scholarly journals Cognitive Health in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island: Findings From the Healthy Aging Data Reports

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 93-93
Author(s):  
Richard Chunga ◽  
Taylor Jansen ◽  
Chae Man Lee ◽  
Shuangshuang Wang ◽  
Haowei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
New England ◽  
Rhode Island ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Cognitive Difficulties ◽  
Cognitive Difficulty

Abstract Over time persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have impaired health, lower quality of life, and increased mortality compared to those without AD. This study describes state and community rates of Alzheimer’s disease, self-rated cognitive difficulty, and the % of the population age 85+ in three New England states (MA, NH, RI). Data sources were the American Community Survey (2009-2013 RI, 2012-2016 MA/NH) and the CMS Medicare Current Beneficiary Summary File (2012-2013 RI, 2015 MA/NH). Small area estimation techniques were used to calculate age-sex adjusted community rates for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), self-reported cognitive difficulties, percentage of older adults 85 years or older, and the percentage of adults age 65+ living alone. State rates (range) were: AD: RI 14.4% (8-23%), MA 13.6% (6-19.31%), and NH 12% (5.49-33.51%). Self-reported cognitive difficulty: MA 8.3% (0-25.16%), RI 7.8% (2-18%), and NH were 6.9% (0-34.21%). Adults 85 years and older: RI 17.6% (6-24%), MA 15.2% (0-32.23%), and NH 12.9% (0-27.91%). Living alone: RI 30.4% (12-45%), MA 30.2% (6.25-50%), and NH 26.1% (6.13-72.55%). While there was significant variation across states, Rhode Island had the highest state rate of ADRD, older adults 85 and older, and percentage of older adults living alone. Within-state disparities among AD rates, cognitive difficulties, and living alone was highest in NH, but MA had the largest variation for community rates of adults 85+. Understanding the prevalence of brain health is important to policy and practice efforts to promote age-friendly communities. This research was supported by the Tufts Health Plan Foundation.

scholarly journals Neuropsychological Test Performance and Cognitive Reserve in Healthy Aging and the Alzheimer's Disease Spectrum: A Theoretically Driven Factor Analysis

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1071-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan B. Mitchell ◽  
Lynn W. Shaughnessy ◽  
Steven D. Shirk ◽  
Frances M. Yang ◽  
Alireza Atri
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Control Group

AbstractAccurate measurement of cognitive function is critical for understanding the disease course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Detecting cognitive change over time can be confounded by level of premorbid intellectual function or cognitive reserve and lead to under- or over-diagnosis of cognitive impairment and AD. Statistical models of cognitive performance that include cognitive reserve can improve sensitivity to change and clinical efficacy. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test a four-factor model composed of memory/language, processing speed/executive function, attention, and cognitive reserve factors in a group of cognitively healthy older adults and a group of participants along the spectrum of amnestic mild cognitive impairment to AD (aMCI-AD). The model showed excellent fit for the control group (χ2 = 100; df = 78; CFI = .962; RMSEA = .049) and adequate fit for the aMCI-AD group (χ2 = 1750; df = 78; CFI = .932; RMSEA = .085). Although strict invariance criteria were not met, invariance testing to determine if factor structures are similar across groups yielded acceptable absolute model fits and provide evidence in support of configural, metric, and scalar invariance. These results provide further support for the construct validity of cognitive reserve in healthy and memory impaired older adults. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–10)

scholarly journals 402 - Cognitive reserve and linguistic skills in Spanish older adults with Alzheimer’s disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (S1) ◽  
pp. 118-118
Author(s):  
Cristina G. Dumitrache ◽  
Laura Rubio ◽  
Nuria Calet ◽  
José Andrés González ◽  
Ian C. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Semantic Fluency ◽  
Global Deterioration Scale ◽  
Age Related

