International journal of geriatric psychiatry
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Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · Mar 2008
Does physical activity moderate the association between depressive symptoms and disability in older adults?
Depressive symptoms and disability are closely associated and known to have reciprocal relationships. This study examines whether physical activity moderates the association between depressive symptoms and disability in community-dwelling older adults. ⋯ The association between depressive symptoms and disability is moderated by physical activity in older persons. The findings suggest that healthcare professionals need to promote moderate amount of physical activity as a potential intervention tool in attenuating the depression-disability connection in later life, especially among those with high levels of physical and mental impairments.
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Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · Mar 2008
Comparative StudyDiagnosing dementia -- ICD-10 not so bad after all: a comparison between dementia criteria according to DSM-IV and ICD-10.
The discrepancy between results of diagnosing dementia with ICD-10 and DSM-IV has been shown by several studies. Our aim was to show that the two diagnostic systems are more or less alike if ICD-10 is interpreted in the way we believe is in the intention of the ICD-10 authors. ⋯ In the ICD-10 criteria 'decline in other cognitive abilities such as abstraction, judgement, problem solving' has been interpreted in a way that all the above executive functions must be impaired for diagnosing dementia. According to our interpretation these are meant to be examples of functions which may be compromised in demented patients.The results of our study demonstrate that this interpretation of ICD-10 has shown that the authors of ICD-10 and DSM-IV have succeeded in harmonising the two systems. However, the ICD-10 criteria are phrased in a way that leaves much to individual interpretation. WHO has to define the ICD criteria in such a way that there is uniformity in its interpretation.