RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine how prevalent suspected cognitive impairment is in older people visiting hearing aid dispensers, and to assess whether hearing aid dispensers' judgment on cognition was in accordance with the outcome of a cognitive screening. DESIGN: This observational study was conducted between April and May 2022. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Four private hearing aid retail stores in the Netherlands, where cognitive impairment was screened in people aged ≥60 years. METHODS: The Mini-Cog was used for cognitive screening. In addition, hearing aid dispensers were asked to provide their professional judgment if they suspected cognitive impairment. RESULTS: Of the total 239 older individuals screened, 133 were men [56%, mean age: 79 years (SD 8.6)], and 51 (21.3%) had abnormal outcomes on the Mini-Cog test. The recognition of possible cognitive impairment by the hearing aid dispensers compared to the outcome of the Mini-Cog resulted in correct predictions for 183 of the 239 individuals. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Cognitive screening in hearing-impaired older adults who visit a hearing aid dispenser suggests that cognitive impairment might be present in approximately 1 in 5 individuals. Hearing aid dispensers' response to the presence of a cognitive impairment was in 2 of 3 in accordance with an abnormal outcome on cognitive screening. To improve hearing care for people with cognitive impairment, it might be important to enhance hearing care professionals' recognition of cognitive impairment in older individuals.
Asunto(s)
Disfunción Cognitiva , Audífonos , Tamizaje Masivo , Humanos , Anciano , Países Bajos , Masculino , Femenino , Disfunción Cognitiva/diagnóstico , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Pérdida Auditiva/diagnóstico , Persona de Mediana EdadRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: It is important that healthcare professionals recognise cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients in order to address associated care needs, such as enhanced involvement of relatives and extra cognitive and functional support. However, studies analysing medical records suggest that healthcare professionals have low awareness of cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients, the percentage of patients in which cognitive dysfunction was recognised by healthcare professionals, and which variables were associated with recognition. METHODS: A multicentre, nationwide, cross-sectional observational study was conducted on a single day using a flash mob study design in thirteen university and general hospitals in the Netherlands. Cognitive function was assessed in hospitalised patients aged ≥ 65 years old, who were admitted to medical and surgical wards. A Mini-Cog score of < 3 out of 5 indicated cognitive dysfunction. The attending nurses and physicians were asked whether they suspected cognitive dysfunction in their patient. Variables associated with recognition of cognitive dysfunction were assessed using multilevel and multivariable logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: 347 of 757 enrolled patients (46%) showed cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive dysfunction was recognised by attending nurses in 137 of 323 patients (42%) and by physicians in 156 patients (48%). In 135 patients (42%), cognitive dysfunction was not recognised by either the attending nurse or physician. Recognition of cognitive dysfunction was better at a lower Mini-Cog score, with the best recognition in patients with the lowest scores. Patients with a Mini-Cog score < 3 were best recognised in the geriatric department (69% by nurses and 72% by physicians). CONCLUSION: Cognitive dysfunction is common in hospitalised older patients and is poorly recognised by healthcare professionals. This study highlights the need to improve recognition of cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients, particularly in individuals with less apparent cognitive dysfunction. The high proportion of older patients with cognitive dysfunction suggests that it may be beneficial to provide care tailored to cognitive dysfunction for all hospitalised older patients.
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Disfunción Cognitiva , Delirio , Humanos , Anciano , Estudios Transversales , Disfunción Cognitiva/diagnóstico , Disfunción Cognitiva/epidemiología , Disfunción Cognitiva/complicaciones , Pacientes , HospitalizaciónRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Emotion recognition, an important aspect of social cognition, can be impaired already in early Alzheimer disease dementia and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and may underly social behavioral changes, which can increase caregiver burden. However, social behavior is difficult to assess in outpatient settings. We evaluated whether impaired emotion recognition is related to proxy-rated social behavioral problems and thus can serve as a marker of these changes. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Emotion recognition was assessed with Ekman 60 Faces Test (EFT-total, 6 separate emotions) in patients (n = 31 AD; n = 37 aMCI) and healthy controls (n = 60 HCs). Social behavioral problems were rated by proxies with the neuropsychiatric inventory (agitation, apathy, irritability, disinhibition, and a sum score). It tested whether EFT scores differed between patients with and without behavioral problems. RESULTS: AD had worse EFT-total ( P <0.001), disgust ( P = 0.02), and fear ( P = 0.001) than HC, but not than aMCI, who did not differ from HC. AD displayed more disinhibition ( P < 0.05). EFT and neuropsychiatric inventory sum scores were not significantly correlated. Patients with apathy had lower EFT-total ( P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Measuring emotion recognition adds value: it is impaired in early neurodegeneration and associated with apathy but not necessarily related to overall changes in social behavior in this population.
