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Disability is a dynamic process and can be influenced by a sociocultural environment. This study aimed to determine whether the associations between socioeconomic status and late-life disability differ by gender in a multi-sociocultural sample from different countries. A cross-sectional study was developed with 1362 older adults from The International Mobility in Aging Study. Late-life disability was measured through the disability component of the Late-Life Function Disability Instrument. Level of education, income sufficiency and lifelong occupation were used as indicators of SES. The results indicated that a low education level β = -3.11 [95% CI -4.70; -1.53] and manual occupation β = -1.79 [95% -3.40; -0.18] were associated with frequency decrease for men, while insufficient income β = -3.55 [95% CI -5.57; -1.52] and manual occupation β = -2.25 [95% CI -3.89; -0.61] played a negative role in frequency for women. For both men β = -2.39 [95% -4.68; -0.10] and women β = -3.39 [95% -5.77; -1.02], insufficient income was the only factor associated with greater perceived limitation during life tasks. This study suggested that men and women had different late-life disability experiences. For men, occupation and education were associated with a decrease in the frequency of participation, while for women this was associated with income and occupation. Income was associated with perceived limitation during daily life tasks for both genders.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the longitudinal predictions between glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and physical performance scores in different epidemiological contexts of aging., Material and Methods: Longitudinal data of 1,337 older people from three countries (Canada, Brazil and Colombia) of the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS) were used to assess the relationship between HbA1c and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) scores between 2012 and 2016. Linear Mixed Models grouped by sex and adjusted by Age, Study site, Chronic Conditions, Anthropometric Measures, and Inflammatory Level were used to estimate the influence of HbA1c and covariates on SPPB scores., Results: At the IMIAS baseline, Latin American (LA) cities had higher HbA1c averages compared to Canadian cities, with Natal (Brazil) being the city with the highest HbA1c averages in men and women (6.32 ± 1.49; 6,56 ± 1.70 respectively). SPPB scores were significantly lower in LA cities, and older people in Natal had lower SPPB averages in men (9.67 ± 2.38; p-value < 0.05) and women (8.52 ± 2.33; p-value <0.05). In the multivariate mixed linear models of longitudinal analyses, HbA1c was significantly associated with lower SPPB scores in men (β = -0.25, 95% CI: -0.39 to -0.12, p-value = 0.02) but not in women., Conclusion: High HbA1c levels at baseline were longitudinally associated in older adults from different countries, and this association was observed only in men and not in women. This study highlights a possible influence of gender on this relationship., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the association between noninvasive ventilation delivery devices and the incidence of nasal septum injury in preterm infants., Methods: This retrospective singlecenter cohort study included preterm infants supported by noninvasive ventilation. The incidence of nasal injury was compared among three groups according to the noninvasive ventilation delivery device (G1 - nasal mask; G2 - binasal prongs; and G3, rotation of nasal mask with prongs). Nasal injury was classified according to the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel as stages 1 - 4. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to estimate relative risks to identify possible predictors associated with medical device-related injuries., Results: Among the 300 infants included in the study, the incidence of medical device-related injuries in the rotating group was significantly lower than that in the continuous mask or prong groups (n = 68; 40.48%; p value < 0.01).The basal prong group presented more stage 2 injuries (n = 15; 55.56%; p < 0.01). Staying ≥ 7 days in noninvasive ventilation was associated with a higher frequency of medical device-related injuries, regardless of device (63.81%; p < 0.01). Daily increments in noninvasive ventilation increased the risk for nasal injury by 4% (95%CI 1.02 - 1.06; p < 0.01). Higher birth weight indicated protection against medical device-related injuries. Each gained gram represented a decrease of 1% in the risk of developing nasal septum injury (RR: 0.99; 95%CI 0.99 - 0.99; p < 0.04)., Conclusion: Rotating nasal masks with nasal prongs reduces the incidence of moderate to severe nasal injury in comparison with single devices. The addition of days using noninvasive ventilation seems to contribute to medical device-related injuries, and higher birth weight is a protective factor.

