Asthma in the Elderly: Risk Factors and Mortality Rate

Riproducibilità intraindividuale del FEV6 in soggetti anziani

Evaluation of health outcomes in elderly patients with asthma and COPD using disease-specific and generic instruments: the Salute Respiratoria nell'Anziano (Sa.R.A.) Study.

To compare the effects of asthma and COPD on health status (HS) in elderly patients, and to assess the correlation between disease-specific and generic instruments assessing HS.Multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study.The Salute Respiratoria nell'Anziano (respiratory health in the elderly) Study network of outpatient departments.One hundred ninety-eight asthma patients and 230 COPD patientsor = 65 years old.HS was assessed by the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and five generic outcomes: Barthel's index, 6-min walk test, mini mental state examination, geriatric depression scale (GDS), and quality-of-sleep index. Independent correlates of SGRQ scores were assessed by…

Asthma in the elderly: mortality rate and associated risk factors for mortality.

BACKGROUND: There is a distinct lack of information on the prognosis of asthma in the elderly. METHODS: In order to compare mortality rates of elderly people with and without asthma and to identify mortality risk factors in those with asthma, 1,233 ambulatory patients aged > or = 65 years with a diagnosis of asthma (n = 210) or chronic nonrespiratory conditions (n = 1,023) were enrolled in a multicentric study. Patients underwent baseline spirometry and multidimensional assessment and were then followed up for a mean of 57.9 months (SD 16.9). We compared mortality rates in the two groups and identified predictors of death using multivariable survival analysis. RESULTS: The 5-year mortality …

Valutazione della reattività del muscolo liscio nella popolazione geriatrica

Condizione depressiva e percezione dei sintomi nella patologia broncoostruttiva dell'anziano

Iperreattività bronchiale e inspirazione profonda: correlazioni patogenetiche e implicazioni cliniche

Bronchial hyperreactivity seems to induce a loss of the deep inspiration's bronchoprotective effect which is normally able to dilate the obstructed airways. Studies such as the HRCT on the bronchial gauge's alterations show that the deep inspirations bronchodilator effect is associated with the bronchial distensibility. In fact, it is almost totally absent either in the elderly or in the COPD patients. In asthma, instead, the pathology's seriousness has proved to be associated with the impairment of the deep inspiration's broncho-protective effect which this way becomes an important diagnostic parameter.

Factors affecting the measurement of FVC in the elderly