Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Steen

Publications and source records attributed to B Steen.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Dietary habits in the eighth decade of life.

Of a representative sample of 231 subjects (mean age 74.6 years) 89 women and 94 men were interviewed. The dietary history method was used and the calculated intake compared with Swedish recommendations (RDA-S). Mean intakes of energy and nutrients, except for vitamin D among women, were above the RDA-S. Intake of fat was above the RDA-S, and the proportion of energy intake from fat increased with age. Those who had three cooked meals per day had a higher nutrient density than those who ate one or two such meals. Although the RDA-S were the same for men and women, women had lower mean intakes and a higher proportion of subjects below the RDA-S for calcium, iron and vitamins C and D. More women had intakes of calcium and vitamin D simultaneously below the RDA-S. In most aspects the mean dietary intake was satisfactory according to current standards, but the RDA-S for calcium seems low. Fat intake was too extensive for both sexes and many women stood in risk of undernutrition.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Age retirement in women. I. General presentation.

Within the framework of a longitudinal population study of age retirement in women, the short-term consequences of retirement were studied in 116 municipally employed women in the city of Malmö (230,000 inhabitants) in southern Sweden half a year before and half a year after retirement. The women represented about 40 different occupations, mostly within the sectors of health care, social services and administration. The study comprised four main parts, namely health and discomfort, social psychology, dietary habits and body composition, and oral health. The present paper concerns a general presentation of the study including sampling procedures and analyses of non-response. The response rate was a little more than 70%. Only a few significant differences were observed between non-responders and responders, such as more working hours per week, and more frequently a negative attitude towards retirement in the non-responders after retirement. This longitudinal prospective study of the same cohort of women has so far shown that the general design, sampling procedure and general methods of data collection appear adequate and feasible. In general, the study population was representative of women about to retire from municipal employment in Sweden. Results from the different studies will be presented elsewhere. To illustrate not only the short-term effects of retirement we intend to reexamine the same women about 2 years after the retirement.

Dental Health Surveys↗
PubMed1988

Age retirement in women. II. Dietary habits and body composition.

Within the framework of a longitudinal study of municipally employed women in Malmö, Sweden, before and after retirement, comprising health, social, psychological, nutritional and odontological aspects, the dietary habits and body composition were evaluated. 116 women aged 62, 63 and 64 were included. A detailed dietary interview was performed by a nutritionist, anthropometric measurements were made, and body compartments were calculated after retirement with a new electrical impedance method. Average dietary intakes were relatively high, but variation was marked. Intake of energy and almost all nutrients showed a clear decreasing tendency from before to after retirement, despite an increase in body weight and waist measurement, indicating decreasing physical activity after retirement in these women. There was also an increasing consumption of pastry, potato chips and similar food items. One third of the women was below the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) regarding calcium and almost all women below the RDA regarding vitamin D. There are reasons to believe that the event of retirement in women might imply some dietary hazards.

Body Composition↗
PubMed1987

Hospital nutrition in geriatric long-term care medicine: II. Effects of dietary supplements.

The effects of three different dietary supplements were studied in 28 women admitted to geriatric long-term care by recording the dietary intake, anthropometric variables and selected biochemical analyses before and during an 8-week experimental period. The validity of the dietary intake measurements was investigated and judged as acceptable. Before supplementation the mean daily intake of energy was 5.2 MJ/1247 kcal and vitamin D and thiamine were the nutrients most commonly deficient. One third of the patients had low dietary intake of vitamin A. The intake of ascorbic acid, riboflavine and calcium were appropriate. The mean values of haemoglobin, serum albumin, plasma prealbumin and transferrin were within reference limits despite the fact that a quarter of the patients had signs of inflammation. The dietary intake improved significantly during the experimental period in all three groups and the intake of energy increased by 25%. A gain of weight was noted in all groups. The level of serum retinol-binding protein increased in two of the groups. The suppression of the appetite due to supplementation was low and the intake of snacks decreased from 20% to 11% of the energy intake.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Influence of wheat bran and of a bulk-forming ispaghula cathartic on the bioavailability of digoxin in geriatric in-patients.

