METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted among patients and primary care trainees (known henceforth as doctors). Patients aged ≥ 60 years, having ≥ 1 chronic disease and prescribed ≥ 5 medications and could communicate in either English or Malay were recruited. Doctors and patients were purposively sampled based on their stage of training as family medicine specialists and ethnicity, respectively. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic approach was used to analyse data.

RESULTS: Twenty-four in-depth interviews (IDIs) with patients and four focus group discussions (FGDs) with 23 doctors were conducted. Four themes emerged: understanding the concept of deprescribing, the necessity to perform deprescribing, concerns regarding deprescribing and factors influencing deprescribing. Patients were receptive to the idea of deprescribing when the term was explained to them, whilst doctors had a good understanding of deprescribing. Both patients and doctors would deprescribe when the necessity outweighed their concerns. Factors that influenced deprescribing were doctor-patient rapport, health literacy among patients, external influences from carers and social media, and system challenges.

METHODS: We searched eight databases to identify relevant articles from their inception to April 2024. Experimental studies that evaluate the effects of mind-body movement therapy on sleep disturbance and depression in older adults were included. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool version 2.0 was used to appraise included studies. The pairwise meta-analysis was performed through the software Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 3.0. Moreover, subgroup analysis was utilized to understand the effect size on each form of mind-body exercise and to determine the source of heterogeneity.

RESULTS: A total of 27 studies were eligible and synthesized. The mind-body exercise appears statistically significant in reducing sleep disturbance (SMD = -0.60, 95% CI: 0.76 ∼ 0.44) and depression (SMD = -0.56, 95% CI: 0.75 ∼ 0.36) among older adults. Each form of mind-body exercise, including pilates, yoga, qigong, and tai-chi, effectively decreases sleep disturbance and depression, but there were no significant differences in the effects between these practices.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the spatiotemporal gait parameters and indicators of turning difficulty during the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test in older adults with BPPV.

METHODS: This case-controlled study collected data from older adults aged 65 and above with BPPV, young adults with BPPV and older adults without BPPV. Postural stability and self-perception of stability were measured using the Functional Gait Analysis and the Malay version of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, respectively. The spatiotemporal gait parameters were recorded using a camera. The one-way ANOVA test was used for statistical analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study involving patients who are under follow-up at the Chronic Pain Clinic, Hospital Pulau Pinang for more than a year and received telemedicine during this pandemic. Participants had to fill out a self-administered questionnaire. Once respondents completed the questionnaires, the answered questionnaires were collected for analysis.

RESULTS: A total of 154 patients between 22 and 88 years old were included in this study. Most of the participants had a history of pain for more than 3 years (44.2%). The majority of our patients are still working (55.8%). From the patients who were working, 7.8% of them lost their jobs during the pandemic. 31.2% of patients reported that the pain condition had worsened while the rest did not experience any difference in their pain condition. More than half (59%) of the patients' reported telemedicine was beneficial for their pain management, while only 41% felt that their telemedicine was helpless for their pain management during the pandemic.

METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted in accordance with the PRISMA criteria. The PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Magiran, and Google Scholar databases were searched with no lower time limit up till 26 August 2020. The heterogeneity of the studies was measured using the I2 test, and the publication bias was assessed by the Begg and Mazumdar's test at the significance level of 0.1.

RESULTS: After following the systematic review processes, 86 studies were selected for meta-analysis. The sample size of the study was 103,334,579 people in the age range of 15-105 years. Using meta-analysis, the prevalence of osteoporosis in the world was reported to be 18.3 (95% CI 16.2-20.7). Based on 70 studies and sample size of 800,457 women, and heterogenicity I2: 99.8, the prevalence of osteoporosis in women of the world was reported to be 23.1 (95% CI 19.8-26.9), while the prevalence of osteoporosis among men of the world was found to be 11.7 (95% CI 9.6-14.1 which was based on 40 studies and sample size of 453,964 men.). The highest prevalence of osteoporosis was reported in Africa with 39.5% (95% CI 22.3-59.7) and a sample size of 2989 people with the age range 18-95 years.

METHODS: The searches were completed in April 2024 using the databases PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, and Embase. Fifteen studies with a total of 1041 participants were included. These studies used quantitative measures to assess mania and depression in participants aged 50-98 with BD I or II. The studies' risk of bias was evaluated using the appropriate critical appraisal tools.

RESULTS: The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) was the most commonly used measure of mania, while the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) were the most commonly used measures of depression. The pooled analysis revealed that older adult scores on the YMRS were relatively similar to younger cohorts in both euthymic and manic states. Variability in scores was seen across the depression scales.

LIMITATIONS: The review followed rigorous systematic processes. However, in some studies, the participant's mood state was unknown, possibly impacting their pooled scores on the measures.

METHODS: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science up to October 2024. Articles were screened using Nested Knowledge software by two independent reviewers. Eligible studies included those involving geriatric cancer patients aged 60 years or older reporting on fall prevalence. Quality assessment was performed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and meta-analysis was conducted using random-effects models with R software.

RESULTS: From 1,365 identified studies, 86 met the inclusion criteria, encompassing 180,974 participants. The pooled prevalence of falls was 24% (95% CI, 20%-28%), with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 100%). Country- and cancer-type-specific analyses revealed variability in fall prevalence, with breast cancer patients showing the highest prevalence. The comparative risk analysis did not show a statistically significant difference in fall risk between cancer patients and non-cancer controls.

METHODS: This study aimed to investigate the association among physical activity (PA), functional fitness, and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults, and to examine whether functional fitness mediates this association. This study utilized a cross-sectional design, encompassing 224 participants aged 65 or above, with 41.07% male and 58.93% female. The data were collected in 2023 using the Mini-Mental State Examination, Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly, and Senior Fitness Test. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to assess associations among the variables, and mediation analysis was performed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

METHODOLOGY: This study involved 194 older adults with probable sarcopenia and sarcopenia aged 60 years and above. Sarcopenia was assessed using the Asian Working Group of Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019. Among the parameters investigated in this study were sociodemographic, medical history, anthropometry, body composition, physical fitness, subjective cognitive decline, depressive symptoms, cognitive function and functional status. Dementia risk was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tool. Adjusted binary logistic regression was employed to identify the factors associated with dementia among probable sarcopenia and sarcopenia older adults.

RESULTS: Probable sarcopenia subjects with dementia were older (68.5(7.8) years old) as compared to those without dementia (66.0(6.0) years old). Among the probable sarcopenia, 66.1% of the subjects with dementia had hypertension, while 64.3% of the sarcopenia subjects had hypertension. Fat mass was significantly higher among dementia subjects with probable sarcopenia (33.0(6.5) %) as compared to non-dementia subjects (30.4(6.8) %). Multivariate analysis revealed that hypertension (OR: 4.049; 95% CI: 1.510; 10.855, p = 0.005) was the only factor associated with dementia risk among older adults with probable sarcopenia and sarcopenia.