[Care of the chronic patient in a complex situation: the challenge of building an integrated care scenario]

The ageing of the population and the increase in people with chronic illnesses is a scenario that creates important challenges on how to organise and provide services for this population group. There is already experience and evidence that would help us to re-think about what are the key aspects that should be taken into account to design a simple health model directed towards this new paradigm.The clinical care approach in itself is important, but at the same time, limited. A multidimensional approach is required where different elements, such as real platforms for change, are incorporated; the contribution that can be made by information systems, the objectives that should be assigned cross-sectionally to different organisations and professionals, the clinical and relational skills that should be contemplated in training and skill development plans or how the provision should be financed. Also, only interacting with some of these elements could give rise to a significant change in the care of chronic patients, particularly those in a highly complex and vulnerable situation.

Physical function, grip strength and frailty in people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: systematic review

OBJECTIVE

To present the current knowledge on physical function, grip strength and frailty in HIV-infected patients living in sub-Saharan Africa, where the phenomenon is largely underestimated.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE, Scopus and African Index Medicus. We reviewed articles on sub-Saharan African people living with HIV (PLHIV) >18 years old, published until November 2016.

RESULTS

Of 537 articles, 12 were conducted in six African countries and included in this review. Five articles reported information on functional limitation and one on disability. Two of these five articles reported functional limitation (low gait speed) in PLHIV. Disability was observed in 27% and 3% of PLHIV living in rural and urban places, respectively. Two of three studies reporting grip strength reported lower grip strength (nearly 4 kg) in PLHIV in comparison with uninfected patients. One study reported that PLHIV were more likely to be frail than HIV-uninfected individuals (19.4% vs. 13.3%), whereas another reported no statistical difference.

CONCLUSION

Decline in physical function, grip strength and frailty are now part of the burden of PLHIV living in SSA countries, but current data are insufficient to characterise the real public health dimension of these impairments. Further studies are needed to depict this major public health challenge. As this is likely to contribute to a significant burden on the African healthcare systems and human resources in the near future, a holistic care approach should be developed to inform guidelines.

Morbidity and factors associated with frailty in post-COVID-19 elderly patients attended at a reference center

OBJECTIVE

To assess the morbidity profile and identify factors associated with frailty syndrome in post-COVID-19 elderly patients treated at the only Reference Center for Elderly Health Care in northern Minas Gerais.

METHODS

This is a case series study, utilizing the Clinical-Functional Vulnerability Index-20 (CFVI-20) and Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) to characterize and evaluate the health condition of the group. To define the variables associated with frailty, a multivariate analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

The study included 204 elderly individuals, with a predominance of females (63.7%). The variables associated with frailty were cognitive impairment (OR: 2.95; 95% CI: 1.12-7.80; p=0.029), the presence of five or more comorbidities (OR: 11.55; 95% CI: 2.22-60.01; p=0.004), and impairment in instrumental activities of daily living (OR: 41.97; 95% CI: 5.47-321.93; p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study highlight the need for a well-established and prepared coordination of integrated care to meet the demands of the post-COVID-19 elderly population.

Frailty Syndrome and sarcopenia in older adults with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus in the municipality of Sinop, Mato Grosso: an epidemiological study

OBJECTIVE

to relate Frailty Syndrome and sarcopenia in older adults with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus and identify potential risk factors for frailty and sarcopenia.

METHOD

this descriptive epidemiological study was conducted with 140 older adults in the municipality of Sinop, Mato Grosso, Brazil. The frailty phenotype was used for the assessment of Frailty Syndrome, and a physical assessment questionnaire with calf circumference measurement was used for the assessment of sarcopenia.

RESULTS

regarding Frailty Syndrome, a higher percentage was observed in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to those without the disease (p = 0.00). Concerning the presence of sarcopenia, older adults with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus showed similar values, with no statistical significance (p = .74). Frailty Syndrome was associated with physical inactivity (95%CI: 3.29-56.55), age over 75 years (95%CI: 3.30- 27.82), low family income (95%CI: 1.80-50.98), and comorbidities (95%CI: 4.90-5.40). However, sarcopenia was associated with the presence of physical inactivity (95%CI: 1.26-10.44), low weight/ eutrophic (95%CI: 3.32-26.76), and malnutrition/nutritional risk (95%CI: 1.30-7.70) for older adults with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus.

CONCLUSION

older adults with diabetes have a higher vulnerability to develop Frailty Syndrome, necessitating the adoption of preventive measures in primary healthcare.

[Cognitive impairment in the elderly patient with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis. Therapeutic decisions and impact on one-year mortality]

INTRODUCTION

Interventional treatment of severe aortic stenosis includes valve replacement by surgery or transcatheter - transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). In order to make an adequate selection and to rule out patients with little/no therapeutic benefit, it is recommended to assess comorbidities, frailty and cognitive impairment.

AIMS

a) To determine the prevalence of cognitive impairment in older patients with severe aortic stenosis; b) to analyse its influence on decision-making (surgery, TAVI or conservative treatment); and c) to analyse its impact on mortality at one year.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Prospective, longitudinal epidemiological study of patients aged 75 years and older with severe aortic stenosis treated by the Heart-Team.

