Hemodialysis patients perform little physical activity. We formulated a hypothesis that some factors, i.e., frailty, medical and functional factors, psychological factors, quality of life, awareness of recommendations, and sociodemographic factors influence the decisions of taking up physical activity. This prospective study comprised 72 dialysis patients aged 57.8 ± 16.0 ( x ¯ ± SD; in the range of 19–87 years of age). The following research tools were used: an interview about awareness of the physical activity recommendations, the Canadian Study of Health and Aging Scale (CSHA-CFS), scales for the assessment of functional status, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS), and the questionnaire of Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL-SF 1.3). The majority of patients diagnosed with frailty did not follow the physical activity recommendations (79.3%). Quality of life was better in active patients compared to inactive patients, especially in the domains of sleep and physical performance. The severity of trait anxiety was significantly higher in patients who did not follow the recommendations compared to patients who adhered to physical activity recommendations (46.0 ± 10.5 vs. 40.0 ± 8.2; p = 0.021 ). The likelihood of adherence decreased by 1% after each subsequent month of dialysis (odds ratio = 0.99; 95% confidence interval = 0.972–0.999; p = 0.047 ). Adherence was most limited by frailty. Adherence to recommendations on physical activity was affected by: motivation, lower levels of trait anxiety, and better quality of life. Age modified the effect of awareness and acceptance of the disease on adherence to physical activity recommendations.

The number of centenarians is projected to rise rapidly. However, knowledge of evidence-based health care in this group is still poor. Hypertension is the most common condition that leads to multiple organ complications, disability, and premature death. No guidelines for the management of high blood pressure (BP) in centenarians are available. We have performed a cross-sectional study to characterize clinical and functional state of Polish centenarians, with a special focus on BP. The study comprised 86 consecutive 100.9 ± 1.2 years old (mean ± SD) subjects (70 women and 16 men). The assessment included structured interview, physical examination, geriatric functional assessment, resting electrocardiography, and blood and urine sampling. The subjects were followed-up on the phone. Subjects who survived 180 days (83 %) as compared to non-survivors had higher systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DPB), mean arterial pressure (MAP), pulse pressure (PP), higher mini-mental state examination, Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale scores, higher serum albumin and calcium levels, and total iron-binding capacity, while lower serum creatinine, cystatin C, folate, and C-reactive protein levels. SBP ≥140 mm Hg, DBP ≥90 mm Hg, MAP ≥100 mm Hg, and PP ≥40 mm Hg were associated with higher 180-day survival probability. Results suggest that mildly elevated blood pressure is a marker for better health status in Polish centenarians.

Background: Demographic aging results in increased incidence of old-age disability. Frailty is a major factor contributing to old-age disability. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the frailty phenotype as defined by Fried et al and to estimate the need for associated preventative interventions in early-old community-dwelling inhabitants of the southern industrial region of Poland, as well as to investigate the defining components of the frailty phenotype. Methods: The study group consisted of 160 individuals with an average age of 66.8 ± 4.2 years (x ± SD), 71 (44.4%) of study participants were women. The cohort was randomized out of over 843 thousand community-dwelling Upper Silesian inhabitants aged 60-74 years, who agreed to participate in this project. A comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), frailty phenotype test (as described by Fried et al) blood tests and bioimpedance body structure analysis was completed for study participants. Functional assessment included Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living (Barthel Index), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, Tinetti Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA), and Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF). Results: Prefrailty was diagnosed in 24.4% of the subjects (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 17.7-31.0%; 31% in women and 19.1% in men, P=0.082) and frailty in 2.5% subjects (95% CI 0.1-4.9%; more frequently in women: 4.2% versus 1.1% in men, P=0.046). Having one or more positive frailty criteria was positively associated with depression (odds ratio (OR) =2.85, 95% CI=1.08-7.54, P=0.035) and negatively associated with MMSE score (OR=0.72, 95% CI=0.56-0.93, P=0.012) and fat-free mass (OR=0.96, 95% CI=0.92-0.99, P=0.016) in multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, disease prevalence, number of medications, functional tests (Barthel Index, IADL, MMSE, GDS-SF), BMI, bioimpedance body composition score, and blood tests. Conclusion: At least 25% of the early-old community-dwelling population would benefit from a frailty prevention program. The frailty phenotype reflects both physical and mental health in this population.

The relationships between functional scales, survival and blood pressure suggest a beneficial effect of elevated BP on both mental and physical performance in centenarians. Further studies should determine an optimal balance between risk and benefits of elevated blood pressure in the oldest old people.

Background: Simple, easy-to-perform, safe and cost-effective methods for the prediction of adverse outcomes in older adults are essential for the identification of patients who are most likely to benefit from early preventive interventions. Methods: The study included 160 community-dwelling individuals aged 60-74 years, with 44.4% women. A comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed in all participants. Bioimpedance body composition analysis included 149 subjects. Among other tests, functional assessment included the Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living (Barthel Index), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Timed Up and Go (TUG) and Fried frailty phenotype. Follow-up by telephone was made after at least 365 days. The composite endpoint (CE) included fall, hospitalization, institutionalization and death. Results: Cohort characteristics: age 66.8±4.2 years (mean±SD), 3.81±2.23 diseases, 4.29 ±3.60 medications or supplements, and good functional status (MMSE 29.0±1.5, Barthel Index 98.1±8.2, prevalence of Fried frailty phenotype 2.5%). During one-year follow-up, 34 subjects (21.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI] =14.9−27.6%) experienced CE: hospitalizations (13.8%; 95% CI=8.41−19.1), falls (9.38%; 95% CI=4.86−13.9), death (0.63%; 95% CI=0−1.85) and no institutionalization. A higher probability of CE was associated with age ≥70 years (P=0.018), taking any medication or supplements (P=0.007), usual pace gait speed ≤0.8 m/s (P=0.028) and TUG >9 s (P<0.002). TUG was the only independent measure predicting one-year CE occurrence (OR=1.22, 95% CI=1.07−1.40, P=0.003) in multivariate logistic regression. However, its predictive power was poor; the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.659 (95% CI 0.551−0.766, P=0.004) and Youden's J statistic for a TUG cutoff of 9.0 s was 0.261 (sensitivity 0.618 and specificity 0.643). Conclusion: The TUG test was superior to frailty phenotype measures in predicting oneyear incidence of a CE consisting of fall, hospitalization, institutionalization and death in a cohort of healthy-aging community-dwelling early-old adults, although its value as a standalone test was limited.