Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:50:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseVAGR.pdf: 3064239 bytes, checksum: 381f34490e3e91c32ab1ea5948e9c82a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-04-27 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / Due to the rapid aging of the Brazilian population, the number of programs for the elderly is increasing. The objectives of this study were to: (a) analyze the organizations that offer services for the elderly, in a city in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and (b) identify the support network used by dependent elderly. In the conduct of this study, all ethical guidelines that apply to studies with humans were followed. The organizations were identified using municipal registers, and others sources as Snow Ball Technique, and interviews were conducted with the head administrators. The organizations were grouped in four categories: long-term care (n=6); culture, leisure, sports, education and social activities (n=27); healthcare (n=21); and referral (n=1), totaling 55 organizations that offer services for the elderly. An advertising folder containing all pertinent information was produced and was it was presented to the Municipal Elderly Council in order to be advertised and upgraded. The greatest numbers of elderly were involved in cultural, leisure, sports, education and social programs, a category that emphasizes activities that promote social integration. However, in a two years period, of the 2183 registered participants, 225 withdrew (150 women and 75 men). To better understand this, interviews were conducted with program directors and service users in the highest use category, along with other documents. The most frequent reasons for withdrawal were illness (n=42) and death (n=42). Thus, in-depth interviews were conducted with elderly people, who withdrew due to illness, and their family members in their home. It was observed that the aggravating stages of some diseases caused an increased difficulty of instrumental activities on a daily basis contributed to some limitations, and among them the difficulty of continuing participating in the program. Issues like financial difficulties, adapted transportation and cultural values also were relevant to the organization of the family dynamics of interviewed people. It was verified that the most utilized support network by these people was the family. Caring places in the health area were also used in the treatment of the pathologies. New organization alternatives in terms of elderly caring need to be created to attend the population that grows and ages day after day. On the other hand, it is necessary to improve the conditions of existing caring institutions with the focus on team and qualified work in order to educate the population facing the aging process. / Em função do envelhecimento populacional, há no Brasil atualmente uma grande diversidade de serviços e programas para idosos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a oferta de serviços disponíveis para idosos com alguma dependência de uma cidade do interior paulista. Para identificar essas organizações foi realizado um levantamento junto à Prefeitura Municipal, usando-se a técnica Bola de Neve e uma pesquisa em listas telefônicas, através de palavras-chave. Foram realizadas entrevistas com os dirigentes das organizações encontradas, e as informações foram organizadas e sistematizadas em 4 categorias: moradia (n=6); cultura, lazer, esporte, educação e social (n=27); saúde (n=21) e suporte/encaminhamento (n=1), totalizando 55 organizações de atendimento ao idoso. Foi produzido um folder com essas informações, divulgado na comunidade e todo material desse folder foi entregue ao Conselho Municipal do Idoso para continuidade da atualização e divulgação. A categoria cultura, lazer, esporte, educação e social teve destaque quanto ao número de lugares e das pessoas que participavam. Ela desenvolve atividades que enfatizam a integração social. No entanto, quando as pessoas adoecem e passam a apresentar alguma dependência deixam de freqüentar estes espaços, conhecidos por grupos da terceira idade. Identificar quem eram os desistentes, desses lugares, que adoeceram e a rede de suporte formal e informal utilizada por eles e seus familiares, foram os objetivos seguintes desta pesquisa. Para tanto, foram realizadas entrevistas com os responsáveis dos programas da categoria: cultura, lazer, esporte, educação e social, além de consultas aos registros e entrevistas com usuários, depois de dois anos da primeira entrevista. Os resultados demonstraram que, dos 2183 inscritos, 306 pessoas (14%) deixaram de participar, sendo 211 mulheres (69%) e 95 homens (31%). Desses, 225, eram idosos; 150, mulheres (67%); e 75, homens (33%). A maioria dos coordenadores desconhecia os motivos pelos quais os idosos deixaram de participar, seguido dos motivos ter ficado doente (n=42) e ter morrido (n=42). Entrevistas em profundidade com os idosos, que deixaram de freqüentar por motivo de doença, e com seus familiares foram realizadas no domicílio dos mesmos. Constatou-se que o agravamento de algumas doenças dificultando principalmente as atividades instrumentais de vida diária foram as que contribuíram para algumas limitações cotidianas, dentre elas, continuarem a participar dos programas. Fatores como, dificuldades financeiras, transporte adaptado e valores culturais, também foram relevantes para a organização da dinâmica familiar dos entrevistados, frente à dependência cotidiana. Verificou-se que a rede de suporte mais utilizada por eles foi à família. Lugares de atendimento na área de saúde também foram utilizados pautados no tratamento de patologias. Novas alternativas de organizações de atendimento a idosos dependentes precisam ser criadas para atender a heterogeneidade de uma população que cresce cada vez mais e que está ficando cada vez mais idosa. Por outro lado, faz-se necessário melhorar o atendimento dos lugares já existentes, focalizando um trabalho integrado, sistematizado, qualificado no sentido de educar a população como um todo frente os desafios do processo do envelhecimento com ou sem dependência.

