BACKGROUND: Maintaining mobility is fundamental to active aging, allowing older adults to lead dynamic and independent lives. The perception of mobility among older adults significantly impacts their overall well-being and quality of life. Given the aging population, mobility has become an increasingly pressing issue. AIM: This study focused on the perception of urban neighborhoods, including considerations of urban tissue (crossings and sidewalk maintenance), urban scenes (benches and traffic), and safety (fears and street lighting quality). We investigated the differences in the perception of the surroundings of residences by urban and rural seniors concerning their demographic and social characteristics and environmental determinants. METHODS: A quantitative study design utilizing a questionnaire survey was employed. Data were collected mainly through face-to-face interviews in the field (PAPI) and via an online questionnaire (CAWI). The final sample comprised 525 participants. Hypotheses regarding the influence of gender, age, social status, level of physical activity, degree of urbanization, and region on environmental perception were tested using ordinal regression. RESULTS: The hypothesis regarding the dependence of the perception of the surroundings on the level of urbanization was confirmed; that regarding the dependence of the perception of the residence surroundings on seniors' age was not confirmed. The other hypotheses were partially confirmed. For the seven investigated environmental attributes, gender was significant in two cases, social status and physical activity in three cases, and region in four cases. CONCLUSION: While most studies have focused on urban settings, this study highlights the situation in rural municipalities. Substantially worse pedestrian conditions in availability of pedestrian crossings, benches, and lighting were recognized in rural municipalities versus cities. Understanding the complexity of mobility and the spatial locations relevant for older persons concerning potential barriers and facilitators for mobility aids in planning and adapting neighborhood environments to promote active and healthy aging in place.

• Klíčová slova
• mobility, perception, seniors, survey, walking,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

OBJECTIVES: Influenza A and B viruses cause epidemics every year, with approximately 3-5 million serious cases and about 290,000 to 650,000 deaths worldwide. Most patients die from bacterial complications of influenza. The aim of our study was to describe the clinical pictures of influenza and the development of the complications in seniors over 65 years of age, who were treated in University Hospital Pilsen. The course of the disease and changes in laboratory parameters were evaluated with regard to the method of treatment performed. METHODS: A descriptive retrospective study was performed. Clinical and laboratory data of seniors with the diagnosis of influenza were extracted from electronic medical records and later analysed. The data were processed with Excel 2016 and Statistica. RESULTS: A collection of 261 seniors, of whom 218 were hospitalized and 43 treated in an outpatient setting, has been studied. Patients who later developed complications had elevated values of CRP, procalcitonin, urea, and creatinine. The antiviral drug oseltamivir was administered to 226 of 261 seniors. Forty-seven seniors (18.0%) died from influenza and its complications (severe pneumonia with acute respiratory insufficiency or heart failure). CONCLUSIONS: The course of influenza in seniors was usually more severe and required hospitalization along with antiviral treatment. The mortality rate in the monitored group exceeded 18%. Annual timely vaccination, but also other preventive measures, and maybe considering other risk groups are methods to prevent severe or even fatal cases of influenza.

• Klíčová slova
• complications, influenza, respiratory infections, seniors, vaccination,
• MeSH
• antivirové látky * terapeutické užití   MeSH
• chřipka lidská * epidemiologie   komplikace   MeSH
• hospitalizace statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• oseltamivir terapeutické užití   MeSH
• retrospektivní studie MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• virus chřipky A izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antivirové látky * MeSH
• oseltamivir MeSH

