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Wyman MF, Van Hulle CA, Umucu E, Livingston S, Lambrou NH, Carter FP, Johnson SC, Asthana S, Gleason CE, Zuelsdorff M. Psychological well-being and cognitive aging in Black, Native American, and White Alzheimer's Disease Research Center participants. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:924845. [PMID: 35967004 PMCID: PMC9372578 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.924845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychological well-being is associated with cognition in later life but has not been examined across diverse populations-including minoritized communities at disproportionately high risk of dementia. Further, most previous work has not been able to examine links between specific facets of psychological well-being and performance within distinct cognitive domains that can capture subclinical impairment. Using a well-characterized sample followed through enrollment in an NIH-funded Alzheimer's Disease Center, we sought to test these associations within three racial groups at baseline. Participants were N = 529 cognitively unimpaired Black, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), and white middle-aged and older adults (mean age = 63.6, SD = 8.1, range = 45-88 years) enrolled in the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center's Clinical Core. Predictors included validated NIH Toolbox Emotion Battery scales assessing positive affect, general life satisfaction, and meaning and purpose. Outcomes included performance on widely used tests of executive functioning and episodic memory. We conducted race-stratified regression models to assess within-group relationships. Black and AI/AN participants reported lower life satisfaction than white participants. Racial disparities were not observed for positive affect or meaning and purpose scores. Across groups, life satisfaction predicted better executive functioning. Similar associations were observed for positive affect in Black and AI/AN samples but not among whites. In general, well-being measures were not related to performance on tests of episodic memory. Our results highlight well-being as a potentially important determinant of late-life cognitive health, particularly executive functioning, that is modifiable if older adults are connected with appropriate resources and supports. Further, psychological well-being may represent a potent target for brain health interventions tailored for Black and Native communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary F. Wyman
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Carol A. Van Hulle
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Emre Umucu
- Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Sydnee Livingston
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Nickolas H. Lambrou
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Fabu P. Carter
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Sterling C. Johnson
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Sanjay Asthana
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Carey E. Gleason
- W.S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Megan Zuelsdorff
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
- School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
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Webster-Cordero F, Giménez-Llort L. The Challenge of Subjective Cognitive Complaints and Executive Functions in Middle-Aged Adults as a Preclinical Stage of Dementia: A Systematic Review. Geriatrics (Basel) 2022; 7:geriatrics7020030. [PMID: 35314602 PMCID: PMC8938842 DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics7020030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Subjective cognitive complaints correspond to a heterogeneous construct that frequently occurs in the early stages of older adult life. Despite being a common source of worry for middle-aged people, it can be underestimated when clinical and neuropsychological assessments discard any underlying pathological processes. Negative age stereotyping but also self-stereotyping can contribute to doing so. Although its diagnosis is a challenge, its implication as a possible predictor of mild cognitive impairment or dementia increases the interest in its early diagnosis and intervention. The present systematic review analyzes the empirical data on the relationship between these complaints and early executive dysfunction with possible predictive value for preclinical stages of dementia. The sixteen papers obtained from the PubMed and Embase databases were exploratory, cross-sectional and prospective in scope. The studies corroborated the relationship between subjective cognitive complaints and some executive processes, which is noteworthy since many people with subjective executive complaints progress to dementia. The relational studies confirmed that impaired executive performance is associated with CSF biomarkers and reduced cortical volume in specific brain regions. However, the heterogeneity of reports in these studies demands stronger efforts in future research with specific tools applied in clinical and neuropsychological assessments and analyzed under a gender perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Webster-Cordero
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain
- Hospital Santa Inés, Cuenca 010107, Ecuador
- Correspondence: (F.W.-C.); (L.G.-L.); Tel.: +593-98-488-4724 (F.W.-C.); +34-93-5812378 (L.G.-L.)
| | - Lydia Giménez-Llort
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain
- Correspondence: (F.W.-C.); (L.G.-L.); Tel.: +593-98-488-4724 (F.W.-C.); +34-93-5812378 (L.G.-L.)
