Search results for "geriatric"
showing 10 items of 1602 documents
"No matter how old I am, I don’t like what my stomach looks like." Lifespan perspective on the changes in self-assessment of attractiveness and life …
2020
The study aimed to examine the association between self-assessment of attractiveness and life satisfaction in women, where age was a potential moderator of this relationship. A cross-sectional study of 360 women aged 18 to 89 was performed. Participants assessed their overall attractiveness, the attractiveness of their individual body parts, and their life satisfaction. The relationship between the assessment of attractiveness of particular body parts and life satisfaction depended on age. The results indicate that not only overall self-attractiveness, but also the perceived attractiveness of particular body parts (different in each distinguished age group: 18-25, 30-45 and 60+) can be cons…
Predictors of decline in self-assessments of health among older people--a 5-year longitudinal study.
2001
Within the framework of the Evergreen project we examined how changes in several indicators of health and functioning and physical activity predicted a decline in self-assessments of health evaluated over a 5-year period in older people by two different measurements: self-rated health (SRH) and self-assessed change in health (SACH). The study group comprised all 75-year-old persons born in 1914 (N = 382) and living in Jyvaskyla, a town in central Finland. At baseline in 1989, 91.6%, and at follow-up 5 years later in 1994, 87.3% of those eligible participated in the interview and 77.2 and 71.3%, respectively, in the examinations in the study centre, focusing on different domains of health an…
Reasons for Older Adult Participation in University Programs in Spain
2010
This study examined the reasons expressed by older adults for attending a university program in Barcelona (Spain). Results were based on the responses of 36 elders to questions from a semistructured interview. These were (a) reasons for joining a university course and (b) factors that prevent enrolling in that course. Participants mentioned more expressive than instrumental reasons for participating in a university program. Most mentioned barriers to entering university that were lack of interest, lack of self-confidence, health problems, and limited information. These results are discussed in the context of new strategies to improve university courses aimed at the elderly.
Alpha1-antitrypsin heterozygosity plays a positive role in attainment of longevity.
2007
Genes involved in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) play an opposite role in human longevity. The alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) is a serine-protease inhibitor required for the prevention of proteolytic tissue damage, by neutrophil elastase. The role of AAT in CVD has not been definitively assessed and its effect on longevity has not yet fully been studied. To clarify these points, we have studied the distribution of AAT allele variants in 3 cohorts: 127 young patients affected by acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 255 young controls and 143 centenarians from Sicily. The Z allele frequency was most frequent in centenarians (13.3%), intermediate in healthy young controls (3.1%) and less frequent in AM…
Nicotine-induced FGF-2 mRNA in rat brain is preserved during aging
2004
Indirect trophic actions of nicotine on brain during aging are suggested from observations describing nicotine as a cognitive enhancer, increasing vigilance and improving learning and memory, and both in vitro and in vivo models have demonstrated neuroprotective effects of nAChR agonists. Previously, we have reported that an acute intermittent (-)nicotine treatment significantly increases fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) mRNA and protein in several brain regions of rat brain. The present study was designed to analyse if nicotine-induced FGF-2 expression in the rat brain was preserved during aging. Using in situ hybridization and quantitative RNase protection assay the present paper report…
Vascular aging in rodent models: contrasting mechanisms driving the female and male vascular senescence
2021
Increasing scientific interest has been directed to sex as a biological and decisive factor on several diseases. Several different mechanisms orchestrate vascular function, as well as vascular dysfunction in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in males and females. Certain vascular sex differences are present throughout life, while others are more evident before the menopause, suggesting two important and correlated drivers: genetic and hormonal factors. With the increasing life expectancy and aging population, studies on aging-related diseases and aging-related physiological changes have steeply grown and, with them, the use of aging animal models. Mouse and rat models of aging, the most…
HepatomiRNoma: The proposal of a new network of targets for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma
2015
Abstract: The diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) underwent a huge advancement in the last years. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been also studied to provide a new tool for early diagnosis of high risk patients, for prognostic classification to identify those patients who benefit cancer treatment and for predictive definition to select the right targeted drug. In this review we revised all the available data obtained to explore the role of miRNAs in HCC. This analysis led to identification of miRNAs which could gain a diagnostic, prognostic or predictive role. The results of studies on miRNAs involved in HCC are initial and far from providing scientific evidences to…
The care of the informal caregiver's burden by the Spanish public system of social welfare: a review.
2010
Abstract This work analyzes the public social services system developed in Spain to attend dependent persons and their informal caregivers, examining in a more detailed way the current capacity of the Spanish public In-Home Help Service (HHS) to meet the demands of dependent elderly persons and its impact on their informal caregiver's burden. We begin with a brief introduction of the services by the Spanish public social services system developed to attend dependency; next, the evolution of the Spanish public HHS is described in a thorough way to identify the pros and cons of this service regarding the informal caregivers’ burden of dependent elders. Finally, recommendations are proposed to…
Nursing home vouchers in Spain: the Valencian experience
2002
The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the innovative nursing home voucher scheme that was introduced by the Valencia Autonomous Region of Spain in the early 1990s to implement targets laid down by the national plan for the development of older people's services. The article begins with a review of the evolution of Spanish social services, and especially the nursing home sector, and then summarises the genesis, objectives and characteristics of the voucher scheme. The main part of the paper reports a performance analysis and economic evaluation of the programme. On the basis of detailed information over four years, it is concluded that nursing home vouchers have contributed to the in…
The effects of rationing home-help services in Spain and Sweden: a comparative analysis
1999
In both Spain and Sweden the most important public support for older people that is provided in their own homes are home-help services. In Sweden, these programmes were expanded in years of economic growth but recently have radically declined. Spain still strives to expand them in spite of financial problems. Both countries ration these services but in different ways. Spain provides relatively few hours of help with household tasks, primarily to poor old people. At present, one to two per cent of the 65-plus population is covered. Local government is still trying to reach more people to relieve pressure on limited institutional care. Sweden continues to cut down the service from the present…