The cross-sectional association of frailty with past and current exposure to strong anticholinergic drugs.

BACKGROUND: Anticholinergic drugs may contribute to frailty by impairing cognitive and physical functions. Strong anticholinergic drugs in particular may have adverse effects among older adults. OBJECTIVES: Determine the association between frailty and the use of strong anticholinergic drugs among older US Veterans. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of community-dwelling Veterans 65 years and older who had determinations of frailty status. Prescription data for patients using strong anticholinergic medications (never/past/current) was obtained via electronic health records. A 31-item VA Frailty Index (VA-FI) was generated at the time of the assessment. We dichotomized the groups into non-frail (FI = < 0.21) and frail (FI ≥ 0.21) patients. We used binomial logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Frailty was the dependent variable and use of strong anticholinergic drugs was the independent variable. Multivariate adjustment was conducted for age, gender, race, ethnicity, marital status, and BMI. RESULTS: Population sample consisted of 17,084 Veterans who were 71.05% Caucasian, 97.34% male, and with a mean age 75.60 (SD = 8.04) years. Among the population, 9940 (58.18%) patients had no previous use of strong anticholinergic drugs, whereas 5182 (30.33%) had past exposure and 1962 (11.49%) had current exposure. In binomial logistic regression, individuals with past (OR 3.27, 95% CI 3.03-3.54, p < 0.0005) or current (OR 4.78, 95% CI 4.30-5.31, p < 0.0005) exposure showed a higher association with frailty as compared to individuals who were never exposed. CONCLUSIONS: Past and current use of strong anticholinergic drugs were associated with frailty in older Veterans. These results suggest that screening for frailty in patients with past or current exposure to strong anticholinergic medications may be necessary for proper management.

Depression but not frailty contributed to a higher risk for all-cause hospitalizations in male older veterans.

INTRODUCTION: Frailty is a state of vulnerability to stressors resulting in higher morbidity, mortality, and utilization in older adults. Depression and frailty often coexist, suggesting a bidirectional relationship that may increase the effects of each individual condition on clinical outcomes and health-care utilization in older adults. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of concurrent frailty and depression on all-cause hospitalizations. METHODS/DESIGN: Prospective cohort study, conducted at a Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. The participants were male, community-dwelling veterans 65 years and older. From 4 January through 30 December 2016, a 46-item frailty index was generated from data obtained from the VA electronic health record. Trained staff conducted in-depth reviews of electronic health records ascertaining depression status. Patients were followed through 31 December 2017 for all-cause hospitalizations following the initial assessment of frailty. After adjusting for covariates, the association of frailty and depression with all-cause hospitalizations was determined with the Andersen-Gill model, accounting for repeated hospitalizations. RESULTS: Five hundred fifty-three male patients were part of the study, mean age 76.3 (SD = 8.2) years. One hundred eighty-one patients (32.7%) had depression diagnoses. During a median follow-up period of 530 days (interquartile range [IQR] = 245), 123 patients (22.2%) had 240 hospitalizations. Frailty status was not associated with future hospitalizations (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.61; 95% CI, 95-2.74; P > .05). Depression was associated with higher all-cause hospitalizations (adjusted HR = 1.57; 95% CI, 1.09-2.26); P = .0157). CONCLUSIONS: Depression but not frailty was significantly associated with higher rates of all-cause hospitalization. Implementing interventions that target older adults with both frailty and depression may reduce the burden of both conditions and reduce hospitalizations.

The Association of Ageist Attitudes With All-Cause Hospitalizations and Mortality.

Background: Ageism is the systematic stereotyping and discrimination against older adults. Explicit ageism involves conscious control and implicit ageism involves unconscious processes. Studies have shown that ageist attitudes may be associated with poor clinical outcomes like hospitalizations and mortality. Objective: Determine the association of explicit and implicit ageism with all-cause hospitalizations and mortality in a sample of Veterans. Method: Retrospective cohort study of community-dwelling Veterans 50 years and older who underwent evaluations of explicit ageism using Kogan's Attitudes Toward Old People Scale and implicit ageism assessed with Implicit Association Test (IAT) during July 2014 to April 2015 and were followed until 2018. Data on all-cause hospitalizations and mortality following the initial assessment of ageism was aggregated. Results: The study included 381 participants, 89.8% male, 48.0% White, and mean age was 60.5 (SD = 7.2) years. A total of 339 completed the IAT. Over a mean follow-up of 3.2 years (SD = 0.3), 581 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths occurred. Neither explicit nor implicit ageism was associated with an increased risk for all-cause hospitalization or mortality on follow-up. Discussion: Future research may benefit from investigating whether ageist attitudes may predict all-cause hospitalizations and mortality in longitudinal studies including more diverse samples.

