later life

People aged 55 and over. The elderly men and women in the population. Old people who may be retired and suffering from chronic disease

Our later life Blogs

More evidence needed on additional interventions to reduce mortality in older people with depression

41 Responses »
Broadbent Amy
Posted by
>,
Older man

It has consistently been shown that a link exists between older adults who have depression and mortality (Cuijpers & Smit, 2002, Schulz et al., 2002). RCTs have demonstrated that treating depression during later life in primary care settings can result in the remission of depression and its associated symptoms as well as improve quality of [read the full story…]

Little attention paid to menopausal transition experiences or wellbeing of women with learning disabilities

11 Responses »
Profile photo of John Northfield
Posted by
Middle-aged woman

In the mid 1990s, a questionnaire study carried out by Carr and Hollins in Wandsworth suggested that menopause may occur earlier in women with learning disabilities and that for women with Down syndrome, it may occur earlier still. These findings were strengthened by work a couple of years later in a U.S. study by Schupf [read the full story…]

Tagged with: , , ,

Helping patients and carers deal with a diagnosis of dementia: one size doesn’t fit all

42 Responses »
Caroline Struthers
Posted by
Senior couple taking medication

Early diagnosis and intervention for people with dementia is increasingly considered a priority.  But there are still considerable barriers to achieving this, and nervousness from practitioners on the possible negative effect of earlier diagnosis of a condition widely perceived as untreatable and life-changing. A recent systematic review by Bunn et al analysed the qualitative evidence [read the full story…]

The number, location and distribution of 
the teeth affect chewing ability in older adults

5 Responses »
Profile photo of Derek Richards
Posted by
shutterstock_73696819

Tooth loss tends to increase with age as a result of caries and periodontal disease.  In 1992 the World Health Organisation indicated that the treatment goal for oral health should be the maintenance of a functional, aesthetic dentition of at least 20 teeth.   The aim of this review was to assess the relationship dentition status [read the full story…]

Effective support from health and social services could improve carer well-being, study suggests

6 Responses »
Caroline De Brún
Posted by
Pile of stones balanced

This paper is particularly pertinent to commissioners of both health and social care, as it addresses the needs of informal carers of people suffering from long-term neurological conditions (LTNCs), such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), Motor Neuron Disease (MND), and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Implications of long-term neurological conditions LTNCs get progressively worse, with sufferers becoming more and [read the full story…]

Moderate intensity exercise programmes do not improve depressive symptoms in elderly care home residents: results from the OPERA trial

32 Responses »
Rupert Thurston
Posted by
Elderly patients exercising

Depression is a common problem in older adults with some data suggesting significant symptoms are present in over 40% of nursing home residents (Teresi, 2001). Clearly physical exercise has a number of benefits particularly with regards to cardiovascular health. Some of you may remember the Mental Elf blog back in September 2012 with positive results from [read the full story…]

New mental health commissioning guides from JCPMH

30 Responses »
Profile photo of Andre Tomlin
Posted by
Some doctors are reluctant to talk to patients about reducing their use of prescription drugs, even if they know there is no longer a medical reason for continued use.

Those lovely people at the Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health (JCP-MH) have published four new guides to help those of you involved in commissioning community specialist services, older people’s services, inpatient and crisis home treatment and services for people with learning disabilities. These guides are short (around 20 pages), readable and nicely summarised with ten [read the full story…]

Perceived freedom of choice and the experiences of carers of older adults with mental health problems

67 Responses »
Profile photo of Sarah Carr
Posted by
Freedom of choice

Family and friends often play a very important role in supporting older people with long-term, severe mental health problems. It is estimated that 25% of the 6 million carers in the UK are supporting someone with a mental health problem (Carers Trust, 2007). Stress has been cited as having a major impact on the wellbeing [read the full story…]

Support workers lacked knowledge of early indicators of dementia in people with learning disabilities

8 Responses »
Profile photo of John Northfield
Posted by
our voice

People with learning disabilities have been found to have increased risk of developing mental health problems. The knowledge of mental health issues amongst support workers however is also known to be sometimes lacking. The authors of this study were interested in looking at what support workers knew about mental health of older people with learning [read the full story…]

Intensive cognitive training may help to prevent cognitive decline

52 Responses »
Elly O'Brien
Posted by
Brain exercising with weights

Cognitive decline describes increasing problems with memory, comprehension, language and mental agility. Mild cognitive impairment means that a person has cognitive decline beyond that which might be expected for their age, but generally do not experience problems with everyday living (Alzheimer’s Society, 2012). Dementia has similar symptoms, but these are more severe and people with [read the full story…]