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Background: Even though poor lighting at nighttime is an important risk factor for falls (and most falls occur during the night), lighting interventions to improve nightly lighting from bed to bathroom are rarely evaluated for fall prevention.Objective: We tested the hypothesis that an automated guiding light would reduce nightly fear of falling (FOF) and increase sleep quality of community-dwelling older people.Methods: This study had a pragmatic uncontrolled before-after design, including participants during a period of 8 months if they (i) were aged at least 65 years, (ii) ambulated independently at night, and (iii) had no cognitive or audiovisual impairments obstructing outcome measurement. Automated LED strips (GightTM) were installed in the participants' homes. The primary outcome measure was overnight FOF on a scale of 0-10. Secondary outcome measures included sleep quality on a scale of 0-10 and fall rate. Additionally, a sample of participants was interviewed about their experiences with Gight.Results: Sixty-four participants were included (mean age: 80.8 ± 8.1 years; 89% living independently). Mean study length was 118 days (range: 30-231). In the intention-to-treat analysis, overnight FOF declined from 5.5 ± 3.0 to 3.8 ± 3.2 (p = 0.001), and sleep quality increased from 6.7 ± 2.4 to 7.4 ± 1.7 (p = 0.012). The fall rate during the study was too low to detect changes. Participants appreciated Gight (8.4 ± 0.8 on a scale of 10), and the majority (57%) reported a subjective decrease in FOF.Conclusion: Gight shows promising results for overnight FOF and sleep quality, but the effect of lighting interventions on fall rate should be evaluated further before widespread implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the effect of physical activity on cognitive function in persons with dementia is moderated by patient characteristics as Apolipoprotein E and dementia type. We included 101 individuals with dementia and calculated the reliable change index to determine the change in global cognition, executive function, episodic memory, working memory, and processing speed before and after a 12-week exercise training. We found a higher treatment-related benefit in episodic memory in persons with non-Alzheimer's disease compared to persons with Alzheimer's disease, and in executive function in individuals with better baseline cognitive function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Previous studies have identified several subgroups (ie, latent trajectories) with distinct disease progression among people with dementia. However, the methods and results were not always consistent. This study aims to perform a coordinated analysis of latent trajectories of cognitive and functional progression in dementia across two datasets.Methods: Included and analyzed using the same statistical approach were 1628 participants with dementia from the US National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) and 331 participants with dementia from the Dutch Clinical Course of Cognition and Comorbidity study (4C-Study). Trajectories of cognition and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) were modeled jointly in a parallel-process growth mixture model.Results: Cognition and IADL tended to decline in unison across the two samples. Slow decline in both domains was observed in 26% of the US sample and 74% of the Dutch sample. Rapid decline in cognition and IADL was observed in 7% of the US sample and 26% of the Dutch sample. The majority (67%) of the US sample showed moderate cognitive decline and rapid IADL decline.Conclusions: Trajectories of slow and rapid dementia progression were identified in both samples. Despite using the same statistical methods, the number of latent trajectories was not replicated and the relative class sizes differed considerably across datasets. These results call for careful consideration when comparing progression estimates in the literature. In addition, the observed discrepancy between cognitive and functional decline stresses the need to monitor dementia progression across multiple domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To develop a questionnaire, the Geriatric In-hospital Nursing Care Questionnaire (Ger INCQ), to measure, in an integrated way, the care that older adults receive in the hospital and nurses' attitudes toward and perceptions about caring for older adults. Design Questionnaire development. Setting Twelve university and teaching hospitals. Participants Thirteen experienced geriatric nurses and three geriatricians from 12 hospitals evaluated an initial version of the questionnaire. Two hundred seventy-one nurses, primarily registered nurses from 11 geriatric, medical, and surgical departments in six hospitals, validated the final questionnaire. Measurements Items from two published instruments were extracted for use in the questionnaire. Content validity was confirmed using the Delphi technique with an expert panel. Internal consistency was measured by calculating Cronbach alpha; intrarater reliability was measured using test-retest correlations and intraclass correlation coefficients ( ICCs); differences between hospital departments were analyzed using analysis of variance. Sensitivity to detect before-and-after changes with implementation of a geriatric care program was determined using the Student t-test. Results Consensus was reached after three Delphi rounds. The Ger INCQ is a self-administered questionnaire to be filled out by hospital nurses that comprises five subscales with 67 items. It has good content validity (each item content validity index >0.9) and good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.86). Intrarater reliability revealed high test-retest results ( ICC = 0.87). The questionnaire detected significant differences between nurses in three types of hospital departments (medical, surgical, and geriatric ( P < .01). The Ger INCQ was sensitive to changes after an educational program ( P < .02) and had a large effect size (0.5). Conclusion The Ger INCQ is a reliable and valid tool and is sensitive to change over time. It is clinically relevant because it provides a quantitative measure of hospital nurses' geriatric practices, attitudes, and perceptions. Moreover, the Ger INCQ is suitable for monitoring progress after implementation of geriatric improvement programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world where 12% of the population, and 22% of that of more developed regions, will be older than 65 years by 2030, new targeted