This text is focused on status and perpectives of elderly people in the Czech society. First, author tries to indroduce old age as a stage of life from the biological, psychological and social points of view and also point to demographic context of this issue. Further she focuses on older people from the point of view of their social role and possibilities od their social realization. In conclusion of the text athor indroduces results of qualitative study which brings senior's point of view on the issue. The aim of this thesis is to contribute to disprove some myths about old age and older people, especially the myth about old age as period of relaxation and a period "without any role".

La croissance et le vieillissement sont inévitables pour la race humaine. Chez les personnes âgées, le vieillissement est souvent accompagné par de nombreuses formes de maladies et de dangers dont les chutes qui affectent la qualité de vie et qui posent un enjeu socio-économique. Mais les chutes sont évitables. Les acteurs de santé, les scientifiques et les chercheurs combinent actuellement des efforts pour développer des systèmes de détection et de prédiction des chutes. Dans le contexte de la prédiction des chutes, l'objectif de cette thèse est d'élaborer le profile actimétrique des patients sensibles aux chutes afin de les alerter d'une possible chute. Ceci consiste principalement à développer un système capable de surveiller les paramètres de la marche des personnes durant leurs activités quotidiennes avec un minimum d'intrusivité. Dans une première contribution, nous avons proposé une classification générique des systèmes liés à la chute en fonction du déploiement de leurs capteurs. Nous avons distingué les systèmes portables, les systèmes non-portables et les systèmes qui combinent les deux. En se basant sur cette classification, nous avons proposé notre plateforme WMFL v1.0 dans une deuxième contribution. WMFL combine une chaussure équipée par des capteurs de force avec des dalles où nous avons intégrés des capteurs optiques infrarouges. La fusion de ces deux systèmes assure une prévention à l'intérieure et à l'extérieure des locaux. WMFL peut être aussi déployées dans une clinique. Dans une troisième contribution, nous avons proposé une méthode de prédiction des chutes en se basant sur l'analyse du déplacement du centre de pression (projeté du centre de masse) sur la surface plantaire du pied durant la marche. La méthode utilise la fenêtre glissante spatio-temporelle pour alerter le patient d'une chute potentielle et pour déterminer le risque de chute à la fin de la marche. / Growth is the normal change of the human body and getting old is inevitable to human race. As a result, elderly people are subject to many forms of diseases and dangers among which falls are considered very serious in terms of quality of life and socio-economic costs. But falls can be manageable. Health practitioners, scientists and researchers currently combine efforts to develop systems capable of detecting and predicting falls. In the context of fall prediction, the goal of this thesis is to elaborate the actimetric profile of fall sensitive patients to alert them from a potential fall. It mainly consists of developing a system capable of monitoring gait and balance parameters during their daily activities with minimum intrusiveness. These are usually assessed in clinical settings using high-cost tools. In our first contribution, we proposed a generic classification of fall-related systems based on their sensors deployment. These are classified as Wearable, Non-Wearable and Fusion Systems. Based on the generic classification, we proposed the WMFL v1.0 platform in our second contribution. WMFL fuses a Foot Wear Force Sensing device with an Ambient system using IR-sensing floor tiles. The platform can be deployed at homes or in clinics. It ensures an indoor-outdoor protection. In a third contribution, we proposed an early fall detection approach to determine the risk of falling by analyzing the displacement of the Center of Pressure projecting the amount of sway of the Center of Mass on the foot plantar surface. The method uses the spatio-temporal sliding window to alert the patient of a potential fall.

