{"title":"Brief Behavioral Activation Therapy is effective on apathy symptoms of the older adults with mild Alzheimer's disease but not with moderate Alzheimer's disease.","authors":"Alireza Karimpourvazifehkhorani, Issa Hekmati, Akram Rezvanizadeh, Nahideh Amiri, Milad Kadkhoda, Farnoush Arasteh","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2025.2464712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2464712","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Brief Behavioral Activation Therapy (BBAT) on apathy symptoms in older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a medical center facility.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>In an experimental design, 90 older adults with AD were replaced into three groups including two experimental groups (mild AD group (<i>n</i> = 30), moderate AD group (<i>n</i> = 30)) and a control group (15 participants with mild AD and 15 participants with moderate AD). All participants completed the Dimensional Apathy Scale (DAS) before and after an eight-session BBAT intervention, with follow-up conducted two months post-treatment. A 3 x 3 mixed ANOVA was performed to analyze differences in apathy levels across groups over time, using SPSS version 26.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mixed ANOVA revealed significant differences in all apathy dimensions (executive, emotional and initial symptoms) among the groups. Specifically, significant between-subject and within-subject differences, respectively for group main effect and time main effect, along with a significant interaction between group and time. These findings indicated that apathy symptoms in patients with mild AD significantly decreased from pretest to post- intervention, but there wasn't significant change in moderate AD and control group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings suggested that BBAT is effective in reducing apathy symptoms in patients with mild AD. Early evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of apathy in the mild stages of AD are crucial for improving patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143416325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mahdi Norouzi, Rahele Kafieh, Paul Chazot, Daniel T Smith, Zahra Amini
{"title":"Insights from the eyes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the intersection between eye-tracking and artificial intelligence in dementia.","authors":"Mahdi Norouzi, Rahele Kafieh, Paul Chazot, Daniel T Smith, Zahra Amini","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2025.2464704","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2464704","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Dementia can change oculomotor behavior, which is detectable through eye-tracking. This study aims to systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis of current literature on the intersection between eye-tracking and artificial intelligence (AI) in detecting dementia.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, and IEEE databases were searched up to July 2023. All types of studies that utilized eye-tracking and AI to detect dementia and reported the performance metrics, were included. Data on the dementia type, performance, artificial intelligence, and eye-tracking paradigms were extracted. The registered protocol is available online on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023451996).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Nine studies were finally included with a sample size ranging from 57 to 583 participants. Alzheimer's disease (AD) was the most common dementia type. Six studies used a machine learning model while three used a deep learning model. Meta-analysis revealed the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of using eye-tracking and artificial intelligence in detecting dementia, 88% [95% CI (83%-92%)], 85% [95% CI (75%-93%)], and 86% [95% CI (79%-93%)], respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Eye-tracking coupled with AI revealed promising results in terms of dementia detection. Further studies must incorporate larger sample sizes, standardized guidelines, and include other dementia types.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143416331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Deborah Finkel, Martin Hyde, Caroline Hasselgren, Lawrence Sacco, Shireen Sindi, Charlotta Nilsen
{"title":"Both childhood and adult perceived financial strain impact age trajectories of change in emotional health in late adulthood.","authors":"Deborah Finkel, Martin Hyde, Caroline Hasselgren, Lawrence Sacco, Shireen Sindi, Charlotta Nilsen","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2025.2464709","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2464709","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Socioeconomic status impacts emotional health outcomes, but a lifecourse approach is necessary to understand the timing of these effects. The current analyses examined the impact of financial strain in childhood and adulthood on longitudinal changes in three measures of emotional health: depressive symptoms, loneliness, and anxiety.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Data were from 1596 adults from the Swedish Twin Registry, aged 45 to 98 at intake (mean = 72.6) who participated in up to 9 waves over 25 years. Measures of financial strain (FS) included questions about how well finances met family needs. Latent growth curve models (LGCM) were used to estimate the impact of childhood and adult FS on changes in emotional health.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results indicated that both childhood and adult FS independently influenced trajectories of emotional health in mid to late adulthood. For all 3 emotional health variables, both childhood and adult FS were associated with the LGCM intercept and childhood FS was associated with linear change with age. Interaction effects of childhood and adult FS were found for the LGCM intercept for loneliness, only.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Results corroborate the accumulation of risk models, with effects of both childhood and adult FS on emotional health, and possible social mobility effects for loneliness.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143411705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Paola Zaninotto, Eleonora Iob, Giorgio Di Gessa, Andrew Steptoe
