André Hajek1, Christian Brettschneider1, Marion Eisele2, Dagmar Lühmann2, Silke Mamone3, Birgitt Wiese3, Siegfried Weyerer4, Jochen Werle4, Angela Fuchs5, Michael Pentzek5, Janine Stein6, Tobias Luck6,7, Dagmar Weeg8, Edelgard Mösch8, Kathrin Heser9, Michael Wagner9,10, Martin Scherer2, Wolfgang Maier9,10, Steffi G Riedel-Heller6, Hans-Helmut König1. 1. Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. 2. Department of Primary Medical Care, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. 3. Institute of General Practice, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany. 4. Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany. 5. Institute of General Practice, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany. 6. Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. 7. Department of Economic & Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Nordhausen, Nordhausen, Germany. 8. Department of Psychiatry, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. 9. Department for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. 10. DZNE, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany.
Abstract
AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether transpersonal trust (TPT) moderates the relationship between chronic conditions and general practitioner (GP) visits among the oldest old in Germany. METHODS: The multicenter prospective cohort Study on Needs, health service use, costs and health-related quality of life in a large sample of oldest old primary care patients (85+) (AgeQualiDe) was carried out. Individuals were recruited through GP offices at six study centers in Germany (follow-up wave 7). Primary care patients were aged ≥85 years (n = 861, mean age 89.0 years; range 85-100 years). The self-reported number of outpatient visits to the GP was used as the outcome measure. To explore religious and spiritual beliefs, the short form of the Transpersonal Trust scale was used. The presence or absence of 36 chronic conditions was recorded by the GP. RESULTS: Multiple Poisson regressions showed that GP visits were positively associated with the number of chronic conditions (incidence rate ratio 1.03, P < 0.05). TPT moderated the relationship between chronic conditions and GP visits (incidence rate ratio 1.01, P < 0.05). The association between chronic conditions and GP visits was significantly more pronounced when TPT was high. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the importance of TPT in the relationship between chronic conditions and GP visits. Future longitudinal studies are required to clarify this subject further. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 705-710.
AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether transpersonal trust (TPT) moderates the relationship between chronic conditions and general practitioner (GP) visits among the oldest old in Germany. METHODS: The multicenter prospective cohort Study on Needs, health service use, costs and health-related quality of life in a large sample of oldest old primary care patients (85+) (AgeQualiDe) was carried out. Individuals were recruited through GP offices at six study centers in Germany (follow-up wave 7). Primary care patients were aged ≥85 years (n = 861, mean age 89.0 years; range 85-100 years). The self-reported number of outpatient visits to the GP was used as the outcome measure. To explore religious and spiritual beliefs, the short form of the Transpersonal Trust scale was used. The presence or absence of 36 chronic conditions was recorded by the GP. RESULTS: Multiple Poisson regressions showed that GP visits were positively associated with the number of chronic conditions (incidence rate ratio 1.03, P < 0.05). TPT moderated the relationship between chronic conditions and GP visits (incidence rate ratio 1.01, P < 0.05). The association between chronic conditions and GP visits was significantly more pronounced when TPT was high. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the importance of TPT in the relationship between chronic conditions and GP visits. Future longitudinal studies are required to clarify this subject further. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 705-710.