Dwellers at high altitude who are considered healthy have worse kidney function, a higher prevalence of proteinuria and a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared to people living at SL.
Objectives:We aimed to investigate the frequency of probable sarcopenia and to compare the performance of SARC-F and SARC-CalF for detecting this condition in outpatient older adults from a low-resource setting. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study in outpatient older adults aged ≥60 years attending a hospital in Peru, between August 2019 and February 2020. Probable sarcopenia was defined as low handgrip strength (<27 kg in men and <16 in women). We used SARC-F and SARC-CalF with their standard cut-off points (≥4 and ≥11, respectively). Low calf circumference was defined as ≤33 cm in women and ≤34 cm in men. We performed sensitivity and specificity analyses. Results: We included 206 older adults, 102 (49.5%) aged ≥75 years old and 140 (67.9%) females. Probable sarcopenia was present in 36.40% of the participants. SARC-F ≥4 was observed in 29.61% and SARC-CalF ≥11 in 41.26% of the population. SARC-F≥4 showed 41.33% sensitivity and 77.10% specificity, whereas SARC-Calf ≥11 had 50.67% sensitivity and 64.12% specificity. Conclusion: We found that one out of three of the population had probable sarcopenia. SARC-Calf showed superior but still low sensitivity than SARC-F, while both had moderate specificity and thus may be useful for ruling out the disease in clinical practice.
We investigated what factors may foster or hinder physicians’ cancer screening risk literacy–specifically the ability to understand evidence regarding screening effectiveness and make evidence-based recommendations to patients. In an experiment, physicians in training (interns and residents) read statistical information about outcomes from screening for cancer, and had to decide whether to recommend it to a patient. We manipulated the effectiveness of the screening (effective vs. ineffective at reducing mortality) and the demand of the patient to get screened (demand vs. no demand). We assessed participants’ comprehension of the presented evidence and recommendation to the patient, as well as a-priori screening beliefs (e.g., that screening is always a good choice), numeracy, science literacy, knowledge of screening statistics, statistical education, and demographics. Stronger positive a-priori screening beliefs, lower knowledge of screening statistics, and lower numeracy were related to worse comprehension of the evidence. Physicians recommended against the ineffective screening but only if they showed good comprehension of the evidence. Physicians’ recommendations were further based on the perceived benefits from screening but not on perceived harms, nor the patient’s demands. The current study demonstrates that comprehension of cancer screening statistics and the ability to infer the potential benefits for patients are essential for evidence-based recommendations. However, strong beliefs in favor of screening fostered by promotion campaigns may influence how physicians evaluate evidence about specific screenings. Fostering physician numeracy skills could help counteract such biases and provide evidence-based recommendations to patients.
El objetivo fue describir la percepción sobre las vacunas y el nivel de conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas hacia la COVID-19 en adultos mayores que acuden a un hospital en Lima, Perú. Estudio descriptivo y transversal de marzo a noviembre del 2021. Se adaptó y validó un instrumento para medir el nivel de conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas, y se evaluó la percepción sobre vacunas con un cuestionario exploratorio. Se encuestaron a 83 adultos mayores, la media de edad fue 74,0 años y el 62,7% fueron mujeres. La mayoría conoce la causa y síntomas, y el 50,6% cree que puede transmitirse por alimentos contaminados. El 61,7% usa medicina tradicional para prevenirla, y el 65,4% considera insuficiente el nivel de conciencia social. El 91,5% se vacunó contra la COVID-19, y el 65,4% considera que estas vacunas son seguras. En conclusión, la mayoría de los adultos mayores presenta un alto nivel de conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas y una percepción positiva sobre la vacuna contra la COVID-19.
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