Publications by authors named "Rui Valdiviesso"
Introduction: The finger-ring test (FRT) offers a simple method to screen older adults at increased risk of sarcopenia.
Objective: To investigate the association between the FRT and lean soft tissue mass estimated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and to further elucidate the FRT as an indicator of muscle mass, while accounting for potential confounders, in a community-dwelling population.
Materials And Methods: Within this cross-sectional study 430 community-dwelling individuals aged 18 to 79 (286 women (66.
Background: Handgrip strength (HGS) is an indicator of muscular strength, used in the diagnosis of sarcopenia, undernutrition, and physical frailty as well as recovery. Typically, the maximum HGS value is used; however, recent evidence suggests the exploration of new indicators provided based on the force-time curve to achieve a more comprehensive assessment of muscle function. Therefore, the objective was to identify indicators of the HGS profile beyond maximum HGS, based on force-time curves, and to systematize knowledge about their applications to various types of samples, health issues, and physical performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Frailty and sarcopenia have been extensively studied in heart failure (HF) patients, but their coexistence is unknown. The aim of this work is to describe the coexistence of these conditions in a sample of HF outpatients and its association with the use of medication and left-ventricular ejection fraction.
Methods: Participants in this cross-sectional study were recruited from a HF outpatients' clinic in northern Portugal.
Background: A patient's knowledge of heart failure (HF) is associated with better outcomes. The more information patients have about their illness, the less likely they are to be readmitted to the hospital. Such knowledge includes the cause, symptoms, probable duration, and expected evolution of the clinical picture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction And Objectives: Studies on younger frail and pre-frail subjects suffering from heart failure (HF) are scarce, except for those focusing on the critically ill. This work aims to describe differences between younger (<65 years) and older (≥65 years) pre-frail and frail HF outpatients regarding their nutritional, functional and clinical statuses.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 99 HF frail and pre-frail patients (aged 24-81 years, 38.
Background: Sarcopenia is prevalent in heart failure (HF) patients, contributing to its poor prognosis. Statin use is postulated as a probable risk for developing sarcopenia, but little is known regarding this association in HF patients. This work aims at classifying and characterising sarcopenia and at describing the association of statin use with sarcopenia in a sample of Portuguese HF outpatients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between frailty phenotype (FP) and heart failure (HF) in a sample of Portuguese patients, highlighting how both conditions can negatively impact each other.
- Out of 136 participants, 57.4% were found to be pre-frail and 15.4% frail, with a significant portion of frail individuals being under 65 years old.
- Key findings showed that older age and obesity increase the likelihood of frailty, while greater muscle mass and being in a better HF functional class lower the risk, indicating muscle mass’s crucial role in managing frailty in HF patients.
Background: Assessing body weight in older adults may be challenging. Hence, the present study aimed to develop and cross-validate updated and reproducible equations to estimate body weight in a large sample of older adults, namely among the older-old.
Methods: In total, 1456 individuals aged ≥ 65 years, from the Nutrition UP 65 study, were included in the present analysis.
Background: The population of Portugal is aging. The lack of data on older adults' nutritional status and the lack of nutrition knowledge amongst health professionals, caregivers, and older adults themselves, remains a challenge.
Objective: The Nutrition UP 65 study aims to reduce nutritional inequalities in the older Portuguese adult population and improve knowledge regarding older Portuguese adults' nutritional status, specifically relating to undernutrition, obesity, sarcopenia, frailty, hydration, sodium, and vitamin D statuses.