Is there an association between ageist attitudes and frailty?

BACKGROUND: Frailty is defined as a state of vulnerability to stressors that is associated with higher morbidity, mortality and healthcare utilization in older adults. Ageism is "a process of systematic stereotyping and discrimination against people because they are old." Explicit biases involve deliberate or conscious controls, while implicit bias involve unconscious processes. Multiple studies show that self-directed ageism is a risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to determine whether explicit ageist attitudes are associated with frailty in Veterans. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of Veterans 50 years and older who completed the Kogan's Attitudes towards Older People Scale (KAOP) scale to assess explicit ageist attitudes and the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to evaluate implicit ageist attitudes from July 2014 through April 2015. We constructed a frailty index (FI) of 44 variables (demographics, comorbidities, number of medications, laboratory tests, and activities of daily living) that was retrospectively applied to the time of completion of the KAOP and IAT. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by multinomial logistic regression models with frailty status (robust, prefrail and frail) as the outcome variable, and with KAOP and IAT scores as the independent variables. Age, race, ethnicity, median household income and comorbidities were considered as covariates. RESULTS: Patients were 89.76% male, 48.03% White, 87.93% non-Hispanic and the mean age was 60.51 (SD = 7.16) years. The proportion of robust, pre-frail and frail patients was 11.02% (n = 42), 59.58% (n = 227) and 29.40% (n = 112) respectively. The KAOP was completed by 381 and the IAT by 339 participants. In multinomial logistic regression, neither explicit ageist attitudes (KAOP scale score) nor implicit ageist attitudes (IAT) were associated with frailty in community dwelling Veterans after adjusting for covariates: OR = .98 (95% CI = .95-1.01), p = .221, and OR:=.97 (95% CI = .37-2.53), p = .950 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that neither explicit nor implicit ageist attitudes were associated with frailty in community dwelling Veterans. Further longitudinal and larger studies with more diverse samples and measured with other ageism scales should evaluate the independent contribution of ageist attitudes to frailty in older adults.

Validation of an automatically generated screening score for frailty: the care assessment need (CAN) score.

BACKGROUND: Frailty is a state of vulnerability to stressors that is prevalent in older adults and is associated with higher morbidity, mortality and healthcare utilization. Multiple instruments are used to measure frailty; most are time-consuming. The Care Assessment Need (CAN) score is automatically generated from electronic health record data using a statistical model. The methodology for calculation of the CAN score is consistent with the deficit accumulation model of frailty. At a 95 percentile, the CAN score is a predictor of hospitalization and mortality in Veteran populations. The purpose of this study was to validate the CAN score as a screening tool for frailty in primary care. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, validation study compared the CAN score with a 40-item Frailty Index reference standard based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment. We included community-dwelling male patients over age 65 from an outpatient geriatric medicine clinic. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of the CAN score. RESULTS: 184 patients over age 65 were included in the study: 97.3% male, 64.2% White, 80.9% non-Hispanic. The CGA-based Frailty Index defined 14.1% as robust, 53.3% as prefrail and 32.6% as frail. For the frail, statistical analysis demonstrated that a CAN score of 55 provides sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of 91.67, 40.32, 42.64 and 90.91% respectively whereas at a score of 95 the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were 43.33, 88.81, 63.41, 77.78% respectively. Area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.736 (95% CI = .661-.811). CONCLUSION: CAN score is a potential screening tool for frailty among older adults; it is generated automatically and provides acceptable diagnostic accuracy. Hence, the CAN score may be a useful tool to primary care providers for detection of frailty in their patient panels.

Association of the CAN score with the FRAIL scale in community dwelling older adults.

BACKGROUND: Frailty is a state of vulnerability to stressors which results in higher morbidity, mortality and healthcare utilization. The FRAIL scale is used as a validated screening for frailty. The Care Assessment Need (CAN) score is automatically generated from electronic health record data using a statistical model that includes data elements similar to the deficit accumulation model for frailty and predicts risk for hospitalization and/or mortality. AIM: To determine the correlation of the CAN score with the FRAIL scale. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 503 community-dwelling older adults. We compared the FRAIL scale with the CAN score. RESULTS: The CAN score was significantly different between robust, prefrail and frail. Post hoc analysis revealed significant increases in scores from robust to prefrail and frail groups, in that order. The CAN score and FRAIL scale showed a correlation. CONCLUSIONS: The CAN score show a moderate positive association with the FRAIL scale.

