and living in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro City in 2013. FoF was assessed by the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I-BR), and gait parameters, such as gait speed, cadence, step time, step length, stride length, and variability (standard deviation of stride length), were assessed using GAITRite®.

Can Social Resources Explain the Limitations in the Activities of Daily Living of Older Adults Classified by the Phenotype of Physical Frailty?

The objective is to investigate the mediating roles of living alone and personal network in the relationship between physical frailty and activities of daily living (ADL) limitations among older adults. 2271 individuals were classified as vulnerable (pre-frail or frail) or robust. Mediating variables were living alone and personal network.

Geomorphometric environmental fragility of a watershed: a multicriteria spatial approach.

Knowledge and understanding of the functioning of watersheds is essential for constructing future scenarios that aim to minimize instability. However, new approaches including variables, methods, and techniques into traditional methodologies contribute to environmental planning and management of such territorial units. This study aims to propose a model based on a multicriterion spatial approach for the analysis of the geomorphometric environmental fragility of watersheds.

Mortality, sarcopenic obesity, and sarcopenia: Frailty in Brazilian Older People Study - FIBRA - RJ.

Objective: To investigate the risk of mortality associated with sarcopenic obesity (SO), obesity (OB), and sarcopenia in elderlies.

Methods: We analyzed longitudinal data from 270 participants > 65 years of age of Phase III of the Study on Frailty in Brazilian Older People (FIBRA-RJ-2012). Socioeconomic, demographic, lifestyle, morbidity, and functional data were collected by home based interviews.

Difficulty in taking medication and stroke among older adults with systemic arterial hypertension: the Fibra Study.

This article aims to investigate whether difficulty in taking medication is associated with stroke among older adults with Systemic Arterial Hypertension (SAH) and to explore their association with living arrangements. Cross-sectional study was based on 3,502 older adults with SAH from the four universities pole of Frailty in Brazilian Older People (Fibra) Study, Brazil, including 14 municipalities of the five Brazilian regions. We used the medical diagnosis of stroke and difficulty in taking medications (self-reported difficulty and financial difficulty affording prescribed medications).

Sarcopenia in the elderly versus microcirculation, inflammation status, and oxidative stress: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Age-related mechanisms of sarcopenia associated with vascular function have been recently suggested. This study compared and tested associations between muscle mass and strength, microcirculation, inflammatory biomarkers, and oxidative stress in older adults classified as sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic.

Methods: Thirty-three physically inactive individuals (72±7 yrs) were assigned to age-matched sarcopenic (SG) and non-sarcopenic (NSG) groups.

[Old age and the new ICD-11: Position of the Latin American Academy of Medicine for Older PersonsA velhice e a nova CID-11: posição da Academia Latino-americana de Medicina do Idoso].

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.

Does Resistance Training with Blood Flow Restriction Affect Blood Pressure and Cardiac Autonomic Modulation in Older Adults?

Resistance training (RT) with blood flow restriction (BFR) appears to accelerate muscle hypertrophy and strength gains in older populations. However, the training-related effects of RT with BFR upon blood pressure (BP) and cardiac autonomic modulation in the elderly remains unclear. The objective of this study is to compare the chronic effects of low-intensity RT performed with soft BFR (BFR) .

Normative reference values of handgrip strength for Brazilian older people aged 65 to 90 years: Evidence from the multicenter Fibra‑BR study.

Background: Handgrip strength (HGS) is an indicator of muscle strength, suited for evaluating the aging process. Its use depends on the availability of reliable normative reference values (NRV). The main objective of this study is to provide NRV of HGS for Brazilians aged 65 to 90 years.

A multidimensional approach to frailty compared with physical phenotype in older Brazilian adults: data from the FIBRA-BR study.

Background: Frailty is a predictor of negative health outcomes in older adults. The physical frailty phenotype is an often used form for its operationalization. Some authors have pointed out limitations regarding the unidimensionality of the physical phenotype, introducing other dimensions in the approach to frailty.

Presence of Senescent and Memory CD8+ Leukocytes as Immunocenescence Markers in Skin Lesions of Elderly Leprosy Patients.

Leprosy is an infectious disease that remains endemic in approximately 100 developing countries, where about 200,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Moreover, multibacillary leprosy, the most contagious form of the disease, has been detected at continuously higher rates among Brazilian elderly people. Due to the so-called immunosenescence, characterized by several alterations in the quality of the immune response during aging, this group is more susceptible to infectious diseases.

Increased oxidative stress in elderly leprosy patients is related to age but not to bacillary load.

Background: Leprosy continues to be a public health problem in Brazil. Furthermore, detection rates in elderly people have increased, particularly those of multibacillary (L-Lep) patients, who are responsible for transmitting M. leprae.

Prevalence of Sarcopenic Obesity and its Association with Functionality, Lifestyle, Biomarkers and Morbidities in Older Adults: the FIBRA-RJ Study of Frailty in Older Brazilian Adults.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity and its association with functionality, lifestyle, biomarkers, and morbidities in older adults.

Methods: The study analyzed cross-sectional data from 270 older adults who participated in phase III of the Frailty in Brazilian Older People Study (Fragilidade em Idosos Brasileiros-Rio de Janeiro, FIBRA-RJ study-2013). They took part in a home interview surveying socioeconomic, demographic, lifestyle, morbidities, and functional data.

Incidence, persistence and risk factors of fear of falling in older adults: cohort study (2008-2013) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence and persistence of fear of falling in older adults and the clinical/functional, psychosocial and lifestyle-related risk factors.

Methods: A longitudinal study with 393 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and over (110 men/ 283 women) resident in the North Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The fear of falling was assessed by the Falls Efficacy Scale-I-BR.

Frailty syndrome in Brazilian older people: a population based study.

This article aims to categorize elderly non-frail (NF), pre-frail (PF) and frail (FF) as to fast and slow gait speed. Compare NF, PF and FF, and analyze associations between fast or slow gait speed with clinical, functional and mental factors. 5,501 elderly (65 years or over; to the Frailty in Brazilian Older People Study), classified as NF, PF and FF (Fried´s frailty phenotype) and, in relation to fast gait speed (≥ 0.

Screening for vulnerable older people: Is the Probability of Repeated Admission scale an accurate tool?

Aim: To evaluate the Probability of Repeated Admission (Pra) scale performance in predicting healthcare utilization and death in a community sample of Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil.

Methods: This was a prospective longitudinal study. The sample was composed of community-dwelling older people who participated in the research network Frailty in Brazilian Older People Study, Rio de Janeiro section.

Strength training with blood flow restriction - a novel therapeutic approach for older adults with sarcopenia? A case report.

Introduction: A 91-year-old sedentary man presenting exhaustion, lower-limb weakness, hypertension, and history of multiple falls was diagnosed with sarcopenia - appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASM) of 7.10 kg/m.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of strength training performed with low intensity in isolation (LI) or with blood flow restriction (LI-BFR) on strength, muscle mass, IGF-1, endothelial function, microcirculation, inflammatory biomarkers, and oxidative stress.

Valuation methodology of laminar erosion potential using fuzzy inference systems in a Brazilian savanna.

This study presents an approach on the evaluation of potential laminar erosion in the Ribeirão Sucuri Grande watershed. It is located in the northeast of the state of Goiás, Brazil, a conservation area under strong anthropogenic pressure. A Mamdani fuzzy inference system was designed using linguistic variables, pertinence functions, and a set of rules associated to a traditional laminar erosion prediction model through the environmental conditioners slope, erodibility, and degree of soil protection.