Background and Purpose: Older adults face increased risk of loss of functional capacity both before and during hospitalization, so identifying older adults at risk for loss in functional capacity during hospitalization would help researchers and clinicians make informed decisions. This study aims to evaluate functional changes from preadmission (baseline) until discharge of hospitalized older adults and identify predictors of loss in functional capacity., Methods: This is a prospective cohort study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Natal, Brazil, and enrolled all consecutive patients aged 60 years and older between January 1, 2014, and April 30, 2015. Independent variables included personal characteristics, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) (evaluated by the Lawton and Brody scale), cognition (evaluated by the Leganés cognitive test), depression (assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale-15), and in-hospital mobility (evaluated by the Short Physical Performance Battery). The dependent variable functional capacity was assessed by the Katz scale. These instruments were applied at 2 different times: upon admission (within first 24 hours) and at discharge (12-24 hours before). Functional trajectories were defined as the course of functioning from preadmission until discharge using functional capacity data. A multivariate analysis with generalized estimating equation estimated the longitudinal changes in functional capacity., Results and Discussion: The final sample consisted of 1191 older adults and 53.9% were less than 70 years of age. Regarding changes in functional capacity, 52.5% of the older adults presented worse functional capacity at discharge than at baseline. Being dependent for IADL instrumental daily living activities, the presence of depressive symptoms, low levels of cognition, and in-hospital mobility were risk factors for greater loss in functional capacity during a hospitalization event., Conclusion: Hospitalization events may be catastrophic for functional capacity in older adults in Brazil. Functional, cognitive, and emotional status and in-hospital mobility must be carefully assessed at hospital admission and monitored during hospitalization. Effective strategies for preventing loss in functional capacity in older people must improve in the Brazilian hospital system., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2019 The Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy, APTA.)

Background: The idea that cumulative levels of stress can have deleterious effects on health and longevity has led investigators to discuss individual differences in the accumulation of Allostatic Load (AL) during life. Our aim was to evaluate the AL indices and stress biomarkers between genders and to determine which factors were more associated with AL indices., Methods: We evaluated 256 subjects, including 88 men and 168 women, aged 65 years or more. AL was measured by 10 biomarkers, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, waist-hip ratio, glycosylated hemoglobin, salivary cortisol, salivary dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine, total cholesterol and total cholesterol/HDL. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, cognitive function and physical functional variables were additionally analyzed., Results: The mean age of the participants was 74.1 ± 6.7 years. The AL index was 2.30 ± 1.68, without a significant difference between gender. The final linear regression model controlling for gender, age, years of study and living arrangement showed that AL was associated to a number of chronic conditions (β = 0.24; 95 % CI: 0.08-0.40), mobility disability (β = 0.58; 95 % CI: 0.06-1.14), and handgrip strength (β = 0.06; 95 % CI: 0.06-1.14)., Conclusion: As a result of this investigation, Allostatic load was shown to be associated with poor health or physical function for community-dwelling older adults., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: We determine the best combination of factors for predicting the risk of developing fear of falling (FOF) in older people via Classification Regression Tree (CaRT) analysis., Methods: Community-dwelling older adults living in Canada, Albania, Brazil, and Colombia were from International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS). In 2014, 1,725 participants (aged 65-74) were assessed. With a retention rate of 81%, in 2016, 1,409 individuals were reassessed. Risk factors for FOF were entered into the CaRT: age, sex, education, self-rated health, comorbidity, medication, visual impairment, frailty, cognitive deficit, depression, fall history, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), walking aid use, and mobility disability measured by the Nagi questionnaire., Results: The classification tree included 12 end groups representing differential risks of FOF with a minimum of two and a maximum of five predictors. The first split in the tree involved impaired physical function (SPPB scores). Respondents with less than 8 in SPPB score and mobility disability had 82% risk of developing FOF at the end of 2-year