AimOutbreaks have a wide spectrum of psychosocial impact on individuals. This study aimed to investigate the psychosocial effects of measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease on older adults in Turkey.MethodsA survey was conducted of 104 adults who had to stay at home during the pandemic. Participants’ depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, nutritional status, health‐related quality of life, and sleep quality were assessed.ResultsThe frequency of depressive and anxiety symptoms was 37.5% and 29.8%, respectively. The frequency of depressive symptoms was higher in women, individuals age ≥85 years, and those with less education and low monthly income. Anxiety symptom frequency was also higher in women and those with less education and low monthly income. Quality of life and sleep were worse in those with depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first published study to investigate the effect of a pandemic on the mood, anxiety symptoms, nutrition status, quality of life, and sleep of older adults during the pandemic period. Our findings indicate the importance of psychosocial support in older individuals during and after the pandemic period.

Background and Objectives: Type 2 diabetes is one of the common chronic diseases in the elderly. It is thought that long-term complications of type 2 diabetes will negatively affect the quality of life in elderly individuals. It is possible that geriatric syndromes, especially frailty syndrome, are associated with diabetic complications, too. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of macrovascular and microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes on frailty and other geriatric syndromes. In addition, the effect of these complications on quality of life was also reviewed. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study for four months. Comprehensive geriatric assessment tests were done on all patients. The Fried frailty index (FFI) was used for the evaluation of frailty syndrome. We assessed malnutrition by mini nutritional assessment short-form (MNA-SF), and Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria (GLIM). The EWGSOP 2 criteria were used for the diagnosis of sarcopenia. Quality of life (QoL) was evaluated using the short form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 22. Results: 237 females and 142 males with a mean age of 71.7 ± 6.1 years were included in the study. The frequency of macrovascular and microvascular complications was 41.4% and 68.1%, respectively. Frailty was found to be associated with macrovascular complications (p = 0.003). Handgrip strength, skeletal muscle mass index, and gait speed were decreased in the presence of macrovascular complications (p = 0.043, p < 0.001, p < 0.001). QoL was also decreased in patients with macrovascular complications (p = 0.003). Nutritional status and handgrip strength were negatively affected in patients with diabetic neuropathy (p = 0.019, p = 0.014). Polypharmacy was also found to be associated with macrovascular complications (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). Macrovascular complications were 2.5 times more common in malnourished patients according to GLIM and 3.2 times more common in patients with decreased gait speed. Conclusion: In this study, we observed that both macrovascular and microvascular complications of diabetes increase susceptibility to geriatric syndromes in elderly individuals. It could be useful to conduct prospective studies in which we can compare the effectiveness of treatment methods on this subject.

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Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of and relationship between malnutrition and depressive symptoms in older palliative care inpatients. Methods: One hundred and thirty-six older adults were included in the study. The Geriatric Depression Scale, Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form, Mini Mental State Examination, Barthel index, and Lawton & Brody index were used to evaluate the mood, nutrition status, mental status, and activities of daily living of the patients. Results: The mean age of the patients was 74.88 ± 8.82 years, and 63.2% of the patients were female. According to the nutritional assessment, 39.7% of the patients suffered from malnutrition, while 47.1% were at risk for it, and depressive symptoms were detected in 79.4% of the patients. A strong negative correlation was found between the scores for nutritional and depressive symptoms (r = −.750, 95% CI = −.834 to −.668). Conclusion: Malnutrition, risk of malnutrition, and depressive symptoms were found to occur often among the patients, and the relationship between them was statistically significant. Our results highlight that the quality of life of palliative care patients could be improved by providing adequate nutrition and psychological support.

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Amaç: Malnütrisyon, yaşlı erişkinlerde olumsuz sonuçları göz önüne alındığında göz ardı edilmemesi gereken bir geriatrik sendromdur. Beslenme durumunu etkileyen birçok faktör vardır. Bu çalışmada yaşlılarda malnütrisyon ile ilişkili faktörleri belirlemeyi amaçladık.Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu kesitsel çalışmaya bir geriatri polikliniğine başvuran 356 yaşlı ayaktan hasta alındı. Katılımcılara kapsamlı geriatrik değerlendirme yapıldı ve beslenme durumu ile ilgili faktörler değerlendirildi. Malnütrisyon tarama ve tanısı için Mini Nutritional Assessment Tool (MNA) ve Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) kriterleri kullanıldı.Bulgular: Katılımcıların ortalama yaşı 72,2±6,5 yıl idi. Katılımcıların 93'ü (%26,1) GLIM kriterlerine göre malnütre olarak kabul edildi. Malnütrisyonu olan katılımcılar daha düşük yaşam kalitesi, fiziksel işlevsellik, uyku kalitesi ve daha yüksek depresif ve anksiyete semptomlarına sahipti. MNA puanları ile yaşam kalitesi puanları arasında pozitif (r=0,355, p=0,000), depresif ve anksiyete belirtileri puanları arasında negatif korelasyon (sırasıyla r=-0,346, p=0,000 ve r=-0,301, p=0,000) saptandı. Yaş ve yüksek depresif belirti puanları malnütrisyon için bağımsız değişkenler olarak bulundu [sırasıyla p=0,026, Odds oranı (OR): 1,07 ve p=0,045, OR: 1,07].Sonuç: Bu çalışma, malnütrisyonlu yaşlı erişkinlerde işlevsel durumda bozulma, depresif ve anksiyete belirtileri, daha düşük yaşam kalitesi ve uyku kalitesine sahip olma olasılığının daha yüksek olduğunu göstermiştir. Depresif belirtiler ve yaşın malnütrisyon riskini artırdığı bulunmuştur. İstenmeyen sonuçlardan kaçınmak için tüm yaşlı erişkinlerde kapsamlı geriatrik değerlendirme yapılmalıdır.

OBJECTIVE:The effect of chronic pain on the elderly population is enormous in terms of both human suffering and cost. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with chronic low back pain in older adults by performing a comprehensive geriatric assessment. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 225 elderly patients admitted to a geriatric outpatient clinic. All participants underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment, and factors related to chronic low back pain were assessed. Participants were grouped as those with and without chronic pain. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 72.9±6.9 years, and 149 (66.2%) of them had chronic pain complaints. The number of chronic diseases and medications, depressive symptom scores, and sleep quality scores were higher, and quality of life (European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions index and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions visual analog scale) and nutritional status scores were lower in the chronic pain group. The pain visual analog scale score had a statistically significant moderate negative correlation with the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions index (r=-0.440, p=0.000) and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions visual analog scale (r=-0.398, p=0.000) scores. The male gender was associated with a reduced risk of chronic pain, while poor sleep quality and number of comorbidities were associated with an increased risk of chronic pain (p=0.000, OR 0.20, p=0.021, OR 2.54, and p=0.010, OR 1.40, respectively). CONCLUSION: Chronic pain is common and independently associated with poor sleep quality, an increased number of diseases, and female gender. The results of our study may guide pain management in older individuals.

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