Execution and perception of older adults fallers and nonfallers performing dual task: cross-sectional study / Execução e percepção de idosos caidores e não caidores na realização da dupla tarefa: estudo transversal

Objective: To describe and compare the execution time and perception of older adults difficulty performing dual-task paradigm. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional. We included 30 older adults individuals aged 60 years or older of both sexes, 12 of whom were fallers and 18 were nonfallers. We excluded older adults with scores less than or equal to 22 on the Leganés Cognitive Test and severe mobility limitations that corresponded to scores lower than 4 on the Functional Ambulation Category scale. The evaluations were performed in a reserved room, in the afternoon shift of a single day, with an average duration of 50 minutes, by a trained examiner.  Results: There was an increase in the execution time of the tests with a dual task condition, except for Time Up And Go test with a motor task when completed by the group of older adults fallers. Conclusions: The addition of motor and cognitive tasks to gait increased the execution time of the tests. 

Dynamics and determinants of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing on symptomatic individuals attending healthcare centers during 2020 in Bahia, Brazil

RT-PCR testing data provides opportunities to explore regional and individual determinants of test positivity and surveillance infrastructure. Using Generalized Additive Models, we explored 222,515 tests of a random sample of individuals with COVID-19 compatible symptoms in the Brazilian state of Bahia during 2020. We found that age and male gender were the most significant determinants of test positivity. There was evidence of an unequal impact among socio-demographic strata, with higher positivity among those living in areas with low education levels during the first epidemic wave, followed by those living in areas with higher education levels in the second wave. Our estimated probability of testing positive after symptom onset corroborates previous reports that the probability decreases with time, more than halving by about two weeks and converging to zero by three weeks. Test positivity rates generally followed state-level reported cases, and while a single laboratory performed ~90% of tests covering ~99% of the state's area, test turn-around time generally remained below four days. This testing effort is a testimony to the Bahian surveillance capacity during public health emergencies, as previously witnessed during the recent Zika and Yellow Fever outbreaks