programs and social protections will be needed for older people in many countries. As economic and human resources become more scarce, efficient instruments are needed to realize sustainable health care for these large populations of older subjects. To address this need a new assessment instrument was developed. The core of the instrument consists of focused geriatric assessment by a health or social care practitioner working in primary or community care, most often a nurse. The assessment data result in an efficiently targeted care and welfare action plan based on the patients' priorities This instrument was initially developed, tested and spread within Europe, and then in validation studies across all WHO regions of the world. Because of the urgent societal questions on quality and sustainability of primary health care, especially for older people, we briefly review and summarize the development and evidence base of the instrument, which was called EASY-Care Standard. In a series of studies across many populations it proved to have high acceptability, reliability, validity and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, EASY-Care has great potential as a universal tool for global use in promoting independence in old age, and can make an important contribution to the quality and sustainability of health and social care in our aging societies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: To identify prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects using a data-driven approach to determine cognitive profiles in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: A total of 881 MCI subjects were recruited from 20 memory clinics and followed for up to 5 years. Outcome measures included cognitive variables, conversion to AD, and biomarkers (e.g. CSF, and MRI markers). Two hierarchical cluster analyses (HCA) were performed to identify clusters of subjects with distinct cognitive profiles. The first HCA included all subjects with complete cognitive data, whereas the second one selected subjects with very mild MCI (MMSE ≥28). ANOVAs and ANCOVAs were computed to examine whether the clusters differed with regard to conversion to AD, and to AD-specific biomarkers. Results: The HCAs identified 4-cluster solutions that best reflected the sample structure. One cluster (aMCIsingle) had a significantly higher conversion rate (19%), compared to subjective cognitive impairment (SCI, p < 0.0001), and non-amnestic MCI (naMCI, p = 0.012). This cluster was the only one showing a significantly different biomarker profile (Aβ42, t-tau, APOE ε4, and medial temporal atrophy), compared to SCI or naMCI. Conclusion: In subjects with mild MCI, the single-domain amnestic MCI profile was associated with the highest risk of conversion, even if memory impairment did not necessarily cross specific cut-off points. A cognitive profile characterized by isolated memory deficits may be sufficient to warrant applying prevention strategies in MCI, whether or not memory performance lies below specific z-scores. This is supported by our preliminary biomarker analyses. However, further analyses with bigger samples are needed to corroborate these findings. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify determinants of older patients' perceptions of involvement in decision-making on colorectal (CRC) or pancreatic cancer (PC) treatment, and to compare these with determinants of observers' perceptions.Methods: Patients' perceptions of involvement were constructed by the 9-item SDM questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) and a Visual Analogue Scale for Involvement (VAS-I). Observers' perceptions were constructed by the OPTION5, OPTION12, and MAPPIN'SDM. Convergent validities were calculated between the patient-sided and observer instruments using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Linear regression was used to identify determinants per criterion.Results: 58 CRC and 22 PC patients were included (mean age: 71.8 ± 5.2 years, 45.0% female). No significant correlations were found between the patient-sided and observer instruments. Patients' impression of involvement was influenced by patient characteristics such as quality of life and satisfaction, while observers' perceptions mainly referred to encounter characteristics such as the mean duration of consultations and general communication skills.Conclusion: Due to evident differences in determinants, older CRC/PC patients' and observers' perceptions of involvement should both be collected in evaluating the quality of medical decision-making.Practice Implications: General communication skills should be integrated in SDM training interventions. New SDM measurement tools for patients are needed to sufficiently discriminate between the constructs of involvement and satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Minimum Data Set (TOPICS-MDS) is a standardized data set that was developed to evaluate the quality of multidimensional geriatric care. There is an inherent need to reduce the number of TOPICS-MDS survey items to core outcomes to allow it to be more easily applied as a patient-reported outcome measure in clinical settings.Objectives: To create a TOPICS-short form (TOPICS-SF) and examine its validity.Methods: Data in the TOPICS-MDS from persons aged 65 years and older in the Netherlands were used for the following analyses. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to select the items and to derive domain weights of TOPICS-SF. A priori hypotheses were made on the basis of psychometric properties of the full-length TOPICS-MDS preference-weighted score (TOPICS-CEP). The validity of TOPICS-SF was evaluated by 1) examining the meta-correlation of the TOPICS-SF score with TOPICS-CEP and two quality-of-life measures, that is, the Cantril Ladder score and the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire utility index, and 2) performing mixed multiple regression of TOPICS-SF scores across key sociodemographic characteristics.Results: TOPICS-SF scores were strongly correlated with the TOPICS-CEP (r = 0.96) and had stronger correlation with the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire utility index compared with the Cantril Ladder (r = 0.61 and 0.38, respectively). TOPICS-SF scores were higher among older persons who were married, living independently, and having higher levels of education.Conclusions: We have developed the 22-item TOPICS-SF and demonstrated its validity, supporting its use as a patient-reported outcome measure in geriatric care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]