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Impact of Lifestyle, Health Conditions and Medical and Family Care...
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Impact of Lifestyle, Health Conditions and Medical and Family Care on the Quality of Life of the 80+

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Chronic Care".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 950

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Carmen Gómez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cádiz, 11009 Cádiz, Spain
Interests: successful ageing; longevity; lifestyle; medical condition; cognitive status; independence in daily life; older people; health care

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

High standards of usual care and appropriate treatment can prevent/delay the impact of ageing and are in part responsible for the increase in life expectancy. As a result, it is being redefined chronologically what is an ‘older person’. Now, an elderly person is a person that is over 75 and over 90 years old, the oldest-old. Nevertheless, old age remains associated with a high prevalence of chronic comorbidities, which are related to cognitive impairment and dependency, significantly affecting quality of life. Therefore, the current focus is on successful or resilient ageing, that even when suffering from illnesses, it is possible to resist cognitively and with autonomy in daily life. The genetic contribution to longevity is estimated at about 25%; environmental factors would therefore play a major role. This has been seen in the Blue Zones, regions of the world where people live longer. These individuals share some lifestyle characteristics, such as moderate physical activity, a plant-based diet, avoidance of smoking, and family integration. Many of them are so-called superagers because they have even better memory capacities than middle-aged subjects. This is notable if we take into account that at the age of 80+, cognitive decline begins. The aim of this Special Issue is to know the situation of older people, and we welcome high-quality original papers or comprehensive reviews. Researchers may include their studies on matters concerning health status, lifestyle, family, and primary healthcare and their impact on the cognitive sphere, autonomy in daily life, and lifespan expectancy.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Carmen Gómez
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • chronic diseases
  • comorbidity
  • neurodegeneration
  • successful ageing
  • superagers
  • blue zones
  • longevity
  • life expectancy
  • lifestyle
  • primary care
  • family care
  • dementia
  • mild cognitive impairment
  • risk factors
  • older people

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 1951 KB  
Article
Lifestyle and Chronic Comorbidity in Relation to Healthy Ageing in Community-Dwelling People Aged 80 and over: Preliminary Study from a Primary Health Care Service in Southern Spain
by Alberto Jesús García-Zayas, María del Carmen Márquez-Tejero, Juan Luis González-Caballero and Carmen Gómez-Gómez
Healthcare 2026, 14(2), 189; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14020189 - 12 Jan 2026
Viewed by 281
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Healthy ageing, focused on maintaining daily autonomy and cognitive function despite chronic comorbidities, poses a challenge for public health systems, especially for those aged ≥80, given the expected increase in this population. Promoting a healthy lifestyle in this group is essential [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Healthy ageing, focused on maintaining daily autonomy and cognitive function despite chronic comorbidities, poses a challenge for public health systems, especially for those aged ≥80, given the expected increase in this population. Promoting a healthy lifestyle in this group is essential to achieving this goal, with primary care services playing a key role in this effort. Therefore, our objective was to profile the participants based on these characteristics. Methods: The study included 222 non-institutionalized, dementia-free individuals (mean age 84.58 ± 3.72 years, 56.3% women) recruited from a primary healthcare service. Data were collected from medical records and interviews, including the cognitive Pfeiffer test, the functional Barthel index (BI), and ad hoc questionnaires (for lifestyle variables). Latent profiling analysis (LPA) was used to classify the participants. Results: The participants reported social support (97.7%), low-risk alcohol consumption (94.6%), adherence to the Mediterranean diet (85.1%), physical activity (74.8%), and never smoking (72.5%). Hypertension (86.5%), cataracts (74.3%), and osteoarticular diseases (68.5%) were the most frequent chronic conditions. Women showed a significantly different distribution of certain variables and a higher number of comorbidities (6.34 ± 2.38) than men (5.58 ± 2.44) (p = 0.019). After LPA, we found that 38.29% of individuals met characteristics compatible with healthy ageing, predominantly male (60%); the association of a high probability of cognitive impairment with a high degree (severe or total), exhibited by the profiles likely >85% women (18.5% of individuals); physical activity, smoking, osteoporosis, anxiety, COPD, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and creatinine blood levels exhibited statistical differences between profiles; and the probability of dependence severity was associated with an increase in age, although cognitive status conservation was associated being male. Conclusions: The studied +80 group seems to follow a healthy lifestyle, as self-reported. Women fare worse than men in resilient ageing. While common factors related to dysfunctionality did not differentiate between profiles, CKD, an increasingly common age-related condition, did. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Lifestyle, Health Conditions and Medical and Family Care on the Quality of Life of the 80+)
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9 pages, 306 KB  
Article
Functionality, Anthropometric Measurements, and Handgrip Strength in Community-Dwelling Older Adults
by Daiane Pereira Santos, Claudinéia Matos de Araújo Gesteira, Claudio Henrique Meira Mascarenhas, Helen Cristiny Tedoro Couto Ribeiro, Tatiane Dias Casimiro Valença, Elaine dos Santos Santana and Luciana Araújo dos Reis
Healthcare 2026, 14(1), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14010030 - 22 Dec 2025
Viewed by 344
Abstract
Introduction: Functionality, anthropometric measurements (BMI, arm circumference), and handgrip strength (HGS) are crucial for assessing the health of older adults, as HGS is a strong predictor of frailty and independence, correlating with muscle mass loss (sarcopenia) and the risk of falls. Background/Objectives [...] Read more.
Introduction: Functionality, anthropometric measurements (BMI, arm circumference), and handgrip strength (HGS) are crucial for assessing the health of older adults, as HGS is a strong predictor of frailty and independence, correlating with muscle mass loss (sarcopenia) and the risk of falls. Background/Objectives: To analyze the relationship between functional capacity, anthropometric measurements, and handgrip strength in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A descriptive, exploratory, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach was conducted with 225 older adults monitored at two Family Health Units, using the Barthel Scale, Lawton and Brody Scale, anthropometric measurements (body mass index, waist, calf, and brachial circumferences), and dynamometry as instruments. Spearman’s test was used for correlations, with interpretation by shared variance and comparison of magnitudes by Steiger r-to-z method. A higher frequency of females (65.8%) was observed, in the age range between 60 and 68 years (51.1%), independent in Basic Activities of Daily Living (76.9%) and dependent in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (99.1%). The analysis revealed that waist circumference showed a significant correlation with waist-to-hip ratio (ρ-value 0.604; p-value < 0.01) and body mass index (ρ-value = 0.696; p-value < 0.01). These associations showed shared variances of 36.5% (waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio) and 48.4% (waist circumference and body mass index). Waist-to-hip ratio showed a significant positive correlation with waist-to-hip ratio (ρ-value = 0.256; p-value < 0.01) and body mass index (ρ-value = 0.198; p-value < 0.01). However, these relationships showed lower shared variances at 6.5% with waist-to-hip ratio and 3.9% with BMI. The Lawton scale showed a statistically significant negative correlation with hand grip strength (ρ-value = −0.176; p-value < 0.01). Conclusions: There is a significant relationship between functional capacity, anthropometric measurements, and hand grip strength in community-dwelling older adults, reflecting the interaction between physical performance, body composition, and autonomy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Lifestyle, Health Conditions and Medical and Family Care on the Quality of Life of the 80+)
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