Impact of clinical osteoarthritis of the hip, knee and hand on self-rated health in six European countries: the European Project on OSteoArthritis.

PURPOSE: Osteoarthritis (OA) has been shown to be associated with decreased physical function, which may impact upon a person's self-rated health (SRH). Only a few studies have examined the association between OA and SRH in the general population, but to date none have used a clinical definition of OA. The objectives are: (1) To examine the cross-sectional association between clinical OA and fair-to-poor SRH in the general population; (2) To examine whether this association differs between countries; (3) To examine whether physical function is a mediator in the association between clinical OA and SRH. METHODS: Baseline data of the European Project on OSteoArthritis (EPOSA) were used, which includes pre-harmonized data from six European cohort studies (n = 2709). Clinical OA was defined according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria. SRH was assessed using one question: How is your health in general? Physical function was assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA Index and Australian/Canadian OA Hand Index. RESULTS: The prevalence of fair-to-poor SRH ranged from 19.8 % in the United Kingdom to 63.5 % in Italy. Although country differences in the strength of the associations were observed, clinical OA of the hip, knee and hand were significantly associated with fair-to-poor SRH in five out of six European countries. In most countries and at most sites, the association between clinical OA and fair-to-poor SRH was partly or fully mediated by physical function. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical OA at different sites was related to fair-to-poor SRH in the general population. Most associations were (partly) mediated by physical functioning, indicating that deteriorating physical function in patients with OA should be a point of attention in patient care.

Availability and use of neighborhood resources by older people with osteoarthritis: Results from the European Project on OSteoArthritis.

This study examines the availability and use of neighborhood resources in relation to clinical lower limb osteoarthritis (LLOA) in older participants from six European countries. Of the 2757 participants (65-85 years), 22.7% had LLOA. Participants with LLOA made more use of places to sit (OR=2.50; CI: 1.36-4.60 in the UK), and less use of parks and walking areas (OR=0.30; CI: 0.12-0.75 in Sweden), compared to participants without LLOA, particularly in countries with high availability of resources. The results suggest that specific features of the environment impact the use of neighborhood resources by older adults with LLOA.

Prospective evaluation of renal function, serum vitamin D level, and risk of fall and fracture in community-dwelling elderly subjects.

SUMMARY: This prospective study in elderly showed that kidney function plays a minor role in explaining the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency seen in noninstitutionalized elderly subjects. However, 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were clearly inversely associated with risk for first fall, which was especially seen in subjects with calcium levels above median. INTRODUCTION: Few prospective studies in elderly exist that have investigated the association of renal dysfunction and vitamin D status on risk of falls. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of renal function with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) levels and, secondly, to assess the role of both factors on the risk of falls and subsequent bone fractures. METHODS: This is a prospective population-based cohort study among noninstitutionalized elderly subjects during a 1-year follow-up. 25-OH-D levels and renal function were estimated, the latter by cystatin C-based equations. Information on falls was assessed prospectively. RESULTS: Overall, 1,385 subjects aged 65 and older were included in the study (mean age 75.6 years), of whom 9.2 % had a 25-OH-D serum level above 75 nmol/L (US units 30 ng/mL); 41.4 %, between 50 and 75 nmol/L (US units 20 to 29 ng/mL, insufficiency); and 49.4 %, <50 nmol/L (US units <20 ng/mL, deficiency). We found no association of chronic kidney disease with risk of first fall. In contrast, 25-OH-D serum categories were clearly associated with risk of first fall and we found evidence of effect modification with calcium levels. In the group with a calcium level above the median (≥ 9.6 mg/dL), subjects with 25-OH-D serum level between 50 and 75 nmol/L and with concentrations <50 nmol/L had a hazard rate ratio (HRR) of 1.75 (1.03-2.87) and 1.93 (1.10-3.37) for risk of first fall. 25-OH-D serum levels were also associated with several markers of inflammation and hemodynamic stress. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated an association of 25-OH-D serum levels and risk of first fall, which was especially evident in subjects with serum calcium in upper normal, independent of renal function.

Physical activity and other health-related factors predict health care utilisation in older adults: the ActiFE Ulm study.

BACKGROUND: Health care utilisation (HCU) can be a useful outcome for estimating costs and patient needs. It can also be used as a surrogate parameter for healthy ageing. The aim of this study was to analyse the associations of formerly described and potentially new parameters influencing health care utilisation in older adults in Germany. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The ActiFE Ulm (Activity and Function in the Elderly in Ulm) study is a population-based study in 1,506 community dwelling older adults aged 65-90 years in Ulm and surrounding areas in southwestern Germany. Between March 2009 and April 2010 a full geriatric assessment was performed including accelerometer-based average daily walking duration, comorbidity, medication, physical and psychological functioning, health care utilisation, sociodemographic factors etc. The association between above named measures and health care utilisation, represented by the number of drugs, the days in hospital and the number of physician contacts over one year was calculated in multiple regression models. Analysis was conducted among subjects with complete information (n = 1,059, mean age 76 years, 55% male). RESULTS: The average number of drugs was 4.5 and over 95% of participants visited a physician at least once a year while still more than 65% contacted their physician more than twice a year. Reduced physical activity, BMI, self-rated health and/or comorbidity and male sex were the best predictors of health care utilisation in community dwelling older adults when looking at both the number of drugs and the number of physician contacts over 12 months together. With regard to single diseases entities the best predictors of both the number of drugs and the number of physician contacts were asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/chronic bronchitis and chronic neurological diseases (mostly Parkinson's disease). The number of drugs was most strongly associated with coronary heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Reduced walking activity, self-rated health and/or comorbidity and male sex are the best predictors of health care utilisation as measured by the number of drugs and number of physician contacts over 12 months. Walking activity could be regarded as the most promising modifiable predictor of HCU in older adults.