| 1. |
- Religa, Piotr, et al.
(author)
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VEGF significantly restores impaired memory behavior in Alzheimers mice by improvement of vascular survival
- 2013
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group: Open Access Journals - Option B / Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The functional impact of amyloid peptides (Abs) on the vascular system is less understood despite these pathologic peptides are substantially deposited in the brain vasculature of Alzheimers patients. Here we show substantial accumulation of Abs 40 and 42 in the brain arterioles of Alzheimers patients and of transgenic Alzheimers mice. PurifiedAbs 1-40 and 1-42 exhibited vascular regression activity in the in vivo animal models and vessel density was reversely correlated with numbers and sizes of amyloid plaques in human patients. A significant high number of vascular cells underwent cellular apoptosis in the brain vasculature of Alzheimers patients. VEGF significantly prevented Ab-induced endothelial apoptosis in vitro. Neuronal expression of VEGF in transgenic mice restored memory behavior of Alzheimers. These findings provide conceptual implication of improvement of vascular functions as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of Alzheimers disease.
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| 2. |
- Ball, Emily L., et al.
(author)
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Predicting post-stroke cognitive impairment using acute CT neuroimaging : A systematic review and meta-analysis
- 2022
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In: International Journal of Stroke. - : Sage Publications. - 1747-4930 .- 1747-4949. ; 17:6, s. 618-627
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Identifying whether acute stroke patients are at risk of cognitive decline could improve prognostic discussions and management. Structural computed tomography neuroimaging is routine in acute stroke, and may identify those at risk of post-stroke dementia or post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI).Aim To systematically review the literature to identify which stroke or pre-stroke features on brain computed tomography scans, performed at the time of stroke, are associated with post-stroke dementia or PSCI.Summary of review We searched electronic databases to December 2020. We included studies reporting acute stroke brain computed tomography, and later diagnosis of a cognitive syndrome. We created summary estimates of size of unadjusted association between computed tomography features and cognition. Of 9536 citations, 28 studies (41 papers) were eligible (N = 7078, mean age 59.8-78.6 years). Cognitive outcomes were post-stroke dementia (10 studies), PSCI (17 studies), and one study analyzed both. Fifteen studies (N = 2952) reported data suitable for meta-analyses. White matter lesions (WML) (six studies, N = 1054, OR = 2.46, 95% CI = 1.25-4.84), cerebral atrophy (four studies, N = 558, OR = 2.80, 95% CI = 1.21-6.51), and pre-existing stroke lesions (three studies, N = 352, OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.06-5.32) were associated with post-stroke dementia. WML (four studies, N = 473, OR = 3.46, 95% CI = 2.17-5.52) were associated with PSCI. Other computed tomography features were either not associated with cognitive outcome, or there were insufficient data.Conclusions Cognitive impairment following stroke is of great concern to patients and carers. Features seen on visual assessment of acute stroke computed tomography brain scans are strongly associated with cognitive outcomes. Clinicians should consider when and how this information should be discussed with stroke survivors.
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| 3. |
- Ball, Emily Louise, et al.
(author)
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Predictors of post-stroke cognitive impairment using acute structural MRI neuroimaging : A systematic review and meta-analysis
- 2023
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In: International Journal of Stroke. - : Sage Publications. - 1747-4930 .- 1747-4949. ; 18:5, s. 543-554
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Stroke survivors are at an increased risk of developing post-stroke cognitive impairment and post-stroke dementia; those at risk could be identified by brain imaging routinely performed at stroke onset.AIM: This systematic review aimed to identify features which are associated with post-stroke cognitive impairment (including dementia), on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed at stroke diagnosis.SUMMARY OF REVIEW: We searched the literature from inception to January 2022 and identified 10,284 records. We included studies that performed MRI at the time of stroke (0-30 days after a stroke) and assessed cognitive outcome at least three months after stroke. We synthesised findings from 26 papers, comprising 27 stroke-populations (N=13,114, average age range=40-80 years, 19-62% female). When data were available, we pooled unadjusted (ORu) and adjusted (ORa) odds ratios.We found associations between cognitive outcomes and presence of cerebral atrophy (3 studies, N=453, ORu=2.48, 95%CI=1.15-4.62), presence of microbleeds (2 studies, N=9151, ORa=1.36, 95%CI=1.08-1.70), and increasing severity of white matter hyperintensities (3 studies, N=704, ORa=1.26, 95%CI=1.06-1.49). Increasing cerebral small vessel disease score was associated with cognitive outcome following unadjusted analysis only (2 studies, N=499, ORu=1.34, 95%CI=1.12-1.61; 3 studies, N=950, ORa=1.23, 95%CI=0.96-1.57). Associations remained after controlling for pre-stroke cognitive impairment. We did not find associations between other stroke features and cognitive outcome, or there were insufficient data.CONCLUSIONS: Acute stroke MRI features may enable healthcare professionals to identify patients at risk of post-stroke cognitive problems. However, there is still substantial uncertainty about the prognostic utility of acute MRI for this.
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| 4. |
- Cermakova, Pavla, et al.
(author)
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Cardiovascular Diseases in similar to 30,000 Patients in the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2015
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In: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - 1387-2877 .- 1875-8908. ; 48:4, s. 949-958
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Cardiovascular diseases are leading causes of death and patients with dementia are often affected by them. Objective: Investigate associations of cardiovascular diseases with different dementia disorders and determine their impact on mortality. Methods: This study included 29,630 patients from the Swedish Dementia Registry (mean age 79 years, 59% women) diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD), mixed dementia, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), or unspecified dementia. Records of cardiovascular diseases come from the Swedish National Patient Register. Multinomial logistic regression and cox proportional hazard models were applied. Results: Compared to AD, we found a higher burden of all cardiovascular diseases in mixed and vascular dementia. Cerebrovascular diseases were more associated with DLB than with AD. Diabetes mellitus was less associated with PDD and DLB than with AD. Ischemic heart disease was less associated with PDD and FTD than AD. All cardiovascular diseases predicted death in patients with AD, mixed, and vascular dementia. Only ischemic heart disease significantly predicted death in DLB patients (HR = 1.72; 95% CI = 1.16-2.55). In PDD patients, heart failure and diabetes mellitus were associated with a higher risk of death (HR = 3.06; 95% CI = 1.74-5.41 and HR = 3.44; 95% CI = 1.31-9.03). In FTD patients, ischemic heart disease and atrial fibrillation or flutter significantly predicted death (HR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.08-4.14 and HR= 3.15; 95% CI = 1.60-6.22, respectively). Conclusion: Our study highlights differences in the occurrence and prognostic significance of cardiovascular diseases in several dementia disorders. This has implications for the care and treatment of the different dementia disorders.
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| 5. |
- Cermakova, Pavla, et al.
(author)
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Cardiovascular medication burden in dementia disorders : a nationwide study of 19,743 dementia patients in the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2014
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In: Alzheimer's research & therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1758-9193. ; 6:3, s. 34-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Administration of several cardiovascular drugs has an effect on dementia. We aimed to investigate whether there are differences in the use of cardiovascular medication between different dementia disorders. Methods: We obtained information about dementia patients from the Swedish Dementia Registry. Patients were diagnosed with one of these dementia disorders: Alzheimer's disease (n = 8,139), mixed dementia (n = 5,203), vascular dementia (n = 4,982), Lewy body dementia (n = 605), frontotemporal dementia (n = 409) and Parkinson's disease dementia (n = 405). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between use of cardiovascular medication and dementia disorders, after adjustment for age, gender, living alone, cognitive status and total number of drugs (a proxy for overall co-morbidity). Results: Seventy percent of all the dementia patients used cardiovascular medication. Use of cardiovascular drugs is common in patients with vascular and mixed dementia. Male gender, higher age, slightly better cognitive status and living with another person was associated with use of cardiovascular medication. Conclusions: Cardiovascular medication is used extensively across dementia disorders and particularly in vascular and mixed dementia. Future research should investigate the tolerability and effectiveness of these drugs in the different dementia disorders.
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| 6. |
- Cermakova, Pavla, et al.
(author)
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Heart failure and dementia : survival in relation to types of heart failure and different dementia disorders
- 2015
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In: European Journal of Heart Failure. - : Wiley. - 1388-9842 .- 1879-0844. ; 17:6, s. 612-619
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AimsHeart failure (HF) and dementia frequently coexist, but little is known about their types, relationships to each other and prognosis. The aims were to (i) describe patients with HF and dementia, assess (ii) the proportion of specific dementia disorders in types of HF based on ejection fraction and (iii) the prognostic role of types of HF and dementia disorders. Methods and resultsThe Swedish Heart Failure Registry (RiksSvikt) and The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) were record-linked. Associations between dementia disorders and HF types were assessed with multinomial logistic regression and survival was investigated with Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox regression. We studied 775 patients found in both registries (55% men, mean age 82years). Ejection fraction was preserved in 38% of patients, reduced in 34%, and missing in 28%. The proportions of dementia disorders were similar across HF types. Vascular dementia was the most common dementia disorder (36%), followed by other dementias (28%), mixed dementia (20%), and Alzheimer disease (16%). Over a mean follow-up of 1.5years, 76% of patients survived 1year. We observed no significant differences in survival with regard to HF type (P=0.2) or dementia disorder (P=0.5). After adjustment for baseline covariates, neither HF types nor dementia disorders were independently associated with survival. ConclusionsHeart failure with preserved ejection fraction was the most common HF type and vascular dementia was the most common dementia disorder. The proportions of dementia disorders were similar across HF types. Neither HF types nor specific dementia disorders were associated with survival.
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| 7. |
- Cermakova, Pavla, et al.
