Objectives: In view of the growing number of older incarcerated persons in the United States, cognitive impairment represents one of the most challenging and costly health care issues facing the U.S. correctional system. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of this growing public health issue in the nation's largest prison system.
Methods: In this study of a random sample of 143 older (≥55 years) adults incarcerated in the Texas prison system, we assessed-using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)-the percentage of inmates who met the MoCA thresholds for mild cognitive impairment (MCI; <23) and dementia (<18). Due to sample size limitations, our multivariable analysis assessed the binary outcome, MoCA <23.
Results: Overall, 35.0% of our random sample of incarcerated older adults in Texas met the threshold for MCI and 9.1% met the threshold for dementia. After adjusting for covariates, study participants who were Black (odds ratio [OR] = 4.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.57-10.82), Hispanic (OR = 4.34, 95% CI = 1.46-12.93), and those with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (8.56, 95% CI = 1.21-60.72) all had higher prevalence of a positive screen for MCI or dementia. Dementia was underdiagnosed in our study sample of incarcerated adults, with 15.4% of MoCA-diagnosed dementia patients having a dementia diagnosis documented in their medical records.
Discussion: Future studies of cognitive impairment in prisons and jails can inform health care planning and resource allocation, such as expansion of access to palliative care, advance care planning, and targeted cognitive screening in older age groups.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbad136 | DOI Listing |
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but their neurobiological mechanisms are poorly understood.
Methods: NPSs and cognition were assessed annually in participants (DLB n = 222; Alzheimer's disease [AD] n = 125) from the European DLB (E-DLB) Consortium, and plasma phosphorylated tau-181 (p-tau181) and p-tau231 concentrations were measured at baseline.
Results: Hallucinations, delusions, and depression were more common in DLB than in AD and, in a subgroup with longitudinal follow-up, persistent hallucinations and NPSs were associated with lower p-tau181 and p-tau231 in DLB.
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
Northwestern Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
The Alzheimer's Association convened a Diagnostic Evaluation, Testing, Counseling and Disclosure Clinical Practice Guideline workgroup to help combat the major global health challenges surrounding the timely detection, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate disclosure of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other diseases that cause these types of cognitive-behavioral disorders. The newly published clinical practice guidelines are proposed as a structured approach to evaluation. The purpose of the present article is to provide a clinical perspective on the use of neuropsychology within the new framework and practice guidelines outlined under the Diagnostic Evaluation, Testing, Counseling and Disclosure of Suspected Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (DETeCD-ADRD) recommendations for primary care and specialty care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement
December 2024
Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Introduction: The longitudinal progression of synaptic loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and how it is affected by tau pathology remains poorly understood.
Methods: Thirty patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and 26 healthy controls underwent cognitive evaluations and tau, synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A), and amyloid positron emission tomography. Twenty-one aMCI underwent 2-year follow-up (FU) investigations.
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
Banner Sun Health Research Institute and Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Banner Health, Sun City, Arizona, USA.
This special issue contains multiple articles related to the DETeCD-ADRD guideline.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuro Endocrinol Lett
December 2024
Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072, China.
Background: Severe or recurring major depression is associated with increased adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), heightened atherogenicity, and immune-linked neurotoxicity (INT). Nevertheless, the interconnections among these variables in outpatient major depression (OMDD) have yet to be determined. We aim to determine the correlations among INT, atherogenicity, and ACEs in OMDD patients compared to normal controls.
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