C. Annweiler

Stops walking when talking: a predictor of falls in older adults?

The objective of this study was to systematically review all published articles examining the relationship between the occurrence of falls and changes in gait and attention‐demanding task performance whilst dual tasking amongst older adults. An English and French Medline and Cochrane library search ranging from 1997 to 2008 indexed under ‘accidental falls’, ‘aged OR aged, 80 and over’, ‘dual task’, ‘dual tasking’, ‘gait’, ‘walking’, ‘fall’ and ‘falling’ was performed. Of 121 selected studies, fifteen met the selection criteria and were included in the final analysis. The fall rate ranged from 11.1% to 50.0% in retrospective studies and from 21.3% to 42.3% in prospective ones. Amongst the three retrospective and eight prospective studies, two and six studies, respectively, showed a significant relationship between changes in gait performance under dual task and history of falls. The predictive value for falling was particularly efficient amongst frail older adults compared with healthy subjects. Two prospective studies challenged the usefulness of the dual‐task paradigm as a significant predictor compared to single task performance and three studies even reported that gait changes whilst dual tasking did not predict falls. The pooled odds ratio for falling was 5.3 (95% CI, 3.1–9.1) when subjects had changes in gait or attention‐demanding task performance whilst dual tasking. Despite conflicting early reports, changes in performance whilst dual tasking were significantly associated with an increased risk for falling amongst older adults and frail older adults in particular. Description of health status, standardization of test methodology, increase of sample size and longer follow‐up intervals will certainly improve the predictive value of dual‐task‐based fall risk assessment tests.

Vitamin D and cognitive performance in adults: a systematic review

Chronic low serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations are common in adults and are associated with numerous non‐skeletal diseases. Vitamin D receptors (VDR) are located in the human cortex and hippocampus, which are key areas for cognition. The objective of this study was to systematically review all published data from the past 30 years which examined the association between serum 25OHD concentrations and cognitive performance in adults. An English and French Medline, PsycINFO® and Cochrane Library search ranging from 1979 to 2008 indexed under the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms ‘Vitamin D’ or ‘Hydroxycholecalciferols’ combined with the terms ‘Dementia’ or ‘Cognition’ or ‘Cognition Disorders’ or ‘Delirium’ or ‘Memory’ or ‘Memory Disorders’ or ‘Orientation’ or ‘Executive Functions’ or ‘Attention’ or ‘Brain’ or ‘Neuropsychological Tests’ was performed. Of the 99 selected studies, five observational studies met the selection criteria and were included in the final analysis. No prospective cohort study was found. The number of participants ranged from 32 to 9556 community‐dwelling older adults (45–65% women). Three studies showed four significant positive associations between serum 25OHD concentrations and global cognitive functions, whereas three other studies exploring specific aspects of cognition showed 11 non‐significant associations. This systematic review shows that the association between serum 25OHD concentrations and cognitive performance is not yet clearly established. The inconclusive results of the reviewed studies could be due to methodology, types of the cognitive tasks used and/or the cellular mechanisms of vitamin D.

Vitamin D and ageing: neurological issues.

Objective: Vitamin D has been shown to have multiple biological targets mediated by the vitamin D receptor present in many cells. Specific actions on the central nervous system (CNS) have been described. The objective of this review was to describe the relationship between vitamin D and the nervous system throughout the different stages of life. Methods: A bibliographical search was performed in the MedLine and Cochrane library databases. The keywords used were: ‘vitamin D’ and ‘nervous system’ and/or ‘central nervous system’ and/or ‘nervous system diseases’ and/or ‘psychological tests’ and/or ‘neuropsychological tests’ and/or ‘mental disorders’. The search period ranged from 01/01/1988 to 31/10/2009. Two hundred and ninety-five abstracts were first identified after screening. A final selection of 127 articles was used for the purpose of this review. Results: The studies published over the past 20 years provide an increasing number of arguments in favor of a life-long role of vitamin D on the nervous system as a whole, and in particular on the CNS. During cerebral development, vitamin D may act like a neurosteroid hormone in the areas of neurotransmission, neuroprotection, and neuroimmunomodulation. Moreover, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders. In older adults, hypovitaminosis D has been associated with neuromuscular disorders, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. Thus, vitamin D supplementation might have a protective effect against these neurological disorders. Conclusions: Vitamin D has been associated with many neurological functions and its deficiency with dysfunction. Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations can potentially be reversed. This simple and low-cost correction might contribute to the primo-secondary prevention of various neuropsychiatric disorders.