(author)
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Management of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Patients With Dementia : Data From SveDem, the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2017
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In: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 1525-8610 .- 1538-9375. ; 18:1, s. 19-23
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: We aimed to (1) study factors that determine the use of invasive procedures in the management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in patients with dementia and (2) determine whether the use of invasive procedures was associated with their better survival. Design: Cohort study based on patients registered in the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), 20072012. Median follow-up time was 228 days. Setting: Patients diagnosed with dementia in specialist memory clinics and primary care units in Sweden. Participants: A total of 525 patients with dementia who suffered AMI (mean age 89 years, 54% women). Measurements: Information on AMI and use of invasive procedures (coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention) was obtained from Swedish national health registers. Binary logistic regression was applied to study associations of patients characteristics with the use of invasive procedures; odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Survival was analyzed with Kaplan-Meier curves; log-rank test was used to compare survival of patients who received an invasive procedure versus those who did not receive it. Cox regression was applied to study association of the invasive procedures with all-cause mortality; hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs were calculated. Results: One hundred ten patients (21%) with dementia received an invasive procedure in the management of AMI. After multivariate adjustment, lower age and higher global cognitive status were associated with the use of invasive procedures. The invasively managed patients survived longer (P = .001). The use of invasive procedures was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, adjusting for type of AMI and dementia disorder, age, gender, registration unit, history of AMI and comorbidity score (HR 0.35, 95% CI 0.21-0.59), or total number of drugs (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.20-0.58). Conclusion: Age and cognitive status determine the use of invasive procedures in patients with dementia. This study suggests that the invasive management of AMI has a benefit for survival of patients with dementia. (C) 2016 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
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| 8. |
- Falk Erhag, Hanna, et al.
(author)
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The Association Between the Clinical Frailty Scale and Adverse Health Outcomes in Older Adults in Acute Clinical Settings : A Systematic Review of the Literature
- 2023
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In: Clinical Interventions in Aging. - : Dove Medical Press. - 1176-9092 .- 1178-1998. ; 18, s. 249-261
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Frail older adults experience higher rates of adverse health outcomes. Therefore, assessing pre-hospital frailty early in the course of care is essential to identify the most vulnerable patients and determine their risk of deterioration. The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is a frailty assessment tool that evaluates pre-hospital mobility, energy, physical activity, and function to generate a score that ranges from very fit to terminally ill.Purpose: To synthesize the evidence of the association between the CFS degree and all-cause mortality, all-cause readmission, length of hospital stay, adverse discharge destination, and functional decline in patients > 65 years in acute clinical settings.Design: Systematic review with narrative synthesis.Methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus) were searched for prospective or retrospective studies reporting a relationship between pre-hospital frailty according to the CFS and the outcomes of interest from database inception to April 2020.Results: Our search yielded 756 articles, of which 29 studies were included in this review (15 were at moderate risk and 14 at low risk of bias). The included studies represented 26 cohorts from 25 countries (N = 44166) published between 2011 and 2020. All included studies showed that pre-hospital frailty according to the CFS is an independent predictor of all adverse health outcomes included in the review.Conclusion: A primary purpose of the CFS is to grade clinically increased risk (i.e. risk stratification). Our results report the accumulated knowledge on the risk-predictive performance of the CFS and highlight the importance of routinely including frailty assessments, such as the CFS, to estimate biological age, improve risk assessments, and assist clinical decision-making in older adults in acute care. Further research into the potential of the CFS and whether implementing the CFS in routine practice will improve care and patients’ quality of life is warranted.
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| 9. |
- Garcia-Ptacek, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Body-Mass Index and Mortality in Incident Dementia : A Cohort Study on 11,398 Patients From SveDem, the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2014
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In: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 1525-8610 .- 1538-9375. ; 15:6, s. 447.e1-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Body mass index (BMI) is used worldwide as an indirect measure of nutritional status and has been shown to be associated with mortality. Controversy exists over the cut points associated with lowest mortality, particularly in older populations. In patients suffering from dementia, information on BMI and mortality could improve decisions about patient care. Objectives: The objective was to explore the association between BMI and mortality risk in an incident dementia cohort. Design: Cohort study based on SveDem, the Swedish Quality Dementia Registry; 2008-2011. Setting: Specialist memory clinics, Sweden. Participants: A total of 11,398 patients with incident dementia with data on BMI (28,190 person-years at risk for death). Main outcome measures: Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for mortality associated with BMI were calculated, controlling for age, sex, dementia type, results from Mini-Mental State Examination, and number of medications. BMI categories and linear splines were used. Results: Higher BMI was associated with decreased mortality risk, with all higher BMI categories showing reduced risk relative to patients with BMI of 18.5 to 22.9 kg/m(2), whereas underweight patients (BMI <18.5 kg/m(2)) displayed excess risk. When explored as splines, increasing BMI was associated with decreased mortality risk up to BMI of 30.0 kg/m(2). Each point increase in BMI resulted in an 11% mortality risk reduction in patients with BMI less than 22.0 kg/m(2), 5% reduction when BMI was 22.0 to 24.9 kg/m(2), and 3% risk reduction among overweight patients. Results were not significant in the obese weight range. Separate examination by sex revealed a reduction in mortality with increased BMI up to BMI 29.9 kg/m(2) for men and 24.9 kg/m(2) for women. Conclusion: Higher BMI at the time of dementia diagnosis was associated with a reduction in mortality risk up to and including the overweight category for the whole cohort and for men, and up to the normal weight category for women.
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| 10. |
- Garcia-Ptacek, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Causes of Death According to Death Certificates in Individuals with Dementia : A Cohort from the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2016
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In: Journal of The American Geriatrics Society. - : Wiley. - 0002-8614 .- 1532-5415. ; 64:11, s. E137-E142
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ObjectivesThe causes of death in dementia are not established, particularly in rarer dementias. The aim of this study is to calculate risk of death from specific causes for a broader spectrum of dementia diagnoses.DesignCohort study.SettingSwedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), 2007–2012.ParticipantsIndividuals with incident dementia registered in SveDem (N = 28,609); median follow-up 741 days. Observed deaths were 5,368 (19%).MeasurementsInformation on number of deaths and causes of mortality was obtained from death certificates. Odds ratios for the presence of dementia on death certificates were calculated. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox hazards regression for cause-specific mortality, using Alzheimer's dementia (AD) as reference. Hazard ratios for death for each specific cause of death were compared with hazard ratios of death from all causes (P-values from t-tests).ResultsThe most frequent underlying cause of death in this cohort was cardiovascular (37%), followed by dementia (30%). Dementia and cardiovascular causes appeared as main or contributory causes on 63% of certificates, followed by respiratory (26%). Dementia was mentioned less in vascular dementia (VaD; 57%). Compared to AD, cardiovascular mortality was higher in individuals with VaD than in those with AD (HR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.64–2.02). Respiratory death was higher in individuals with Lewy body dementia (LBD, including Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies, HR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.71–2.71), and the risk of respiratory death was higher than expected from the risk for all-cause mortality. Participants with frontotemporal dementia were more likely to die from external causes of death than those with AD (HR = 2.86, 95% CI = 1.53–5.32).ConclusionDementia is underreported on death certificates as main and contributory causes. Individuals with LBD had a higher risk of respiratory death than those with AD.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Garcia-Ptacek, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Differences in diagnostic process, treatment and social Support for Alzheimer's dementia between primary and specialist care : resultss from the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2017
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In: Age and Ageing. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0002-0729 .- 1468-2834. ; 46:2, s. 314-319
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer's dementia (AD) has shifted the burden of management towards primary care (PC). Our aim is to compare diagnostic process and management of AD in PC and specialist care (SC). Design: cross-sectional study. Subjects: a total of, 9,625 patients diagnosed with AD registered 2011-14 in SveDem, the Swedish Dementia Registry. Methods: descriptive statistics are shown. Odds ratios are presented for test performance and treatment in PC compared to SC, adjusted for age, sex, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and number of medication. Results: a total of, 5,734 (60%) AD patients from SC and 3,891 (40%) from PC. In both, 64% of patients were women. PC patients were older (mean age 81 vs. 76; P < 0.001), had lower MMSE (median 21 vs. 22; P < 0.001) and more likely to receive home care (31% vs. 20%; P < 0.001) or day care (5% vs. 3%; P < 0.001). Fewer diagnostic tests were performed in PC and diagnostic time was shorter. Basic testing was less likely to be complete in PC. The greatest differences were found for neuroimaging (82% in PC vs. 98% in SC) and clock tests (84% vs. 93%). These differences remained statistically significant after adjusting for MMSE and demographic characteristics. PC patients received less antipsychotic medication and more anxiolytics and hypnotics, but there were no significant differences in use of cholinesterase inhibitors between PC and SC. Conclusion: primary and specialist AD patients differ in background characteristics, and this can influence diagnostic work-up and treatment. PC excels in restriction of antipsychotic use. Use of head CT and clock test in PC are areas for improvement in Sweden.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
- Garcia-Ptacek, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Mortality Risk after Dementia Diagnosis by Dementia Type and Underlying Factors : A Cohort of 15,209 Patients based on the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2014
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In: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - 1387-2877 .- 1875-8908. ; 41:2, s. 467-477
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Knowledge on survival in dementia is crucial for patients and public health planning. Most studies comparing mortality risk included few different dementia diagnoses. Objectives: To compare mortality risk in the most frequent dementia disorders in a large cohort of patients with an incident diagnosis, adjusting for potential confounding factors. Methods: 15,209 patients with dementia from the national quality database, Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), diagnosed in memory clinics from 2008 to 2011, were included in this study. The impact of age, gender, dementia diagnosis, baseline Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), institutionalization, coresidency, and medication on survival after diagnosis were examined using adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: During a mean follow-up of 2.5 years, 4,287 deaths occurred, with 114 (95% CI 111-117) deaths/1,000 person-years. Adjusted HR of death for men was 1.56 (95% CI 1.46-1.66) compared to women. Low MMSE, institutionalization, and higher number of medications were associated with higher HR of death. All dementia diagnoses demonstrated higher HR compared to Alzheimer's disease, with vascular dementia presenting the highest crude HR. After adjusting, frontotemporal dementia had the highest risk with a HR of 1.91 (95% CI 1.52-2.39), followed by Lewy body dementia (HR 1.64; 95% CI 1.39-1.95), vascular dementia (HR 1.55; 95% CI 1.42-1.69), Parkinson's disease dementia (HR 1.47; 95% CI 1.17-1.84), and mixed Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia (HR 1.32; 95% CI 1.22-1.44). Conclusion: Worse cognition, male gender, higher number of medications, institutionalization, and age were associated with increased death risk after dementia diagnosis. Adjusted risk was lowest in Alzheimer's disease patients and highest in frontotemporal dementia subjects.
