Hearing and Vision Loss May Speed Development of Cognitive Problems

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Cognitive decline ranges in severity from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). It is marked by memory loss and difficulty thinking and making decisions. Cognitive decline is a significant, common challenge to older adults’ well-being and their ability to live independently.

Today, cognitive impairment and ADRD are major global public health and social concerns as the population of older adults rises around the world. By 2050, more than 152 million people will be affected by these conditions. That’s why many countries, including the United States, see the prevention of ADRD as a key public health priority and are studying programs to help stem these diseases.

One way to prevent cognitive impairment and ADRD is to treat the problems that raise the risk for developing them. Two of these risk factors are hearing and vision loss. Currently, about 60 percent of people aged 70 years or older are affected by hearing loss, 40 percent are affected by vision loss, and 23 percent of older adults have both vision and hearing loss. Some studies have suggested that having both hearing and vision loss may be linked to poorer cognitive function or to a faster rate of cognitive decline.

However, more specific studies are needed to obtain more accurate information about these two sensory problems and their relationship to cognitive decline, suggests a  research team that examined the associations between having loss of one sensory function — hearing or vision — and cognitive decline, as well as the associations between having both types of sensory loss and cognitive decline. They published their findings in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Continue reading

Delirium Screening in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Delirium and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) can play a role in the mental decline of older adults who enter skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for rehabilitation after being hospitalized. Healthcare practitioners may mistake these conditions for each other or even overlook them, even though they are distinct conditions and require different treatments.

Delirium is a term that means “sudden confusion. ” It is an abrupt, rapid change in mental function that goes well beyond the typical forgetfulness of aging. Delirium is a result of abnormal functioning of the brain and requires the attention of a healthcare professional.

On the other hand, ADRD is a progressive and chronic decline in your cognitive abilities. You can have delirium and ADRD at the same time. In fact, new research reveals that delirium is a strong predictor of new ADRD cases. About 15 percent of older adults admitted to SNFs after being hospitalized have delirium, and patients with delirium have a nearly 13 percent increased risk of receiving a new diagnosis of ADRD over the next four years.

Delirium and ADRD can be difficult for healthcare practitioners to tell apart, and older adults can have both conditions at the same time. However, the two conditions have not been studied together in older adults admitted to skilled nursing facilities.

In order to learn more about the relationship between delirium detection and a potentially premature or inappropriate diagnosis of ADRD, researchers conducted a study. They based their findings on their examination of Medicare data from 2011-2013 for new nursing home admissions. The study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Continue reading

Does Having Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Affect Severity of Delirium?

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, gradually affect your cognitive function by harming your memory and your ability to think and make decisions. By 2050, experts project that 13.8 million older adults in the United States will develop Alzheimer’s disease and related Dementias (ADRD). Although Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, other forms include Lewy Body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and vascular dementia—all of which have upsetting consequences for people with dementia and their families.

Since no cure or treatment yet exists for ADRD, healthcare providers currently focus on preventing the treatable risk factors that can lead to dementia. This strategy could potentially slow the onset and progression of ADRD.

Hospitalization poses risks to people with ADRD and can have life-threatening consequences, including predisposing us to delirium (the medical term for a rapid change in mental state, often marked by confusion), a decline in mental or physical function, being admitted to long-term care facilities, and even death.

In particular, delirium can worsen the course of an illness, quicken physical and mental decline, lengthen hospital stays, and cause higher rates of hospital re-admission and death. One in 8 hospitalized people with ADRD who develops delirium will have at least one serious problem, including cognitive decline, possibly leading to admission to long-term care or death.

Here’s the good news: Experts say 30 to 40 percent of delirium cases are preventable. But until now, we have not studied how delirium and its severity affect hospitalized older adults with and without ADRD. Continue reading

Older Adults Who Have Slower Walking Speeds May Have Increased Risk for Dementia

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

As of 2015, nearly 47 million people around the world had dementia, a memory problem significant enough to affect your ability to carry out your usual tasks. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, but other forms exist, too.

Because there’s currently no cure for dementia, it’s important to know about the risk factors that may lead to developing it. For example, researchers have learned that older adults with slower walking speeds seem to have a greater risk of dementia than those with faster walking speeds. Recently, researchers from the United Kingdom teamed up to learn more about changes in walking speed, changes in the ability to think and make decisions, and dementia. They published their study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The researchers examined information collected from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging. The study included adults aged 60 and older who lived in England. In their study, the researchers used information collected from 2002 to 2015. They assessed participants’ walking speed on two occasions in 2002-2003 and in 2004-2005, and whether or not the participants developed dementia after the tests from 2006-2015. Then, they compared the people who had developed dementia with those who had not. Continue reading

End-of-Life Hospital and Healthcare Use Among Older Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Because people are now living longer and often healthier lives, the rate of some illnesses that are more likely to develop with age has risen. These illnesses include dementia. In fact, the number of us living with dementia was already 47 million worldwide in 2015. It could reach 131 million by 2050.

Dementia is a general term that includes different types of mental decline. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for 60 to 80 percent of all dementia cases.

As Alzheimer’s disease worsens, older adults may become more likely to have trouble performing daily activities, can develop trouble swallowing, and may become less active. This increases the risk for other concerns like infections. These infections, such as pneumonia, can increase the risk for death. As a result, the cause of death for people living with Alzheimer’s disease is often infections or some other cause, rather than the Alzheimer’s disease itself.

A team of researchers from Belgium recently studied how people with Alzheimer’s disease use medical services during their final months. The goal was to learn more about the best ways to help older adults with dementia at the end of their lives. Their study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Continue reading