Among elderly Catholic sisters who lived in one convent, ate from the same kitchen, and were highly comparable for a wide range of environmental and lifestyle factors, low serum folate was strongly associated with atrophy of the cerebral cortex. Definitive evidence for this relation and its temporal sequence awaits the findings of other studies.

Monitoring of weight may be an easy and inexpensive method of identifying older individuals at increased risk of disability.

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This article describes the development and testing of the Cognitively Impaired Life Quality (CILQ) Scale to quantify differences in quality of life of severely cognitively impaired elderly patients as perceived by nursing caregivers. Two studies are reported. In study 1, focus groups with long-term care nurses were conducted using a vignette to elicit items most relevant to quality of life in cognitively impaired elders. These data were used to generate a 29-item version of the CILQ Scale. An exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure that included items related to social interaction, basic physical care, appearance of patient to others, and nutrition. In study 2, 67 nursing caregivers completed a shortened 14-item CILQ Scale using two actual patients as their reference. With these patients, the factor structure best resembled a three-factor solution including items related to social interaction, nutrition/comfort, and basic physical care.Over the past two decades, quality of life has become a pivotal concept in medical and health care decision making for all types of health consumers.

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Supplementation with zinc has been associated with changes in lipoprotein levels in prior studies. The purpose of this study was to define further the relationship between serum zinc and plasma total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides. This study was conducted in a homogeneous population of elderly women who were not taking zinc supplements. Fasting blood samples were drawn from 87 women, 77–99 years old. Serum zinc concentrations were significantly positively correlated with total cholesterol (r = 0.37, P = <0.01) and with LDL‐cholesterol (r = 0.41, P = <0.001). In 77–84‐year‐old women (N = 47), a normal serum zinc level (70–150 μg/dl) was associated with a 27 mg/dl higher mean LDL‐cholesterol (P = 0.06) compared to low serum zinc (<70 μg/dl). In 85–99‐year‐old women (N = 40), a normal serum zinc was associated with a 49 mg‐dl higher mean LDL‐cholesterol (P = 0.002) compared to low serum zinc. These associations were not materially affected by the potential confounding effects of weight, weight change over 8 years, triceps skinfold, or serum C‐reactive protein. Overall, serum zinc concentration had a strong positive association with plasma LDL‐cholesterol and to a lesser extent, with total plasma cholesterol in this population. The association between serum zinc and plasma cholesterol may be due to a third factor, such as red meat consumption, which is a significant source of zinc and saturated fat. Alternatively, zinc may play a role in cholesterol metabolism. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.