Depression in the elderly: study in a rural city in southern Catalonia

Identifying Depression in the Elderly Using Gait Accelerometry

As the number of elderly people suffering from depression increases today, new techniques for active monitoring of depression are in need than ever. Hence this study aimed to propose an approach of identifying depression in the elderly using gait accelerometry and a machine learning algorithm. A total of 45 community-dwelling elderly individuals participated in the study. Twenty-two out of 45 participants were patients with depression and the remaining 23 participants were individuals without depression. The participants completed a 7-meter walking twice at their preferred speeds with an accelerometer on their lower back. The anterior-posterior acceleration signals measured at the lower back while walking were segmented into acceleration falling and rising phases. Then eight descriptive statistical and six morphological parameters were extracted from each phase. The extracted parameters were ordered chronologically and used as a gait sequence feature. The 4-fold cross-validation of the bidirectional long short-term memory network-based classifiers that used the gait sequence feature as input showed an average accuracy of 0.956 in classifying the elderly with depression and those without depression. The study is expected to serve as a milestone exploring the use of gait accelerometry in assessing various health conditions in the future. Clinical Relevance- The findings of this study will pave a new way for self-monitoring of health conditions in the daily life of individuals, which can open the door for earlier recognition of health risks and more timely treatment.

New Life Transition of Former Caregivers: Positive Mental Health Approach

After the end of their time as a caregiver, former caregivers have needs and feelings that have been subject to little study to date. The aim of the study is to determine and analyse the feelings, perceptions and practices of former caregivers in the reconstruction of their daily lives. This is a qualitative study based on the Grounded Theory developed by Charmaz. The study involved 14 former caregivers who had cared for their relative for more than 2 years and who had stopped caring for them more than 2 years previously. Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted and data were collected over 13 months between 2015 and 2017. Data were analysed using the Grounded Theory Method. In addition, this study was approved by the ethics committee of the Institut Universitari d’Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol. The former caregiver experiences a transition, which begins in the days before the death of their relative and may continue for more than 3 years. Three critical moments in the post-caring transition were found: (1) the post-caring emptiness; (2) the end of the period as a caregiver; and (3) the movement towards a new life. Family and professional support is needed during this transition. Former caregivers experience a transition in the rebuilding of their daily lives; furthermore, former caregivers may be a source of support for other caregivers, which is linked to positive mental health factors. Healthcare organisations need to acknowledge the emotional, psychosocial and psychological health of former caregivers.

Coping Mechanisms for Psychosomatic Symptoms among Aging Roman Catholic German priests

To identify and investigate coping mechanisms and other factors which may impact upon the psychosomatic symptoms of aging German Roman Catholic priests. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 499 aging German Roman Catholic priests with standardized questionnaires: Brief Symptom Inventory, Coping Inventory Stressful Situations, and Religious Coping Scale. Task-Oriented Coping exhibited a significant difference between the two groups. Multiple regression analyses indicated that psychosomatic symptoms could be best predicted by means of Task-Oriented Coping mechanisms, identification with priesthood, and by a low Negative Religious Coping. The success of adaptive coping processes for older clergy may depend on how they employ strategies, strengthen their spiritual dimensions, and manage important psychosocial aspects of aging. In our sample, Depression and Somatization are explained best by Emotion-Oriented Coping. It is desirable for aging priests to be aware of protective factors like Role Identification, Task-Oriented Coping, and low Negative Religious Coping, which may be helpful in improving their psychological well-being.

The Effect of Need-oriented Educational Intervention on the General Health of the Elderly

INTRODUCTION

Improving the health of the elderly must be based on their special needs that can be achieved through self-needs assessments through education, which is one of the most important tools in the field of health improvement. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of need-oriented educational interventions on the general health of the elderly living in nursing homes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study is a clinical trial conducted among the elderly living at the Sadeghieh nursing home of Isfahan, Iran. Seventy elderly people who satisfied the inclusion criteria were selected and divided into two groups of case and control. The case group went through 8 sessions of group therapy for educating participants who were previously investigated through needs assessment. The control group received the usual health care. The general health level of the participants was evaluated before and 1 week and 1 month after the intervention using Goldberg's general health questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, independent t-test, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney test, and variance analysis.

RESULTS

The score of general health had no significant difference between both the groups before the intervention, however, the difference in the score between both the groups 1 week and 1 month after the intervention was significant (1 week after the intervention, the scores were 15.6 and 30.3, and 1 month after the intervention, the scores were 16 and 32.2, respectively) (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Need-oriented educational intervention is an effective, safe, and inexpensive method for improving the general health of the elderly living in nursing homes.

Influence of visual acuity on anxiety, panic and depression disorders among young and middle age adults in the United States

BACKGROUND

Previous research, albeit limited, has demonstrated an association of visual acuity with depression and anxiety. However, these studies are limited in that they have focused on older adults, used a convenient sample, and/or used a subjective assessment of visual function. As a result, the purpose of this study was to examine the association of objectively-measured visual acuity with depression and anxiety (and panic disorder) among a national sample of young- and middle-age U.S. adults (20-39 years).

METHODS

Using data from the 2003-2004 NHANES (n=602), the presence of anxiety, depression, and panic disorders was assessed from a diagnostic interview. Visual acuity was assessed from a vision exam using the Nidek Auto Lensmeter Model (LM-990A) and expressed as LogMAR units.

RESULTS

After adjusting for age, gender, race-ethnicity, body mass index, mean arterial pressure, cotinine, diabetes, and physical activity, visual acuity was not associated with panic disorder (p=0.71) or depression disorder (p=0.20), but for every 0.1 LogMAR unit change in vision, participants had a 14% (OR=1.14; p=0.04) higher odds of having an anxiety disorder.

LIMITATIONS

The main limitation of this study was the cross-sectional design.

CONCLUSION

Young- and middle-age U.S. adults with worse visual function are at increased odds of having an anxiety disorder. Strategies to prevent and treat anxiety among those with worse visual function are needed.

Effect of domain-specific life satisfaction on depressive symptoms in late adulthood and old age: results of a cross-sectional descriptive survey

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of domain-specific life satisfaction on the risk of depressive symptoms in late adulthood and old age.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted using stratified data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). The respondents completed the Korean version CES-D and domain-specific life satisfaction.

RESULTS

In both groups, satisfaction with health and economic status were significant predictors of depressive symptoms. In the old age group, depressive symptoms were also predicted by satisfaction with the relationships with one's spouse and with one's children.

CONCLUSION

Life satisfaction was a crucial predictive factor for depressive symptoms in late adulthood and old age.