Xinze Wu

Background: Aspiration pneumonia (AP) remains a clinical problem in long‐term care facilities. However, evidence regarding modifiable care‐related factors influencing swallowing remains inconsistent. We used a nationwide survey of residents in Japanese long‐term care facilities to examine associations between oral frailty‐related conditions, meal positioning strategies, and AP. Methods: This cross‐sectional study analyzed nationwide survey data from residents at high risk of malnutrition in Japanese long‐term care facilities. AP status was determined based on facility medical records. Oral frailty‐related conditions and meal positioning factors were assessed using routine records. Logistic regression analyses evaluated associations with AP. Cumulative analysis examined associations between abnormal oral condition item counts and AP prevalence. Results: Among 1204 residents, 8.1% ( n = 97) reported AP. After full adjustment, inability to gargle (OR = 1.991; 95% CI: 1.139–3.479) and unclear speech (OR = 1.752; 95% CI: 1.085–2.829) remained significantly associated with AP. During meals, reclining angles of 0°–30° (OR = 4.024; 95% CI: 1.006–16.106) and 30°–60° (OR = 1.890; 95% CI: 1.074–3.327) were associated with AP. AP prevalence increased from 2.9% in residents with 0–1 abnormal oral frailty‐related items to 13.1% in those with ≥ 4 items. Conclusion: AP was associated with cumulative oral frailty‐related conditions and meal positioning among residents at high risk of malnutrition in long‐term care facilities. Monitoring routine oral signs and optimizing seating angles may help reduce AP occurrence.

Background/Objectives: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is essential for maintaining quality of life (QOL) and independence in older adults. Still, its implementation is labor-intensive and difficult to sustain in aging societies such as Japan. Digital technologies may enable continuous, scalable CGA in daily living environments. This study aimed to develop and preliminarily evaluate a digital CGA (D-CGA) framework by integrating data from multiple monitoring devices, as a preparatory step toward Artificial Intelligence (AI)-supported personalized care planning. Methods: Four devices (Handy, Apple Watch, Withings Sleep, and Vieureka) were selected. Due to ethical constraints in Japan, a pilot study was conducted with graduate students. Participants underwent continuous monitoring for five weekdays. Common and device-specific measurement items were extracted, visualized, and compared across devices. Heart rate data were examined using correlation-based analyses. Baseline CGA was conducted before monitoring. Results: Distributional and temporal characteristics of physiological measures were explored separately for daytime and nocturnal periods. Continuous heart rate and respiratory rate data were successfully collected across monitoring days, demonstrating the feasibility of real-life data acquisition using the selected devices. Heart and respiratory rates showed distinct distributional patterns between daytime and nocturnal periods, supporting context-specific physiological characterization. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of integrating multi-device data for D-CGA and provides foundational reference data for future studies of older adults. The results support the potential of D-CGA to inform personalized care and guide subsequent large-scale and clinical investigations.

This study aims to investigate the prevalence of locomotive syndrome (LS) and to examine the relationship of LS with musculoskeletal symptoms (pain, generalized joint laxity (GJL)) in young Chinese adults. Our study population (n = 157; mean age of 19.8 ± 1.2 years) comprises college student residents at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Three screening methods were used to evaluate LS: 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS-25), a two-step test, and a stand-up test. Musculoskeletal pain was assessed by self-report and visual analog scale (VAS), and joint body laxity was evaluated using the GJL test. The prevalence of LS was 21.7% of all participants. Musculoskeletal pain affected 77.8% of the college students with LS and was strongly associated with LS. A total of 55.0% of college students with LS had four or more site joints that were positive for GJL, and higher scores of GJL were associated with a higher prevalence rate of LS. Young Chinese college students have a relatively high prevalence of LS, and musculoskeletal pain and GJL were significantly related to LS. The present results suggest that we need early screening of musculoskeletal symptoms and LS health education in young adults to prevent the mobility limitations of LS in the future.