Search

Objective: statin use over the age of 80 years is weakly evidence-based. This study aimed to estimate rates of statin inception and deprescribing by frailty level in people aged 80 years or older. Methods: a cohort of 212,566 participants aged ≥80 years was sampled from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Statin inception was defined as a first-ever prescription in a non-statin user; deprescribing was defined as a last ever statin prescription more than 6 months before the end of participant records. Rates were estimated in a time-to-event framework allowing for mortality as a competing risk. Co-variates were age, gender, frailty category and prevention type. Results: prevalent statin use increased from 2001-5 (9.9%) to 2011-15 (49.3%). Inception of statins in never-users was low overall at 2.4% per year (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2-2.6%) and declined with age. Deprescribing of statins in current users occurred at a rate of 5.6% (95% CI 5.4-5.9%) per year overall and increased with age, reaching 17.8% per year (95% CI 6.7-28.9%) among centenarians. Deprescribing was slightly higher for primary prevention (6.5% per year) than secondary prevention (5.2% per year) indications (P < 0.001). Deprescribing increased with frailty level being 5.0% per year in 'fit' participants and 7.1% in 'severe' frailty (P < 0.001). Conclusions: statin use has increased in the over 80s but deprescribing is common and increases with age and frailty level. These paradoxical findings highlight a need for better evidence to inform statin use and discontinuation for people aged >80 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: we hypothesised that chronic widespread pain (CWP), by acting as a potential stressor, may predispose to the development of, or worsening, frailty. Setting: longitudinal analysis within the European Male Ageing Study (EMAS). Participants: a total of 2,736 community-dwelling men aged 40-79. Methods: subjects completed a pain questionnaire and shaded a manikin, with the presence of CWP defined using the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and depression were measured. Repeat assessments took place a median of 4.3 years later. A frailty index (FI) was used, with frail defined as an FI >0.35. The association between CWP at baseline and the new occurrence of frailty was examined using logistic regression; the association between CWP at baseline and change in FI was examined using negative binomial regression. Results: at baseline, 218 (8.3%) men reported CWP. Of the 2,631 men who were defined as non-frail at baseline, 112 (4.3%) were frail at follow-up; their mean FI was 0.12 (SD 0.1) at baseline and 0.15 (SD 0.1) at follow-up, with a mean change of 0.03 (SD 0.08) P ≤ 0.001. Among men who were non-frail at baseline, those with CWP were significantly more likely to develop frailty. After adjustment for age and centre, compared with those with no pain, those with CWP at baseline had a 70% higher FI at follow-up; these associations remained significant after further adjustment for smoking, body mass index, depression, physical activity and FI at baseline. Conclusion: the presence of CWP is associated with an increased risk of frailty in older European men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased risk of mortality, but whether this relationship is causal or linked to co-existent comorbidity and adverse life factors remains uncertain. Our objective was to determine whether endogenous 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels predicted all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality independently of health and lifestyle factors.Setting: prospective cohort analysis within the European Male Ageing Study.Participants: 2,816 community-dwelling men aged 40–79 years at baseline.Methods: Cox regression was used to examine the association of all-cause mortality with 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)2D and PTH; cardiovascular and cancer mortality were modelled using competing-risks regression. Results were expressed as hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for Cox models; sub-hazard ratios (SHR) and 95% CIs for competing-risks models.Results: a total of 187 men died during a median of 4.3 years of follow-up. Serum levels of 25(OH)D (per 1 SD decrease: HR = 1.45; 95% CI = 1.16, 1.81) and 1,25(OH)2D (per 1 SD decrease: HR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.00, 1.44) were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality after adjusting for age, centre, smoking, self-reported morbidities, physical activity and functional performance. Only levels of 25(OH)D <25 nmol/l predicted cancer mortality (SHR = 3.33; 95% CI = 1.38, 8.04).Conclusion: lower 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D levels independently predicted all-cause mortality in middle-aged and older European men. Associations with cancer mortality were only observed among men with very low levels of 25(OH)D. These associations were only partially explained by the range of adverse health and lifestyle factors measured here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: the link between the vitamin D endocrine axis and frailty remains undefined, with few studies examining the joint effect of vitamin D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Our objective was to determine the association of frailty with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and PTH.Setting: cross-sectional analysis within the European Male Ageing Study (EMAS).Participants: a total of 1,504 community-dwelling men aged 60–79 years.Methods: frailty was classified using a frailty phenotype (FP) and frailty index (FI). The association of frailty with 25(OH)D and PTH was examined using multinomial logistic regression; individual FP criteria with 25(OH)D and PTH using binary logistic regression. Results were expressed as relative odds ratios (ROR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for multinomial; odds ratios (OR) and 95% CIs for binary models.Results: using the FP, 5.0% of subjects were classified as frail and 36.6% as prefrail. Lower levels of 25(OH)D were associated with being prefrail (per 1 SD decrease: ROR = 1.45; 95% CI: 1.26–1.67) and frail (ROR = 1.89; 95% CI: 1.30–2.76), after adjusting for age, centre and health and lifestyle confounders (robust group = base category). Higher levels of PTH were associated with being frail after adjustment for confounders (per 1 SD increase: ROR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.01–1.52). Comparable results were found using the FI. Among the five FP criteria only sarcopenia was not associated with 25(OH)D levels, while only weakness was associated with PTH.Conclusion: lower 25(OH)D and higher PTH levels were positively associated with frailty in older men. Prospective data would enable the temporal nature of this relationship to be explored further. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To evaluate association of first- or second-generation antipsychotic (AP) drugs with fracture risk at different levels of frailty over the age of 80 years. Population-based cohort study. United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink including 153,304 patients aged 80 years and older between 2006 and 2015. Rates of fracture and adjusted rate ratios (RR) were estimated by AP drug exposure category, adjusting for age, sex, frailty, number of deficits, and dementia diagnosis. Data were analyzed for 165,726 treatment episodes (153,304 patients; 61.3% women; mean age 83 years; 21,365 fractures; 681,221.1 person-years of follow-up). AP exposure was associated with increasing age, frailty, and dementia diagnosis. After adjusting for frailty and covariates, first-generation AP exposure was associated with risk of any fracture, RR 1.24 (95% confidence interval 1.07–1.43, P =.003). Second-generation AP exposure was associated with femur fracture (RR 1.41, 1.22–1.64, P <.001) but less strongly with any fracture (RR 1.12, 1.01–1.24, P =.033). Fracture incidence increased with frailty level. The number of person-years of first-generation AP treatment associated with 1 additional fracture at any site was 75 (42–257) for severely frail patients but 187 (95% confidence interval 104–640) for 'fit' patients. For second-generation AP, 1 additional femur fracture might result from 173 (111–323) person-years treatment in severe frailty but 365 (234–681) person-years treatment for 'fit' patients. Frail patients are more likely to receive AP drug treatment, but their absolute risk of AP-associated fracture is substantially greater than for nonfrail patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]