Frailty and bone health in European men.

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome, which is characterized by the decline of the functions of older people systems, resulting in the exposure of one's health at risk, disability and mortality. Older people lose their autonomy and independence, quality of life and their psychological state is decreased. Frailty is a syndrome with multiple manifestations and with no single feature being enough in its presentation, many signs and symptoms determinate it, which frame the "frailty clinical phenotype". The rates of frailty are constantly increasing, due to the increase of the aging population in Western countries. In Europe, these percentages are higher in the Mediterranean countries, on the contrary to the Nordic countries. For this reason it is important to prevent the syndrome and its effects, in order to improve the elderly population quality of life. The aim of this study is to review assessment tools for frailty, to flag consequences of this syndrome, to mention the epidemiological data in European community-dwelling population and mainly in European men, to accent the correlation between frailty and bone health and to report the treatment of frailty.

Development and validation of a simple model based on anthropometry: estimating fat mass for white postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a simple anthropometric model that estimates the fat mass of white postmenopausal women and compare it to other models available in the literature. METHODS: Anthropometric data such as height, weight, waist and gluteal circumferences, biceps, triceps, suprailiac, and subscapular skinfolds, which were incorporated for the development and validation of this model, were derived from 276 white postmenopausal women. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was used as the reference method. Furthermore, a comparison with other models was made using Bland-Altman analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The model developed in the current study was: fat mass = 0.069 × biceps + 0.553 × weight - 14.655 × height + 0.218 × gluteal circumference - 9.830 (r = 0.934, P < 0.001). The Bland-Altman reliability analysis on the validation cohort showed a non-statistically significant bias of 0.158 kg and limits of agreement of ±4.21 kg; the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.983. Furthermore, the validity of the current model also remained significant in different levels of BMI, ranging from 20.5-42 kg/m. When other models available in the literature were tested in the current cohort, bias ranged from -1.239 to -6.996 kg, while the limits of agreement from ±5.25 to ±8.05 kg. CONCLUSIONS: The model developed in the current work was found to be valid for the assessment of postmenopausal women's fat mass at normal, overweight and obese BMI ranges, and can be easily applied in clinical practice and research.

Social, economic and demographic correlates of overweight and obesity in primary-school children: preliminary data from the Healthy Growth Study.

OBJECTIVE: To record the prevalence of overweight and obesity in urban primary-school children in relation to several socio-economic and demographic factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING/SUBJECTS: A representative sample of 729 schoolchildren (379 male and 350 female), aged 9-13 years, stratified by parental educational level, was examined in the urban region of Athens. Weight and height were measured using standard procedures. The International Obesity Task Force thresholds were used for the definition of overweight and obesity. Several socio-economic and demographic data and the child's 'popularity' score were also recorded with specifically designed standardized questionnaires. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 29·6 % and 11·1 %, respectively. Annual family income of € 12,000-20,000 (OR = 1·58), residence ownership (OR = 1·63) and the grandmother as the child's primary caregiver (OR = 1·38) were significantly associated with higher odds of childhood overweight and obesity. Non-Greek parental nationality (OR = 0·72) and higher 'popularity' scores of children (OR = 0·42) were significantly associated with lower odds of overweight and obesity. The grandmother as the child's primary caregiver and an annual family income of € 12,000-20,000 remained significantly associated with childhood overweight and obesity after adding all significant correlates of childhood overweight and obesity observed at the bivariate level in a multivariate regression model (OR = 1·51 and 1·61, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Among family income, residence ownership, child's primary caregiver, parental nationality and popularity scores that were identified as significant correlates of childhood overweight and obesity at the bivariate level, lower family income and grandmother as the child's primary caregiver were the only factors that remained significantly associated with childhood overweight and obesity at a multivariate level.