Lung Function Decline and Predictors in Older People From the English Longitudinal Study of Aging

CHEST Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
pp. 784A
Author(s):  
Abebaw Yohannes ◽  
Gindo Tampubolon
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Zaninotto ◽  
Y. T. Huang ◽  
G. Di Gessa ◽  
J. Abell ◽  
C. Lassale ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Falls amongst older people are common; however, around 40% of falls could be preventable. Medications are known to increase the risk of falls in older adults. The debate about reducing the number of prescribed medications remains controversial, and more evidence is needed to understand the relationship between polypharmacy and fall-related hospital admissions. We examined the effect of polypharmacy on hospitalization due to a fall, using a large nationally representative sample of older adults. Methods Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) were used. We included 6220 participants aged 50+ with valid data collected between 2012 and 2018.The main outcome measure was hospital admission due to a fall. Polypharmacy -the number of long-term prescription drugs- was the main exposure coded as: no medications, 1–4 medications, 5–9 medications (polypharmacy) and 10+ medications (heightened polypharmacy). Competing-risk regression analysis was used (with death as a potential competing risk), adjusted for common confounders, including multi-morbidity and fall risk-increasing drugs. Results The prevalence of people admitted to hospital due to a fall increased according to the number of medications taken, from 1.5% of falls for people reporting no medications, to 4.7% of falls among those taking 1–4 medications, 7.9% of falls among those with polypharmacy and 14.8% among those reporting heightened polypharmacy. Fully adjusted SHRs for hospitalization due to a fall among people who reported taking 1–4 medications, polypharmacy and heightened polypharmacy were 1.79 (1.18; 2.71), 1.75 (1.04; 2.95), and 3.19 (1.61; 6.32) respectively, compared with people who were not taking medications. Conclusions The risk of hospitalization due to a fall increased with polypharmacy. It is suggested that prescriptions in older people should be revised on a regular basis, and that the number of medications prescribed be kept to a minimum, in order to reduce the risk of fall-related hospital admissions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S60-S60
Author(s):  
Jessica G Abell ◽  
Camille Lassale ◽  
Andrew Steptoe ◽  
G David Batty ◽  
Paola Zaninotto

Abstract Falls are the most frequent type of accidents among older people, with one in three people aged over 65 falling each year. Falls serious enough to result in hospital admission are especially problematic, since they can lead to an increased likelihood of future disability, loss of independence, and premature mortality. Understanding the factors that may determine the risk of experiencing a fall, which requires admission to hospital, is therefore an important priority. This paper seeks to examine this issue using Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data – administrative data from English hospitals in the National Health Service (NHS). These data have recently been linked with the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). We examine the association between a range of predictors (demographic, social environment, physical and mental functioning) drawn from wave 4 of ELSA with the first occurrence of hospitalisation due to an accidental fall, identified using ICD-10 codes. Analysis using Cox regression suggest a range of factors are negatively associated with admission to hospital with diagnosis of a fall, such as living alone (HR=1.42; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.68), urinary incontinence (HR=1.33; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.61) and depressive symptoms (HR=1.50; 95% CI: 1.23, 1.82). High walking speed (HR=0.30; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.39) and good hand-grip strength (HR=0.97; 95% CI: 0.96, 0.98) were found to be protective. The prevention of serious falls amongst older people will require determinants to be identified and managed effectively by health and social care services.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0259498
Author(s):  
Camila Thais Adam ◽  
Ione Jayce Ceola Schneider ◽  
Danielle Soares Rocha Vieira ◽  
Tauana Prestes Schmidt ◽  
Fernando Cesar Wehrmeister ◽  
...  

Background Fibrinogen is an important biomarker of inflammation, but findings from longitudinal studies that correlated fibrinogen with lung function in older adults are inconsistent. Aim To investigate the relationship between fibrinogen plasma levels and lung function impairment later in life. Methods Longitudinal analysis of 2,150 participants of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) aged 50 years and older. Associations between changes in plasma fibrinogen between waves 2 (2004–05) and 4 (2008–09) and lung function in wave 6 (2012–13) were performed using multiple linear regression adjusted by potential confounders. Results Regarding the fibrinogen profile, 18.5% of the participants presented higher levels in both waves. In the adjusted models, the maintenance of high fibrinogen levels was associated with a significant reduction of lung function only for men. FEV1 showed a reduction of 0.17L, FVC of 0.22L, and the percentages predicted were 5.16% for FEV1 and 6.21% for FVC compared to those that maintained normal levels of fibrinogen. Discussion To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study investigating the relationship between changes in fibrinogen levels over a long follow-up period and lung function in older adults without pre-existing chronic diseases. ELSA has information on critical demographic and clinical parameters, which allowed to adjust for potential confounding factors. Conclusion It was found that the persistence of high levels of plasma fibrinogen in older English men, but not women, is associated with lung function decline. Therefore, plasma fibrinogen showed to be an important biomarker of pulmonary dysfunction in this population.


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