International journal of geriatric psychiatry
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Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jan 2019
Prescription opioid and benzodiazepine misuse is associated with suicidal ideation in older adults.
Suicide in older adults is a major public health issue. Past research across the US adult population has linked prescription medication misuse with suicidal ideation. No work has evaluated associations between prescription opioid or benzodiazepine misuse and suicidal ideation in older adults, and this work aimed to address that gap. ⋯ Both past-year prescription opioid and benzodiazepine misuse are associated with past-year suicidal ideation in US older adults. Clinicians encountering older adult patients at-risk for or engaged in prescription medication misuse also should screen for suicidality.
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Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jan 2019
Emotional distress mediates the relationship between cognitive failures, dysfunctional coping, and life satisfaction in older people living in sheltered housing: A structural equation modelling approach.
Little is known about the relationship between cognitive failures, emotional distress, and life satisfaction in late life. Experiencing cognitive failures is a known risk for declining life satisfaction in older people, although the mechanisms that may explain cognitive failures remain unclear. This study investigated the associations between psychosocial factors, cognitive failures, and coping strategies and their influence on life satisfaction in older people living in sheltered housing. ⋯ This study found that experiencing emotional distress helped to explain the association and negative effects of cognitive failures and dysfunctional coping on life satisfaction in older people living in sheltered housing. These findings contribute to our understanding of the key mechanisms of experiencing cognitive failures in late life and can help guide future interventions of well-being in later life.