ArticleSpringerPlus2015
Heterogeneity of the definition of elderly age in current orthopaedic research.
Article in SpringerPlus, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 144 citations in OpenAlex.
- Implementation science in care for older adults across healthcare settings: a scoping review.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of Loco-regional Anaesthetic Techniques Versus General Anaesthesia in Women Aged ≥ 65 Undergoing Primary Breast Cancer Surgery: A Systematic Review of the Literature.Advances in therapy · 2026Pooled it
- Is surgical treatment better than non-surgical treatment for proximal humeral fracture in elderly people? A meta-analysis and meta-regression.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of geriatric rehabilitation in inpatient and day hospital settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Oncoplastic breast surgery in older women with primary breast cancer: systematic review.The British journal of surgery · 2023Pooled it
- Interventions to Reduce Hospital Readmissions in Older African Americans: A Systematic Review of Studies Including African American Patients.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2023Pooled it
- Relationship between Oral Health Status and Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Older People: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Immediate breast reconstruction uptake in older women with primary breast cancer: systematic review.The British journal of surgery · 2022Pooled it
- Surgical Management of Chronic Subdural Hematoma in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2021Pooled it
- Prevalence of Insomnia Symptoms in Older Chinese Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Behavioural Interventions Promoting Healthy Eating among Older People.Nutrients · 2018Pooled it
- A prospective randomized control trial comparing outcomes of casting, pinning, and plating for distal end of radius fractures (AO type A2, A3, C1, or C2) in the elderly population.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2024Trial
- Critically Exploring Vulnerability in Frail Older Adults Following a Fall.Nursing philosophy : an international journal for healthcare professionals · 2026Article
- No-Flow Duration and Outcomes After Cardiogenic Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Older Adults.JAMA network open · 2026Observational
- Upper extremity motor score required for clean intermittent catheterization in individuals with spinal cord injury.Spinal cord · 2026Article
- Different Alginate Spherification Methods for Producing Hydrogel Beads Loaded with Vitamins B9 and B12 to Support Hydration in Older Adults with Dysphagia.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Violence against the elderly: a retrospective analysis from a forensic medicine perspective.Ulusal travma ve acil cerrahi dergisi = Turkish journal of trauma & emergency surgery : TJTES · 2026Article
- Relationship Between Prognostic Nutritional Index and Stroke-Associated Pneumonia in Elderly Patients: A Two-Center Study of Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Characteristics of Prehabilitation Utilization Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries Undergoing Elective Inpatient Lower Extremity Joint Replacement.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Article
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Medical research often defines a person as elderly when they are 65 years of age or above, however defining elderly age by chronology alone has its limitations. Moreover, potential variability in definitions of elderly age can make interpretation of the collective body of evidence within a particular field of research confusing. Our research goals were to (1) evaluate published orthopaedic research and determine whether there is variability in proposed definitions of an elderly person, and (2) to determine whether variability exists within the important research sub-group of hip fractures. A defined search protocol was used within PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library that identified orthopaedic research articles published in 2012 that stated within their objective, intent to examine an intervention in an elderly population. 80 studies that included 271,470 patients were identified and subject to analysis. Four (5 %) studies failed to define their elderly population. The remaining 76 (95 %) studies all defined elderly age by chronology alone. Definitions of an elderly person ranged from 50 to 80 years and above. The most commonly used age to define an elderly person was 65, however this accounted for only 38 (47.5 %) of studies. Orthopedic research appears to favor defining elderly age by chronology alone, and there is considerable heterogeneity amongst these definitions. This may confuse interpretation of the evidence base in areas of orthopaedic research that focus on elderly patients. The findings of this study underline the importance of future research in orthopaedics adopting validated frailty index measures so that population descriptions in older patients are more uniform and clinically relevant.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.