Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 15
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.
Managing agitated behaviour in people with Alzheimer's disease: the role of live music
- Authors:
- COX Elissa, NOWAK Madeleine, BUETTNER Petra
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(11), November 2011, pp.517-524.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Agitation due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) presents a challenge to occupational therapists working in the older people's care sector. The therapeutic value of music is not new but background music and music therapy are emerging as promising tools in the management of agitation in AD. This exploratory study investigated whether individually focused live music could reduce agitated behaviour in this group. This quasi-experimental one-group design investigated the effect of a live, one-to-one, musical violin intervention (evidence suggests the most effective intervention is not heavily percussive) on agitated behaviour in people with moderate-severe AD in a residential care setting in North Queensland. A relevant repertoire was developed with the help of older people without dementia. All seven participants received the musical intervention on three occasions. They were videoed before, during and after each session and behaviour was assessed by the investigator and a blinded assessor, using a modified Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. Thirty agitated behaviours were examined. Overall agitated behaviour was reduced. Significant reductions were observed in pacing/aimless wandering, performing repetitious mannerisms and general restlessness. The total number of agitated behaviours decreased significantly (median 5 behaviours before the intervention to 1 during and 1 after). The authors conclude that live music may be an effective strategy for reducing short-term agitated behaviour among people with AD.
Psychosocial risk factors and Alzheimer's disease: the associative effect of depression, sleep disturbance, and anxiety
- Authors:
- BURKE Shanna L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 22(12), 2018, pp.1577-1584.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia is a neurodegenerative condition, which leads to impairments in memory. This study predicted that sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety increase the hazard of AD, independently and as comorbid conditions. Methods: Data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center was used to analyze evaluations of 12,083 cognitively asymptomatic participants. Survival analysis was used to explore the longitudinal effect of depression, sleep disturbance, and anxiety as predictors of AD. The comorbid risk posed by depression in the last two years coupled with sleep disturbance, lifetime depression and sleep disturbance, clinician-verified depression and sleep disturbance, sleep disturbance and anxiety, depression in the last two years and anxiety, lifetime depression and anxiety, and clinician-verified depression and anxiety were also analyzed as predictors of AD through main effects and additive models. Results: Main effects models demonstrated a strong hazard of AD development for those reporting depression, sleep disturbance, and anxiety as independent symptoms. The additive effect remained significant among comorbid presentations. Conclusion: Findings suggest that sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety are associated with AD development among cognitively asymptomatic participants. Decreasing the threat posed by psychological symptoms may be one avenue for possibly delaying onset of AD. (Publisher abstract)
Behavioral symptoms in mild cognitive impairment as compared with Alzheimer's disease and healthy older adults
- Authors:
- VAN DER MUSSELE Stefan, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(3), 2013, pp.265-275.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a clinical concept that describes patients who are in an intermediate state between normal aging and dementia. It does not generally affect their activities of daily living but complex instrumental functions may be minimally impaired. Although behavioural symptoms are common in MCI they are not included in the concept. The aim of this study was to characterise behaviour in MCI compared with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and healthy older patients. The data were drawn from the baseline of a longitudinal study of behavioural symptoms of dementia and MCI. The study population, consisting of 270 MCI, 402 AD patients, and 108 healthy controls from Antwerp, underwent a battery of tests and assessments. Moderate-to-severe behavioural symptoms were present in 13% of MCI patients, compared with 39% in AD patients and 3% in controls. The general severity of behavioural symptoms was intermediate between controls and AD patients. The three most common symptoms in MCI patients were aggressiveness (49%), affective disturbance (45%), and anxiety (38%); in AD patients, they were aggressiveness (60%), activity disturbances (54%), and psychosis (40%). Overall the prevalence and severity of frontal lobe symptoms, aggressiveness, activity disturbances, and delusions was intermediate between normal aging and AD and the severity of physically non-aggressive, verbally agitated behaviour and the severity of depressive symptoms were also intermediate.
Identifying needs, burden, and distress of carers of people with Frontotemporal dementia compared to Alzheimer’s disease
- Authors:
- NICOLAOU Paula L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 9(2), May 2010, pp.215-235.
- Publisher:
- Sage
In this paper, the authors highlight how research on carers of people with Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is negligible compared to the literature on carers of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with little research comparing the two groups. Previous studies have focused on identifying the behavioural characteristics of people with FTD or AD, leaving the impact of these behaviours on the psychological well-being of carers of people with FTD relatively unexplored. This study investigated the needs, burden, and extent of depression and anxiety in 30 carers of people with FTD, compared to 30 carers of people with AD. Results showed that the needs of carers of people with FTD were considerably higher than those of the carers of people with AD. The greater needs were related to the younger onset of FTD, financial dissatisfaction, typical FTD characteristics, and access to appropriate services, information and support. Results also suggested that female carers were more likely to report a greater severity and impact of disruptive symptoms associated with FTD. No significant differences were found between the two groups on carers’ levels of burden, depression or anxiety. In summary, the authors suggest specific educational and support programmes, raising community awareness and understanding, and tailoring existing domiciliary services and activities for people with FTD.
