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Memory capabilities, including its mechanisms and memory approaches weaken as age increases. However, the studies reveal that the content of memory, i.e. the knowledge stored in it, usually increases. Memory system includes sensory memory within which environmental information are recorded. Short-term memory is related to storing data at awareness level, whereas long-term memory is associated with  storing knowledge and past experiences.

Psychological and physiological factors such as mental and physical health, nutrition, using narcotic substances and alcohol, and also stimulation during life may affect all functions of the elderly such as their memory. Unfortunately, many researchers overlooked the effects of these variables on subjects.

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Objective: Aging decline abilities and leads to increased risk of falling and subsequently poorer quality of life. The objective of this study was to identify a proper assessment for risk of falling among institutionalized elderly people.

Materials & Methods: Prospective non–interventional methodological discriminative–validation study in order to make a comparative assessment of the discriminative validity of the two clinical assessment methods among the elderly people with/ without history of falling. The frequency of falls within 6 months among institutionalized elderly individuals was prospectively studied. Finally, those having had two or more falls within 6 months were enrolled in the faller group and those having no falls within 6 months were enrolled in the non-faller group. Twenty-one women and 33 men (mean age: 75.79, standard deviation [SD]: 8.47, range: 61-98) independent in their daily activities and able to walk 10 meters using / without assistive devices volunteered to participate in the study with awareness. Background variables included age, gender, use / nonuse of assistive devices, height, weight, number of the drugs used, and number of the diseases independent variable was history of falling and dependent variables were the results of the two functional assessment methods. In order to accomplish the aim of study, two functional assessment methods, Berg scale and Tinetti scale, were used and the validity indices of these methods were calculated.

Results: Independent t test indicated a significant difference between the two groups of fallers and non-fallers in the mean scores on Berg Balance Scale (p=0.00l) and Tinetti Scale (p=0.00l).

Conclusion: The results of logistic regression test indicated much more discriminative validity for Berg Balance Scale test than Tinetti Scale test. Studying the validity of Berg Balance Scale assessment method showed that all validity indices should be regarded as bases for clinical decision.

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Objective: Today, due to the high growth rate of aging, protecting and improving the health and quality of life of elderly as a vulnerable group of the population are taken into more consideration. This study was performed to determine the relationship between social support and anxiety level in the elderly.

Materials & Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 380 older adults of Hamedan city were selected through random sampling. To gather the data, Social Support Appraisals Scale and Geriatric Anxiety Scale were used as well as Demographic Variables Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Correlation Coefficient and Independent T-test.

Results: The sample consisted of 68. 9% male and 90% were married. The mean age of the elders was 68.06±6.72 years. Results showed that social support has significant relationships with anxiety and its subscales, of which cognitive subscale had the highest correlation (P-value<0.001, r=-0.494).

Conclusion: Because of the increasing rate of aging, the importance of the social determinants of health such as social support is important in reducing anxiety in elderly.

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Objective: The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate psychometric properties of Persian version of WHOQOL-DIS questionnaire in elderly people with disability.

Materials & Methods A classical psychometric method was used to evaluate validity and reliability of WHOQOL-DIS questionnaire in elderly people with disability. Lawshe, and Waltz and Bausell methods were used for assessing content validity. During convenient sampling, 205 elderly, whose score in WHOQOL-DIS questionnaire was more than 4, completed the SF-12 questionnaire in order to assess convergent validity and criterion validity (using known group's comparison). Reliability was estimated using internal consistency and test-retest reliability was determined by means of Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC).

Results: According to Lawshe, and Waltz and Bausell methods of content validity, acceptable scores were obtained for all items. Correlation between the WHOQOL-DIS questionnaire and the SF-12 scales was satisfactory except for social domain (P=0.13). The Intraclass Correlation Coefficients for score of questionnaire dimensions and total score was higher than 0.70. Cronbach's alpha for investigating Intraclass Correlation was higher than 0.70 except for social domain. Comparing known groups revealed distinctions in sex and health and disability status between elderly people (P<0.001).

Conclusion: In general, the findings suggested that the WHOQOL-DIS questionnaire is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among elderly people with disabilities. Therefore, the questionnaire can be used in the investigation on the quality of life of elderly people.

