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Geriatrics research

Everything we have read on geriatrics. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

1,154 PAPERS · PAGE 14 OF 24 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTCase Series2022Clinical features of dementia cases ascertained by ICD coding in LIMBIC-CENC multicenter study of mild traumatic brain injury.Brain injuryFive service members and veterans with mTBI had dementia codes; all had moderate or severe daily-life disability. Two of five had study cognitive test results that did not support a dementia diagnosis, so ICD coding alone may be unreliable.
• PTOTSLPCase-Control2022Traumatic Brain Injury and Early Onset Dementia in Post 9-11 Veterans.Brain injuryPost-9/11 Veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury had three times the odds of early-onset dementia compared to matched controls. The risk was nearly six times higher for frontotemporal dementia than for Alzheimer's, suggesting TBI may specifically drive FTD pathology.
• PTOTOther2022Performance of machine learning models in estimation of ground reaction forces during balance exergaming.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAn LSTM model accurately estimated vertical ground reaction force from 2D video during balance exergaming, with errors under 11% body weight. This suggests standard cameras could provide real-time weight-shifting biofeedback for home use, though horizontal force estimation was less accurate.
• PTOTCohort2022Assessment of changes in muscle mass, strength, and quality and activities of daily living in elderly stroke patients.International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de readaptationStroke patients improved activities of daily living over four weeks when muscle strength and muscle quality improved. Muscle mass did not track recovery and even tended to fall, so mass is a poor marker of rehabilitation progress.
• PTOTCohort2022Fear of falling avoidance behavior affects the inter-relationship between vision impairment and diminished mobility in community-dwelling older adults.Physiotherapy theory and practiceVision acuity scores did not predict mobility, but diagnosed eye disease and fear of falling avoidance did. Avoidance behavior partially explained why eye disease led to slower movement. Screen for eye disease and fear, not just acuity.
• PTOTSLPOther2022Kinematic synergies in over-ground slip recovery outcomes: Distinct strategies or a single strategy?Gait & postureSplit falls and recoveries use similar movement patterns before and during the initial slip response, but differ significantly in the late recovery phase. Feet-forward falls resemble recoveries until the final step. This suggests split fallers may need more intensive, multi-phase training than feet-forward fallers.
• PTOTOther2022Comparison of the Lower Extremity Kinematics and Center of Mass Variations in Sit-to-Stand and Stand-to-Sit Movements of Older Fallers and Nonfallers.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationOlder men with a history of falls showed significantly more side-to-side body sway and exaggerated trunk bending during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit compared to non-fallers. These movement patterns were most unstable when sitting down, suggesting sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit are not simply opposite actions.
• PTOTQualitative2021Older Adults' Perceptions Regarding the Role of Physical Therapists in Fall Prevention: A Qualitative Investigation.Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)Most older adults in this study did not know physical therapists can prevent falls. They viewed PTs as treating specific problems or injuries, not as a resource for prevention. Barriers included perceived lack of need, cost, and a belief that a doctor's prescription was required.
• PTOTSurveyPerceived Neighborhood Walkability is Associated with Recent Falls in Urban Dwelling Older Adults.Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)Older adults who fell recently perceived it as harder to walk to stores and transit stops than those who did not fall. Therapists should ask about these specific access issues before prescribing outdoor walking, as perceived difficulty correlates with fall risk.
• PTOTPilot2022Blood Flow Restricted Walking in Elderly Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Feasibility Study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineNine of 14 older adults with knee arthritis completed 8–10 weeks of blood-flow-restricted walking, showing improved functional performance but no change in self-reported knee function. Five withdrew, mostly due to discomfort or pain. Adherence was high among completers.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Timed "Up & Go" Dual-Task Tests: Age- and Sex-Specific Reference Values and Test-Retest Reliability in Cognitively Healthy Controls.Physical therapyTimed Up & Go dual-task time scores are highly reliable, but verbal outputs and cost measures vary widely between tests. Use time scores for consistent monitoring. Do not rely on animal naming counts to track small changes or evaluate interventions.
• PTOTOther2021Is the dynamic gait index a useful outcome to measure balance and ambulation in patients with cerebellar ataxia?Gait & postureThe Dynamic Gait Index reliably and validly measures balance and walking in ambulatory adults with cerebellar ataxia. Scores from different therapists and repeated tests matched closely. This gives clinicians a standardized activity-level outcome for tracking progress in this population.