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| 15. |
- Garcia-Ptacek, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Prestroke Mobility and Dementia as Predictors of Stroke Outcomes in Patients Over 65 Years of Age : A Cohort Study From The Swedish Dementia and Stroke Registries
- 2018
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In: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - Hagerstown, Maryland : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 1525-8610 .- 1538-9375. ; 19:2, s. 154-161
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To explore the association between prestroke mobility dependency and dementia on functioning and mortality outcomes after stroke in patients>65 years of age.DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study based on SveDem, the Swedish Dementia Registry and Riksstroke, the Swedish Stroke Registry.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1689 patients with dementia >65 years of age registered in SveDem and suffering a first stroke between 2007 and 2014 were matched with 7973 controls without dementia with stroke.MEASUREMENTS: Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for intrahospital mortality, and functioning and mortality outcomes at 3 months were calculated. Functioning included level of residential assistance (living at home without help, at home with help, or nursing home) and mobility dependency (independent, needing help to move outdoors, or needing help indoors and outdoors).RESULTS: Prestroke dependency in activities of daily living and mobility were worse in patients with dementia than controls without dementia. In unadjusted analyses, patients with dementia were more often discharged to nursing homes (51% vs 20%; P < .001). Mortality at 3 months was higher in patients with dementia (31% vs 23% P < .001) and fewer were living at home without help (21% vs 55%; P < .001). In adjusted analyses, prestroke dementia was associated with higher risk of 3-month mortality (OR 1.34; 95% CI 1.18-1.52), requiring a higher level of residential assistance (OR 4.07; 3.49-.75) and suffering from more dependency in relation to mobility (OR 2.57; 2.20-3.02). Patients with dementia who were independent for mobility prestroke were more likely to be discharged to a nursing home compared with patients without dementia with the same prestroke mobility (37% vs 16%; P < .001), but there were no differences in discharge to geriatric rehabilitation (19% for both; P = .976). Patients, who moved independently before stroke, were more often discharged home (60% vs 28%) and had lower mortality. In adjusted analyses, prestroke mobility limitations were associated with higher odds for poorer mobility, needing more residential assistance, and death.CONCLUSIONS: Patients with mobility impairments and/or dementia present a high burden of disability after a stroke. There is a need for research on stroke interventions among these populations.
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| 16. |
- Grundberg, Åke, et al.
(author)
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District nurses' perspectives on detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health among community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity
- 2016
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In: Journal of Clinical Nursing. - : Wiley. - 0962-1067 .- 1365-2702. ; 25:17-18, s. 2590-2599
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:To describe district nurses' perspectives on detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health among homebound older people with multimorbidity.BACKGROUND:Mental health problems among older people with multiple chronic conditions, that is, multimorbidity, are challenging issues. These patients' homes often serve as arenas in which district nurses can promote health. Mental health promotion must be studied in greater depth within primary care because older people with multimorbidity are particularly prone to developing poor mental health, which can go undetected and untreated.DESIGN:A descriptive, qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and content analysis.METHODS:Twenty-five district nurses completed individual or focus group interviews. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.RESULTS:Most district nurses stated that detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health were important tasks but that they typically focused on more practical home health care tasks. The findings revealed that district nurses focused on assessment, collaboration and social support as means of detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health.CONCLUSIONS:The district nurses described various factors and actions that appeared to be important prerequisites for their involvement in primary mental health care. Nevertheless, there were no established goals for mental health promotion, and district nurses often seemed to depend on their collaboration with other actors. Our findings indicated that district nurses cannot bear the primary responsibility for the early detection of mental health problems and early interventions to promote mental health within this population.RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE:The findings of this study indicated that workforce training and collaboration between different care providers are important elements in the future development of this field. Early detection and early treatment of mental health-related issues should also be stated as explicit objectives in the provision of care to community-dwelling older people with multimorbidity.
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| 17. |
- Grundberg, Åke, et al.
(author)
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Home care assistants' perspectives on detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health among community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity
- 2016
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In: Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. - 1178-2390. ; 9, s. 83-95
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Elderly people with multiple chronic conditions, or multimorbidity, are at risk of developing poor mental health. These seniors often remain in their homes with support from home care assistants (HCAs). Mental health promotion by HCAs needs to be studied further because they may be among the first to observe changes in clients’ mental health status. Aim: To describe HCAs’ perspectives on detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health among homebound seniors with multimorbidity. Methods: We applied a descriptive qualitative study design using semi-structured interviews. Content analyses were performed on five focus group interviews conducted in 2014 with 26 HCAs. Results: Most HCAs stated that they were experienced in caring for clients with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and high alcohol consumption. The HCAs mentioned as causes, or risk factors, multiple chronic conditions, feelings of loneliness, and social isolation. The findings reveal that continuity of care and seniors’ own thoughts and perceptions were essential to detecting mental health problems. Observation, collaboration, and social support emerged as important means of detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health. Conclusion: The HCAs had knowledge of risk factors, but they seemed insecure about which health professionals had the primary responsibility for mental health. They also seemed to have detected early signs of mental health problems, even though good personal knowledge of the client and continuity in home visits were crucial to do so. When it came to mental health promotion, the suggestions related to the aim of ending social isolation, decreasing feelings of loneliness, and increasing physical activity. The results indicate that the HCAs seemed dependent on supervision by district nurses and on care managers’ decisions to support the needed care, to schedule assignments related to the detection of mental health problems, and to promote mental health.
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| 18. |
- Grundberg, Åke, et al.
(author)
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How community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity conceive the concept of mental health and factors that may influence it : A phenomenographic study
- 2012
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In: International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1748-2623 .- 1748-2631. ; 7, s. 19716-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multimorbidity, that is, the coexistence of chronic diseases, is associated with mental health issues among elderly people. In Sweden, seniors with multimorbidity often live at home and receive care from nursing aides and district nurses. The aim of this study was to describe the variation in how community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity perceive the concept of mental health and what may influence it. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were analysed using a phenomenographic approach. Six qualitatively different ways of understanding the concept of mental health and factors that may influence it, reflecting key variations of meaning, were identified. The discerned categories were: mental health is dependent on desirable feelings and social contacts, mental health is dependent on undesirable feelings and social isolation, mental health is dependent on power of the mind and ability to control thoughts, mental health is dependent on powerlessness of the mind and inability to control thoughts, mental health is dependent on active behaviour and a healthy lifestyle, and mental health is dependent on passive behaviour and physical inactivity. According to the respondents' view, the concept of mental health can be defined as how an individual feels, thinks, and acts and also includes a positive as well as a negative aspect. Social contacts, physical activity, and optimism may improve mental health while social isolation, ageing, and chronic pain may worsen it. Findings highlight the importance of individually definitions of mental health and that community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity may describe how multiple chronic conditions can affect their life situation. It is essential to organize the health care system to provide individual health promotion dialogues, and future research should address the prerequisites for conducting mental health promotion dialogues.
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| 19. |
- Grundberg, Åke, et al.
(author)
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Mental health-promoting dialogues from the perspective of community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity.
- 2014
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In: Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. - : DOVE Medical Press Ltd.. - 1178-2390. ; 7, s. 189-199
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mental health promotion needs to be studied more deeply within the context of primary care, because persons with multiple chronic conditions are at risk of developing poor mental health. In order to make progress in the understanding of mental health promotion, the aim of this study was to describe the experiences of health-promoting dialogues from the perspective of community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity - what these seniors believe is important for achieving a dialogue that may promote their mental health. Seven interviews with six women and one man, aged 83-96 years, were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results were summarized into nine subcategories and three categories. The underlying meaning of the text was formulated into an overarching theme that embraced every category, "perceived and well-managed as a unique individual". These seniors with multimorbidity missed someone to talk to about their mental health, and needed partners that were accessible for health dialogues that could promote mental health. The participants missed friends and relatives to talk to and they (crucially) lacked health care or social service providers for health-promoting dialogues that may promote mental health. An optimal level of care can be achieved through involvement, continuity, and by providing a health-promoting dialogue based on seniors' needs and wishes, with the remembrance that general health promotion also may promote mental health. Implications for clinical practice and further research are discussed.
