Age Bands (age + bands)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Content validity of the expanded and revised Gross Motor Function Classification System

DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 10 2008
Robert J Palisano PT ScD
The aim of this study was to validate the expanded and revised Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS-E&R) for children and youth with cerebral palsy using group consensus methods. Eighteen physical therapists participated in a nominal group technique to evaluate the draft version of a 12- to 18-year age band. Subsequently, 30 health professionals from seven countries participated in a Delphi survey to evaluate the revised 12- to 18-year and 6- to 12-year age bands. Consensus was defined as agreement with a question by at least 80% of participants. After round 3 of the Delphi survey, consensus was achieved for the clarity and accuracy of the descriptions for each level and the distinctions between levels for both the 12- to 18-year and 6- to 12-year age bands. Participants also agreed that the distinction between capability and performance and the concept that environmental and personal factors influence methods of mobility were useful for classification of gross motor function. The results provide evidence of content validity of the GMFCS-E&R. The GMFCS-E&R has utility for communication, clinical decision making, databases, registries, and clinical research. [source]


Findings from the International Adult Literacy Survey on the incidence and correlates of learning disabilities in New Zealand: Is something rotten in the state of New Zealand?,

DYSLEXIA, Issue 2 2003
James W. Chapman
Abstract New Zealand data from the International Adult Literacy Survey were analysed to examine the incidence and correlates of self-reported specific reading learning disability (SRLD). The results showed that 7.7% of New Zealand adults reported having had a learning disability. The ratio of males to females with SRLD was 3:2. Between 40% and 50% of New Zealand adults performed below the minimum level of proficiency required for meeting the complex demands of everyday life in knowledge-based societies. For adults with SRLD, around 80% performed below the minimum level, and the literacy proficiency of adults with SRLD in younger age bands appears to have declined since the early 1960s. Almost 100% of adults with SRLD in the 16,20 years age range performed below the minimum level for document and quantitative literacy and 92% for prose literacy. Compared to non-SRLD adults, those with SRLD were found to leave school earlier, engage more often in manual occupations, are more frequently unemployed, and rely on more state assistance to bring their income levels closer to the levels enjoyed by non-SRLD adults. The results are discussed in terms of SRLD not being officially recognised or provided for in New Zealand, the lack of appropriate remedial provisions for children who experience difficulties with reading, and the effects of a strong whole language orientated approach to literacy instruction in schools that has been in place since 1963. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


PENTA 2009 guidelines for the use of antiretroviral therapy in paediatric HIV-1 infection

HIV MEDICINE, Issue 10 2009
PENTA Steering Committee
PENTA Guidelines aim to provide practical recommendations for treating children with HIV infection in Europe. Changes to guidance since 2004 have been informed by new evidence and by expectations of better outcomes following the ongoing success of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Participation in PENTA trials of simplifying treatment is encouraged. The main changes are in the following sections: ,When to start ART': Treatment is recommended for all infants, and at higher CD4 cell counts and percentages in older children, in line with changes to adult guidelines. The number of age bands has been reduced to simplify and harmonize with other paediatric guidelines. Greater emphasis is placed on CD4 cell count in children over 5 years, and guidance is provided where CD4% and CD4 criteria differ. ,What to start with': A three-drug regimen of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) with either a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) or a boosted protease inhibitor (PI) remains the first choice combination. Lamivudine and abacavir are the NRTI backbone of choice for most children, based on long-term follow-up in the PENTA 5 trial. Stavudine is no longer recommended. Whether to start with an NNRTI or PI remains unclear, but PENPACT 1 trial results in 2009 may help to inform this. All PIs should be ritonavir boosted. Recommendations on use of resistance testing, therapeutic drug monitoring and HLA testing draw from data in adults and from European paediatric cohort studies. Recently updated US and WHO paediatric guidelines provide more detailed review of the evidence base. Differences between guidelines are highlighted and explained. [source]


Ethnic Differences in Singapore's Dementia Prevalence: The Stroke, Parkinson's Disease, Epilepsy, and Dementia in Singapore Study

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 11 2008
Suresh Sahadevan MBBS
OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of dementia in Singapore among Chinese, Malays, and Indians. DESIGN: A two-phase, cross-sectional study of randomly selected population from central Singapore with disproportionate race stratification. SETTING: Community-based study. Subjects screened to have cognitive impairment at phase 1 in their homes were evaluated clinically for dementia at phase 2 in nearby community centers. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen thousand eight hundred seventeen subjects aged 50 and older (67% participation rate). MEASUREMENTS: The locally validated Abbreviated Mental Test was used to screen for cognitive impairment at phase 1. Dementia was diagnosed at phase 2 as per Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria. Possible Alzheimer's disease (AD) and possible vascular dementia (VD) were diagnosed along the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders,Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l'Enseignement en Neuroscienes criteria, respectively. RESULTS: The overall age- and race-standardized dementia prevalence was 1.26% (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.10,1.45). Prevalence (in 5-year age bands) was 0.08% (50,54), 0.08% (55,59), 0.44% (60,64), 1.16% (65,69), 1.84% (70,74), 3.26% (75,79), 8.35% (80,84), and 16.42% (,85). From age 50 to 69, 65% of dementia cases were VD; at older ages, 60% were AD. Logistic regression (adjusted for age, sex, education) showed that Malays had twice the risk for AD as Chinese, and Indians had more than twice the risk for AD and VD than Chinese. CONCLUSION: Singapore's dementia prevalence, primarily influenced by its Chinese majority, is lower than seen in the West. The striking interethnic differences suggest a need for a dementia incidence study and further investigation of underlying genetic and cultural differences between the three ethnic groups in relation to dementia risk. [source]


Differential effects of ageing on foveal and peripheral colour vision

ACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2009
F RAUSCHER
Purpose Colour sensitivity was assessed to establish aging effects both at the fovea and 6 deg away from fixation, in each of the four quadrants. Methods 65 normal healthy subjects (from 20 to 80 years of age) took part in the study. All subjects had Visual Acuity (VA) of 6/6 or better. Fixation accuracy was monitored using infrared imaging of the pupil and the tests were carried out on the P_SCAN system. Target size was adjusted for parafoveal locations to account for retinal and cortical magnification. Yellow-blue (YB) and red-green (RG) colour discrimination was assessed using the CAD (colour assessment and diagnosis) test (http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/200904.pdf). Results RG and YB colour thresholds were analysed separately for all five locations tested and showed no significant effect with ageing below the age of 60 years. Two age bands were formed based on statistical analysis (20-59.9 and 60-79.9). The decline in performance with age was more rapid at the fovea and exhibited a steeper gradient when compared with results in the periphery for both RG and YB discrimination. Foveal YB discrimination showed the largest ageing effect. No significant difference was found between the four parafoveal locations. YB discrimination at the fovea also exhibited the largest inter-subject variability. Conclusion These findings may have clinical significance in the very early detection of disease processes that remain subclinical in many subjects. Differences between foveal and peripheral locations help to differentiate between the normal effects of ageing and disease. For example, higher foveal and normal peripheral YB thresholds in normal subjects from high peripheral thresholds in early glaucomatous subjects. [source]