The present randomized study compared the influence of a gel-forming wheat bran with a nongel-forming bulk cathartic (an ispaghula formulation, Vi-Siblin S) on the steady state concentrations of digoxin in plasma in 30 geriatric in-patients treated with either combination (16 with wheat bran + digoxin, 14 with ispaghula + digoxin) for 4 weeks. After 2 but not after 4 weeks, wheat bran reduced the digoxin levels, although the levels were still within the therapeutic range. Ispaghula had no influence at any time. It is concluded that neither wheat bran nor the ispaghula formulation has any clinically relevant influence on therapeutic digoxin levels in geriatric patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Hospital nutrition in geriatric long-term care medicine. I. Effects of a changed meal environment.

Sixteen patients, five males and 11 females, (mean age 80.4 years, range 65-88 years) were studied before, during and after a changed meal environment in a long-term care ward. The dining-room was redecorated in a way similar to what was common during the 1940s. The food was served by the staff on serving-dishes, and the patients could help themselves. A 1-day dietary record was made once a week during the whole study. During the pre-experimental period the average daily intake of energy was 5.8 MJ/1379 kcal and the intake of vitamin D only 2.8 micrograms. During the experimental period the intake of energy and protein increased by 25% (p less than 0.001). No significant changes in body weight occurred which might reflect an increased physical activity. Among the blood chemistry variables blood folate, serum creatinine and retinol showed a significant increase during the experimental period. The changes in retinol might reflect a substitution of a marginal vitamin A deficiency. During the postexperimental period the decrease of serum creatinine was correlated to a decreased protein intake. The intake of energy, protein, vitamin D and thiamine decreased during the last period.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Hearing in geriatric long-stay patients.

A study was made of the hearing of 197 geriatric long-stay patients aged 51 to 104 (mean 84) years. Information regarding hearing problems was collected by questionnaire, and hearing was tested with pure-tone audiometry after wax extraction. Only 55 patients were able to participate in the hearing test due to the high prevalence of dementia. For this category of patients it is probably necessary to use objective neurophysiological tests, such as brain stem audiometry and electrocochleography. All patients tested had considerably impaired hearing. Mean hearing loss in the speech area was 51 dB, indicating that a majority of the patients needed hearing aids. However, only one patient in 10 had such. Technical devices for amplification in the wards were scarce. It was evident that impaired hearing among geriatric long-stay patients was an underestimated and rather neglected problem, and a need for education among the nursing staff regarding communication problems was noted.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Cognitive function, cognitive style and life satisfaction in a 68-year-old male population.

A representative sample of 68-year-old men living in the city of Malmö, Sweden, was examined by means of psychological tests and questionnaires regarding cognitive capacity, cognitive style as an expression of personality, and life satisfaction. Reference values for these parameters are presented, and a continuous cohort increase of verbal ability could be identified in this age group. That the prevalence of cognitive reduction was found to be surprisingly high is tentatively interpreted as reflecting an underdiagnosis of these symptoms as concomitant to other diseases in the general population. Earlier results supporting the concept of terminal decline could not be replicated. The reason for this might be that the present population was somewhat younger than those earlier investigated. Contrary to expectation, life satisfaction did not correlate to either cognitive reduction or cognitive style. It had, however, a positive correlation to measures of fluid intelligence.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Screening of patients admitted to a geriatric hospital with supposed organic dementia.

75 patients, aged 69 to 97 (mean 84) years, admitted to a geriatric clinic with symptoms or signs of organic brain failure, were examined with a wide test battery including chemical analyses, electroencephalogram (EEG), regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) measurement, and psychometric tests. There was a prevalence of 89% organic dementia, 3% treatable dementia, and 8% non-dementia conditions. Thus the prevalence of treatable conditions was rather low (11%). Multi-infarct dementia was more prevalent (52%) than dementia of Alzheimer type (31%). All but one of the non-dementia conditions were due to confusional reaction. In no case was depression, drug intoxication, or deafness the only cause of symptoms. After a follow-up period of 6 months, 33% of the patients had died. An autopsy was performed in 80% of these cases, and the clinical diagnosis was confirmed in all but four cases.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Plasma selenium and glutathione peroxidase in relation to cancer, angina pectoris and short-term mortality in 68-year-old men.

