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Key Publications in Aging & Geriatrics

Study Examples | Key Publications | Intro

A few key publications are listed below:

Most of more than 4,000 Group Health members aged 65 and older think that aging well has physical, functional, psychological, and social dimensions. Yet of the previously published work describing attributes of successful aging, none includes all four of these dimensions. Future work would benefit from an expanded definition to reflect older adults' perceptions. 

—Phelan EA, Anderson LA, LaCroix AZ, Larson EB (2004). Older adults' views of "successful aging"-how do they compare with researchers' definitions? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 52 (2): 211–216.

For more than 500 Group Health members newly recognized to have Alzheimer's disease, median survival from initial diagnosis was 4.2 years for men and 5.7 years for women. Survival duration was shorter than predicted on the basis of U.S. population data, especially for people with onset at relatively younger ages, more severe cognitive impairment, decreased functional level, a history of falls, physical examination findings of abnormal reflexes, and abnormal gait.

—Larson EB, Shadlen MF, Wang L, McCormick WC, Bowen JD, Teri L, Kukull WA (2004). Survival after diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Annals of Internal Medicine, 140 (7): 501–509.

Two interventions—home-based exercise training, combined with teaching caregivers how to manage behavioral problems—improved physical health and depression in people with Alzheimer's disease, when compared with routine care. The researchers suggest that these interventions could help reduce functional dependence and delay institutionalization among these patients. 

—Teri L, Gibbons LE, McCurry SM, Logsdon RG, Buchner DM, Barlow WE, Kukull WA, LaCroix AZ, McCormick W, Larson EB (2003). Exercise plus behavioral management in patients with Alzheimer disease: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 290 (15): 2015-2022.

The IMPACT collaborative-care model, tested at Group Health and eight other health plans, appears to be feasible and significantly more effective than usual care for depression in a wide range of primary care practices: After a year, 45 percent of intervention patients had at least a 50 percent reduction in their depressive symptoms; only 19 percent of those with standard care had less depression after a year. Few depressed older adults receive effective treatment in standard primary care settings.

—Unutzer J, Katon W et al. (2002). Collaborative care management of late-life depression in the primary care setting: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288 (22): 2836–2845.

In this analysis of the ACT population of more than 2,000 Group Health members, the incidence rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease were consistent with those found in recent U.S. and European cohort studies. Rates rose with age and the apolipoprotein E genotype. They fell with educational level and baseline cognitive screening test scores, which are associated with each other.

—Kukull WA, Higdon R, Bowen JD, McCormick WC, Teri L, Schellenberg GD, van Belle G, Jolley L, Larson EB (2002). Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease incidence: A prospective cohort study. Archives of Neurology, 59 (11): 1737–1746.

Study Examples | Key Publications | Intro

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