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Biomedical subjects

E Grundy

Publications and source records attributed to E Grundy.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

A comparative study of bed usage by younger and older patients with depression.

Recent follow-up studies of depression in old age have highlighted the high relapse rate in older patients compared with younger patients. The consequences for the provision of acute psychiatric beds for elderly patients has been investigated by comparing the usage of beds by younger and older patients with depression over a 4-year period. Overall, elderly depressed patients consumed one and a half times as many bed days as younger depressed patients and a quarter of all acute bed days available in the hospital were used by elderly depressed patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Institutionalization and the elderly: international comparisons.

This paper is an exploratory attempt to examine international differences in the proportion of old people living in non-private households. The aim of the study was to provoke further discussion of the role which institutions play in the care of the elderly in various settings and to examine the effect of certain demographic and economic parameters on the proportion of elderly people in non-private households. Data were drawn from national censuses and indirect standardization was used to allow comparison of the probability of institutionalization in the countries considered. Considerable variation in standardized institutionalization ratios was found but this variation was not significantly associated with any of the demographic or economic variables considered.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Demography and old age.

Demography is of great importance for those involved in caring for the elderly or in planning services. In this paper, current and future variations in the proportions of elderly people around the world are reviewed. The determinants of age structure are considered, and aging and aged populations are defined and discussed. The consequences of population aging extend into every sphere of life; particular attention is paid to the health service and economic implications. Attitudes to population aging and some of the special characteristics of the elderly in the West today are also considered. The paper concludes with a discussion of probable future trends in both the developed and the less developed parts of the world.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Falling rate of provision of residential care for the elderly.

The rapid increase in the number of very aged people has not been accompanied by appropriate expansion of local authority residential facilities. The rate of provision in 1976 was already acknowledged to be inadequate, but data are now presented to show that since then there has been an effective fall in the rate of provision of some 9000 places equivalent to, say, 180 old people's homes of 50 places each. The prospects for the future are even gloomier: public spending cuts and local authority priorities suggest a continuing fall in the rate of provision that can be expected to have a profound effect on the National Health Service, on the burden on families, and on the condition in which old people are obliged to remain "in the community" (where support services have likewise failed to keep pace with demographic change).

Age Factors↗
PubMed1981

Raised enzyme markers of chronic inflammation in asymptomatic farmers' lung.

Subclinical inflammatory activity may be one of the factors which influences the variable natural history of farmers' lung. Serum lysozyme (LYS) and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) have been measured in 52 farmers with a previous history of farmers' lung and in 51 healthy control farmers. The group with farmers' lung assessed during the winter, although having had no recent acute symptoms, had significantly higher levels of LYS and ACE compared to both healthy control farmers seen in winter and farmers' lung subjects seen in summer. There was a mild but significant negative correlation between LYS and farm size in the farmers' lung subjects assessed in winter. The results suggest that active inflammation may be present in subjects with farmers' lung in the absence of acute symptoms during the season when dust exposure occurs as the result of feeding cattle.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Value of measuring serum angiotensin I converting enzyme and serum lysozyme in the management of sarcoidosis.

Serum angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) and lysozyme have been measured in 23 controls, 115 patients with sarcoidosis, and 64 with other chest diseases. Both enzymes were significantly raised in sarcoidosis. ACE was raised above the normal range in 21 of 72 (29%) patients with definite sarcoidosis and in 17 of 38 (45%) of those who were untreated and seen within one year of presentation. The rise discriminated usefully between those with stable and progressive disease (5% and 62% respectively). Lysozyme was raised in 50 of 72 (69%) patients with sarcoidosis but also in 11 of 54 (20%) patients with other chest diseases. Discrimination between stable and progressive disease was useful only if very high levels were considered. Five patients had serial measurements after treatment with oral steroids and showed a progressive fall in levals of both enzymes, but patients with other diseases also showed a significant fall within the normal range when so treated. Measurement of these enzymes may help in the management of some cases of sarcoidosis, but results require critical interpretation.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Proximity of adult children to their parents in Great Britain.

Much of the authors' knowledge of kin interaction and exchange in Britain is partial, in that it is based on studies of co-resident groups and excludes consideration of kin "beyond the household". It is known that there have been large declines in intergenerational co-residence, raising fears that family bonds have weakened. It is also commonly assumed that family members are less likely to live in close proximity than in the past. In this paper the authors examine one important aspect of kin relationships--proximity of adult children to their parents--using nationally representative data from 1986, 1995, and 1999. The analyses presented focus on: differences between 1986, 1995, and 1999 in proximity of adults to their parents; sociodemographic characteristics associated with variations in proximity, and temporal differences in the pattern of these variations. The paper concludes with an assessment of some of the policy implications of the findings.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Elderly people's use of services: a survey.

This article describes some of the findings of a longitudinal survey of three samples of older people living at home in East London and Mid Essex. It describes the service use and need for community services of the three samples at their baseline interviews, and then looks at how their patterns of use and need changed by the time of their follow-up interviews. It shows that older people are generally using services appropriately, but that there are still unmet needs. Service use was found to increase with age as health and functional ability declined. Further findings will be published shortly.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Functional ability of very elderly people.

This article, which expands on the research discussed four weeks ago in Nursing Standard, describes the circumstances of very elderly people with different levels of functional ability, and how their ability's changed over a 2.5 year period. In particular, it focuses on the needs of those with poor functional ability, who were found to be more likely to have health problems, poorer emotional well-being, almost no friends in their social networks, and greater needs for help (or more help) from services such as chiropody. Few received services specific to rehabilitation and social support, although this group were more likely to receive a greater amount of help, in terms of instrumental aid, with tasks of daily living.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Elderly housebound: changes over time.

This article, which completes the research discussed in recent articles in Nursing Standard (1, 2), describes the changes in the ability of very elderly frail people to go outdoors. The sample members were first interviewed in 1987 when they were aged 85 or over, and followed up in 1990. Cross-sectional analyses showed that the groups who could not get outside alone or at all in either 1987 or 1990 were more likely to be taking prescribed medication, had poorer functional ability, reported problems with eyesight and aches/pains/stiffness in muscles/joints, had poorer emotional well-being, spent most of their days 'just sitting', and wanted more help with activities of daily living. There were, however, no differences in their social network characteristics, or their use of services.

Activities of Daily Living↗