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Objectives To examine the effects of decreasing hospital length of stay ( HLOS) on change in functioning from prehospital admission to posthospital discharge in older cohorts. Design Cohort-sequential design. Setting Nationwide, older population-based Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam ( LASA). Participants Individuals aged 68 and older with any hospital admission according to national medical registry data: two 10-year age groups (68-77 (younger-old) and 78-87 (older-old)) in two periods (1996-99 (Period 1) and 2006-09 (Period 2)) (N = 1,212). Measurements HLOS was the main independent variable in multinomial logistic models, dichotomized as 1 to 5 days (short) and 6 days or longer (long). Outcomes were change scores in mobility and activities in daily living ( ADLs). Respondents who died during the 3-year period were assigned to a third outcome category. Results Results for both age groups showed more hospital admissions and shorter median HLOS in Period 2 than Period 1 ( P < .05). Lower odds of decline in physical functioning were found in respondents with short HLOS than in those with long HLOS (for mobility: odds ratio ( OR) = 0.36, 95% confidence interval ( CI) = 0.23-0.54 (younger-old) and OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.30-0.72 (older-old); for ADLs: OR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.19-0.48 (younger-old) and OR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.18-0.53 (older-old)). Adjusting for confounders did not significantly change these estimates. Period did not modify these associations. Conclusion Because the associations of HLOS with change in mobility and ADLs were the same in both periods, hospitalized older adults had neither advantage nor disadvantage from the decrease in HLOS. In addition, in both age groups, a greater percentage experienced the better functional outcomes and lower mortality associated with short admissions, which suggests an advantage of the decrease in HLOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether there is an association between osteoarthritis (OA) and incident social isolation using data from the European Project on OSteoArthritis (EPOSA) study., Design: Prospective, observational study with 12 to 18 months of follow-up., Setting: Community dwelling., Participants: Older people living in six European countries., Measurements: Social isolation was assessed using the Lubben Social Network Scale and the Maastricht Social Participation Profile. Clinical OA of the hip, knee, and hand was assessed according to American College of Rheumatology criteria. Demographic characteristics, including age, sex, multijoint pain, and medical comorbidities, were assessed., Results: Of the 1967 individuals with complete baseline and follow-up data, 382 (19%) were socially isolated and 1585 were nonsocially isolated at baseline; of these individuals, 222 (13.9%) experienced social isolation during follow-up. Using logistic regression analyses, after adjustment for age, sex, and country, four factors were significantly associated with incident social isolation: clinical OA, cognitive impairment, depression, and worse walking time. Compared to those without OA at any site or with only hand OA, clinical OA of the hip and/or knee, combined or not with hand OA, led to a 1.47 times increased risk of social isolation (95% confidence interval = 1.03-2.09)., Conclusion: Clinical OA, present in one or two sites of the hip and knee, or in two or three sites of the hip, knee, and hand, increased the risk of social isolation, adjusting for cognitive impairment and depression and worse walking times. Clinicians should be aware that individuals with OA may be at greater risk of social isolation. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:87-95, 2019., (© 2019 The American Geriatrics Society.)

Objectives: To increase insight into the effect of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on health in general in older adults., Design: Two-phase sampling side-study., Setting: Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA)., Participants: Two hundred twenty-three randomly selected LASA respondents., Measurements: Information was collected during home visits on physical health, medication use, and lifestyle characteristics in Phase 1 and on ADHD diagnosis in Phase 2. The associations between independent variables and ADHD were examined with linear and logistic regression analyses., Results: The adjusted regression estimates of the linear regression analysis showed that the number of ADHD symptoms was positively associated with the presence of chronic nonspecific lung diseases (CNSLD) (B = 2.58, P = .02), cardiovascular diseases (B = 2.18, P = .02), and number of chronic diseases (B = 0.69, P = .04) and negatively associated with self-perceived health (B = -2.83, P = .002). Lifestyle is not a mediator of the association between ADHD and physical health., Conclusion: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in older adults was associated with chronic physical illness and poorer self-perceived health. Contrary to expectations, there were no associations between symptoms of ADHD and lifestyle variables., (© 2013, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2013, The American Geriatrics Society.)