BACKGROUND: Hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic condition faced by older adults and has been linked to difficulties in speech perception, activities of daily living, and social interaction. Recent studies have suggested a correlation between severity of hearing loss and an individual's cognitive function; however, a causative link has yet to be established. One intervention option for management of the most severe to profound hearing loss in older adults is cochlear implantation. We performed a review to determine the status of the literature on the potential influence of cochlear implantation on cognition in the older adult population. METHODS: Over 3800 articles related to cochlear implants, cognition, and older adults were reviewed. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) study population including adults > 65 years, (2) intervention with cochlear implantation, and (3) cognition as the primary outcome measure of implantation. RESULTS: Out of 3,886 studies selected, 3 met inclusion criteria for the review. CONCLUSIONS: While many publications have shown that cochlear implants improve speech perception, social functioning, and overall quality of life, we found no studies in the English literature that have prospectively evaluated changes in cognitive function after implantation with modern cochlear implants in older adults. The state of the current literature reveals a need for further clinical research on the impact of cochlear implantation on cognition in older adults.

Vykstant demografiniams pokyčiams: mažas gimstamumas, jaunimo emigracija, šeimos transformacija, didėja socialinės pagalbos poreikis pažeidžiamoms visuomenės grupėms, ypač neįgaliems bei senyvo amžiaus asmenims, kurie dėl negalios ar ligos negali pilnai savimi pasirūpinti. Lietuvos Statistikos departamento duomenimis, Lietuvoje, kaip ir kitose Europos Sąjungos valstybėse, kasmet vis didesnę dalį sudaro 60 metų ir vyresni žmonės. Ši tendencija turi polinkį didėti. Zarasų mieste, kaip ir visoje Lietuvoje, amžiaus struktūros pokyčiai ryškūs - vyksta gyventojų senėjimas: net 26 proc. Zarasų rajono gyventojų yra pagyvenę ir senyvo amžiaus, dar 11 proc. sudaro neįgalieji. Šioms žmonių grupėms ypač svarbi yra socialinė pagalba. Socialinių paslaugų organizavimo įstatymai suteikia vietos savivaldybių specialistams teisę nustatyti paslaugų teikimo lygį, vertinti poreikius, atsižvelgiant į vietinius standartus. Magistro darbe yra apžvelgti pagrindiniai teisės aktai, reglamentuojantys socialinių paslaugų organizavimą bei teikimą, išanalizuota teorinė socialinių paslaugų samprata ir ištirtas jų poreikis Zarasų rajone senyvo amžiaus ir negalią turintiems asmenims, įvertinant teikiamų paslaugų grįžtamąjį ryšį. Tiriamojoje dalyje naudojant anketinę apklausą išanalizuoti socialinių paslaugų kokybiniai rodikliai ir įvertinta ekspertų nuomonė apie socialinių paslaugų poreikį Zarasų rajone. / Rapid demographic changes in the country: low birth rates, emigration of youth and transformation of family, increase needs for the social support of the vulnerable groups of our society, particularly disabled and elderly persons who cannot fully care for themselves because of their disability or illness. According to the information of the Department of Statistics of the Republic of Lithuania, the proportion of 60 year-old and older people is increasing each year in Lithuania, as well as in the other EU countries. This trend has a tendency to increase. In Zarasai, as in the whole Lithuania, changes of the age structure of population are moving in the direction of aging. 26 percents of the population of Zarasai district are the elderly, 11 percents of the population are people with disabilities. Social assistance is important especially for this group of people. In the field of organization of the social service, the legislation gives the right to determine the level of services, assess needs, according to the local standards, to the local professionals of municipalities. This graduate paper represents a theoretical analysis of social services and research on the requirement of such services for elderly and disabled persons in Zarasai district, taking account of feedback. The paper reviews the main legal acts, which regulate the organization of social services and their rendering. There are the evaluation of the quality indicators of the social services, which are made... [to full text]

Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen var att utforska, beskriva och förstå äldre människors upplevelser och erfarenheter av välbefinnande utifrån intervjuer och berättelser, berättade på plats (insitu) vid särskilt boende för äldre (så kallat äldreboende). Intervjuer genomfördes med tjugo äldre personer inom boendeformen äldreboende, vilkas erfarenheter och berättelser ligger till grund för avhandlingens resultat. Studiedesignen är kvalitativ. Vid intervjuerna användes dels formen av vardagligt samtal (studie I) vilket analyserades enligt innehållsanalys, dels narrativ metod (studie II) vilken analyserades med hjälp av dialogisk performativ analys. Substantiellt bidrar avhandlingen till förståelse av hur äldremänniskor som bor på äldreboende upplever och beskriver sitt välbefinnande. Välbefinnandet beskrivs genom att ange olika kvalitativa värden. Det första värdet anger välbefinnandet som (i) att få behålla sin autonomi genom självbestämmande och deltagande i vardagslivets beslut, oavsett boende. Det andra värdet anger (ii) behovet av kontinuitet i den egna identiteten och det tredje värdet; (iii) att få vara individuell tillsammans med andra, dvs., att jag-känslan som identitetsupplevelse är viktig att hävda gentemot andra men att den känslan samtidigt är beroende av interaktion med andra. Denna identitetsupplevelse baseras på livsloppets individuella upplevelser av och i relationer med andra människor, där relationer med närstående är relationens innersta kärna. Vid äldreboendet är identitetsupplevelsen baserat på relationer till vårdarna. Välbefinnandet beskrivs som en totalupplevelse oavsett fysisk förmåga inom ramen för äldreboendet som ett hem och en vårdinstitution. Teoretiskt bidrar avhandlingen med kunskaper om det vårdvetenskapliga perspektivet på välbefinnande och då grundat i äldres upplevda och levda erfarenheter av välbefinnande, dels som upplevelse av autonomi, dels som upplevelse av kontinuitet inom identiteten. Välbefinnandet handlar då i sammanhanget ”äldreboende” om att vid äldreboendet få möjligheter till egenmakt och stöd för den egna jagkänslan. Begreppet välbefinnande som sådant, är direkt kopplat till sociala situationer och samtalsmöten med vårdare och den äldre. Välbefinnandet kan således ses som en dynamisk kategori. Avhandlingen ger därmed en bredare innebörd av välbefinnandet hos den äldre personen, än enbart upplevelser av hälsa. Avhandlingens teoretiska kunskapsbidrag till den vårdvetenskapliga omvårdnadsforskningen om äldres välbefinnande under den sista tiden i livet, bekräftar de sociala relationernas och interaktionernas betydelse. Studiens kunskapsbidrag namnges här som interaktionistisk vårdvetenskap vilken ger insikter i komplexiteten i de välbefinnandeupplevelser inom äldreboendet och som enligt de äldres beskrivningar framkom som producerade interaktivt och situerat (insitu). Praktiskt bidrar avhandlingen med kunskaper om hur äldres välbefinnande kan stödjas i vårdandet inom ramen för äldreboendet, både utifrån aspekten som ett hem och utifrån aspekten som en vårdinstitution. Stödet handlar då om att överföra avhandlingens teoretiska kunskapsbidrag till praktiskt vårdhandlande genom att stödja den äldres autonomi och kontinuitet i identiteten. Detta kan göras genom att den äldre får möjligheter till delaktighet i beslut (empowerment), möjligheter till sociala kontakter och att vara social i samvaro med andra (sociala interaktioner), samt att bli lyssnad till (presence). När det gäller praktiska överväganden inom ramen för äldreboendets vårdpolicy, bidrar avhandlingens resultat till kunskapen om att ta hänsyn till och efterfråga den äldres perspektiv på välbefinnande som utgångspunkt för vården. Detta kan göras genom att uppmuntra äldre personer att prata om sitt välbefinnande. Vårdares roll i detta sammanhang blir då i denna interaktion, att lyssna väl och inte endast ställa frågor. Slutsatsen som kan dras är att välbefinnande enligt de äldres upplevelser och beskrivningar relaterat till de kvalitativa värden för välbefinnandet som framkommit i denna studie, visar