Article review of a Medical Journal
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Part 1
Tabira et al.’s study from 2020, titled “Age-Related Changes in Instrumental and Basic Activities of Daily Living Impairment in Older People with Very Mild Alzheimer’s Disease,” focuses on aging-related changes connected to mild Alzheimer’s disease in the aging population.
The authors recognize that little research has been done on age-related changes in people with moderate Alzheimer’s.
Hence, it highlights the traits associated with cognitive impairment brought on by Alzheimer’s disease and contrasts how these impairments vary from those experienced by older persons without the condition.
To do this, the article conducted a study in which 107 older persons with moderate Alzheimer’s disease were first-time clients of the dementia clinic at Kumamoto University Hospital.
The control group consisted of 682 senior citizens from that neighborhood.
The findings revealed deficiencies in managing money, taking medications, shopping, and clothing.
Moreover, fewer people with this disease could carry out these activities independently.
The article’s key finding was that patients with highly mild Alzheimer’s disease have significantly diminished independence in daily tasks starting early.
Tabira et al. (2020) stated that aging is frequently associated with decreasing independence in people; as a result, they frequently need assistance with instrumentals and fundamental everyday tasks.
They would have done things like eating and bathing better.
Those with mild Alzheimer’s disease, however, need greater attention because the disease is known to affect people’s psychological well-being.
This disorder causes a decline in psychological function, a sign of dementia.
Individuals with this illness struggle with simple daily tasks like transportation, shopping, managing money, and taking medications.
This paper deserves praise for shedding light on how diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, whether mild or severe, exacerbate age-related deficits.
Natural aging results in considerable impairments because, due to their frailty, older people become more dependent on even routine chores.
But illnesses can make things worse, so caretakers need to pay attention to what the needs of the elderly are.
The control group provided a great technique to demonstrate the difference between older persons with normal cognitive function and those with very mild Alzheimer’s disease.
Since there would be no experiment without the control group, Curtis et al. (2018) say that both groups are just as important.
Without the control group, the authors would not be able to say for sure what makes older people with and without the condition different.
This approach was essential to confirming the findings and supporting their claims.
In addition, Tabira et al. (2020) described the methods they used to confirm that older people with very mild Alzheimer’s disease need more assistance with daily tasks than other older people do.
The process produces findings that are credible and based on solid science.
Also, it keeps the researchers on the course, facilitating a smooth and effectively controllable process.
Concerning changes brought on by aging in older adults, the methodology used by the authors has allowed them to unearth new evidence that needs more attention.
The article is also helpful because the results and conclusions can help doctors learn more about caring for older people.
The lack of focus shows that older people with mild Alzheimer’s disease have been forgotten in the past regarding how much help they need to do their daily tasks.
Nonetheless, their requirements can now be better met.
Overall, as people get older, they continue to experience age-related changes.
Individuals experience psychological alterations that impact their capacity to carry out these tasks.
The article discusses how extremely mild Alzheimer’s disease, which affects people’s cognitive abilities, might intensify these needs.
Research on older persons with this condition shows that they need extra assistance since Alzheimer’s affects their independence in carrying out activities of daily living on a psychological level.
Part 2
Depression
Although experiencing depression is common, it is not a sign of age.
Studies show that even while older people experience more illnesses and physical problems than younger people, they generally are happy with their life (Canuto et al., 2018).
But if someone has depression when they are young, it may be hard to deal with as they get older.
Major depressive illness, which involves symptoms that interfere with their ability to carry out daily chores, might affect older persons.
Another is medication- or substance-induced depression, linked to taking drugs like alcohol or painkillers.
Another is a depression disorder brought on by a health issue connected to different ailments, such as multiple sclerosis.
Elderly folks go through mood swings where they feel empty and useless; they grow tired, move slowly, and have trouble focusing.
Delirium
People start to go through delirium-related alterations as they age.
Delirium refers to a sudden onset of confusion in mind.
A person’s mental state can shift, causing them to act distracted and disoriented suddenly.
Older persons frequently experience this, particularly those with dementia who require hospitalization.
