The Kimberley assessment of depression of older Indigenous Australians: prevalence of depressive disorders, risk factors and validation of the KICA-dep scale

This study aimed to develop a culturally acceptable and valid scale to assess depressive symptoms in older Indigenous Australians, to determine the prevalence of depressive disorders in the older Kimberley community, and to investigate the sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical factors associated with depression in this population. Methods Cross-sectional survey of adults aged 45 years or over from six remote Indigenous communities in the Kimberley and 30% of those living in Derby, Western Australia. The 11 linguistic and culturally sensitive items of the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment of Depression (KICA-dep) scale were derived from the signs and symptoms required to establish the diagnosis of a depressive episode according to the DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10 criteria, and their frequency was rated on a 4-point scale ranging from ‘never’ to ‘all the time’ (range of scores: 0 to 33). The diagnosis of depressive disorder was established after a face-to-face assessment with a consultant psychiatrist. Other measures included sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, and clinical history. Results The study included 250 participants aged 46 to 89 years (mean±SD = 60.9±10.7), of whom 143 (57.2%) were women. The internal reliability of the KICA-dep was 0.88 and the cut-point 7/8 (non-case/case) was associated with 78% sensitivity and 82% specificity for the diagnosis of a depressive disorder. The point-prevalence of a depressive disorder in this population was 7.7%; 4.0% for men and 10.4% for women. Heart problems were associated with increased odds of depression (odds ratio = 3.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.2,8.8). Conclusions The KICA-dep has robust psychometric properties and can be used with confidence as a screening tool for depression among older Indigenous Australians. Depressive disorders are common in this population, possibly because of increased stressors and health morbidities

Clinical treatment reverses attentional deficits in congestive heart failure

BACKGROUND: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with cognitive deficits, particularly of memory and attention. The present study aims to clarify whether clinical treatment can reverse the attentional deficits of patients with CHF. METHODS: A convenience sample of 50 patients with CHF functional class IV and 30 elderly controls were recruited from a teaching hospital in Brazil. Participants received a clinical and cognitive examination that included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Cambridge Cognitive Examination of the Elderly (CAMCOG), Digit Span, Digit-Symbol Substitution, and Letter Cancellation test. The cognitive performance of CHF patients was reassessed 6 weeks after the introduction of clinical treatment. RESULTS: Twenty-seven CHF subjects had MMSE<24, compared to only 10 of the controls (p = 0.07). CHF patients also had lower CAMCOG scores (mean = 71.8) than controls (mean = 82.0; p < 0.01). Digit Span, Digit Symbol and Letter Cancellation scores were lower for patients with CHF than controls (p < 0.01). Similarly patients with CHF took longer to complete the Trail Making A (p = 0.07) and B (p < 0.01). CAMCOG scores and left ventricular ejection fraction were moderately correlated (rho = 0.4, p < 0.01). Nineteen patients were lost for follow-up (11 deceased). Clinical treatment was associated with significant improvement of cognitive scores, particularly on the Digit Symbol (p < 0.01) and Letter Cancellation Tests (p < 0.01). Digit Span, Digit Symbol, Letter Cancellation and Trail Making scores of treated CHF patients and controls were similar (p > 0.10). CONCLUSIONS: CHF is associated with deficits in attention and psychomotor speed. These deficits improve with clinical treatment

Sintomas psiquiátricos entre pacientes com demência atendidos em um serviço ambulatorial

Pacientes portadores de quadros demenciais frequentemente apresentam uma série de sintomas neuropsiquiátricos que incluem distúrbios do humor, delírios, alucinações, sintomas vegetativos e alterações da atividade psicomotora. Este estudo foi desenhado com o objetivo de investigar a prevalência de morbidade psiquiátrica entre os pacientes com o diagnóstico clínico de demência (ICD-10) atendidos na clínica de memória da Santa Casa de São Paulo entre fevereiro de 1997 e maio de 1998. O estado mental e cognitivo dos pacientes foram avaliados com uma versão ampliada do SRQ-20 e o MMSE respectivamente. Quarenta e cinco porcento dos 75 pacientes disponíveis para análise apresentavam escores iguais ou maiores do que 8 no SRQ-20, indicando a presença de morbidade psiquiátrica significativa. Sintomas característicos de depressão foram relatados por 69,3% dos indivíduos da amostra. Ideação persecutória e alucinações auditivas foram descritas por 20,0% e 16,0% dos idosos avaliados. Oito pacientes (10,7%) descreveram a presença de ideação suicida 3/4 todos apresentavam sintomatologia depressiva. Pacientes com escores no SRQ-20 3 8 ou com ideação suicida eram significativamente mais jovens. Aqueles que relatavam alucinações auditivas apresentavam escores significativamente mais baixos no MMSE. Não se observou diferença significativa entre os sexos quanto à frequência dos sintomas investigados. O exame do estado mental deve ser parte integrante da avaliação do paciente com demência. A detecção e tratamento desses sintomas pode contribuir para diminuir o sofrimento do paciente e o estresse de seus cuidadores

Can physical activity improve the mental health of older adults?

