Meta-analyses of antidepressant drug treatment trials have found that increasing age is associated with a less favourable outcome. Because the prevalence of geriatric characteristics, like disability, medical co-morbidity, malnutrition, cognitive (dys)function and frailty increase with age and are associated with depression, these characteristics are likely to modify the treatment outcome of antidepressant drugs in late-life depression. This review examines how these five characteristics are taken into account in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with antidepressant drugs for major depressive disorder in patients aged 60 years or above. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Ageing with mental illness is a neglected area of research and policy. People who grow older to later life with ongoing mental health problems may not have their needs well understood. This understanding is important if mental health services are to ensure direct or indirect age discrimination is avoided. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
American Psychologist71.4 (May-Jun 2016): 268-275.
Behavioral prevention strategies can help maintain high levels of cognition and functional integrity, and can reduce the social, medical, and economic burden associated with cognitive aging and age-associated neurodegenerative diseases. Interventions involving physical exercise and cognitive training have consistently shown positive effects on cognition in older adults. “Brain fitness” interventions have now been shown to have sustained effects lasting 10 years or more. A meta-analysis suggests these physical exercise and brain fitness exercises produce nearly identical impact on formal measures of cognitive function. Behavioral interventions developed and deployed by psychologists are key in supporting healthy cognitive aging.
delirium is under-recognised in comparison to other common and serious acute disorders. A 2006 survey of UK junior doctors (not undertaking specialist training) identified poor knowledge of the diagnostic criteria and treatment of delirium. We hypothesised that increased prominence accorded to delirium in the form of national initiatives and guidelines may have had an impact on understanding among junior doctors. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Traumatology: An International Journal21.3 (Sep 2015): 259-266.
The psychological suffering of caregivers is a widely established fact. Indeed, the patients present numerous aggressive behaviors directed nursing staff, considering their diagnoses. This violence has effects on caregivers’ mental health. Numerous articles have studied this question; however, it is rare that French studies have combined qualitative and quantitative approaches to the problem. With the aim of examining the effect of these attacks, we set up the 2 following studies.
essential aspects of independence in community mobility among older people concern the control over where, when and how to participate (perceived autonomy), and actual mobility (life-space mobility; frequency, distance and need of assistance). We studied relationships between frailty and life-space mobility and perceived autonomy in participation outdoors among community-dwelling 75–90 years old people. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
the ‘triad of impairment’ phenomenon describes the co-occurrence of age-related cognitive, emotional and physical functioning deficits. We investigated how occupational profile and childhood intelligence contribute to the triad of impairment in late life. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Neuropsychology 30.2 (Feb 2016): 135-142.
Objective: To test the hypothesis that late-life depression is associated with dementia-related pathology. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
absolute numbers of older prisoners and their proportion of the total prison population are increasing. They have multiple health and social care needs that are prominent on entry into prison. No previous studies have identified older prisoners' health and social care needs at this crucial point. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
To examine reciprocal relations of loneliness and cognitive function in older adults. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
American Psychologist71.4 (May-Jun 2016): 294-301.
The aging of the population, especially the increase in the “oldest old,” is a remarkable achievement that presents both opportunities and challenges for policymakers, researchers, and society. Although many older adults enjoy relatively good health into their later years, many have one or more chronic conditions or diseases and need help with disease management activities or activities important to independent living. Technology is playing an increasingly important role in the health care arena and is becoming ubiquitous in health management activities.
longitudinal analyses of physical activity (PA) and arterial stiffness in populations of older adults are scarce. We examined associations between long-term change of PA and arterial stiffness in the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA). Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Cognitive tests are used repeatedly to assess the treatment response or progression of cognitive disorders. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a valid screening test for mild cognitive impairment. The aim of our study was to establish 90% reliable change indices (RCI) for the MoCA together with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in cognitively healthy older adults. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Low frequency of going outdoors (e.g. being homebound) is associated with depressive mood; however, the underlying neural mechanism of this association is unclear. We therefore investigated the neural substrate involved in the relationship between frequency of going outdoors and depressive mood using positron emission tomography (PET), focusing on the frontal lobe and the limbic system. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
200,000 homeless, older and vulnerable people have had ‘lessons’ to get online and contact their doctor reducing GP visits and costs to the NHS.
In the first two years of the NHS England pilot scheme ‘Widening Digital Participation’ 14,000 people registered with a GP and looked online first before contacting the doctor.
Half of those who would have gone to the GP or A&E said they would now use NHS Choices, 111 or a pharmacy first.
Run by the Tinder Foundation for NHS England, the scheme works with hardest-to-reach communities giving them the skills and confidence to access online health information.
To investigate whether self-efficacy moderates the association between self-rated memory and depressive symptoms in a large sample of older adults. The influence of self-efficacy and depressive symptoms on memory performance was also examined in a subsample of individuals who reported poor memory. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Is the current ad hoc system leading to an intractable public health failure? Following myocardial infarction or ischaemic stroke, aspirin is often part of a package of measures to reduce the risk of subsequent vascular events [1]. In this context, the use of aspirin is therapeutic as part of the ongoing treatment of underlying atherosclerotic disease. The ongoing treatment of existing disease, however, can be distinct to the preservation of health. The former is often provided by healthcare services while the latter includes personal responsibility for self-care. Perhaps a balance of access to healthcare and personal self-care may be needed as part of healthy ageing programmes. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Over the years, there have been many reports on the under-treatment of pain in vulnerable older people, especially in persons with dementia. Starting with the study of Ferrell et al. [1] in 1995, again and again lower rates of pharmacological pain treatment have been found for older people and especially for people with cognitive impairment. This holds for studies in the community, in residential settings and nursing homes, and even in post-operative hospital patients [2–5]. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library