journal article
LitStream Collection
Home
Haddad, Peter M.; Benbow, Susan M.
doi: 10.1002/gps.930080803pmid: N/A
Physical, psychological and social factors need to be considered in the aetiology and treatment of sexual problems in people with dementing illnesses. Treatment may raise ethical dilemmas and involve value judgements. Assessment within a multidisciplinary framework is therefore recommended.
Magnússon, Hallgrímur; Helgason, Tómas
doi: 10.1002/gps.930080804pmid: N/A
The mental health of a birth cohort has been followed until the age of 87 years. The cohort consists of all Icelanders born during a period of three years. Only three probands were lost in the follow up period from 61 to 87 years. The diagnoses were made by two methods: an indirect method based mainly on information provided by general practitioners, and the computerized diagnosis AGECAT. Many cases diagnosed as mild dementia by the indirect method had no or very few cognitive symptoms when the AGECAT was applied. The diagnosis of mild dementia is associated with high mortality. Almost 30% of cases of mild dementia diagnosed by the indirect method before the age of 75 years have no symptoms of dementia at the age of 81 years and more than 10% continue to have mild symptoms. Similar results are found at the age of 87 years. Atherosclerotic disorders are present in 48.6% of cases of mild dementia and 58.6% of severe dementia in contrast to only 25–30% of probands with a effective disorder or without psychiatric diagnosis.
Turrina, Cesare; Dewey, Mike E.; Siani, Roberta; Saviotti, Francesco; Marchione, Nicoletta; Siciliani, Orazio
doi: 10.1002/gps.930080805pmid: N/A
The criterion validity of the Italian version of the Mini‐Mental State Examination was tested in a group (114) of elderly medically ill day patients. Specificity was rather disappointing (66.3%) at the conventional threshold (23/24), as well as positive predictive value (32.7%). A lower threshold (21/22) offered the best compromise between sensitivity (93.8%) and specificity (80.6%). ROC analysis evidenced a good overall performance of MMSE (area under the curve 0.938). In those subjects not affected by dementia, age, low education and depressive illness had a significant effect on MMSE scores.
Nagatomo, Itsugi; Nomaguchi, Mitsuo; Matsumoto, Kei
doi: 10.1002/gps.930080806pmid: N/A
We investigated the common carotid arterial blood blow in 70 patients of advanced age (80 and older) in a nursing home using an ultrasonic quantitative blood flow measurement system. Systolic and end‐diastolic velocities were obtained from the waveform, and using these two velocities, subjects were classified into three groups according to increasing severity. We then determined mortality rates and changes in the modified Stockton Geriatric Rating Scale (SGRS) over a 1‐year period. The mortality of group 1 was significantly lower than that of group 3. The groups with more severely impaired carotid blood flow also demonstrated as groups change in the sequence 1→2→3a worsening on some subscales of the modified SGRS over the year. These results suggest that carotid arterial blood flow velocity waveform can serve to predict some aspects of clinical outcome in very old age.
Cleare, Anthony James; Jacoby, Robin; Tovey, Stuart John; Bergmann, Klaus
doi: 10.1002/gps.930080807pmid: N/A
Over a 5‐year period, 3.8% of 423 psychogeriatric inpatients who were tested for syphilis had positive serology. Eight out of 14 received treatment, in contrast to previous suggestions that treatment was rarely instigated. Screening and adequate investigation of this population remain important, and we believe that serology should be carried out routinely in organic cases.
doi: 10.1002/gps.930080808pmid: N/A
This study surveyed all chronic schizophrenic patients from 11 long‐stay wards of a mental hospital. Patients were assessed on a variety of rating scales to assess clinical psychopathology and behaviour. Patients above the age of 65 years were studied in detail and also compared with those under that age living on the same wards. It was found that all the elderly schizophrenic patients in the sample had severe deficits in the form of residual negative symptoms and thought disorder. They had significantly fewer positive but more negative symptoms as compared to a younger sample on the same wards; there was no differences between the groups for affective symptoms or thought disorder. Although there were more males in the sample, no difference was found on any of the parameters between the two sexes. It was concluded that there are significant clinical differences in the ‘elderly graduates’ as compared to younger patients living in an identical environment; such findings could assist managers and administrators in the development of plans for other patients in this age group who are likely to be relocated from psychiatric hospitals in the near future or are already living in the community.
Wimo, A.; Ineichen, B.; Mattson, B.; Kallioinen, M.
doi: 10.1002/gps.930080809pmid: N/A
Although psychogeriatric day care has been established since the 1950s, few studies have focused on its productivity. In this study, nine assessments of productivity are presented and tested on 74 patients in psychogeriatric day care in Sundsvall, Sweden. The participation quotient was 68%, the capacity quotient 76%, and the registration quotient 112%. The mean attendance was 1.6 visits a week and the average turnover was 31% during 6 months. Six patients out of 74 (8.1%) were institutionalized at the end of the 6‐month period and the mortality was 1.4% (1/74) during 6 months. The misjudgement quotient was 12.2% for the 6‐month period. The patients' refusal to attend DC was the most frequent reason for discharge.
Grief, Cindy; Eastwood, Robin M.
doi: 10.1002/gps.930080810pmid: N/A
Assigning paranoid diagnoses in the geriatric population can be a challenging endeavour. A survey was undertaken of selected ICD‐9 diagnoses in different hospital settings. Almost 50% of the diagnoses were associated with combative/paranoid behaviour; yet, only 12% received ‘paranoid’ diagnoses. This article addresses the problems of case definition for paranoid states in the elderly.
Showing 1 to 10 of 17 Articles