Allostatic load measures in older adults with subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment: A cross-sectional analysis from the Brazilian Memory and Aging Study.

Introduction: An increasing body of research suggests that stress and allostatic load are related to cognitive dysfunction and neurodegeneration.

Objectives: to determine the relationship between allostatic load (AL) and cognitive status in older adults classified with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methodology: Using the Brazilian Memory and Aging Study (BRAMS) database, we analyzed data from 57 older adults with SCD and MCI.

The role of assessment in competence-based gerontological advanced practice nursing.

Population aging challenges healthcare systems, requiring gerontological advanced practice nurses (GAPN) to address specific and complex care requirements of older adults. GAPN implement evidence-based practices directed to patients and families, focusing on health promotion and protection, disease prevention, recovery, and rehabilitation. In competence-based gerontological advanced practice, comprehensive geriatric assessment is essential for implementing the care plan.

The effectiveness of Chair Massage on Stress and Pain in Oncology.

Background: There is a high prevalence of moderate-to-high levels of chronic stress among nurses, as well as an occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of chair massage to reduce chronic stress and musculoskeletal pain in the Oncology Nursing team.

Setting: Two teaching cancer hospitals, one public and the other private, in São Paulo city, Brazil.

Cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor significantly increases the risk of developing Cognitive Impairment no Dementia five years later.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients show high cortisol levels suggesting that biological mediators of stress may play a role in the neurodegenerative process of cognitive disorders. However, there is no consensus as to whether cortisol concentrations represent a risk factor for the development of cognitive impairment. We analyzed the potential association between the incidence of cognitive impairment and cortisol concentrations under basal and acute stress conditions in 129 individuals aged 50 years or older, with preserved cognitive and functional abilities.

Work-related stress and cognitive performance among middle-aged adults: The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

Assessing risk factors exposure, such as stress in the workplace during adulthood, may contribute to detecting early signs of cognitive impairment in order to implement effective actions to improve brain health and consequently to decrease cognitive disorders later in life. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to investigate whether work-related stress is associated with low cognitive performance in middle-aged adults from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) and whether social support mediates this relationship. Work-related stress was evaluated in 9,969 workers using the Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire.

How stress mediators can cumulatively contribute to Alzheimer's disease An allostatic load approach.

Allostatic load is defined as the frequent activation of the neuroendocrine, immunological, metabolic and cardiovascular systems, which makes individuals more susceptible to stress-related health problems. According to this model, physiological dysregulations start to emerge decades before diseases manifest. Consequently, stress research has shifted its attention to anticipating the degree of this dysregulation to better understand the impact of stress hormones and other biomarkers on disease progression.

Cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive performance in aging.

Background: Atherosclerosis in cerebral blood vessels, especially those which compose the Circle of Willis, can lead to reduced supply of oxygen and nutrients to different cortical structures, affecting cognitive function.

Objective: To analyze whether cardiovascular risk factors negatively influence cognitive performance in adults and elderly.

Methods: One hundred twenty-nine participants of both sexes, aged over 50 years, without cognitive or functional impairment were included.

Relationship between cortisol reactivity to psychosocial stress and declarative memory decline during aging: Impact of age and sex.

Aim: To analyze the relationship between memory performance and the neuroendocrine and cardiovascular response to acute psychosocial stress in healthy older people, and the sex and age impact in this relationship.

Methods: We randomly selected 100 literate older adults, without cognitive or functional impairment. The neuroendocrine stress response was evaluated by measuring the concentration of salivary cortisol, whereas cardiovascular reactions were determined based on blood pressure and heart rate measures taken before, during and after participant exposure to an acute psychosocial stressor (the Trier social stress test [TSST]).

Association between perceived psychological stress and cognitive decline in aging: a systematic review protocol.

The objective of this review is to identify, appraise and synthesize the best available evidence on the association between perceived psychological stress and cognitive decline in aging.

Atypical secretion of cortisol in Nursing professionals.

Objective To describe the frequency with which nursing staff in hospitals presents an altered diurnal pattern of cortisol secretion. Method These findings were based on results obtained from 56 randomly selected professional nursing staff working in outpatient clinics, medical clinics, surgical clinics, operating theaters, pediatric and adult emergency units, adult and pediatric intensive care units of a university hospital. The analysis of the diurnal cortisol pattern was based on saliva samples collected over two consecutive working days.

[Subjective memory complain in healthy elderly: influence of depressive symptoms, perceived stress and self-esteem].

The current study analyzed the relationship between perceived stress, depressive symptoms and self-esteem in elderly with and without subjective memory complain. Two-hundred four elderly were included (104 without and 100 with subjective memory complain) assesse using the Memory Assessment Complain Questionnaire (MAC-Q). The study protocol was composed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Self-Esteem Scale of Rosenberg (SES).

Knowledge as a factor in vulnerability to tuberculosis among nursing students and professionals.

The objective of this study was to identify vulnerability to tuberculosis (TB) related to knowledge about the disease among 76 nursing students and professionals. A quantitative descriptive study was conducted using a closed questionnaire for the collection of data regarding transmission, preventive and biosafety measures, diagnosis, and prejudice regarding the disease. The SAS software version 9.

Peripheral oxidative stress biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Oxidative stress has been associated with normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, little is known about oxidative stress in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients who present a high risk for developing AD. The aim of this study was to investigate plasma production of the lipid peroxidation marker, malonaldehyde (MDA) and to determine, in erythrocytes, the enzymatic antioxidant activity of catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in 33 individuals with MCI, 29 with mild probable AD and 26 healthy aged subjects.

Effects of stress hormones on the brain and cognition: Evidence from normal to pathological aging.

Several studies have demonstrated a wide cognitive variability among aged individuals. One factor thought to be associated with this heterogeneity is exposure to chronic stress throughout life. Animal and human evidence demonstrates that glucocorticoids (GCs), the main class of stress hormones, are strongly linked to memory performance whereby elevated GC levels are associated with memory performance decline in both normal and pathological cognitive aging.

[Stress symptoms and coping strategies in healthy elderly subjects].

Elderly subjects may present stress symptoms due to physical, psychological and social changes during aging process. The aim of this study was to identify stress symptoms in elderly subjects and the coping strategies they used, verifying the relationship between these variables. The Stress Symptoms List (SSL) and the Jalowiec Coping Scale were administered to 41 healthy elderly subjects.

Stress and coping in older people with Alzheimer's disease.

Aim: To investigate stress intensity and coping style in older people with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Background: The potential risk assessment of a stress event and the devising of coping strategies are dependent on cognitive function. Although older individuals with Alzheimer's disease present significant cognitive impairment, little is known about how these individuals experience stress events and select coping strategies in stress situations.

Effect of cortisol levels on working memory performance in elderly subjects with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have elevated cortisol levels as a result of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction. Acute administration of hydrocortisone has been associated with working memory (WM) performance in young adults.

Objective: To investigate whether cortisol levels are associated with WM performance in subjects with AD.

The influence of schooling on working memory performance in elderly individuals without cognitive decline.

Unlabelled: Over recent decades, research on cognition has been developed rapidly toward better understanding the cognitive changes that usually occur during normal aging. There is evidence that elderly individuals have worse working memory performance than young adults. However, the effect of education on this cognitive function remains unclear.