美国印第安老年人的共病情况:本土老年人护理研究。
Comorbidity among older American Indians: the native elder care study.
作者信息
Goins R Turner, Pilkerton Courtney S
机构信息
Department of Community Medicine, Center on Aging, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 9127, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
出版信息
J Cross Cult Gerontol. 2010 Dec;25(4):343-54. doi: 10.1007/s10823-010-9119-5.
Comorbidity is a growing challenge and the older adult population is most at risk of developing comorbid conditions. Comorbidity is associated with increased risk of mortality, increased hospitalizations, increased doctor visits, increased prescription medications, nursing home placement, poorer mental health, and physical disability. American Indians experience some of the highest rates of chronic conditions, but to date there have been only two published studies on the subject of comorbidity in this population. With a community-based sample of 505 American Indians aged 55 years or older, this study identified the most prevalent chronic conditions, described comorbidity, and identified socio-demographic, functional limitations, and psychosocial correlates of comorbidity. Results indicated that older American Indians experience higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, back pain, and vision loss compared to national statistics of older adults. Two-thirds of the sample experienced some degree of comorbidity according to the scale used. Older age, poorer physical functioning, more depressive symptomatology, and lower personal mastery were all correlates of higher comorbidity scores. Despite medical advances increasing life expectancy, morbidity and mortality statistics suggest that the health of older American Indians lags behind the majority population. These findings highlight the importance of supporting chronic care and management services for the older American Indian population.
共病是一个日益严峻的挑战,老年人群体患共病的风险最高。共病与死亡率增加、住院次数增多、就诊次数增加、处方药使用增加、入住疗养院、心理健康状况较差以及身体残疾有关。美国印第安人患慢性病的比例在某些方面是最高的,但迄今为止,关于该人群共病问题的已发表研究仅有两项。本研究以505名55岁及以上的美国印第安人为社区样本,确定了最常见的慢性病,描述了共病情况,并确定了共病的社会人口统计学、功能限制和心理社会相关因素。结果表明,与全国老年人群体的统计数据相比,美国印第安老年人患高血压、糖尿病、背痛和视力丧失的比例更高。根据所使用的量表,三分之二的样本存在一定程度的共病。年龄较大、身体功能较差、抑郁症状较多以及个人掌控感较低均与较高的共病得分相关。尽管医学进步提高了预期寿命,但发病率和死亡率统计数据表明,美国印第安老年人的健康状况落后于大多数人群。这些发现凸显了为美国印第安老年人群体提供慢性护理和管理服务的重要性。