Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
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To evaluate the relationship between intervening illnesses and injuries leading to hospitalization and restricted activity, respectively, and prolongation of disability in four essential activities of daily living in newly disabled older persons. ⋯ Intervening illnesses and injuries leading to hospitalization and restricted activity, respectively, are strongly associated with prolongation of disability in newly disabled older adults. Efforts to prevent and more-aggressively manage these intervening events have the potential to break the cycle of disability in older persons.
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To describe suicide-related exposures in older persons according to sex, age, and substance category reported to U.S. poison control centers (PCCs) and report the crude relative risk (RR) of major effects and death from pharmaceuticals and nonpharmaceutical substances after single- and multiple-substance exposures. ⋯ These findings can inform suicide prevention strategies that focus on decreasing at-risk older adults' access to dangerous medications and chemicals in the home.
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To determine whether sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), a group of disorders common in older adults characterized by breathing pauses during sleep often accompanied by hypoxemia, is associated with cognitive decline. ⋯ In older community-dwelling men, there was a modest association between nocturnal hypoxemia and global cognitive decline, suggesting the importance of overnight oxygenation for cognitive function.
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To compare rates and risk factors for early hospital readmission for nursing home residents and community-dwelling older adults. ⋯ Higher rates of hospital readmission for individuals discharged to nursing homes than to the community and differing patterns of risk factors for readmission indicate the importance of customized interventions to reduce readmission rates for two distinct elderly populations.
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To report the clinical course of older adults presenting for a new primary care visit for back pain, no healthcare visit for back pain within the prior 6 months, by describing pain intensity, disability, pain interference, and resolution of back pain over 12 months. ⋯ The majority of older adults in primary care practice settings presenting with a new visit for back pain have persistent symptoms, disability, and interference over 12 months of follow-up. Future research is needed to identify risk factors for persistent symptoms and effective interventions.