Cognitive Differences in the Older Adults Living in the General Community: Gender and Mental Occupational State Study

Dementia prevalence among hospitalized older patients: a multicenter study in Iran

Dementia poses a significant societal and health challenge in the 21st century, with many hospitalized patients experiencing dementia without a documented diagnosis.

Objective

To evaluate the prevalence of dementia and its associated risk factors among older patients admitted to hospitals.

Methods

The study included older patients (≥ 60 years) admitted to medical departments of a general hospital in three major Iranian cities. Researchers utilized the Activities of Daily Living-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADL-IADL) scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Mini-Cog test, the 4 A's test (4AT), and the Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS). Among the 420 recruited older inpatients, 228 (54.3%) were female.

Results

The mean age of participants was 71.39 years (standard deviation ±7.95), with 30.7% diagnosed with major neurocognitive disorder (dementia). The likelihood of dementia exhibited statistically significant correlations with gender, age, number of children, and occupation.

Conclusions

Screening older individuals for cognitive impairment upon hospital admission holds the potential to prevent adverse outcomes and enhance the quality of treatment for patients concurrently dealing with dementia.

Differences in Cognitive Function in Women and Men with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy with or without Pain

The aim of this study was to analyse the differences in cognitive function between women and men with type-2 diabetes mellitus (DMT2) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) with and without diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP), and the factors associated with cognitive function in each sex. A cross-sectional study of 149 patients with DMT2 and DPN was performed. Sociodemographic and clinical variables, Test Your Memory (TYM) for cognitive assessment, anxiety and depression (HADS), quality of life (SF-12v2) and sleep characteristics (MOS-sleep) were measured. A high percentage of women presented cognitive impairment (50% vs. 36.1%) and they scored lower on the TYM (mean = 40.77; SD = 6.03 vs. mean = 42.49; SD = 6.05). Women with DNP scored lower on calculation tasks (3.17 vs. 3.52) than men with DNP, while women without DNP scored lower on retrograde memory (2.70 vs. 3.74), executive function (3.83 vs. 4.25) and similarities (2.51 vs. 3.12) than men without DNP. Being older (B = -0.181) and presenting cardiovascular risk factors (B = -5.059) were associated with worse cognitive function in women, while in men this was associated with older age (B = -0.154), a longer duration of diabetes (B = -0.319) and the presence of depression (B = -0.363). Women with and without DNP obtained worse results in cognitive function. However, the presence of pain had a greater impact on the different dimensions in men.

Factors related to cognitive function in type-2 diabetes and neuropathic pain patients, the role of mood and sleep disorders in this relationship

To compare cognitive function in patients with diabetes mellitus type-2 (T2DM) both with and without diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP). To analyse the relationship between mood and sleep disorders, quality of life and cognitive function in patients with DNP. Cross-sectional study conducted in patients with T2DM and neuropathy. The presence of DNP, cognitive function, mood status, sleep quality, health-related quality of life, pain intensity and phenotype of pain were measured. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. A total of 149 patients (71 with DNP) were included. Patients with and without DNP presented similar scores on the TYM (41.46; SD = 6.70 vs. 41.97; SD = 5.50) and those with DNP had a slightly higher frequency of cognitive impairment (TYM score ≤ 41: 40.8% vs. 43.6%). The patients without DNP performed better in the verbal fluency dimension (mean = 3.53; SD = 0.98 vs. mean = 3.82; SD = 0.66). Being older (B = − 0.258) and under treatment with insulin (B = − 2.919) were related with greater cognitive impairment. Obesity (OR = 17.277) and a longer duration of diabetes (OR = 1.317) were also related to greater risk of cognitive impairment. Impaired cognitive function in patients with DNP is more related to T2DM factors than pain factors. The presence of depression and a worse quality of life were related to a greater risk of cognitive impairment. Identifying and controlling these factors should be an essential intervention for maintaining the cognitive function in patients with T2DM and DNP.

Subjective psychological impacts during COVID-19 lockdown on older people, risk profiles and coping strategies: Results of an online survey in Spain

This study explores the psychological impacts of lockdown among older people during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Spain, and identifies risk profiles and adaptative behaviors. A cross-sectional online survey was disseminated by social networks through snowball sampling (April-June 2020). The survey included ad-hoc questions about psychological impacts on subjective cognitive functioning, emotional distress, and loneliness. Open end-questions were coded according to Lazarus and Folkman's coping strategies framework. Of the 2010 respondents, 76% experienced impact in at least one cognitive function (11% reporting severe effects), 78% frequent sadness and 13% frequent loneliness. Age 80+, women and low education increased the risk of loneliness and severe impact in memory and processing speed. Living alone was an additional risk factor for loneliness and sadness. Lockdown is associated with cognitive impacts, emotional distress, and loneliness being risk profiles related to inequality axes. Coping strategies should inform aging policies to prevent psychological impacts during the lockdown.