Recurrent falls and dual task-related decrease in walking speed: is there a relationship?

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether dual task–related changes in walking speed were associated with recurrent falls in frail older adults.

Serum vitamin D deficiency as a predictor of incident non-Alzheimer dementias: a 7-year longitudinal study.

Background: Hypovitaminosis D has been cross-sectionally associated with dementia and stroke. The objective of this longitudinal study was to determine whether serum vitamin D deficiency at baseline could predict the onset of non-Alzheimer dementias (NAD) within 7 years among older women. Methods: Forty high-functioning older women (78.4 years, 76.4/82.0; median, 25th/75th percentile) from the EPIDOS Toulouse study were divided into two groups based on vitamin D deficiency (i.e., serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D <10 ng/ml) at baseline. At the end of the 7-year follow-up period, women matching the DSM-IV but not the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria were diagnosed with NAD while those matching the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria were considered to have Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Subtle cognitive impairments at baseline, cardiovascular risk factors and Parkinson’s disease were used as potential confounders. Results: NAD was reported in 6 women (82.8 years, 80.6/86.0) after 7 years of follow-up. More NAD were observed in women with vitamin D deficiency (p = 0.023). There was no between-group difference regarding the onset of AD (p = 0.332). We found an association between vitamin D deficiency at baseline and the onset of NAD (adjusted odds ratio = 19.57, p = 0.042). Conversely, vitamin D deficiency was not associated with AD (p = 0.222). Conclusion: Baseline vitamin D deficiency predicted the onset of NAD within 7 years among older women.

Deficit of cognitive inhibition in depressed elderly: a neurocognitive marker of suicidal risk.

BACKGROUND Cognitive deficits, in relation to ventral and dorsal prefrontal cortex dysfunctions, have been associated with a higher risk of suicidal acts in young adult patients. Although a public health concern, much less is known about the neurocognitive basis of suicidal behavior in elderly. Here, we aimed at assessing alterations in cognitive inhibition, a suspected major mechanism of the suicidal vulnerability, in suicidal depressed elderly. METHODS We compared 20 currently depressed patients, aged 65 and older who recently attempted suicide to 20 elderly subjects with a current depression but no personal history of suicide attempt and 20 elderly controls. Using an extensive neuropsychological battery, we particularly examined different aspects of cognitive inhibition: access to relevant information (using the Reading with distraction task), suppression of no longer relevant information (Trail Making Test, Rule Shift Cards), and restraint of cognitive resources to relevant information (Stroop test, Hayling Sentence Completion test, Go/No-Go). RESULTS After adjustment for age, intensity of depression, Mini-Mental State Examination score and speed of information processing, suicidal depressed elderly showed significant impairments in all 3 domains of cognitive inhibition in comparison to both control groups. LIMITATIONS Our results need replication in a larger sample size. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that the inability to inhibit neutral information access to working memory, restrain and delete irrelevant information may impair the patients capacity to respond adequately to stressful situations subsequently leading to an increased risk of suicidal behavior during late-life depression. Interventions may be developed to specifically target cognitive impairment in the prevention of suicide in depressed elderly.