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Objective: In recent years, it has been focused much attention on gait analysis. Factors such as speed, age and gender affect gait parameters. The purpose of the present study was to compare the electromyographic activity pattern of knee two-joint muscles between younger and older subjects in different gait speeds.

Matterials & Methods: The method of current study was analytical cross-sectional method in which 15 healthy young men and 15 old men, were selected conveniently. Electromyographic activity of rectus femoris, biceps femoris, semitendinus and gastrocenemius were recorded during walking with preferred (100%), slow (80%) and fast (120%) speeds in a 10 meter walkway. Normalized RMSs of muscles were compared using RM-ANOVA and Tokey’s tests by SPSS 18 software.

Results: According to results, RMSs of rectus femoris in midstance (P<0.01) and gastrocenemius in loading response (P=0.02) phases in all walking speeds were higher in older subjects than in younger ones, and it increased with speed in both age groups (P<0.01). Biceps femoris RMS in terminal stance at 80% speed, was lower in older subjects than in younger ones (P=0.01) and it increased with walking speed (P=0.01). Semitendinus activity in loading and midstance phases at 120% speed was higher in older subjects than in younger ones (P<0.01), and it increased with speed in both age groups in swing phase (P<0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results, older subjects have more muscle co-contraction around knee at high speed in midstance phase than younger subjects. These age-related changes in muscle activity, leads to increase in joint stiffness and stability during single support, and probably play a role in reducing push off power at faster speeds.

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Objective Walking is one of the most important activities of daily living that plays a vital role in the lives of the elderly population and can help improve their physical and mental health. Especially, the survey of ground reaction force (GRF) during walking with different speeds between young and old adults results in better perception of essential mechanisms of speed regulation during walking. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of age and walking speeds on vertical GRF in younger and older adults.
Materials & Methods The subjects of this study included 15 younger and 15 older men with a mean age of 26.46 and 70.33 years, respectively. All the subjects were healthy and randomly selected. A-10-meters walking path was considered along the laboratory, and a three-axis Kistler Force plate was placed in the middle of the track. The distance of walking start line to force plate was 4 meters. Each subject walked this 10-meters path with self-selected (100%), slow (80%) and fast (120%) speeds. The vertical GRF during walking stance phases including weight acceptance or first peak phase (FZ1), midstance or depth phase (FZ2), and heel off or second peak phase (FZ3) were measured by the Force plate at 200-Hz frequency. The data were analyzed by ANOVA with repeated measures and Bonferroni tests.
Results The results showed that the effects of age (P=0.002) and speed (P=0.001) on the mean vertical GRF are significant. Also, the interaction effect of age and speed on the mean vertical GRF was significant (P=0.013). According to the Bonferroni test, in both age groups, the mean vertical GRF was significantly different between different speeds (P<0.01). Moreover, at 100% (P=0.036) and 120% (P=0.002) speeds, there were significant differences between younger and older adults. At slow speed, there was no significant difference in GRF components (FZ1, FZ2, and FZ3) between the two age groups (p>0.05). At self-selected and fast speeds, there were significant differences in FZ1 and FZ3 between the two groups (p<0.01) while there was no significant difference regarding FZ2 (p>0.05). In addition, there were significant differences at FZ1 and FZ3 between different speeds (p<0.01).
Conclusion In summary, the results of the present study showed that during walking with self-selected and fast speeds, the reaction forces of weight acceptance and heel off phases were significantly different between younger and older adults, but there was no significant difference in the reaction force of midstance phase. Moreover, in both age groups, there were significant differences among walking different speeds in the reaction forces of weight acceptance and heel off phases. It seems that lower extremity muscles strengthening in the older adults can increase walking speed and decrease falling risks and functional disabilities of these people.