The world population is aging rapidly. Whilst this dramatic demographic change is a desirable and welcome phenomenon, particularly in view of people's increasing longevity, it's social, financial and health consequences can not be ignored. In addition to an increase of many age related physical illnesses, this demographic change will also lead to an increase of a number of mental health problems in older adults and in particular of dementia and depression. Therefore, any health promotion approach that could facilitate introduction of effective primary, secondary and even tertiary prevention strategies in old age psychiatry would be of significant importance. This paper explores physical activity as one of possible health promotion strategies and evaluates the existing evidence that supports its positive effect on cognitive impairment and depression in later life

Reducing depression during the menopausal transition: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background: The menopausal transition (MT) is a biological inevitability for all ageing women that can be associated with changes in mood, including depressive symptoms. There is tentative evidence that women who develop depression during the MT have greater risk of subsequent depressive episodes, as well as increased health morbidity and mortality. Thus, preventing depression during the MT could enhance both current and the future health and well-being of women. This study aims to test the efficacy of a client-centred health promotion intervention to decrease the 12-month incidence of clinically significant symptoms of depression among women undergoing the MT.Methods/Design: This randomised controlled trial will recruit 300 women undergoing the MT living in the Perth metropolitan area. They will be free of clinically significant symptoms of depression and of psychotic or bipolar disorders. Consenting participants will be stratified for the presence of subsyndromal symptoms of depression and then randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. The intervention will consist of eight telephone health promotion sessions that will provide training in problem solving and education about the MT, healthy ageing, depression and anxiety, and management of chronic health symptoms and problems. The primary outcome of interest is the onset of a major depressive episode according the DSM-IV-TR criteria during the 12-month follow-up or of clinically significant symptoms of depression, as established by a score of 15 or greater on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Secondary outcomes of interest include changes in the severity of symptoms of depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS), quality of life (Short Form Health Survey, SF-12), and lifestyle.Discussion: Current evidence shows that depressive symptoms and disorders are leading causes of disability worldwide, and that they are relatively common during the MT. This study will use a multifaceted health promotion intervention with the aim of preventing depression in these women. If successful, the results of this trial will have implications for the management of women undergoing the MT. Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12613000724774. Date registered: 1 July 2013

Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between treatment for herpes virus infection and the dispensing of antidementia medicines: An analysis of the Australian pharmaceutical benefits scheme database

Background: Evidence from previous observational studies suggest that infection by herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) increase the risk of dementia. Objective :To investigate if older adults exposed to HSV treatment have lower risk of dementia than the rest of the population. Methods: We used the 10% Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) database from 2013 to 2022 to ascertain the cross-sectional, time-series and longitudinal association between exposure to HSV treatment and the dispensing of antidementia medicines. Participants were men and women aged 60 years or older. We used Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) codes to identify medicines dispensed for the treatment of HSV and dementia. Results: During the year 2022 6,868 (1.2%) of 559,561 of participants aged 60 years or over were dispensed antidementia agent. The odds ratio (OR) of being dispensed an antidementia agent among individuals dispensed treatment for HSV was 0.73 (99% CI = 0.56–0.95). Multilevel logistic regression for the 2013–2022 period for those dispensed HSV treatment was 0.87 (99% CI = 0.75–1.00). Split-time span series from 2013 was associated with hazard ratio of 0.98 (99% CI = 0.89–1.07) for individuals dispensed relative to those not dispensed HSV treatment. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, and the dispensing of medicines for the treatment of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease. Conclusions: The dispensing of antiviral medicines for the treatment of HSV and VZV is consistently, but not conclusively, associated with decreased dispensing of antidementia medicines. This suggests that treatment of HSV and VZV infections may contribute to reduce the risk of dementia

Australian older adults\u27 views on using social media for reducing social isolation and loneliness in hearing impaired older adults: A community conversation

