Browsing by Author "Conde, Monserrat"
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- Avaliação geriátrica global da população do AlgarvePublication . Braz, Nídia; Pais, Sandra; Cordeiro, Clara; Conde, Monserrat; Oliveira, GiovannaThe ageing of population challenges communities to adapt and evolve to accommodate the needs of people that live longer (mostly out of work, either healthy, fragile or with chronic disease). Population ageing in the Algarve is higher than in overall Portugal. Studies on health conditions, frailty risk factors and elderly specific needs are undeveloped in Portugal and unknown in the Algarve. Objective To prepare a tool for Global Geriatric Evaluation, to be used in the “Survey of Health and Ageing in the Region of Algarve - SHARA”, a commitment to “European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing”. Methods A preliminary version of the screening tool, which includes well-known instruments to measure health condition (EASY-care), risk of fall (Tinetty), physical activity (Baecke’s modified questionnaire), nutritional condition (MNA), cognitive and depressive status (MMSE, Yesavage geriatric depression scale), together with socio-demographic characteristics, was applied to an independent sample of subjects from an elderly community centre - ARPI (“Associação de Reformados, Pensionistas e Idosos do Concelho de Faro”), with ages between 55 and 89. Results ARPI is mostly frequented by women, who either have risk of malnutrition or malnutrition incidence, a relevant risk of fall or are physically active. Those who live alone, show a higher risk of fall. Conclusions ARPI members are active, but with risk of malnutrition and fall, suggesting the relevance and importance of future interventions in these areas. The proposed screening tool showed to be adequate for the SHARA study, suitable to provide wider information on frailty.
- Functional aspects in ageing adults with diabetic neuropathy. A reviewPublication . Braz, Nidia; Botelho, Marta; Conde, MonserratDiabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) is highly prevalent among diabetic ageing adults. The sensory and motor impairments caused by this long-term complication lead to poorer physical functioning, postural control and balance. These changes affect the activities of daily living and increase the risk of falling, subsequently leading to increased morbidity and decreased quality of life. Early detection of such functional limitations is important, as it may influence the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs and prevent further functional dependence. This review focuses on functional aspects related to balance, postural control and mobility in ageing adults suffering from DPN, as well as their assessment by valid, reliable and low-cost performance-based measurements. PUBMED was searched for articles in English published between 2004 and 2014. Search terms included diabetic neuropathy, balance, postural control, functional mobility, and functional outcomes. Reviewed literature indicates that simple and low-cost measurements, easy to include in clinical routines, can be used for screening impairments in complex functions, such as balance and mobility. Some studies have also been able to correlate results from DPN severity scales with those of functional tests, showing that applying such tests may improve the early diagnosis of this neurological disorder. Berg Balance Scale, Dynamic Gait Index, Functional Reach Test, and Time Up and Go already have modified cut-off points for the Diabetes Mellitus older population, but need validation for ageing adults with DPN. Further research on this subject should be addressed, in order to improve assessment outcomes.
- Global geriatric evaluation of the Algarve populationPublication . Braz, Nídia; Pais, Sandra; Cordeiro, Clara; Oliveira, Giovanna; Conde, MonserratThe ageing of population challenges communities to adapt and evolve to accommodate the needs of people that live longer (mostly out of work, either healthy, fragile or with chronic disease). Population ageing in the Algarve is higher than in overall Portugal. Studies on health conditions, frailty risk factors and elderly specific needs are undeveloped in Portugal and unknown in the Algarve. Objective To prepare a tool for Global Geriatric Evaluation, to be used in the “Survey of Health and Ageing in the Region of Algarve - SHARA”, a commitment to “European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing”. Methods A preliminary version of the screening tool, which includes well-known instruments to measure health condition (EASY-care), risk of fall (Tinetty), physical activity (Baecke’s modified questionnaire), nutritional condition (MNA), cognitive and depressive status (MMSE, Yesavage geriatric depression scale), together with socio-demographic characteristics, was applied to an independent sample of subjects from an elderly community centre - ARPI (“Associação de Reformados, Pensionistas e Idosos do Concelho de Faro”), with ages between 55 and 89. Results ARPI is mostly frequented by women, who either have risk of malnutrition or malnutrition incidence, a relevant risk of fall or are physically active. Those who live alone, show a higher risk of fall. Conclusions ARPI members are active, but with risk of malnutrition and fall, suggesting the relevance and importance of future interventions in these areas. The proposed screening tool showed to be adequate for the SHARA study, suitable to provide wider information on frailty.