Health Status of Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment
Keywords:
health status, older adults, cognitive impairmen, comprehensive geriatric assessmentAbstract
Objective: To investigate health conditions of older adults who have cognitive impairment.
Design: Descriptive research.
Methodology: This study was conducted in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The sample consisted of 40 cognitively impaired person aged 80 years or more, all of whom lived with their caregivers. The participants’ health conditions were examined following the comprehensive geriatric assessment principle. For cognitive assessment of the participant, data were collected using two methods: 1) a physical examination of each participants to acquire their physical health information; and 2) an interview with each participant’s caregiver(s) to acquire information on each participant’s functional ability, cognition, and social health status. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics.
Results: The participants, whose average age was 85.13 years, were mostly female. The participants’ health conditions examined included their physical health, functional ability, cognitive ability, and social health. In terms of physical health, one-fourth of the participants had lower-thannormal body mass, whilst one-third had higher-than-normal body mass. Most of the participants had hypertension and were medicated for the condition. Eighty percent of the participants had low grip strength, and four of the participants had a history of falls in the previous 6 months. Regarding function ability, it was found that the participants were able to carry out basic daily activities but needed help in performing instrumental activities of daily living. Concerning cognitive health, half of the participants faced a risk of dementia. Finally, concerning social health, half of the participant lived with their children, who were their primary caregivers. Almost all of the participant received the government’s allowances for senior citizens and regularly participated in religious activities, mainly praying and meditation.
Recommendations : The fndings of this study could provide basic information for a community to develop a health status monitoring and assessment system for its older adult members who have cognitive impairment.
Downloads
References
2. Touhy TA, Jett KF. Ebersole & Hess’s gerontological nursing & healthy aging. 3rd ed. Canada: Elsevier Health Sciences; 2014.
3. Nawamongkolwattha B, Kittirattanapaiboon P,Kenbubpha K. The survey of cognitive impairment in elderly Thai people: national survey 2008. Journal of Mental Health of Thailand 2010; 18: 1-13. (in Thai).
4. Rungsiherunrat M, Kittirathanapaiboon P, Chutha W. [Internet]. Thai national mental health survey 2013; 2013 [Cited 2016 June 1]. Available from: http://mhtech.dmh.go.th/ec/somdet/counter_festiuity.php?idfestiuity=FE00000001 (in Thai).
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [Internet]. Cognitive impairment: the impact health in Louisiana;
2011 [Cited 2016 June 1]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/aging/healthybrain/index.htm
6. Reisberg B, Ferris SH, de Leon MJ, Crook T. The Global Deterioration Scale for assessment of primary degenerative dementia. Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139: 1136-39.
7. Johansson MM, Marcusson J, Wressle E. Cognitive impairment and its consequences in everyday life: experiences of people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia and their relatives. Int Psychogeriatr
2015; 27: 949-58.
8. Taboonpong S, Chailungka P, & Aassanangkornchai S. Factors related to cognitive status among elders in southern Thailand. Nurs Health Sci 2008; 10(3): 188-94.
9. Devons CA. Comprehensive geriatric assessment: making the most of the aging years. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2002; 5: 19-24.
10. Thongcharoen V. The Science and art of gerontological nursing. 1st ed. Bangkok: Faculty of Nursing, Mahidol
University; 2011. p. 90-104. (in Thai).
11. Ward K, Reuben D. [Internet]. Comprehensive geriatric assessment; 2016 [cited 2016 September 27]. Available from: http://www.uptodate.com/contents/comprehensivegeriatricassessment
12. Brooke P, Bullock R. Validation of a 6 item cognitive impairment test with a view to primary care usage. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 1999; 14: 936-40.
13. Malathum P. The Six Item Cognitive Impairment Test: 6CIT. unpublished citations. Ramathibodi School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University; 2017. (in Thai).
14. Thai Hypertension Society. [Internet]. Quality on the treatment of hypertension 2012 update 2015; 2015
[Cited 2017 January 3]. Available from: http://www.pharcpa.com/fles/2559/09/แนวทางการรักษาโรคความดัน.pdf (in Thai).
15. World Health Organization. The Asia-Pacifc perspective: redefning obesity and its treatment. Australia: Health Communications Australia; 2000.
16. Sport Science. Physical ftness test of Thai standard. Bangkok: Sports Authority; 2000. (in Thai).
17. Jitapunkul S, Kamolratanakul P, Ebrahim S. The meaning of activities of daily living in a Thai elderly population: development of a new index. Age Ageing 1994; 23: 97-101.
18. Limpawattana P, Tiamkao S, Sawanyawisuth K. The performance of the Rowland Universal Dementia
Assessment Scale (RUDAS) for cognitive screening in a geriatric outpatient setting. Aging Clin Exp Res 2012; 24: 495-500.
19. Malathum P, Kongiem J, Intarasombat P. Relationship of family support and friend support to life satisfaction
of older adults in rural areas. Ramathibodi Nursing Journal 2009; 15: 431-48. (in Thai).
20. Gallucci M, Mazzuco S, Ongaro F, Giorgi E, Mecocci P, Cesari M, et al. Body mass index, lifestyles,physical performance and cognitive decline: the “Treviso Longeva (TRELONG)” study. J Nutr Health Aging 2013; 17: 378-84.
21. Oyarzun-Gonzalez XA, Taylor KC, Myers SR, Muldoon SB, Baumgartner RN. Cognitive decline
and polypharmacy in an elderly population. J Am Geriatr Soc 2015; 63: 397-99.
22. Moore AR, O’Keeffe ST. Drug-induced cognitive impairment in the elderly. Drugs & Aging 1999;15: 15-28.
23. Al Snih S, Markides KS, Ottenbacher KJ, Raji MA. Hand grip strength and incident ADL disability in
elderly Mexican Americans over a seven-year period.Aging Clin Exp Res 2004; 16: 481-86.
24. Mielke MM, Roberts RO, Savica R, Cha R, Drubach DI, Christianson T, et al. Assessing the temporal relationship between cognition and gait: slow gait predicts cognitive decline in the mayo clinic study of aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2013; 68: 929-937.
25. Martyr A, Clare L. Executive function and activities of daily living in Alzheimer’s disease: a correlational
meta-analysis. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2012;33: 189-203.
26. Prasat Neurological Institute. Clinical practice guideline: dementia. 1st ed. Bangkok: Thanaplace; 2014. (in Thai).
27. Hamtonan P, Voracharoensri S, Charupheng M, and Krit. Positive Aspects of care giving among family caregivers of patients with dementia. The Southern College Network Journal of Nursing and Pubic Health 2017; 4: 186-199. (in Thai).
28. Wasi P. Health as human principal. Nonthaburi: National Health Commission Offce; 2000. (in Thai).
29. Shaw FE. Falls in older people with dementia. Geriatr Aging 2003; 6: 37-40.