Objective(s): The objective of this study was to conduct a community conversation to identify the views of the community members when designing an online community using Facebook to support the psychosocial well-being of hearing-impaired older adults. Methods: A community conversation was held with 40 older adults aged more than 60 years. The participants were divided into groups of five and asked to discuss three open-ended questions. The researchers facilitated the discussions. Results: The overwhelming response from this group was that they did not use Facebook or social media as a tool for social connection and did not see the benefits of social media applications. They preferred phone calls or in-person events to maintain their social relationships. Conclusions: Implications for areas of future research and interventions that target loneliness in older adults are discussed

Affective disorders, psychosis and dementia in a community sample of older men with and without Parkinson's disease

Background: Dementia and affective and psychotic symptoms are commonly associated with Parkinson's disease, but information about their prevalence and incidence in community representative samples remains sparse. Methods: We recruited a community-representative sample 38173 older men aged 65-85 years in 1996 and used data linkage to ascertain the presence of PD, affective disorders, psychotic disorders and dementia. Diagnoses followed the International Classification of Disease coding system. Age was recorded in years. Follow up data were available until December 2011. Results: The mean age of participants was 72.5 years and 333 men (0.9%) had PD at study entry. Affective and psychotic disorders and dementia were more frequent in men with than without PD (respective odds ratios: 6.3 [95%CI = 4.7, 8.4]; 14.2 [95%CI = 8.4, 24.0] and 18.2 [95%CI = 13.4, 24.6]). Incidence rate ratios of affective and psychotic disorders were higher among men with than without PD, although ratios decreased with increasing age. The ageadjusted hazard ratio (HR) of an affective episode associated with PD was 5.0 (95%CI = 4.2, 5.9). PD was associated with an age-adjusted HR of 8.6 (95%CI = 6.1, 12.0) for psychotic disorders and 6.1 (95%CI = 5.5, 6.8) for dementia. PD and dementia increased the HR of depressive and psychotic disorders. Conclusions: PD increases the risk of affective and psychotic disorders, as well as dementia, among community dwelling older men. The risk of a recorded diagnosis of affective and psychotic disorders decreases with increasing age

Anticonvulsant Use in Older Age Bipolar Disorder in a Global Sample from the Global Aging and Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder Project

Background: Anticonvulsants are an essential treatment for bipolar disorder; however, there is relatively little known about their use in older age bipolar disorder (OABD). In this paper, which leverages a large international dataset, we aim to 1) describe the use of anticonvulsants in OABD compared to younger age bipolar disorder (YABD; ages <50 years old) and 2) explore any demographic/clinical correlates.Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on the international data from the Global Aging and Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder project. The main objective was to report the prevalence of anticonvulsant use in OABD over 50 years old (mean age = 62.27) and the most prescribed anticonvulsant. Additional analysis explored any demographic and clinical correlates associated with anticonvulsant use. Generalized linear mixed models were used for this analysis.Results: Of the 2,691 participants with bipolar disorder who had anticonvulsant prescribing data, 34.4% (n = 926) used anticonvulsants at the time of study. Rates of anticonvulsant prescribing did not significantly differ between OABD and YABD groups (36.7% (n = 666) vs. 29.7% (n = 260)). Anticonvulsant prescribing patterns for OABD and YABD did not significantly differ, with valproate as the most prescribed anticonvulsant. OABD anticonvulsant users had less lithium use, more antidepressant use, more rapid cycling, more mood episodes and more cardiovascular comorbidities compared to nonusers.Conclusion: Anticonvulsant use was similar in OABD and YABD. A number of important clinical correlates of anticonvulsant use were identified

Mortality in a cohort of remote-living aboriginal Australians and associated factors

Objectives: We aimed to describe mortality in a cohort of remote-living Aboriginal Australians using electronic record linkage. Methods: Between 2004 and 2006, 363 Aboriginal people living in remote Western Australia (WA) completed a questionnaire assessing medical history and behavioural risk factors. We obtained mortality records for the cohort from the WA Data Linkage System and compared them to data for the general population. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to identify predictors of mortality over a 9-year follow-up period. Results: The leading causes of mortality were diabetes, renal failure, and ischaemic heart disease. Diabetes and renal failure accounted for 28% of all deaths. This differed from both the Australian population as a whole, and the general Indigenous Australian population. The presence of chronic disease did not predict mortality, nor did behaviours such as smoking. Only age, male sex, poor mobility, and cognitive impairment were risk factors. Conclusions: To reduce premature mortality, public health practitioners should prioritise the prevention and treatment of diabetes and renal disease in Aboriginal people in remote WA. This will require a sustained and holistic approach