• PTOTRCT2022Fall arrest strategy training improves upper body response time compared to standard fall prevention exercise in older women: A randomized trial.Clinical rehabilitationAdding upper body fall-arrest training to standard exercise improved right-arm response speed in older women. Both groups improved balance and strength similarly, but only the fall-arrest group reacted faster to touch targets.
• PTOTOther2021Concurrent validity of the step time and walking speed obtained from the smartphone application CareCoaching in independent, community-dwelling older adults.Journal of physical therapy scienceA smartphone app accurately measured step time but overestimated walking speed in community-dwelling older adults. Step time agreement was excellent, while walking speed agreement was only moderate to good, with errors increasing as participants walked faster.
• PTOTCase-Control2022Individuals with Higher Levels of Physical Activity after Stroke Show Comparable Patterns of Myelin to Healthy Older Adults.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairStroke survivors who were more physically active showed brain myelin patterns comparable to healthy older adults, unlike those with low activity levels. This suggests physical activity may protect against myelin asymmetry after stroke, independent of motor impairment or arm use differences.
• OTCohort2021The impact of COVID-19 on the social inclusion of older adults with an intellectual disability during the first wave of the pandemic in Ireland.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDROlder adults with intellectual disabilities interviewed after the first lockdown reported significantly higher access to and use of technology, and more frequent family contact, than those interviewed before. Contact with friends and participation in social activities showed no significant difference.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2021Dementia in people with severe or profound intellectual (and multiple) disabilities: Focus group research into relevance, symptoms and training needs.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDCarers and families of people with severe intellectual disabilities want a dementia diagnosis to explain behaviour and guide care choices. They identified subtle declines in daily activities like eating and dressing as key signs. Current training lacks specific guidance for this population.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2022The neglected puzzle of dementia in people with severe/profound intellectual disabilities: A systematic literature review of observable symptoms.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDDiagnosing dementia in severe intellectual disability requires watching for behaviour changes, not cognitive tests. Key signs include withdrawal, aggression, sleep issues, and loss of self-care skills. Standard cognitive assessments are often impossible due to low baseline function, so caregiver observation of these behavioural shifts is essential.
• PTOTOther2021Correlation between community balance and mobility scale (CB&M) with a battery of outcome measures to assess balance in Parkinson's disease - a cross-sectional study.Archives of physiotherapyIn Parkinson's, the CB&M correlated strongly with standard balance tests but exposed deficits they missed. The Berg Scale hit a ceiling, masking risk in early stages. Use CB&M to catch subtle, community-level balance problems before falls occur.
• PTOTSurvey2021Influences of remote exercise training for community-dwelling older adults in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of physical therapy scienceMost older adults reported less exercise during Japan's state of emergency. In the small group who completed two weeks of remote DVD exercises, self-reported effort dropped significantly. This suggests home-based video guidance can make movement feel easier for motivated, healthy seniors.
• PTOTNarrative Review2022Applications of Digital Health Technologies in Knee Osteoarthritis: Narrative Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesDigital tools like apps and video calls often match in-person therapy for pain and function in knee osteoarthritis and replacement. Blended care with real-time feedback and clinician contact appears more effective than self-directed websites alone.
• PTOTCohort2022Investigating the underlying biomechanical mechanisms leading to falls in long-term ankle-foot orthosis and functional electrical stimulator users with chronic stroke.Gait & postureLong-term AFO and FES users with chronic stroke fell significantly more often than non-users during simulated trips. Wearing or removing the device made no difference to fall rates. The users' high fall risk stems from impaired trunk control and an inability to take a second step with the paretic leg.
• PTOTRCT2022Wearable airbag technology and machine learned models to mitigate falls after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA fall detection algorithm trained on stroke survivors' movements detected more falls than one trained on healthy controls. This suggests commercial airbag devices, which often use general population data, may miss falls in stroke patients because their movement patterns are different.
• PTOTSystematic Review2022Use of activPAL to Measure Physical Activity in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationThe activPAL thigh monitor reliably measures walking, step count, and sitting time in older adults, but it is inaccurate for moderate-to-vigorous activity. Use it to track low-intensity movement and sedentary behavior. Use a different device, such as a wrist-worn accelerometer, if you need to measure exercise intensity.
