Infographic – The Importance of Talking About End-of-Life Care
Criminal Behavior in Older Adults May be a Sign of Dementia
Criminal Behavior in Older Adults May be a Sign of Dementia – Reuters Criminal behavior in older adults, including theft, traffic violations, sexual advances, trespassing, and public urination, may be a sign of dementia, researchers say. There is a subgroup of people, especially older adults who are first-time offenders, who may have a degenerative brain disease underlying their criminal behavior, said Dr. Georges Naasan of the Memory and Aging Center and Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. He and his coauthors reviewed the medical records of 2,397 patients diagnosed with AlzheimerÛªs disease or other types of dementia between 1999 and 2012. They scanned patient notes for entries about criminal behavior using keywords like Û÷arrest,Ûª Û÷DUI,Ûª Û÷shopliftÛª and Û÷violenceÛª and uncovered 204 patients, or 8.5 percent, who qualified. Their behaviors were more often an early sign of dementia than of AlzheimerÛªs disease. Men were considerably more likely than women to make sexual advances to others and to urinate in public. ÛÏHowever, most of these diseases are ‘sporadic’ meaning that they occur for no identifiable genetic cause and it is difficult to predict,Û he said. ÛÏIn general, an early detection of changes in personality, deviation from what constituted a Û÷normÛª for a particular individual, should prompt an evaluation for possible brain causes.Û Early signs of can include personality changes including disinhibition, lack of empathy, loss of motivation or apathy, or obsessive-compulsive behavior, he said. Family and friends can easily take these behavior changes personally, but they should understand that it may be the first sign of a disease and should request a medical evaluation, he said.
Don’t Expect You Will Need Long-Term Care? Think Again.
According to an article in Health Affairs, most Americans know little about options for long-term services and supports and underestimate their likely future needs for such assistance. Using data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, they examined expectations about future use of long-term services and supports among adults agesåÊ40ÛÒ65 and how these expectations varied by current living arrangement. They found that respondents living with minor children were the least likely to expect to need long-term services and supports and to require paid care if the need arose. In contrast, respondents living alone were the most likely to expect that it was ÛÏvery likelyÛ that they would need long-term services and supports and to rely on paid care. That does not surprise me. There is a comfort level that comes with family support. But at some point, if your health deteriorates to a point, family members may not be able to care for you. And that means you and they will need to explore long-term care options. They found a disconnect between expectations of use and likely future reality: 60åÊpercent of respondents believed that they were unlikely to need long-term services and supports in the future, whereas the evidence suggests that nearly 70åÊpercent of older adults will need them at some point. These findings both underscore the need for programs that encourage people to plan for long-term services and supports and indicate that information about living arrangements can be useful in developing and targeting such programs. BINGO! That’s what we constantly stress and try to teach in this blog! So keep reading and tell others.!
Training Elderly in Social Media Has Health Benefits
Training Elderly in Social Media Has Health Benefits Training older people in the use of social media improves cognitive capacity, increases a sense of self-competence and could have a beneficial overall impact on mental health and well-being, according to a study carried out in the UK. A two-year project funded by the European Union and led by the University of Exeter in partnership with Somerset Care Ltd and Torbay & Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust gave a group of vulnerable older adults a specially-designed computer, broadband connection and training in how to use them. Those who received training became more positive about computers over time, with the participants particularly enjoying connecting with friends and relatives via Skype and email. It found that those trained had heightened feelings of self-competence, engaged more in social activity, had a stronger sense of personal identity and showed improved cognitive capacity. These factors indirectly led to overall better mental health and well-being. Dr Thomas Morton of Psychology at the University of Exeter, who led the project in the UK said: ÛÏHuman beings are social animals, and itÛªs no surprise that we tend to do better when we have the capacity to connect with others. But what can be surprising is just how important social connections are to cognitive and physical health. People who are socially isolated or who experience loneliness are more vulnerable to disease and decline. For these reasons finding ways to support peopleÛªs social connections is a really important goal. This study shows how technology can be a useful tool for enabling social connections, and that supporting older people in our community to use technology effectively can have important benefits for their health and well-being.Û One of the studyÛªs participants, Margaret Keohone, said: ÛÏHaving this training changes peopleÛªs lives and opens up their worlds, invigorates their minds and for lots of us gives us a completely different way of recognizing our worth as we age.åÊ I was just slipping away into a slower way of life.Û For more information visit: www.ages2.eu/en
Feeling Younger Than Actual Age Meant Lower Death Rate for Older People
Feeling Younger Than Actual Age Meant Lower Death Rate for Older People Turns out, feeling younger than your actual age might be good for you. A research letter published online by JAMA Internal Medicine found that older people who felt three or more years younger than their chronological age had a lower death rate compared with those who felt their age or who felt more than one year older than their actual age. Self-perceived age can reflect assessments of health, physical limitation and well-being in later life, and many older people feel younger than their actual age, according background information in the report. Authors Isla Rippon, M.Sc., and Andrew Steptoe, D.Sc., of the University College London, examined the relationship between self-perceived age and mortality. The authors used data from a study on aging and included 6,489 individuals, whose average chronological age was 65.8 years but whose average self-perceived age was 56.8 years. Most of the adults (69.6 percent) felt three or more years younger than their actual age, while 25.6 percent had a self-perceived age close to their real age and 4.8 percent felt more than a year older than their chronological age. Mortality rates during an average follow-up of 99 months were 14.3 percent in adults who felt younger, 18.5 percent in those who felt about their actual age and 24.6 percent in those adults who felt older, according to the study results. The relationship between self-perceived age and cardiovascular death was strong but there was no association between self-perceived age and cancer death. ÛÏThe mechanisms underlying these associations merit further investigation. Possibilities include a broader set of health behaviors than we measured (such as maintaining a healthy weight and adherence to medical advice), and greater resilience, sense of mastery and will to live among those who feel younger than their age. Self-perceived age has the potential to change, so interventions may be possible. Individuals who feel older than their actual age could be targeted with health messages promoting positive health behaviors and attitudes toward aging,Û the study concludes. Attitude and mindset are everything. If you feel younger, you’ll live longer. Go figure.