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| 20. |
- Grundberg, Åke
(author)
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Mental health promotion among community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity : perspectives of seniors, district nurses and home care assistants
- 2015
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The prevalence of mental illness is increasing among the older population in Sweden. One of the most vulnerable groups for mental health problems is older persons with multimorbidity, i.e. seniors with multiple chronic conditions. Many of them remain in their own homes with a comprehensive and complex need of support and healthcare, mainly provided by home care assistants (HCAs) and district nurses (DNs). However, the detection of mental health problems for adequate treatment or to promote mental health among community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity, calls for skills and competences in this area.This thesis aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how mental health may be promoted among community-dwelling seniors with multiple chronic conditions. Four studies have been included in this thesis (I-IV). All studies had a qualitative descriptive design with either a phenomenographic approach or latent and manifest qualitative content analysis technique. The aim of study I was to describe the variations in how community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity perceived the concept of mental health and what may influence it. The findings showed the participants conceptualised mental health as having both positive and negative facets. The participants further conceived that social contact, physical activity and optimism may improve mental health, while social isolation, ageing, and chronic pain may worsen it. Study II aimed to describe the experience of health-promoting dialogues from the perspective of community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity, and what these seniors believed to be important for achieving a dialogue that may promote their mental health. The main finding was the necessity of being seen as a unique individual by an accessible and competent person. Further, the participants missed having friends and relatives to talk to and they especially lacked healthcare or social service providers for health-promoting dialogues that may promote mental health. The aim of study III was to describe DNs’ perspectives on detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health among community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity. Findings revealed that the DNs’ focus was on assessment, collaboration and social support as a way of detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health. Study IV described HCAs’ perspectives on detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health among the seniors in focus. The findings revealed that continuity of care and the seniors’ own thoughts and perceptions were regarded as essential for the detection of mental health problems. Further, observation, collaboration, and social support emerged as important means of detecting mental health problems and promoting mental health.Conclusions: The results of this thesis are based on interviews and show that: 1) Seniors with multimorbidity should have an opportunity to describe how multiple chronic conditions may affect their life situation; 2) An optimal level of care can be achieved through continuity, involvement, and by providing a health-promoting dialogue based on the person’s wishes and needs; 3) Even if DNs seemed engaged in primary mental healthcare, there were no expressed goals set in the improvement of mental health, and it seemed that these DNs could not bear the primary responsibility for early detection of mental health problems and early interventions to improve mental health; 4) HCAs had knowledge about risk factors for mental health problems and it appears that they were dependent on care managers’ decision-making in granted support, as well as supervision from DNs in the detection of mental health problems and to promote mental health.In summary, the finding in the present thesis demonstrates that managing mental health problems is still an ongoing challenge for those organisations providing continuity in home care and home healthcare for homebound elderly persons with complex chronic conditions. The finding in the thesis also shows that DNs and HCAs seem to be dependent on each other in this area. Mental health promotion was expressed as an important assignment among DNs and HCAs, even though they describe different prerequisites and factors which could be seen as barriers in the detection of common mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and sleep problems. These personnel further described difficulties in collaboration and transmission of information between care- and healthcare providers from the community and primary care context. Social and physical interventions - as well as social contacts and social support to break social isolation - seemed important according to all the informants, with their different perspectives of how mental health may be promoted.
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| 21. |
- Hagg, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Age, Frailty, and Comorbidity as Prognostic Factors for Short-Term Outcomes in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Geriatric Care
- 2020
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In: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. - 1525-8610 .- 1538-9375. ; 21:11, s. 1555-1559
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: To analyze whether frailty and comorbidities are associated with in-hospital mortality and discharge to home in older adults hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Design: Single-center observational study. Setting and Participants: Patients admitted to geriatric care in a large hospital in Sweden between March 1 and June 11, 2020; 250 were treated for COVID-19 and 717 for other diagnoses. Methods: COVID-19 diagnosis was clinically confirmed by positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test or, if negative, by other methods. Patient data were extracted from electronic medical records, which included Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), and were further used for assessments of the Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS) and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). In-hospital mortality and home discharge were followed up for up to 25 and 28 days, respectively. Multivariate Cox regression models adjusted for age and sex were used. Results: Among the patients with COVID-19, in-hospital mortality rate was 24% and home discharge rate was 44%. Higher age was associated with in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.05 per each year, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01.1.08) and lower probability of home discharge (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95.0.99). CFS (>5) and CCI, but not HFRS, were predictive of in-hospital mortality (HR 1.93, 95% CI 1.02.3.65 and HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.02.1.58, respectively). Patients with CFS >5 had a lower probability of being discharged home (HR 0.38, 95% CI 0.25.0.58). CCI and HFRS were not associated with home discharge. In general, effects were more pronounced in men. Acute kidney injury was associated with in-hospital mortality and hypertension with discharge to home. Other comorbidities (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, lung diseases, chronic kidney disease and dementia) were not associated with either outcome. Conclusions and Implications: Of all geriatric patients with COVID-19, 3 out of 4 survived during the study period. Our results indicate that in addition to age, the level of frailty is a useful predictor of short-term COVID-19 outcomes in geriatric patients. (C) 2020 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
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| 22. |
- Johnell, Kristina, et al.
(author)
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Differences in Drug Therapy between Dementia Disorders in the Swedish Dementia Registry : A Nationwide Study of over 7,000 Patients
- 2013
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In: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. - : S. Karger AG. - 1420-8008 .- 1421-9824. ; 35:5-6, s. 239-248
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background/Aims: We aimed to study whether there are differences between dementia disorders and the use of anti-dementia drugs and antipsychotics (neuroleptics) in a large population of dementia patients. Methods: Information about dementia disorders was obtained from the national Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) 2007-2010 (n = 7,570). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between dementia disorders and the use of anti-dementia drugs and antipsychotics, after adjustment for age, sex, residential setting, living alone, MMSE score and number of other drugs (a proxy for overall co-morbidity). Results: More than 80% of the Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 86% of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) patients used anti-dementia drugs. Women were more likely than men to be treated with cholinesterase inhibitors. A higher MMSE score was positively associated with the use of cholinesterase inhibitors, but negatively associated with NMDA receptor antagonists and antipsychotics. Use of antipsychotics was 6% overall; however, it was 16% in DLB patients with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.2 compared to AD patients. Conclusion: Use of anti-dementia drugs in AD was in agreement with Swedish guidelines. However, use of antipsychotics in DLB patients was high, which might be worrying given the susceptibility of DLB patients to antipsychotics.
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| 23. |
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| 24. |
- Lexomboon, Duangjai, 1965-, et al.
(author)
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The Effect of Xerostomic Medication on Oral Health in Persons With Dementia
- 2018
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In: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - : Elsevier. - 1525-8610 .- 1538-9375. ; 19:12, s. 1080-1085
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Medication-induced hyposalivation can increase the risk for oral complications, including dental caries and tooth loss. This problem is particularly important in people with dementia because of their declining ability to maintain oral care. The objective of this study was to describe the association between the number of xerostomic medications used and tooth loss and restorative and dental preventive treatment in a population of persons with dementia. Design: A longitudinal population-based register study with a 3-year follow-up was conducted. Data were extracted from the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (SPDR), the Swedish National Patient Register (SNPR), and the Dental Health Register (DHR). Setting and participants: Participants were persons with dementia who were registered in the SveDem at the time of their dementia diagnosis. Measures: The exposure was continuous use of xerostomic medications over the 3 years prior to dementia diagnosis (baseline). The outcomes were the incidence of tooth extractions, tooth restorations, and dental preventive procedures. Poisson regression models were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for the association between the exposure and outcomes, adjusting for relevant confounders. Results: A total of 34,037 persons were included in the analysis. A dose-response relationship between the exposure and tooth extractions was observed. Compared with nonusers of xerostomic medication, the rate of tooth extractions increased with increasing number of xerostomic medications used (IRR = 1.03, 1.11, and 1.40 for persons using an average >0-1, >1-3, and >3 xerostomic medications, respectively). However, the risk for having new dental restorations and receiving preventive procedures did not differ between groups. Conclusion: Continuous use of xerostomic medications can increase the risk for tooth extraction in people with dementia. This study highlights the importance of careful consideration when prescribing xerostomic medications to people with dementia, and the need for regular and ongoing dental care.
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| 25. |
- Mak, Jonathan K. L., et al.
(author)
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Development of an Electronic Frailty Index for Hospitalized Older Adults in Sweden
- 2022
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In: The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. - : Oxford University Press. - 1079-5006 .- 1758-535X. ; 77:11, s. 2311-2319
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Frailty assessment in the Swedish health system relies on the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), but it requires training, in-person evaluation, and is often missing in medical records. We aimed to develop an electronic frailty index (eFI) from routinely collected electronic health records (EHRs) and assess its association with adverse outcomes in hospitalized older adults. Methods EHRs were extracted for 18 225 patients with unplanned admissions between 1 March 2020 and 17 June 2021 from 9 geriatric clinics in Stockholm, Sweden. A 48-item eFI was constructed using diagnostic codes, functioning and other health indicators, and laboratory data. The CFS, Hospital Frailty Risk Score, and Charlson Comorbidity Index were used for comparative assessment of the eFI. We modeled in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission using logistic regression; 30-day and 6-month mortality using Cox regression; and length of stay using linear regression. Results Thirteen thousand one hundred and eighty-eight patients were included in analyses (mean age 83.1 years). A 0.03 increment in the eFI was associated with higher risks of in-hospital (odds ratio: 1.65; 95% confidence interval: 1.54-1.78), 30-day (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.43; 1.38-1.48), and 6-month mortality (HR: 1.34; 1.31-1.37) adjusted for age and sex. Of the frailty and comorbidity measures, the eFI had the highest area under receiver operating characteristic curve for in-hospital mortality of 0.813. Higher eFI was associated with longer length of stay, but had a rather poor discrimination for 30-day readmission. Conclusions An EHR-based eFI has robust associations with adverse outcomes, suggesting that it can be used in risk stratification in hospitalized older adults.
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| 26. |
- Mak, Jonathan K. L., et al.
(author)
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Two Years with COVID-19 : The Electronic Frailty Index Identifies High-Risk Patients in the Stockholm GeroCovid Study
- 2023
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In: Gerontology. - : S. Karger. - 0304-324X .- 1423-0003. ; 69:4, s. 396-405
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Frailty, a measure of biological aging, has been linked to worse COVID-19 outcomes. However, as the mortality differs across the COVID-19 waves, it is less clear whether a medical record-based electronic frailty index (eFI) that we have previously developed for older adults could be used for risk stratification in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine the association of frailty with mortality, readmission, and length of stay in older COVID-19 patients and to compare the predictive accuracy of the eFI to other frailty and comorbidity measures. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records (EHRs) from nine geriatric clinics in Stockholm, Sweden, comprising 3,980 COVID-19 patients (mean age 81.6 years) admitted between March 2020 and March 2022. Frailty was assessed using a 48-item eFI developed for Swedish geriatric patients, the Clinical Frailty Scale, and the Hospital Frailty Risk Score. Comorbidity was measured using the Charlson Comorbidity Index. We analyzed in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission using logistic regression, 30-day and 6-month mortality using Cox regression, and the length of stay using linear regression. Predictive accuracy of the logistic regression and Cox models was evaluated by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and Harrell's C-statistic, respectively. Results: Across the study period, the in-hospital mortality rate decreased from 13.9% in the first wave to 3.6% in the latest (Omicron) wave. Controlling for age and sex, a 10% increment in the eFI was significantly associated with higher risks of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio = 2.95; 95% confidence interval = 2.42-3.62), 30-day mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.39; 2.08-2.74), 6-month mortality (HR = 2.29; 2.04-2.56), and a longer length of stay (beta-coefficient = 2.00; 1.65-2.34) but not with 30-day readmission. The association between the eFI and in-hospital mortality remained robust across the waves, even after the vaccination rollout. Among all measures, the eFI had the best discrimination for in-hospital (AUC = 0.780), 30-day (Harrell's C = 0.733), and 6-month mortality (Harrell's C = 0.719). Conclusion: An eFI based on routinely collected EHRs can be applied in identifying high-risk older COVID-19 patients during the continuing pandemic.