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Oghagbon EK, Prieto-Pino J, Dogoh F, Ogiator M, Giménez-Llort L. Diabetes/Dementia in Sub-saharian Africa and Nigerian Women in the Eye of Storm. Curr Alzheimer Res 2021; 19:161-170. [PMID: 34784865 DOI: 10.2174/1567205018666211116093747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
In the next few years, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is projected to dramatically increase globally, but most of the cases will occur in low-to-middle-income countries. Some of the major risk factors for diabetes accelerate the development of dementia in African-Americans, thus leading to a higher prevalence of dementia than Caucasians. Sub-Saharan Africa women have a disproportionately two-to-eight fold increased prevalence of dementia. In the eye of this storm, Nigeria holds the highest number of diabetics on the African continent, and its prevalence is rising in parallel to obesity, hypertension, and the population's aging. The socio-economic impact of the rising prevalence of DM and dementia will be huge and unsustainable for the healthcare system in Nigeria, as has been recognized in developed economies. Here, we analyze the current situation of women's health in Nigeria and explore future perspectives and directions. The complex interplay of factors involved in diabetes and dementia in Nigerian women include key biological agents (metabolic syndrome, vascular damage, inflammation, oxidative stress, insulin resistance), nutritional habits, lifestyle, and anemia, that worsen with comorbidities. In addition, restricted resources, lack of visibility, and poor management result in a painful chain that increases the risk and burden of disease in Nigerian women from youth to elderly ages. Heath policies to increase the ra- tio of mental health professionals per number of patients, mostly in rural areas, foment of proactive primary care centers, and interventions targeting adolescents and adult women and other specific mothers-children pairs are strongly required for a sustainable development goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Efosa K Oghagbon
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Basic & Allied Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi. Nigeria
| | - José Prieto-Pino
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona. Spain
| | - Faeren Dogoh
- Department of Chemical Pathology, Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi. Nigeria
| | - Monday Ogiator
- Department of Internal Medicine, Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi. Nigeria
| | - Lydia Giménez-Llort
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona. Spain
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Giménez-Llort L, Bernal ML, Docking R, Muntsant-Soria A, Torres-Lista V, Bulbena A, Schofield PA. Pain in Older Adults With Dementia: A Survey in Spain. Front Neurol 2020; 11:592366. [PMID: 33329344 PMCID: PMC7715009 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2020.592366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The risk of suffering pain increases significantly throughout life, reaching the highest levels in its latest years. Prevalence of pain in nursing homes is estimated to range from 40 to 80% of residents, most of them old adults affected with dementia. It is already known that pain is under-diagnosed and under-treated in patients with severe cognitive impairment and poor/absent verbal communication, resulting in a serious impact on their quality of life, psychosocial, and physical functioning. Under-treated pain is commonly the cause of behavioral symptoms, which can lead to misuse of antipsychotic treatments. Here, we present two Regional and National Surveys in Spain (2015–2017) on the current practices, use of observational tools for pain assessment, guidelines, and policies. Results, discussed as compared to the survey across central/north Europe, confirm the professional concerns on pain in severe dementia, due to poor standardization and lack of guidelines/recommendations. In Spain, observational tools are scarcely used because of their difficulty and low reliability in severe dementia, since the poor/absent verbal communication and comprehension are considered limiting factors. Behavioral observation tools should be used while attending the patients, in a situation including rest and movement, should be short (3–5 min) and scored using a numeric scale. Among the pain items to score, “Facial expression” and “Verbalization” were considered essential and very useful, respectively. This was in contrast to “Body movements” and “Vocalizations,” respectively, according to the survey in central/north Europe. Scarce time availability for pain assessment and monitoring, together with low feasible and time-consuming tools, can make pain assessment a challenge. The presence of confounding factors, the low awareness and poor knowledge/education of specific tools for this population are worrisome. These complaints draw future directions to improve pain assessment. More time available, awareness, and involvement of the teams would also benefit pain assessment and management in cognitive impairment. The experiences and opinions recorded in these surveys in Spain and other E.U. countries were considered sources of knowledge for designing the “PAIC-15 scale,” a new internationally agreed-on meta-tool for Pain Assessment in Impaired Cognition and the “Observational pain assessment” in older persons with dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Giménez-Llort
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.,Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Maria Luisa Bernal
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain
| | | | - Aida Muntsant-Soria
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.,Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Virginia Torres-Lista
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.,Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Antoni Bulbena
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Patricia A Schofield
- Abertay University, Dundee, United Kingdom.,Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom
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