Problem Statement
Research indicates that depression can be associated with both cognitive impairment and dementia, and that depression increases the risk of developing dementia (Steffens et al, 2006). It is not always easy to diagnose depression in a person with Alzheimer’s disease, as Alzheimer’s itself may mimic the signs of depression. Although depression may be a risk factor for dementia, its presence is also an early presenting symptom, rather than its cause (WHO Library Cataloguing, 2006). There is a greater prevalence of depression with people who have vascular and mixed types of dementia as opposed to the Alzheimer’s type. (Newman, S.C, 1999, & Muliyala, K.P & Varghese, M. (2010).
There is a link between self-reporting of mood with the evaluation of mood in people with different levels of cognition. Variability in self-reported mood may be an early sign of dementia. There is a link between cognitive decline and associated mood distress.
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• The more cognitively impaired a person is, the less likely it is for him/her to report mood distress.
The Geriatric Depression Scale GDS) has already been validated against the Depression Rating Scale (DRS) of the interRAI, and therefore the results of these assessments will not serve as new evidence, but it will be useful from a comparative point of view to evaluate the effectiveness of the interRAI assessment of mood in the early identification of triggers of mood distress.
The MoCA has not been validated against the interRAI. Only the Mini Mental State examination has been validated. The reason for not using the MMSE is that it has become
Depression is one of the most recurrently investigated psychological disorders within the area of medical R&D (Montorio & Izal, 1996). A number of exhaustive researches have been carried out to study its symptoms and impacts on different patients belonging to different personal and professional attributes and most of these researchers depicted that depression in the elderly people is very frequent and in spite of number of researches in this context, it is often undiagnosed or untreated. To add to this jeopardy, it has also been estimated that only 10% out of the total depressed elderly individuals receive proper diagnosis and treatment (Holroyd et al, 2000). And for that reason, an authentic
Individuals with dementia will have ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’ just like everyone else does, however, there is not fully know why.
a) Depression- individuals with severe depression suffer with poor memories and lack concentration. They will also become less motivated and become withdraw. These are all signs of dementia. A general practitioner may think that it is more likely that an elderly person is suffering from dementia than depression.
"Men pray to the gods for health and they ignore that it is in their power to have it."
The term ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms which can include loss of memory, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain conditions and diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Age is the greatest risk factor for dementia. Dementia affects one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in six over the age of 80. However, dementia is not restricted to older people: in the UK, there are over 17,000 people under the age of 65 with dementia, although this figure is likely to be an underestimate.
The nature of the behavioursWhen reviewing this area, it is important to note that there is an ongoing debate regarding the definitions and basic terminology for ‘non-cognitive’ symptoms. The term currently favoured in the psychiatric literature is ‘behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia’, but most of the psychology community still use the label ‘challenging behaviour’ (Emerson et al, 1995). Within these broader terms, further distinctions have been made (e.g. Cohen-Mansfield et al, 1992; Allen-Burge et al,
Millions of Americans suffer from clinical depression each year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2017), 322 million people are affected by depression around the world. Concerning industrialized Western world countries, it remains as the number one psychological disorder affecting its population (WHO, 2017). Most clinicians begin primarily with prescribing either pharmacologic or psychotherapy interventions. With billions of dollars spent in revue on treating depression (Chisholm, Sweeny, and Sheehan, 2016), exercise used as treatment in reaction to mental illness is often overlooked by mainstream health care professionals. However, it has been proved by recent research exercise acts as both a preventive and reactive
Depression- Depression is a significant issue for individuals with high care needs, and their carer’s. Research has shown that the depression levels of young individuals residing in aged care is twice of those living at home, or in Youngcare housing. For individuals living at home 56 percent of their carer’s are defined as moderately depressed, and 40 percent are defined as severely or extremely depressed.
The Geriatric Depression Scale is a 30 question self-report assessment used to identify depression in the elderly (Mental Disorders, 2013). The questions are answered with “yes” or “no”, and ask things such as “Do you feel happy most of the time”, or “Are you hopeful of the future”(NeuorscienceCME, 2013). The points scored on the test depend on the question; there is an answer grid. For example, the question “Do you feel that your life is empty” should be answered with no. It the elderly person answers with “no”, then no point is given. If they answer with “yes”, then a point is added (Mental Disorders, 2013). The lower you score on the test, the less likely you are to be depressed (NeuroscienceCME, 2013). The Scale is also available in a 15, 5, or even 1 question format (Edelman, 2010). The assessment is useful because it allows health professionals to know how the patient feels, their mind set, which will allow that patient to receive treatment in the form of therapy or antidepressant medication (Edelman,
They can mimic the disease through both clinical presentation and also radiographic findings, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Depression is one of the major imitators of Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, approximately 30-50% of people with Alzheimer’s also simultaneously suffer from depression. Due to the negative effects of depression, such as memory and motor dysfunction, one disease is often mistaken for the other. As a result of this, the National Institute of Mental Health has developed a criteria for diagnosing depression with Alzheimer’s (Mayo Clinic on
It is already established that late-life depression is associated with increased risk of dementia, but the temporal relationship between depression and development of
Typical presenting symptoms in older adults are weakness, insomnia, hypersomnia, headache, fatigue, irritability, chronic constipation, pain, agitation, and unintentional weight loss/change. Dementia and Delirium are also known to have higher rates of depression in older adults. The Geriatric Depression Scale, Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, and the nine item Patient Health Questionnaire are screening tools utilized when an older adult presents with signs and symptoms of depression (Downing, Caprio & Lyness, 2013).
are happy when they achieve something or saddened when they fail a test or lose
This paper introduces a 35-year-old female who is exhibiting signs of sadness, lack of interest in daily activities and suicidal tendencies. She has no interest in hobbies, which have been very important to her in the past. Her lack of ambition and her suicidal tendencies are causing great concern for her family members. She is also exhibiting signs of hypersomnia, which will put her in dangerous situations if left untreated. The family has great concern about her leaving the hospital at this time, fearing that she may be a danger to herself. A treatment plan and ethical considerations will be discussed.
The term depression is widely misused in today’s society. All human beings experience periods in life where they are sad for a relatively short period of time, which is considered normal. Those who experience sadness for extended periods may be suffering from depression. Two terms used to reference the classifications of depression, are Major Depressive Disorder, and Dysthymia. Individual diagnosis of these classifications is dependent on the length of time, and severity of symptoms experienced by the individual. The causes for these depressive states can be due to genetics or the insufficient production of neurotransmitters, which provide the brain with the data necessary to regulate one's psychological well being. Two examples