Background: Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is gaining popularity as part of therapy programs in residential aged care facilities. Humans and pet dogs respond to quiet interaction with a lowering of blood pressure and an increase in neuroche-micals associated with relaxation and bonding. These effects may be of benefit in ameliorating behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD).

Methods: Medline, PsychInfo and CINAHL databases (1960–2005) were searched for papers on AAT or pets and dementia. Publications of controlled trials that measured the effect of AAT for dementia were reviewed.

Results: Several small studies suggest that the presence of a dog reduces aggression and agitation, as well as promoting social behavior in people with dementia. One study has shown that aquaria in dining rooms of dementia care units stimulate residents to eat more of their meals and to gain weight but is limited by the small number of facilities studied. There is preliminary evidence that robotic pets may provide pleasure and interest to people with dementia.

Conclusions: Current literature suggests that AAT may ameliorate BPSD, but the duration of the beneficial effect has not been explored. The relative benefits of “resident” versus “visiting” pet dogs are unclear and are confounded by the positive effect of pet interaction on staff or caregivers. Further research on the potential benefits of AAT is recommended.

Background: Individuals with dementia often experience poor quality of life (QOL) due to behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Music therapy can reduce BPSD, but most studies have focused on patients with mild to moderate dementia. We hypothesized that music intervention would have beneficial effects compared with a no-music control condition, and that interactive music intervention would have stronger effects than passive music intervention.

Methods: Thirty-nine individuals with severe Alzheimer's disease were randomly and blindly assigned to two music intervention groups (passive or interactive) and a no-music Control group. Music intervention involved individualized music. Short-term effects were evaluated via emotional response and stress levels measured with the autonomic nerve index and the Faces Scale. Long-term effects were evaluated by BPSD changes using the Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease (BEHAVE-AD) Rating Scale.

Results: Passive and interactive music interventions caused short-term parasympathetic dominance. Interactive intervention caused the greatest improvement in emotional state. Greater long-term reduction in BPSD was observed following interactive intervention, compared with passive music intervention and a no-music control condition.

Conclusion: Music intervention can reduce stress in individuals with severe dementia, with interactive interventions exhibiting the strongest beneficial effects. Since interactive music intervention can restore residual cognitive and emotional function, this approach may be useful for aiding severe dementia patients’ relationships with others and improving QOL. The registration number of the trial and the name of the trial registry are UMIN000008801 and “Examination of Effective Nursing Intervention for Music Therapy for Severe Dementia Elderly Person” respectively.

Background: Person-centered care is increasingly regarded as being synonymous with best quality care. However, the concept and its precise meaning is a subject of debate and reliable and valid measurement tools are lacking.

Method: This article describes the development and initial testing of a new self-report assessment scale, the Person-centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT), which measures the extent to which long-term aged care staff rate their settings to be person-centered. A preliminary 39-item tool generated from research literature, expert consultations and research interviews with aged care staff (n = 37), people with early onset dementia (n = 11), and family members (n = 19) was distributed to a sample of Australian aged care staff (n = 220) and subjected to item analysis and reduction.

Results: Psychometric evaluation of the final 13-item tool was conducted using statistical estimates of validity and reliability. The results showed that the P-CAT was shown to be valid and homogeneous by factor, item and content analyses. Cronbach's α was satisfactory for the total scale (0.84), and the three subscales had values of 0.81, 0.77, and 0.31 respectively. Test–retest reliability were evaluated (n = 26) and all analyses indicated satisfactory estimates.

Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence in support of the psychometric properties of the P-CAT when used in an Australian sample of long-term aged care staff. The tool contributes to the literature by making it possible to study person-centered care in relation to health outcomes, organizational models, characteristics and levels of staffing, degrees of care needs among residents, and impact of interventions.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity and the utility of the Japanese version of the WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5-J) in the context of detecting suicidal ideation in elderly community residents.

Methods: A sample of 696 subjects aged 70 years or over who completed a set of questionnaires was examined.

Results: Cronbach's α was 0.87 and Loevinger's coefficient was 0.64. The total score was significantly correlated with the number of cohabitants, the number of physical illnesses, physical functioning, instrumental activities of daily living, and depressive symptoms. Subjects with suicidal ideation had significantly lower scores on the WHO-5-J. The receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the scale significantly discriminated the subjects with suicidal ideation. When combined with the assessment of a lack of perceived social support (PSS), a standard cut-off criterion of “a total score ≤ 12 or answering 0 or 1 to any of the five items” more appropriately identified elderly subjects with suicidal ideation: sensitivity = 87%, specificity = 75%, negative predictive value = 99%, and positive predictive value = 10%.

Conclusions: In combination with PSS, the scale has predictive utility to detect suicidal ideation in elderly community residents.

COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina has affected the care of older adults with dementia deeply. Our objective was to study how the obligatory social isolation affected stress caregiver and burden of care of family members of subjects living with dementia in the community after the initial 4 weeks of quarantine in our setting. We did a questionnaire survey among 80 family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or related dementia collected on April 2020. We designed a visual analog scale to test the level of the burden of care. Characteristics of people with dementia and their caregivers were analyzed with descriptive (mean, standard deviation, frequency and percent) and inferential statistics (chi-square test). The sample included older adults (mean age: 80.51 ± 7.65) with different stages of dementia. Family was the primary provider of care in 65%. Overall, COVID-19 confinement increased stress caregiver independently of the dementia stage, but those caring for severe cases had more stress compared to milder forms of the disease. Other findings were that half of the subjects with dementia experienced increased anxiety and that most family members discontinued all sort of cognitive and physical therapies. Family members’ main concerns were for severe dementia cases, fear of absence of the paid caregiver during the epidemic, and for mild cases fear of spreading the disease while assisting patients with instrumental activities. A partnership between departments of public health, care workers and families must be planned to guarantee continuity of care during these unique COVID-19 times.

Background: An increasing body of evidence suggests that health behaviors may protect against cognitive impairment and dementia. The purpose of this study was to summarize the current evidence on health behavioral factors predicting cognitive health through a systematic review of the published literature.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO databases were searched for studies on community representative samples aged 65 and older, with prospective cohort design and multivariate analysis. The outcome – cognitive health – was defined as a continuum of cognitive function ranging from cognitive decline to impairment and dementia, and health behaviors included physical activity, smoking, alcohol drinking, body mass index, and diet and nutrition.

Results: Of 12,105 abstracts identified, 690 relevant full-texts were reviewed. The final yield amounted to 115 articles of which 37 studies were chosen that met the highest standards of quality. Leisure time physical activity, even of moderate level, showed protective effects against dementia, whereas smoking elevated the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Moderate alcohol consumption tended to be protective against cognitive decline and dementia, but nondrinkers and frequent drinkers exhibited a higher risk for dementia and cognitive impairment. Midlife obesity had an adverse effect on cognitive function in later life. Analysis showed vegetable and fish consumption to be of benefit, whereas, persons consuming a diet high in saturated fat had an increased dementia risk.

Conclusion: The review demonstrates accumulating evidence supporting health behavioral effects in reducing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Results indicate potential benefits of healthy lifestyles in protecting cognitive health in later life.

Background: People with dementia report lower quality of life, but we know little about what interventions might improve it.

Methods: We systematically reviewed 20 randomized controlled trials reporting the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions in improving quality of life or well-being of people with dementia meeting predetermined criteria. We rated study validity with a checklist. We contacted authors for additional data. We calculated standardized mean differences (SMD) and, for studies reporting similar interventions, pooled standardized effect sizes (SES).

Results: Pooled analyses found that family carer coping strategy-based interventions (four studies, which did not individually achieve significance; n = 420; SES 0.24 (range 0.03–0.45)) and combined patient activity and family carer coping interventions (two studies, not individually significant; n = 191; SES 0.84 (range 0.54–1.14)) might improve quality of life. In one high-quality study, a care management system improved quality of life of people with dementia living at home. Group Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (GCST) improved quality of life of people with dementia in care homes.

Conclusion: Preliminary evidence indicated that coping strategy-based family carer therapy with or without a patient activity intervention improved quality of life of people with dementia living at home. GCST was the only effective intervention in a higher quality trial for those in care homes, but we did not find such evidence in the community. Few studies explored whether effects continued after the intervention stopped. Future research should explore the longer-term impact of interventions on, and devise strategies to increase, life quality of people with dementia living in care homes or at home without a family carer.

Background: Despite evidence that early identification of dementia is of growing policy and practice significance in the U.K., limited work has been done on evaluating screening measures for use in primary care. The aim of this paper is to offer a clinically informed synthesis of research and practice-based evidence on the utility, efficacy and quality of dementia screening measures.

Method: The study has three elements: a review of research literature, a small-scale survey of measures employed in three primary care trusts, and a systematic clinical evaluation of the most commonly used screening instruments. The study integrates data from research and clinical sources.

Results: The General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG), the Memory Impairment Screen (MIS), and the Mini-Cognitive Assessment Instrument (Mini-Cog) were found to be brief, easy to administer, clinically acceptable, effective, and minimally affected by education, gender, and ethnicity. All three have psychometric properties similar to the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE).

Conclusions: Although the MMSE is widely used in the U.K., this project identifies the GPCOG, MIS and Mini-Cog as clinically and psychometrically robust and more appropriate for routine use in primary care. A coherent review of evidence coupled with an indepth evaluation of screening instruments has the potential to enhance ability and commitment to early intervention in primary care and, as part of a wider educational strategy, improve the quality and consistency of dementia screening.