At present, a healthy diet appears to be one of the suitable strategies in slowing down cognitive decline in the process of aging. A number of evidence-based studies confirm its efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness. The aim of this mini review is to evaluate and describe recent randomized clinical and cohort studies exploring the effect of healthy diet on cognitive performance among healthy seniors, as well as to update the existing information on this research issue. For these reasons, the authors reviewed full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles written in English and available in Web of Science and PubMed between September 2017 and February 2020. Altogether nine original studies were detected. The results indicate that healthy diet and healthy diet components generally have a positive impact on the enhancement of cognitive functions. Furthermore, the findings reveal that dietary patterns, as well as single nutrients might have a significant effect on specific cognitive domains, such as memory in general, episodic memory, or processing speed. It also seems that a strict adherence to the dietary patterns and a higher diet variety have a more significant effect on the improvement of cognitive functions. Nevertheless, there seem to be gender differences in dietary behavior. More recently, personalized dietary interventions started to be used in delaying cognitive decline among healthy seniors. Therefore, more randomized control trials or N-of-1 trials should be performed in this research area in order to detect the most suitable dietary pattern or nutrients, which would, together with other modifiable lifestyle factors, contribute to the improvement of quality of life of the aging population.

• Klíčová slova
• cognition, cognitive decline, diet, dietary patterns, nutrients, prevention, seniors,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH

BACKGROUND: Non-adherence to treatment in seniors with dementia is a frequent and potentially dangerous phenomenon in routine clinical practice which might lead to the inappropriate treatment of a patient, including the risk of intoxication. There might be different causes of non-adherence in patients with dementia: memory impairment, sensory disturbances, limitations in mobility, economical reasons limiting access to health care and medication. Non-adherence leads to serious clinical consequences as well as being a challenge for public health. AIM: to estimate prevalence of non-adherence in seniors with dementia and to study correlation between cognitive decline and non-adherence. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Prospective study, analyzing medical records of seniors with dementia admitted to the inpatient psychogeriatric ward in the Kromeriz mental hospital from January 2010 to January 2011. Cognitive decline measured by MMSE, prevalence of Non-adherence to treatment and reasons for patient Non-adherence were studied. RESULTS: Non-adherence to any treatment was detected in 31.3% of seniors; memory impairment was the most common cause of non-adherence to treatment. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, non-adherence to treatment in the studied group of seniors with dementia correlates with the severity of cognitive impairment - a higher cognitive decline correlates with a higher risk of non-adherence to treatment.

• Klíčová slova
• Dementia, Drug interactions, Memory impairment, Non-adherence, Seniors, Visual disturbances,
• MeSH
• adherence pacienta statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• demence terapie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• prevalence MeSH
• prospektivní studie MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate effects of a six-month intensive dance-exercise intervention (DI) on cognition and brain structure in a mixed group of healthy seniors and people with mild cognitive impairment. METHODS: Subjects (aged ˃ 60 years with no dementia or depression) were randomly assigned to either a DI group or a life as usual (LAU) group. Detailed neuropsychological testing, measures of physical fitness and brain MRI encompassing T1 structural and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were performed at baseline and after 6 months. We assessed changes in cortical thickness and DTI parameters derived from tract-based spatial statistics. RESULTS: Altogether 62 individuals (n = 31 in the DI group) completed the protocol. The groups were matched for their demographic and clinical variables. After 6 months, we found significant cortical thickening in the right inferior temporal, fusiform and lateral occipital regions in the dancers compared to controls. Significant increases of radial and mean diffusivity were observed in various white matter tracts in the dancers; however, no differences were observed between the DI and LAU groups. The DI group as compared to the LAU group showed subtle improvements in executive functions. CONCLUSIONS: We observed DI-induced improvement in executive functions and increases of cortical thickness in the lateral occipitotemporal cortex which is engaged in action observation, visuomotor integration and action imitation, that is activities that are all important for motor learning and executing skilled movements.

