Nathalia Alves de Oliveira

Living with the elderly is related to a better performance in the recognition of facial expressions of emotion among older individuals

Background: Cohabitation with the elderly may bring benefits to social relationships and exert an influence on the recognition of facial expressions of emotion. Objective: Compare emotion recognition skills between a cohabitation group (CHG) of older adults who live with a dependent elderly individual and a non-cohabitation group (NCHG) of older adults who do not live with an elderly individual. Methods: Interviews were conducted with 62 older adults in the CHG and 56 in the NCHG. The two groups were similar with regard to gender, age, schooling, degree of dependence, cognitive performance, and depressive symptoms. A dynamic task with six emotions (anger, disgust, happiness, surprise, sadness, and fear) and four levels of intensity was administered to evaluate the recognition of facial emotions. Results: The CHG performed better than the NCHG regarding the correct identification of emotions, specifically surprise (60%), disgust (60%, 80%, and 100%), fear (80%), and sadness (80% and 100%). Discussion: Cohabitation with an elderly individual seems to offer benefits to older adults in terms of recognizing facial expressions of emotion. Luchesi BM et al. / Arch Clin Psychiatry. 2018;45(4):82-7

Descriptive data in different paper-based cognitive assessments in elderly from the community Stratification by age and education

ABSTRACT Cognitive aging is dynamic and heterogeneous in elderly, thus adequate tools such as paper-based tests are relevant to describe the cognitive profile of this population. Objective: To describe different paper-based cognitive assessments tests in elderly people stratified by age and education. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 667 elderly (≥60 years) living in the community was conducted. Sociodemographic information was collected. Global cognition was assessed by the Addenbrookes Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R), Mini Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (M-ACE) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the t-test and Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient. Results: The findings showed a predominance of women (53.8%), mean age of 71.3 (±7.7) years and 3.6 (±3.5) years of education. The best global cognitive performance and cognitive domain assessment scores were found in the group with higher formal educational level. Each year of education was associated with an increase of up to 10% in scores on the M-ACE and MMSE and up to 11% in ACE-R scores. The mean values of the scores varied according to age, where the 60-69 years group had better scores than other age groups. The correlation matrix between the cognitive tests showed that near perfect correlations (r=1) were frequent in the subgroup with higher education. Conclusion: Younger elderly and those with higher educational level had greater global and domain scores. This study describes the scores of elderly for different strata of education and age. In practice, it is important to choose the most suitable screening instrument, considering the characteristics of the elderly.

On the use of the P300 as a tool for cognitive processing assessment in healthy aging: A review

ABSTRACT Changes in patterns of performance for the cognitive functions of memory, processing speed, and focused attention are expected in old age. Objective: The main goal of this systematic review was to analyze the use of ERP in healthy elderly in studies evaluating the P300 components. Methods: A systematic review was carried out based on recommendations for nursing research on the databases LILACS, PsycINFO, PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science. Results: 26 studies involving 940 healthy elderly were identified, most of which sought to identify and determine the influence of age on the P300. Conclusion: Although there is consensus in the literature that P300 latency is significantly longer in elderly with psychiatric disorders compared to healthy elderly, it was not possible to conclude P300 associations with gender, education and other cognitive tests.

Factors associated with happiness in the elderly persons living in the community

OBJECTIVEnThe aim of the present study was to evaluate factors associated with happiness in a sample of Brazilian older adults.nnnMETHODSnA study was conducted with 263 elderly people in the area of coverage of a family health unit located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The Subjective Happiness Scale was used to measure happiness, the final score of which determined one of three outcomes: not happy, intermediate, and happy. Disability, sociodemographic characteristics, and psychological, cognitive, and physical factors were considered for the multinomial logistic regression analysis.nnnRESULTSnStatistically significant differences were found among the three groups regarding satisfaction with life, disability, social phobia, anxiety, depression, and frailty (p≤0.05). In the multinomial regression analysis, being not happy was significantly associated with satisfaction with life (RRR: 0.53), depression (RRR: 1.46), social phobia (RRR: 1.24), and age (RRR: 1.06).nnnCONCLUSIONnThe present findings indicate that psychological factors and age influence the levels of happiness in older adults living in the community. Furthermore, better screening, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health disorders could increase the feeling of happiness among older adults.

Elderly caregivers living in urban, rural and high social vulnerability contexts

OBJECTIVE Comparing the differences in the sociodemographic, care and health profiles of elderly caregivers of the elderly living in urban, rural, and high social vulnerability contexts. METHOD A cross-sectional study developed with elderly caregivers enrolled in the Family Health Units of a municipality in the interior of São Paulo. Household interviews and evaluations were conducted on: Activities of Daily Living (ADL), self-reported pain, frailty, cognition, life satisfaction, family functionality, burden, stress and hope. RESULTS A total of 343 elderly caregivers of elderly individuals participated in the study, of which 55.1% lived in an urban context, 23.6% in rural areas, and 21.3% in a context of high social vulnerability. The majority of elderly caregivers were women across the three contexts, with a median age of 67 years and caring for their spouse. Caregivers from regions of high social vulnerability had lower education level, received less emotional and material help to care, were less satisfied with life, more fragile, in more cognitive decline, had worse family functionality and a lower level of hope when compared to caregivers of urban and rural contexts (p≤0.05). However, caregivers from areas of high vulnerability were more independent for ADL. CONCLUSION Professionals working in Primary Care should consider these differences when planning interventions aimed at the specific group of caregivers.

Stress and optimism of elderlies who are caregivers for elderlies and live with children

Objectivento evaluate the relation between stress and optimism of elderlies who are informal caregivers for elderlies and live with children.nnnMethodncross-sectional study on 50 elderlies who provide care to elderlies, live with children, and are registered in the primary health care. The interviews occurred in the participants residence and we evaluated characteristics of the care-dependent elderly and of the children, sociodemographic characteristics, stress through the Perceived Stress Scale and optimism through the Pinto and Pais-Ribeiro Spirituality Scale, in the elderly caregiver. For statistical analysis we used the Spearman correlation test.nnnResultsnthe mean level of stress was 23.9 points and of optimism was 3.3 points. Correlation analysis showed that the higher the level of optimism the significantly lower the level of perceived stress of elderlies who provided care to elderlies and lived with children.nnnConclusionninversely proportional correlation was identified between stress and optimism.

Avaliação da atitude das crianças que residem com idosos em relação à velhice

Objective To evaluate the attitude of children who live with seniors with non-transmissible chronic diseases toward aging and the related sociodemographic variables. Methods This cross-sectional study included 48 children aged seven to ten years. We used the following instruments: sociodemographic questionnaire and attitude scale for children in relation to aging. This instrument includes four domains and evaluates the attitude toward aging on a scale ranging from 1 (more positive attitude) to 3 (more negative attitude). Results Mean score was 1.79±0.19. Between domains, the domain showing the lowest mean value was the Persona domain (1.70±0.33). The highest value was seen in the Agency domain (1.84±0.40). Variables that showed a relation (p<0.05) with attitudes were family income, degree of kinship and time of contact daily with senior and the type of non-transmissible chronic disease of the elderly. Conclusion Children had more positive than negative attitudes toward aging.