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Aim: We investigated seasonal variations in blood pressure (BP) and factors related to these variations among older patients receiving home medical care., Method: A total 57 patients ≥ 65 years old receiving home medical care who participated in the Osaka Home Care REgistry study (OHCARE), a prospective cohort study, were included. We investigated the seasonal patient characteristics and variations in the BP. In addition, to determine the influence of seasonal variations in the systolic blood pressure (SBP) on the occurrence of clinical events (hospitalization, falls and death), we classified patients into larger- and smaller- change groups based on the median seasonal variations in SBP., Result: About 60% of subjects were very frail or bedridden. The mean BP was higher in winter than in summer (124.7±11/69.5±7 vs.120.5±12/66.9±8 mmHg) (P< 0.01). On comparing the characteristics of the two groups with larger and smaller changes in the SBP, the group with large BP changes had a significantly lower BP in summer than the group with small BP changes. In addition, the incidence of "hospitalization" was significantly higher in the group with large BP changes than in the group with small BP changes (P = 0.03)., Conclusion: The present study revealed that there were seasonal changes in the BP in older patients receiving home medical care. It was also suggested that seasonal changes in the BP might be associated with the risk of hospitalization events. Given these BP variations, doctors and visiting nurses should be alert for systemic abnormalities, especially in frail patients receinving home medical care.

Objectives: We examined the associations of weight loss and low serum albumin level with death in community-dwelling elderly, as well as related factors by a systematic review with a meta-analysis., Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), Web of Science, and CHINAL for articles on cohort studies investigating the association of weight loss and low serum albumin with death in community-dwelling elderly and extracted a total of 3,812 published articles. We also investigated the factors associated with this relationship. Relative risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals were cultivated., Results: Based on our search for articles related to weight loss, we extracted 1,180 cases and finally analyzed 11 cases. The meta-analysis revealed that the risk ratio (RR) for mortality was 1.69 times higher than that in the weight loss group. Based on our search for articles related to low serum albumin, we extracted 2,632 cases and finally analyzed 10 cases. The mortality RR was 1.92 times higher than that in the maintenance group albumin low level group. Overall, the degree of heterogeneity in the analyzed studies was high. There were some influencing factors influencing the associations; however, the feeding behaviors, swallowing function and food eating patterns were not fully investigated., Conclusions: Our meta-analysis of the relevant literature revealed that the RR for mortality was significantly high in community dwelling elderly with weight loss or low serum albumin. Based on these results, the maintenance of body weight and serum albumin would be important for preventing death and serious diseases in the community dwelling elderly.