Arterial stiffness predicts the future risk of macro- and micro-vascular diseases. Only a few studies have reported longitudinal changes. The present study aimed to investigate the progression rate of arterial stiffness and the factors influencing stiffness progression in a Han Chinese population residing in Taiwan. The pulse wave velocity (PWV), elasticity modulus (Ep) and arterial stiffness index (β) of the common carotid artery were measured in 577 stroke- and myocardial infarction-free subjects at baseline and after an average interval of 4.2 ± 0.8 years. Stepwise multivariate linear regression was conducted to elucidate the predictors of stiffness progression. For both baseline and follow-up data, men had significantly higher values of PWV, Ep and β in comparison to women. The progression rates of PWV, Ep and β were faster in men, but the difference was not statistically significant (ΔPWV = 0.20 ± 0.20 and 0.18 ± 0.20 m/s/yr; ΔEp = 8.17 ± 8.65 and 6.98 ± 8.26 kPa/yr; Δβ = 0.70 ± 0.64 and 0.67 ± 0.56 for men and women, respectively). In the multivariate regression analyses, age, baseline stiffness parameters, baseline mean arterial pressure (MAP), baseline body mass index (BMI) and changes in MAP (ΔMAP) were independent predictors of PWV and Ep progression. There was an inverse correlation between the stiffness parameters at baseline and their progression rate (correlation coefficient (r) = −0.12 to −0.33, p = 0.032–1.6 × 10−16). Changes in MAP (ΔMAP) rather than baseline MAP were more strongly associated with PWV progression (p = 8.5 × 10−24 and 1.9 × 10−5 for ΔMAP and baseline MAP, respectively). Sex-specific analyses disclosed that baseline BMI and changes in BMI (ΔBMI) were significantly associated with stiffness progression in men (p = 0.010–0.026), but not in women. Aging and elevated blood pressure at baseline and during follow-up were the major determinants of stiffness progression in the Han Chinese population. For men, increased baseline BMI and changes in BMI were additional risk factors.

We evaluated the predictability of self-reported Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessed by the 3-level 5-dimensional Euro-Quality of Life tool (EQ-5D-3L) and the EQ-Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS) on clinical outcomes of elderly patients who were admitted to an acute geriatric ward. A total of 102 participants (56.9% men) with a median age of 81.0 years (interquartile range or IQR: 76.0–85.3 years) were studied. The age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index was 5.0 (IQR: 4.0–6.0) with a median length of stay (LOS) of 9.0 days (IQR: 7.0–15.0 days). No death occurred during hospitalization, and within 30 days after discharge, 15 patients were readmitted. During hospitalization, the EQ-5D-3L index was 0.440 at admission and that improved to 0.648 at discharge (p < 0.001). EQ-VAS scores also improved similarly from 60 to 70 (p < 0.001). Physical, cognitive function, frailty parameters (hand grip strength and walking speed), and nutritional status at admission all improved significantly during hospitalization and were related to EQ-5D-3L index or EQ-VAS scores at discharge. After controlling for relevant factors, EQ-5D-3L index at admission was found to be associated with LOS. In addition, EQ-VAS was marginally related to readmission. HRQoL assessment during hospitalization could be useful to guide clinical practice and to improve outcome.

(1) Background: Elders have higher rates of rehospitalization, especially those with functional decline. We aimed to investigate potential predictors of 30-day readmission risk by comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in hospitalized patients aged 65 years or older and to examine the predictive ability of the LACE index and HOSPITAL score in older patients with a combination of malnutrition and physical dysfunction. (2) Methods: We included patients admitted to a geriatric ward in a tertiary hospital from July 2012 to August 2018. CGA components including cognitive, functional, nutritional, and social parameters were assessed at admission and recorded, as well as clinical information. The association factors with 30-day hospital readmission were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The predictive ability of the LACE and HOSPITAL score was assessed using receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. (3) Results: During the study period, 1509 patients admitted to a ward were recorded. Of these patients, 233 (15.4%) were readmitted within 30 days. Those who were readmitted presented with higher comorbidity numbers and poorer performance of CGA, including gait ability, activities of daily living (ADL), and nutritional status. Multivariate regression analysis showed that male gender and moderately impaired gait ability were independently correlated with 30-day hospital readmissions, while other components such as functional impairment (as ADL) and nutritional status were not associated with 30-day rehospitalization. The receiver operating characteristics for the LACE index and HOSPITAL score showed that both predicting scores performed poorly at predicting 30-day hospital readmission (C-statistic = 0.59) and did not perform better in any of the subgroups. (4) Conclusions: Our study showed that only some components of CGA, mobile disability, and gender were independently associated with increased risk of readmission. However, the LACE index and HOSPITAL score had a poor discriminating ability for predicting 30-day hospitalization in all and subgroup patients. Further identifiers are required to better estimate the 30-day readmission rates in this patient population.

