Older Women

Literature data suggest that breast cancers occurring in young patients may be different from those arising in older women. In this study the clinicopathologic characteristics of 50 patients under 40 years of age were compared with those of patients aged over 60. Patients under 40 years old more frequently had a family history of breast cancer than did older patients (24% vs 17%) and had more often used oral contraceptives (29% vs 13%); on average they had experienced menarche 1 year earlier. For early onset breast carcinomas there was a higher frequency of grade 3 tumours (38% vs 17%) and oestrogen receptor negativity (46% vs 20%). In addition, in younger patients the carcinomas were mostly DNA aneuploid (78% vs 58%), with a higher proliferation rate (48% vs 26%) and more frequent c-erbB-2 overexpression (48% vs 26%) and p53 alteration (30% vs 8%). Our data demonstrate that breast cancers arising in young women have a significantly different biopathological profile from those in older patients, with a predominance of unfavourable prognostic parameters.

Purpose Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a major health problem that has substantial and important effects on health-related quality of life. In recent years, extracorporeal magnetic innervation (ExMI) has become a preferred method of treatment in urinary incontinence. This study presents the effects of ExMI treatment on pelvic floor muscle strength, urinary symptoms, incontinence conditions and quality of life of older women with SUI. Methods A total of 13 patients between the ages of 61 and 69 (mean 65.23 ± 2.8 years) were treated for SUI with ExMI. The following parameters were investigated: urinary symptoms, pelvic floor electromyographic (EMG) activity, 1-h pad test, incontinence conditions utilizing visual analog scale (VAS) and quality of life using Turkish version of the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6) and the Incontinence Quality of Life Instrument (I-QoL). All assessments were conducted at baseline and at the end of the study. Treatment lasted for 20 min, twice a week and for a total of 6 weeks. Results The urinary symptoms and incontinence conditions decreased after the ExMI treatment sessions. The pad test results indicated a reduction in urine loss (p = 0.016). EMG values were improved (p = 0.005). Scores of I-QoL, UDI-6 and VAS were reduced after the treatment, respectively (p = 0.002), (p = 0.002) and (p = 0.006). Conclusion Extracorporeal magnetic innervation can be considered as it is an alternative, non-invasive and painless treatment method with good compliance for treatment of SUI in older patients.

Being able to predict medical school performance is essential to help ensure the supply of quality physicians. The purpose of our study was to examine the influence of gender and age on academic performance (AP) and on academic difficulty (AD). The study involved all matriculants of 3 classes at one medical school. Independent variables included gender, age (categorized into younger and older than 23 years) and the gender by age interaction. Dependent variables included an AP scale score, a clinically based performance examination and AD. The Wilson AP Scale score was developed to assess both excellent and poor performance. The Wilson AP Scale included first-, second-, and third-year medical school grade-point-averages, USMLE Step 1score and USMLE Step 2 score. Older women as a group had the highest mean Wilson AP Scale score. Women performed better than men on the clinically based performance examinations. Younger men were least likely to have AD and younger women were most likely ...

Objectives: To determine whether a functional-task exercise program and a resistance exercise program have different effects on the ability of community-living older people to perform daily tasks.Design: A randomized, controlled, single-blind trial.Setting: Community leisure center in Utrecht, the Netherlands.Participants: Ninety-eight healthy women aged 70 and older were randomly assigned to the functional-task exercise program (function group, n=33), a resistance exercise program (resistance group, n=34), or a control group (n=31). Participants attended exercise classes three times a week for 12 weeks.Measurements: Functional task performance (Assessment of Daily Activity Performance (ADAP)), isometric knee extensor strength (IKES), handgrip strength, isometric elbow flexor strength (IEFS), and leg extension power were measured at baseline, at the end of training (at 3 months), and 6 months after the end of training (at 9 months).Results: The ADAP total score of the function group (mean change 6.8, 95% confidence interval (CI)=5.2–8.4) increased significantly more than that of the resistance group (3.2, 95% CI=1.3–5.0; P=.007) or the control group (0.3, 95% CI=−1.3–1.9; P<.001). Moreover, the ADAP total score of the resistance group did not change significantly compared with that of the control group. In contrast, IKES and IEFS increased significantly in the resistance group (12.5%, 95% CI=3.8–21.3 and 8.6%, 95% CI=3.1–14.1, respectively) compared with the function group (−2.1%, 95% CI=−5.4–1.3; P=.003 and 0.3%, 95% CI=−3.6–4.2; P=.03, respectively) and the control group (−2.7%, 95% CI=−8.6–3.2, P=.003 and 0.6%, 95% CI=−3.4–4.6; P=.04, respectively). Six months after the end of training, the increase in ADAP scores was sustained in the function group (P=.002).Conclusion: Functional-task exercises are more effective than resistance exercises at improving functional task performance in healthy elderly women and may have an important role in helping them maintain an independent lifestyle.

This study provides insight into the lives of eight married couples involved in an age-heterogamous relationship where the wife is ten or more years older than her husband. While there is a lot of information in the literature about men who date and marry younger women, the research on this subject is very limited or outdated. This exploratory study provides valuable information in several areas about couples in woman-older marriages. The interviews were conducted with each participant separately and explored three major topics of interest: The impact the age difference has on the relationship, the issues that arise for the couple, and any difference in husbands and wives experience. Implications for professionals working with such couples, as well as for further research, are discussed.

This article foregrounds the accounts of a cohort of clubbers who are largely ignored both by journalists and scholars alike. Grounded in the accounts of aging female clubbers and their participation in electronic dance music culture, it investigates the lived experience of being and performing the category of 'older woman' in this context. It examines the materiality of their participation and their tactical responses to being in an environment that has been associated traditionally with youth. In a landscape where scholarship on female participation in club cultures is, at best, scarce, research into the experiences of older women in dance music culture is virtually non-existent. As such this article represents a first step in addressing a significant gap in understanding women's engagement with dance cultures as they mature.