Background: Attitudes are known to exert a powerful influence on a range of behaviors. The objective of this study was to investigate the contribution of attitudes toward one's own aging to satisfaction with life and physical and mental health measured in a sample of community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Adults who were part of a larger study of health and well-being in rural and regional Australia aged ≥60 years (N = 421) completed a cross-sectional postal survey comprising the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire, the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale.

Results: Overall, attitudes to aging were positive in this sample. More positive attitudes to aging were associated with higher levels of satisfaction with life, better self-report physical and mental health on the SF-12, and lower levels of anxiety and depression, after controlling for confounding variables. Better financial status and being employed were both associated with more positive attitudes to aging and better self-reported physical health. Relationship status was also significantly associated with mental health and satisfaction with life, but not physical health.

Conclusion: The promotion of successful aging is increasingly becoming important in aging societies. Having positive attitudes to aging may contribute to healthier mental and physical outcomes in older adults. Overcoming negative stereotypes of aging through change at the societal and individual level may help to promote more successful aging.

Background:Reports in the literature on the effects of behavioral problems in patients with dementia on the decision to institutionalize the patient have shown conflicting results. Few studies have taken into account the possibility that specific behavioral problems may have differential effects on the decision to institutionalize the patient. Moreover, it is probably not patient behavior itself that causes nursing home placement (NHP), but caregivers’ emotional reaction to it. The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of specific behavioral subsyndromes and caregivers’ emotional reaction on NHP.

Methods:A total of 119 patients with dementia and their informal caregivers were followed up for 2 years. Time to NHP was measured in months from the date of the baseline interview to the date of NHP. Behavioral disturbances in the patient and caregivers’ emotional reactions were measured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Cox regression analyses were used to determine the probability that caregivers would institutionalize the patient when patient behavioral problems or caregiver distress were present at baseline.

ResultsForty-one percent of the patients were institutionalized during the 2-year follow-;up. Caregiver distress related to patient behavior was a significant predictor of NHP, while behavior in itself did not predict NHP. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find a differential impact of specific aspects of problem behavior. Children caregivers, especially daughters, were associated with shorter time to NHP compared to spouses.

Conclusions:Our findings indicate that the caregiver's emotional reaction to patient behavior is more important than problem behaviors per se in the decision to institutionalize patients. Interventions aimed at teaching caregivers strategies to better manage difficult patient behaviors may provide caregivers with the necessary resources to continue care at home. Future interventions need to account for the specific needs and problems of different caregiver groups.

Background: Among the general public there is a deep fear of developing dementia, which has led to an increasing number of people “at risk” seeking ways (such as advance directives) to avoid undergoing progressive mental decline. The views of people with dementia are vital in obtaining a real answer to the question of how the disease affects people's lives and whether it actually involves the suffering that so many fear.

Method: A review of the international literature is provided on what is known about living through dementia from the patient's perspective.

Results: A total of 50 papers met the inclusion criteria. The findings of these reviewed papers give insight into the impact of dementia and the ways that those who have it deal with its effects by using different coping strategies. The literature on the perspective of the patient gives no solid support to the widespread assumption that dementia is necessarily a state of dreadful suffering. Although the impact of dementia and the experiences of loss resulting in multiple “negative” emotions cannot be denied, our findings also indicate that people do not undergo the disease passively and use both emotion-oriented and problem-oriented coping strategies to deal with its challenges. The experiences of living through dementia as told by the sufferers appear to yield a more subtle picture than the assumptions made by the general public.

Conclusion: The overview provides a good starting point for improving the adjustment of care to the experience and wishes of people with dementia.

Currently used criteria for neuropathological diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) allow only the distinction of fully developed AD or ill-defined cases with less severe pathologic alterations. There is a need for a staging procedure that is able to supplement the currently used criteria, to allow for sufficient differentiation between the initial and intermediate stages of the illness, and to provide a characterization of the degree of involvement in the brain tissue of “nondemented, age-related controls.” The destructive process underlying AD is characterized by a typical distribution pattern of brain changes that is specific with respect to area, lamina, and even cell type. The most conspicuous change is the progressive deposition of abnormal proteins, both between and within the nerve cells. Conventional staining methods to identify these deposits lack sensitivity and specificity. Silver methods (specifically the Gallyas silver-iodide technique for neurofibrillary changes and the Campbell-Switzer silver-pyridin technique for brain amyloid) are by far the best suited to diagnostic work. They are inexpensive, simple to use, and far more reliable. This article describes the patterns of staining typically found with each of these techniques in the brains of patients with progressively severe AD and describes how the specific changes observed can be used as a staging system for diagnostic purposes.