The aging begins to experience small periods of forgetfulness and bewilderment with time.
Moreover, they need help with concentration and clear thinking.
Dementia
People over 65 often have dementia, so the age-related changes that come with it most often happen to them.
Changes in these elderly populations’ memory, social, and cognitive abilities occur.
Memory loss in older persons is a common occurrence associated with aging bodies and dementia.
Also, because they could have trouble finding the right words due to memory problems, they encounter changes in communication.
Third, they experience difficulties with their visual and spatial abilities, as exemplified by their propensity to get lost, whether walking or driving.
Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease affects elderly persons frequently.
As individuals get older, it affects their cognitive capacity.
Additionally, some age-related changes that older people experience can be linked to the disorders.
Memory loss becomes more severe as people age than it was when they were younger.
This frequently happens, especially in older people with Alzheimer’s who have more severe memory loss and general cognitive difficulties (Lee et al., 2018).
For example, they could wander off and get lost, ask the same questions repeatedly, and act differently, like getting angrier and moodier.
erection problems
As they age, the majority of older adults report having erectile dysfunction.
They have less desire and less inclination to engage in sexual behavior.
This may be connected to several disorders that affect the elderly.
For instance, heart disease and atherosclerosis are two illnesses connected to erectile dysfunction in older men (Tanaka et al., 2020).
Diabetes, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease are a few more common conditions that affect the elderly and can be connected to erectile dysfunction.
Erectile dysfunction can also be caused by injuries to the pelvis and spinal cord that damage nerves in the area.
Even procedures like orthopedic and fistula surgery reduce sexual dysfunction.
Suicide
People of all ages can be affected by suicide, which is one of the significant causes of mortality in the US.
For various reasons, including chronic illnesses and the loss of a loved one, older persons are more likely to commit suicide.
Statistics show that older people make up about 18% of the population, even though they only make up about 12%.
For instance, about 46,000 suicides occurred in 2020, and 9137 were among older persons (National Council on Aging, 2021).
Whether homebound or alone at home, loneliness is one of the age-related symptoms that older people experience that may lead to suicide or suicidal thinking.
Others include financial hardships, cognitive impairment, chronic pain, and grieving over a lost loved one.
Elderly persons begin to withdraw from social activities, neglect personal care like grooming and medication administration, show little concern for their safety, and alter or prepare their wills.
An individual can identify the risk of suicide through these symptoms and seek assistance as soon as feasible.
References
Canuto, A., Weber, K., Baertschi, M., Andreas, S., Volkert, J., Dehoust, M. C., … & Härter, M. (2018). Anxiety disorders in old age: psychiatric comorbidities, quality of life, and prevalence according to age, gender, and country. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(2), 174-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2017.08.015
Curtis, M. J., Alexander, S., Cirino, G., Docherty, J. R., George, C. H., Giembycz, M. A., … & Ahluwalia, A. (2018). Experimental design and analysis and their reporting II: Updated and simplified guidance for authors and peer reviewers. British journal of pharmacology, 175(7), 987-993. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.14153
Lee, S. D., Ong, B., Pike, K. E., & Kinsella, G. J. (2018). Prospective memory and subjective memory decline: A neuropsychological indicator of memory difficulties in community-dwelling older people. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 40(2), 183-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2017.1326465
National Council on Aging. (2021). Suicide and Older Adults. Retrieved From: https://ncoa.org/article/suicide-and-older-adults-what-you-should-know
Tabira, T., Hotta, M., Murata, M., Yoshiura, K., Han, G., Ishikawa, T., … & Ikeda, M. (2020). Age-related changes in instrumental and basic activities of daily living impairment in older adults with very mild Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra, 10(1), 27-37. https://doi.org/10.1159/000506281
Tanaka, Y., Bundy, J. D., Allen, N. B., Uddin, S. I., Feldman, D. I., Michos, E. D., … & Greenland, P. (2020). Association of erectile dysfunction with incident atrial fibrillation: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis (MESA). The American journal of medicine, 133(5), 613-620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.08.052