att den äldre blir mycket beroende av andra människor för att kunna uppleva välbefinnande. Detta, då den äldre kan ha en svag egen aktivitet och hälsa och saknar egen handlingskraft. Den äldres beroende av vårdpersonalen gör relationers och interaktioners betydelse i omvårdnaden och i omvårdnadshandlingar än mer betydelsefull för äldre människor. Detta i sin tur ställer krav på ökade kunskaper hos vårdare om vårdandets interaktiva betydelse, dvs. hur människor står i ett dynamiskt förhållande till sin omgivning både fysiologiskt och psykologiskt, trots svag egen aktivitet och hälsa. Emellertid, även om den äldres kropp och förmåga är svag, utgör den ett existentiellt villkor och roll i skapandet av välbefinnande i interaktion med andra. Välbefinnande kan därför stödjas i vårdandet genom social och emotionell stimulans. Intressant för vidare studier är då hur detta konkret görs. / The aim of this thesis was to explore, describe and understand elderly people's experience of well-being, based on interviews and narratives and told in situ at nursing homes. This thesis is based on two studies, I) Elderly people’s descriptions of becoming and being respite care recipients. II) Elderly women’s subjective sense of well-being from their course of life perspective. Methods used were interviews conducted with 20 older residents whose experiences and stories form the basis of the results. The method was qualitative and the interviews were conducted in the form of casual conversations (Study I), and was analyzed by content analysis, and narrative method (Study II), which was analyzed using dialogic performative analysis. In substantial, this thesis contributes to an understanding of how elderly people living in nursing homes experience and describe their well-being. They did this by specifying different qualitative values for well-being. The first value indicates well-being that is (i) to retain their autonomy through self-determination and participation in everyday life decisions regardless of accommodation. The second value indicates (ii) the need for continuity of one's identity, and the third one (iii) dealt with being an individual along with others, i.e. the notion of the ego strength is important when to assert their individuality, but this notion is simultaneously dependent on the interaction with others. This identity is based on the experience in life and the individual experiences of relationships with other people, where relationships with family members are the relationship's innermost core. At the nursing home, identity-based experience is based on the relationship with the nursing aids. Well-being is described as a total experience regardless of physical ability, in the context of residential care which constitutes both a home and a care institution. From a theoretical viewpoint this thesis contributes to knowledge of a caring scientific perspective on well-being, with a foundation in the elderly’s experiences of well-being, autonomy and continuity of identity. The study contributes to knowledge here called Interactionistic Caring Science, and it provides insights into the complexity of the experience of well-being in the nursing home described by these elderly people as interactively and situated produced (in situ). Practically, this thesis contributes knowledge about how the well-being of elderly people can be supported in caring situations at nursing home, which are both a home and a health care institution. The conclusion show that the elderly are becoming very dependent on other people to experience their wellness. This, as the elderly often have weak intrinsic activity and health and suffer from lack of their own ability to act, this makes relations and interactions an important part of nursing and nursing acts, and even more important for old people. This in turn requires increased knowledge by caregivers about this interactive meaning of caring, i.e. how people interacts in a dynamic relationship with their environment, both physiologically and psychologically, despite weak intrinsic activity and health. The old person’s dependence in their nursing aides makes those relations and interactions of even more importance in the nursing caring and in the nursing acts of the elderly.

Title: Influence of Physical Activity over Self-care and Quality of Life of Elderly People Living at Home Objectives: The main objectives of this thesis are measuring the level of the physical activities of elderly people living at home and the analysis of the influence of these activities on their independence in everyday activities and on their quality of life. Methods: For research I choose a questionnaire survey as main metod. To collect data for the research I used physical activity questionnaire which I created specifically for this thesis, Barthel Index the standardized self-care test, SQUALA questionnaire measuring the quality of live. To verify my hypothesis I statistically evaluated the outcomes of the tests and questionnaires. For this purpose I used the descriptive statistics in the computer program Microsoft Office Excell. Results: The main objective was fulfiled. Results of research proved statistical important depence among age, physical activities, independence in activities of daily living and quality of individuals life Key words: elderly people, physical activities, quality of live, independence

Le présent travail de recherche se situe dans le cadre du développement et de l‟évaluation du concept de résidences-services développé par l‟association MEDeTIC. L‟objectif de cette association est de répondre au souhait de nombreuses personnes âgées de vieillir chez elles ou comme chez elles grâce à une offre de services intégrant des technologies au sein d‟un habitat adapté aux besoins évolutifs des personnes âgées. Notre travail a pour ambition d‟accompagner cette association dans une démarche de diagnostic psychosocial des besoins de la personne âgée en matière d‟habitat, de technologies et de services. En conservant pour cadre d‟analyse ces trois sources d‟innovation intégrées au sein des résidences-services, cette thèse vise à mobiliser les outils de la psychologie sociale et ergonomique en vue d‟identifier les freins et les leviers de leur déploiement (études 1A, 1B et 1C). Sous l‟égide d‟une approche traitant de l‟acceptabilité, nous examinons d‟une part la compatibilité entre les fonctionnalités offertes des services et les limitations rencontrées par les personnes âgées (étude B1) et d‟autre part l‟influence de la familiarité aux technologies (étude B2). Puis, pour comprendre les processus cognitifs et sociaux sous tendant l‟usage, les expérimentations C1 et C2 se focalisent sur les modèles prédictifs ainsi que sur l‟influence des déterminants individuels (i.e. âge, expérience), sociaux (i.e. opinions des aidants) et organisationnels (i.e. caractère volontaire de l‟accès aux services). Sur la base des résultats obtenus, des recommandations pratiques sont adressées à l‟association MEDeTIC afin qu‟elle poursuive son évolution / This research work is grounded in the development and evaluation of congregate housing concept carried by MEDeTIC non profit organization. Its purpose is to answer the need of elderly people who wish to successfully age in place by providing evolutionary ambient assisted living services at home. In order to support MEDeTIC developments, the ambition of our work was to engage a psychosocial diagnosis of elderly people needs concerning home, technologies and services. Through the focus of psychosocial and ergonomics tools, these three sources of innovations are conjointly analyzed in the present dissertation in order to identify what is hindering and driving congregate housing implementation (studies A1, A2, A3). Providing acceptability issues, this thesis firstly analyzes on the one hand service functionalities compatibility with activity limitations encountered by elderly people (study B1) and on the other hand familiar experience with technologies (study B2). Secondly, experiments C1 and C2 focus on model prediction and on individual (i.e. age, experience), socials (i.e. care givers opinions) and organizational (i.e. voluntary service usage settings) determinants in order to apprehend cognitive and social processes that drive usage of technical services by the elderly. Based on our findings, practical recommendations are address to MEDeTIC non profit organization in order to foster its evolution

