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Aim: To investigate frailty trajectories in nursing home residents, and to test whether chewing difficulty was a significant factor associated with frailty trajectories. Methods: This is a 1‐year prospective cohort study. Data were collected from 27 nursing home residents in China at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Latent class growth modeling was used to identify frailty trajectories. Multilevel multinomial logistic regression was used to test the relative risk ratios (RRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the chewing difficulty assessed at baseline on frailty trajectories. Results: In total, 269 nursing home residents were included in the analysis. Three frailty trajectories identified were non‐frailty trajectory (n = 181, 67.3%), stable frailty trajectory (n = 52, 19.3%), and progressive frailty trajectory (n = 36, 13.4%). Chewing difficulty was found among 138 (51.3%) nursing home residents. With the non‐frailty trajectory group as the reference, residents with chewing difficulty were more likely to demonstrate stable frailty trajectory (RRR = 2.55, 95% CI [1.28–5.11]) or progressive frailty trajectory (RRR = 3.46, 95% CI [1.47–8.15]). Conclusions: Changes in the frailty of nursing home residents are heterogeneous and chewing difficulty should be assessed and addressed on a routine basis in nursing homes to prevent the deterioration of frailty or reverse it. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2023; 23: 803–808. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Calf circumference (CC) is an anthropometric parameter that is easily obtained. Increasingly, research has shown that CC related to cardiovascular events. We aimed to determine the correlation between CC and Framingham risk score (FRS) for the 10‐year cardiovascular disease risk assessment in Taiwanese elderly aged ≥65 years. Methods: We included 540 men and 683 women aged ≥65 years. All participants and data were collected from geriatric physical screenings in Tri‐Service General Hospital in Taiwan during 2017. The correlation between CC and FRS‐coronary heart disease (CHD) were calculated. We used multivariate regression models to investigate the correlation between CC and FRS‐CHD. Covariate adjustments were investigated by performing an extended model. Results: A significantly negative association was observed between FRS‐CHD and CC in both genders in both models (all P < 0.05). Male and female participants were divided into quartiles at the CC level (Q1–Q4) and we compared their baseline characteristics separately. We further explored the association between CC divided in quartiles and the FRS‐CHD, which exhibited a significant negative correlation comparing the largest quartiles with the first quartile in a fully adjusted model in both genders (P < 0.05). In addition, the higher quartiles of CC seemed to have a lower FRS‐CHD with statistical significance (P for trend <0.05). Discussion: CC had a strongly negative correlation with FRS‐CHD in both genders. In the future, CC might be an applicable tool in geriatric research in Taiwan for the early detection of developing cardiovascular events. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 1133–1137. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the association between vestibular dysfunction and specific anthropometric parameters. Methods: The results from 2420 participants of the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included for the evaluation of vestibular dysfunction using the Romberg test of standing balance and anthropometric measurements, including waist circumference, thigh circumference, calf circumference (CC), waist‐to‐thigh ratio (WTR) and waist‐to‐calf ratio (WCR). Passing the balance test was defined as participants keeping their balance for 30 s while in the standing position with their eyes closed. Multivariable logistic regression models were the main statistical tools in the present study. Results: The mean age of the participants was approximately 65 years, and half of the study participants were men. The full adjusted odds ratio of vestibular dysfunction for the CC, thigh circumference, WCR and WTR was 0.941 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.894–0.992), 0.948 (95% CI 0.912–0.986), 1.856 (95% CI 1.087–3.170) and 2.516 (95% CI 1.235–5.126), respectively. Higher waist circumference along with lower thigh circumference and CC were observed in the participants in the higher WTR and WCR quartiles. Furthermore, a dose–response relationship between vestibular dysfunction and anthropometric ratios was detected. Discussion: The present study showed that individuals with lower CC and thigh circumference or higher WCR and WTR exhibited higher odds of having vestibular dysfunction. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 622–627. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]