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Increased physical activity is positively associated with better health in community-dwelling older persons. It is unclear whether physical activity also influences success of inpatient rehabilitation. For the assessment of physical activity in inpatient rehabilitation the Physical Activity in Inpatient Rehabilitation Assessment (PAIR), a short questionnaire based on five questions, was developed and preliminary validated. In this study, the PAIR was validated against a sensor-based physical activity measurement. Seventy functionally impaired and cognitively mostly intact patients of a German geriatric inpatient rehabilitation clinic who had undergone hip surgery ( n = 62 women, median age = 83 years) participated. Physical activity was measured using the PAIR and a sensor-based activity monitor (Physilog ®; BioAGM, CH). Assessments were conducted at admission (T1) and 2 weeks later (T2) during the rehabilitation process. To assess concurrent and predictive validity, Spearman correlations and linear regression models were calculated using sensor-based walking activity and uptime activity (walking and standing time) as dependent variables. Criterion-related concurrent validity using physical activity sensors was weak to moderate. Correlations were slightly higher at T2 ( r = 0.45-0.53) than at T1 ( r = 0.44-0.46). The objectively measured variance of physical activity, explained by the PAIR, ranged from 25 to 43 %. PAIR activity scores and sensor-based walking or total activity increased in a dose-dependent manner, confirming the scoring system of the PAIR. The application time was usually less than 2 min. The validity of the PAIR is weak to moderate when compared to a sensor-based activity monitor and comparable to existing physical activity assessments for community-dwelling older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis, is a major contributor to functional impairment and loss of independence in older persons. The European Project on OSteoArthritis (EPOSA) is a collaborative study involving six European cohort studies on ageing. This project focuses on the personal and societal burden and its determinants of osteoarthritis. This paper describes the design of the project, and presents some descriptive analyses on selected variables across countries. Methods/design: EPOSA is an observational study including pre-harmonized data from European cohort studies (Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) on older community-dwelling persons aged 65 to 85 years. In total, 2942 persons were included in the baseline study with a mean age of 74.2 years (SD 5.1), just over half were women (51,9%). The baseline assessment was conducted by a face-to-face interview followed by a clinical examination. Measures included physical, cognitive, psychological and social functioning, lifestyle behaviour, physical environment, wellbeing and care utilisation. The clinical examination included anthropometry, muscle strength, physical performance and OA exam. A follow-up assessment was performed 12-18 months after baseline. Discussion: The EPOSA study is the first population-based study including a clinical examination of OA, using preharmonized data across European countries. The EPOSA study provides a unique opportunity to study the determinants and consequences of OA in general populations of older persons, including both care-seeking and non care-seeking persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents a global public health problem. Few data exist in the elderly. The objective of the current study is to estimate the prevalence of CKD by means of various established and new equations and to identify the main determinants of CKD in elderly. Methods: The ActiFE Ulm (Activity and Function in the Elderly in Ulm) study is a population-based cohort study in people of 65 years and older. Kidney function was assessed by means of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on two creatinine- (Cr-; MDRD, CKD-EPI) and one cystatin C - (CysC-) based method. The relationship between various potential risk factors and CKD was quantified using unconditional logistic regression. Results: A total of 1471 subjects were in the final analysis (mean age 75.6 years, SD 6.56). Overall, prevalence of CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) was 34.3% by MDRD, 33.0% by CKD-EPI, and 14.6% by the CysC-based eGFR. All eGFRs showed statistically significant correlations with C-reactive protein, uric acid, as well as with lipid values. In multivariable analysis age was clearly related to prevalence of CKD and the risks were highest with the CysC-based equation. Females had a higher risk for CKD stages 3-5 with MDRD (OR 1.63; 95% CI: 1.23-2.16) whereas the OR was 1.23 (95% CI 0.92-1.65) with the CKD-Epi and OR = 0.89 (95% CI 0.58-1.34) with the CysC-based equation after multivariable adjustment. Although the cystatin C based definition of CKD resulted in a lower prevalence compared to the creatinine based ones, other measures of renal damage such as albuminuria were more prevalent in those defined by CysC-eGFR. Conclusions: Prevalence of CKD is very variable based on the used estimating equation. More work is needed to evaluate the various estimating equations especially in elderly before we are able to assess the practical consequences of the observed differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A large number of studies have demonstrated a positive effect of increased physical activity (PA) on various health outcomes. In all large geriatric studies, however, PA has only been assessed by interview-based instruments which are all subject to substantial bias. This may represent one reason why associations of PA with geriatric syndromes such as falls show controversial