RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Falling has a great importance among the elderlies. Even if no physical injury occurs, it can cause fear of falling down again and, consequently, reduce older adults' activities. With regard to the prevalence of falling among older adults, its prevention is essential. Therefore, the present study was aimed to define the effect of need-based education on prevention of older adults' falling during their everyday life activities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a quasi-experimental study. Study population comprised all the older adults of age 60 years and over referring to health care centers in Isfahan. Through multiple random sampling, 15 older adults were selected from four health care centers. Data collection tool in the present study was Daily Activity Questionnaire. RESULTS: Results showed a significant difference between the mean of daily activity scores in the intervention group before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention (12, 13.6, and 13.5, respectively; P = 0.01). Meanwhile, there was no significant deference between the scores immediately after and 1 month after the intervention. There was no significant difference observed between the three time points in the control group (mean = 12.3; P = 0.907). CONCLUSION: Implementation of education concerning prevention of older adults' falling led to improvement of their daily activity in the intervention group.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This study defines the relationship between salivary beta-2 microglobulin (ß2-M) and intensity of uremia in male patients diagnosed with chronic renal failure (CRF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total of 42 males were enrolled in a case-control study. There were 21 cases of CRF and 21 control cases. We collected 10cc of saliva plus 5 cc of blood from all patients to determine ß2-M, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) levels. RESULTS: There was a correlation between the level of serum BUN and salivary urea in controls and patients, which was statistically significant for controls (p=0.028).The correlation between serum and salivary Cr was 0.195 in controls (p=0.398) and 0.598 in patients (p=0.006), which was statistically significant in patients. The correlation between serum and saliva was 0.133 (p=0.566) in controls and 0.078 (p=0.737) in patients, which was not statistically significant. The correlation between serum BUN and ß2-M was 0.168 (p=0.469) in the control group and 0.629 (p=0.002) in patients, which was statistically significant in patients. The correlation between serum Cr and ß2-M was 0.110 (p=0.635) in the control group and 0.678 (p=0.001) in patients, which was statistically significant in patients. The correlation between serum BUN and salivary ß2-M was 0.093 (p=0.0690) in controls and 0.152 (p=0.152) in patients, which was not statistically significant. The correlation between serum Cr and salivary ß2-M was 0.072 (p=0.070) in the control group and 0.286 (p=0.209) in patients, which was not statistically significant in either group. CONCLUSION: The results of the study indicated that salivary ß2-M cannot be used as a noninvasive indicator to detect the severity of renal failure.