follow-up. Between 23.2% and 82.3% of the risk of developing FOF in 2 years of follow-up were explained by only five variables: age, sex, self-rated health, functional impairment measured by SPPB, and mobility disability. In those with no functional impairment or mobility disability, levels of education, sex, and self-rated health were important predictors of FOF in the future., Conclusion: This classification tree included different groups based on specific combinations of a maximum of five easily measurable predictors with emphasis on impaired physical functioning risk factors for developing FOF., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Frailty, a state of vulnerability to poor resolution of homoeostasis after a health stressor, may be a result of cumulative decline in many physiological systems across the life course and its prevalence and incidence rates vary widely depending on the place and population subgroup., Objective: This study aims to examine social and economic factors as predictors of worse frailty status over 2 years of follow-up in a sample of community-dwelling older adults from the International Mobility in Aging Study., Methods: We analyzed 2012 baseline and 2014 follow-up ( n = 1,724) data on participants from a populational-based, longitudinal study conducted in 4 countries (e.g., Brazil, Colombia, Albania, and Canada). Frailty was defined according to the Fried's phenotype and Poisson regression models with robust standard errors were performed to estimate the relative risks of becoming frail., Results: In our study, 366 (21.2%) participants migrated to a worse stage of frailty. After statistical adjustment (e.g., participant age, sex, and study site), insufficient income (RR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.00-1.96) and having partner support (RR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.64-1.01) were predictors of incident frailty status., Conclusion: Notably, transitions in frailty status were observed even in a short range of time, with sociodemographic factors predicting incident frailty.

Frailty at older ages is an adverse health condition that is more prevalent in women than men and the excess prevalence in women cannot be adequately explained by common risk factors. Reproductive history events may be among contributing factors. This study aims to examine associations between age at first childbirth, lifetime parity, and history of hysterectomy with frailty status in community dwelling older women. This is a cross-sectional study of 1047 women participating in the International Mobility in Aging Study at baseline (2012, aged between 65 and 74 years old). Fried's phenotype of frailty was used to identify frail, pre-frail and non-frail groups. Measured reproductive history variables include age at first birth (before 20 years old; 20 years old or older), lifetime parity (0; 1-2 children; 3-4 children; 5 children or more) and hysterectomy (yes/no). We constructed multinomial regression models adjusted for possible confounders to examine the relationships of interest; non frail women were the reference category. Early maternal age (before 20 years-old) was associated with increased risk of frailty (OR 2.15, 95%CI: 1.24-3.72). Compared to women who delivered five or more children, those who had 1-2 children showed significantly lower odds of pre-frail status (OR 0.54, 95%CI 0.36-0.82) and frailty (OR 0.43 95%CI 0.22-0.86). Hysterectomy was independently associated with frailty (OR 1.74 95%CI 1.04-2.89) Age at first birth, parity and hysterectomy are associated to a greater likelihood of frailty in later life. This study reinforces the importance of considering the reproductive characteristics of women as indicators of health status.

Objectives: Self-rated health (SRH) is a predictor of objective health measures, including mortality and morbidity. The link between resilience and SRH among the elderly is unclear. We aim to examine whether resilience aligns with SRH and, secondarily, whether resilience can override the negative health consequences of adverse childhood experiences (ACE)., Design and Setting: We use 2012, 2014 and 2016 data from the International Mobility in Aging Study, a longitudinal cohort study that collects survey and biophysical data from Albania, Brazil, Colombia and Canada. The main independent variables were resilience and ACE (social and economic)., Participants: Community-dwelling 65-74 year olds (in 2012) were recruited through primary care registers. The sample size of the study was 1506., Primary Outcome: The outcome measure was SRH., Results: We found that sex, site, economic ACE, current income sufficiency, current depressive symptoms, current physical function and current resilience were associated with current SRH. In regression analyses, we showed that the association between ACE and SRH disappeared once factors such as sex, site, income, depression, physical health and resilience were considered., Conclusions: The association between resilience and health poses a compelling argument for building resilience throughout life., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)