Perceptions of caregiving role by son's caring for a parent with Alzheimer's disease: a qualitative study
- Authors:
- SANDERS Sara, McFARLAND Peggy
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 37(2), 2002, pp.61-76.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In this qualitative study, 18 sons were interviewed about the factors that led them to assume the role of primary caregiver for a parent with progressive memory loss, such as Alzheimer's disease, as well as the personal challenge that they experienced in this role. The analysis demonstrated that sons experience a range of emotional reactions, personal and professional conflict, as well as learn about new roles and responsibilities as they attempt to access the needed services for their parent.
A longitudinal evaluation of behavioural and psychological symptoms of probable Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- EUSTACE A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17(10), October 2002, pp.968-973.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Non-cognitive symptoms are a frequent feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Much of the literature that has accumulated pertains to cross-sectional prevalence of these symptoms. There has been relatively little attention paid to the longitudinal course of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). The purpose of this article is to examine the longitudinal course of BPSD in a group of patients with mild AD. Activity disturbance is a common and relatively persistent symptom in the mild stages of AD. Anxiety, paranoid ideation, and aggression were moderately persistent. Affective symptoms were not persistent with less than half the patients having the symptoms a year later.
Alzheimers’ disease and caregiving: a meta-analytic review comparing the mental health of primary carers to controls
- Authors:
- MA Mandy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 22(11), 2018, pp.1395-1405.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: To quantitatively review the literature comparing depressed mood, anxiety and psychological distress in caregivers (CGs) of older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) with non-caregivers (NCGs) Methods: Eighteen independent studies comparing AD CGs (N = 2378) with NCGs (N = 70,035) were evaluated in accordance with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Standardised mean differences (Hedges’ g) with associated 95% confidence intervals and p-values were calculated using a random-effects model. Results: Studies generally conformed to STROBE criteria in terms of their methodological and procedural detail, although data management issues that may contribute to methodological bias were identified. Pooled effect estimates revealed medium to large group differences in depression (gw = 1.01 [CI: 0.73, 1.29] p < 0.01) and anxiety (gw = 0.64 [CI: 0.39, 0.89] p < 0.01): AD caregivers reported higher symptom severity. Gender was a significant moderator: female caregivers experienced poor self-reported mood (gw = 1.58 [CI: 1.11, 2.05], p< 0.01), although this analysis was limited in power given the small number of contributing studies. Discussion: Caregivers of patients with AD experience poor mental health in comparison to the general population, with female caregivers being disproportionately affected. Further exploration of the psychosocial variables that contribute to these group differences is needed to inform effective support services and, in turn, help caregivers manage the emotional demands of AD. (Edited publisher abstract)
Agitated behaviours among the institutionalized elderly with dementia: validation of the Korean version of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory
- Author:
- SUH Guk-Hee
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(4), April 2004, pp.378-385.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim was to analyze the factor structure, the criterion validity, the internal consistency, inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability of the Korean version of Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, to provide data on the frequency and distribution of agitated behaviours, and to compare patterns of agitated behaviours among the institutionalized elderly with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or Vascular dementia (VaD). The Korean version of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI-K) was administered to a total of 257 elderly with AD or VaD in a nursing home in Seoul, Korea. Three kinds of reliability and criterion validity were tested. Factor analysis using principal component analysis with the varimax rotation was performed. To identify different patterns of agitated behaviours, multiple logistic regression analysis was used. This study demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity for the CMAI-K as an instrument measuring agitation in Korean dementia sufferers in nursing homes. Eighty-three percent of the subjects manifested one or more agitated behaviours at least once a week. Factor analysis yielded four subtypes of agitation: physically aggressive behaviours, physically nonaggressive behaviours, verbally agitated behaviours, and hiding/hoarding behaviours. These results indicate that the CMAI-K is a reliable and valid instrument to measure agitated behaviours in Korean elderly with AD or VaD. These results validate and expand previous research on the agitation in dementia, and guide in the development of interventions.
Impact of two psychosocial interventions on white and African American family caregivers of individuals with dementia
- Authors:
- BURGIO LOuis, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 43(4), August 2003, pp.568-579.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The authors developed manual-guided, replicable interventions based on common needs and cultural preferences of White and African American family caregivers (CGs) of individuals with dementia, and we evaluated these interventions after a 6-month follow-up. They randomly assigned White (n = 70) and African American (n = 48) CGs of individuals with dementia to either a skills training condition or a minimal support control condition. The degree of treatment implementation was methodically assessed, and findings demonstrated that both interventions were delivered according to protocol and were well received by CGs. CGs in both groups reported decreasing levels of problem behaviors and appraisals of behavioural bother, and increased satisfaction with leisure activities over time. On a measure of appraisal of distress related to behaviour problems, White CGs showed more improvement in the minimal support control condition, and African American CGs showed the greatest improvements in the skills training condition. Spouse and nonspouse CGs also showed differential responses to intervention. Brief manual-guided interventions can be effective with White and African American CGs, and greater attention should be paid to possible differential responses to interventions by race and relationship to care recipient.