International journal of geriatric psychiatry
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To estimate the economic costs of dementia in 2002 using an economic evaluation model for dementia care. ⋯ Given that the number of dementia sufferers is projected to increase in the near future and that larger part of the costs are subsidized by the government, the economic and social costs of dementia is significant not only for dementia sufferers and their caregivers, but also for society.
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Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jun 2006
Deliberate self-harm in people aged 60 years and over: characteristics and outcome of a 20-year cohort.
Little information is available about older deliberate self-harm (DSH) patients and their outcome. ⋯ DSH in older people is closely related to suicide, both in terms of suicidal intent and risk of eventual suicide, especially when DSH is repeated. The range of problems experienced by older DSH patients requires extensive and multidisciplinary clinical interventions.
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Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · May 2006
Male gender influences response to an educational package for delirium prevention among older people: a stratified analysis.
Increasing evidence is pointing towards the efficacy of intervention programmes in decreasing the incidence of delirium among older people admitted to hospital. We have previously shown that an educational package directed at doctors and nurses significantly decreased the point prevalence of delirium among older people on a general medical ward. It is not yet established whether specific and 'fixed' patients' characteristics influence the rate of response to such an intervention. ⋯ Staff may be more likely to implement an earlier and more effective intervention for males who are perceived as presenting a higher risk to themselves and others. The results reported highlight the need to increase staff's vigilance to female patients whose prodromal symptoms of delirium may be underemphasised. Understanding different sub-group responses to preventive educational packages for delirium is an important consideration if these are to be applied widely.
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Hong Kong was struck by the community outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003. In the same year, the elderly suicide rate in Hong Kong showed a sharp upturn from a previous downward trend. ⋯ The SARS epidemic was associated with increased risk of completed suicide in female elders, but not in male elders or the population under 65 years of age.