The impact of aging on pressure pain thresholds: are men less sensitive than women also in older age?

PURPOSE: Men have generally demonstrated higher pressure pain thresholds (PPT) than women. However, the possible impact of aging on the gender differences in pain perception has not been fully evaluated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the gender differences in PPT over the life course, in young, middle-aged and older adults. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 355 pain-free healthy individuals aged 19-95 years, divided into < 45, 45-64 and ≥ 65 years age groups. PPT were measured using Fisher's algometer. Data on anthropometry, formal education and occupation were collected for each participant, and a multidimensional geriatric assessment was performed in older individuals. RESULTS: Lower PPT values were observed in old vs young adults (21.8 ± 8.7 N/cm2 vs 59.5 ± 31.6, p < 0.0001) and in women vs men (16.3 ± 6.1 vs 42.8 ± 19.6 N/cm2, p = 0.0003). A significant interaction emerged between age and sex in influencing PPT (pinteraction = 0.03). Although women had lower mean PPT values than men in all age groups, such gender difference diminished with aging, from 42.8 ± 19.6 vs 59.5 ± 31.6 N/cm2 (p = 0.001) to 16.3 ± 6.1 vs 21.8 ± 8.7 vs N/cm2 (p = 0.003) in younger and older women vs men, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Female gender and older age are associated with lower PPT, but such gender difference seems to decrease with aging.

Influence of splanchnic artery stenosis on the in-hospital clinical course of elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: Chronic mesenteric ischaemia (CMI) has a long asymptomatic period, but little is known about the clinical implications of this phase of the disease, particularly in the elderly, who are most exposed to the condition. AIMS: The aim of the present observational study was to survey the in-hospital clinical course of elderly patients during the non-specific phase of the disease due to occlusion of at least one splanchnic artery. METHODS: For a median of 29 months, we followed up 85 patients aged 65 and over who, for various clinical reasons, had undergone computed tomographic and magnetic resonance angiography during 2010 at Padua Teaching Hospital, assessing economic impact and reasons for admission. RESULTS: Thirty-four of these patients had at least one occluded artery, and 68 % of them had at least one hospital admission. Elderly CMI patients were characterised by a higher number of admissions (median 2 vs 1 p = 0.05) and a higher cost (6044 vs 1733 Euros p = 0.04), but did not present typical gastrointestinal symptoms. The higher number of hospital admissions was not due to specific clinical risks (admitting wards: general medicine: 32 vs 29 %, p = 0.77; general surgery 8 vs 14 %, p = 0.73; vascular surgery: 26.5 vs 20 %, p = 0.46). CONCLUSIONS: In the asymptomatic phase of CMI, hospitalised elderly patients with at least one occluded splanchnic artery can be subject to a more challenging in-hospital clinical course.

Clinical correlation of mesenteric vascular disease in older patients.

Mesenteric vascular obstruction is difficult to characterize, since it may produce differing acute or chronic clinical pictures and various organic symptoms, such as ischemic colitis and abdominal angina. The diagnosis of chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI) is thus still mainly based on historic diagnostic criteria drawn up before non-invasive radiological imaging of the mesenteric vessels became widespread, and before the current demographic developments leading to a rise in the number of older patients with multiple pathologies. With this premise, we studied the clinical condition of 85 patients aged over 65 years of age, submitted to angio-CT scan for reasons other than neoplastic and general pathologies which may cause alterations in mesenteric blood flow, and without the typical symptoms of acute intestinal ischemia. Of these, 34 patients presented occlusion of at least one mesenteric vessel and 13 were affected by multivessel injury. Compared with controls, patients with mesenteric artery disease had lower BMI (24.9+/-3.3 vs 26.8+/-4.5) and longer hospital stays (14 vs 6 days), and were more frequently affected by vasculopathies in other districts (97.1% vs 80.4%), but the only bowel symptom present was diarrhea (21.2% vs 5.9%). These patients also took more benzodiazepines and acetylsalicylic acid. The results of stepwise logistic analysis of length of hospital stay, vasculopathies, diarrhea, and use of benzodiazepines yielded a predictive model with an AUC (area under the curve) of 0.81. Our data show that some features characterizing CMI in the geriatric population differ from those of the general population.

