Publications (2)6 Total impact
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Article: Predicting cause-specific mortality of older men living in the veterans home by handgrip strength and walking speed: a 3-year, prospective cohort study in Taiwan.
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ABSTRACT: To determine prognostic value of handgrip strength (HGS) and walking speed (WS) in predicting the cause-specific mortality for older men. Prospective cohort study. Banciao Veterans Care Home. 558 residents aged 75 years and older. Anthropometric data, lifestyle factors, comorbid conditions, biomarkers, HGS, and WS at recruitment; all-cause and cause-specific mortality at 3 years after recruitment. During the study period, 99 participants died and the baseline HGS and WS were significantly lower than survivors (P both <.001). Cox survival analysis showed that subjects with slowest quartile of WS were at significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 3.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.69-7.43; HR 11.55, 95% CI 2.30-58.04, respectively), whereas the lowest quartile of HGS significantly predicted a higher risk of infection-related death (HR 5.53, 95% CI 1.09-28.09). Participants in the high-risk status with slowest quartile for WS but not those in the high-risk status with weakest quartile for HGS had similar high risk of all-cause mortality with the group with combined high-risk status (HR 2.96, 95% CI 1.68-5.23; HR 2.58, 95% CI 1.45-4.60, respectively) compared with the participants without high-risk status (reference group). Slow WS predicted all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, whereas weak HGS predicted a higher risk of infection-related death among elderly, institutionalized men in Taiwan. Combining HGS with WS simultaneously had no better prognostic value than using WS only in predicting all-cause mortality.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association 03/2012; 13(6):517-21. · 4.64 Impact Factor -
Article: Regular vitamin B12 supplementation among older Chinese men in a veterans care home in Taiwan.
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ABSTRACT: Vitamin B(12) deficiency is common in older adults, and may be associated with cognitive impairment and depression. The main purpose of this study is to explore clinical effectiveness of regular vitamin B(12) supplementation on cognitive function and depressive symptoms among oldest old men living in a Taiwanese veterans care home. All residents of Banchiao Veterans Care Home were invited for study. Status of regular vitamin B(12) supplementation was determined. Cognitive function and depressive symptoms were evaluated by mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and geriatric depression scale (GDS). Subjects with renal insufficiency or established diagnosis of vitamin B(12) deficiency were excluded. Comparisons of demographic data, MMSE, GDS, and serum vitamin B(12) between subjects with and without regular supplementation were done. In total, 419 residents (mean age=80.8+/-5.5 years, all males) were enrolled. The mean serum level of vitamin B(12) was 1294.1+/-189.1 pg/ml (range: 50-30,000 pg/ml). Forty-five subjects (10.7%) reported regular vitamin B(12) supplementation, and their mean serum levels of vitamin B(12) were significantly higher than the non-supplementation subjects (8057.4+/-1408.3 pg/ml vs. 480.4+/-14.5 pg/ml, p<0.001). The mean MMSE (26.7+/-4.6 vs. 26.7+/-3.7, p=0.965), GDS (1.8+/-1.7 vs. 1.9+/-2.3, p=0.595), prevalence of cognitive impairment (13.6% vs. 19.3%, p=0.420) and depressive symptoms (4.5% vs. 8.4%, p=0.375) were similar between subjects with and without regular vitamin B(12) supplementation. In conclusion, regular vitamin B(12) supplementation and high serum level of vitamin B(12) are not associated with better cognitive function or depressive symptoms among asymptomatic oldest old men in a Taiwanese veterans care home.Archives of gerontology and geriatrics 09/2008; 49(1):186-9. · 1.36 Impact Factor