• PTOTOther2022Brain white matter correlates of learning ankle tracking using a wearable device: importance of the superior longitudinal fasciculus II.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFive days of tracking practice with a wearable sensor improved ankle accuracy in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Better performance was linked to increased integrity of one specific brain pathway, the right superior longitudinal fasciculus II, suggesting this tract supports learning complex foot movements.
• PTOTSurvey2022Risk Factors Associated With Falls and Fall-Related Injuries Among Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationWheelchair users with spinal cord injury were more likely to report falls if their injury was more recent or if they had better mobility scores. Better physical quality of life was linked to fewer fall injuries.
• PTOTSLPNarrative Review2021Mechanisms of Aminoglycoside- and Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity.American journal of audiologyAminoglycosides and cisplatin enter inner ear hair cells through specific ion channels, causing permanent hearing and balance loss. Inflammation, noise exposure, and certain co-administered drugs significantly worsen this damage. Clinicians should monitor high-risk patients closely during and after treatment.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021The prevalence and incidence of early-onset dementia among adults with autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAdults with autism enrolled in Medicaid were diagnosed with early-onset dementia at a younger age and had a significantly higher risk of developing it than the general Medicaid population. The risk was highest for those with co-occurring intellectual disability, but remained elevated for those with autism alone.
• PTOTCase-Control2022Increased foot strike variability during turning in Parkinson's disease patients with freezing of gait.Gait & posturePeople with Parkinson's who freeze take shorter, wider turns with less foot contact and more variability. Freezing happens most often in the middle of a turn, where the body must change direction fastest, suggesting this phase is a key target for therapy.
• PTOTOther2022Egocentric vision-based detection of surfaces: towards context-aware free-living digital biomarkers for gait and fall risk assessment.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA waist-mounted camera with AI software successfully identified walking surfaces like carpet, wood, and pavement in older adults' homes. This technology could help therapists pinpoint specific environmental hazards, such as slippery tiles or uneven ground, that contribute to fall risk in daily life.
• OTQualitative2022A Mixed Reality Cognitive Orthosis to Support Older Adults in Achieving Their Daily Living Activities: Focus Group Study With Clinical Experts.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesExperts identified that older adults with dementia struggle primarily with initiating and planning tasks, not just memory. They viewed mixed reality headsets as promising for providing visual cues and safety warnings during activities like cooking, though stigma and cost remain barriers.
• PTOTCohort2022Effect of life-space mobility on subjective well-being in aged home-based rehabilitation users with different levels of independence in activities of daily living.Journal of physical therapy scienceFor home-based rehab users who are mostly independent, greater life-space mobility strongly correlated with better subjective well-being. This link was absent in those with moderate or severe disabilities. Expanding community access may support well-being in higher-functioning patients.
• PTOTQualitative2022ExerG: adapting an exergame training solution to the needs of older adults using focus group and expert interviews.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationOlder adults want exergames to feel safe and real. They asked for harnesses, therapist presence, and tasks like shopping rather than fantasy worlds. Therapists worried that technical glitches or lack of home access would ruin motivation. These insights guide device design, not treatment outcomes.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Evaluating the Association Between Hearing Loss and Falls in Adults With Vestibular Dysfunction or Nonvestibular Dizziness.Ear and hearingHearing loss was not associated with falls in patients with vestibular dysfunction or non-vestibular dizziness. This null finding held across all subgroups, including those aged 65 or older, those with high medication burden, and those with bilateral vestibular hypofunction.
• PTOTCohort2022Degree of Safety Against Falls Provided by 4 Different Prosthetic Knee Types in People With Transfemoral Amputation: A Retrospective Observational Study.Physical therapyFluid-controlled prosthetic knees were linked to a higher rate of falls than microprocessor knees in people with transfemoral amputation during inpatient rehab. Antidepressants and antiepileptics carried even larger fall risks than any knee type.
• PTOTCohort2021The Association of Physical Function Measures With Frailty, Falls History, and Metabolic Syndrome in a Population With Complex Obesity.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPatients with complex obesity showed physical function typical of people twenty years older. Frailty was rare but linked to falls, while metabolic syndrome was common but not linked to frailty. Screening for falls risk and frailty should be routine in this group.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021Effectiveness of Self-Monitoring Approach Using Fitness Trackers to Improve Walking Ability in Rehabilitation Settings: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAdding fitness trackers to usual rehabilitation showed little to no improvement in walking ability across most conditions. Stable COPD patients saw a small increase in walking distance that was still below the threshold for clinical importance. Trackers alone are not a fix for gait deficits.