Diagnosis of chronic mesenteric ischemia in older patients: a structured review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Chronic mesenteric ischemia in older patients is a challenge for the physician because it coincides with a vague and non-specific clinical presentation with abdominal pain. It can frequently cause diagnostic errors and lead to legal consequences. The aim of this work was to evaluate the literature on chronic mesenteric ischemia and focus on the limited data concerning the geriatric population. METHODS: This research focused on observational studies, randomized controlled trials, and clinical reports (excluding case reports and reviews) dealing with patients at least 65 years old with a clinical or instrumental diagnosis of chronic intestinal ischemia, published between 2000 and 2010. The search was conducted in PubMed using the following key words: chronic ischemic splanchnic disease, chronic mesenteric ischemia, angina abdominis, chronic abdominal angina, intestinal ischemia. RESULTS: We selected 925 articles with the key words as follows: chronic mesenteric ischemia in 355 cases; chronic ischemic splanchnic disease in 46; angina abdominis in 4; abdominal angina in 242; and chronic intestinal ischemia in 278. We then excluded articles judged scarcely pertinent, case reports, reviews, works concentrating only on diagnostic, methodological, instrumental and surgical approaches, and articles based on animal or experimental models. This selection left us with 13 articles (after excluding duplicates), only three of which were considered valid for our purposes. CONCLUSIONS: Our review indicates that there is a shortage of useful literature on chronic intestinal ischemic disease diagnosed in the older adults, and the appropriate geriatric management of these patients is consequently not well established.

The oral contraceptive containing 30 microg of ethinylestradiol plus 3 mg of drospirenone is able to antagonize the increase of extracellular water occurring in healthy young women during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle: an observational study.

PURPOSE: This nonrandomized study aimed to evaluate body weight and composition during the menstrual cycle and during oral contraception with 30 microg of ethinylestradiol plus 3 mg of drospirenone (EE+DRSP). DESIGN: Multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis was carried out in 38 normally cycling women (mean age, 25.5 years) at baseline during the follicular phase (FP) and the luteal phase (LP) of the menstrual cycle and after three and six cycles of EE+DRSP to evaluate total body water (TBW), intracellular water (ICW), extracellular water (ECW), fat mass and fat-free mass. Body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure and the plasma concentrations of electrolytes were also determined at each visit. RESULTS: TBW and ECW increased in the LP. During EE+DRSP, TBW and ECW were significantly lower than in the LP but similar to the values measured in the FP. No significant variations in ICW or in the other parameters were observed. CONCLUSION: EE+DRSP maintains the same concentrations in TBW and ECW observed in the FP. This effect is likely due to the antimineralocorticoid activity of DRSP, which counteracts the water retention elicited by estrogen.

Short-term variations in bone remodeling markers of an oral contraception formulation containing 3 mg of drospirenone plus 30 microg of ethinyl estradiol: observational study in young postadolescent women.

The clinical study of treated subjects and nontreated controls was made in healthy eumenorrheic young postadolescent women volunteers in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Cagliari University, to investigate whether an oral contraceptive (OC) containing drospirenone (3 mg) plus ethinyl estradiol (30 microg) (DRSP+EE) can affect bone metabolism. Control group (n = 26) and OC group (n = 28) women did not differ in age, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio and main outcome measures [urinary levels of deoxypyridinoline and pyridinoline, serum levels of osteocalcin, bone specific alkaline phosphatase (bSAP), total testosterone (total-T), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), progesterone and bone mineral density (BMD) at the heel]. The control group was studied at the luteal phase (LP) during both the first and the sixth menstrual cycle; the OC group was studied during the first cycle at the LP, and on days 16-18 of the sixth cycle of DRSP+EE treatment. At the sixth cycle, in the control group, the main outcome measures did not change compared to baseline. In the OC group, deoxypyridinoline, pyridinoline, osteocalcin, bSAP, total-T and progesterone levels were reduced, whereas SHBG levels were increased. The BMD was unchanged compared to baseline. The results suggest that 6-month DRSP+EE treatment decreases bone turnover.

Psychological effect of the oral contraceptive formulation containing 3 mg of drospirenone plus 30 microg of ethinyl estradiol.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate in healthy eumenorrheic young women whether an oral contraceptive (OC) containing drospirenone (DRSP) (3 mg) + ethinyl estradiol (EE) (30 microg) (DRSP + EE) could modify psychological symptoms and whether it could modify steroids interfering with the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-A receptors. DESIGN: Clinical study of treated subjects and nontreated controls. SETTING: Healthy volunteers in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cagliari University. PATIENT(S): Control group (n = 12) and OC group (n = 10) women with similar age, body mass index, and main outcome measures. INTERVENTION(S): The control group was studied during the first menstrual cycle at the follicular phase (FP) and at the luteal phase (LP) and during the third cycle at the LP; the OC group was studied during the first cycle, as described above, and on day 16-18 of the third cycle of treatment with DRSP + EE. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Psychometric scale (SCL-90), DHEAS, P, allopregnanolone (AP), and allotetrahydrodeoxy-corticosterone (THDOC). RESULT(S): SCL-90 and DHEAS did not vary throughout the menstrual cycle. P, AP, and THDOC values were higher during the LP than the FP. At the third cycle, in the control group the main outcome measures were similar to those at LP. In the OC group, the SCL-90 global score, the intensity of anxiety and phobic anxiety, the levels of anxiolytic steroids (P, AP, THDOC) and the anxiety-inducing steroid DHEAS were reduced. CONCLUSION(S): The results suggest beneficial effects of DRSP + EE on psychological symptoms by decreasing DHEAS.