1 Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Centro Neurolesi, Italy.
2 Istituto di Scienze Applicate e Sistemi Intelligenti (ISASI), Italy.
J Telemed Telecare. 2019 Jun;25(5):318-324. doi: 10.1177/1357633X17753057. Epub 2018 Feb 6.
Elderly care is a worldwide social and economic challenge for the public health system, and it requires the development of new management strategies. Telemedicine provides an innovative approach towards elderly care, especially for those with chronic diseases. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the potential role of a multidisciplinary telemedicine approach for improving elderly quality of life.
Twenty-two participants received weekly vital parameter monitoring and nutritional counselling, biweekly psychological counselling and a monthly consultation with a neurologist. The neuropsychological assessment included the Mini Mental State Examination, the Activities of Daily Living, the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Short-Form Health Survey, and was administered at enrolment (T0) and at the end of the study (T3). The nutritional evaluation included haematochemical examinations of glycaemia, total cholesterol, and triglycerides at baseline (T0) and every four months (T1, T2, T3).
Significant differences in Activities of Daily Living, Geriatric Depression Scale and all domains of the Short-Form Health Survey were observed between baseline and the end of the study. The haematochemical parameters showed obvious changes over time, especially in cholesterol values, and the patients with hypercholesterolaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia showed a reduction in body mass index. Moreover, we found that the haematochemical values were moderately correlated with the Activities of Daily Living, Geriatric Depression Scale and Short-Form Health Survey scores.
Telemedicine can be a suitable tool for caring for elderly people more efficiently by promoting the remission of depressive symptoms and improving social functioning, cognitive levels and nutritional habits to prevent vascular diseases and exacerbations of pre-existing chronic illness.
老年人护理是全球公共卫生系统面临的社会和经济挑战，需要制定新的管理策略。远程医疗为老年人护理提供了一种创新方法，尤其适用于患有慢性病的老年人。在这项研究中，我们旨在评估多学科远程医疗方法在改善老年人生活质量方面的潜力。
22 名参与者接受了每周生命参数监测和营养咨询、每两周一次的心理咨询以及每月与神经科医生的咨询。神经心理学评估包括简易精神状态检查、日常生活活动、工具性日常生活活动、老年抑郁量表和简明健康调查，在入组时（T0）和研究结束时（T3）进行。营养评估包括基线时（T0）和每四个月（T1、T2、T3）的血糖、总胆固醇和甘油三酯的血液化学检查。
日常生活活动、老年抑郁量表和简明健康调查所有领域的评分在基线和研究结束时均有显著差异。血液化学参数随时间明显变化，尤其是胆固醇值，高胆固醇血症和高甘油三酯血症患者的体重指数有所下降。此外，我们发现血液化学值与日常生活活动、老年抑郁量表和简明健康调查评分中度相关。
远程医疗可以成为一种有效的工具，通过促进抑郁症状的缓解和改善社会功能、认知水平和营养习惯，来更有效地护理老年人，从而预防血管疾病和加重现有慢性疾病。