{"title":"Recovery of psychological wellbeing following the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of the English longitudinal study of ageing.","authors":"Paola Zaninotto, Eleonora Iob, Giorgio Di Gessa, Andrew Steptoe","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2025.2450260","DOIUrl":"10.1080/13607863.2025.2450260","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To assess changes in positive psychological wellbeing and depression before, during and after the pandemic in older people, and evaluate whether mental wellbeing had returned to pre-pandemic levels after the pandemic. We also tested whether these responses varied by age, gender, living arrangements and economic resources.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>We used 3999 ELSA participants aged 50+ with data during (June/July and November/December 2020), before (2012-2019) and after (2021-23) the pandemic. Three elements of positive psychological wellbeing (affective, eudaemonic, evaluative wellbeing) were assessed along with depressive symptoms. Two-way fixed-effects linear regression models were used to estimate trajectories of outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Positive wellbeing declined in mid-2020, with further decreases in late 2020. These responses were related to economic prosperity and age. All aspects of positive wellbeing improved after the pandemic, with eudaemonic and evaluative wellbeing surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Conversely, the prevalence of depressive symptoms increased from 11.4% before the pandemic to 27.2% during the pandemic, but remained above pre-pandemic levels in 2021-23 (14.9%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted depressive symptoms and the positive wellbeing of older people. Attention should focus on the positive aspects of healthy mental ageing in periods of societal disruptions, as specific population sectors remain particularly vulnerable.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143400833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joseph Svec, Natasha Nemmers, Jeong-Eun Lee, In Jeong Hwang
{"title":"Connected but lonely? The role of social networking sites among older adults experiencing isolation and loneliness.","authors":"Joseph Svec, Natasha Nemmers, Jeong-Eun Lee, In Jeong Hwang","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2025.2460089","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2460089","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study examines the extent to which communications <i>via</i> social networking sites (SNS) ameliorates the emotional distress associated with isolation and loneliness among older adults.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>We utilize the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) for survey years 2014, 2016, and 2018 (<i>N</i> = 8,466). The sample consists of adults (55+) who participated in the Psycho-Social module. Utilizing random-effects linear regression models, we test associations of isolation and loneliness on emotional distress outcomes, including depression, negative affect, and positive affect. Additionally, we assessed whether communications <i>via</i> SNS moderate these relationships.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Loneliness, compared to isolation, is consistently associated with emotional distress among older adults. SNS attenuates mental and emotional distress among those who are objectively isolated while magnifying the negative impacts of loneliness. The associations between SNS communications and emotional distress are conditional on degrees of isolation and loneliness. In particular, greater SNS use is associated with higher negative affect among those who feel lonely but higher positive affect among those who are isolated.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>SNS may offset social isolation among older adults, whereas heavy reliance on SNS when one feels lonely may amplify that internalization. Assessments of social technology would benefit from distinguishing isolation and loneliness conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143191416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Being an older refugees in Türkiye: predictors of mental health and quality of life.","authors":"Yaser Snoubar, Zekiye Turan, Baraka Abusafia, Bedia Tarsuslu","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2025.2452936","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2452936","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Older refugees in Türkiye are regarded as one of the most vulnerable groups within the expanding refugee communities. However, little is known regarding their psychological well-being and living standards among old refugees in Türkiye. This study examines mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and stress and their effect on the quality of life among older refugees in Türkiye.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The sample consists of <i>n</i> = 171 older refugees over 60 years of age. To evaluate the mental health and quality of life of the older people sample members, the DASS-21 scale, the WHOQOL-BREF scale, and the PMH-scale were used. The data were analyzed through ordinal and linear regression models, and significant predictors were identified.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Along with moderate stress levels, a significant proportion of participants were found to experience severe depression, affecting approximately 26.9% of the sample, as well as anxiety, which impacted 31.6%. Anxiety symptoms were associated with education and duration of stay in Türkiye, while age-related emotional distress, marital status, and socioeconomic position were linked to higher quality of life ratings.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study underscores the critical need for targeted mental care services, culturally tailored interventions, and strong social support networks to mitigate psychological distress in older refugees.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143082231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aoife Whiston, Maria Semkovska, Pauline Boland, Irene Cassidy, Alexandra Cremona, Sarah Dillon, Sara Hayes, Aine Kearns, Eve Larkin, Dympna Tuohy, Katie Robinson
{"title":"Network models of late life depression symptoms and cognitive impairments across time.","authors":"Aoife Whiston, Maria Semkovska, Pauline Boland, Irene Cassidy, Alexandra Cremona, Sarah Dillon, Sara Hayes, Aine Kearns, Eve Larkin, Dympna Tuohy, Katie Robinson","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2025.2458075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2458075","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Prevalence of late life depression symptoms is estimated to be up to 29%. For older adults, depression symptoms can constitute both a risk and outcome for cognitive impairment. Understanding how specific depression symptoms and cognitive impairment domains interact over time in older adults is key for prevention, early identification, and treatment.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Using cross-sectional psychometric network models, this study aimed to explore interactions between late-life depression symptoms and cognitive impairment domains across different time points using data from waves 7-9 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Across 3544 participants, ≥65 years of age, with no diagnosed dementia-related disorders, the depression symptom <i>everything was an effort</i> showed high expected influence across all time points. Across two time points, <i>object naming</i> and <i>verbal fluency</i> also showed high expected influence<i>. Self-reported memory</i> demonstrated high bridge centrality connecting depression symptom and cognitive impairment domains. Network centralities differed significantly across time points.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>For older adults, fatigue appears a key depression symptom. Cognitive impairment domains become more influential over time, and perceived memory loss links cognitive impairment to depression symptoms. Practical implications are discussed in relation to targeting depression symptoms and cognitive impairment domains.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143082329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Paulo Afonso Sandy, Flávia Silva Arbex Borim, Daniela de Assumpção, Anita Liberalesso Neri
