Tijdschrift voor gerontologie en geriatrie
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Tijdschr Gerontol Geriatr · Apr 2002
[Fleeing is no longer possible. The advice concerning dementia from the Health Council].
Recently the advice of the Health Council of the Netherlands about dementia was published. It was asked for by the Dutch Minister of Healthcare. In this comment it is concluded, that the evidence-based description of the state of art on dementia points out serious undercapacity of formal care services and the need of considerable expansion of home care services as well as an increase of institutional capacity. This problem cannot be ignored by politicians any more.
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Tijdschr Gerontol Geriatr · Aug 2001
[Cognitive impairments among older drivers: medical examination and driving test].
The aim of this study was to gain insight in the prevalence of cognitive impairments among active older drivers and in driving performance of cognitively impaired ones. The study was implemented in the existing Dutch relicensing procedure for older drivers and consisted of three evaluation moments: a medical screening (for all subjects), a neuropsychological assessment and a test-drive (for candidates with cognitive impairments). In total, 2992 drivers were medically evaluated. ⋯ Eighty subjects performed an on-road test. Of these subjects, 57% were allowed to renew their driver's license, while in the remaining 43% no new licenses or restricted licenses were issued. During the test-drive, slow reactions and attention deficits were the most important causes for impaired fitness to drive.
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Tijdschr Gerontol Geriatr · Aug 2001
Review[Sleep and intellectual functioning in the elderly: the role of sleep quality and apnea--literature survey].
In both relatively healthy and in demented elderly people mental abilities and sleep quality decrease in becoming older and nocturnal respiratory disturbance increases. Perhaps there is an association between sleep and cognition. The hypothesis that specific sleep phenomena are necessary to assure an adequate level of cognitive functioning is called the sleep cognition hypothesis. ⋯ The findings in demented older people concerning sleep and cognition are inconsistent. In relatively healthy older people a significant correlation between nocturnal respiratory disturbance and cognitive functioning was seldom found, whereas in demented older people a clear association was shown. Therefore, in demented older people prudence is necessary in prescribing psychopharmaca because these can enhance the appearance of sleep apneas.
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Ageing can be associated with physical, cognitive and/or social loss. Most older people, however, cope well with this loss, perhaps by using humour. In this review the research findings concerning humour were collected. ⋯ In health care for older people humour is sometimes used as a therapy. Scientific evidence of any positive effects of humour on mental health was not found. It is perhaps better for caretakers to show appreciation for the humour of older people than to make jokes about older people oneself.