Dramatic Reduction in 30-Day Readmissions Through High-Risk Screening and Two-Phase Interdisciplinary Care.

OBJECTIVES: Thirty-day readmissions are common, serious, and costly. Most important, often they are preventable. The purpose of this quality improvement study was to evaluate an interdisciplinary, two-phase intervention to reduce 30-day readmissions among high-risk medical patients. One or two high-risk patients were selected each weekday by a hospitalist using literature-based, locally tested criteria that included common medical illnesses, active psychiatric illness, and recent or recurrent hospital admissions. METHODS: Patients admitted to 1 of 5 medical hospitalist teams were selected to receive the intervention; patients admitted to the 4 remaining teams were used for comparison. The two-phase care coordination intervention consisted of a daily interdisciplinary team meeting for the selected high-risk patients and postdischarge interventions that included outpatient care coordination until the patients' first follow-up appointment. The care plan addressed medical/geriatric assessment, social stability, medication reconciliation, nutritional needs, care coordination including future appointments/testing, and community services. Eighty-five patients in the intervention group were compared with 84 patients from the comparison group using propensity score matching. Patient characteristics were similar at baseline. RESULTS: The intervention group demonstrated a reduction in 30-day readmissions by 52% (11 vs 23, P = 0.019). Length of stay was reduced: 5.5 days compared with 7.2 days (P = 0.258). CONCLUSIONS: This intervention produced a significant reduction in 30-day readmissions for high-risk patients and a trend for shorter lengths of stay compared with similarly matched patients. Future research trials are needed to verify these results.

Group-based differences in anti-aging bias among medical students.

Medical students (MS) may develop ageist attitudes early in their training that may predict their future avoidance of caring for the elderly. This study sought to determine MS' patterns of explicit and implicit anti-aging bias, intent to practice with older people and using the quad model, the role of gender, race, and motivation-based differences. One hundred and three MS completed an online survey that included explicit and implicit measures. Explicit measures revealed a moderately positive perception of older people. Female medical students and those high in internal motivation showed lower anti-aging bias, and both were more likely to intend to practice with older people. Although the implicit measure revealed more negativity toward the elderly than the explicit measures, there were no group differences. However, using the quad model the authors identified gender, race, and motivation-based differences in controlled and automatic processes involved in anti-aging bias.

Effects on performance of individual versus dyadic practice during an avatar-based three-dimensional virtual home safety simulation.

This pilot study tests the effects on individual performance of dyadic versus individual practice in a 3D virtual world (VW) home safety assessment. Sixty medical students in three conditions (dyadic spatially separated with paired avatars DPA; individual with avatar IND; and dyadic spatially together with single avatar DSA) participated in a geriatric home safety simulation. The participants, via avatars, conducted an assessment of physical hazards. Participants then worked individually in a separate 3D VW home assessment. Dyadic practice, spatially together with a single avatar (DSA), improved individual performance in the subsequent 3D VW home assessment.

Fatal falls in an ethnically diverse urban community: the link between demographic factors and the circumstances surrounding fatal falls.

OBJECTIVES: Fatal falls cause more than 15,000 deaths per year in the United States. Despite this, the circumstances surrounding fatal falls in elderly adults are poorly understood. It is unknown whether these circumstances differ across ethnicities, although Hispanic American individuals are at reduced risk for fatal falls. This study sought to describe fatal falls in an urban, predominantly Hispanic, and white non-Hispanic community and to determine the association of demographics with the circumstances surrounding these falls (proximate factors). METHODS: The death certificates and medical examiners' reports for all 328 elderly individuals experiencing a fatal fall in Miami-Dade County, FL, from 2005 to 2007 were reviewed for demographic and proximate factors such as the preceding activity and fall location. RESULTS: Fatal falls in elderly adults were experienced mostly by individuals living in the community (80%) and affected all demographic subgroups, although 80% occurred in individuals older than 74 years. Most fatal falls occurred at home (74%), indoors (75%), and during nonvigorous activities such as walking (58%) and these tended to affect the oldest elderly. In addition, a significant number of fatal falls occurred in public locations, outdoors, and during vigorous activity, with these falls tending to affect younger individuals living without family. Hispanic ethnicity was not associated with proximate factors. CONCLUSIONS: Fatal fall prevention is needed for elderly individuals living in the community and should target the oldest elderly adults living at home while helping to ensure that individuals who are living without family have the appropriate support. These data suggest that Hispanic individuals may benefit from prevention strategies developed in other populations.

