European Geriatric Medicine - Supplement 1 - Volume 7 - October 2016

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statistically significant differences were found in terms of SHP
(87.92 ± 12.98 vs. 82.69 ± 18.86 p = 0.255) or HbA1c (7.23 ± 0.60 vs.
7.27 ± 0.87 p = 0.84) when comparing older and younger adults.
Conclusions: Age should not be considered an exclusion criterion
for initiation of therapy with continuous glucose monitoring. This
study does not display significant differences between younger
and older adults. Nevertheless, further investigation is required in
order to aid decision making for geriatricians and endocrinologists in
this field.
P-157
The role of galectin-3 as an indicator of inflammation and
oxidative stress in Alzheimer’ s disease
G. Güner 1, B.B. Yavuz2, M.K. K ıl ıç2, M.C. Kız ılarslanoğlu2, H.D. Varan2,
A. Sağı r2, M.E. Kuyumcu2, Y. Yesil2, M. Halil 2. 1Department of Internal
Medicine, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, 2Department of
Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Hacettepe University
Faculty of Medicine
Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative dis-
order of central nervous system and most common cause of dementia.
Inflammation plays an important role in the development of cognitive
decline and dementia in the old age. Galectin-3 is a multifunctional
protein implicated in a variety of biological processes including
fibrosis, angiogenesis, apoptosis, and immune activation but, the
best known role for galectin-3 is in acute and chronic inflammation.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether galectin-3 can be an
indicator of inflammation in Alzheimer’ s disease pathogenesis and a
feasible biomarker of the disease.
Method: In this cross-sectional study, following geriatric comprehen-
sive assessment and cognitive assessment, 44 AD patients and 44
control patients with normal cognitive status aged 65 years and over
admitted to the outpatient clinic of the Division of Geriatric Medicine,
Department of Internal Medicine, at Hacettepe University Hospital
were enrolled. Patients who had acute or chronic infection or chronic
diseases that can affect galectin-3 levels (chronic inflammatory
diseases) were excluded. The comprehensive geriatric assessment
tests and neuropsychiatric tests were performed to all patients. Serum
galectin-3 levels were measured.
Results: Analyses revealed that galectin-3 level of Alzheimer’s disease
group was higher than the control group. However, it was not
statistically significant (AD: 7.53 [2.22–16.19], control 7.02 [1.87–20];
(p = 0.443)). According to Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) the
galectin-3 levels of patients in moderately severe dementia group
(GDS stage 6) were significantly higher than the patients in early
dementia group (moderately severe dementia group 10.42 [6.29–
13.59], early-moderate dementia group 7.09 [2.22– 16.19] p = 0.032).
There was a significant weak negative correlation between galectin-3
levels and the Digit Span Forward (r = −0.216 p = 0.043) and Backward
(r = −0.233 p = 0.029) tests.
Conclusion: This study suggests that galectin-3 potentially plays an
important role as an indicator of inflammation and oxidative stress in
the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’ s disease. Besides, galectin-3 is
measured easily in patient’s serum so it could be a potential candidate
as a biomarker for Alzheimer’ s disease. However, further and larger
prospective studies are needed to clarify the association.
P-158
A study of the Hong Kong version of Montreal Cognitive
Assessment (HK-MoCA) predicts conversion from mild cognitive
impairment to dementia
L.N. Tang, M.L. Lau, C.C. Chan, Y.Y. Tam, C.Y. Yung, H.S. Li, P.Y. Yeung.
Hospital Authority Hong Kong
Introduction: HK-MoCA is a cognitive assessment instrument for
Chinese elders in Hong Kong. It was validated also for detecting mild
cognitive impairment (MCI). The optimal cutoff score to differentiate
MCI fromnormal is 21/22 (Sensitivity: 0.828, Specificity of 0.735) and a
score of 18/19 to identify dementia (Sensitivity: 0.923, Specificity:
0.971). However, its use in monitoring the disease progression is
largely unknown.
Objective: To study the yearly conversion rate of MCI to dementia
Methodology 92 subjects aged over 60 attending a Cognition Clinic in
a public hospital for suspected cognitive impairment from 12/2011 to
5/2013 were diagnosed MCI using HK-MoCA. They were followed in
the clinic for 2 years.
Results: 21 (22.8%) were lost in the follow-up. The age and HK-MoCA
score (mean/standard deviation) of 71 subjects with follow-up data
available was 76.24/8.2 years and 16.85/4.8 respectively. 30.0% and
44.3% were converted to dementia at first and second year respect-
ively. Therewas no statistical significance in age, education and gender
between the converter and non-converter groups. However, score of
HK-MoCA was significantly lower in the converter group (14.94 vs
18.73, p = 0.001). Logistic regression however confirmed the HK-MoCA
score was the only variable to predict conversion.
Conclusion: HK-MoCA is a sensitive and reliable cognitive assessment
tool to detect MCI in those subjects who are at high risk of conversion
to dementia.
Area: Comorbidity and multimorbidity
P-159
The prognostic significance of anaemia in the elderly
E. Andah. University of Bradford, United Kingdom
Introduction:Anaemia in the elderly is increasingly becoming a cause
for concern as the world population of individuals’ aged 65 and over
increases. Anaemic disorders are associated with poor prognosis in the
elderly; therefore better understanding of outcomes such as mortality
and hospitalisation rates could lead to the development of better
treatment and management options for elderly individuals with
anaemia, ensuring a better quality of life.
Methods: Electronic searches identified general population based
studies that compared mortality and hospitalisation rates in the
anaemic elderly with that of the non-anaemic elderly. A meta-analysis
used forest plots to explore significant differences in the mortality and
hospitalisation rates between the anaemic and non -anaemic elderly
populations with the use of risk and hazard ratios.
Results: A meta-analysis of 14 studies with a total of 50,464 subjects
and a follow up period ranging from 1.4 to 23 years were included in
this study. Of these, 15.9% had anaemia according to the WHO criteria.
Forest plots indicated a risk ratio of 2.29 (95% Confidence Interval (CI),
2.03–2.58) for mortality, and a risk ratio of 1.75 (95% CI, 1.53– 2.02) for
hospitalisation in the elderly anaemic population.
Conclusion: Anaemia is of prognostic significance in the elderly
with increased mortality and hospitalisation rates observed in this
population compared to the non-anaemic population. Early diagnosis
and better treatment options for anaemic disorders in the elderly need
to be developed to tackle this issue of poor prognosis.
P-160
Characteristics of nonagenarians admitted into a subacute care
unit in an intermediate care hospital and risk factors associated
with mortality
C. Arnal1,2, N. Gual1,3, P. Burbano1, A. Calle1, F. Man1, M. Inzitari1,3.
1Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili, 2Hospital Universitari Vall d′Hebrón,
3Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Introduction and objectives: Nonagenarian patients are important
users of hospital services. As an alternative to intermediate care or
community hospitals, instead of tertiary hospitals, can treat them
for crises due to flared-up chronic diseases. We evaluated clinical
characteristics, evolution until 30 days after discharge and risk factors
associated with mortality of nonagenarians admitted to a subacute
care unit (SCU) of an intermediate care hospital.
Poster presentations / European Geriatric Medicine 7S1 (2016) S29–S259 S70