Rationale: It is well established that resting energy expenditure (REE) decreases with age. Data derived from indirect calorimetry (IC) are still limited with respect to the number of high aged individuals, BMI groups and health conditions. Therefore, IC generated REE of the BASAROT sample and those calculated according to the Harris-Benedict (HB) equation were used to re-evaluate the proposed association between REE and age. Methods: The IC-BASAROT sample combines the result of IC performed in 2622 individuals from 10 centers (7 Germany, 2 Italy, 1 Netherlands) done under strictly standardized conditions (e.g. at least 8h of fasting) in free-living, mostly healthy adults aged 18 to 100 years including all BMI ranges. IC was performed by canopy technique (Cosmed Quark RMR/Sensor Medics Vmax29) in 96.5% of cases and by face mask (Cosmed Fitmate) in 3.5%. Weight was measured by calibrated scales and height was determined to the nearest of 1mm. Results: REE in the total sample (BMI: 26.9±9.1 kg/m², 43.7±17.6 y) correlated more positively with body weight than with BMI (r=0.768; p<0.001 vs. r=0.571; p<0.001). Gender+body weight explained 75% of REE variance, gender+BMI 69% and gender+age only 28%. To reduce confounding by body weight we performed age-related analysis in the subgroup of women weighing 50-79 kg (n=780, BMI: 23.4±3.4 kg/m², 41.4±18.5 y) and men weighing 60-89 kg (n=500, BMI: 24.9±3.0 kg/m², 47.5±19.3 y) and compared results with REEHB (tab. 1). IC results from 18 to 100 y showed an approximately 50% lower decrease in REE than HB in women (-129 kcal/d vs. - 257 kcal/d) and in men (-200 kcal/d vs. -406 kcal/d, tab. 1). REEIC (n=1280) did not correlate with age (r=-0.042; p=0.132). In line, we observed a significant overestimation of REE by HB up to 39 y in both sexes and an underestimation in men 60 y of age and older. Conclusion: Age-related decline in REE appears to be lower than expected and might due to changes in body composition both in the younger and older generation. No indication of the often proposed systematic overestimation of HB in women was seen. Overall, findings should be considered in future models for estimating REE.
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A growing number of older patients undergo cardiac surgery. Some of these patients are at increased risk of post-operative functional decline, potentially leading to reduced quality of life and autonomy, and other negative health outcomes. First step in prevention is to identify patients at risk of functional decline. There are no current published tools available to predict functional decline following cardiac surgery. The objective was to validate the identification of seniors at risk—hospitalised patients (ISAR-HP), in older patients undergoing cardiac surgery. A multicenter cohort study was performed in cardiac surgery wards of two university hospitals with follow-up 3 months after hospital admission. Inclusion criteria: consecutive cardiac surgery patients, aged ≥65. Functional decline was defined as a decline of at least one point on the Katz ADL Index at follow-up compared with preadmission status.
Thirty to sixty per cent of older patients experience functional decline after hospitalisation, associated with an increase in dependence, readmission, nursing home placement and mortality. First step in prevention is the identification of patients at risk. The objective of this study is to develop and validate a prediction model to assess the risk of functional decline in older hospitalised patients.
