Longitudinal study on the elderly population of a little town near Turin: Preliminary results

A longitudinal study on the over 65-year-old population (656 subjects) of a little town in the district of Turin (Italy) has started. A random sample of 200 people, stratified for sex and age, has been extracted and subdivided into age groups of 5 years. The first multidimensional geriatric assessment has already been carried out. We intend to reevaluate the sample every 2.5 years. Preliminary results: general conditions are good in 72 % of cases, fairly good in 23 %, mediocre in 4 %, and poor in 1 %. There is no significant correlation between the number of diseases for single subjects and advancing age, while there is a progressive increase of drug uses with aging. By using activities of daily living (ADL) scale, 73 % of people are completely self-sufficient; as the number of diseases for single subjects increases, the level of self sufficiency decreases. Cognitive impairment, tested by mini mental state examination (MMSE), is present to various extents in 28.3 % of the population. It increases with advancing age and is not influenced by the number of pathologies.