VARIABLES

sociodemographic, clinical, cardiological, functional and mental variables; cognitive impairment assessed by applying the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

RESULTS

We included 300 patients in the study (83.99 ± 4.02 years old; 61.2%, women). Prevalence of cognitive impairment of 15.3%, which was associated with albumin level - odds ratio (OR): 0.082; p = 0.011 - and Barthel (OR: 0.962; p = 0.02) and Lawton (OR: 0.787; p = 0.025) index scores. Surgery was chosen in 24.7% of cases; TAVI in 63.3%; and conservative treatment in 12%. This decision was associated with the score on the Barthel (OR: 0.93; p = 0.012) and Lawton indices (OR: 0.678; p = 0.014), the Short Physical Performance Battery (OR: 0.75; p = 0.037) and the MMSE (OR: 0.691; p < 0.001). Mortality at one year was 14%, and higher in patients with MMSE scores <24 (23.5% vs. 12.8%; p = 0.094).

CONCLUSIONS

Cognitive impairment is a very common geriatric syndrome in older patients with severe aortic stenosis that is associated with functional disability in activities of daily living. Cognitive impairment has a high impact on decision-making and appears to be a variable associated with increased mortality.

[The concept and practical management of frailty in neurology]

Frailty is a clinical situation of decreased homeostatic reserve that, after a minor trigger (acute illness, fall, taking a drug...) increases the risk of an adverse event such as hospital admission, institutionalization, functional and/or cognitive decline, death, etc. Frailty can be understood as physical frailty, Fried's phenotype, a true geriatric syndrome that can be reversible by avoiding its progression to more advanced stages of irreversibility and dependence, and Rockwood's frailty due to accumulation of deficits, as a continuum of health or classification typology of the elderly along the frailty spectrum (healthy, robust, vulnerable, mild-moderate-severe and extreme frailty or end of life). The diagnosis of physical frailty is part of the comprehensive geriatric assessment, recommending the use of a performance test such as gait speed (<0,8m/s), Timed Up and Go (>12 s) or Short Physical Performance Battery (<10). Physical frailty is reversible by a multidisciplinary management based on three fundamental pillars: multicomponent physical exercise and resistance training, adequate protein and micronutrient intake (leucine, vitamin D, etc.) and appropriate pharmacological prescription, management of comorbidity and geriatric syndromes. Frailty is a risk factor for neurological disease progression and increased risk of adverse events in neurodegenerative diseases such as mild cognitive impairment, dementia, Parkinson's disease and cerebrovascular disease. Frailty based on the Clinical Frailty Scale or VIG-Frail shows patient typologies in relation to a greater or lesser state of fragility, being a basic prognostic tool of great utility in making diagnostic and therapeutic management decisions. It opens up a new opportunity for improvement in the management of neurological disease in the diagnosis and treatment of frailty.

[Differences between men and women in the prevalence of frailty and associated factors among older adults: evidence from ELSI-Brazil]

Based on a national representative sample of the population aged 50 years or older, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of frailty among men and women, identify associated sociodemographic and health factors, and estimate the population attributable fraction. Data from the second wave (2019-2021) of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil) were used. Frailty was classified based on the number of positive items among unintentional weight loss, exhaustion, low level of physical activity, slow gait, and weakness. The main analyses were based on multinomial logistic regression stratified by sex. The prevalence of frailty was lower in men (8.6%; 95%CI: 6.9; 10.7) than in women (11.9%; 95%CI: 9.6; 14.8), with the most frequent item being the low level of physical activity in both. Age and schooling level were the sociodemographic factors associated with pre-frailty and fragility among men and women. The population attributable fraction was different for frailty between genders. In men, the highest population attributable fraction was due to not having a partner (23.5%; 95%CI: 7.7; 39.2) and low schooling level (18.2%; 95%CI: 6.6; 29,7). In women, higher population attributable fraction values were due to memory deficit (17.1%; 95%CI: 7.6; 26.6), vision deficit (13.4%; 95%CI: 5.1; 21.7), and diabetes mellitus (11.4%; 95%CI: 4.6; 18,1). Similar population attributable fraction levels were observed for heart disease (8.9%; 95%CI: 3.8; 14.1 in women and 8.8%; 95%CI: 2.0; 15.6 in men). Strategies aimed at physical activity have the potential to prevent frailty in both men and women, and the prevention of chronic conditions is more important in women.

Therapeutic competitions and frailty among older adults in São Paulo city: a cross-sectional population-based study, 2015

OBJECTIVE

To identify the presence of therapeutic competitions according to the frailty component classification and to assess association between therapeutic competitions and frailty in people aged 60 or over in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

METHODS

This was a population-based cross-sectional study. Frailty was identified when three to five components defined by Fried were present, and pre-frailty was identified when one or two were present. Therapeutic competitions were characterized by use of medication for a specific chronic non-communicable disease that negatively affects another disease. We used multinomial logistic regression.

RESULTS

Therapeutic competitions were identified for 13.2% of the 1,224 participants. Of this total, 18.7% were considered to be frail individuals. The most prevalent therapeutic competition involved diabetes and cardiovascular disease (4.2% of the total and 6.8% of frail people) with metformin or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The presence of two therapeutic competitions in individuals with multimorbidity increased the likelihood of pre-frailty (odds ratio 2.51; 95% confidence interval 1.10; 5.76).

CONCLUSION

Therapeutic competitions are common in the elderly population and more frequent among frail elderly people, with increased likelihood of pre-frailty when two therapeutic competitions are present.