Psychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society最新文献

Due to the ageing population throughout the world, the rates of older adults suffering from dementia are increasing, requiring a closer look at this population. As a result, the aim of this scoping review is to gather data from the scientific literature on the repercussions of abuse of elderly people with dementia by their caregivers. For this review, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews was used as a guideline to structure the review topics. Six researchers during the period of December 2023 to March 2024 searched for relevant articles in the following databases: MEDLINE; SCOPUS; WEB OF SCIENCE; EMBASE; BIREME. Of 707 articles found in the databases, 16 were included in this scoping review. The articles addressed different aspects of the topic of abuse of elderly people with dementia by caregivers, 12 articles listed risk factors, six explained the different types of abuse, 11 articles dealt with neuropsychological aspects of caregivers, seven studies focused on the relationship between the elderly person and their caregiver and six portrayed the impacts of abuse. Studies point to several common risk factors, for example, advanced stage of the disease, financial cost of treatment and psychobehavioural symptoms of both the caregiver and the patient. Upon thorough examination and critical reflection on existing studies, a substantial void has been identified in the literature concerning the ramifications of abusive relationships within the care receiver and caregiver dyad. While many studies approach the issue in a broad manner, only a limited number of articles delve into the specific impact of such dynamics on the deterioration of the elderly's well-being. There is an urgent demand for new research to investigate the consequences that abuse generates in the lives of elderly individuals with dementia.

Aim: Parkinsonism is a frequently encountered symptom in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD). It can be drug-induced, co-occurring with Parkinson's disease (PD), or a genuine motor abnormality of BD itself. This study aims to address the primary pathophysiology of parkinsonism in BD.

Methods: Sixteen patients with BD and parkinsonism were recruited from consecutive patients who were referred to a neurology clinic at a tertiary psychiatric centre. The patients underwent clinical assessments, dopamine transporter single-photon computed tomography (DAT-SPECT), cardiac 123I-metaiodo-benzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy, and morphometric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The positivity or negativity of Lewy body disease (LBD) biomarkers was determined based on the visual assessment of DAT-SPECT and heart-to-mediastinum ratio on cardiac MIBG scintigraphy. Four out of the 16 participants received 300-600 mg of levodopa.

Results: Thirteen patients were diagnosed with BD type 1, and 12 had experienced >5 previous mood episodes. Parkinsonism developed more than 10 years after the onset of BD and after the age of 50 years in all patients. Four cases were positive for LBD biomarkers. Six patients with negative LBD biomarkers showed reduced striatal uptake with z-scores below -2.0. MRI morphometry revealed varying degrees of brain atrophy in most patients. Three of the four patients did not respond to 600 mg of levodopa.

Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that the majority of parkinsonism observed in BD is not a consequence of PD/LBD. Instead, it may represent a genuine motor abnormality of BD in late life.

Alzheimer's disease, a type of dementia, poses serious challenges to patients, especially older people, and no definitive treatment is available for this disease, with drug treatments having many side effects. As essential oils of plants deserve particular attention in the treatment of diseases, this study aimed to review the potential therapeutic effects of essential oils on treatment of psychosomatic aspects of Alzheimer's disease. To collect information, we searched different databases, including MagIran, SID, IranDoc and IranMedex, Embase, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science using the keywords of essential oil, Alzheimer, acetylcholinesterase, memory, forgetfulness, aromatherapy, medicinal plant, herbal drugs, and their Persian equivalents from January 2010 to June 2022; the search included both single and multiple keywords. We retrieved 233 articles, reviewed the titles, abstracts, and full texts of the articles, and then included 25 related articles in this review (11 in vitro studies and 14 in vivo studies). The study results of in vitro and in vivo studies showed the effectiveness of different essential oils such as salvia family, tangerine and lemon oils, Juniperus communis, Anthriscus nemorosa, olibanum, inhaled coriander, Schisandra chinensis, lavender, rose essential oil, Nepeta cataria, Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Lippia origanoides, on memory and learning, enzymes, oxidative stress and inflammation, behavioural and cognitive symptoms in Alzheimer's disease. These findings suggest that essential oils can serve as complementary therapies for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and for addressing memory impairments, although further research, especially human clinical trials, is needed to validate these findings, determine optimal dosages, and explore the long-term safety of essential oils in clinical settings.

Introduction: This study investigates whether the ability to tolerate distress decreases in caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease who also experience sleep disturbances.

Materials and methods: Fifty patients and their caregivers, who were hospitalised with a diagnosis of severe Alzheimer's disease and were bedridden, were included in the study. The caregivers of the patients completed the Jenkins Sleep Scale to assess the patients' sleep disturbances, and the Distress Tolerance Scale was administered to measure the caregivers' distress tolerance.

Results: A significant difference was observed between patients' sleep disturbance duration for 'Trouble falling asleep', 'Waking up and trouble falling asleep again', and caregivers' Distress Tolerance Scale questions 9 and 13. A negative correlation was found between caregivers' age and question 11 on the Distress Tolerance Scale.

Conclusion: The distress tolerance of caregivers of patients with severe Alzheimer's disease and sleep disturbances is negatively affected by the sleep disturbances of the patients and the caregivers' gender, with male caregivers reporting lower distress tolerance.

Background: The purpose of this study was to systematically review the existing literature on grief in family carers of people with dementia in Japan and to synthesise the evidence on the prevalence and associated factors of pre- and post-death grief of the carers.

Methods: CiNii Research, J-STAGE, and ICHUSHI were searched for studies published in Japanese and MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL for studies written in English up to 30 November, 2023.