• Klíčová slova
• DTI, MRI, cognitive, cortical thickness, dance-exercise intervention, healthy seniors, lateral temporo-occipital cortex, mild cognitive impairment,
• MeSH
• difuzní magnetická rezonance MeSH
• kognice * MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mozek * MeSH
• neuropsychologické testy MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• tanec * MeSH
• terapie cvičením metody   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• randomizované kontrolované studie MeSH

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Nutrition is an important social determinant of health that influences the ageing process. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional condition of a group of seniors and identify the bio-psycho-social factors that increase the risk of malnutrition. METHODS: The research was conducted using a quantitative method. The standardised scales Mini Nutritional Assessment - Short Form (MNA-SF) and the Geriatric depression scale (GDS-5) were used to evaluate the nutritional condition and tendency towards depression of the tested group. This group consisted of seniors aged 75 and above living in home environment in the České Budějovice region. The group was comprised of 320 seniors, 115 men (35.9%) and 205 women (64.1%), which corresponds to the composition of the population in the chosen region of the Czech Republic. Statistical data analysis was conducted using SASD 1.4.10 and SPSS 15.0 programs. Pearson's chi-squared test (Χ²) and Cramér's V were chosen for statistical testing. The significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: The average BMI value of the seniors was 26.2 kg/m² (overweight). This value decreased with age. More than one third of the respondents were evaluated as being at risk of malnutrition (36.3%). Unintended weight loss was determined as the strongest risk factor of malnutrition. Seniors who had lowered their food intake stated unintended weight loss 10 times more often than respondents with no noticeable reduction in food intake. Seniors who showed signs of depression indicated weight loss three and a half times more often than respondents without depression. Meanwhile acute illness increased the risk by three times. Depression was found to be the cause and also the consequence of malnutrition. CONCLUSION: Despite the high prevalence of overweight and obesity, a large proportion of the respondents were running the risk of malnutrition. It was concluded that the strongest risk factors for malnutrition in the respondents were unintended weight loss, depression and lowered food intake. Compared to biological factors, social and economic factors were less significant in causing malnutrition in seniors.

• Klíčová slova
• malnutrition, nourishment, nutritional assessment, risk factors, seniors,
• MeSH
• charakteristiky bydlení MeSH
• deprese epidemiologie   MeSH
• geriatrické hodnocení * MeSH
• index tělesné hmotnosti MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• podvýživa epidemiologie   MeSH
• rizikové faktory MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to map the selected indicators of health literacy in the senior population via a qualitative survey that focused specifically on its relationship with autonomy in the context of health literacy among seniors. METHODS: A qualitative survey focused on the selected indicators of health literacy of seniors living in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic (R1-19). The snowball sampling method was intentionally selected. Completed interviews were transcribed and data was reduced, analyzed, and categorized. The identified categories were 1) information comprehension, 2) decision-making in healthcare, and 3) compliance with nonpharmacologic treatment. RESULTS: The 'information comprehension' category clearly shows that the seniors involved in this study rated the comprehensibility of information provided by medical professionals as being good. An especially positive finding was that seniors do seek information through the internet, print sources, or other media, even though, as one senior (80-year-old woman) said, comprehension of medical information is becoming "more and more complex". The 'decision-making in healthcare' category touched upon opinions regarding informed consent and opinions regarding seniors' own involvement in healthcare. Results from this category suggest that seniors accept informed consent as a routine necessity. Inhibition regarding personal involvement in healthcare was also apparent: "... I come from a family accustomed to not bothering the doctor unnecessarily, so I just stick out my arm..." The last category of 'compliance with nonpharmacologic treatment' clearly shows that respondents are informed regarding lifestyle modifications that would benefit their treatment, although, few respondents had achieved the desired lifestyle changes. CONCLUSION: Results of this qualitative research show clear health literacy limits among seniors. As shown in this study, age itself could also be a limiting factor of health literacy.

• MeSH
• chování při vyhledávání informací * MeSH
• kvalitativní výzkum MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• zdravotní gramotnost statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

