Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34216378›Full record

ArticleAging clinical and experimental research2021

Symptom burden in community-dwelling older people: temporal trends in the Helsinki Aging Study.

T E Lehti, H Öhman, M Knuutila, H Kautiainen, H Karppinen, R Tilvis, T Strandberg, K H Pitkälä

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Article in Aging clinical and experimental research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

T E LehtiDepartment of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. tuuli.lehti@helsinki.fi.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1861-8576
H ÖhmanGeriatric Medicine, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
M KnuutilaDepartment of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
H KautiainenDepartment of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
H KarppinenDepartment of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
R TilvisGeriatric Medicine, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
T StrandbergGeriatric Medicine, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
K H PitkäläDepartment of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChanges in older people's symptoms across recent decades have not been investigated.

aimsWe analyzed temporal trends in symptom burden by comparing data from independent, cross-sectional cohorts retrieved in 1989, 1999, 2009, and 2019. Furthermore, we compared the association between symptom burden and psychological wellbeing (PWB) in older men and women.

methodsThe Helsinki Aging Study recruited a random sample of people aged 75, 80, and 85 in 1989, and random samples aged 75, 80, 85, 90, and 95 in 1999, 2009, and 2019 (four study waves). Altogether, 6263 community-dwelling people answered the questions concerning symptoms in the questionnaire surveys. The symptoms inquired in all study waves were dizziness, back pain, joint pain, chest pain, shortness of breath, and loss of appetite. Symptom burden was calculated according to the number of symptoms and their frequency (score range: 0-6). PWB and the Charlson comorbidity index were calculated.

resultsSymptom burden decreased in both men and women aged 75 and 80 from 1989 to 2019. Changes in cohorts aged 85 + were nonsignificant. There was a significant difference in symptom burden between men and women in all ages with men having fewer symptoms. PWB decreased with increasing symptom burden. Men had greater PWB than women up to severe levels of symptom burden.

conclusionsSymptom burden decreased from 1989 to 2019 in cohorts aged 75-80, whereas changes remained nonsignificant in cohorts aged 85 +. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine temporal trends in symptom burden.

Indexed as

AgingIndependent LivingAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleSurveys and QuestionnairesAgedMultimorbidityOldest-oldPsychological wellbeingSymptom burdenTemporal trends

Identifiers

PMID34216378
PMCPMC8595189

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