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Systematic assessments of interprofessional collaboration barriers and enablers in long-term care settings are critical for delivering person-centered healthcare. However, research on factors influencing interprofessional collaboration in long-term care settings is limited. For this study, 65 healthcare professionals across multiple facilities experienced in long-term care in Japan participated in online focus group discussions and individual interviews to discuss cases. The qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Seven themes emerged: coordination, the need for care manager training, hierarchy among healthcare professionals, specialization but not the mind-set of overspecialization, casual conversations, electronic group communication tools, and excessive fear of personal information protection. These findings highlight the need to develop coordinator roles and for interprofessional education on the proper approach to personal information protection laws. Furthermore, daily casual conversations, the use of online platforms, and the prevention of patients being left behind due to overspecialization are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Several studies have shown that dairy consumption in old age is effective in preventing frailty. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the association between milk consumption during middle age and the development of frailty in old age. Therefore, we carried out an investigation to explore the association between milk consumption during middle age and development of frailty examined after over 15 years of follow up in a long‐term cohort study in Japan. Methods: We studied 265 participants aged 60–79 years (212 men and 53 women) in 2018, who participated in both the baseline survey in 2002 and the frailty assessment in 2018. The amount of milk consumption (g/day) at baseline was age‐ and energy‐adjusted, and classified into three categories (no, low and high consumption: 0 g/day, ≤135.86 g/day, >135.86 g/day in men and 0 g/day, ≤126.44 g/day, >126.44 g/day in women). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for prefrailty/frailty after adjusting for lifestyles at baseline, stratified by sex, were estimated using logistic regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of prefrailty/frailty in 2018 was 37.7% and 28.3% in men and women, respectively. Milk consumption categories were inversely associated with the prevalence of prefrailty/frailty in men (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.14–0.84 in low consumption; OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.10–0.95 in high consumption; P < 0.05), but not in women (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.11–2.65; P = 0.44). Conclusions: In this study, milk intake in middle‐aged men was inversely associated with the prevalence of prefrailty/frailty later in life. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 700–705. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains unclear, particularly for those with established CVD risk factors. We analyzed follow-up data from the Aichi Workers' Cohort Study. We studied the association between the degree of obesity and risk of CVD and its subtypes specifically among individuals with hypertension, hyper-low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterolemia, or diabetes. Pooled data of 8972 adults (7076 men and 1896 women) who were recruited between 2002 and 2008 were used in the current analysis. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazard model to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between the degree of obesity assessed with body mass index (BMI) and the risk of CVD and its subtypes, i.e., coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. During a median of 12 years, there were 197 CVDs (80 CHDs and 117 strokes). BMI ≥ 27.5 compared to 21.0–22.9 kg/m2 was positively and significantly associated with the risks of CVD, CHD, and total stroke. Hypertension, hyper-LDL-cholesterolemia, and diabetes mediated 15.9%, 5.8%, and 8.7% of obesity-CVD associations, respectively, and 28.3% by their combination. In the stratified analyses by the presence of risk factors, BMI ≥ 25.0 (overweight/obesity) compared to BMI < 25 kg/m2 was associated with a higher risk of CVD in those with and without hypertension, but only with hyper-LDL-cholesterolemia, and without diabetes. Overweight/obesity was associated with the risk of CVD and its subtypes. About 30% of the risk was explained by hypertension, hyper-LDL-cholesterolemia, and diabetes, of which hypertension accounted for approximately the half of the explained risk. However, overweight/obesity increased the risk of CVD even in those without hypertension. These findings highlight the importance of controlling and preventing overweight/obesity regardless of chronic disease status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The Kihon Checklist is extensively used in Japan to identify elderly persons who are at risk of requiring support/care. We aimed to determine whether or not the Kihon Checklist can estimate frailty status defined by the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria. Methods This cross-sectional study evaluated the Kihon Checklist and activities of daily living based on self-records maintained with the assistance of nurses in a convenience sample of 164 elderly outpatients who lived without care or support. Body composition was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Physical functions, nutritional status, cognitive function and depressive mood were assessed using standardized evaluations. Frailty status was evaluated using the Cardiovascular Health Study frailty criteria. Results The total Kihon Checklist score closely correlated with validated assessments of physical functions, nutritional state, cognitive function, depressive mood and the number of frailty phenotypes defined by the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria (ρ = 0.655, P < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curves for the evaluation of frailty status was 0.81 for prefrailty and 0.92 for frailty. The sensitivity and the specificity were 70.3% and 78.3% for prefrailty, and 89.5% and 80.7% for frailty at total Kihon Checklist scores of 3/4 and 7/8, respectively. Conclusion The Kihon Checklist is a useful tool for frailty screening. Analyzing the results of this self-reporting questionnaire, together with other more high-tech screening modalities, will cost-effectively improve the quality of life for many elderly individuals in a timely manner. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; ●●: ●●-●●. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]