Subject(s)
Astrocytoma/complications , Brain Neoplasms/complications , Paraneoplastic Syndromes/etiology , Raynaud Disease/etiology , Adult , Astrocytoma/diagnostic imaging , Astrocytoma/surgery , Brain Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Brain Neoplasms/surgery , Female , Humans , Paraneoplastic Syndromes/diagnosis , Raynaud Disease/diagnosis , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia among elderly people. However its relationship with the frailty syndrome is not well understood. It has been suggested that AF may be a marker of frailty in elderly, leading to the loss of independence in performing of routine daily activities. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between AF, frailty and cognitive decline in elderly patients. A total of 140 hospitalized patients, mean age 79.2 ± 7.4 years were enrolled in our study. Of these, 70 were affected by parossistic, persistent or permanent AF and 70, matched for age and gender, were concurrently studied as control. Cognitive impairment and frailty state has been evaluated in each patient using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a standard score of accumulated deficits for constructing a frailty index. We have observed a higher number of frail patients in the AF group as compared with controls (88.6% vs 67.1%, p=0.004). The group of patients with frailty syndrome had MMSE score significantly lower than those of the nonfrail group (16.8 ± 9.8 vs 22.2 ± 6.4, p=0.005). Furthermore, a negative correlation between MMSE score and frailty index (rho = -0.517, p < 0.001) has been shown. Our study points out a statistical association between frailty and AF. Atrial fibrillation could worsen the frailty state, but perspective studies are necessary to confirm an increased mortality in patients affected by AF and frailty.
Subject(s)
Atrial Fibrillation/complications , Frail Elderly , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Case-Control Studies , Cognitive Dysfunction/etiology , Female , Frail Elderly/statistics & numerical data , Geriatric Assessment , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests , Sex FactorsABSTRACT
Decreased reserves in multiple organ systems identify frailty syndrome in the elderly. However, its clinical diagnostic approach may be hard, particularly in patients with chronic diseases. The purpose of the study was to delineate the role of disability in the frailty syndrome in a group of hospitalized elderly people. A total of 150 consecutive patients (62 males/88 females), aged between 64 and 97 years and 1-2 days before hospital discharge, were submitted to several geriatric scales designed to assess disability and/or morbidity. All the geriatric scales used showed an elevated percentage of abnormal values both in females and in males. Nevertheless, the activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), Tinetti balance index (TBI), Barthel index (BI) scores showed significantly better values in men than in women (p=0.007, =0.02, =0.02 and =0.01, respectively). This preliminary cross-sectional study, underlines the fact that all geriatric tests employed have shown pathological scores, but those of the ADL, IADL, TBI and BI scores exploring disability were significantly better in males than in females. The mismatch between functional and morbidity tests seems to support the hypothesis that a disability state may be independent from morbidity.