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| 27. |
- Musaeus, Christian S., et al.
(author)
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Pharmacological Medical Treatment of Epilepsy in Patients with Dementia : A Systematic Review
- 2021
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In: Current Alzheimer Research. - : Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.. - 1567-2050 .- 1875-5828. ; 18:9, s. 689-694
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Patients with dementia have an increased risk of developing epilepsy, es-pecially in patients with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. In selecting the optimal an-ti-epileptic drug (AED), the possible side effects such as drowsiness and worsening of cognitive function should be taken into consideration, together with co-morbidities and type of epilepsy. Objective: The current systematic review investigates the efficacy, tolerability, and changes in cognitive function after administration of AED in patients with dementia and epilepsy. Methods: We searched six databases, including MEDLINE and CENTRAL, checked reference lists, contacted experts, and searched Google Scholar to identify studies reporting randomized trials. Studies identified were independently screened, data extracted, and quality appraised by two researchers. A narrative synthesis was used to report findings. Results: We included one study with 95 patients with Alzheimer’s disease randomized to either lev-etiracetam, lamotrigine, or phenobarbital. No significant differences were found for efficacy, but patients receiving levetiracetam showed an improvement in mini-mental state examination scores and had fewer adverse events. Conclusion: High-quality evidence in the form of randomized controlled trials to guide clinicians in choosing an AED in patients with dementia and concomitant epilepsy remains scarce. However, levetiracetam has previously been shown to possibly improve cognition in patients with both mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, is better tolerated in the elderly population, and has no clinically relevant interaction with either cholinesterase inhibitors or NMDA receptor antagon-ists. Registration No: The protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database (ID: CRD42020176252).
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| 28. |
- Nordström, Peter, et al.
(author)
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The use of cholinesterase inhibitors and the risk of myocardial infarction and death : a nationwide cohort study in subjects with Alzheimer's disease
- 2013
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In: European Heart Journal. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0195-668X .- 1522-9645. ; 34:33, s. 2585-2591
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIMS: Cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) are used for symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's disease. These drugs have vagotonic and anti-inflammatory properties that could be of interest also with respect to cardiovascular disease. This study evaluated the use of ChEIs and the later risk of myocardial infarction and death. METHODS AND RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 7073 subjects (mean age 79 years) from the Swedish Dementia Registry with the diagnoses of Alzheimer's dementia or Alzheimer's mixed dementia since 2007. Cholinesterase inhibitor use was linked to diagnosed myocardial infarctions (MIs) and death using national registers. During a mean follow-up period of 503 (range 0-2009) days, 831 subjects in the cohort suffered MI or died. After adjustment for confounders, subjects who used ChEIs had a 34% lower risk for this composite endpoint during the follow-up than those who did not [hazard ratio (HR) 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.56-0.78]. Cholinesterase inhibitor use was also associated with a lower risk of death (HR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.54-0.76) and MI (HR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.40-0.95) when analysed separately. Subjects taking the highest recommended ChEI doses (donepezil 10 mg, rivastigmine >6 mg, galantamine 24 mg) had the lowest risk of MI (HR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.19-0.64), or death (HR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.43-0.67) compared with those who had never used ChEIs. CONCLUSION: Cholinesterase inhibitor use was associated with a reduced risk of MI and death in a nationwide cohort of subjects diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. These associations were stronger with increasing ChEI dose.
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| 29. |
- Palmberg, Robin C. O., 1992-, et al.
(author)
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Using Smart Technologies to Understand Travellers Who have Dementia: Potentials and Challenges
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Age-related cognitive diseases are becoming a growing problem in Sweden. With the fast ageing population and lowered mortality rate comes the spread of cognitive diseases related to dementia. In order to accommodate this growing target group in transport and the built environment, it is crucial to understand the mobility and travel behaviour of patients suffering from these diseases.However, the adopted techniques to uncover travel behaviour of today do not allow for errors caused by cognitive impairment, since they require retrospective validation. Such design choices make it hard to understand how to improve the environment to accommodate the target group. Recently, technologies have emerged that allow for new design methods which can be beneficial for the said target group. This paper aims to address the issue of how to collect and analyse data regarding the mobility of the target group, and roles of the built environment in affecting their behaviour. A literature review has been conducted to 1) uncover the state of the art of the technologies and design methods that relate to automated data collection about the travel behaviour, 2) understand the limits of the user related to software interaction and, in turn, data collection and 3) find possibilities for new solutions to collect travel data from patients who have dementia.
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| 30. |
- Religa, Dorota, et al.
(author)
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Dementia Diagnosis Differs in Men and Women and Depends on Age and Dementia Severity : Data from SveDem, the Swedish Dementia Quality Registry
- 2012
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In: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. - : S. Karger AG. - 1420-8008 .- 1421-9824. ; 33:2-3, s. 90-95
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims: We examine the dementia assessment with focus on age and gender differences. Methods: Data from the national quality database, Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), including 6,937 dementia patients diagnosed during 20072009 at memory clinics were used. We have studied the use of investigations for dementia diagnostics such as cognitive tests, blood and cerebrospinal fluid analyses, electroencephalography, radiological examinations and assessments of functions. Severity of cognitive impairment was assessed with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results: There was a significant decrease in the number of total tests used in the elderly group (>75 years) when compared with the middle-aged group (65-75 years) and younger patients (<65 years). The oldest group was examined with 4 of 11 possible tests, the middle-aged group had 5/11 tests performed and the youngest age group 6/11 tests. There was also a significant gender difference in the diagnostic workup, however, mostly attributable to age. The number of tests positively correlated with the level of cognition assessed by the MMSE. Conclusion: We show here for the first time the impact of age, gender and MMSE score on the dementia diagnostic workup in a large memory clinic patient population in one country. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel
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| 31. |
- Religa, Dorota
(author)
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Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease : focus on amyloid β-peptide, homocysteine and metals
- 2006
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex dementia disorder. It is characterized by the neuronal and synaptic loss, presence of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques, composed of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) in the brain. Biochemical and genetic studies implicate a central role for Aβ in the pathogenesis of AD, however how amyloid leads to neurodegeneration is still unknown. The present work focused on investigating the role of Aβ in AD and other relevant neurological and psychiatric disorders. The study was based on the analysis of Aβ in cell culture media and post-mortem brain tissue. In paper I, we measured Aβ in cell culture media from cells transfected with APP mutations causing familial AD. We could see that mutations in familial AD are primarily pathogenic through their effect on APP processing and not through altered cell signaling. In paper II, we compared the levels of Aβ in the brain of elderly schizophrenics with and without dementia versus controls. We demonstrated that in the brains from people with schizophrenia and dementia there is no increase of Aβ. Thus the pathogenic pathway of dementia in elderly schizophrenics is different from that seen in AD. Additionally, in schizophrenia cases with AD neuropathology, levels of brain Aβ were decreased as compared to 'pure' AD cases. This may be explained by high smoking prevalence among schizophrenics, the use of neuroleptic drugs or could be a result of the disease state per se. In paper III, we further investigated the hypothesis that stimulation of nicotinic receptors may diminish amyloidosis in the brain. We could prove that deposition of Aβ is attenuated in the cortex of normal elderly people that used to smoke tobacco. However, the mechanism of this attenuation is unknown. Metals have been implicated in AD pathogenesis and some metal chelators have shown therapeutic promise in animal and human studies. In paper IV, we studied the interaction of human brain Aβ with biometals, such as zinc, copper, aluminium, iron and manganese. We extracted and measured cortical Aβ in AD patients and control groups. The levels of the metals were assessed in a parallel set of samples. We found that zinc is strongly elevated in AD brains and is correlated with Aβ and dementia severity. In paper V, we focused on other important factors in AD pathogenesis, such as homocysteine and vitamin B status. We compared plasma homocysteine levels in controls, AD patients and in patients with mild cognitive impairment. We observed hyperhomocysteinemia in AD. We also confirmed that ApoE 4 allele is a risk factor in the development of sporadic AD. We did not find any evidence that polymorphism of the enzyme involved in homocysteine biogenesis, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), has a clinical significance in these groups. In summary, these studies suggest a multifactoral pathogenesis of AD, where Aβ, zinc and homocysteine are important factors. They also give insight into targets to develop therapeutic strategies for treatment of dementia. Those include: substances stimulating nicotinic receptors, metals chelators, anti- hyperhomocysteinemia therapies, and anti-Aβ strategies.
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| 32. |
- Roheger, Mandy, et al.
(author)
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Mortality and nursing home placement of dementia patients in rural and urban areas : a cohort study from the Swedish Dementia Registry.
