Background A novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]) occurred in China in December 2019 and has spread globally. In this study we aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized older adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Turkey. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of hospitalized patients aged ≥ 60 years with confirmed COVID-19 from March 11, 2020, to May 27, 2020 using nationwide health database. Results In this nationwide cohort, a total of 16942 hospitalized older adults with COVID-19 were enrolled, of whom 8635 (51%) were women. Mean age was 71.2 ± 8.5 years, ranging from 60 to 113 years. Mortality rate before and after curfew was statistically different (32.2% vs 17.9%; p & 0.001, respectively). Through multivariate analysis of the causes of death in older patients, we found that male gender, diabetes mellitus, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, dementia, cancer, admission to intensive care unit, computed tomography finding compatible with COVID-19 were all significantly associated with mortality in entire cohort. In addition to abovementioned risk factors, in patients aged between 60-79 years, coronary artery disease, oxygen support need, total number of drugs, and cerebrovascular disease during hospitalization, and in patients 80 years of age and older acute coronary syndrome during hospitalization were also associated with increased risk of mortality. Conclusions In addition to the results of previous studies with smaller sample size, our results confirmed the age-related relationship between specific comorbidities and COVID-19 related mortality.

Background:The aim of this study is to identify cutoff values for muscle ultrasound (US) to be used in Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria, and to define the effect of reduced muscle mass assessment on malnutrition prevalence at hospital admission.Methods: A total of 118 inpatients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Six different muscles were evaluated by US. Following defining thresholds for muscle US to predict low muscle mass measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis, malnutrition was diagnosed by GLIM criteria with seven approaches, including calf circumference, mid-upper arm circumference (MAC), handgrip strength (HGS), skeletal muscle index (SMI), rectus femoris (RF) muscle thickness, and cross-sectional area (CSA) in addition to without using the reduced muscle mass criterion. Results:The median age of patients was 64 (18-93) years, 55.9% were female. RF muscle thickness had moderate positive correlations with both HGS (r = 0.572) and SMI (r = 0.405). RF CSA had moderate correlation with HGS (r = 0.567) and low correlation with SMI (r = 0.389). The cutoff thresholds were 11.3 mm (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.835) and 17 mm (AUC = 0.737) for RF muscle thickness and 4 cmš (AUC = 0.937) and 7.2 cmš (AUC = 0.755) for RF CSA in females and males, respectively. Without using the reduced muscle mass criterion, malnutrition prevalence was 46.6%; otherwise, it ranged from 47.5% (using MAC) to 65.2% (using HGS). Conclusions:Muscle US may be used in GLIM criteria. However, muscle US needs a standard measurement technique and specific cutoff values in future studies.

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Background Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) has been in use for the last three decades. However, some doubts remain regarding its clinical use. Therefore, we aimed to capture the breadth of outcomes reported and assess the strength of evidence of the use of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) for health outcomes in older persons. Methods Umbrella review of systematic reviews of the use of CGA in older adults searching in Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane library and CINHAL until 05 November 2021. All possible health outcomes were eligible. Two independent reviewers extracted key data. The grading of evidence was carried out using the GRADE for intervention studies, whilst data regarding systematic reviews were reported as narrative findings. Results Among 1,683 papers, 31 systematic reviews (19 with meta-analysis) were considered, including 279,744 subjects. Overall, 13/53 outcomes were statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was high certainty of evidence that CGA reduces nursing home admission (risk ratio [RR] = 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.75–0.89), risk of falls (RR = 0.51; 95%CI: 0.29–0.89), and pressure sores (RR = 0.46; 95%CI: 0.24–0.89) in hospital medical setting; decreases the risk of delirium (OR = 0.71; 95%CI: 0.54–0.92) in hip fracture; decreases the risk of physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults (RR = 0.77; 95%CI: 0.64–0.93). Systematic reviews without meta-analysis indicate that CGA improves clinical outcomes in oncology, haematology, and in emergency department. Conclusions CGA seems to be beneficial in the hospital medical setting for multiple health outcomes, with a high certainty of evidence. The evidence of benefits is less strong for the use of CGA in other settings.

Background Insomnia increases the incidence of falls and impairs executive function. Moreover, falls are associated with executive function impairment. The relationship between falls and executive function in patients with insomnia is not clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate relationship between falls and executive function in individuals with insomnia and a control group. Methods This study involved 122 patients (47 insomnia, 75 controls). The Mini‐Mental State Examination, Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen, Trail Making Test A, clock‐drawing test, and digit span test were used to measure executive function. Semantic and working memory dual task was also performed. Fall history was recorded and the Falls Efficacy Scale – International administered. Results The median age of the patients was 71 years (range: 65–89 years), and 60.7% were women. The insomnia group scored lower on the three‐word recall than the control group (P = 0.005), but there was no difference between the groups on cognitive tests. Fall history and fear of falling were more frequent in the insomnia group (P = 0.003, P < 0.001). Semantic and working memory dual tasks were correlated with clock‐drawing test only in the insomnia group (r = −0.316, P = 0.031; r = −0.319, P = 0.029). Depression (odds ratio (OR) = 9.65, P = 0.001) and Trail Making Test A (OR = 1.025, P = 0.07) were independently associated with insomnia. Four‐metre walking speed (OR = 2.342, P = 0.025), insomnia (OR = 3.453; P = 0.028), and the semantic memory dual task (OR = 1.589; P = 0.025) were also independently associated with falls. Conclusion Our study showed that dual tasking and executive function are related to falls in patients with insomnia. Managing insomnia and assessment of executive dysfunction may have beneficial effects on preventing falls.

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BackgroundsAlzheimer's disease is frequently encountered with nutrition‐related conditions such as malnutrition, sarcopenia, frailty, overnutrition, and micronutrient abnormalities in older patients. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nutrition disorders and nutrition‐related conditions in the same patient group.MethodsA total of 253 older patients with Alzheimer's disease underwent comprehensive geriatric assessment, which included nutrition‐related disorders, malnutrition via the Mini Nutritional Assessment‐Short Form (MNA‐SF), frailty via the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), and sarcopenia was diagnosed according to European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People‐2 criteria.ResultsThe patients' mean age was 79.8 ± 6.5 years, and 58.1% were women. In our patients, 64.8% had malnutrition or were at risk of malnutrition; 38.3% had sarcopenia; 19.8% were prefrail; and 80.2% were frail. Malnutrition, frailty, and sarcopenia prevalence increased as the Alzheimer's disease stage progressed. Malnutrition was found to be significantly related with frailty scores via CFS (odds ratio [OR], 1.397; P = 0.0049) and muscle mass via fat‐free mass index (FFMI) (OR, 0.793; P = 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, age, MNA‐SF, and CFS were included in the model to detect the independent correlates of probable and confirmed sarcopenia. CFS was independently associated with probable and confirmed sarcopenia (OR, 1.822; P = 0.013; OR, 2.671; P = 0.001, respectively). Frailty was similarly related with FFMI (OR, 0.836; P = 0.031). Obesity was independently related with FFMI (OR, 0.688; P < 0.001).ConclusionIn conclusion, nutrition disorders and nutrition‐related conditions can present concurrently in patients with all stages of Alzheimer's disease; therefore, these frequent problems should be screened and diagnosed accordingly.

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