Oral and Poster Papers Submitted for Presentation at the 5th Congress of the EUGMS “Geriatric Medicine in a Time of Generational Shift September 3–6, 2008 Copenhagen, Denmark

Orthostatic hypotension and health outcomes: an umbrella review of observational studies

To investigate potential relationships between orthostatic hypotension (OH) and negative health outcomes and mortality, through an umbrella review with integrated meta-analyses. Orthostatic hypotension is significantly associated with several negative outcomes in older people, but a suggestive evidence is available only for higher risk of coronary heart disease congestive heart failure, stroke, falls dementia, and all-cause mortality. Orthostatic hypotension seems to be significantly associated with several negative health outcomes in older people, even if only associations with coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, falls, dementia, and all-cause mortality are supported …

Associations between cardiac arrhythmia, incident disability in activities of daily living and physical performance: The ilsa study

Background Cardiac arrhythmias are common conditions in older people. Unfortunately, there is limited literature on associations between cardiac arrhythmias and physical performance or disability. We therefore aimed to prospectively investigate associations between cardiac arrhythmias and changes in disability and physical performance during 8 years of follow-up, using data from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging (ILSA). Methods Cardiac arrhythmias diagnosis was posed through a screening phase, confirmed by a physician. The onset of disability in activities of daily living (ADL) and the changes in several physical performance tests during follow-up were considered as outcomes. Fully-ad…