Ageing research reviews
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Ageing research reviews · Sep 2020
Meta AnalysisLiving alone and risk of dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
To systematically review longitudinal studies on living alone and incident dementia, to pool the results in a meta-analysis and calculate the population risk. ⋯ Social isolation is a more important risk factor for dementia than previously identified, with living alone associated with greater population risk than physical inactivity, hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
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Ageing research reviews · Jul 2019
Meta AnalysisFrailty for predicting all-cause mortality in elderly acute coronary syndrome patients: A meta-analysis.
Frailty has been identified as a risk factor for mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the association between frailty and all-cause mortality outcome in patients with ACS. ⋯ This meta-analysis demonstrates that frailty independently predicts all-cause mortality in elderly ACS patients. Elderly ACS patients should be assessed the frailty status for improving risk stratification.
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Ageing research reviews · Mar 2019
Meta AnalysisTransitions between frailty states among community-dwelling older people: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Frailty is a well-established risk factor for adverse health outcomes. However, comparatively little is known about the dynamic nature of frailty and the extent to which it can improve. The purposes of this study were to systematically search for studies examining frailty transitions over time among community-dwelling older people, and to synthesise pooled frailty transitions rates. ⋯ Stratified and meta-regression analyses showed age, gender and follow-up period were associated with frailty transition patterns. Older people make dynamic changes in their frailty status. Given that while one quarter of prefrail older people improved to robust only 3% of frail older people did, early interventions should be considered.
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Ageing research reviews · May 2017
Review Meta AnalysisPain perception in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies.
While hyperalgesia (increased pain sensitivity) has been suggested to contribute to the increased prevalence of clinical pain in Parkinson's disease (PD), experimental research is equivocal and mechanisms are poorly understood. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies comparing PD patients to healthy controls (HCs) in their response to experimental pain stimuli. Articles were acquired through systematic searches of major databases from inception until 10/2016. ⋯ Random effects meta-analysis of standardized mean differences (SMD) revealed lower pain threshold (indicating hyperalgesia) in PD patients during unmedicated OFF states (SMD=0.51) which was attenuated during dopamine-medicated ON states (SMD=0.23), but unaffected by age, PD duration or PD severity. Analysis of 6 studies employing suprathreshold stimulation paradigms indicated greater pain in PD patients, just failing to reach significance (SMD=0.30, p=0.06). These findings (a) support the existence of hyperalgesia in PD, which could contribute to the onset/intensity of clinical pain, and (b) implicate dopamine deficiency as a potential underlying mechanism, which may present opportunities for the development of novel analgesic strategies.
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Ageing research reviews · Jan 2016
Review Meta AnalysisDoes transcranial direct current stimulation enhance cognitive and motor functions in the ageing brain? A systematic review and meta- analysis.
The use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to enhance cognitive and motor functions has enjoyed a massive increase in popularity. Modifying neuroplasticity via non-invasive cortical stimulation has enormous potential to slow or even reverse declines in functions associated with ageing. The current meta-analysis evaluated the effects of tDCS on cognitive and motor performance in healthy older adults. ⋯ A random effects model meta-analysis revealed a significant overall standardized mean difference equal to 0.53 (SE=0.09; medium heterogeneity: I(2)=57.08%; and high fail-safe: N=448). Five analyses on moderator variables indicated significant tDCS beneficial effects: (a) on both cognitive and motor task performances, (b) across a wide-range of cognitive tasks, (c) on specific brain areas, (d) stimulation offline (before) or online (during) the cognitive and motor tasks. Although the meta-analysis revealed robust support for enhancing both cognitive and motor performance, we outline a number of caveats on the use of tDCS.