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Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive disease commonly affecting the elderly. Among patients with PD (pwPD), those above 60 years old are considered to be at high risk of malnutrition. Weight loss is a common complaint in pwPD. Thus, we defined the risk factors for malnutrition in geriatric pwPD. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 66 pwPD above the age of 60 years. Socio-demographic features were recorded and comprehensive geriatric assessments were evaluated. Malnutrition was assessed using a mini-nutritional assessment questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements including body mass index, mid-upper arm circumference, and calf circumference (CC) were recorded. Results: Seven (10.6%) pwPD had malnutrition, 22 (33.3%) pwPD were at risk of malnutrition. Univariate logistic regression analysis results revealed that low CC, presence of dyskinesia, advanced Hoehn & Yahr stage, levodopa doses of ≥400 mg/day, and difficulty in swallowing (p=0.035, p=0.041, p=0.048, p=0.027 and p=0.007, respectively) were strongly related to malnutrition among the pwPD. Difficulty in swallowing was independently related to malnutrition in pwPD [odds ratio: 7.81 (confidence interval: 2.17-28.10), p=0.002]. Conclusion: PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the geriatric population and is likely to cause malnutrition because of several disabling symptoms in the progressive course of the disease, such as dysphagia. To avoid or delay poorer outcomes, clinicians should be careful to identify malnutrition with appropriate screening tools during follow-up of pwPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between polypharmacy and the risk of recurrent falls and to assess the fall risk with different pharmacological groups of drugs. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, falls risk-increasing drugs were defined as cardiovascular drugs, analgesics, central nervous system drugs, endocrine drugs, and others. Falls were evaluated according to their presence during the past 12 months. Two or more falls were recorded as recurrent fallers. Results: Five hundred and eighteen participants had a mean age of 71.9 years (7.5) and 71.0% were female. While 87 (51.4%) participants fell once, 82 (48.5%) participants reported recurrent falls. Two hundred and eighty-eight (55.6%) participants had polypharmacy. The percentage of patients who used at least one potentially inappropriate mediation on admission, as defined by the Beers criteria, was 155 (29.9%). The determinants of the risk of recurrent falls were older age and use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) [odds ratio (OR) 1.05: 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.09 and OR 4.04: 95% CI 1.70-9.60, respectively]. Low handgrip strength (HGS) increased the risk of falls approximately 1.7 times (OR 1.69 95% CI 1.11-2.58). Conclusion: Although the polypharmacy rate of the participants was high, there was no significant relationship between polypharmacy and falling. However, we found low HGS, a component of sarcopenia, as a risk factor for falls, and use of ACE-I and older were risk factors for recurrent falls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Falls are the fifth leading cause of death among the older adults, and most of the risk factors of falls are modifiable. We aimed to investigate the clinical factors associated with falls comprehensively, by evaluating the sarcopenia components separately, in each gender. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Six hundred thirty-three female and 269 male outpatients, underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment, were included. Falls, in the previous 12 months, were recorded. Geriatric evaluation regarding frailty, depression, nutrition, cognitive functions, and disabilities were done with related scales. SARC-F determined sarcopenia risk, and probable sarcopenia was defined according to handgrip strength. Skeletal muscle mass index and muscle performance were measured by bioimpedance analysis and physical performance tests, including 4-meter gait speed (4-m GS) and timed up and go (TUG) tests, respectively. Results: In the study population 35.2% of female and 30.9% of male patients experienced falls. In multivariate analysis, probable sarcopenia in women [odds ratio (OR): 1.56, p=0.034] and longer TUG test performance in men (OR: 1.06, p=0.020) were independently related to falls. In addition, both in women and men urinary incontinence (OR: 1.62, p=0.016 and OR: 1.95, p=0.045, respectively), sarcopenia risk defined by SARC-F (OR: 2.74, p=0.001 and OR:4.79, p=0.001, respectively) and depression (OR: 1.56, p=0.025 and OR: 1.93, p=0.046, respectively) were independently related with falls. Conclusion: Depression, incontinence, and sarcopenia risk were independent associated factors for falls in both genders. SARC-F appears to be effective in both genders in predicting the risk of falls. However, muscle strength in women and muscle performance in men get high impact for the falls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Frailty is a prevalent geriatric syndrome that can indicate mortality in the elderly. The aim of this study was to determine if there was an association between frailty and 4-year mortality in the community-dwelling Turkish older people. Materials and Methods: The Fried Frailty Index (FFI) and FRAIL scale data from the Kayseri Elderly Health Study were used. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine the association between frailty and mortality, as assessed by the FFI and FRAIL scales. Results: The 4-year mortality frequency was found at 7.2% (n=65/905).The gender-specific mortality was 2.4% (n=22) in females and 4.8% (n=43) in males. The frequency of mortality in the elderly aged >75 years was 12.8% (n=34/265), and in those aged 60-74 years, it was 4.8% (n=31/640). The frequency of mortality in the frail, pre-frail, and non-frail older people was 57.4%, 25.9%, and 16.7%, respectively, for the FFI. The corresponding frequency of mortality for the FRAIL scale was 20.6%, 54.0%, and 25.4%, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, male gender (OR 2.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43-4.96) and being frail (OR 5.34, 95%CI 2.45-11.67) were significantly associated with 4-year mortality according to the FFI. Conclusion: Both the FFI and FRAIL scales may be significant predictors of 4-year mortality in the sample. However, the FFI may be considered as the strongest predictor for 4-year mortality, primarily in male gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amaç: Sarkopeni; kas kütlesi, kas kuvveti ve fonksiyonunda azalma ile seyreden ilerleyici bir kas hastalığıdır. Yaş ilerledikçe gözlenebilen bu durum enflamatuvar süreçlerden de etkilenebilmektedir. Geriatrik yaş grubundaki kadın sistemik skleroz hastalarında sarkopeni varlığının değerlendirilmesi. Yöntem: Bu çalışma 2017-2019 yılları arasında Erciyes Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi (EÜTF) Romatoloji Polikliniği'ne başvuran hastalar ile yapılmış kesitsel bir çalışmadır. Çalışmaya 60 yaş üzerindeki 33 sistemik skleroz tanılı kadın hasta ve 37 kontrol alındı. Hastaların demografik özellikleri, hastalık tipleri, süreleri, aldıkları tedaviler, laboratuvar ve serolojileri kaydedildi. Rutin kontrollerinde yapılan toraks tomografileri, ekokardiyografi, solunum fonksiyon testi, 6 dakika yürüme testi, DLCO testleri kaydedildi. Hasta sağlık değerlendirme anketi (HAQ) uygulandı. Hastalar EÜTF Geriatri Polikliniği'nde hastaların kas kütle indeksi (SMMI) biyoempedans analizi ile, kas gücü kaybı (dinapeni) el kavrama kuvvetinin bir el dinamometresi yardımıyla ölçülmesiyle, nutrisyonel durumları ise mini-nutrisyonel değerlendirme anketi (MNA) ile belirlendi. Sonuç: Hasta ve kontrol grubu karşılaştırıldığında el kavrama kuvveti (HgMaks) arasında anlamlı fark olduğu tespit edildi (p<0,0001). Bu durum sistemik skleroz hastalığında olası sarkopeni riskinin daha yüksek olduğunu öngörmektedir. Hasta ve kontrol arasında kas kütle indeksi açısından anlamlı fark tespit edilmedi. Çalışmanın daha büyük gruplarla yapılması daha net değerlendirmeler açısından önerilir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]