A soft exosuit for hip extension assistance of the elderly

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Tao Fang ◽  
Wujing Cao ◽  
Chunjie Chen ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Zhuo Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Aging ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Lower Limbs ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Background Population ◽  
Force Tracking ◽  
Soft Exosuit

BACKGROUND: Population aging is now a universal trend. Many elderly persons can only conduct limited and short time walking because of age-related skeletal muscle decline of the lower limbs. The wearable device for walking assistance is beneficial to improve the life quality of the elderly. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to propose a soft exosuit for walking assistance of the elderly and verify its feasibility. METHODS: The wearable structure and control strategy were presented. The performance of the soft exosuit was tested by force tracking evaluation and metabolic cost test. RESULTS: The mean error of the measured and target peak force was 1.1%. The metabolic cost with assistance on while wearing the exosuit was reduced by 9.2% compared with that in locomotion assistance off. The reduction of assistance on was 7.1% compared with no exosuit. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed soft exosuit has the potential to improve the walking efficiency of the elderly.

scholarly journals Between Solidarity and Self-Interest: The Elderly and Support for Public Education Revisited

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-444
Author(s):  
MARIUS R. BUSEMEYER ◽  
DOMINIK LOBER
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Education Spending ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Generational Conflicts

AbstractProceeding population aging might fuel generational conflicts about the distribution of welfare state resources in the future, but the existing evidence on the extent of generational cleavages in attitudes towards the welfare state is mixed. We argue that these mixed findings are partially related to an underestimation of trade-offs on the level of individual preferences. Using novel data from a survey experiment conducted in eight Western European countries, we show that age-related self-interest is an important determinant of social policy preferences. When elderly respondents are confronted with hypothetical cutbacks in pensions, they are much less likely to support additional education spending. However, we also find evidence for a mediating effect of social trust: high-trusting elderly individuals are more likely to support education spending – contrary to their narrow self-interest – than low-trusting elderly.

scholarly journals Diminished Melatonin Secretion in the Elderly Caused by Insufficient Environmental Illumination1

2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Mishima ◽  
M. Okawa ◽  
T. Shimizu ◽  
Y. Hishikawa
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Bright Light ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Melatonin Secretion ◽  
Young Control ◽  
Environmental Light ◽  
Age Related

The pineal hormone melatonin has some circadian regulatory effects and is assumed to have a close relation with sleep initiation and maintenance. Many previous reports have described age-related decreases in melatonin levels, especially in elderly insomniacs (EIs), which may act as causal or exacerbating factors in sleep disturbances in the elderly. Ten elderly residents with psychophysiological insomnia (mean age, 74.2 yr), 10 healthy residents of the same home [elderly control (EC) group; mean age, 72.7 yr], and 10 healthy young control subjects (mean age, 20.9 yr) living at home participated in this study. The elderly persons, especially the EIs, were exposed to significantly less environmental light and simultaneously suffered from significantly diminished nocturnal melatonin secretion. Supplementary exposure to 4 h (1000 to 1200 h, 1400 to 1600 h) of midday bright light in the EI group significantly increased melatonin secretion to levels similar to those in the young control group without circadian phase-shifting. There was a tendency for the magnitude of the increase in nocturnal melatonin secretion stimulated by bright light to parallel amelioration of sleep disturbances in these subjects. The present findings suggest that we need to pay attention to elderly individuals who suffer under conditions of poor environmental light resulting in disorganized circadian rhythms, including the sleep-wake cycle.

scholarly journals The problem of aging of the population as one of the most important challenges for social policy and public health.

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-13
Author(s):  
Andrei Shpakou ◽  
Aliaksandr Shpakau ◽  
Aleh Kuzniatsou
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Family Doctor ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Emergency Rooms ◽  
Care For The Elderly ◽  
Background Population ◽  
High Level

Background: Population aging is one of the most important social policy and public health challenges for the state. Increased proportions of older people is accompanied with increased negative attitudes manifested toward them, as represented by ageism, the discrimination against the elderly, contributing to their exclusion from public life. Aim of the study: To study the prevalence and characteristics of ageism manifestations in healthcare institutions in the city of Grodno (Belarus) and to consider measures to minimize it. Material and methods: 250 random urban respondents from Grodno age 60 or more not undergoing treated in healthcare institutions were anonymously questioned. Data analysis was performed using different statistical methods. Results: The majority of respondents rated geriatric, social and medical care in the country as functioning at a high level. The share of elderly people who felt age discrimination was 70 (28.0%) and was independent from the gender and age of the respondents. Clinical departments were mentioned by 24 (34.3%) of respondents as places where manifestations of ageism were seen, particularly in emergency rooms – 14 (20.0%) and family doctor offices– 17 (24.3%). In 35 (50%) of cases, the family doctor explained the symptoms of the disease by the onset of old age, which can be regarded as a manifestation of ageism. Conclusions: Training in the field of geriatrics is very important for medical professionals. Failure to take measures to ensure a holistic (integrated) approach in the treatment and care of elderly must be considered discriminatory. Particular measures should be taken to develop all types of care for the elderly, increasing the level of patient satisfaction with medical services and reducing the frequency of gerontological ageism manifestations.

