Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Mar 2018
Humor doesn't retire: Improvisation as a health-promoting intervention for older adults.
As our population ages and aging in place continues to remain a priority of older adults, identifying novel ways to promote the wellbeing of older adults and reduce isolation is of the utmost importance. The Second City is a Chicago-based comedy improvisation organization that provides training in improvisation. One of their training courses, Humor Doesn't Retire, specifically teaches adults 55 and over, on improvisation. ⋯ Results for perceived benefits showed main themes of increased positivity, an increased sense of comfort and ease with the unexpected, a sense of self-development and self-awareness, and a feeling of acceptance by their social group. Participants reported that these changes fed into their behaviors, and resulted in enhanced problem solving abilities, greater facility in social situations, and the tangible outcome of an expanded and closer-knit social circle. As the first study in our knowledge to examine the effect of improvisation comedy on healthy older adults, this exploratory analysis has suggested that improvisation comedy may be a mechanism by which to combat several geriatric syndromes, including depression, stress, and isolation - all of which are detrimental to older adults.
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Mar 2018
Untangling the overlap between frailty and low lean mass: Data from Toulouse frailty day hospital.
The decline in lean mass, observed in older people, has been frequently associated with frailty. This assumption has scarcely been assessed. This study explored the association between current proposed definitions of low lean mass and the Fried phenotype of frailty. ⋯ The decline in lean mass is a component of the frailty syndrome but not universally present. Indeed, LLM and frailty were associated and partly overlapped. Future research including longitudinal studies should exploit the added value of combining LLM and frailty measures in preventing disability and other negative health outcomes.
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Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Mar 2018
Multicenter StudyPrevalence of mild cognitive impairment and its subtypes in community-dwelling residents aged 65 years or older in Guangzhou, China.
Prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been reported substantial variations, and mostly in Western countries. Less is known about MCI in the south of China. The study is to estimate the prevalence of MCI and its subtypes in residents aged 65year or older in community-dwelling residents of Guangzhou, China. ⋯ The results suggest that 14.2% of elderly individuals are affected by MCI in Guangzhou, China. And MCI was dominated by a-MCI. The prevalence of MCI and a-MCI increased with age, decreased with education level, and was higher in the rural population compared to the urban population.