0000000001032667
AUTHOR
S Zambon
Pre-Frailty and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Elderly Men and Women The Pro.V.A. Study
Background Frailty is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the impact of early, potentially reversible stages of frailty on CVD risk is unknown. Objectives This study sought to ascertain whether pre-frailty can predict the onset of CVD in a cohort of community-dwelling, not disabled, elderly people. Methods A sample of 1,567 participants age 65 to 96 years without frailty or disability at baseline was followed for 4.4 years. Pre-frailty was defined as the presence of 1 or 2 modified Fried criteria (unintentional weight loss, low physical activity level, weakness, exhaustion, and slow gait speed), and incident CVD as onset of coronary artery diseases, heart failure,…
A Comparison of Objective Physical Performance Tests and Future Mortality in the Elderly People.
Background: Physical performance is an important predictor of mortality, but little is known on the comparative prognostic utility of different objective physical performance tests in community-dwelling older adults. We compared the prognostic usefulness of several objective physical performance tests on mortality, adjusting our analyses for potential confounders. Methods: Among 3,099 older community-dwelling participants included in the Progetto Veneto Anziani study, 2,096 were followed for a mean of 4.4 years. Physical performance tests measured were Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), 4-meter gait speed, chair stands time, leg extension and flexion, handgrip strength, and 6-Minute…
Worldwide trends in hypertension prevalence and progress in treatment and control from 1990 to 2019: a pooled analysis of 1201 population-representative studies with 104 million participants
Background: hypertension can be detected at the primary health-care level and low-cost treatments can effectively control hypertension. We aimed to measure the prevalence of hypertension and progress in its detection, treatment, and control from 1990 to 2019 for 200 countries and territories. Methods: we used data from 1990 to 2019 on people aged 30-79 years from population-representative studies with measurement of blood pressure and data on blood pressure treatment. We defined hypertension as having systolic blood pressure 140 mm Hg or greater, diastolic blood pressure 90 mm Hg or greater, or taking medication for hypertension. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate the prev…
Frailty Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Incident Type 2 Diabetes in the Elderly
Objective To investigate whether frailty is associated with an increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a prospective cohort of community-dwelling older people. Design Longitudinal study, mean follow-up of 4.4 years. Setting Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.) study that involved older community-dwellers. Participants 1754 men and women older than 65 years without T2DM at baseline. Measurements Frailty status was defined according to Fried criteria and categorized as frailty (≥3 criteria), prefrailty (1-2 criteria), or no frailty (0 criterion). Incident T2DM was defined as fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥7.0 mmol/L, or glycosylated hemoglobin ≥6.5%, the use of glucose-lowe…
Serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and osteoarthritis in older people: the Pro.V.A. study.
Although osteoarthritis (OA) and low levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) are common in the elderly, no studies on human beings are available concerning the possible relationship between them. We aimed to examine the relationship between DHEAS levels and any presence of OA in a cohort of community-dwelling older subjects. This study was part of the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.), an Italian population-based cohort study on people over 65 years old. In this cross-sectional work, we considered 2050 individuals with a mean age of 74.2 ± 7.1 years (818 M and 1232 F), and with a complete set of information on OA and DHEAS levels. OA was defined using a standardized algorithm inve…
Results of an Observational Cohort Study of Hyperuricemia as a Predictor of Poor Physical Performance in the Elderly
Objective: Hyperuricemia is frequent in older people and associated with several medical conditions. The relationship between hyperuricemia and physical performance is limited. We aimed to investigate the association between hyperuricemia and physical performance over a 4.4-year followup in the elderly. Methods: A total of 1,904 community-dwelling older participants were followed for a mean of 4.4 years. Hyperuricemia at baseline was defined using serum uric acid concentrations ≥6 and ≥7 mg/dl for women and men, respectively. Objective physical performance tests measured included the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), 4-meter gait speed, chair-stands time, leg extension and flexion,…
Low Hemoglobin Levels and the Onset of Cognitive Impairment in Older People: The PRO.V.A. Study
Low hemoglobin (Hb) levels are attracting interest as a risk factor for cognitive impairment, but with contrasting evidence emerging from the current literature. The aim of our work was to investigate the relationship between baseline serum Hb levels and the incidence of cognitive impairment in older people over a follow-up of 4.4 years. Our study considered a sample of 1227 elderly subjects cognitively intact at baseline, enrolled under the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.) among 3099 screened subjects. For all participants, we measured serum Hb levels on blood samples; incident cognitive impairment was defined as a Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score <24 and confirmed by geriat…
Orthostatic Changes in Blood Pressure and Cognitive Status in the Elderly: The Progetto Veneto Anziani Study.