Plasma selenium and plasma glutathione peroxidase were measured in 483 68-year-old men participating in a longitudinal population study, in which the probands were representatively selected. The prevalence of cancer and coronary heart disease was assessed by a structured interview. In plasma the concentration of selenium was 1.08 +/- 0.18 mumol X l-1 and the activity of glutathione peroxidase 540 +/- 90 mumol X l-1 X min-1. Plasma selenium was correlated to glutathione peroxidase activity (r = 0.49, p less than 0.001), but not significantly to plasma albumin levels (r = 0.18). Plasma selenium and glutathione peroxidase values in subjects with cancer or angina pectoris were not significantly different from those in subjects without these diseases. Plasma selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase activity in the subjects who died within 1 year of screening were 89% and 88%, respectively, of the values among survivors (p less than 0.01). For the subjects who died during the second year after screening, these variables did not differ significantly from the values among survivors, 97% and 99%, respectively. Since the relation of low selenium and glutathione peroxidase to mortality was observed only for the first year, it was probably due to a disturbed nutritional state prior to death, rather than to a long-term negative influence of low plasma selenium on the mortality risk. Furthermore, the data have failed to demonstrate a relationship between selenium status and cancer or angina pectoris.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Body composition in the elderly estimated with an electrical impedance method.

The purpose of the present study was to test the reliability and validity of a new electrical impedance method for estimating body composition in 35 healthy persons and patients in different sex and age groups, and to obtain basal data on the size of different body composition compartments in elderly individuals in health and disease. The reliability studies showed no significant differences with the new method in intraindividual comparisons before and after changing the positions of the electrodes, drinking of water, and overnight fasting, as well as at a double estimation on 2 consecutive days. The results with this method are compared to results from measurements of total body potassium and total body water, and from a four-compartment model technique using total body potassium and total body water. We conclude that the method has an acceptable reliability and validity and should be of great value not only in field studies but also in clinical practice. Data on body composition with the electrical impedance method are obtained from 147 individuals in different groups, namely healthy females, 80-81-year-old males, female patients from a nursing home, and patients of both sexes from a day care unit.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Cardiac arrhythmia in geriatric patients with organic dementia.

Cardiac arrhythmia and ST segment depression was analyzed with long-term ECG registration (LTER) in 36 patients with organic dementia aged 69-96 (mean 84) years and 27 patients without dementia or current heart disease aged 68-93 (mean 83) years. In the dementia group we found a higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation (p = 0.0131), ventricular tachycardia (p = 0.0156) and gaps (p = 0.0347) in comparison with the reference group. Ventricular and supraventricular extrasystoles were frequent in both groups. There was no difference in the prevalence of ST segment depression between the two groups. In conclusion we found an increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia and gaps in the dementia group in comparison with the reference group.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Dietary intake and psychosocial factors in 68-year-old men. A population study.

In a representative sample of 621 men aged 68 years 500 (80.5%) participated in a dietary history interview, and in an interview where social network and social support characteristics, marital status, and social class were assessed. Also included was a questionnaire on alcohol consumption and smoking habits, as well as weight and height measurements and an assessment of the men's physical activities. The purpose was to describe dietary habits and to characterize men with inadequate habits according to different psychosocial characteristics. Average intake of energy and nutrients was, in general, well above the recommended. However, the variation was wide. According to the definition used, about 20% were considered to have "inadequate" dietary habits. No proportional differences in social class and marital status were found among these men. However, those with sufficient social network and social support fared better. Overweight, obesity, low physical activity and high alcohol consumption were more common among the men with inadequate diets. Low social anchorage, low physical activity and high body mass index were independent risk indicators of inadequate dietary habits in this population.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Symptoms of myocardial infarction in old age: clinical case, retrospective and prospective studies.

In a clinical case study (n = 71), a retrospective study (n = 96), and a prospective study (n = 60, 10 cases and 50 controls)--all of a duration of three years--prevalence and kind of symptoms of myocardial infarction in geriatric long-term care patients were studied. The findings suggest a low diagnostic accuracy of acute myocardial infarction in the elderly. The clinical features seem to be different compared to those of younger patients. Intense dyspnoea, syncope and weakness are more common than chest pain.

Aged↗