ABSTRACT Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder. Irreversible pathological alterations are already present when clinical symptoms emerge. Therefore, early diagnosis and intervention are crucial for improving patient outcomes and reducing the social and healthcare burden. With its advantages of minimal invasiveness, convenience, affordability, and high accessibility, blood‐based testing has overcome the limitations of conventional methods, becoming a major focus of research in early AD diagnosis in recent years. Based on the key domestic and international research findings in recent years, this paper systematically reviews the types, mechanisms of action, and relevant detection technologies of blood‐based biomarkers for AD.
ABSTRACT Objectives The study aimed to assess the prevalence of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity among community‐dwelling postmenopausal women. It also examined predictors of these conditions and their association with bone fragility. Methods The cross‐sectional study included 300 community‐dwelling ambulant postmenopausal women aged 50 years or older recruited over 2 years. All participants underwent assessment of body mass index, bone mineral density, and body composition by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia was diagnosed as per the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) criteria. Sarcopenic obesity was defined as the presence of low muscle mass (relative appendicular skeletal mass‐RASM < 5.4 kg/m 2 ) and increased total fat mass% > 40%. Results The mean (SD) age and body mass index of the participants were 61.9 (6.8) years and 25.3 (4.8) kg/m 2 , respectively. Sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity were identified in 43.7% and 27% of participants, respectively, while 48% had osteoporosis at any site. Although fat mass percentage was lower in those with sarcopenia, multivariable analysis adjusted for age, body mass index, and bone density identified higher fat mass percentage (aOR 1.715, p < 0.001) and lower body mass index (aOR 0.279, p < 0.001) as independent predictors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated good discrimination for body mass index (AUC 0.894) and modest discrimination for fat mass percentage (AUC 0.652); a combined model using body mass index and fat mass percentage improved prediction substantially (AUC 0.946). For sarcopenic obesity, lower body mass index (aOR 0.913, p = 0.010) and higher age (aOR 1.057, p = 0.010) were significant predictors. Conclusion Sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity were prevalent among community‐dwelling postmenopausal women, with lower body mass index identified as a significant predictor of both conditions. The observation that low body mass index predicts both sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity highlights the limitations of body mass index as a measure of adiposity when assessing sarcopenic obesity in postmenopausal women.
ABSTRACT Objective Falls among hospital inpatients are a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare burden. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the use of a structured Falls Proforma and the completeness of post‐fall assessment documentation in an Australian hospital. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients who experienced inpatient falls between January 2022 and December 2024. Fall events were stratified by 6‐month audit intervals, and cases were randomly selected within each stratum using computer‐generated sampling. All falls within this time frame were eligible for inclusion; only a patient's first fall among those aged > 65 years was counted, and data with missing details were excluded from analysis. Falls were categorized into “proforma” or “non‐proforma” groups. Documentation across 12 assessment domains was compared, and demographic and clinical characteristics associated with proforma use were evaluated. Results A stratified random sample of 202 inpatient falls was reviewed, with 167 eligible for analysis. Of these, 125 (75%) were assessed using the proforma. Documentation was significantly higher in the proforma group across examination domains: cervical spine (96.8% vs. 47.6%), hip (98.4% vs. 40.5%), cranial nerve (92.8% vs. 40.5%), upper limb neurology (93.6% vs. 45.2%), lower limb neurology (95.2% vs. 42.9%), external head (97.6% vs. 35.7%), cognition (95.2% vs. 19.0%), coagulopathy (98.4% vs. 16.7%), musculoskeletal (95.2% vs. 35.7%), mobility (92.0% vs. 7.1%), and contributing factors (87.2% vs. 59.5%) (all p < 0.001). Scenario documentation was high in both groups (85.6% vs. 95.2%, p = 0.100). In multivariable analysis, preexisting cognitive impairment was associated with lower odds of proforma use, however this association did not reach statistical significance after adjustment (OR = 0.450, 95% CI 0.190–1.030 , p = 0.062). Conclusions Use of a structured Falls Proforma was associated with significantly greater completeness of post‐fall documentation. However, lower uptake among patients with cognitive impairment may represent a disparity in documentation within a high‐risk population. Embedding structured tools into routine practice may standardize documentation and support adherence to recommended post fall assessment frameworks.
ABSTRACT Objectives Frailty is a geriatric syndrome associated with increased vulnerability to adverse health outcomes in older adults. Circadian rhythms regulate multiple physiological processes relevant to aging, including sleep, metabolism, and immune function; however, the relationship between circadian biology and frailty remains incompletely understood. This study aimed to examine associations between chronotype, insomnia, metabolic parameters, and peripheral clock gene expression in Mexican older adults. Methods A total of 751 community‐dwelling older adults were included. Chronotype was assessed using the Morningness‐Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and associations with insomnia and metabolic parameters were evaluated using multivariate regression models. Peripheral circadian clock gene expression was analyzed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from a subsample of 82 participants using principal component analysis (PCA) and gene‐specific linear regression models. Results Most participants exhibited a morning chronotype. Individuals with an extreme morning chronotype had lower odds of insomnia than those with an intermediate chronotype (adjusted OR = 0.393, 95% CI 0.169–0.827, p = 0.020). No significant associations between chronotype and metabolic parameters remained after adjustment for covariates and correction for multiple comparisons. PCA identified a coordinated pattern of clock gene expression, with pre‐frail and frail participants exhibiting lower PC1 scores than robust individuals. Gene‐specific analyses showed lower expression of several clock genes in pre‐frail and frail participants, while lower CLOCK expression remained significantly associated with pre‐frailty after adjustment for chronotype, insomnia, age, sex, and body mass index. Conclusions In this cohort of older adults, morning chronotype was associated with lower odds of insomnia, whereas frailty was associated with differences in peripheral clock gene expression measured at a morning time point. These findings support a relationship between circadian‐related characteristics and frailty in older adults and warrant further investigation using longitudinal and multi‐time‐point circadian assessments.
ABSTRACT We analyzed radiologic service utilization among Colombian supercentenarians (2014–2023) using administrative health data. Imaging use averaged 3.03 examinations per person annually. General radiology, ultrasound, and computed tomography were the most frequently used modalities. Mean per capita imaging expenditure was 185.22 PPP USD. Compared with centenarians, supercentenarians exhibited a more restricted pattern of imaging utilization, characterized by lower use of advanced imaging modalities and the absence of interventional radiology procedures. These findings indicate a distinct pattern of radiologic service use at extreme ages.