M. Tech. (Department of Hospitality, Faculty of Human Sciences), Vaal University of Technology / Introduction and purpose - The study was conducted in order to determine the nutritional status of the elderly attending a care centre in Sharpeville in order to develop a novel food item, to address malnutrition and to test and analyse the novel food item for acceptability (sensory analysis) and shelflife. Methodology - A randomly selected sample of 170 elderly, including males and females, aged sixty and above participated in the research. A cross-sectional survey included sociodemographic, health and twenty-four hour recall questionnaires as well as anthropometric and biochemical measurements. Trained fieldworkers assisted with data collection dietary intake and food measurements consumption data were captured and analysed with assistance of a qualified dietician using a Food Finder ® version 3.0 program in to determine the frequency, mean and standard deviations. The socio-demographic and health data, biochemical and anthropometric measurements were analysed for means and SDs. Results - Although 100 percent of the elderly received a monthly pension, the majority (72 percent) were bread winners in the households. The majority of households (65,8 percent) had a monthly income ofR 501-1 000. Eighty two percent of the respondents indicated that they bought food once a month and the food was bought mostly from local supermarkets (68,2percent) which are generally very expensive. Most households (63,1percent) spent less than R200 on food per week. Taking into consideration that the average household size was 4,9, it was calculated to be less than R5,80 per person per day. The Top 20 food consumption list indicated that the majority of food items consumed were carbohydrate-based. Dietary intake results confirmed that these households consumed mainly a carbohydrate-based diet and although the daily protein intake was sufficient, the diet was also deficient in total energy and dietary fibre, as well as a number of micronutrients including calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, iodine, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamins B6, C, D, E, biotin, pantothenate and folate. These findings indicated the prevalence of undernutrition The biochemical data showed that 73,1 percent of the elderly had low serum zinc levels. A large percentage of men and women had sub-optimal haemoglobin levels. Most of the biochemical variables were within the normal range, however the mean cholesterol level was 5,4 ± 1 ,4mmol/l which was higher than the normal range of 5,2mmolll. The majority ofthe females were overweight and obese, signifying overnutrition in the sample of elderly people. The health status of the respondents was also compromised. A large number of subjects were taking chronic medication (55,9percent) and suffered from a number of disorders including painful joints (70,6percent), enteral infections 72,4 percent) and chronic headaches (48,2percent). Forty one percent received chronic hypertension medication A food multimix was formulated, which involved the blending of locally available, affordable, culturally acceptable and commonly consumed food commodities mixed proportionally, drawing on the 'nutrient strengths' of each component of the mix in order to optimise the nutritive value of the end-product without the need for fortification. The initial estimates of energy and nutrient content of the ingredients needed the appropriate food databases. The nutrient content was calculated using the SA food composition data and Food Finder/Dietary Manager®. At least 30 percent target ratio of the RDA was met in most nutrients in the food multimix. Proximate analysis was carried out to determine macronutrients such as energy, protein, carbohydrate and micronutrients such as zinc and iron content of multimixes. Carbohydrate and energy content were derived using data gained from the analytical procedures. Sub-samples of formulated FMM recipes were taken and prepared for analysis and shelf life testing of the FMM, soup and spinach muffin was also carried. The end products of multimix formulated were two recipes namely cream spinach soup and low sodium spinach muffms. Eighty percent accepted the soup colour and 50percent liked the flavour, 55 percent of the elderly accepted the appearance, 75percent accepted the smell of the product. The dried spinach was mixed with the apple blended well and regarding taste, only 15 percent disliked the taste. Conclusions: The results of this study confirmed that a novel food item such as FMM can be developed to meet certain criteria. Recommendations: Further research is required where long-term effects of the implementation of the multimix in the diet of the elderly can be investigated.

