Resilience in the first year of surviving a stroke in Nigeria

OBJECTIVES

There is a knowledge gap on resilience and its impact on mental health of Africans who survive a stroke. We describe the trajectory of psychological resilience and its association with depression and quality of life (QoL) across the first poststroke year in Nigeria.

METHOD

Prospective observational study of 150 survivors of a first ever stroke. Resilience was ascertained at 3 time-points prospectively over 12 months using the 25-items Resilience Scale (RS). Depression and QoL were also assessed at baseline and follow-up, respectively using the centre for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D 10) and health related quality of life in stroke patients (HRQOLISP-26). Associations were investigated using regression models and presented as adjusted odds ratios (OR) and Wald test coefficients within 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

Resilience improved across time points of measurement (p < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for the effect of age, education, alcohol use, and hypertension, higher resilience was associated with male sex (OR = 5.3, 95% CI= 1.7, 17.2), younger age (OR = 4.8, 95% CI = 1.5,15.7), and baseline hypertension (OR= 0.2, 95% CI ≤ 0.1,0.8). In similarly adjusted mixed effect linear regression analyses, higher resilience was associated with improvement in depression (months 12= -4.2, 95% CI= -5.6, -2.8) and quality of life (months twelve = 5.2, 95% CI = 2.2, 8.2) overtime.

CONCLUSION

Resilience, which was associated with better mental health and wellbeing of stroke survivors, was less likely with hypertension. Results suggest an important role for control of vascular risk factors as part of resilience interventions to promote poststroke recovery.

Participatory development of a home-based depression care model with lived experience older Nigerians and their caregivers: A theory of change

OBJECTIVES

There is a huge treatment gap for late-life depression in sub-Saharan Africa. Building on prior work to scale-up mental healthcare with the aid of the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme Intervention Guide electronic version (emhGAP-IG), this study aims to involve older people in the iterative development of innovations to overcome challenges in the detection and clinical management of late-life depression by frontline non-specialist primary healthcare workers (PHCW) in Nigeria.

METHODS

There were 43 participants in the study. We conducted formative qualitative research using 15 in-depth key informant interviews with persons who were 60 years or older and had a recent experience of depression. We also conducted two focus group discussions comprising 13 of their caregivers. Through a full day stakeholders workshop comprising 15 participants, we drew on the results of our qualitative explorations to identify the pathway to impact of an intervention package (emhGAP-Age) appropriate for the specific needs of persons with late-life depression in Nigeria.

RESULTS

A Theory of Change (ToC) map was produced. It highlights the expected long-term outcomes of emhGAP-Age to include the potential for improvement of the mental health and wellbeing of older people living in Nigeria and the generation of interest among governmental agencies concerned with policy and planning for mental healthcare. Key resources that serve as preconditions were identified to consist of the availability of PHCW who are skilled in the identification and treatment of depression and have interest in and commitment to providing care to older people. Required community resources include support from immediate family, neighbours, and informal groups. Interventions that are appropriate for depression in old age need to incorporate these community resources and address not only the symptoms of the condition but also comorbid physical health problems.

CONCLUSIONS

A participatory ToC process led to the identification of the key components of an age-appropriate version of the emhGAP-IG for delivering care to older persons with depression by PHCW in Nigeria.

Physical restraint in older people: a statement from the Early Career Network of the International Psychogeriatric Association

The International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) has expressed significant concerns over the use of physical restraints in older people across diverse aged care settings. Following an extensive analysis of the available literature, the IPA's Early Career Network (ECN) has formulated a collection of evidence-based recommendations aimed at guiding the use of physical restraints within various care contexts and demographic groups. Physical restraints not only infringe upon human rights but also raise significant safety concerns that adversely impact the physical, psychological, social, and functional well-being of older adults. Furthermore, their effectiveness in geriatric settings remains inadequate. Given these considerations, the IPA and its ECN firmly assert that the use of physical restraints should only be considered as a final recourse in the care of older people.

New living evidence resource of human and non-human studies for early intervention and research prioritisation in anxiety, depression and psychosis

In anxiety, depression and psychosis, there has been frustratingly slow progress in developing novel therapies that make a substantial difference in practice, as well as in predicting which treatments will work for whom and in what contexts. To intervene early in the process and deliver optimal care to patients, we need to understand the underlying mechanisms of mental health conditions, develop safe and effective interventions that target these mechanisms, and improve our capabilities in timely diagnosis and reliable prediction of symptom trajectories. Better synthesis of existing evidence is one way to reduce waste and improve efficiency in research towards these ends. Living systematic reviews produce rigorous, up-to-date and informative evidence summaries that are particularly important where research is emerging rapidly, current evidence is uncertain and new findings might change policy or practice. Global Alliance for Living Evidence on aNxiety, depressiOn and pSychosis (GALENOS) aims to tackle the challenges of mental health science research by cataloguing and evaluating the full spectrum of relevant scientific research including both human and preclinical studies. GALENOS will also allow the mental health community-including patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and funders-to better identify the research questions that most urgently need to be answered. By creating open-access datasets and outputs in a state-of-the-art online resource, GALENOS will help identify promising signals early in the research process. This will accelerate translation from discovery science into effective new interventions for anxiety, depression and psychosis, ready to be translated in clinical practice across the world.

TRIPLE MALADY: OLDER PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES AND COVID- 19: INSIGHTS FROM A PSYCHOGERIATRIC CLINIC IN NIGERIA

Background

Older persons with mental illnesses have been differentially affected by COVID-19 because of reduced access to routine health care, the adverse social impacts of the preventive strategies, and inadequate knowledge of the ongoing COVID -19 pandemic.Adequate knowledge is crucial to ensuring adherence to the right preventive practices among older persons.