Background:Cognitive reserve, or the extent to which brain can cope with damage, is associated with extended healthy aging and with slow age-related cognitive decline, as well as a lower number of dementia-associated clinical cognitive signs. Thus, understanding how cognitive reserve might affect different cognitive abilities is important. This study aims at investigating the associations between cognitive reserve and linguistic abilities in a group of Spanish older adults with Alzheimer’s disease.Method:The sample comprised 25 older adults with a clinical diagnostic of AD with mild to moderate dementia, and 25 controls who were residing in care homes from the province of Granada and with ages between 52 and 92 years old (M= 83.40, SD= 7.18). The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Global Deterioration Scale, the Cognitive Reserve Questionnaire, and the Short Form of the Boston Naming Test for Individuals with Aphasia were used to collect data. Correlations and regression analysis were performed.Results:Results showed that cognitive reserve positively and significantly correlated with naming and with phonological fluency but not with semantic fluency word or sentence repetitions or with the global cognitive functioning and the severity of cognitive impairment. The regression analysis showed that cognitive reserve explained 24.7% of the variance in spontaneous naming (F=3.764, p=.039). On the contrary cognitive reserve did not predict verbal fluency.Conclusions:People with higher cognitive reserve score obtained higher scores in phonological fluency and in spontaneous naming and in naming after a semantic clue. Thus, cognitive reserve is linked with better linguistic abilities in AD patients and therefore it should be considered when designing speech therapy interventions for these patients.

Making Aging Healthier

Pained ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 207-208
Author(s):  
Michael D. Stein ◽  
Sandro Galea
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Older People ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Aging Population ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Aging Populations

This chapter studies four new realities which need to be considered in addressing the needs of the aging population. First, healthy aging is the ultimate example of prevention in action. To age in a healthy way, we have to prevent disease from taking hold, suggesting a redoubled effort in preventing some of the conditions—such as obesity and substance use—that result in unhealthy older life. Second, we must take steps such as creating more accessible built environments, and ensuring older adults have volunteer opportunities, to make sure populations remain integrated in communities as they age. Third, we must close health gaps that exist among aging populations. These include gaps created by race, LGBTQ status, and socioeconomic status. Finally, we need to intensify our efforts to tackle the health challenges that older people face, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Visual Event-Related Potentials in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Literature Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra Morrison ◽  
Sheida Rabipour ◽  
Vanessa Taler ◽  
Christine Sheppard ◽  
Frank Knoefel
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Clinical Judgment ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Related Potentials

Background: Cognitive deficits are correlated with increasing age and become more pronounced for people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Conventional methods to diagnose cognitive decline (i.e., neuropsychological testing and clinical judgment) can lead to false positives. Tools such as electroencephalography (EEG) offer more refined, objective measures that index electrophysiological changes associated with healthy aging, MCI, and AD. Objective: We sought to review the EEG literature to determine whether visual event-related potentials (ERPs) can distinguish between healthy aging, MCI, and AD. Method: We searched Medline and PyscInfo for articles published between January 2005 and April 2018. Articles were considered for review if they included participants aged 60+ who were healthy older adults or people with MCI and AD, and examined at least one visually elicited ERP component. Results: Our search revealed 880 records, of which 34 satisfied the inclusion criteria. All studies compared cognitive function between at least two of the three groups (healthy older adults, MCI, and AD). The most consistent findings related to the P100 and the P3b; while the P100 showed no differences between groups, the P3b showed declines in amplitude in MCI and AD. Conclusion: Visually elicited ERPs can offer insight into the cognitive processes that decline in MCI and AD. The P3b may be useful in identifying older adults who may develop MCI and AD, and more research should examine the sensitivity and specificity of this component when diagnosing MCI and AD.

scholarly journals Do Alzheimer’s Disease Patients Benefit From Prior-Knowledge in Associative Recognition Memory?

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (04) ◽  
pp. 443-452
Author(s):  
Emma Delhaye ◽  
Adrien Folville ◽  
Isabelle Simoes Loureiro ◽  
Laurent Lefebvre ◽  
Eric Salmon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Semantic Memory ◽  
Associative Memory ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Healthy Older Adults

AbstractObjectives: Although the influence of prior knowledge on associative memory in healthy aging has received great attention, it has never been studied in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study aimed at assessing whether AD patients could benefit from prior knowledge in associative memory and whether such benefit would be related to the integrity of their semantic memory. Methods: Twenty-one AD patients and 21 healthy older adults took part in an associative memory task using semantically related and unrelated word pairs and were also submitted to an evaluation of their semantic memory. Results: While participants of both groups benefited from semantic relatedness in associative discrimination, related pairs recognition was significantly predicted by semantic memory integrity in healthy older adults only. Conclusions: We suggest that patients benefitted from semantic knowledge to improve their performance in the associative memory task, but that such performance is not related to semantic knowledge integrity evaluation measures because the two tasks differ in the way semantic information is accessed: in an automatic manner for the associative memory task, with automatic processes thought to be relatively preserved in AD, and in a controlled manner for the semantic knowledge evaluation, with controlled processes thought to be impaired in AD. (JINS, 2019, 25, 443–452)

The NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery App in healthy aging and cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Marques-Costa ◽  
M S Pinho ◽  
M R Simões ◽  
G Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Average Life Expectancy

Abstract Introduction There has been a significant increase in average life expectancy. This increase brought more focus on aging with more health, autonomy and independence. Among current public health concerns, the detection of cognitive decline in older individuals stands out, namely in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Accurate, brief, practical and automated measures are needed to assess cognitive function throughout the life-span. Since 2015, there is the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) app that meets these requirements and assesses the neurocognitive subdomains of attention, episodic memory, executive function, language, processing speed, and working memory. The European Portuguese app, developed by our team, will be validated for the Portuguese older adults. Objectives The aim is presenting a literature review of the use of NIHTB-CB in healthy aging and cognitive decline in MCI and AD. Methodology Advanced search in the databases of Web of Science and Google Scholar for studies published between 2016-2019, including articles and meeting abstracts with the words: NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery, AD, MCI, Elder or Senior or Older. Results According to the studies reviewed, NIHTB-CB may be useful in memory clinics (e.g.Hackett et al, 2018; Mayeda et al. 2018); clinical trials (e.g.Buckley et al., 2017; Parsey, Bagger & Hanson, 2019); and healthy aging (e.g.Scott, Sorell, & Benitez, 2019). Preliminary results of the ARMADA study (Weintraub et al, 2019) with people with more than 85 years old became available showing that generally, NIHTB-CB is well accepted, also in MCI patients. No difficulties were found in the use of the iPad with older adults. Conclusion NIHTB-CB measures provide a valid assessment of neurocognitive domains that are important in healthy aging, MCI and AD. As the studies are still scarce, more research is needed.

Cognitive control constrains memory attributions

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen M. Kelley ◽  
Larry L. Jacoby
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Control

Abstract Cognitive control constrains retrieval processing and so restricts what comes to mind as input to the attribution system. We review evidence that older adults, patients with Alzheimer's disease, and people with traumatic brain injury exert less cognitive control during retrieval, and so are susceptible to memory misattributions in the form of dramatic levels of false remembering.

Partner-Specific Communication Deficits in Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Eun Jin Paek ◽  
Si On Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Referential Communication ◽  
Sorting Task ◽  
Audience Design ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Communication Task ◽  
Design Skills ◽  
Referential Expressions

Purpose Speakers adjust referential expressions to the listeners' knowledge while communicating, a phenomenon called “audience design.” While individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show difficulties in discourse production, it is unclear whether they exhibit preserved partner-specific audience design. The current study examined if individuals with AD demonstrate partner-specific audience design skills. Method Ten adults with mild-to-moderate AD and 12 healthy older adults performed a referential communication task with two experimenters (E1 and E2). At first, E1 and participants completed an image-sorting task, allowing them to establish shared labels. Then, during testing, both experimenters were present in the room, and participants described images to either E1 or E2 (randomly alternating). Analyses focused on the number of words participants used to describe each image and whether they reused shared labels. Results During testing, participants in both groups produced shorter descriptions when describing familiar images versus new images, demonstrating their ability to learn novel knowledge. When they described familiar images, healthy older adults modified their expressions depending on the current partner's knowledge, producing shorter expressions and more established labels for the knowledgeable partner (E1) versus the naïve partner (E2), but individuals with AD were less likely to do so. Conclusions The current study revealed that both individuals with AD and the control participants were able to acquire novel knowledge, but individuals with AD tended not to flexibly adjust expressions depending on the partner's knowledge state. Conversational inefficiency and difficulties observed in AD may, in part, stem from disrupted audience design skills.

Auditory Dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sridhar Krishnamurti
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Clinical Protocols ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Auditory Dysfunction

Alzheimer's disease is neurodegenerative disorder which affects a growing number of older adults every year. With an understanding of auditory dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease, the speech-language pathologist working in the health care setting can provide better service to these individuals. The pathophysiology of the disease process in Alzheimer's disease increases the likelihood of specific types of auditory deficits as opposed to others. This article will discuss the auditory deficits in Alzheimer's disease, their implications, and the value of clinical protocols for individuals with this disease.

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