The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jan 2001
ReviewGeriatric mental health services research: Strategic Plan for an Aging Population: Report of the Health Services Work Group of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.
In November 1999, a working group of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) convened to consider strategic recommendations for developing geriatric mental health services research as a scientific discipline. The resulting consensus statement summarizes the principles guiding mental health services research on late-life mental disorders, presents timely and topical priorities for investigation with the potential to benefit the lives of older adults and their families, and articulates a systematic program for expanding the supply of well-trained geriatric mental health services researchers. The agenda presented here is designed to address critical questions in provision of effective mental health care to an aging population and the health policies that govern its delivery.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jan 2001
Validating the diagnosis of delirium and evaluating its association with deterioration over a one-year period.
The authors probed the associations between clinical diagnoses and independent research measures of cognitive, behavioral, and electroencephalographic (EEG) changes in hospitalized older patients and investigated the contribution of medical illness to deterioration. Patients (N=96; 47 of whom were hospitalized during the course of 1 year; 12 diagnosed with delirium) received tests of cognitive and physical functioning and the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, specific neuropsychological tests, and a two-channel EEG. ⋯ Hospitalization was associated with deterioration in functional status during the year, whether or not patients showed delirium. Results suggest that medical illness leading to hospitalization can contribute significantly to deterioration in self-care, and, when it is associated with delirium, to deterioration in cognitive performance and cerebral activity over a period of 1 year.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jan 2001
Survival of hospitalized elderly patients with delirium: a prospective study.
The authors tested the relationship between clinically diagnosed delirium during hospitalization and increased mortality after accounting for pre-hospital measures of global cognition, physical functioning, and medical comorbidity. Patients (N=102), 53 of which were hospitalized during the course of a year, received the Mini-Mental State Exam, Physical Self-Maintenance Scale, Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, and 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Mortality rates were determined at discharge and after 3 years. ⋯ Three-year mortality in the hospitalized subjects was 75% for delirium patients vs. 51% for control patients (risk ratio=2.24). Delirium occurring during hospitalization places elderly subjects at long-term risk of mortality. This effect is not accounted for by earlier measures of cognitive, functional, or health status.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jan 2001
Severity and course of delirium in medically hospitalized nursing facility residents.
Delirium is a common and serious complication of medical illness in frail elderly patients. The authors report on a series of nursing facility delirium patients followed for 3 months during and after acute medical hospitalization. Delirium was persistent to time of death or hospital discharge in 72%. ⋯ A purely hypoactive delirium vs. a hyperactive or mixed was associated with delirium persistence. Delirium is associated with high mortality and frequent persistence. Additional research is needed to clarify who is at risk for delirium with associated persistence and/or mortality.