Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 6 of 6
Chronic endurance exercise training prevents aging-related cognitive decline in healthy older adults: a randomized controlled trial
- Authors:
- MUSCARI Antonio, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25(10), October 2010, pp.1055-1064.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study investigated the effects of endurance exercise training (EET) on the cognitive status of healthy community-dwelling older people in Pianoro, northern Italy. One hundred and twenty healthy subjects, aged 65 to 74 years, were randomised into treatment and control groups. The treatment consisted of 12 months of supervised EET in a community gym. All participants were assessed both at baseline and after 12 months. Cognitive status was assessed by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Anthropometric indexes, routine laboratory measurements and C-reactive protein (CRP) were also assessed. The control group showed a significant decrease in MMSE score, which differed significantly from the treatment group scores. The odds ratio for the treated older adults to have a stable cognitive status after 1 year, as compared to the control group, was 2.74 after adjustment for age, gender, educational level and several other possible confounders. Blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference and serum cholesterol did not differ significantly between the two groups, while CRP decreased only in the treatment group. The authors concluded that a 12-month EET intervention may reduce the onset of age-related cognitive decline.
Assessing a cognitive music training for older participants: a randomised controlled trial
- Authors:
- BIASUTTI Michele, MANGIACOTTI Anthony
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 33(2), 2018, pp.271-278.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objectives: In a randomised controlled trial, the authors investigated whether a cognitive training based on rhythm–music and music improvisation exercises had positive effects on executive functions in older participants. Methods: Thirty-five residents in a guest home with mild–moderate cognitive impairment and healthy ageing were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 18) featuring cognitive music training composed of 12 bi-weekly 70-min sessions, and a control group (n = 17) attended 12 bi-weekly 45-min sessions of gymnastic activities offered by the institute. A neuropsychological test battery was administered at baseline and at the end of treatment, including the Mini-Mental State Examination, verbal fluency test, Trail Making Test A, attentional matrices test and clock-drawing test. Results: Pre-test and post-test comparison showed a significant improvement for the experimental group reflected in the Mini-Mental State Examination, verbal fluency test, and clock-drawing test, while the control group did not show any significant improvements. In addition, there was a tendency towards significance for the Trail Making Test A. Regarding the attentional matrices test, no significant differences were found for the experimental group, while the control group had a significant performance reduction. Conclusion: The use of a cognitive protocol based on music-rhythmic exercises and music improvisation exercises is associated with improved cognitive functions in older people with mild–moderate cognitive impairment regardless of the individual's degree of cognitive reserve (Edited publisher abstract)
How to enhance route learning and visuo-spatial working memory in aging: a training for residential care home residents
- Authors:
- MITOLO Micaela, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 21(5), 2017, pp.562-570.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a route-learning training in a group of older adults living in a residential care home. The authors verified the presence of training-specific effects in tasks similar to those trained – route-learning tasks – as well as transfer effects on related cognitive processes – visuo-spatial short-term memory (VSSTM; Corsi Blocks Test (CBT), forward version), visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM; CBT, backward version; Pathway Span Tasks; Jigsaw Puzzle Test) – and in self-report measures. The maintenance of training benefits was examined after 3 months. Method: Thirty 70–90-year-old residential care home residents were randomly assigned to the route-learning training group or to an active control group (involved in non-visuo-spatial activities). Results: The trained group performed better than the control group in the route-learning tasks, retaining this benefit 3 months later. Immediate transfer effects were also seen in visuo-spatial span tasks (i.e., CBT forward and backward version and Pathway Span Task); these benefits had been substantially maintained at the 3-month follow-up. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a training on route learning is a promising approach to sustain older adults’ environmental learning and some related abilities (e.g., VSSTM and VSWM), even in residential care home residents. (Edited publisher abstract)
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.
Anemia and cognitive performance in hospitalized older patients: results from the GIFA study
- Authors:
- ZAMBONI Valentina, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21(6), June 2006, pp.529-534.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Anemia represents a major risk factor for adverse health-related events in older persons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between hemoglobin levels/anemia and cognitive function in hospitalized older persons. Data are from the Gruppo Italiano di Farmacovigilanza nell'Anziano (GIFA) study. Hemoglobin levels (in g/dL) were measured upon admission to hospital; anemia was defined according to the WHO criteria. Cognitive performance was assessed by the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) on admission; an AMT score <7 defined cognitive impairment. Logistic regressions and analyses of covariance were performed to evaluate the relationship between cognitive status and hemoglobin levels/anemia. Mean age of the sample (n = 13,301) was 72.0 years. Participants with cognitive impairment presented a higher prevalence of anemia (47%) compared to those without cognitive impairment (35%, p < 0.001). Adjusted logistic regressions showed that hemoglobin levels/anemia were significantly associated with cognitive impairment. Patients with anemia and cognitive impairment at the hospital admission presented a higher number of impaired Activities of Daily Living compared to those with only one or none of the studied conditions. Low hemoglobin levels and anemia are independently associated with cognitive performance in older persons admitted to acute care units.
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.