Medical Specialties Commons^™

The Happy Older Latinos Are Active (Hola) Health Promotion And Prevention Study: Study Protocol For A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Daniel E. Jimenez, Charles F. Reynolds, Margarita Alegría, Philip Harvey, Stephen Bartels

Dartmouth Scholarship

Results of previous studies attest to the greater illness burden of common mental disorders (anxiety and depression) in older Latinos and the need for developing preventive interventions that are effective, acceptable, and scalable. Happy Older Latinos are Active (HOLA) is a newly developed intervention that uses a community health worker (CHW) to lead a health promotion program in order to prevent common mental disorders among at-risk older Latinos. This pilot study tests the feasibility and acceptability of delivering HOLA to older, at-risk Latinos.

Methods/Design: HOLA is a multi-component, health promotion intervention funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). …

Dynapenic Obesity And The Effect On Long-Term Physical Function And Quality Of Life: Data From The Osteoarthritis Initiative, John A. Batsis, Alicia J. Zbehlik, Dawna Pidgeon, Stephen J. Bartels

Dartmouth Scholarship

Obesity is associated with functional impairment, institutionalization, and increased mortality risk in elders. Dynapenia is defined as reduced muscle strength and is a known independent predictor of adverse events and disability. The synergy between dynapenia and obesity leads to worse outcomes than either independently. We identified the impact of dynapenic obesity in a cohort at risk for and with knee osteoarthritis on function.

The Impact Of Waist Circumference On Function And Physical Activity In Older Adults: Longitudinal Observational Data From The Osteoarthritis Initiative, John A. Batsis, Alicia J. Zbehlik, Laura K. Barre, Todd A. Mackenzie, Stephen J. Bartels

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: We previously demonstrated that BMI is associated with functional decline and reduced quality of life. While BMI in older adults is fraught with challenges, waist circumference (WC) is a marker of visceral adiposity that can also predict mortality. However, its association with function and quality of life in older adults is not well understood and hence we sought to examine the impact of WC on six-year outcomes.

Methods: We identified adults aged ≥60 years from the longitudinal Osteoarthritis Initiative and stratified the cohort into quartiles based on WC. Our primary outcome measures of function at six year follow-up included: …

Pilot Comparative Effectiveness Study Of Surface Perturbation Treadmill Training To Prevent Falls In Older Adults, Jon D. Lurie, Alexandra B. Zagaria, Dawna M. Pidgeon, Judith L. Forman, Kevin Spratt

Dartmouth Scholarship

Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries among older adults. Exercise programs appear to reduce fall risk, but the optimal type, frequency, and duration of exercise is unknown. External perturbations such as tripping and slipping are a major contributor to falls, and task-specific perturbation training to enhance dynamic stability has emerged as a promising approach to modifying fall risk. The purpose of this pilot study was 1) to determine the feasibility of conducting a large pragmatic randomized trial comparing a multidimensional exercise program inclusive of the surface perturbation treadmill training (SPTT) to multidimensional exercise alone (Standard PT); …