Category: JAGS Research Summaries

Hospice Care Offers Comfort for Older Adults at End of Life. Should it be Considered Sooner?

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JAGS graphicJournal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

A team of researchers from Yale University has studied how soon older adults who were experiencing distressing symptoms and disability were admitted to hospice near the end of their lives. Their study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The researchers examined information from a study of 562 people, aged 70 and older, who were not disabled when the study began. Of these people, 244 (43.4 percent) were admitted to hospice during the last year of life. These people were slightly older and more likely to have cognitive impairments (problems thinking and making decisions) than those individuals who weren’t admitted to hospice.

The most common condition leading to death was frailty (the medical term for physical weakness or an increasing likelihood for poor health), followed by organ failure (the term for certain parts of our body no longer working as they should), advanced dementia, and cancer. Continue reading →

Older Drivers Who Experience Falls May be at a Higher Risk for Car Crashes

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JAGS graphicJournal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

As we age, our ability to drive may help us live independently, shop for ourselves, and maintain social connections. Although car crash rates are low among older adults and are declining, older adults do still have higher rates of fatal crashes. Falls, which are a common and preventable cause of injury among older adults, may lower our ability to drive safely.

Experts believe that falls are related to driving in four ways:

  • They can cause physical injury that limits mobility (our ability to move) and interferes with driving performance.
  • Falling can increase the fear of falling, which leads to a reduction in physical activity. Reduced physical activity can weaken our physical strength, which also could reduce fitness for driving.
  • Falls can affect an older adult’s mental well-being, making them more fearful and leading to changes in driving behaviors.
  • Falls and difficulty driving may be caused by common factors, such as vision problems.

A research team created a study to see whether falls were related to driving risks and behaviors among older adults. Their study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Continue reading →

Frailty and Older Men: Study Identifies Factors that Speed or Slow Progression

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JAGS graphicJournal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

As we age, we may be less able to perform daily activities because we may feel frail, or weaker than we have in the past. Frailer older adults may walk more slowly and have less energy. Frailty also raises a person’s risks for falling, breaking a bone, becoming hospitalized, developing delirium, and dying.

No one knows exactly how many older adults are frail—estimates range from 4 percent to 59 percent of the older adult population, according to a 2015 study. Researchers say that frailty seems to increase with age, and is more common among women than men and in people with lower education and income. Being in poorer health and having several chronic illnesses also have links to being frail.

Frailty also tends to worsen over time, but in at least two studies, a small number (9 percent to 14 percent) of frail older adults became stronger and less frail as they aged. A team of researchers decided to find out what factors might predict whether frailty in older men worsens or improves over time. The researchers’ findings were published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Continue reading →

For Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions, Using Non-Drug Behavioral Treatments for Symptoms May Be Helpful

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JAGS graphicJournal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

When we have several chronic health conditions as we age, the symptoms we experience can reduce our quality of life. In fact, having multiple chronic conditions is linked to symptoms that can restrict our ability to perform our daily routines. Some 70 percent of adults over the age of 75 have more than two chronic health conditions. Nearly 55 percent of Medicare recipients who have had a stroke or heart failure have five or more chronic conditions.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers note that little is known about treating symptoms of multiple illnesses because people with two or more conditions are usually excluded from studies for specific diseases.

The researchers examined the results of a study that was originally designed to test how well people did after they stopped taking statin medication used to lower cholesterol levels. Their goal was to better understand the outcomes of having multiple diseases, the burden that symptoms placed on older adults, and the effects multiple chronic problems had on older adults’ ability to function. In addition, the researchers compared how a having diagnosis of cancer to having multiple chronic conditions affected an older adult’s ability to function. Continue reading →

Pedometers Allow Healthcare Practitioners to Track Physical Activity for Older Adults

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JAGS graphicJournal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Loss of mobility is one of the leading causes of a decreased quality of life, loss of independence, and even death for us all as we age. Since physical activity is the key to helping prevent mobility loss, it’s important to maintain a decent level of physical activity for as long as possible.

Researchers for a new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society now suggest that we don’t know much about how the duration and intensity of physical activity affects the development of major mobility problems.

In their study, the researchers tracked the activity of 1,590 adults between the ages of 70 and 89. To measure the participants’ activity levels, they were asked to wear a pedometer, which is a research instrument that measures how many steps you take. Participants wore the devices for at least three days for 10 hours a day while going about their daily routines. None of the participants had major mobility problems at the start of the study. Continue reading →