Machine Learning Prediction for Postdischarge Falls in Older Adults: A Multicenter Prospective Study.

Objectives: The study aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model to predict early postdischarge falls in older adults using data that are easy to collect in acute care hospitals. This may reduce the burden imposed by complex measures on patients and health care staff.

Design: This prospective multicenter study included patients admitted to and discharged from geriatric wards at 3 university hospitals and 1 national medical center in Japan between October 2019 and July 2023.

The potential of body mass index-adjusted calf circumference as a proxy for low muscle mass in the global leadership initiative on malnutrition criteria.

Background & Aims: Reduced muscle mass is one of the diagnostic components for Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM), with various assessment methods proposed. Calf circumference (CC), a representative anthropometric marker of skeletal muscle mass, is now recommended to adjustment based on body mass index (BMI). This study aimed to evaluate the validity and efficacy of BMI-adjusted CC in very older adults, compared with other methods of assessing muscle mass.

Predictive validity of the Questionnaire for Medical Checkup of Old-Old for all-cause mortality and disability incidence.

Aim: The Questionnaire for Medical Checkup of Old-Old (QMCOO) has been used nationwide in Japan as part of the health checkup for latter-stage older adults since the financial year 2020. Although the QMCOO is useful in screening for frailty, its cutoff values for predicting adverse health outcomes have rarely been assessed. Therefore, this study aimed to calculate the cutoff values for predicting all-cause mortality and disability incidence and to evaluate their predictive validity.

Evaluation of quadriceps muscle cross-sectional area using an ultrasonic diagnostic equipment with a wide field of view.

Skeletal muscle index measurement via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry or bioelectrical impedance analysis is used to evaluate muscle mass when diagnosing sarcopenia. However, inherent challenges exist with these methods. We previously focused on muscle mass evaluation in the quadriceps femoris by using computed tomography (CT).

Association of food group with the changes in sarcopenia parameters over 1 year in older outpatients in a frailty clinic.

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between food group and the changes in sarcopenia parameters in 1 year among older outpatients.

Methods: A prospective cohort study conducted between July 2017 and April 2021 included patients aged ≥ 65 years attending a frailty clinic. Food group consumption adjusted for energy and body weight was conducted using a self-administered dietary history questionnaire.

Association of body mass index-adjusted calf circumference with appendicular skeletal muscle mass and fall risk in older adults.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the utility of body mass index (BMI)-adjusted calf circumference (CC) in estimating skeletal muscle mass and diagnosing sarcopenia, as well as its association with falls, a common adverse event in sarcopenia.

Methods: This study used cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. The CC cut-off values and the diagnosis of sarcopenia were based on valid diagnostic criteria.

Identification of Potential Blood-Based Biomarkers for Frailty by Using an Integrative Approach.

Introduction: Although frailty is a geriatric syndrome that is associated with disability, hospitalization, and mortality, it can be reversible and preventable with the appropriate interventions. Additionally, as the current diagnostic criteria for frailty include only physical, psychological, cognitive, and social measurements, there is a need for promising blood-based molecular biomarkers to aid in the diagnosis of frailty.

Methods: To identify candidate blood-based biomarkers that can enhance current diagnosis of frailty, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of clinical data, messenger RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), and aging-related factors using a total of 104 older adults aged 65-90 years (61 frail subjects and 43 robust subjects) in a cross-sectional case-control study.

Association between intrinsic capacity and oral health in older patients in a frailty clinic.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate how intrinsic capacity (IC) deficit is associated with oral functional decline.

Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled older adults at a research hospital frailty clinic between July 2021 and May 2023. IC evaluation included the locomotion, cognition, vitality, psychology, and sensory domains.

Moderating effect of age on the relationship between physical health loss and emotional distress post-acute care in Japanese older hospitalized patients.

Background: At present, there are no consistent findings regarding the association between physical health loss and mental health in older adults. Some studies have shown that physical health loss is a risk factor for worsening of mental health. Other studies revealed that declining physical health does not worsen mental health.

Association between Circulating Levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10 and Physical Frailty in Older Adults.

Introduction: Dysregulation of pro-inflammatory chemokines is considered a potential mechanism for the development of age-related medical conditions such as frailty. However, evidence linking circulating chemokines with frailty remains lacking.

Materials And Methods: We performed a case-control study including 48 cases and 48 controls aged 65-90 years, using the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology outpatient registry data.

Implication of grip strength assessment for the management of body weight in disability prevention in older adults.

Background: Although body mass index (BMI) and grip strength (GS) are both predictors of disability, their joint effect on predicting incident disability remains uncertain. We examined whether the effect of BMI on incident disability can be modulated by GS in community-dwelling older people in Japan.

Methods: A total of 1486 community-dwellers in Japan (731 men and 755 women, aged 65-82 years) who participated in the 2nd to 7th waves of the National Institute for Longevity Sciences-Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA) project, were followed up to 20 years.

Concordance in oral frailty five-item checklist and oral hypofunction: Examining their respective characteristics.

Objectives: This study examined the diagnostic concordance and characteristics of the oral frailty five-item checklist (OF-5) and oral hypofunction (OHF).

Materials And Methods: In this extensive cross-sectional study, older adults were enrolled at a research hospital frailty clinic between July 2021 and July 2023. The diagnosis of OF-5 and OHF was conducted using the proposed assessment methods.

Prevalence and Characteristics of the Course of Dysphagia in Hospitalized Older Adults.

Sarcopenic dysphagia (SD) is an emerging concern in geriatric medicine. This study aimed to identify the prevalence, progression, and distinct attributes of SD in patients in the Department of Geriatric Medicine. Older adult patients admitted between 2021 and 2022 were enrolled.

RNA-Sequencing Analysis Identification of Potential Biomarkers for Diagnosis of Sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is a geriatric disease associated with increased mortality and disability. Early diagnosis and intervention are required to prevent it. This study investigated biomarkers for sarcopenia by using a combination of comprehensive clinical data and messenger RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Exploring biomarkers of osteosarcopenia in older adults attending a frailty clinic.

Osteosarcopenia is a new definitional approach that can increase the risk of falls and fractures in elderly compared with that of osteoporosis and sarcopenia alone. However, biomarkers for osteosarcopenia have not been well identified. Thus, we aimed to explore the biomarkers of osteosarcopenia, including bone, muscle, and geriatric markers.

Diet-induced inflammation is associated with sarcopenia and muscle strength in older adults who visit a frailty clinic.

Background: Diet-induced inflammation may be associated with sarcopenia; however, few reports have examined this relationship.

Aim: To examine the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and sarcopenia in older adults who visited a frailty clinic in Japan.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used outpatient data from the Frailty Registry Study.

A non-interventional cross-sectional re-contact study investigating the relationship between overactive bladder and frailty in older adults in Japan.

Background: Increasing age is associated with frailty and a higher prevalence of overactive bladder (OAB). Given the rapidly increasing proportion of older adults in Japan, a better understanding of the relationship between frailty and OAB is needed to inform future healthcare planning. This study assessed the association between frailty and OAB in older adults in Japan and evaluated the impact on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL).