BACKGROUND the debate about measures of chronic comorbidity in the elderly is mainly due to the lack of consensus on pathogenetic models. OBJECTIVE the aim of the present study was to compare the concurrent validity of a number of measures of chronic comorbidity assuming different pathogenic models, versus disability in elderly patients. SETTING the Geriatric Evaluation and Rehabilitation U...

The objective of this study was to test a new version of the Magnetic Resonance Disease Severity Scale (MRDSS2), incorporating cerebral gray matter (GM) and spinal cord involvement from 3 T MRI, in modeling the relationship between MRI and physical disability or cognitive status in multiple sclerosis (MS). Fifty-five MS patients and 30 normal controls underwent high-resolution 3 T MRI. The pati...

BACKGROUND Awareness of functional status of patients after arthroplasty helps therapists to select suitable topics of education that will enable the patients to continue rehabilitation on their own and improve the quality of life among hip joint prosthesis recipients. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved a group of 60 patients (41 men and 19 women) after arthroplasty who were hospitalised...

BACKGROUND Individuals with lower socioeconomic status are at increased risk of involuntary exit from paid employment. To give sound advice for primary prevention in the workforce, insight is needed into the role of mediating factors between socioeconomic status and labour force participation. Therefore, it is aimed to investigate the influence of health status, lifestyle-related factors and wo...

OBJECTIVE Examine disparities in routine mammography for women who qualify for Medicaid, because of a work-limiting disability. METHODS Individual-level data were obtained for women enrolled in Massachusetts Medicaid Managed Care plans who met the 2007 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) criteria for the breast cancer screening measure (n=35,171). Disability status was d...

Physical therapists (PTs) as rehabilitation experts, have a unique role to play in fostering independence for people with disability and reducing human disability levels in Nigeria. Access to rehabilitation for people with disability is inadequate, with the attendant economic and social implications if the status quo is maintained. Changes are required in how people perceive disability and in l...

BACKGROUND Relatively little is known about the health and disability of adult cancer survivors. As a way to explore these issues, data from the National Health Interview Survey (years 1998-2000) were analyzed. METHODS Comparisons were made between cancer survivors (n = 4878) and those without a history of cancer (n = 90,737), using both descriptive statistics and logistic-regression models o...

Our objective was to compare self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for U.S. veterans with multiple sclerosis (MS) on disease-modifying agents with provider reports of HRQOL from standard disability measures. We conducted a 3-year prospective observational study of 204 subjects who used interferon beta or glatiramer acetate and compared subjects' responses on the Veterans Short-Fo...

BACKGROUND Today industrialized countries face a burgeoning aged population. Thus, there is increasing attention on the functioning and disabilities of aged adults as potential determinants of autonomy and independent living. However, there are few representative findings on the prevalence and determinants of disability in aged persons in the German population.The objective of our study is to e...