Search results for ‘Subject term:"cognitive impairment"’ Sort:
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Anxiety symptoms and cognitive performance in later life: results from the longitudinal aging study Amsterdam
- Authors:
- BIERMAN Ellis J.M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 12(4), July 2008, pp.517-523.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study investigates whether, and if so how, anxiety symptoms are related to cognitive decline in elderly persons and whether anxiety symptoms precede cognitive decline. Data were obtained from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Anxiety symptoms were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. General cognitive functioning was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination, episodic memory with the Auditory Verbal Learning Test, fluid intelligence with the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and information processing speed with the coding task. Multilevel analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between anxiety symptoms and cognitive decline over 9 years, taking into account confounding variables. Although not consistent across all dimensions of cognitive functioning, a curvilinear effect of anxiety on cognitive performance was found. Furthermore, we found that previous measurement of anxiety symptoms were not predictive of cognitive decline at a later time-point. This study suggests that the effect of anxiety on cognition depends on the severity of the present anxiety symptoms with mild anxiety associated with better cognition, whereas more severe anxiety is associated with worse cognition. The effect of anxiety symptoms on cognitive functioning seems to be a temporary effect, anxiety is not predictive of cognitive decline.
Psychopathological factors, memory disorders and transient global amnesia
- Authors:
- NOEL Audrey, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 192(8), August 2008, pp.145-151.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Levels of anxiety and depression before and during transient global amnesia were rated. Memory performances were assessed by means of original episodic memory tasks and working memory tasks. These data were collected in 17 individuals observed during the very acute phase, 18 individuals examined in the peri-acute phase and 26 controls. During the acute phase, participants with transient global amnesia displayed a higher level of anxiety and a more depressed mood than controls. An alteration of emotional state, as measured by the Adjective Mood Scale, was correlated with deficits in anterograde memory. Transient global amnesia comprises sudden changes in people’s emotional state, which has a major impact on and interacts with episodic memory impairment.
Psychological treatments for depression and anxiety in dementia and mild cognitive impairment: systematic review and meta-analysis
- Authors:
- ORGETA Vasiliki, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 207(4), 2015, pp.293-298.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Background: Anxiety and depression are common in people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of both pharmacological and psychological therapies. Aims: To evaluate the evidence of effectiveness of psychological treatments in treating depression and anxiety in people with dementia and MCI. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of psychological treatment versus usual care in people with dementia and MCI. Primary outcomes were symptoms of anxiety and depression. Secondary outcomes were quality of life, ability to perform daily activities, neuropsychiatric symptoms, cognition and caregivers' self-rated depressive symptoms. Results: Six RCTs, involving 439 participants with dementia, which used cognitive–behavioural therapy, interpersonal therapy, counselling or multimodal interventions including a specific psychological therapy. Beneficial effects for both depression and anxiety were identified. Overall, the quality of the evidence was moderate for depression and low for anxiety, due to the methodological limitations of the studies identified and the limited number of trials. Conclusions: The evidence from six RCTs suggests that psychological treatments are effective in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety for people with dementia. There is a need for high-quality, multicentre trials including standardised, well-defined interventions. (Edited publisher abstract)
The Fear of Alzheimer's Disease Scale: a new measure designed to assess anticipatory dementia in older adults
- Authors:
- FRENCH Samantha L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27(5), May 2012, pp.521-528.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
For some individuals experiencing memory problems may cause passing thoughts of developing Alzheimer’s disease but for others experiencing episodes of forgetfulness can lead to significant distress and worry. Most attempts to study anticipatory dementia have used brief, nonvalidated measures to explore older adults' apprehension. The authors developed and tested an instrument to measure this fear. The study involved 101 older adults ages 65 to 91 in the design of the Fear of Alzheimer's Disease Scale (FADS). Construct validity of the FADS was assessed with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y (STAI-Y). Analyses revealed a three-factor model for the FADS (i.e., General Fear, Physical Symptoms, and Catastrophic Attitude) and demonstrated good internal consistency. The FADS showed good construct validity, and was significantly correlated with both the state and trait subscales of the STAI-Y, with the trait subscale yielding the highest correlation. It is concluded that the FADS is a reliable and valid instrument and is the first of its kind available to directly address anticipatory dementia among a general population of older adults.
Anxiety disorders, depressive episodes and cognitive impairment no dementia in community-dwelling older men and women
- Authors:
- POTVIN Olivier, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(10), October 2011, pp.1080-1088.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Anxiety symptoms are highly prevalent in elders with mild cognitive disorders. The examination of anxiety disorders in older people with cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND) could provide a better comprehension of the psychiatric symptomatology that arises in these persons at high risk of dementia. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical and subclinical anxiety disorders associated with CIND and to determine whether these associations differ depending on sex and concomitant depressive episodes. Data was collected through the Enquête sur la santé des aînés (ESA study), a population based study conducted in 2005-2006. The participants were a random sample of 2414 community-dwelling adults aged 65–96 years who underwent semi-structured at-home interviews and provided access to their medical records. The anxiety disorders investigated included specific phobia, social phobia, agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive–compulsive, and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). The findings showed that in men, after adjusting for confounding variables, CIND was associated with subclinical GAD. Further analyses showed that in men, CIND was related to clinical/subclinical GAD whether MDE/MD was present or absent. In women, CIND was not linked to any clinical or subclinical anxiety disorder. These results suggest that GAD is the main anxiety disorder associated with poor global cognitive functioning. This association is modified by sex, but not by the presence of depressive episodes.
