Aim. To study the prevalence of geriatric syndromes and assess their relationship with senile asthenia in persons aged ³65 years living in Russian regions with different demographic, climatic and socio-economic characteristics.Material and methods. We examined 664 patients aged 65-107 years (mean age, 79±9 years; men, 25%) living in Moscow (n=365) and Voronezh (n=299). All patients underwent a comprehensive geriatric examination, which consisted of two stages: a survey with original questionnaire and an objective examination.Results. The prevalence of senile asthenia was 66,4%, including 47,4% in people aged 65-74, 71,1% — 75-84 years, and 82,8% — ³85 years (p for trend <0,001). Senile asthenia was associated with age (odds ratio (OR), 2,36; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1,89-2,93; p<0,001) and female sex (OR, 1,52; 95% CI 1,06-2,18; p=0,024). Patients with senile asthenia had a lower socioeconomic status. Also, close associations of senile asthenia with other geriatric syndromes (dementia, depression, vision and hearing impairment, incontinence, falls, high risk of falls, functional decline, failure to thrive) with OR from 1,32 to 7,22 were revealed.Conclusion. The first results of the EVCALIPT study indicate a high incidence of senile asthenia in persons aged ³65 years and its close association with other geriatric syndromes and socio-economic factors.

Cognitive dysfunction is one of the most common disorders in the elderly and senile age. There are currently 57 million people with dementia worldwide.Objective: to assess cognitive functions, to understand the prevalence of cognitive impairment (CI) and to analyze their associations with socioeconomic, demographic and anthropometric factors and geriatric syndromes in people aged ≥65 years.Patients and methods. Subjects living in 11 regions of the Russian Federation took part in the EVKALIPT epidemiological study. The inclusion criterion was age ≥65 years. Participants were divided into three age groups (65–74 years, 75–84 years, and ≥85 years) according to the protocol. All patients underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment, comprising a specially designed questionnaire and physical examination. Cognitive functions were assessed using the mini-Cog test. The study included 3545 patients (of which 30% were males) aged 65 to 107 years.Results and discussion. According to the data obtained in our study, CI was detected in 60.8% of the subjects, and severe disorders – in 19.9% (0 or 1 point according to the mini-Cog). Patients with CI had a lower socioeconomic status. One-way regression analysis showed that the risk of CI increased by 10% with increasing age for every 1 year but did not depend on the sex of the subjects. Associated with increased CI risk also were: living alone (by 28%), living in a nursing home (by 90%), widowhood (by 2.2 times) or absence of a partner (by 2.2 times), underweight (by 2.9 times) and normal body weight (by 1.6 times), disability (by 54%), primary (by 4.8 times) and secondary (by 75%) education, bad economic conditions (by 95%). On the contrary, the presence of overweight and obesity reduced the risk of CI by 14 and 24% respectively, living in a family – by 24%, having a spouse – by 55%, divorce – by 29%, having a job – by 73%, higher education and a scientific degree – by 55 and 59%, medium and good economic conditions – by 38 and 52%, respectively. In patients with CI, the incidence of all geriatric syndromes was higher.Conclusion. The frequency of CI among elderly patients was higher compared with data from other studies. The EVKALIPT study was the first to obtain national data on the prevalence and characteristics of CI in persons aged ≥65 years in the general population.