Biology of gait control Vitamin D involvement

Background: Adverse neuromuscular events have been described in case of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations, suggesting that vitamin D may be involved in gait stability. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between stride-to-stride variability of stride time (STV) and serum 25OHD concentration in adults aged 65 years and older. Methods: STV and 25OHD concentration were assessed in 411 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 70.4 ± 1.8 years, 57.9% women). The following established 25OHD thresholds were used: severe 25OHD insufficiency <10 ng/mL, moderate 10–30 ng/mL, and normal >30 ng/mL. Age, number of drugs used per day, use of psychoactive drugs, depressive symptoms, cognitive decline, history of falls, distance visual acuity, lower limb proprioception, center of mass (CoM) motion, and walking speed were considered as potential confounders. Results: A total of 16.6% (n = 68) of subjects had severe 25OHD insufficiency, 70.3% (n = 289) moderate insufficiency, and 13.1% (n = 54) normal concentrations. In the full adjusted and the stepwise backward linear regression models, high STV (worse performance) was associated with severe 25OHD insufficiency (p = 0.028 and p = 0.044, respectively), high CoM motion (p = 0.031 and p = 0.014, respectively), and low lower limb proprioception score (p = 0.017 and p = 0.008, respectively). The stepwise backward regression model also showed that high STV was associated with female gender (p = 0.041). Conclusions: Low serum 25OHD concentrations were associated with high STV reflecting a disturbed gait control. This association could be explained by a possible action of vitamin D on different components involved in gait control.

Vitamin D deficiency-related quadriceps weakness: results of the EPIdémiologie de l'OStéoporose cohort.

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Vitamin D supplementation in older adults: Searching for specific guidelines in nursing homes

BackgroundThe prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency is very high in the nursing home (NH) population. Paradoxically, vitamin D insufficiency is rarely treated despite of strong clinical evidence and recommendations for supplementation. This review aims at reporting the current knowledge of vitamin D supplementation in NH and proposing recommendations adapted to the specificities of this institutional setting.DesignCurrent literature on vitamin D supplementation for NH residents was narratively presented and discussed by the French Group of Geriatrics and Nutrition.ResultVitamin D supplementation is a safe and well-tolerated treatment. Most residents in NH have vitamin D insufficiency, and would benefit from vitamin D supplement. However, only few residents are actually treated. Current specific and personalized protocols for vitamin D supplementation may not be practical for use in NH settings (e.g., assessment of serum vitamin D concentrations before and after supplementation). Therefore, our group proposes a model of intervention based on the systematic supplementation of vitamin D (1,000 IU/day) since the patient’s admission to the NH and throughout his/her stay without the need of a preliminary evaluation of the baseline levels. Calcium should be prescribed only in case of poor dietary calcium intake.ConclusionA population-based rather than individual-based approach may probably improve the management of vitamin D insufficiency in the older population living in NH, without increasing the risks of adverse health problems. The clinical relevance and cost effectiveness of this proposal should be assessed under NH real-world conditions to establish its feasibility.

Dual Task–Related Changes in Gait Performance in Older Adults: A New Way of Predicting Recurrent Falls?

P 5.002), but no association was found between LLN and the presence of DM or different NMCs on univariate multiple logistic regression (P 5.73). Patients with DM are usually recognized as being at high risk for foot-related complications, although the risk of developing a foot ulcer is often underestimated in patients with different NMCs (e.g., hemiplegia, paraplegia, alcoholic neuropathy, neurodegenerative diseases, human immunodeficiency virus, acquire immunodeficiency syndrome). The risk of foot lesions in these persons is as high as in those with DM, and thus, they should be screened and evaluated regularly. The neuropathy prevalence, as tested according to the evaluation of vibration sensitivity, may be underestimated in the presence of cognitive impairment (dementia, Alzheimer’s disease). This study showed a significantly lower prevalence in patients with dementia (61.9% vs 69.2%, P 5.02). The real prevalence of neuropathy and that of at-risk foot could be even higher in long-term hospitals with a high prevalence of cognitive impairment. In conclusion, the prevalence of at-risk foot in a mixed population of patients with multiple comorbidities and disability is high and may be underestimated in patients without DM suffering from neurological disorders and patients without diagnosed DM or loss of pain sensation of other origins. The prevalence of risk factors associated with the at-risk foot can be particularly high in long-term hospitals and nursing homes, as well as in institutions caring for older patients and those with dementia. Thus, in such institutions, screening for LLN and PVD should be performed regularly.