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Biomedical subjects

B Steen

Publications and source records attributed to B Steen.

171 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Prediction of survival in 70-year olds.

The purpose of this study was to find predictors of 10-year survival among 70-year olds and to show that there might be more than one good set of predictors. All variables found to be significantly related to survival in univariate tests (predictors) are given a risk value (0 = no risk, 1 = risk), and classified into high-order domains. The number of domains containing predictors with risk values are then counted, giving the individual a certain risk index. The method was applied on data from the longitudinal population study of 70-year-old people in Gothenburg, Sweden, the H70-study. In a random sample of 474 men and 562 women predictors for survival over a 10-year period, from the age of 70, were selected for men and women, respectively. The predictors were classified into seven domains: socio-economic status, life style, social networks, need of help, biomarkers of ageing, physical health and cognitive function. The analysis revealed a consistent pattern in which survival was related to the number of risk domains. In the no-risk sub-sample 12.5% of the men were deceased after 10 years, in the sub-sample with five or more risk domains involved 78.0% were deceased. The corresponding figures for women were 10.0% and 60.0%. The results show that it is possible to find variables that can predict survival. However, there is not only one set of good predictors. As an alternative to use of specific variables as predictors the presumptive predictors can be grouped into a few main domains and good predictions be made on the basis of these domains.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pain and distress among elderly intensive care unit patients: comparison of patients' experiences and nurses' assessments.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate elderly intensive care unit (ICU) patients' experiences of pain and distress, as well as interventions aimed at reducing these conditions, and to compare these experiences with the way nurses and assistant nurses, respectively, assess their patients' responses related to these issues. DESIGN: Descriptive, correlational, comparative. SETTING: Two medical-surgical ICUs at county hospitals in two medium-sized cities in Sweden. SUBJECTS: Fifty-one elderly patients, 44 nurses, and 37 assistant nurses in two Swedish ICUs. METHODS: Data were collected through personal interviews with patients and questionnaires completed by each nurse and assistant nurse responsible for the patients. RESULTS: Patients' experiences of pain and distress do not fully agree with nurses' and assistant nurses' assessments; nor is there consistency between the views of nurses and those of assistant nurses. Nurses overestimated patients' breathing and intellectual problems. Assistant nurses assessed that patients received more assistance to relieve physical pain, physical discomfort, fatigue, and fear than patients reported. Compared with nurses' assessments, assistant nurses also perceived patients to suffer less from physical discomfort, breathing problems, and fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses need more systematic procedures to assess patients' distress and pain experiences. To reduce the discrepancies observed between nurses and assistant nurses, organization of care should optimize the possibilities for the caregivers to carry out the desired assessments and interventions with a high degree of continuity and communication among staff.

Adult↗
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Cross-cultural analysis of longevity among Swedish and American elders: the role of social networks in the Gothenburg and Missouri longitudinal studies compared.

This paper reports the results of a cross-national comparison of the 'H70' longitudinal study of elders in Gothenburg, Sweden, with the 'Rural Missouri Elders' longitudinal study in Missouri, USA. Analysis of the combined data sets focused on the question of how longevity was affected by culturally divergent forms of social network participation. The H70 study was a representative, systematic 3/10 sample of 70-year-old (in 1971) men and women living in Gothenburg. Follow-up data was gathered when the respondents were 75, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 88, 90 and 95 years of age. Face-to-face interviews and physical medical examinations were the major source of data. The Missouri study involved a representative cluster proportional-to-size sample of all rural Missourians 65 years of age and older. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in 1966, 1974 and 1987. Logistic regression and cross-tabular analyses revealed that social networks were important predictors of longevity for both samples. However, marital status and participation in formal organizations predicted longevity for the Americans, whereas contact with children emerged as the predictor variable for the Swedes. Specific functions of the different network patterns in the two countries are discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between MNA and SF-36 in a free-living elderly population aged 70 to 75.

BACKGROUND: Within a larger study of social network and nutrition, we investigated measurements of nutritional status and health related quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To relate a well-established questionnaire of nutritional status (MNA) to a likewise well-established questionnaire of health related quality of life (SF-36) in community dwelling, free-living and, healthy 70-75 years old persons. DESIGN: Before an interview, the MNA and SF-36 questionnaires were filled in by 128 participants from a sample of 262 subjects. RESULTS: The MNA worked well as a measurement in this sample. Many MNA aspects correlated with the SF-36 scales. The correlations between MNA total score and the eight SF-36 scales varied from .27 to .62. DISCUSSION: This correlation was partly due to the fact that MNA has questions of health but also to the fact that there is an empirical relation between nutrition and health. CONCLUSION: The MNA measurement is applicable to a healthy, free-living elderly population and parts of the MNA can be interpreted as measurements of health related quality of life. Low values of SF-36 could also be used as predictors of risk of malnutrition, although further studies are required to confirm this result.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patterns of carbohydrate intake--a study of typology, associations and changes over time in an elderly Swedish population.

BACKGROUND: Patterns may explain part of the dietary variation between subjects. OBJECTIVE: To create a typology of carbohydrate intake among the elderly and to analyse whether it seems valuable or not. DESIGN: Factor and cluster-analyses of dietary interviews from two elderly cohorts of free-living elderly people in Göteborg, Sweden. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Three hundred and thirty seven women and three hundred and twenty three men aged 70-79 was studied cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The altogether 917 dietary interviews were based on the dietary history method. Cluster analysis, based on factor scores, was used to create the typology. RESULTS: Seven clusters were identified: 1) Small eaters (high relative intake of starch and a low energy intake), 2) Lean and green eaters (high intake of dietary fibre), 3) Fruit eaters (high intake of monosaccharides), 4) Sweet tooth eaters (high intake of sucrose), 5) Gourmands (high absolute intake of starch, dietary fibre and energy), 6) Milk drinkers (high intake of lactose) and 7) Fat eaters (high intake of fat and low intake of carbohydrates). The different patterns were associated with different food consumption, different intake of micronutrients and different social and physiological factors. There were also changes over time of the proportion of subject within the clusters. CONCLUSIONS: The typology found by using cluster analysis, seems to be valid and was related to all analysed dimensions. Therefore, the methods may be valuable for describing and analysing the dietary intake among elderly.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The gerontological and geriatric population studies in Gothenburg, Sweden.

A representative sample of about 1000 70-year-olds in 1971/72 was included in the longitudinal and cross-sectional population study of elderly people in Gothenburg, Sweden (H70). The objectives were to make a survey of the social and medical conditions of this population, to obtain basic data for planning the care of the elderly, to contribute to the knowledge of normal aging processes and of normal criteria within the age group, and to offer a thorough medical examination. The survivors have been examined longitudinally at ages 70, 75, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 88, and 90 years of age. As possible cohort effects during 5-year-periods are also an object of interest, a further two cohorts have been examined at age 70, 75, and 79, and 70, 72, and 76, respectively. Another 75-year-old cohort has also been included (the Nordic comparative study of 75-year-olds-NK75). Using mainly identical methods, but different additional examinations, three Nordic countries cooperated in a comparative study of functional aging within the framework of the gerontological and geriatric population studies during the period October 1990-May 1991. The other centers were the universities of Copenhagen and Jyväskylä. The study aimed at comparing functional ability and biological aging between elderly in the Nordic countries. On an average, 3000 to 4000 variables about aging and diseases in old age are being collected per subject.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