• OTSLPQualitative2021Optimizing Evaluation of Older Adults With Vision and/or Hearing Loss Using the interRAI Community Health Assessment and Deafblind Supplement.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAssessing older adults with vision or hearing loss can miss real-world difficulty if based on one ability or a quiet interview. Ask about distance vision, multiple sounds, noisy settings, preferred communication, and night mobility before scoring.
• PTOTNarrative Review2021Klotho: An Emerging Factor With Ergogenic Potential.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesThis review links low Klotho protein levels to muscle weakness and poor physical function in aging and kidney disease. It suggests exercise may raise Klotho levels, but human evidence is observational. No therapy is proven to improve patient outcomes yet.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2022Psychosocial interventions for older people with intellectual disabilities and the role of support staff: A systematic review.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDPsychosocial approaches for older adults with intellectual disabilities mostly target engagement, communication, mood or daily skills. Many small reports suggest benefit, but this review did not show whether they work. Support staff often have a role in them, sometimes after training.
• OTCohort2021Identifying dementia in Down syndrome with the Severe Impairment Battery, Brief Praxis Test and Dementia Scale for People with Learning Disabilities.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRCaregiver reports separated no dementia from possible or probable dementia in 100 adults with Down syndrome, while direct tests separated possible from probable but not early change.
• PTOTRCT2022Comparison of the effects of external focus of attention with metaphor and internal focus of attention on temporal changes in seating pressure during sitting motion in community-dwelling elderly people.Journal of physical therapy scienceTelling healthy older adults to imagine sitting in a bathtub without making waves led to smoother, safer sit-downs than telling them to lean forward slowly. This external focus reduced the speed of pressure increase on the spine, potentially lowering fracture risk.
• PTOTSLPOther2021Out-of-Home Activities and Health in Older Adults: A Scoping Review.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthResearch on older adults leaving home focuses heavily on social and leisure activities. It rarely measures the quality of the experience, such as autonomy or meaning. Clinicians should not assume simply going out improves health; what people do and how they feel matters.
• OTSystematic Review2021Spiritual Care in Advanced Dementia from the Perspective of Health Providers: A Qualitative Systematic Review.Occupational therapy internationalNursing home staff described spiritual care in advanced dementia as often neglected, despite recognizing needs. They reported lacking training, fearing death talk, and using music, prayer, meaningful activities, and Namaste Care to connect.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022The importance of home: Satisfaction with accommodation, neighborhood, and life in adults with autism.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchMost autistic adults in this study lived independently, and they rated their homes and neighborhoods as satisfying as matched non-autistic adults. Sensory sensitivity did not predict accommodation satisfaction. However, independently living autistic adults reported significantly lower overall life satisfaction than the community group.
• PTOTOther2021Differences of expected intervention effects between participant-led and facilitator-led preventive care services in Japan.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTNeither style was best. Facilitator-led classes improved sit-to-stand speed. Participant-led classes improved self-rated health and occupational deprivation, but facilitator-led classes had better Timed Up and Go scores.
• OTOther2022Minimum detectable change in reaction time to the Posner task due to change in sustained attention.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn healthy young adults, reaction-time changes smaller than 23 to 34 milliseconds, depending on condition, may be measurement error, not real change.
• PTOTOther2022Recording of Falls in Elderly Fallers in Northern Greece and Evaluation of Aging Health-Related Factors and Environmental Safety Associated with Falls: A Cross-Sectional Study.Occupational therapy internationalMost falls happened indoors, especially at night in bedrooms and bathrooms. Poor lighting and clutter were key triggers. Despite repeated falls, very few participants made home safety changes because they lacked education on how to prevent them.
• PTOTOther2022Responding to stakeholder needs to engage rehabilitation professionals in the delivery of evidence-based health programming for adults with osteoarthritis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn a physical therapy program, students coaching free self-directed walking sessions reported communication and professional growth. 62 adults with osteoarthritis completed six weeks; 23 withdrew. Participants said coaching kept them interested and the program motivated them to become more active.
• OTQualitative2022Leisure Possibilities of Adults Experiencing Poverty: A Community-Based Participatory Study.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieAdults experiencing poverty valued leisure but faced structural barriers like cost, safety and rigid organizational schedules. Many had deep local knowledge of free activities. Service providers should partner with users to plan accessible, judgement-free spaces rather than focusing solely on individual skills.