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Enfermedad de Alzheimer , Disfunción Cognitiva , Problema de Conducta , Humanos , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/psicología , Emociones/fisiología , Disfunción Cognitiva/diagnóstico , Disfunción Cognitiva/psicología , Reconocimiento en Psicología/fisiología , Pruebas NeuropsicológicasRESUMEN
Neuropsychological tests, particularly for episodic memory, are used to classify patients in memory clinics. Still, the differential diagnosis between dementia of the Alzheimer's disease type (Dementia-AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or major depressive disorder (MDD) is challenging. However, impairments in other domains, such as emotion recognition, an aspect of social cognition, might have additional value in distinguishing Dementia-AD from MCI and MDD and hence signal progression of neurodegeneration. We evaluated this in patients visiting a memory clinic. Sixty healthy controls (HC) and 143 first time attendants of an academic hospital memory clinic who were eventually classified as Dementia-AD (n = 45), MCI (n = 47), MDD (n = 27), or No Impairment (NI, n = 24) were included. We assessed group differences in Emotion Recognition (Ekman 60 Faces Test (EFT)) and episodic memory (Dutch Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT)). With multinomial and binomial regression analysis, we assessed whether EFT was added to RAVLT in distinguishing patient groups. Dementia-AD patients had significantly worse emotion recognition than HC, MCI, MDD, and NI groups, but no other between-group differences were found. Episodic memory was impaired in Dementia-AD and MCI patients. We found no memory impairments in the MDD and NI groups. Emotion recognition in addition to episodic memory was significantly better in predicting group membership than episodic memory alone. In conclusion, emotion recognition measurement had added value for differentiation between patients first visiting memory clinics, in particular in distinguishing Dementia-AD from MCI. We recommend the standard inclusion of emotion recognition testing in neuropsychological assessment in memory clinics.
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Enfermedad de Alzheimer , Disfunción Cognitiva , Trastorno Depresivo Mayor , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/diagnóstico , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/psicología , Disfunción Cognitiva/diagnóstico , Emociones , Humanos , Pruebas NeuropsicológicasRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the presence, nature and direction of the daily temporal association between depressive symptoms, cognitive performance and sleep in older individuals. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Single-subject study design in eight older adults with cognitive impairments and depressive symptoms. MEASUREMENTS: For 63 consecutive days, depressive symptoms, working memory performance and night-time sleep duration were daily assessed with an electronic diary and actigraphy. The temporal associations of depressive symptoms, working memory and total sleep time were evaluated for each participant separately with time-series analysis (vector autoregressive modeling). RESULTS: For seven out of eight participants we found a temporal association between depressive symptoms and/or sleep and/or working memory performance. More depressive symptoms were preceded by longer sleep duration in one person (r = 0.39; p < .001), by longer or shorter sleep duration than usual in one other person (B = 0.49; p < .001), by worse working memory in one person (B = -0.45; p = .007), and by better working memory performance in one other person (B = 0.35; p = .009). Worse working memory performance was preceded by longer sleep duration (r = -.35; p = .005) in one person, by shorter or longer sleep duration in three other persons (B = -0.76; p = .005, B = -0.61; p < .001; B = -0.34; p = .002), and by more depressive symptoms in one person (B = -0.25; p = .009). CONCLUSION: The presence, nature and direction of the temporal associations between depressive symptoms, cognitive performance and sleep differed between individuals. Knowledge of personal temporal associations may be valuable for the development of personalized intervention strategies in order to maintain their health, quality of life, functional outcomes and independence.
