A Hearing Intervention and Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Health-related quality of life is a critical health outcome and a clinically important patient-reported outcome in clinical trials. Hearing loss is associated with poorer health-related quality-of-life in older adults.

Objective: To investigate the 3-year outcomes of hearing intervention vs health education control on health-related quality of life.

Effect of Hearing Intervention Versus Health Education Control on Fatigue: A Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Study.

Background: Fatigue is a common complaint among older adults with hearing loss. The impact of addressing hearing loss on fatigue symptoms has not been studied in a randomized controlled trial. In a secondary analysis of the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study, we investigated the effect of hearing intervention versus health education control on 3-year change in fatigue in community-dwelling older adults with hearing loss.

Design and Methods of the Early Age-Related Hearing Loss Investigation Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Hearing loss has been identified as a major modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline. The Early Age-Related Hearing Loss Investigation (EARHLI) study will assess the mechanisms linking early age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and cognitive impairment.

Study Design: Randomized, controlled, single-site, early phase II, superiority trial.

Hearing Impairment and Physical Activity and Physical Functioning in Older Adults: Baseline Results From the ACHIEVE Trial.

Background: Hearing loss is associated with restricted physical activity (PA) and impaired physical functioning, yet the relationship between severity of hearing impairment (HI) and novel PA measures in older adults with untreated HI is not well understood.

Methods: Analyses included 845 participants aged ≥70 years (mean = 76.6 years) with a better-hearing ear pure-tone average (PTA) ≥30 and <70 dB in the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study who wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for 7 days.

Associations of depression and perceived physical fatigability with white matter integrity in older adults.

Backgrounds: Fatigability is prevalent in older adults. However, it is often associated with depressed mood. We aim to investigate these two psychobehavioral constructs by examining their underpinning of white matter structures in the brain and their associations with different medical conditions.

Recruitment and baseline data of the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study: A randomized trial of a hearing loss intervention for reducing cognitive decline.

Introduction: Hearing loss is highly prevalent among older adults and independently associated with cognitive decline. The Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study is a multicenter randomized control trial (partially nested within the infrastructure of an observational cohort study, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities [ARIC] study) to determine the efficacy of best-practice hearing treatment to reduce cognitive decline over 3 years. The goal of this paper is to describe the recruitment process and baseline results.

The association between frailty and perceived physical and mental fatigability: The Long Life Family Study.

Background: Higher levels of frailty, quantified by a frailty index (FI), may be linked to fatigue severity as tasks become more physically and mentally demanding. Fatigue, a component of frailty research, has been ambiguous and inconsistent in its operationalization. Fatigability-the quantification of vulnerability to fatigue in relation to specific intensity and duration of activities-offers a more sensitive and standardized approach, though the association between frailty and fatigability has not been assessed.

Loneliness and Social Network Characteristics Among Older Adults With Hearing Loss in the ACHIEVE Study.

Background: Hearing loss is linked to loneliness and social isolation, but evidence is typically based on self-reported hearing. This study quantifies the associations of objective and subjective hearing loss with loneliness and social network characteristics among older adults with untreated hearing loss.

Methods: This study uses baseline data (N = 933) from the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study.

Alcohol treatment discussions and clinical outcomes among patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis.

Background: Alcohol cessation is the cornerstone of treatment for alcohol-related cirrhosis. This study evaluated associations between medical conversations about alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment, AUD treatment engagement, and mortality.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all patients with ICD-10 diagnosis codes for cirrhosis and AUD who were engaged in hepatology care in a single healthcare system in 2015.

Characteristics of opioid prescribing to outpatients with chronic liver diseases: A call for action.

Background: Chronic liver disease (CLD) is among the strongest risk factors for adverse prescription opioid-related events. Yet, the current prevalence and factors associated with high-risk opioid prescribing in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) remain unclear, making it challenging to address opioid safety in this population. Therefore, we aimed to characterize opioid prescribing patterns among patients with CLD.

Perceived Physical Fatigability Predicts All-Cause Mortality in Older Adults.

Background: Perceived physical fatigability is highly prevalent in older adults and associated with mobility decline and other health consequences. We examined the prognostic value of perceived physical fatigability as an independent predictor of risk of death among older adults.

