Search

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship among the degree of posterior vaginal wall prolapse, anorectal symptoms, and physiology., Study Design: This was a prospective study that included patients with fecal dysfunction and prolapse/urinary symptoms. A validated instrument for fecal incontinence and the ROME II criteria were used. Anal physiologic testing was performed selectively on the basis of bowel symptoms. Patients were divided into 2 groups by pelvic organ prolapse quantification score clinical examination: group I: Ap/Bp < -1, and group II: Ap/Bp > or = -1. The association among the degree of prolapse, bowel symptoms, and physiologic findings was examined with the use of Fisher's exact test and logistic regression models., Results: One hundred thirty-two patients with a mean age of 63 years (range, 24-90 years) were evaluated. There were 62 patients (47%) in group I and 70 patients (53%) in group II. Overall, 40.9% of the patients had constipation/obstructed defecation, and 25% of the patients had fecal incontinence. Ninety-seven patients underwent physiologic testing. At manometry, both resting and squeeze pressures were significantly higher in patients in group II. Overall, patients with a higher resting pressure (P = .001) and increased rectal capacity (P = .008) were more likely to be continent, and patients with a lower squeeze pressure were more likely to be incontinent (P = .001). Ultrasonography demonstrated anterior sphincter defect in 21.9% of the patients and a perineal body of <10 mm in 35.6% of the patients, with no correlation with the degree of prolapse. Patients with sphincter defects were 3 times more likely to have fecal incontinence (95% CI, 1.03, 8.75; P = .04). There was no association between electromyography and pudendal nerve terminal latencies and the degree of prolapse. Patients with prolonged pudendal nerve terminal latencies were more likely to be incontinent (P = .033). On defecography, 28% of the patients had concomitant enterocele, and 21.3% of the patients had intussusception, which was not detected by physical examination., Conclusion: Anorectal symptoms do not correlate with the degree of posterior vaginal wall prolapse, nor does the presence of prolapse equate to abnormal physiologic test results. Bowel symptoms may result from primary anorectal abnormalities, which are demonstrated by physiologic studies.

Background: Oestrogen use by postmenopausal women has many health benefits, but findings on the effect of oestrogen in Alzheimer's disease are conflicting. Oestrogen promotes the growth and survival of cholinergic neurons and could decrease cerebral amyloid deposition, both of which may delay the onset or prevent Alzheimer's disease. To investigate whether use of oestrogen during the postmenopausal period affects the risk of Alzheimer's disease, we studied 1124 elderly women who were initially free of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and stroke, and who were taking part in a longitudinal study of ageing and health in a New York City community., Methods: Relative risks and age-at-onset distributions were calculated from simple and adjusted Cox proportional hazards models. Standard annual clinical assessments and criterion-based diagnoses were used in follow-up (range 1-5 years)., Findings: Overall, 156 (12.5%) women reported taking oestrogen after onset of menopause. The age at onset of Alzheimer's disease was significantly later in women who had taken oestrogen than in those who did not and the relative risk of the disease was significantly reduced (9/156 [5.8%] oestrogen users vs 158/968 [16.3%] nonusers; 0.40 [95% Cl 0.22-0.85], p < 0.01), even after adjustment for differences in education, ethnic origin, and apolipoprotein-E genotype. Women who had used oestrogen for longer than 1 year had a greater reduction in risk; none of 23 women who were taking oestrogen at study enrolment has developed Alzheimer's disease., Interpretation: Oestrogen use in postmenopausal women may delay the onset and decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Prospective studies are needed to establish the dose and duration of oestrogen required to provide this benefit and to assess its safety in elderly postmenopausal women.

A study of item bias in standard cognitive screening measures was conducted in a sample of Afro-American, Hispanic and non-Hispanic white elderly respondents who were part of a dementia case registry study. The methods of item-response theory were applied to identify biased items. Both cross-cultural and high and low education groups were examined to determine which items were biased. Out of 50 cognitive items examined from six widely used cognitive screening measures, 16 were identified as biased for either high and low education groups or ethnic/racial group membership.

Operating characteristics of seven screens for dementia were compared across various groups for 795 persons who had received a criterion diagnostic evaluation. Area under the curve (AUC), based on receiver operating characteristics, was compared between and within scales as an indication of their efficiency. Differences in AUC were only 5% across all the scales for the entire sample, but increased to 11% across sociocultural groups and scales and to 20% across education groups and scales. Two scales (the Mini-Mental State Exam and the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire) misclassified most nondementias for the entire sample, and all scales misclassified most nondementias among persons with less than 5 years of education. Findings could support a recommendation that certain shorter scales be used because they perform as well as longer ones, are more consistent across cultural and educational groups, and can be more easily modified to improve performance in culturally diverse populations., (Copyright © 1995 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The North Manhattan Aging Project registry, using both Reporting and Survey Components, identifies dementia cases among Latino, African-American, and non-Latino white sociocultural groups (9,349 persons 65 years of age or older) in contiguous census tracts. During a 2-year prevalence period of the reporting component, 1,592 persons were reported to the Registry and screened with five widely used brief cognitive measures; 844 were evaluated in a "clinical core," and 452 met research criteria for dementia, covering all subtypes, according to DSM-III-R criteria. Thirteen different case definitions for dementia were applied to the sociocultural groups at three levels of educational achievement, examining for associations with rates of dementia cases and controlling for age. The following findings were robust across case definitions: sociocultural membership was not associated, but lower education was associated, with increased rates of recorded dementia; however, the patterns of the association with education varied across sociocultural groups., (Copyright © 1995 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)