Allergien sind häufige Erkrankungen in vielen industrialisierten Ländern. Ihre Entstehung beruht auf einem komplexen Zusammenspiel von genetischen und umweltassoziierten Einflüssen. Eine Vielzahl möglicher Faktoren ist beschrieben, die das Auftreten von AllerT gien beeinflussen können, etwa das Alter oder das Geschlecht. Es gibt allerdings nur sehr wenige Daten zur Verbreitung allergischer Erkrankungen in der älteren Bevölkerung. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, eine Übersicht zur Prävalenz allergischer ErkranT kungen und Sensibilisierungen in einer Stichprobe der 40T79Tjährigen Bevölkerung Leipzigs zu geben. Hierzu wurden insgesamt 4088 Probanden der zweiten ZwischenausT wertung (1. November 2011 bis 12. Juni 2013) der LIFETStudie untersucht. LIFE (Leipziger Forschungskomplex für Zivilisationserkrankungen) ist eine Kohortenstudie zur Erfassung von lebensstilT und umweltassoziierten Erkrankungen, beispielsweise Allergien, und mögT lichen Einflussfaktoren. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden allergische Erkrankungen (alT lergische Rhinitis, Asthma bronchiale, atopisches Ekzem, Urtikaria, Anaphylaxie, NahT rungsmittelT und Insektengiftallergien) anhand eines AllergieTInterviews erfragt; SensibiliT sierungen werden mittels IgETDiagnostik für InhalationsT (SX1T) und NahrungsmittelallerT gene (FX5TScreeningtest) bzw. mittels Hautpricktest (Birke, Wiesenlieschgras, Beifuß, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Alternaria alternata und Ambrosia) erfasst, weiterhin wird das GesamtTIgE bestimmt. Als mögliche Einflussfaktoren werden das Geschlecht, das Alter, der sozioökonomische Status und die allergologische Familienanamnese unterT sucht, hierzu werden neben den Prävalenzen auch OddsTRatios berechnet. Allergien sind häufige Erkrankungen in vielen industrialisierten Ländern. Ihre Entstehung beruht auf einem komplexen Zusammenspiel von genetischen und umweltassoziierten Einflüssen. Eine Vielzahl möglicher Faktoren ist beschrieben, die das Auftreten von Allergien beeinflussen können, etwa das Alter oder das Geschlecht. Es gibt allerdings nur sehr wenige Daten zur Verbreitung allergischer Erkrankungen in der älteren Bevölkerung. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, eine Übersicht zur Prävalenz allergischer Erkrankungen und Sensibilisierungen in einer Stichprobe der 40-79-jährigen Bevölkerung Leipzigs zu geben. Hierzu wurden insgesamt 4088 Probanden der zweiten Zwischenauswertung (1. November 2011 bis 12. Juni 2013) der LIFE-Studie untersucht. LIFE (Leipziger Forschungskomplex für Zivilisationserkrankungen) ist eine Kohortenstudie zur Erfassung von lebensstil- und umweltassoziierten Erkrankungen, beispielsweise Allergien, und möglichen Einflussfaktoren. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden allergische Erkrankungen (allergische Rhinitis, Asthma bronchiale, atopisches Ekzem, Urtikaria, Anaphylaxie, Nahrungsmittel- und Insektengiftallergien) anhand eines Allergie-Interviews erfragt; Sensibilisierungen werden mittels IgE-Diagnostik für Inhalations- (SX1-) und Nahrungsmittelallergene (FX5-Screeningtest) bzw. mittels Hautpricktest (Birke, Wiesenlieschgras, Beifuß, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Alternaria alternata und Ambrosia) erfasst, weiterhin wird das Gesamt-IgE bestimmt. Als mögliche Einflussfaktoren werden das Geschlecht, das Alter, der sozioökonomische Status und die allergologische Familienanamnese untersucht, hierzu werden neben den Prävalenzen auch Odds-Ratios berechnet. Insgesamt zeigt sich, dass allergische Erkrankungen und Sensibilisierungen in der untersuchten Stichprobe häufig sind. Die Einflussfaktoren zeigen unterschiedliche Effekte für das Risiko einer Allergie. Beispielsweise geht eine positive allergologische Familienanamnese mit einem erhöhten Risiko einher. Die möglichen Ursachen für Prävalenzunterschiede bei den allergischen Erkrankungen im Vergleich mit der Literatur und das Verhalten der Einflussfaktoren werden, ebenso wie die bestehenden Limitationen von LIFE, kritisch diskutiert. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird erstmalig der Status quo von allergischen Erkrankungen in einer Probandengruppe der älteren Leipziger Bevölkerung gezeigt. Allergien sind bei den älteren Teilnehmern weniger häufig als bei den jüngeren, aber immer noch weit verbreitet. Weitere Untersuchungen sind notwendig, um mögliche Prävalenzänderungen zu dokumentieren und weitere Einflussfaktoren zu untersuchen. LIFE und seine geplanten Nachuntersuchungen bieten hierfür passende Möglichkeiten.