Anxiety and related symptoms in older persons with dementia: directions for practice
- Authors:
- MCCLIVE-REED Kimberly P., GELLIS Zvi D.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 54(1), January 2011, pp.6-28.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Anxiety disorders and related symptoms commonly occur in older people with cognitive impairment or dementia, thus significantly decreasing their functional abilities and reducing their quality of life. This evidence-based review of the literature outlines the extent of the problem, and focuses on current best practices in psychosocial interventions for anxiety in persons with dementia. A wide variety of non-pharmacological interventions are examined, including emotion-oriented therapies, behavioural modification and cognitive-behavioural therapy programmes, structured activity programmes, and sensory stimulation therapies, including multisensory approaches. The approaches that appear to show clinical promise for successful treatment of anxiety and related symptoms in dementia include behavioural and cognitive-behavioural therapies, music therapies, animal-assisted therapy (AAT), exercise therapy, and touch therapies. The need for more rigorous research to establish the validity and safety of non-pharmacological interventions in persons with cognitive impairment is discussed.
Anxiety symptoms in mild cognitive impairment
- Authors:
- ROZZINI Luca, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(3), March 2009, pp.300-305.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study aimed to validate the Italian version of Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI), an instrument that measures dimensional anxiety in elderly people, and assess whether MCI subjects with anxiety symptoms show different neuropsychological profiles in comparison with MCI without anxiety symptoms. Fifty-seven outpatients with MCI were consecutively recruited. All patients were assessed using a complete neuropsychological battery to detect the cognitive impairment, and the GAI for the presence of anxiety symptoms. Anxiety + patients (GAI 10) show more behavioral and psychological disturbances than patients with Anxiety- (GAI < 10); in particular they had more agitation, anxiety, depression and more sleep disorders. Moreover, Anxiety + patients are more compromised on instrumental daily functions and on executive functions evaluated with Trail Making B test (TMB). Linear Regression analysis was completed to estimate the coefficients of the linear equation, involving neuropsychological, psychobehavioural and functional characteristics: the executive functions (TMB) are the only variable independently related to the presence of anxiety disturbances. It is concluded that executive functions are independently related to anxiety disorders in MCI patients. It is hypothesized that the strict interaction between anxiety symptoms and executive functions could depend on specific pathological features at the level of caudate nucleus characterizing early phases of dementia.
Response inhibition and everyday memory complaints in older adult women
- Authors:
- POTTER Guy G., HARTMAN Marilyn
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21(12), December 2006, pp.1115-1120.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The purpose was to explore the association of executive functions to the everyday memory complaints of healthy older adults. Ninety-nine community-dwelling women aged 60 and above were administered a battery that included neuropsychological tests of executive functions and memory, along with self-report measures of everyday memory complaints, depression, and anxiety. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that a measure of response inhibition (Stroop Color-Word) accounted for unique variance in predicting memory complaints above and beyond measures of episodic memory, depression, and anxiety. Depression, however, accounted for the largest variance in memory complaints. Higher frequency of everyday memory complaints among older adults was associated with decreased response inhibition independent of episodic memory and affective state. Further research is needed to understand the interrelationships among these and other predictors of everyday memory complaints.
Changing faces: the purpose and practice of assessing older adults with cognitive impairment
- Authors:
- KEADY J., BENDER M.P.
- Journal article citation:
- Health Care in Later Life, 3(2), 1998, pp.129-144.
This article suggests that the consensus view of psychometric assessment in mental health settings as a relatively bland, benevolent activity is misguided in a number of important aspects. Rather than being effectively neutral, it is suggested that the experience of assessment for older adults in fact arouses anxiety in the individual concerned. Highlights the need for improvement including: a greater questioning of the purpose of memory assessment by the professionals involved, and of its actual practice, in order to match the pace of assessment to that of the older person with cognitive impairment; a firmer grasp on the biographical context of the person's life history; and a sharing of control over the direction of the assessment.
A review of policy and provision of emotional support for people living with early-stage dementia in the Republic of Ireland and call for specialist counselling and psychotherapy services
- Author:
- MORGAN Ashley
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 20(6), 2021, pp.1958-1970.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Public policy in Ireland recognises that people living with early-stage dementia are likely to require considerable emotional support following diagnosis; anxiety and depression are very common within this population. Yet psychosocial interventions to support emotional health of people who receive a diagnosis of dementia are sparse; there is no mention of counselling and psychotherapy for people living with early dementia in national guidelines, despite a promising evidence base that has amassed internationally in recent decades. This article explores the psychological impact of receiving a diagnosis and the scant offering of emotional and psychological post-diagnostic support that is available for people living with early-stage dementia in Ireland. The author draws attention to the curious tension between the widely recognised psychological benefits of early diagnosis of dementia and the jarring delay in disclosure that continues to prevail across Irish healthcare delivery. The evidence base for counselling and psychotherapy for people living with mild to moderate dementia in regard to anxiety and depression is discussed. Recommendations are made for further research into specialist counselling and psychotherapy interventions with a strong involvement from people living with dementia embedded in both research and design. The author also calls for public policy to reflect the preference of people living with dementia for earlier diagnosis and to highlight the appetite and ability of people living with dementia to engage in psychotherapeutic interventions. (Edited publisher abstract)