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Objective: Aging is one of the stages of life that needs special attention due to the special conditions of this period of life. Inactivity and myasthenia due to aging are important factors in reducing the physical and functional activities in the elderly, which can affect their quality of life. On the other hand, electromyostimulation (EMS) is one of the modern training methods that can be suitable for disabilities in the elderly. Also, the training sequence in concurrent training is one of the variables of training that can affect its adaptations. This study aimed to compare the effect of exercise sequence in concurrent training with EMS on the motor performance of elderly women.
Materials & Methods: In this semi-experimental single-blinded study, 50 healthy elderly female volunteers, age range of 60-70 years, were selected by random sampling divided randomly into the following groups (each group of 10 people): Aerobic-resistance training with EMS, resistance-aerobic exercise with EMS, rotational exercise (change of priority periodically in training sessions) with EMS, and rotational and control (without training) groups. The training protocol consisted of twelve weeks of exercise, three sessions per week, and each session three stages of warm-up (10-15 minutes), main exercises (20 minutes) and cooling (10 minutes). The main training program consisted of 20 minutes of parallel combination exercises, which were two 10-minute steps with a 3-5 minute intervals. Aerobic exercises were performed with the intensity of 70%-50% of maximum oxygen consumption and resistance exercises using body weight and elastic bands for different muscle groups. The training schedule was the same for all groups in terms of volume and intensity, with the only difference being in the exercise sequence and EMS presentation. Strength of the upper and lower torso muscles were measured with chest press and seated leg extension, respectively, maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max) with a one-mile Rockport walking test, muscular endurance with a 2-minute marching on a spot-test and lower torso strength with a walking test on the slope in two stages before and after the intervention. Statistical analysis was performed using dependent t-tests and Covariance Analysis (ANCOVA) and Bonferroni post hoc test using SPSS software V. 22 and P≥0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Significant increase was observed in all measured dependent variables relative to the baseline values (P<0.001). In the study of intergroup changes, a significant increase was observed in VO2 max level, upper and lower torso strength, and muscular endurance in all of the intervention groups compared to the control group (P<0.001), but lower torso strength was significant only in the intervention groups with EMS compared to the control group (P<0.001). VO2 max changes and the lower torso strength in training groups with EMS were significantly higher than the groups without EMS (P<0.01). Also, the upper torso strength and the endurance of the lower torso muscles in the group with the priority of resistance training with EMS were higher than the combination group without EMS (P<0.01).
Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be said that combined concurrent exercises are a useful method in promoting physical fitness and physical performance of elderly women, and the use of EMS can increase the effectiveness of adaptations resulting from exercise, especially lower torso strength in the elderly and can prevent complications associated with myasthenia. On the other hand, the training sequence with the priority of resistance training can be effective in increasing the effect of exercise on the variables of upper torso muscle strength and muscular endurance, but it does not have a significant effect on lower torso strength, cardiorespiratory endurance and lower torso strength.

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Objective: Social isolation is one of the important concerns in the elderly population which can negatively affect their quality of life and health. The present study aims to determine the prevalence of social isolation among older adults aged 60 years and older in Tehran, Iran and find its associated factors.
Materials & Methods: This is a secondary analysis study on data obtained from a large cross-sectional study conducted on older adults in Tehran in 2020. The Persian version of lubben social network scale (LSNS-6) was used to measure social isolation. The demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, living arrangements, and number of children), socio-economic status (educational level, employment status, and household income) and health-related information (history of chronic diseases and use of assistive devices) were collected using a checklist. Data were analyzed in SPSS v. 23 software using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The significance level was set at
Results: The data were related to 1280 older adults aged 60 years and older (Mean±SD age=70.97±8.07 years). The prevalence of social isolation was 30.8%. The results of chi-square test revealed that living arrangement (P<0.001, X2=46.93), marital status (P<0.001, X2=26.91), household income (P<0.001, X2=67.44), level of education (P<0.05, X2=20.26), employment status (P <0.001, X2=29.21), musculoskeletal problems (P<0.001, X2=15.47), respiratory problems (P<0.05, X2=10.43), vision problems (P<0.05, X2=4.4), hyperlipidemia (P<0.001, X2=13.53), and wearing glasses (P<0.05, X2=3.92) had significant association with social isolation. The regression analysis model could significantly predict social isolation (X2=188.35, P<0.001). The model revealed that being male (P<0.05, OR=1.7), living with spouse (P<0.05, OR=0.4), musculoskeletal disease (P<0.05, OR=1.42), diabetes (P<0.05, OR=1.41), household income (P<0.001, OR=5.82), being unemployed (P<0.001, OR=2.13), having hyperlipidemia (P<0.001, OR=0.58), and living in developed areas (P<0.001, OR=2.02) significantly predicted the social isolation.
Conclusion: There is a strong association between social isolation and some socio-economic, demographic-health related factors in older adults. Health policymakers and healthcare experts can develop the screening and prevention programs related to the mental and social health of older adults in Tehran, Iran in order to moderate and control these factors. 
 

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