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Disfunción Cognitiva , Depresión , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Cognición , Depresión/psicología , Humanos , Calidad de Vida , SueñoRESUMEN
The initiation of hemodialysis is associated with an accelerated decline of cognitive function and an increased incidence of cerebrovascular accidents and white matter lesions. Investigators have hypothesized that the repetitive circulatory stress of hemodialysis induces ischemic cerebral injury, but the mechanism is unclear. We studied the acute effect of conventional hemodialysis on cerebral blood flow (CBF), measured by [15O]H2O positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT). During a single hemodialysis session, three [15O]H2O PET-CT scans were performed: before, early after the start of, and at the end of hemodialysis. We used linear mixed models to study global and regional CBF change during hemodialysis. Twelve patients aged ≥65 years (five women, seven men), with a median dialysis vintage of 46 months, completed the study. Mean (±SD) arterial BP declined from 101±11 mm Hg before hemodialysis to 93±17 mm Hg at the end of hemodialysis. From before the start to the end of hemodialysis, global CBF declined significantly by 10%±15%, from a mean of 34.5 to 30.5 ml/100g per minute (difference, -4.1 ml/100 g per minute; 95% confidence interval, -7.3 to -0.9 ml/100 g per minute; P=0.03). CBF decline (20%) was symptomatic in one patient. Regional CBF declined in all volumes of interest, including the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes; cerebellum; and thalamus. Higher tympanic temperature, ultrafiltration volume, ultrafiltration rate, and pH significantly associated with lower CBF. Thus, conventional hemodialysis induces a significant reduction in global and regional CBF in elderly patients. Repetitive intradialytic decreases in CBF may be one mechanism by which hemodialysis induces cerebral ischemic injury.
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Isquemia Encefálica/etiología , Circulación Cerebrovascular , Trastornos del Conocimiento/etiología , Diálisis Renal/efectos adversos , Enfermedad Aguda , Anciano , Isquemia Encefálica/diagnóstico por imagen , Isquemia Encefálica/fisiopatología , Isquemia Encefálica/psicología , Trastornos del Conocimiento/diagnóstico por imagen , Trastornos del Conocimiento/fisiopatología , Femenino , Humanos , Hipotensión/etiología , Hipotensión/fisiopatología , Fallo Renal Crónico/terapia , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Masculino , Pruebas de Estado Mental y Demencia , Persona de Mediana Edad , Neuroimagen , Tomografía Computarizada por Tomografía de Emisión de PositronesRESUMEN
PURPOSE: [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET imaging of the brain can be used to assist in the differential diagnosis of dementia. Group differences in glucose uptake between patients with dementia and controls are well-known. However, a multivariate analysis technique called scaled subprofile model, principal component analysis (SSM/PCA) aiming at identifying diagnostic neural networks in diseases, have been applied less frequently. We validated an Alzheimer's Disease-related (AD) glucose metabolic brain pattern using the SSM/PCA analysis and applied it prospectively in an independent confirmation cohort. METHODS: We used FDG-PET scans of 18 healthy controls and 15 AD patients (identification cohort) to identify an AD-related glucose metabolic covariance pattern. In the confirmation cohort (n=15), we investigated the ability to discriminate between probable AD and non-probable AD (possible AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or subjective complaints). RESULTS: The AD-related metabolic covariance pattern was characterized by relatively decreased metabolism in the temporoparietal regions and relatively increased metabolism in the subcortical white matter, cerebellum and sensorimotor cortex. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed at a cut-off value of z=1.23, a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 94% for correct AD classification. In the confirmation cohort, subjects with clinically probable AD diagnosis showed a high expression of the AD-related pattern whereas in subjects with a non-probable AD diagnosis a low expression was found. CONCLUSION: The Alzheimer's disease-related cerebral glucose metabolic covariance pattern identified by SSM/PCA analysis was highly sensitive and specific for Alzheimer's disease. This method is expected to be helpful in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in clinical practice.