The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · May 2021
Incremental Health Care Expenditures of the Spouses of Older Adults With Alzheimer's Diseases and Related Dementias (ADRD).
Previous research has found that having a spouse with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) is associated with higher health care expenditures, however it is unclear if this difference remains after accounting for the demographics and health status of the non-ADRD spouse. This paper aims to estimate the adjusted incremental health care expenditures of having a spouse with ADRD. ⋯ Results suggested that the higher health care expenditures in older adults with ADRD spouses can be attributed to the higher rate of comorbidities, rate of functional limitations, and mean age in this group. The increased use of home health and decreased use of outpatient in this population suggests the importance of tailoring preventative health care and social services to meet the needs of this group.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Mar 2021
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyLess Is More: The Impact of Deprescribing Psychotropic Drugs on Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms and Daily Functioning in Nursing Home Patients. Results From the Cluster-Randomized Controlled COSMOS Trial.
To investigate the impact of medication reviews using collegial mentoring and systematic clinical evaluation on psychotropic prescriptions, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), and activities of daily living (ADL). ⋯ Medication reviews using collegial mentoring and systematic clinical evaluation led to safe deprescribing, as the reductions in psychotropic drug use did not negatively affect BPSD, while ADL improved.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Feb 2021
The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Traumatic Stressor: Mental Health Responses of Older Adults With Chronic PTSD.
Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who experience additional traumas or stressful life events may undergo symptomatic worsening, but no data exist on whether exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic in a high infection area worsens mental health among older adults with chronic PTSD. ⋯ The findings are indicative of complexity in the responses of older individuals with PTSD to further stressful life events as well as possibly unique aspects to the COVID-19 pandemic as a stressor. Sources of resilience may exist based on experience with prior traumas as well as increasing age promoting more adaptive coping styles.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jan 2021
The Interaction of Personality and Social Support on Prospective Suicidal Ideation in Men and Women With Late-Life Depression.
Evidence suggests a cross-sectional association between personality traits and suicidal ideation in LLD. Yet, it is unclear how personality may influence suicidal ideation over time in LLD, or whether such an association would be moderated by psychosocial and biological individual differences. The present study had three aims: 1) to examine whether personality traits increase suicidal ideation in LLD over time, 2) to understand whether this relationship is influenced by subjective social support, and 3) to determine whether the potential relationship between social support, personality, and suicidal ideation is different for men and women. ⋯ Changes in social support may contribute to suicidal ideation in older depressed adults with certain personality traits. Irrespective of personality traits, changes in social support had a significant effect on the suicidal ideation of women but not men. These relationships were apparent even when controlling for depression severity, age, and history of suicide attempt.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jan 2021
The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown on Caregivers of People With Dementia.
Caregivers of people with dementia (pwD) are at risk of depression, anxiety, and burden. COVID-19 pandemic and government-imposed lockdown as a preventive measure might increase psychological symptoms in caregivers. The authors performed a study to measure the change of psychological symptoms during quarantine or self-isolation for COVID-19 in a sample of Italian caregivers of pwD, and to investigate if the resilience is associated with psychological changes in the sample. ⋯ COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown produced psychological consequences in caregivers of pwD, with an increase of levels of depression. Moreover, high resilience had a negative effect on anxiety levels and no effect on depressive symptomatology during the lockdown; moreover, it was associated with lower levels of caregiver burden. All caregivers, even those with high resilience levels, should be addressed to psychological interventions to reduce levels of depression, anxiety and caregiver burden.