- 2018
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0283-9318 .- 1471-6712. ; 32:4, s. 1308-1313
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Life in rural and urban areas differs in regard to social support and health care. Our aim was to examine the association between nursing home placement and survival of patients with dementia living in urban vs. rural areas.METHODS: We performed a longitudinal cohort study of patients with dementia at time of diagnosis (n = 58 154) and at first follow-up (n = 21 522) including patients registered from 2007 through 2014 in the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem). Descriptive statistics are shown. Odds ratios with 95% CI are presented for nursing home placement and hazard ratios for survival analysis.RESULTS: In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, patients living in urban areas were more likely to be in nursing homes at the time of dementia diagnosis than patients in rural areas (1.49, 95% CI: 1.29-1.73). However, there were no differences in rural vs urban areas in either survival after dementia diagnosis (urban: 0.99, 0.95-1.04, intermediate: 1.00, 0.96-1.04), or nursing home placement at first follow-up (urban: 1.00, 0.88-1.13; intermediate: 0.95, 0.85-1.06).CONCLUSION: Persons with dementia living in rural areas are less likely to live in a nursing home than their urban counterparts at the time of dementia diagnosis, but these differences disappear by the time of first follow-up. Differences in access to nursing homes between urban and rural settings could explain these findings. Results should be considered in the future healthcare decisions to ensure equality of health care across rural and urban areas.
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| 33. |
- Rosén, Christoffer, 1986, et al.
(author)
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Benchmarking biomarker-based criteria for Alzheimer's disease : Data from the Swedish Dementia Registry, SveDem.
- 2015
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In: Alzheimer's & Dementia. - : Elsevier. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 11:12, s. 1470-1479
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: New research guidelines for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include biomarker evidence of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau pathology. The aim of this study was to investigate what proportion of AD patients diagnosed in clinical routine in Sweden that had an AD-indicative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker profile.METHODS: By cross-referencing a laboratory database with the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), 2357 patients with data on CSF Aβ and tau biomarkers and a clinical diagnosis of AD with dementia were acquired.RESULTS: Altogether, 77.2% had pathologic Aβ42 and total tau or phosphorylated tau in CSF. These results were stable across age groups. Female sex and low mini-mental state examination score increased the likelihood of pathologic biomarkers.DISCUSSION: About a quarter of clinically diagnosed AD patients did not have an AD-indicative CSF biomarker profile. This discrepancy may partly reflect incorrect (false positive) clinical diagnosis or a lack in sensitivity of the biomarker assays.
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| 34. |
- Schwertner, Emilia, et al.
(author)
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Antipsychotic Treatment Associated With Increased Mortality Risk in Patients With Dementia. A Registry-Based Observational Cohort Study
- 2019
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In: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 1525-8610 .- 1538-9375. ; 20:3, s. 2-329
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To assess all-cause mortality patients with dementia treated with typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs (APDs). Design: Registry-based cohort study. Setting and participants: A total of 58,412 patients diagnosed with dementia and registered in the Swedish Dementia Registry were included in the study. Of the study sample, 2526 of the patients were prescribed APDs. Of these, 602 patients were prescribed typical APDs and 1833 patients were prescribed atypical APDs. Ninety-one patients were prescribed both typical and atypical APDs. Measurements: All-cause mortality based on Swedish Cause of Death Register. Adjusted hazard ratios of mortality were calculated according to class of APDs (typical or atypical) prescribed. Final models were adjusted for age at dementia diagnosis, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, living arrangement, and Mini-Mental State Examination. Results: In the adjusted models, use of APDs at the time of dementia diagnosis was associated with increased mortality risk in the total cohort (hazard ratio = 1.4; 95% confidence interval 1.3–1.5). After stratifying for dementia types, increased mortality risks associated with APDs were found in patients with Alzheimer's disease, mixed dementia, unspecified dementia, and vascular dementia. Higher risk for mortality was found with typical APDs in patients with mixed and vascular dementia and with atypical APDs in patients with Alzheimer's disease, mixed, unspecified, and vascular dementia. Furthermore, in patients with Alzheimer's disease who had typical APDs, use lower risk of death emerged in comparison with patients with atypical APDs. Conclusions/Implications: Both the use of atypical and typical APDs increased the risk of death in patients with dementia even after adjusting for differences in basic characteristics between groups. Although we cannot rule out the influence of residual confounding, these results would seem to add to studies suggesting caution in APD prescription for patients with dementia.
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| 35. |
- Schwertner, Emilia, et al.
(author)
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Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia in Different Dementia Disorders : A Large-Scale Study of 10,000 Individuals
- 2022
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In: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - : IOS PRESS. - 1387-2877 .- 1875-8908. ; 87:3, s. 1307-1318
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The majority of individuals with dementia will suffer from behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). These symptoms contribute to functional impairment and caregiver burden. Objective: To characterize BPSD in Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), mixed (Mixed) dementia, Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and unspecified dementia in individuals residing in long-term care facilities. Methods: We included 10,405 individuals with dementia living in long-term care facilities from the Swedish registry for cognitive/dementia disorders (SveDem) and the Swedish BPSD registry. BPSD was assessed with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory - Nursing Home Version (NPI-NH). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between dementia diagnoses and different BPSDs. Results: The most common symptoms were aberrant motor behavior, agitation, and irritability. Compared to AD, we found a lower risk of delusions (in FTD, unspecified dementia), hallucinations (FTD), agitation (VaD, PDD, unspecified dementia), elation/euphoria (DLB), anxiety (Mixed, VaD, unspecified dementia), disinhibition (in PDD), irritability (in DLB, FTD, unspecified dementia), aberrant motor behavior (Mixed, VaD, unspecified dementia), and sleep and night-time behavior changes (unspecified dementia). Higher risk of delusions (DLB), hallucinations (DLB, PDD), apathy (VaD, FTD), disinhibition (FTD), and appetite and eating abnormalities (FTD) were also found in comparison to AD. Conclusion: Although individuals in our sample were diagnosed with different dementia disorders, they all exhibited aberrant motor behavior, agitation, and irritability. This suggests common underlying psychosocial or biological mechanisms. We recommend prioritizing these symptoms while planning interventions in long-term care facilities.
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| 36. |
- Secnik, Juraj, et al.
(author)
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Cholinesterase inhibitors in patients with diabetes mellitus and dementia : an open-cohort study of similar to 23 000 patients from the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2020
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In: BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care. - : BMJ. - 2052-4897. ; 8:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective Cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) and memantine are the only approved pharmacological treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent literature suggests reductions in cardiovascular burden and risk of stroke in ChEI users. However, the clinical effectiveness of these drugs in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and dementia has not been evaluated.Research design and methods We conducted a registry-based open-cohort study of 22 660 patients diagnosed with AD and mixed-pathology dementia registered in the Swedish Dementia Registry until December 2015. Information on drug use, comorbidity and mortality was extracted using the linkage with the National Patient Registry, the Prescribed Drug Registry and the Cause of Death Registry. In total, 3176 (14%) patients with DM and 19 484 patients without DM were identified. Propensity-score matching, Cox-regression and competing-risk regression models were applied to produce HRs with 95% CIs for differences in all-cause, cardiovascular and diabetes-related mortality rates in ChEI users and non-users.Results After matching the ChEI use in patients with DM was associated with 24% all-cause mortality reduction (HR 0.76 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.86)), compared with 20% reduction (0.80 (0.75 to 0.84)) in non-DM users. Donepezil and galantamine use were associated with a reduced mortality in both patients with DM (0.84 (0.74 to 0.96); 0.80 (0.66 to 0.97)) and patients without DM (0.85 (0.80 to 0.90); 0.93 (0.86 to 0.99)). Donepezil was further associated with reduction in cardiovascular mortality, however only in patients without DM (0.84 (0.75 to 0.94)). Rivastigmine lowered mortality only in the whole-cohort analysis and in patients without DM (0.82 (0.75 to 0.89)). Moreover, ChEI use was associated with 48% reduction in diabetes-related mortality (HR 0.52 (0.32 to 0.87)) in the whole-cohort analysis. Last, low and high doses were associated with similar benefit.Conclusions We found reductions in mortality in patients with DM and AD or mixed-pathology dementia treated with ChEIs, specifically donepezil and galantamine were associated with largest benefit. Future studies should evaluate whether ChEIs help maintain self-management of diabetes in patients with dementia.
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| 37. |
- Secnik, Juraj, et al.
(author)
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Diabetes in a Large Dementia Cohort : Clinical Characteristics and Treatment From the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2017
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In: Diabetes Care. - : American Diabetes Association. - 0149-5992 .- 1935-5548. ; 40:9, s. 1159-1166
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE We aimed to investigate the differences in clinical characteristics and pharmacological treatment associated with the presence of diabetes in a large cohort of patients with dementia.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A cross-sectional registry-based study was conducted using data from the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem). Data on dementia diagnosis, dementia type, and demographic determinants were extracted from SveDem. Data from the Swedish Patient Register and Prescribed Drug Register were combined for the diagnosis of diabetes. Data on antidiabetic, dementia, cardiovascular, and psychotropic medications were extracted from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. Logistic regression was used to determine whether the variables were associated with diabetes after adjustment for confounders. In total, 29,630 patients were included in the study, and 4,881 (16.5%) of them received a diagnosis of diabetes.RESULTS In the fully adjusted model, diabetes was associated with lower age at dementia diagnosis (odds ratio [OR] 0.97 [99% CI 0.97-0.98]), male sex (1.41 [1.27-1.55]), vascular dementia (1.17 [1.01-1.36]), and mixed dementia (1.21 [1.06-1.39]). Dementia with Lewy bodies (0.64 [0.44-0.94]), Parkinson disease dementia (0.46 [0.28-0.75]), and treatment with antidepressants (0.85 [0.77-0.95]) were less common among patients with diabetes. Patients with diabetes who had Alzheimer disease obtained significantly less treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors (0.78 [0.63-0.95]) and memantine (0.68 [0.54-0.85]).CONCLUSIONS Patients with diabetes were younger at dementia diagnosis and obtained less dementia medication for Alzheimer disease, suggesting less optimal dementia treatment. Future research should evaluate survival and differences in metabolic profile in patients with diabetes and different dementia disorders.
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| 38. |
- Shahim, Bahira, et al.
(author)
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Cholinesterase inhibitors are associated with reduced mortality in patients with Alzheimer's disease and previous myocardial infarction
- 2024
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In: EUROPEAN HEART JOURNAL-CARDIOVASCULAR PHARMACOTHERAPY. - 2055-6837 .- 2055-6845.