Simulating geriatric home safety assessments in a three-dimensional virtual world.

Virtual worlds could offer inexpensive and safe three-dimensional environments in which medical trainees can learn to identify home safety hazards. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of virtual worlds for geriatric home safety assessments and to correlate performance efficiency in hazard identification with spatial ability, self-efficacy, cognitive load, and presence. In this study, 30 medical trainees found the home safety simulation easy to use, and their self-efficacy was improved. Men performed better than women in hazard identification. Presence and spatial ability were correlated significantly with performance. Educators should consider spatial ability and gender differences when implementing virtual world training for geriatric home safety assessments.

Medical students' attitudes toward obese patient avatars of different skin color.

Physicians' biases for skin color and obesity may negatively affect health-care outcomes. Identification of these biases is the first step to address the problem. We randomized 128 U.S medical students into one of four animated videos of avatar physician-patient counseling sessions, varying the weight and skin color of an elderly patient avatar: white-thin, black-thin, white-obese and black-obese. Medical students viewed white obese avatars as unattractive, ugly, noncompliant, lazy, and sloppy. Medical students' comments suggested a paternalistic attitude toward avatar patients. Avatar-mediated experiences can elicit medical students' bias potentially enabling medical educators to implement bias reduction interventions.

A competency-based medical student curriculum: taking the medication history in older adults.

Older adults are the largest consumers of prescription medications. Taking multiple medications, which interact with medical, psychological, and socioeconomic factors, increases a person's risk of nonadherence and adverse events. A curriculum was developed to train medical students to identify these risks and make recommendations for improving medication safety. The curriculum, consisting of a self-study computer tutorial, a small-group simulated-patient (SP) experience, and an online competency assessment, was implemented in the students' second year of training. Groups (N = 28) of five to seven students interviewed the SP and were assessed on their ability to identify medication concerns (N = 18) and make recommendations (N = 18) on improving medication safety. On average, student groups identified 16.1 concerns and made 15.4 recommendations. On the competency assessment several months later, students were given a case scenario and again asked to identify concerns (N = 7) and make recommendations (N = 7). Students (N = 176) were required to achieve a preset performance standard on the assessment. A high percentage (97.2%) of students achieved the standard (a score of 8/14) on their first attempt; the remainder achieved the standard on their second attempt. Student evaluations indicated high levels of satisfaction with the curriculum. The learning objectives, competency assessment, and instructional activities were closely aligned. Instructional activities provided students with an opportunity to practice the competency in a nonthreatening environment. The SP session materials are available through MedEdPORTAL and can readily be incorporated by other institutions into existing curricula.

Hispanic ethnicity and fatal fall risk: do age, gender, and community modify the relationship?

BACKGROUND: Hispanic ethnicity is associated with a reduced risk of fatal falls in the elderly despite lower socioeconomic standing. The factors responsible for this "Hispanic paradox" are unknown. We hypothesized that age and gender would modify this relationship and that the association would be accentuated in a community with prominent Hispanic culture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The number of fatal falls in a 3-year period in the United States (US) and in Miami-Dade County, Florida (MDC) were obtained through the CDC's WISQARS database and the Florida Office of Vital Statistics. US Census Bureau data were used to define the total at-risk populations by age group and gender. Age group- and gender-specific ratios of the risk of fatal fall in Hispanic to white non-Hispanic individuals were calculated. RESULTS: In the US and MDC, Hispanic ethnicity was associated with a reduced risk of fatal fall across all age and gender subgroups. In the US, the risk reduction associated with Hispanic ethnicity grew from 11% and 23% in 65- to 74-year-old men and women, respectively, to 43% for both men and women over 84-years-old. This relationship was stronger in MDC than nationally in five of the six age and gender subgroups examined. CONCLUSIONS: Older individuals, women, and residents of communities with prominent Hispanic culture have the greatest reduction in fatal fall risk associated with Hispanic ethnicity.