INTRODUCTION: Polypharmacy (polypharmacotherapy) is a serious problem among seniors. The aim of the work was to compare pharmacotherapy and polypharmacy among seniors in social facilities in 2001 and 2019. METHODOLOGY: As of December 31, 2001, we collected data on the pharmacotherapy of 151 residents of two retirement homes (average age 75.1 years, 68.9% women). We compared the results with the pharmacotherapy of residents of two facilities for seniors as of October 31, 2019 (237 seniors, average age 80.5 years, 73.4% women). According to the medical records, we determined and compared the regularly used medicines of all residents, the use of medicines by age and sex, the use of 0-4 medicines, 5-9 medicines, 5 or more medicines, 10 or more medicines and the groups of medicines according to the ATC classification. For statistical processing, we used the t-test and chi-square test. RESULTS: In 2001, residents regularly used a total of 891 medicines, 18 years later, they used a total of 2099 medicines. We observed a significant increase in the average number of regularly used medications per resident by more than a half (from 5.90 medications to 8.86 medications), in women from 6.11 drugs to 9.24 drugs and in men from 5.45 drugs to 7.81 drugs. The number of residents with polypharmacy (regular use of ≥ 5 drugs) increased by almost a quarter (from 70.2% to 87.3%), and the number of seniors with excessive polypharmacy (regular use of ≥ 10 drugs) increased 4.6 times (from 9, 3% to 43.5%). CONCLUSION: Our work confirmed that over the course of 18 years, the number of medications used by seniors in social-type institutions has increased. It also points to the trend of increasing polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy among seniors, especially at the age of 75+ and among women.

• Klíčová slova
• pharmacotherapy, polypharmacotherapy, polypharmacy, seniors, social institutions,
• MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• polypharmacy * MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

This survey study has five parts. In the first part two conceptual approaches to humor are characterized. One considers "the comic" to be an umbrella concept, and humor is only one of its rather positive forms. The other comes out from the umbrella concept "humor", and distinguishes between various forms of humor including the negative ones. Three main theories of humor are presented: theory of superiority, theory of incongruity, and a relief theory. The second part introduces humor in the elderly and draws the attention to the fact that we know relatively little about humor in old age because most research has been carried out in children, adolescents or adults in productive age. The third part of the study describes the process of diagnostics of humor in the elderly. For example, within the qualitative methods, in-depth interviews with seniors or analyses of their diary entries are used. Within quantitative methods, questionnaires are used, and this study presents the survey of seven most frequent ones applied in the studies of humor in the elderly. In the context of mixed methods, understanding of humor in young and seniors, or understanding of humor in relatively healthy seniors and seniors after stroke are compared. The fourth part of the study presents the Gelkopfs model on relationship between humor, treatment and cure of patients. The fifth part of the study demonstrates the options how to use humor to improve the mental state of the elderly (by means of individual or group interventions).

• Klíčová slova
• humor of old age - seniors - psychosomatics - therapy - research - assessment - intervention.,
• MeSH
• cévní mozková příhoda psychologie   MeSH
• interview psychologický MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• rehabilitace po cévní mozkové příhodě MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• stárnutí psychologie   MeSH
• vtip a humor jako téma * MeSH
• vztahy mezi lékařem a pacientem MeSH
• zdravotnické přehledy MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

OBJECTIVES: The main aim of the article is to indicate how selected socioeconomic factors contribute to the selected characteristics of the subjectively perceived health of seniors 65+ living in the Czech Republic. METHODS: Data collection took place in the Czech Republic from 27 January 2020 to 14 February 2020. The total number of interviews carried out in the research was 1,172, from a representative quota sample of seniors from the senior population living in the Czech Republic. Questionnaires were distributed in the form of PAPI interviews. RESULTS: The assessment of subjective social status increases with education and employment (these three aspects are closely linked), and the assessment transferred to the senior years. CONCLUSION: The accumulation of advantages and disadvantages should encourage the Government of the Czech Republic, as well as other European states, to focus on those who, based on their low levels of education and social status, have very low assessments of their subjective health. Prevention (in both health and social fields), which includes access to information and the subsequent better life decisions, must be implemented throughout a person's lifetime (so as to reduce the disadvantages that accumulate from the cradle to the grave).

• Klíčová slova
• elderly, health, social exclusion, social status, socioeconomic inequalities,
• MeSH
• disparity zdravotního stavu MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• socioekonomické faktory * MeSH
• zdravotní stav MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH