The objective of the study was to examine the association between handgrip strength (HGS), knee flexion and extension strength, and static and dynamic balance in older women. One hundred and ten women with a mean age of 67.4±5.9 years were assessed for dynamic postural balance using the Time Up & Go Test (TUG) with and without cognitive tasks. Semi-static balance was assessed by means of a force platform; knee flexor and extensor muscle strength was calculated using an isokinetic dynamometer; and HGS using a hand held dynamometer. Weaker HGS was significantly correlated with worse performance in dynamic postural balance, as well as performance with TUG with and without cognitive tasks; however, there was no correlation between HGS and static balance. There was a moderate positive correlation between knee flexion/extension strength and HGS. This suggests that HGS could be used as a proxy indicator of overall strength capacity for clinical screening among older women.

To contribute to fall prevention by studying the epidemiological profile, mortality, and functional evolution of elderly persons with hip fracture, in Brazil, in the year following a fracture. Fifty-six elderly patients aged 60 years and over with hip fracture secondary to a fall and admitted in 2000 were included. In addition to the medical record data, patients or their guardians filled a form providing information regarding personal data, history of fall and fracture, physical evaluation, and ability to perform basic and instrumental activities of daily living prior to and 1 year after their fracture, using Katz's Index and Lawton's Index, respectively. Fractures were more common among Caucasian widowed women, and most falls occurred at home. General mortality within 1 year after the occurrence of fracture was 30.35% and was associated with sex and age. There was an increase in the inability to walk and in the use of a supporting device. A significant reduction in the functional ability to perform basic and instrumental activities of daily living was found. The evolution of hip fracture in the year following it is related to high mortality and to a decrease in functional ability, with age and male sex being the factors associated with a worse prognosis, emphasizing the need for special follow-up care of these groups during the immediate and late postoperative periods.

To determine the incidence, prevalence, risk factors, and causes of delirium in elderly individuals with hip fractures, as well as the impact of delirium on mortality and length of hospital stay. One hundred and three patients aged 65 and older with hip fractures were included consecutively between January 2001 and June 2002. Delirium was diagnosed using the Confusion Assessment Method, applied within the first 24 hours after admission, and then daily. All patients underwent a global geriatric evaluation including clinical history, physical examination, laboratory tests, surgical risk evaluation, and functional and mental evaluations. Patients with delirium (cases) were compared with patients without delirium (controls). Thirty (29.1%) patients in this sample met the criteria for delirium, with a prevalence of 16.5% (17/103) and an incidence of 12.6% (13/103). Cognitive and functional deficits had a significant association with delirium, although only cognitive deficit was revealed to be an independent risk factor after analysis with the logistic regression model. The most frequent causes of delirium were drugs and infections. The hospital stay was significantly longer for patients with delirium compared with patients in the control group (26.27 versus 14.38 days, respectively). Mortality showed a tendency to higher levels in patients with delirium during their hospital stay, although with no statistical significance. Delirium is a frequent complication among hospitalized elderly individuals with hip fractures. It is associated with cognitive and functional deficits, and it is associated with increases the length of hospital stay and mortality.

Primary or idiopathic osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip has increasingly been attributed to the presence of presumably minor femoral or acetabular deformities that are not routinely identified. The alpha angle reflects one such deformity of the femoral neck and reflects a risk for femoroacetabular impingement, which in turn reportedly is associated with OA. If impingement is in fact associated with OA, then one might expect the mean alpha angle to be greater in patients with presumed idiopathic hip OA. We therefore compared the alpha angle among a group of elderly patients with idiopathic OA with that in a control group of elderly individuals without OA. We measured the alpha angles in 50 individuals (72 hips) with a mean age of 70 years (range, 60–84 years) with apparently idiopathic OA and compared their angles with those from a control group of 56 individuals without OA. The alpha angle was measured by means of radiographs of their hips using the Dunn view at 45° flexion. The patients with OA had a greater percentage with abnormal alpha angles than did the normal subjects: 82% versus 30%, respectively. The mean alpha angle in the group with OA was larger than in the control subjects: 66.4º (range, 28°–108°) versus 48.1º (range, 34°–68°). Hips with presumably idiopathic OA had more abnormalities at the femoral head-neck junction than did the control hips without OA and may relate to the risk of OA developing. Level II, prognostic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.