Background. A low hemoglobin level in older adults impairs cognitive ability and functional status and associates with risk of falls and fractures, sarcopenia, malnutrition, depression, frailty, and decreased autonomy. Epidemiological data on the anemia prevalence in the geriatric population in our country is not available. Aim. To assess the prevalence of anemia and analyze its associations with geriatric syndromes (GS) in subjects aged 65 years. Materials and methods. 4308 subjects (30% of men) aged 65107 years, living in 11 regions of the Russian Federation, were examined and divided into age groups (6574 years, 7584 years and 85 years). All the participants underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment and determined hemoglobin level. Results. The anemia prevalence in older adults was 23.9%. It has been shown that with an increase in age per 1 year, the risk of anemia detection increases by 4%. The incidence of anemia was higher in males than females (28.1% versus 22.1%; p0.001). In most cases, anemia was mild. The results of a comprehensive geriatric assessment show that patients with anemia had lower hand grip force, Barthel Index, the sum of points on Lawton instrumental activities of daily living scale, Mini Nutritional Assessment scale, the Mini-Cog test and higher the sum of points on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) and the Age Is No Barrier scale. Patients with anemia were more likely to use hearing aids, absorbent underwear, and assistive devices during movement. Patients with anemia had a higher incidence of all GS, except for orthostatic hypotension and chronic pain syndrome. The presence of GS is associated with an increased risk of anemia by 1.33.4 times. Conclusion. EVKALIPT study obtained domestic data on the prevalence of anemia in older patients and examined its associations with other GS.

Background. In the Russian Federation, the prevalence of falls and fractures in older people in the general population is unknown. Single studies have been carried out on small samples (hospitalized patients, patients with diabetes mellitus etc.). Objective. To investigate history of low-energy fractures, frequency of falls in the past year and their associations with other geriatric syndromes (GS) in subjects aged ≥65 years.Materials and methods. We examined 4308 subjects (30% of men) aged 65 to 107 years (mean age 78 ± 8 years) in 11 regions of the Russian Federation, who were divided into 3 age groups (65-74, 75-84 and ≥85 years old). All participants underwent comprehensive geriatric assessment, which consisted of two stages: 1) survey on a specially designed questionnaire; 2) physical examination.Results. The frequency of falls over the past year was 30%, including 25,7% — in subjects aged 65-74 yrs, 29,8% — 75-84 yrs, 37,3% — ≥85 yrs (p for trend <0,001). Of these, 62% of participants fell 1 time, 38% — 2 times or more. With the same frequency, the subjects fell at home (41%) and on the street (42%), 17% of subjects fell both at home and on the street. A history of low-energy fractures was found in 17% of the participants, among which the most frequent (63%) were fractures of the radius. Univariate regression analysis with sex and age (as a discret variable) adjustment, where the falls in the past year were considered as the dependent variable, and GS as independent one, demonstrated that all GS were associated with falls in the past year with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 1,25 to 3,13. Multivariate regression analysis with age and sex adjustment showed that independent predictors of falls were female gender (ORs 1,51; 95% confidence interval 1,26-1,82; р<0,001) and 6 GS (malnutrition, depression, urinary and fecal incontinence, chronic pain and dependence in instrumental activities in daily life) with a 1,3-2,4 times increase of falls risk.Conclusion. In EVKALIPT study we firstly obtained the domestic data on the prevalence of falls and low-energy fractures history in subjects aged >65 years in the general population and studied associations between falls in the past year and other geriatric syndromes.

On behalf of EVKALIPT study.Objective: to evaluate prevalence of age-related and chronic non-infectious diseases, senile asthenia and other geriatric syndromes in subjects aged ≥65 years old and to analyze their influence on general health and functional status.Methods: 4308 subjects (30% males) aged from 65 to 107 years (mean age 78±8 years), who live in 11 Russian regions, were examined. They were divided in 3 groups by age: 65–74, 75–84 and ≥85 years. All subjects passed comprehensive geriatric assessment in 2 stages: 1) questioning based on a specially designed questionnaire; 2) physical examination.Results: age increase is associated with decrease of anthropometric parameters (height, weight, body mass index), decrease of diastolic blood pressure, increase of pulse blood pressure and deterioration of social-economic status of elderlies (increase of those who out lived their partners, living alone and in institution/ nursing home, single (no partners) and disabled subjects; decrease in proportion of married and still working ones, subjects with university degree and higher income).Conclusion: Russian EVKALIPT study protocol and basic characteristics of participants are summarized in the article.