Elderly Individuals Residing in Nursing Homes in Western Romania Who Have Been Diagnosed with Hearing Loss are at a Higher Risk of Experiencing Cognitive Impairment.

Purpose: The objective of this research was to determine if there is any correlation between the severity of neurocognitive disorder and hearing impairment in the elderly. Patients and Methods: This is a population-based observational study that included subjects aged ≥ 65 years. They were evaluated for the existence of cardiovascular risk factors, diabetes, stroke, alcohol abuse, and smoking. Hearing impairment was diagnosed by an audiologist, using behavioral audiometric examination. These evaluations might have been performed in response to concerns about hearing loss, or they could have been a routine component of yearly comprehensive health screenings that included a Mini-Mental State Examination 2nd Edition (MMSE-2) test. According to the results of the MMSE-2 scale, we divided the individuals into two groups, Group I for those who had cognitive impairment and severe neurocognitive disorder, and Group II for those who did not have cognitive impairment. Results: The study enrolled 203 patients with a mean age of 77 ± 7.5 years (range 65-98), 99 (48%) were males. When comparing the two groups, group I patients presented more often cardiovascular risk factors, stroke, diabetes, and impaired hearing. The univariable logistic regression found that cognitive impairment was significantly more frequent in the elderly with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke (p<0.0001). The multivariate regression analysis found that stroke (p<0.0001) diabetes (p=0.0008), cardiovascular disease (p=0.0004), and impaired hearing (p=0.0011) were significantly linked to cognitive impairment. The occurrence of hearing impairment in the elderly was related to having an MMSE-2 score of 14 or below. Conclusion: According to the findings of this research, the elderly who have trouble hearing in addition to other conditions might have an increased risk for severe neurocognitive disorder.

Fall Risk in Elderly with Insomnia in Western Romania-A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Background and Objectives: Falls are frequent among the elderly, imply large social and economic costs, and have serious outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the links between insomnia, comorbidities, multisite pain, physical activity, and fall risk in the elderly. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included persons recruited from nursing homes for the elderly in Timisoara. We separated the participants into two groups by the absence (group I) or presence of fractures (group II) starting with the age of 65 years. Participants were asked how they feel about their sleep using one item on a 4-point scale from the Assessment of Quality of Life questionnaire. The risk of fall was evaluated using the Falls Risk Assessment Tool. Results: The study enrolled 140 patients with a mean age of 78.4 ± 2.4 years (range 65-98 years), 55 of them being males (39%). By comparing the two groups, we found that the elderly with a history of fractures had a greater number of comorbidities, a higher risk of fall, and more severe sleep disturbances. When using univariate logistic regression, the occurrence of fractures in the elderly was significantly associated with the number of comorbidities, the risk of fall, and the presence of sleep disturbances (p < 0.0001). The multivariate regression analysis selected four independent parameters significantly linked to fractures, and these were the number of comorbidities (p < 0.03), the risk of fall score (p < 0.006), and the sleep disturbances of type 3 (p < 0.003) and 4 (p = 0.001). Conclusions: A fall-risk score over 14 and a number of comorbidities over 2 were notably associated with the occurrence of fractures. We also found strong positive correlations between the type of sleep disturbance and the risk of fall score, the number of comorbidities, and the number of fractures in the elderly.