scholarly journals Median Age of Medical Inpatients in a Tertiary Care Hospital

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-29
Author(s):  
Chandra Shekhar Bala ◽  
Sarmistha Biswas ◽  
Md Mahfuze Sarkar ◽  
Prodip Kumar Sarkar ◽  
Maimuna Sultana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Aging ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
College Hospital ◽  
Medical College ◽  
Medical Inpatients ◽  
The Face ◽  
Bangladeshi Population

Introduction: Population demography of the world including Bangladesh is on transition. The increasing number of elderly persons has a direct impact on the demand for health services due to the consequent rise in degenerative diseases of aging and changing life style. The chief objective was to know the median age of the medical inpatients.Methods: This was an observational study. It was conducted in the wards of Medicine department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital from the 1st of March to 15th March.Result: Median age of the admitted patients is 44.5 years. Highest admission is from the 6th to 8th decade of age group. A total of 176 patients (31.88%) were above the ageof 60 years.Discussion: Median age is one of the important measures of population aging. Global median age is 29 years whereas median age of Bangladeshi population is 22 years. The medianage of medical inpatients is relatively high. Percentage of patients aged more than 50 years are doubled in two decades.Conclusion: It is evident that the face of patients in medicine wards is growing older. We must redistribute our resources to deal the conditions and diseases prevalent to the elderly people. We must be kept our preparedness up to date to serve the senior citizens.J MEDICINE January 2016; 17 (1) : 27-29

scholarly journals Formation and Development of Policies to Facilitate the Improvement of Elderly Persons in Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
Huu Hoang Nguyen ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Country ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Public Life ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Improve Quality ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
New Perspective

in 2011, Vietnam officially entered the period of “population aging” but is still a poor and developing country. The current policy approach towards the Vietnamese elderly differs from the prevailing one in which the state should have the responsibility to improve quality and provide social protection for the lives of the elderly; by making them relatively passive beneficiaries of their policies. This research brings a relatively new perspective when realizing that the elderly are an important resource in the development of the country. To adopt policies to promote the maximize their role in all areas of public life with the goal of creating a generation of the elderly “actively adapting” to the rapidly aging population. Through research and analysis of historical and legal documents, these results show that the current “positive” and “active” elderly policy approach in Vietnam is necessary

scholarly journals Internet use and self-assessed health among older people: an update using SHARE data (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aida-Isabel Tavares
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Share Data ◽  
Self Assessed Health ◽  
The Relationship

BACKGROUND Ten years ago, an age-related digital divide was identified, where the elderly were a group of people at risk of losing the benefits of a digital society. Since then a 'new' generation of elderly has emerged. We are now updating previous studies on the relationship between self-assessed health and internet use by elderly persons. OBJECTIVE The two aims of this work are to find a relationship between self-assessed health and internet use by elderly people in European countries and to ascertain whether this relationship differs in countries with a more developed eHealth policy. METHODS Individual data from the SHARE survey version 6.0.0 published in 2017 for 18 countries are used. An ordered logistic regression is estimated for all the countries in the sample and for two subsets of countries which differ in their eHealth performance. RESULTS Results show that elderly people who use the internet tend to report better health status. The estimated coefficient equals 0.288 (p=0.00). This relationship is stronger in countries with higher eHealth performance where the estimated coefficient equals 0.413 (p=0.00). In countries with lower eHealth performance, that coefficient equals 0.148 (p=0.00). CONCLUSIONS This study showed that internet use is a determinant of self-assessed health among the elderly. There are lines for future research such as explaining 'why' and 'how' trust may influence the relationship between internet use and self-assessed health and examining the digital divide due to socioeconomic inequality.

scholarly journals Relationship Between Sarcopenia and Cardiovascular Diseases in the Elderly: An Overview

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nana He ◽  
Yuelin Zhang ◽  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Shun Zhang ◽  
Honghua Ye
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Elderly Patients ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Strength Function ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Clinical Syndrome ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Shed Light