We studied a cohort of 1408 older subjects to explore whether postural changes in blood pressure (BP; defined as orthostatic hypo- or hypertension) can predict the onset of cognitive deterioration. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a drop of 20 mm Hg in systolic or 10 mm Hg in diastolic BP and orthostatic hypertension as a rise of 20 mm Hg in systolic BP. Orthostatic BP values were grouped into quintiles for secondary analyses. Two cognitive assessments were considered: (1) cognitive impairment, that is, Mini-Mental State Examination scores ≤24/30, and (2) cognitive decline (CD), that is, a 3-point decrease in Mini-Mental State Examination score from the baseline to the follow-up. At t…
Low Hemoglobin Levels and Risk of Developing Depression in the Elderly: Results From the Prospective PRO.V.A. Study.
OBJECTIVE Low hemoglobin negatively affects health in the elderly, but research about the association with risk for depression is limited. We investigated the association between baseline hemoglobin concentrations and incident depression in a cohort of nondepressed elderly individuals. METHODS As part of the Northern Italian Progetto Veneto Anziani (PRO.V.A.) study, randomly drawn, community-dwelling subjects aged ≥ 65 years underwent prospective clinical and laboratory assessments between October 1995 and December 2002. The association between baseline hemoglobin and depression was assessed with adjusted Cox regression analyses. Baseline serum hemoglobin concentrations were further categor…
Worldwide trends in diabetes since 1980: a pooled analysis of 751 population-based studies with 4.4 million participants
Background One of the global targets for non-communicable diseases is to halt, by 2025, the rise in the age-standardised adult prevalence of diabetes at its 2010 levels. We aimed to estimate worldwide trends in diabetes, how likely it is for countries to achieve the global target, and how changes in prevalence, together with population growth and ageing, are affecting the number of adults with diabetes. Methods We pooled data from population-based studies that had collected data on diabetes through measurement of its biomarkers. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in diabetes prevalence-defined as fasting plasma glucose of 7.0 mmol/L or higher, or history of diagnosis w…
Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Osteoarthritis in Older People: The Progetto Veneto Anziani Study.
Recent work has shown that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels are associated with the presence of osteoarthritis (OA), but these studies focused on radiographical changes of OA, investigated only one joint, and did not consider the association with OA-related pain. In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between 25OHD levels and any presence of OA and pain in a cohort of older people. This study was part of the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A), a population-based cohort study in older people. In this cross-sectional work, we considered 2756 subjects (1102 males and 1654 females) with a mean age of 74.2 ± 7.1 years. OA and OA-related pain were defined using a standardized al…
Marital status and frailty in older people: Gender differences in the Progetto Veneto Anziani longitudinal study
Objectives: Marital status has been associated with disability and mortality, but its potential role as a factor influencing frailty has yet to be thoroughly investigated. The analysis of gender-related differences in the relationship between marital status and frailty is another interesting matter that remains to be fully elucidated. The aim of our study was to examine the association between marital status and the incidence of frailty in a cohort of older men and women over a 4.4-year follow-up. Materials and Methods: A sample of 1887 subjects older than 65 years, enrolled under the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.) and with no evidence of frailty at baseline, were grouped by marital sta…
Worldwide trends in blood pressure from 1975 to 2015: a pooled analysis of 1479 population-based measurement studies with 19.1 million participants
Background Raised blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease. We estimated worldwide trends in mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, and the prevalence of, and number of people with, raised blood pressure, defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher. Methods For this analysis, we pooled national, subnational, or community population-based studies that had measured blood pressure in adults aged 18 years and older. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1975 to 2015 in mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, and the prevalence of rai…
Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Incidence of Diabetes in Elderly People: The PRO.V.A. Study
Context: Increasing research has shown that low levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin (25OHD) predict the onset of diabetes, but no research is available on this issue in elderly people. Objective: Our objective was to examine whether low serum levels of 25OHD are associated with a higher risk of incident type 2 diabetes over a lengthy follow-up in a representative group of elderly people. Design and Setting: This was a population-based cohort study as part of the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.) Study over a follow-up of 4.4 years in the general community. Participants: Participants included 2227 participants (1728 with follow-up visits and 499 died during the follow-up) over 65 years of ag…