Fewer people died or needed expensive long-term care when their physicians focused on the top risk factors for stroke and dementia, according to research based in Germany and reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The primary care physicians in the German study focused on hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, atrial fibrillation and depression. The researchers found that during a five-year period, the need for long-term care was cut 10% in women and 9.6% in men.
Based on data collected in a comparison district, 2,112 deaths were expected in the intervention group, but only 1,939 patients died.
"Primary prevention pays off," Horst Bickel, PhD, the study’s lead author and a senior researcher at the Technical University of Munich, said in a news release. "Prevention measures have a potential for improving health in old age that has up to now not been satisfactorily exploited."
Bickel described these as "relatively simple" interventions, such as encouraging patients to be more physically active, eat healthier foods, quit smoking and reduce hypertension and high cholesterol.
The study included nearly 4,000 people ages 55 and older in rural Upper Bavaria, Germany. Their family physicians were given a brochure summarizing the recommendations, treatment guidelines and goals. Those patients were compared to 13,000 people in a nearby area who received the usual care without the focus on preventing stroke and dementia.
"We found that not only the risk of long-term care dependence was lower, but also that death rates decreased," Bickel said. "In addition, the cost of inpatient treatment was reduced in the intervention region."
Bickel expressed confidence that the results can be applied in the United States and other Western populations that suffer from similar sedentary lifestyle-related illnesses. He pointed to smoking, lack of exercise and obesity as the main culprits.
"At the population level, even simple measures can lead to substantial achievements," he said.
To read the study, visit http://bit.ly/M7NOVG.
The primary care physicians in the German study focused on hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, atrial fibrillation and depression. The researchers found that during a five-year period, the need for long-term care was cut 10% in women and 9.6% in men.
Based on data collected in a comparison district, 2,112 deaths were expected in the intervention group, but only 1,939 patients died.
"Primary prevention pays off," Horst Bickel, PhD, the study’s lead author and a senior researcher at the Technical University of Munich, said in a news release. "Prevention measures have a potential for improving health in old age that has up to now not been satisfactorily exploited."
Bickel described these as "relatively simple" interventions, such as encouraging patients to be more physically active, eat healthier foods, quit smoking and reduce hypertension and high cholesterol.
The study included nearly 4,000 people ages 55 and older in rural Upper Bavaria, Germany. Their family physicians were given a brochure summarizing the recommendations, treatment guidelines and goals. Those patients were compared to 13,000 people in a nearby area who received the usual care without the focus on preventing stroke and dementia.
"We found that not only the risk of long-term care dependence was lower, but also that death rates decreased," Bickel said. "In addition, the cost of inpatient treatment was reduced in the intervention region."
Bickel expressed confidence that the results can be applied in the United States and other Western populations that suffer from similar sedentary lifestyle-related illnesses. He pointed to smoking, lack of exercise and obesity as the main culprits.
"At the population level, even simple measures can lead to substantial achievements," he said.
To read the study, visit http://bit.ly/M7NOVG.
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