Hispanic ethnicity and unintentional injury mortality in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: Unintentional injury is a leading cause of preventable mortality in elderly populations and is most often related to accidental falls and motor vehicle accidents. Hispanic ethnicity has been previously associated with decreased risk of accidental fall death as well as improved outcomes in other health states, the "Hispanic paradox." A timely analysis of national data with consideration for multiple injury types and age could provide insight into this epidemiologic phenomenon and help guide the use of prevention efforts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Search of the Center for Disease Control's WISQARS database was performed to identify the number of fatalities in the U.S. between 2003 and 2006 by age group, gender, Hispanic ethnicity, and injury type. Total U.S. population and group populations for the years examined were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey for each year. Mortality was calculated as fatalities over the total group population for the years examined. RESULTS: Independent of gender and age group, elderly Hispanics were at decreased risk of death from accidental fall or as an occupant in a motor vehicle accident, but increased risk of pedestrian fatality compared with white-NH. CONCLUSIONS: The reduced fall and occupant mortality seen in elderly Hispanic populations may come at the cost of increased pedestrian-related mortality. This is consistent with and likely reflects differences in culture, socioeconomic status, and geographic distribution for the U.S. Hispanic population. Effective targeting of injury prevention programs, especially community based, should consider the role of Hispanic ethnicity and its impact on lifestyle.

A fourth-year medical school clerkship that addressed negative attitudes toward geriatric medicine.

Despite extensive educational efforts, many medical students still have negative attitudes toward the field of geriatric medicine and the care of older adult patients. This article describes a fourth-year geriatric clerkship that addressed this issue by providing opportunities for students to actively discuss many of the negative stereotypes that exist regarding geriatric medicine. Emphasis was also placed on personalizing the course content to show the relevance of geriatric medicine to all medical students. During the 2008/09 academic year, 150 students completed the rotation. Although no students expressed an interest in pursuing a career as a geriatrician, they expressed a highly favorable evaluation of this personalized geriatric clerkship and voted this clerkship "the most outstanding clinical course" at the medical school.

Computer-based animations and static graphics as medical student aids in learning home safety assessment: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Although animations may intuitively seem more effective than static graphics for teaching, there is no clear-cut evidence for the superiority of simple computer-based animations in medical education. AIMS: We investigated whether simple animations are better than static graphics as an aid to medical students in learning home safety assessment, an important part of geriatric curriculum. METHODS: We used two versions of an interactive online module, one that depicted common home safety issues in static graphics and the other in animations. We randomized first-year medical students who agreed to participate into two groups. After the module, students completed a cognitive burden scale and a standardized competency assessment test in which they had to identify the salient home safety issues and give recommendations based on the hazards. We also captured time spent on task. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We found no significant differences between the groups in the cognitive burden level, competency assessment scores, and time spent on task. The much cheaper-to-produce static graphics were equally effective as simple animations in this medical education scenario.

Trial of a survey instrument to establish the hurricane preparedness of and medical impact on a vulnerable, older population.

INTRODUCTION: Millions of vulnerable, elderly individuals live in coastal areas susceptible to hurricanes and are at risk for adverse health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of preparedness for and possible health consequences of a hurricane on a vulnerable, but experienced, elderly population. PROBLEM: Preparedness guidelines have been published, but it is unclear how well-prepared elderly individuals are for hurricanes, and what impact hurricanes may have on their health. METHODS: Five hundred forty-seven ambulatory patients who attended an urban teaching hospital's geriatrics clinic in Florida were surveyed. A 25-question survey that asked whether subjects followed the American Red Cross guidelines for hurricane preparation was developed. The participants were asked what hurricane supplies they had, and whether they would need to evacuate or utilize storm-proof window shutters. They also were queried about definitions and their understanding of hurricane warnings. Three possible health impacts during the two weeks following Hurricane Wilma in 2005 were asked: (1) falls; (2) missed medication; and (3) missed doctor's appointments. An additional 105 patients in the same clinic were asked about the same three health outcomes one and one-half years after the hurricane struck. RESULTS: Two-thirds of respondents were missing at least one supply item. A multivariate analysis indicated that there was no relationship between the subjects' demographic characteristics and the possession of the suggested disaster supplies. Although 36% would need to evacuate, only 56% of these 36% had a plan. Only 63% had storm-proof windows or shutters, and of these, only 46% could install them. Gasoline-powered electrical generators can be useful, but also a source of morbidity or mortality following a hurricane. For example, this study found that 28% of respondents had generators, but only 46% knew how to use them. Subjects immediately after the hurricane missed fewer doses of medication than at other times (3.4% vs. 6.7%; p < 0.0001) and fell slightly less often (8.8% vs. 12.9%; p < 0.0001). However, there were significantly more missed doctors appointments after the hurricane (11.6% vs. 0.1%, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The survey indicated that even a well-experienced population lacks adequate hurricane preparation. Most still are vulnerable in at least one aspect of preparation. The elderly may be more likely to miss medical appointments immediately following a hurricane. Interventions to improve hurricane preparedness should be piloted.