Abstract
In the background of the rapid ageing of the Greek population, the focus of this thesis was an assessment of the health of the elderly and the study of factors that may affect the prevalence of several common diseases among them. The study was undertaken in four centers of the elderly (K.A.P.I.) of the Attica region. A total of 426 individuals, 245 women and 181 men, 60 years or older were involved. Collection of data was accomplished through interviews with the participants. Information concerning medical history, lifestyle and nutritional habits were recorded. A common questionnaire, as well as a gender-specific questionnaire were used. Moreover, cognitive state was assessed through the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale whereas possible depression was probed through the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15). Finally, blood pressure and anthropometric indices were measured. The main findings of the study are as follows: • Almost two thirds of women (63.3%) were obese, wherea ...
In the background of the rapid ageing of the Greek population, the focus of this thesis was an assessment of the health of the elderly and the study of factors that may affect the prevalence of several common diseases among them. The study was undertaken in four centers of the elderly (K.A.P.I.) of the Attica region. A total of 426 individuals, 245 women and 181 men, 60 years or older were involved. Collection of data was accomplished through interviews with the participants. Information concerning medical history, lifestyle and nutritional habits were recorded. A common questionnaire, as well as a gender-specific questionnaire were used. Moreover, cognitive state was assessed through the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale whereas possible depression was probed through the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15). Finally, blood pressure and anthropometric indices were measured. The main findings of the study are as follows: • Almost two thirds of women (63.3%) were obese, whereas the corresponding proportion among men was 41.4%. It is evident that obesity, which is frequently described as an important problem in the Greek population also, affects the elderly. • The diet of the elderly does not deviate substantially from the traditional Mediterranean diet, since it relies to vegetables, fruits, cereals and olive oil. Nevertheless, there is an undesirably high frequency of meat consumption and a relatively low consumption offish. • Physical activity was limited and systematic exercise minimal. • More than two thirds of men are or have been smokers, even though only 13.8% are currently smoking. Among women, less than one quarter have ever been smokers but one half of them continue to smoke. • Almost two third of men (64.1%) and about a quarter of women (24.5%) reported that they have been sexually active during the year preceding the investigation. • More than 20% of both men and women reported that they suffer from diabetes mellitus, whereas with respect to coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular episodes the proportions were in men 27.6% and 10.5%, and in women 10.2% and 5.3%. The prevalence of hypertension was among men 72.9% and among women 77.1%. More women (37.1%) than men (26.5%) reported one or more fractures. About half of men (45.3%) reported diagnosed benign prostate hyperplasia. • In the MMSE scale, one in ten of the examined elderly persons (9.4% among men and 9.8% among women) had scores indicated serious cognitive problems. • Three times as many women (18.4%) as men (6.1%) had serious depression on the basis of their scores in the GDS-15 scale. Several parameters of health or disease were studies as dependent variables in multivariate models of either linear regression or logistic regression. Among the main findings are those indicated below: • Fractures are more common in women than among men and more common among persons of lower education. Smoking, either as a reflection of a risk-taking attitude or as an inverse correlate of some steroid hormones is significantly associated with history of bone fractures. • The prevalence of hypertension increases with age and there is a suggestion that hypertension is inversely associated with olive oil consumption. (p~0,074). • There is a statistically significant inverse association between benign prostate hyperplasia and reported frequency of orgasms but the directionality of the association cannot be documented. Increased intake of added lipids, after adjustment for energy intake is positively associated with benign prostate hyperplasia. Additional analyses indicate that saturated lipids are particularly harmful with relative risk 2.59 for an increase in the frequency of butter consumption by one time per day (p~0.032). There was also evidence for an inverse association between physical activity and benign prostate hyperplasia (p~0.103). • As expected sexual activity declined with advancing age and it tended to be reduced among smokers (p~0.189). There was a suggestion for a positive association between blood cholesterol and sexual activity, a possible association that deserves further association. • Cognitive function is inversely associated with age (p< 10⁻³), positively with level of education (p<10⁻³) and inversely with degree of depression (p~0.002). Neither cohabitation, nor smoking are associated with cognitive function. • Depression is more common among women (p< 10⁻³) and among persons living alone (p~0.001). In conclusion, the present study documents the high prevalence of obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary heart disease among the elderly of either gender, whereas benign prostate hyperplasia is very common among elderly men in Greece. In prevalence studies, as the present one, it is not possible to evaluate the burden from cancer, since high fatality and shorter survival of cancer patients generate inverse selection. Among the generally active persons in our sample, about one in ten manifest problems in cognitive function, whereas a substantial proportion among women and a smaller proportion among men have evidence of depression. The nutrition of the elderly is generally satisfactory although a decrease in the intake of animal proteins and an increase in the intake of complex carbohydrates is desirable. Very few of the elderly have acceptable levels of physical activity and this may contribute to the high levels of obesity observed among them. About 12% of the elderly are current smokers, whereas two third of men and one quarter of women report that they are sexually active. The documentation of several factors affecting morbidity among the elderly allows the development of health guidelines addressed to this important and growing segment of the Greek population.
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