results. The general aim of the Active-Ulm study was to determine the association of accelerometer-based physical activity with different health-related parameters, and to study the influence of this standardized objective measure of physical activity on health- and disability-related parameters in a longitudinal setting. Methods: We have set up an observational cohort study in 1500 community dwelling older persons (65 to 90 years) stratified by age and sex. Addresses have been obtained from the local residents registration offices. The study is carried out jointly with the IMCA - Respiratory Health Survey in the Elderly implemented in the context of the European project IMCA II. The study has a cross-sectional part (1) which focuses on PA and disability and two longitudinal parts (2) and (3). The primary information for part (2) is a prospective 1 year falls calendar including assessment of medication change. Part (3) will be performed about 36 months following baseline. Primary variables of interest include disability, PA, falls and cognitive function. Baseline recruitment has started in March 2009 and will be finished in April 2010. All participants are visited three times within one week, either at home or in the study center. Assessments included interviews on quality of life, diagnosed diseases, common risk factors as well as novel cognitive tests and established tests of physical functioning. PA is measured using an accelerometer-based sensor device, carried continuously over a one week period and accompanied by a prospective activity diary. Discussion: The assessment of PA using a high standard accelerometer-based device is feasible in a large populationbased study. The results obtained from cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses will shed light on important associations between PA and various outcomes and may provide information for specific interventions in older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aims of the present study are the following: 1. to describe the rationale and methodology of the Services and Health for Elderly in Long TERm care (SHELTER) study, a project funded by the European Union, aimed at implementing the interRAI instrument for Long Term Care Facilities (interRAI LTCF) as a tool to assess and gather uniform information about nursing home (NH) residents across different health systems in European countries; 2. to present the results about the test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the interRAI LTCF instrument translated into the languages of participating countries; 3 to illustrate the characteristics of NH residents at study entry., Methods: A 12 months prospective cohort study was conducted in 57 NH in 7 EU countries (Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands) and 1 non EU country (Israel). Weighted kappa coefficients were used to evaluate the reliability of interRAI LTCF items., Results: Mean age of 4156 residents entering the study was 83.4 ± 9.4 years, 73% were female. ADL disability and cognitive impairment was observed in 81.3% and 68.0% of residents, respectively. Clinical complexity of residents was confirmed by a high prevalence of behavioral symptoms (27.5% of residents), falls (18.6%), pressure ulcers (10.4%), pain (36.0%) and urinary incontinence (73.5%). Overall, 197 of the 198 the items tested met or exceeded standard cut-offs for acceptable test-retest and inter-rater reliability after translation into the target languages., Conclusion: The interRAI LTCF appears to be a reliable instrument. It enables the creation of databases that can be used to govern the provision of long-term care across different health systems in Europe, to answer relevant research and policy questions and to compare characteristics of NH residents across countries, languages and cultures., (© 2012 Onder et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.)

Background: The European Project on OSteoArthritis (EPOSA), here presented for the first time, is a collaborative study involving five European cohort studies on aging. This project focuses on the personal and societal burden and its determinants of osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of the current report is to describe the purpose of the project, the post harmonization of the cross-national data and methodological challenges related to the harmonization process, Methods: The study includes data from cohort studies in five European countries (Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom) on older community-dwelling persons aged ≥ 59 years. The study design and main characteristics of the five cohort studies are described. Post harmonization algorithms are developed by finding a "common denominator" to merge the datasets and weights are calculated to adjust for differences in age and sex distribution across the datasets., Results: A harmonized database was developed, consisting of merged data from all participating countries. In total, 10107 persons are included in the harmonized dataset with a mean age of 72.8 years (SD 6.1). The female/male ratio is 53.3/46.7%. Some variables were difficult to harmonize due to differences in wording and categories, differences in classifications and absence of data in some countries. The post harmonization algorithms are described in detail in harmonization guidelines attached to this paper., Conclusions: There was little evidence of agreement on the use of several core data collection instruments, in particular on the measurement of OA. The heterogeneity of OA definitions hampers comparing prevalence rates of OA, but other research questions can be investigated using high quality harmonized data. By publishing the harmonization guidelines, insight is given into (the interpretation of) all post harmonized data of the EPOSA study.