With the advent of population aging, aging-related diseases have become a challenge for governments worldwide. Sarcopenia has defined as a clinical syndrome associated with age-related loss such as skeletal muscle mass, strength, function, and physical performance. It is commonly seen in elderly patients with chronic diseases. Changes in lean mass are common critical determinants in the pathophysiology and progression of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Sarcopenia may be one of the most important causes of poor physical function and decreased cardiopulmonary function in elderly patients with CVDs. Sarcopenia may induce CVDs through common pathogenic pathways such as malnutrition, physical inactivity, insulin resistance, inflammation; these mechanisms interact. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between sarcopenia and CVDs in the elderly. Further research is urgently needed to understand better the relationship, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic criteria, and mechanisms of sarcopenia and CVDs, which may shed light on potential interventions to improve clinical outcomes and provide greater insight into the disorders above.

scholarly journals Paracetamol: A Review of Guideline Recommendations

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 3420
Author(s):  
Ulderico Freo ◽  
Chiara Ruocco ◽  
Alessandra Valerio ◽  
Irene Scagnol ◽  
Enzo Nisoli
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Single Agent ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Intravenous Paracetamol ◽  
Significant Efficacy ◽  
Favorable Safety

Musculoskeletal pain conditions are age-related, leading contributors to chronic pain and pain-related disability, which are expected to rise with the rapid global population aging. Current medical treatments provide only partial relief. Furthermore, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids are effective in young and otherwise healthy individuals but are often contraindicated in elderly and frail patients. As a result of its favorable safety and tolerability record, paracetamol has long been the most common drug for treating pain. Strikingly, recent reports questioned its therapeutic value and safety. This review aims to present guideline recommendations. Paracetamol has been assessed in different conditions and demonstrated therapeutic efficacy on both acute and chronic pain. It is active as a single agent and is additive or synergistic with NSAIDs and opioids, improving their efficacy and safety. However, a lack of significant efficacy and hepatic toxicity have also been reported. Fast dissolving formulations of paracetamol provide superior and more extended pain relief that is similar to intravenous paracetamol. A dose reduction is recommended in patients with liver disease or malnourished. Genotyping may improve efficacy and safety. Within the current trend toward the minimization of opioid analgesia, it is consistently included in multimodal, non-opioid, or opioid-sparing therapies. Paracetamol is being recommended by guidelines as a first or second-line drug for acute pain and chronic pain, especially for patients with limited therapeutic options and for the elderly.

scholarly journals Elderly Perceptions of Social Capital and Age-Related Disaster Vulnerability

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Annette Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Disaster Impacts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Social Vulnerabilities ◽  
Reduced Mobility

AbstractObjectiveElderly individuals are considered at elevated risk of disaster impacts owing to increased health concerns, reduced mobility, and fixed economic resources. Social capital can counteract these vulnerabilities by increasing the likelihood of hearing disaster warnings, providing social ties to assist with preparation and evacuation, and providing access to financial or nonfinancial resources. I aimed to analyze the relationship between age and perceptions of disaster-related social capital.MethodsI used mailed surveys and in-person interviews with a sample of residents from 2 Florida counties to study perceptions of social capital available for disaster.ResultsThe results showed that age has a negative effect on perceptions of social capital resources available during a disaster. The elderly reported fewer social ties overall and much fewer social ties that could provide financial assistance, if necessary, during a disaster.ConclusionsThese results indicate that social capital may not counteract the social vulnerabilities of elderly persons to disaster impacts. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:48–55)

scholarly journals Analysis of the functional capacity of elderly residents of communities with a rapid population aging rate

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelise Moraes Berlezi ◽  
Ana Maria Farias ◽  
Fernanda Dallazen ◽  
Karla Renata Oliveira ◽  
Ana Paula Pillatt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Functional Capacity ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Aging Rate ◽  
Probabilistic Study

Abstract Introduction: The elderly population has risen sharply in Brazil, increasing the need for a health policy focused on health promotion and disease prevention. Attention should also be focused on functional capacity because of the personal and family suffering caused by dependency, as well as the increased demand placed on public services. Objective: To check the health and functional capacity of elderly residents in a small town with a high population aging rate. Methods: A cross-sectional, analytical and non-probabilistic study was performed of 528 elderly persons aged ≥60 years, of both genders, who were evaluated in their home environment. The variables of interest were general health and functional capacity, assessed by the adapted Katz and Lawton and Brody scales. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive and analytical statistical tools. To assess the association between variables the chi-squared test was used, accepting the hypothesis of dependency of variables with p=0.05. Results: The mean age was 72.24±9.33 years. Functional capacity assessment identified that most of the elderly persons carried out activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) independently; with percentages of 90% and 83.7%, respectively. A statistically significant association was observed (p=0.001) between reports of falls and functional capacity levels. Conclusion: The results show that the elderly of this municipality are mostly independent in performing their daily tasks, representing successful aging.

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