Cognitive dysfunction commonly occurs among older patients during admission and is associated with adverse prognosis. This study evaluated clinical characteristics and outcome determinants in hospitalized older patients with cognitive disorders. The main outcomes were length of stay, readmission within 30 days, Barthel index (BI) score at discharge, BI score change (discharge BI score minus BI score), and proportion of positive BI score change to indicate change of activities of daily living (ADL) change during hospitalization. A total of 642 inpatients with a mean age of 79.47 years (76–103 years) were categorized into three groups according to the medical history of dementia, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores at admission. Among them, 74 had dementia diagnosis (DD), 310 had cognitive impairment (CI), and 258 had normal MMSE scores. Patients with DD and CI generally had a higher risk of many geriatric syndromes, such as multimorbidities, polypharmacy, delirium, incontinence, visual and auditory impairment, fall history, physical frailty. They had less BI score, BI score change, and proportion of positive BI score change ADL at discharge. (DD 70.0%, CI 79.0%), suggesting less ADL change during hospitalization compared with those with normal MMSE scores (92.9%; p < 0.001). Using multiple regression analysis, we found that among patients with DD and CI, age (p = 0.008) and walking speed (p = 0.023) were predictors of discharge BI score. In addition, age (p = 0.047) and education level were associated with dichotomized BI score change (positive vs. non-positive) during hospitalization. Furthermore, the number and severity of comorbidities predicted LOS (p < 0.001) and readmission (p = 0.001) in patients with cognitive disorders. It is suggested that appropriate strategies are required to improve clinical outcomes in these patients.

Frailty transition is common, and increased physical activity can prevent it. An objective assessment of physical activity could eliminate bias and provide more precise information on the association between frailty transitions and physical activity. This study aimed to examine the association between objective physical activity and frailty transition in community-dwelling prefrail Japanese older adults. This is a retrospective cohort study based on the National Institute for Longevity Science-Longitudinal Study of Aging data. A total of 387 community-dwelling older adults with prefrailty were enrolled (mean age 72.0 years). Frailty was assessed using modified components of the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria, and frailty statuses were reassessed two years later. The frailty transitions were categorized into three groups: deterioration, persistence, and reversal. Participants wore a uniaxial accelerometer to assess the physical activities. Differences in baseline characteristics according to frailty transitions were assessed. To compare the baseline objective physical activities based on frailty transition, a general linear model and a logistic regression model were used. Among the 387 participants, 40 (10.3%) deteriorated to frailty, 97 (25.0%) reversed to robust, and the majority (n = 250, 64.6%) remained prefrail after a 2-year follow-up. Using the general linear model, after adjusting for other factors, total energy expenditure (TEE) in the reversal group was significantly higher than that in the deterioration and persistence groups. No differences in TEE were observed between the persistence and deterioration groups. No significant differences existed in the numbers of daily steps, exercise energy expenditure (EEE) and physical activity with different intensity among these three groups. The logistic model also showed a significant association between TEE and the reversal of frailty. Frailty transitions were common in the Japanese prefrail population. This study showed that a higher TEE was positively associated with frailty reversal in prefrail older adults. Promoting proactive programs for older adults to increase physical activity could help them stay healthy and prevent frailty deterioration.

Several dimensional impairments regarding Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) have been shown to be associated with the prognosis of older patients. The purpose of this study is to investigate mortality prediction factors based upon clinical characteristics and test in CGA, and then subsequently develop a prediction model to classify both short- and long-term mortality risk in hospitalized older patients after discharge. A total of 1565 older patients with a median age of 81 years (74.0–86.0) were consecutively enrolled. The CGA, which included assessment of clinical, cognitive, functional, nutritional, and social parameters during hospitalization, as well as clinical information on each patient was recorded. Within the one-year follow up period, 110 patients (7.0%) had died. Using simple Cox regression analysis, it was shown that a patient’s Length of Stay (LOS), previous hospitalization history, admission Barthel Index (BI) score, Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) score, Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) score, and Charlson’s Comorbidity Index (CCI) score were all associated with one-year mortality after discharge. When these parameters were dichotomized, we discovered that those who were aged ≥90 years, had a LOS ≥ 12 days, an MNA score < 17, a CCI ≥ 2, and a previous admission history were all independently associated with one-year mortality using multiple cox regression analyses. By applying individual scores to these risk factors, the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) was 0.691 with a cut-off value score ≧ 3 for one year mortality, 0.801 for within 30-day mortality, and 0.748 for within 90-day mortality. It is suggested that older hospitalized patients with varying risks of mortality may be stratified by a prediction model, with tailored planning being subsequently implemented.