{"title":"Combined experiences of loneliness and social isolation and their associations with sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial variables: ELSI-Brazil.","authors":"Paulo Afonso Sandy, Flávia Silva Arbex Borim, Daniela de Assumpção, Anita Liberalesso Neri","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2025.2452940","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2452940","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To identify combinations of loneliness and social isolation and their associations with demographic, health, and psychosocial variables in a nationally representative sample of Brazilians aged 50 and older.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>This cross-sectional study included 6139 participants from the baseline (2015-2016) of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging. Clusters were identified using an exploratory non-hierarchical analysis (k-means), and the odds ratios of the occurrence of variables were estimated by multinomial logistic regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>36% were classified as lonely/not isolated, 19.4% as lonely/isolated, and 44.5% as not lonely/not isolated. The odds of belonging to the 'lonely/not isolated' cluster were lower for males and higher for those with more depressive symptoms, lower life satisfaction and quality of life scores, and poor mobility. The odds of being in the 'lonely/isolated' cluster were higher for individuals with more depressive symptoms, aged 80 years or older, and with lower levels of social participation, education, expectations of care, life satisfaction, and perceived quality of life.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Measures aimed at reducing social isolation and loneliness should be tailored to the characteristics of each cluster. The 'lonely/isolated' cluster would benefit from measures that reduce socioeconomic disadvantages throughout life and create opportunities for quality social interaction in old age.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143082234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Factors affecting support: experiences of Iranian older spousal caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease and their support resources.","authors":"Nasim Sadeghi-Mahalli, Farahnaz Mohammadi-Shahboulaghi, Narges Arsalani, Masoud Fallahi-Khoshknab, Mahshid Foroughan, Musa Atazadeh","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2024.2385453","DOIUrl":"10.1080/13607863.2024.2385453","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Older spouses are a significant part of family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and need support. Evidence suggests that different factors influence the support of older spousal caregivers. However, there is little evidence about these factors in developing countries like Iran. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting the support of Iranian older spousal caregivers of people with AD.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>This qualitative study used Graneheim and Lundman's conventional content analysis approach. Through purposive sampling, 10 caregivers, three family members, and three professionals were recruited from various cognitive clinics and centers. In-depth and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and continued until conceptual saturation was achieved.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Two themes were derived from the data as factors affecting support, which included (1) caregiver's support-seeking (complexity of the patient's condition, caregiver's geriatric health, the burden of caring for a spouse with AD, marital bond quality, caregiver's support-phobic beliefs, caregiver's awareness of care) and (2) capacities of support resources (supportive family, supportiveness of society, formal systems' capability to provide support services).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The present study provided practical information about the factors influencing the support of older spousal caregivers. Healthcare providers and policymakers can use these concepts to improve the support process by strengthening caregivers' support-seeking motivation and enhancing capacities in support resources.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"265-273"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141891110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aging & Mental HealthPub Date : 2025-02-01Epub Date: 2024-07-16DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2024.2379404
Jared M Poff, Kim Korinek, Tran Khanh Toan
{"title":"Cognitive function in Vietnam: the effects of war exposure and social engagement.","authors":"Jared M Poff, Kim Korinek, Tran Khanh Toan","doi":"10.1080/13607863.2024.2379404","DOIUrl":"10.1080/13607863.2024.2379404","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Vietnam is an LMIC in Asia that is experiencing rising cases of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Many Vietnamese adults at risk of ADRD have experienced early-life war exposures, which may have negative impacts on their cognitive function in later years.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Our study uses the Vietnam Health and Aging Study (VHAS) to investigate the impact of early-life war exposure on cognitive function in later life while also considering variations in social engagement. The sample consists of 2352 adults aged 60 and older from northern and central Vietnam. Cognitive function, measured by questions from the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and self-rated memory are our dependent variables and five measures related to social engagement serve as independent variables.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our results show an association between PTSD symptoms and poorer cognitive function (0.0704, <i>p</i> < 0.05) and self-rated memory (OR = 0.904, <i>p</i> < 0.001; 95%). Similar results are also found among for individuals with lower level of social engagement. Furthermore, several sociodemographic factors exhibit attenuated effects on cognitive function due to variations in social engagement.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Social engagement is generally beneficial for cognitive health amongst those with early-life war exposure, but it does not necessarily attenuate the effects of trauma.</p>","PeriodicalId":55546,"journal":{"name":"Aging & Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":"212-219"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11693474/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141621871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}