Methods: Participants (N = 2 906), mean age 73.

Relationship Between Personality Measures and Perceived Mental Fatigability.

Objective: Examine the association between personality measures and perceived mental fatigability.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis in =1670 men, age 84.3±4.

Life-space Mobility in Older Men: The Role of Perceived Physical and Mental Fatigability.

Background: Physical performance and fatigue can limit mobility within the larger environment (life-space mobility). It is unknown whether perceived fatigability, self-reported fatigue anchored to activity intensity and duration, is independently associated with life-space.

Methods: We assessed this cross-sectionally in Visit 4 (2014-2016) of the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MrOS; N = 1 672, Age: Mean = 84.

Declining energy predicts incident mobility disability and mortality risk in healthy older adults.

Background: The purpose was to examine whether longitudinal changes in self-reported energy predict incident mobility disability and mortality. We further explored whether changes in energy-related behaviors (physical activity, appetite, or sleep quality) would explain these associations.

Methods: N = 2021 participants from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study free from mobility disability and with at least three energy assessments from years 2 to 10.

Association of fatigue, inflammation, and physical activity on gait speed: the Long Life Family Study.

Background: Fatigue, inflammation, and physical activity (PA) are all independently associated with gait speed, but their directionality is not fully elucidated.

Aims: Evaluate the bidirectional associations amongst fatigue, inflammation, and PA on gait speed.

Methods: This cross sectional study included probands (n = 1280, aged 49-105) and offspring (n = 2772, aged 24-88) in the Long Life Family Study.

Functional correlates of self-reported energy levels in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.

Background: Effects of fatigue on health in older age are well studied, yet little is known about the clinical relevance of energy perception.

Aims: To explore cross-sectional associations of self-reported energy with physical and mental health metrics in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study.

Methods: Participants rated their energy from 0 to 10; the outcome was energy dichotomized at the median (≥ 7 = higher energy).

Validation of Perceived Mental Fatigability Using the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale.

Objectives: Establish reliability, concurrent and convergent validity of the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS) Mental subscale.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Older adults from two University of Pittsburgh registries, Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), and Long Life Family Study (LLFS).

Evaluation of the Bidirectional Relations of Perceived Physical Fatigability and Physical Activity on Slower Gait Speed.

Background: Lower physical activity levels and greater fatigability contribute independently to slower gait speed in older adults. To fully understand the bidirectional relations between physical activity and fatigability, and to inform potential intervention strategies, we examined whether physical activity or fatigability explains more of the other factor's association on slower gait speed.

Methods: Two generations (probands and offspring) of older adults (N = 2079, mean age 73.

An Optimal Self-Report Physical Activity Measure for Older Adults: Does Physical Function Matter?

The authors compared two self-report measures of physical activity, the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) and the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS), against the device-derived SenseWear Armband (SWA), to identify a recommended self-report tool to measure physical activity in older adults across physical function levels. A total of 65 community-dwelling older adults completed the PASE, CHAMPS, and seven full days of SWA wear. The authors measured physical function using the modified short physical performance battery (SPPB) and a usual-paced 6-m walk.

Impact of Baseline Fatigue on a Physical Activity Intervention to Prevent Mobility Disability.

Objectives: Our aim was to examine the impacts of baseline fatigue on the effectiveness of a physical activity (PA) intervention to prevent major mobility disability (MMD) and persistent major mobility disability (PMMD) in participants from the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) study.

Design: Prospective cohort of individuals aged 65 years or older undergoing structured PA intervention or health education (HE) for a mean of 2.6 years.

Epidemiology of Perceived Physical Fatigability in Older Adults: The Long Life Family Study.

Background: Fatigability is a construct that measures whole-body tiredness anchored to activities of a fixed intensity and duration; little is known about its epidemiology and heritability.

Methods: Two generations of family members enriched for exceptional longevity and their spouses were enrolled (2006-2009) in the Long Life Family Study (LLFS). At Visit 2 (2014-2017, N = 2,355) perceived physical fatigability was measured using the 10-item self-administered Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS), along with demographic, medical, behavioral, physical, and cognitive risk factors.