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) are the first-line symptomatic pharmacologic treatment for patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although the target organ for this group of drugs is the brain, inhibition of the enzyme may affect cardiac function through vagotonic and anti-inflammatory effects.Objective To assess the impact of ChEIs on outcomes in patients with AD who have experienced myocardial infarction (MI) prior to the AD diagnosis.Methods Patients who had experienced MI before they were diagnosed with AD or Alzheimer's mixed dementia between 2008 and 2018 were identified from the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem, www.svedem.se), which was linked to the National Patient Registry to obtain data on MI and mortality. Cox proportional hazards regression model among a propensity score-matched dataset was performed to assess the association between ChEI treatment and clinical outcomes.Results Of 3198 patients with previous MI and a diagnosis of AD or mixed dementia, 1705 (53%) were on treatment with ChEIs. Patients treated with ChEIs were more likely to be younger and have a better overall cardiovascular (CV) risk profile. The incidence rate of all-cause death (per 1000 patient-years) in the propensity-matched cohort of 1016 ChEI users and 1016 non-users was 168.6 in patients on treatment with ChEIs compared with 190.7 in patients not on treatment with ChEIs. In this propensity-matched cohort, treatment with ChEIs was associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause death (adjusted hazard ratio 0.81, 95% confidence interval 0.71-0.92) and a greater reduction with higher doses of ChEIs. While in the unadjusted analysis, ChEIs were associated with a lower risk of both CV and non-CV death, only the association with non-CV death remained significant after accounting for baseline differences.Conclusion Treatment with ChEIs was associated with a significantly reduced risk of all-cause death, driven by lower rates of non-CV death in a nationwide cohort of patients with previous MI and a diagnosis of AD or mixed dementia. These associations were greater with higher ChEI doses.Condensed Abstract We assessed the association between cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) and clinical outcomes in a nationwide cohort of patients with previous myocardial infarction (MI) and a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) or mixed dementi. In propensity-matched analysis, treatment with ChEIs was associated with a 19% reduction in all-cause death driven by non-cardiovascular death. The reduction in all-cause death was greater with the higher doses of ChEIs.
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| 39. |
- Skillback, Tobias, et al.
(author)
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Cerebrospinal fluid tau and amyloid-beta(1-42) in patients with dementia
- 2015
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In: Brain. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-8950 .- 1460-2156. ; 138:9, s. 2716-2731
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low levels of amyloid-beta(1-42) and high levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau is typical of Alzheimer's disease. However, several neurodegenerative disorders may overlap with Alzheimer's disease both in regards to clinical symptoms and neuropathology. In a uniquely large cohort of dementia patients, we examined the associations of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease molecular pathology with clinical dementia diagnoses and disease severity. We cross-referenced the Swedish Dementia Registry with the clinical laboratory database at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The final data set consisted of 5676 unique subjects with a clinical dementia diagnosis and a complete set of measurements for cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-beta(1-42), total tau and phosphorylated tau. In cluster analysis, disregarding clinical diagnosis, the optimal natural separation of this data set was into two clusters, with the majority of patients with early onset Alzheimer's disease (75%) and late onset Alzheimer's disease (73%) assigned to one cluster and the patients with vascular dementia (91%), frontotemporal dementia (94%), Parkinson's disease dementia (94%) and dementia with Lewy bodies (87%) to the other cluster. Frontotemporal dementia had the highest cerebrospinal fluid levels of amyloid-beta(1-42) and the lowest levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau. The highest levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau and the lowest levels of amyloid-beta(1-42) and amyloid-beta(1-42):phosphorylated tau ratios were found in Alzheimer's disease. Low amyloid-beta(1-42), high total tau and high phosphorylated tau correlated with low Mini-Mental State Examination scores in Alzheimer's disease. In Parkinson's disease dementia and vascular dementia low cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-beta(1-42) was associated with low Mini-Mental State Examination score. In the vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease dementia groups 53%, 34%, 67% and 53% of the subjects, respectively had abnormal amyloid-beta(1-42) levels, 41%, 41%, 28% and 28% had abnormal total tau levels, and 29%, 28%, 25% and 19% had abnormal phosphorylated tau levels. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers were strongly associated with specific clinical dementia diagnoses with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia showing the greatest difference in biomarker levels. In addition, cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-beta(1-42), total tau, phosphorylated tau and the amyloid-beta(1-42):phosphorylated tau ratio all correlated with poor cognitive performance in Alzheimer's disease, as did cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-beta(1-42) in Parkinson's disease dementia and vascular dementia. The results support the use of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to differentiate between dementias in clinical practice, and to estimate disease severity.
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| 40. |
- Skillbäck, Tobias, et al.
(author)
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Cerebrospinal fluid tau and amyloid-β1-42 in patients with dementia.
- 2015
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In: Brain : a journal of neurology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2156 .- 0006-8950. ; 138:Pt 9, s. 2716-31
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low levels of amyloid-β1-42 and high levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau is typical of Alzheimer's disease. However, several neurodegenerative disorders may overlap with Alzheimer's disease both in regards to clinical symptoms and neuropathology. In a uniquely large cohort of dementia patients, we examined the associations of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease molecular pathology with clinical dementia diagnoses and disease severity. We cross-referenced the Swedish Dementia Registry with the clinical laboratory database at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The final data set consisted of 5676 unique subjects with a clinical dementia diagnosis and a complete set of measurements for cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β1-42, total tau and phosphorylated tau. In cluster analysis, disregarding clinical diagnosis, the optimal natural separation of this data set was into two clusters, with the majority of patients with early onset Alzheimer's disease (75%) and late onset Alzheimer's disease (73%) assigned to one cluster and the patients with vascular dementia (91%), frontotemporal dementia (94%), Parkinson's disease dementia (94%) and dementia with Lewy bodies (87%) to the other cluster. Frontotemporal dementia had the highest cerebrospinal fluid levels of amyloid-β1-42 and the lowest levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau. The highest levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau and the lowest levels of amyloid-β1-42 and amyloid-β1-42:phosphorylated tau ratios were found in Alzheimer's disease. Low amyloid-β1-42, high total tau and high phosphorylated tau correlated with low Mini-Mental State Examination scores in Alzheimer's disease. In Parkinson's disease dementia and vascular dementia low cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β1-42 was associated with low Mini-Mental State Examination score. In the vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease dementia groups 53%, 34%, 67% and 53% of the subjects, respectively had abnormal amyloid-β1-42 levels, 41%, 41%, 28% and 28% had abnormal total tau levels, and 29%, 28%, 25% and 19% had abnormal phosphorylated tau levels. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers were strongly associated with specific clinical dementia diagnoses with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia showing the greatest difference in biomarker levels. In addition, cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β1-42, total tau, phosphorylated tau and the amyloid-β1-42:phosphorylated tau ratio all correlated with poor cognitive performance in Alzheimer's disease, as did cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β1-42 in Parkinson's disease dementia and vascular dementia. The results support the use of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to differentiate between dementias in clinical practice, and to estimate disease severity.
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| 41. |
- Skillbäck, Tobias, et al.
(author)
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CSF neurofilament light differs in neurodegenerative diseases and predicts severity and survival.
- 2014
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In: Neurology. - 1526-632X .- 0028-3878. ; 83:21, s. 1945-53
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We hypothesized that CSF neurofilament light (NFL) levels would be elevated in dementias with subcortical involvement, including vascular dementia (VaD), but less elevated in dementias primarily affecting gray matter structures, such as Alzheimer disease (AD), and that elevated CSF NFL would correlate with disease severity and shorter survival time irrespective of clinical diagnosis.
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| 42. |
- Stilling, Frej, et al.
(author)
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Adipose tissue fatty acid composition and cognitive impairment
- 2018
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In: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.). - : Elsevier BV. - 0899-9007 .- 1873-1244. ; 54, s. 153-157
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association among adipose tissue eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), arachidonic acid (AA), and the ratios of EPA to AA and DHA to AA with impaired cognitive function.Methods: This cross-sectional analysis comprised 481 men participating in the Cohort of Swedish Men Clinical and for whom adipose tissue fatty acid composition and results from a telephone-based cognitive test were available. Impaired cognitive function was defined using a predefined cutoff on the cognitive test. Binomial log-linear regression models were used to estimate prevalence ratios. In secondary analyses, Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate relative risk for incident dementia ascertained by linkage with population-based registers.Results: We observed a graded reduction in the prevalence of impaired cognitive function across tertiles of adipose tissue EPA/AA- ratio (P-trend = 0.01); compared with the lowest tertile, the multivariable-adjusted prevalence ratios were, respectively, 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67-1.17) and 0.64 (95% CI, 0.45-0.91) for the second and third tertiles. EPA, DHA, and the DHA/AA ratio showed similar patterns of association; however, the CIs included the null. AA alone was not associated with impaired cognitive function. Although with lower precision, estimates obtained from the prospective analysis were broadly consistent with the main analysis.Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that a high ratio of EPA to AA in adipose tissue may be associated with better cognitive function. A similar association was observed with EPA, DHA, and the ratio of DHA to AA, but the results did not exclude a null association.
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| 43. |
- Subic, Ana, et al.