Results: Of the 315 references identified, eight studies that met the eligibility criteria were included: six studies investigated pre-death grief, and two studies investigated post-death grief. One low-quality study reported the prevalence of pre-death grief (28.6%), and no studies reported the prevalence of complicated grief as post-death grief. Less social support and greater levels of depressive symptoms and caregiving burden were associated with greater levels of pre-death grief, while no studies reported significant factors associated with complicated grief. Most of the studies had small sample sizes and poor study quality.

Conclusions: Limited evidence makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the prevalence of pre-/post-death grief and associated factors among family carers of people with dementia in Japan. Future studies focusing on grief using validated measures are needed.

Objective: This research was conducted to explore in depth the physical, psychological and social effects of gardening activities on elderly individuals residing in a nursing home.

Material and method: A descriptive qualitative research design was employed in the study with a purposive sampling method to select participants. The research was conducted with 21 elderly residents in a nursing home located in the eastern region of Turkey and participated in gardening activities. The data of the research were collected using the Participant Introduction Form and the Semi-Structured Interview Form. Content analysis was conducted to analyze the data.

Results: In the study, the elderly participants shared their views on gardening activities, which were categorised into three main themes as physical, psychological, and social impacts. Regarding the physical impacts, participants noted that gardening activities enhance and promote physical mobility. They described several psychological benefits of gardening activities. In the emotional dimension, they reported feelings of happiness, enjoyment, relaxation, and a sense of achievement and satisfaction while they highlighted experiences of reminiscence, cognitive stimulation, being in the present and a deeper connection with nature in the cognitive dimension. Participants also stated that gardening activities led to increased interpersonal interactions, enhanced communication, and strengthened social bonding, reflecting the positive social impacts of these activities.

Conclusion: Elderly residents in the nursing home reported experiencing positive physical, psychological, and social impacts from gardening activities. Based on these findings, it is recommended to incorporate gardening activities as a strategy for promoting active ageing among elderly individuals in institutional care settings.

Background: Infections, including bacterial pathogens, have been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk. Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) is a common hospital-acquired pathogen associated with significant inflammation, which may contribute to neurodegeneration. This study investigates the relationship between K. pneumoniae infections and AD in the UK Biobank cohort.

Methods: Using UK Biobank data, we assessed AD diagnoses based on linked healthcare records and identified K. pneumoniae infections using International Classification of Disease 10^th Edition codes B96.1 and J15.0. A cohort of 502 494 participants was analyzed for AD incidence in relation to demographic factors, educational years, apolipoprotein E (APOE) isoforms, and history of K. pneumoniae infection. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between K. pneumoniae infection and AD risk.

Results: AD incidence was significantly higher among participants with a history of K. pneumoniae infection (1.0%) compared to those without (0.2%; P < 0.001, Fisher's exact test two-tailed). Logistic regression analysis revealed that K. pneumoniae infection was associated with an increased risk of AD (odds ratio = 3.32, P < 0.001), independent of age, sex, education, and APOE isoform. Additionally, AD risk was higher among ε4ε4 carriers and increased with age but decreased with additional years of education.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that K. pneumoniae infection may be an independent risk factor for AD. This association underscores the need for further research into infection control and its role in mitigating neurodegenerative disease risk, particularly in populations susceptible to healthcare-associated infections.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur up to the age of 18 years. Such trauma often results in chronic psychological stress that is associated with negative health outcomes across the lifespan. The aim of this study is to investigate associations between ACEs and health outcomes in older adults.

Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional design. Socio-demographic information on patients' age, gender, marital status, living status, and education level were collected. Furthermore, a comprehensive geriatric assessment and ACE scale were conducted. The ACE scale consisted of 10 questions that were categorised as psychological, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as neglect. The relationship between detailed comprehensive geriatric assessment parameters and ACE were analyzed.

Results: There were 276 (mean age 77.9 ± 7.3 years, and 74.3% female) patients included in the study. The prevalence of ACEs was 43.1%, with psychological ACE being the most common. Female gender, number of medications, the presence of insomnia and dysphagia were higher in older patients who experienced at least one ACE than those without ACE (P < 0.05). In multivariate analyses, only the relationship between insomnia and ACE persisted (odds ratio 1.83, 95% CI 1.12-3.01; P < 0.05).

Conclusions: ACEs were detected in approximately one in every two older adults. Those with ACEs were 1.8 times more likely to experience insomnia. Therefore, when evaluating an older patient with insomnia, ACEs should be evaluated and insomnia should also be questioned in older patients who have experienced ACE.

Introduction: This study focuses on how news of neglect and abuse about elderly individuals is given in digital media and the perception toward elderly individuals.

Methods: Eight national newspapers in Turkey were included in the study for the sample. The news texts were obtained from the digital archives of the newspapers and the term 'elderly' was selected as the keyword to accurately search the texts.

Result: The researcher analyzed and divided the collected data into the following categories on elder abuse and neglect: the victim's characteristics, data of the person who inflicted neglect and abuse, the incident's nature and consequences, and the negative concepts mentioned in the incident. The content analysis showed that the related statements and information provided by the media were based on negative concepts and included personal data, including visuals, about the victim.

Conclusions: The findings of the study suggest that elderly individuals, who are a disadvantaged group, are highly exposed to neglect and abuse, and most of them have suffered as they live alone and lack support systems. This study indicated that the media has the potential to raise awareness about neglect and abuse inflicted on the elderly, but it should act more diligently and responsibly.