Methods

A hospital-based comparative study was conducted among older persons attending the Psychogeriatric and Healthy Ageing clinics of the Geriatric Centre, University College Hospital, Ibadan. Data were gathered with a semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire and SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data. The level of significance was set at 5%.

Results

A total of 390 respondents aged 60 and above were sampled in the two groups: 195 with a psychiatric diagnosis (PD) and 195 with a non-psychiatric diagnosis (nPD). Their mean age was PD: 72.2 (±7.4) years and nPD: 71.0 (±8.0) years. About 14.9% had dementia and mild cognitive impairment; 14.6% psychotic disorders; 13.8% mood disorders and 6.6% anxiety and somatoform disorders. The majority were aware of the ongoing pandemic (PD: 95.9%; nPD: 96.4%). The use of facemask (PD: 89.7%; nPD: 86.7%) was the commonest preventive practice. Male gender (OR:2.09, CI; 1.14-3.86, p= 0.018) and education (OR: 5.10, CI; 1.15-22.67, p= 0.032) were predictors among PD and nPD respectively.

Conclusion

Older persons with psychiatric diagnoses have gaps in their knowledge of COVID-19 compared to those without symptoms. Health education about the ongoing pandemic and prevention programs targeting the older population with mental illnesses would be beneficial.

Cross-national harmonization of cognitive measures across HRS HCAP (USA) and LASI-DAD (India)

BACKGROUND

As global populations age, cross-national comparisons of cognitive health and dementia risk are increasingly valuable. It remains unclear, however, whether country-level differences in cognitive function are attributable to population differences or bias due to incommensurate measurement. To demonstrate an effective method for cross-national comparison studies, we aimed to statistically harmonize measures of episodic memory and language function across two population-based cohorts of older adults in the United States (HRS HCAP) and India (LASI-DAD).

METHODS

Data for 3,496 HRS HCAP (≥65 years) and 3,152 LASI-DAD (≥60 years) participants were statistically harmonized for episodic memory and language performance using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) methods. Episodic memory and language factor variables were investigated for differential item functioning (DIF) and precision.

RESULTS

CFA models estimating episodic memory and language domains based on a priori adjudication of comparable items fit the data well. DIF analyses revealed that four out of ten episodic memory items and five out of twelve language items measured the underlying construct comparably across samples. DIF-modified episodic memory and language factor scores showed comparable patterns of precision across the range of the latent trait for each sample.

CONCLUSIONS

Harmonization of cognitive measures will facilitate future investigation of cross-national differences in cognitive performance and differential effects of risk factors, policies, and treatments, reducing study-level measurement and administrative influences. As international aging studies become more widely available, advanced statistical methods such as those described in this study will become increasingly central to making universal generalizations and drawing valid conclusions about cognitive aging of the global population.

Access and Discontinuity of Care at an Outpatient Mental Health Service for Older People in South Western Nigeria

We examined frequency and reasons for dropout from follow-up care at an outpatient mental health service for older people in South-Western Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study. Administrative reviews of 201 case records of clinic attendees who received a psychiatric diagnosis that required follow-up consultations were conducted. Records were those of patients seen between January 2015 and December 2017. Chart extraction was followed by Key Informant Interview (KII) to explore the reasons for drop out and partial non-attendance. We identified 37(18.4%) regular clinic attendees, as well as 147(73.1%) and 17(8.5%) dropout and partially attending patients, respectively. Approximately 45.6% of the dropouts occurred after the first consultation. In KII, distance from the hospital, long waiting times and financial constraints were the common reasons for dropout. The findings of this study should inform the development of strategies to improve access to mental health services in Nigeria and other low- and middle-income countries.

Different Cognitive and Functional Outcomes in Attenuated and Full Delirium Syndromes Among Recent Stroke Survivors

BACKGROUND

Very little is known about the outcomes of poststroke delirium in relation to its symptom spectrum. We investigated the 3-months cognitive and functional outcomes of attenuated (ADS) and full delirium syndromes in Nigerian survivors of first ever stroke.

METHODS

A prospective observational study with repeated assessments conducted in the first week of stroke using the confusion assessment method. Full delirium was diagnosed according to criteria in the fifth edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-V). ADS was characterised in survivors who were free of full, but had ≥two core features of, delirium. Baseline and follow-up assessments were conducted using the Mini-Mental state examination (MMSE), 10-words list learning and delayed recall test, Animal naming test and Barthel index.

RESULTS

Among 150 participants, ADS was present in 32 (21.3%), full delirium in 29 (19.3%). In linear regression analyses adjusting for age, economic status and systemic hypertension, ADS [(Mean difference (MD) = -3.8, 95% C.I = -7.0, -0.7)] and full delirium (MD = -5.6, 95% C.I = -9.0, -2.1) independently predicted poorer global cognitive functioning at follow-up. Significant declines in memory (MD = -1.9, 95% C.I = -2.8, 0.9), executive (MD = -2.2, 95% C.I = -4.1, -0.3) and physical functioning (MD = -2.8, 95% C.I = -5.5, -0.2), as well as a 4-fold increase in the independent odds (O.R) for dementia (O.R = 4.1, 95% C.I = 1.0,16.1) were also recorded in full, but not attenuated, delirium.

CONCLUSION

Attenuated and full delirium are associated with graded risk of poststroke cognitive decline. Reconsideration of poststroke delirium as a spectrum, rather than threshold-based categorical diagnosis will improve detection and prioritization of stroke survivors at increased risk of cognitive decline.