(author)
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Stroke as a Cause of Death in Death Certificates of Patients with Dementia : A Cohort Study from the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2018
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In: Current Alzheimer Research. - : Bentham Science Publishers. - 1567-2050 .- 1875-5828. ; 15:14, s. 1322-1330
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Patients with dementia may be at a higher risk for death from stroke. We aimed to describe characteristics of dementia patients that died from ischemic stroke (IS) in Sweden.METHODS: A retrospective longitudinal analysis of prospectively collected data of patients registered into the Swedish Dementia Registry was conducted. Data on causes of death, drugs and comorbidities were acquired from the Swedish nationwide health registers. Deaths were attributed to stroke if the death certificate contained stroke as a cause of death and the patient had a stroke registered in Riksstroke, the Swedish Stroke Register, in the year preceding death. Demographic data at the time of dementia diagnosis was compared between patients dying from IS and registered in Riksstroke, patients dying from IS without being registered in Riksstroke and those dying from other causes.RESULTS: Out of 49823 patients diagnosed with dementia between 2007 and 2014 in primary care or specialist clinics, 14170 (28.4%) had died by the end of 2014. Of these 1180 (8.3%) had IS in their death certificate, of which 459 (38.9%) had been registered in Riksstroke. In patients who died of IS the most common type of dementia was vascular dementia while those died from other causes were most often diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Patients who died from IS and were registered in Riksstroke had higher MMSE score compared to other groups. Patients who died from IS took more cardiovascular medications. There were no differences in the use of antipsychotics, antidepressants, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, memantine, anxiolytics, or hypnotics between the groups.CONCLUSIONS: There was a relatively high number of patients who died from IS as shown in their death certificate but had not been registered in Riksstroke in the year before death. This creates concerns on the accuracy of death certificate stroke diagnoses, particularly for deaths taking place outside hospitals.
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| 44. |
- Subic, Ana, et al.
(author)
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Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Dementia : A Cohort Study from the Swedish Dementia Registry
- 2018
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In: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - Amsterdam, Netherlands : IOS Press. - 1387-2877 .- 1875-8908. ; 61:3, s. 1119-1128
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Patients with dementia might have higher risk for hemorrhagic complications with anticoagulant therapy prescribed for atrial fibrillation (AF).Objective: This study assesses the risks and benefits of warfarin, antiplatelets, and no treatment in patients with dementia and AF.Methods: Of 49,792 patients registered in the Swedish Dementia Registry 2007-2014, 8,096 (16%) had a previous diagnosis of AF. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate the risk for ischemic stroke (IS), nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage, any-cause hemorrhage, and death.Results: Out of the 8,096 dementia patients with AF, 2,143 (26%) received warfarin treatment, 2,975 (37%) antiplatelet treatment, and 2,978 (37%) had no antithrombotic treatment at the time of dementia diagnosis. Patients on warfarin had fewer IS than those without treatment (5.2% versus 8.7%; p < 0.001) with no differences compared to antiplatelets. In adjusted analyses, warfarin was associated with a lower risk for IS (HR 0.76, CI 0.59-0.98), while antiplatelets were associated with increased risk (HR 1.25, CI 1.01-1.54) compared to no treatment. For any-cause hemorrhage, there was a higher risk with warfarin (HR 1.28, CI 1.03-1.59) compared to antiplatelets. Warfarin and antiplatelets were associated with a lower risk for death compared to no treatment.Conclusions: Warfarin treatment in Swedish patients with dementia is associated with lower risk of IS and mortality, and a small increase in any-cause hemorrhage. This study supports the use of warfarin in appropriate cases in patients with dementia. The low percentage of patients on warfarin treatment indicates that further gains in stroke prevention are possible.
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| 45. |
- Tuan Hoang, Minh, et al.
(author)
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Influence of Education and Income on Receipt of Dementia Care in Sweden
- 2021
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In: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 1525-8610 .- 1538-9375. ; 22:10, s. 2100-2107
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To explore the dementia diagnostic process and drug prescription for persons with dementia (PWD) with different socioeconomic status (SES). Design: Register-based cohort study. Setting and Participants: This study included 74,414 PWD aged >65 years from the Swedish Dementia Register (2007-2018). Their data were linked with the Swedish Longitudinal Integrated Database for Health Insurance and Labor Market Studies (2006-2017) to acquire the SES information 1 year before dementia diagnosis. Methods: Education and incomed2 traditional SES indicatorsdwere divided into 5 levels. Outcomes comprised the dementia diagnostic examinations, types of dementia diagnosis, diagnostic unit, and prescription of antidementia drugs. Binary logistic regression was performed to evaluate socioeconomic inequalities. Results: Compared to PWD with the lowest educational level, PWD with the highest educational level had a higher probability of receiving the basic diagnostic workup [odds ratio (OR) 1.19, 95% confidence in-terval (CI) 1.10-1.29], clock test (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.24) and neuroimaging (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.09-1.39). Compared with PWD in the lowest income quintile, PWD in the highest income quintile presented a higher chance of receiving the basic diagnostic workup (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.26-1.46), clock test (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.28-1.52), blood analysis (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.06-1.39), Mini-Mental State Examination (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.26-1.70), and neuroimaging (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.18-1.4 4). PWD with higher education or income had a higher likelihood of obtaining a specified dementia diagnosis or being diagnosed at a memory clinic. SES presented no association with prescription of antidementia medication, except for the association be-tween education and the use of memantine. Conclusions and Implications: Higher education or income was significantly associated with higher chance of receiving dementia diagnostic examinations, a specified dementia diagnosis, being diagnosed at a memory clinic, and using memantine. Socioeconomic inequalities in dementia diagnostic process and prescription of memantine occurred among PWD with different education or income levels.
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| 46. |
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| 47. |
- Tyrrell, Marie, et al.
(author)
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Embarking on a memory assessment voices of older persons living with memory impairment
- 2021
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In: Dementia. - : Sage Publications. - 1471-3012 .- 1741-2684. ; 20:2, s. 717-733
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AimTo describe older persons who had commenced a memory assessment, experiences of living with memory impairment and related symptoms.BackgroundPersons with subjective memory impairment are two times more likely to develop dementia over the years than their peers. Older persons seldom seek help from primary health care clinics solely for subjective memory impairment. Of those who seek help, it can take up to 35 months from the person experiencing initial symptoms to referral to a memory clinic. Further research is needed regarding how older persons live with memory impairment with related symptoms before they receive a memory diagnosis.MethodA qualitative study with 23 participants who had commenced a memory assessment in primary care. Semi-structured interviews were held. During the interviews, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory was completed and discussed with the participants. Interview data were analysed using Interpretive Description.ResultsThe results are presented under four themes: Conflicting views about the situation, Unveiling the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms, Compensating with external and internal strategies to recall and Worrying about self and future. Persons with memory impairment were encouraged by family members or others to seek a memory assessment. Few persons were self-referred as memory impairment was often seen as a part of aging. Polarised viewpoints existed within the families regarding the impact of memory impairment on daily life. The presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms appeared unexplored in the participants seeking a memory assessment. In this study, the majority of participants experienced neuropsychiatric symptoms at the time of contact for a memory assessment.ConclusionsMemory problems experienced were often viewed by the person as being part of an aging process. The presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms was not acknowledged as being connected to memory impairment. Contextualising ‘memory impairment’ as a part of a ‘cognitive process’ may help the person in identifying the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms.
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| 48. |
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| 49. |
- Tyrrell, Marie, et al.
(author)
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Feeling valued versus abandoned : Voices of persons who have completed a cognitive assessment
- 2021
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In: International Journal of Older People Nursing. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1748-3735 .- 1748-3743. ; 16:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIM: To describe older persons' experiences of a cognitive assessment and possible neuropsychiatric symptoms [NPS] related to a neurocognitive diagnosis.BACKGROUND: A cognitive assessment in primary care is offered to persons with suspected dementia with subsequent referral to a specialist clinic if required. The assessment process, with the likelihood of receiving a dementia diagnosis, is surrounded by uncertainty with long waiting times. Although NPS are common among persons with cognitive impairment persons are not routinely asked about these symptoms during a cognitive assessment.METHOD: Interviews were held with 18 participants who had completed a cognitive assessment. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory [NPI] was incorporated into one of the interview questions enabling participants to self-report NPS, if present. Interview data were analysed using Interpretive Description.RESULTS: Two main themes were identified: a matter of trust and making sense of a cognitive diagnosis. Experiences of the assessment process ranged from feeling valued to abandoned with variations of trust in the process. A diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment was experienced as an abstract diagnosis devoid of follow-up support. A lack of preparedness for the assessment existed among participants. Some experienced the process as standardised. One half of participants self-reported the presence of one to four NPS, regardless of neurocognitive diagnosis. Irritability and depression were most common NPS identified.CONCLUSIONS: Experiences of a cognitive assessment varied from feeling valued by society to abandoned in the absence of follow-up support. The assessment was viewed as a standardised procedure failing to see the person behind the testing. Diagnosis disclosure conversations were experienced as diffuse with participants unprepared for a dementia diagnosis. The NPI enabled participants to identify and report the presence of NPS which otherwise could go undetected during the cognitive assessment, impacting on the person's well-being and daily life.
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| 50. |
- Tyrrell, Marie, et al.
(author)
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Living with a well-known stranger : Voices of family members to older persons with frontotemporal dementia
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Older People Nursing. - : Wiley. - 1748-3735 .- 1748-3743. ; 15:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIM: To describe family members' experiences of living with persons with neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) related to frontotemporal dementia (FTD).BACKGROUND: The majority of persons with dementia during the disease trajectory develop NPS. Persons with FTD are likely to develop greater levels of NPS than persons with other types of dementias. Research-based knowledge regarding family members' experiences of living with persons with FTD and NPS is limited.METHODS: Nine family members of persons with FTD were interviewed. Interviews commenced with completion of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Upon completion of the NPI, questions were posed from an interview guide where study participants provided in-depth information about NPS identified. Interview data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.RESULTS: Interviewed family members highlighted that persons with FTD had developed between four and eight co-existing NPS. Irritability and disinhibition were the most common NPS, with variations in severity, frequency and distress. From the interview data, two themes emerged: Living with a well-known stranger and Coping and overstepping social norms.CONCLUSIONS: Living with a well-known stranger depicted a new co-existence with a loved one with changes in personality and behaviour, which were not inherent to the person or predictable any more. The presence of NPS can threaten the safety of the person with FTD and their family in real world and on social media. Support offered should focus on the person's physical and psychological needs, not on a diagnosis.IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: From a health care perspective it is important to see the person with FTD and their family as unique individuals with specific needs.
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