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Poor mental and physical health differentially contributes to disability in hospitalized geriatric patients of different ages
- Authors:
- MARENGONI Alessandra, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(1), January 2004, pp.27-34.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article seeks to evaluate the relationship between depressive symptoms, cognition and somatic diseases on functional status of geriatric patients at hospital discharge. Patients 65+ years consecutively admitted to the acute care geriatric ward of the Internal Medicine Department I, Civil Hospital of Brescia, Italy, from February 1998 to December 2000 (n = 830) were examined. Functional disability was defined as need of physical assistance in at least one of the basic Activities of Daily Living (ADL). The Greenfield Index of Disease Severity (IDS) and the Geriatric Index of Comorbidity (GIC) were used to measure number and severity of diseases. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) assessed cognitive status and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) measured depressive symptoms. Prevalence of functional disability at discharge was 29.3% in the younger age group (65-74 years) and 55.2% in the older age group (75+ years). Using logistic regression models, older age, poorer cognitive status, and depressive symptoms were independently associated with functional disability in the younger and older age group, respectively. Additionally cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms showed an additive association with disability, especially in younger patients, while comorbidity was correlated with functional status only in the oldest old, in particular among those who were cognitively impaired. Functional disability after acute hospitalization is highly prevalent in geriatric patients. Depressive symptoms, comorbidity, and cognitive impairment often coexist, interact and are differentially associated with function depending on age. Considering that depressive symptoms are a modifiable problem, their detection in hospital settings may help clinicians in targeting subjects at high risk of functional disability.
Predictors of comprehensive stimulation program efficacy in patients with cognitive impairment. Clinical practice recommendations
- Authors:
- BINETTI Giuliano, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(1), 2013, pp.26-33.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This longitudinal study examined which factors best predict response to a comprehensive stimulation programme offered to patients with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and their caregivers. A total of 145 Italian patients (55 with MCI and 90 with dementia), participating to a cognitive motor rehabilitation program, and their 131 caregivers, attending informational/psychoeducational interventions were followed for six months. Three alternative cognitive stimulation interventions were used: Reality Orientation Therapy, Global Reactivation Therapy, and Memory Training. Mini mental state examination, Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognition, and Clinician’s Interview-Based Impression of Change-plus were the primary outcome measures. Sixty-eight (46.9%) of the 145 subjects were classified as clinical responders. At baseline, responders had a significantly less insight into impairment, greater functional capacity as well as fewer delusions, euphoria, and aberrant motor behaviours than the non-responder. After 6 months, along with an improvement in cognition, responders also showed decreased behavioural disturbances and severity of disturbances. During the analysis the caregiver's burden of distress remained stable; however after 6 months the burden of the caregivers of MCI responders was reduced. The authors conclude that a high level of insight, preserved functional abilities as well as the lack of severe delusions, euphoria, and aberrant motor behaviours are significant predictors of responsiveness to stimulation programmes.