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Objectives: Nonpharmacologic interventions (NPIs) constitute an important part of treatment for older adults, cover a broad and diverse range of interventions, and have advantages over pharmacologic interventions (eg, limited adverse side effects). However, an unambiguous definition of NPIs is still lacking. Defining NPIs may facilitate research on this topic and enhance comparability of results between studies, and might help to face the challenges of recognition, acceptation, funding, and implementation. Therefore, the aim of this review was to provide an overview and comparison of the definitions of NPIs used in the current literature on older adults., Design: A systematic review was performed to provide an overview of the definitions of NPIs that are used in the current literature on older populations and to organize the characteristics involved in the definitions., Setting and Participants: People ≥60 years of age were included, not limited to a specific setting., Methods: A systematic search was performed in the following 5 databases: PubMed, Embase, Clarivate Analytics/Web of Science Core Collection, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Wiley/Cochrane Library. The time frame within the databases was from inception to December 4, 2023. Review articles, editorials and consensus papers were included., Results: We included 28 articles. We organized the definitions of NPI according to 4 different aspects: types of interventions involved, target population, goals the interventions addressed, and requirements of the interventions. Definitions in the current literature can generally be divided into 2 groups: NPIs described as not involving medication, and more elaborated multidomain definitions. Based on the results, we formulated criteria for types of interventions that can be considered an NPI., Conclusions and Implications: Using current descriptions and characteristics, elements for a new definition for NPIs were proposed. To improve research in this field, consensus needs to be reached regarding elements covered by a definition of NPIs., Competing Interests: Disclosures The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Previous research in the general population shows more potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) among persons with a migration background compared with persons without a migration background. This study investigated the association between non-Western (nw) migration background (MB) and dementia-specific PIMs in older adults with dementia in the Netherlands., Design: Cohort study using routinely recorded electronic health records and administrative data., Setting and Participants: Electronic health record data of general practitioners from the NIVEL-Primary Care Database, were linked to registries managed by Statistics Netherlands (2013-2014). A total of 9055 community-dwelling older adults with dementia were included, among whom 294 persons had an nw-MB from Africa, South America, or Asia, based on their country of birth., Methods: We determined the presence of dementia-specific PIM prescriptions and compared this between persons with an nw-MB and without an MB, using logistic regression analysis adjusted for follow-up time, age, registered sex, and total number of prescriptions. Interaction effects of potentially relevant covariates were tested. The 3 largest nw-MB groups in the Netherlands were analyzed separately., Results: Dementia-specific PIMs were less frequently prescribed to persons with an nw-MB compared to persons without an MB with a dementia diagnosis [30.6% vs 34.4%, odds ratio (OR) 0.71, 95% CI 0.54-0.92], with especially less often a benzodiazepine prescription in the group with an nw-MB, compared to persons without an MB (15.0% vs 19.3%, OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43-0.84). Dementia duration, living alone, household income, and degree of urbanization did not influence the associations., Conclusions and Implications: Among older adults with dementia in the Netherlands, persons with an nw-MB had less often a dementia-specific PIM prescription compared to persons without an MB. Whether this difference is a reflection of better quality of care, higher professional uncertainty, or less recognition of (mental) health problems in persons with an nw-MB and dementia, needs further investigation., Competing Interests: Disclosures The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Most quality indicators (QIs) currently used in nursing homes reflect the care delivered by the entire multidisciplinary team and are not specific for medical practitioners. International experts have proposed a set of QIs that specifically reflect the quality of medical care in nursing homes. The objective of the Delphi study described here was to compile a set of actionable QIs tailored for medical practitioners working within Dutch nursing homes. This was achieved through the evaluation of 15 existing national QIs and 35 international QIs by a panel of medical practitioners, comprising medical specialists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, who are working in Dutch nursing homes. Panelists rated each QI on (1) level of direct control by medical practitioners and (2) its relevance to the quality of medical care. QIs progressing to subsequent rounds required panel agreement on both direct control (≥70% ≥3 points on a 4-point scale) and relevance (≥70% ≥8 on a 10-point scale). In the last round, each panelist selected the 5 most relevant QIs and arranged them in order of importance. These top 5 rankings were converted into points for an overall final ranking. There was consensus on 42 QIs being under the control of medical practitioners, and 21 of these QIs were considered relevant for quality of care. Most of the 21 QIs originated from the international QI set. This finding supports the transferability of the internationally developed QIs to the Dutch nursing home context and provides opportunities to compare the quality of medical care in nursing homes across countries. In the final ranking, the QI related to new medication prescriptions received the highest rating, followed by 3 QIs related to advance care planning. Future research should focus on evaluating the feasibility of measuring the selected QIs and assessing their measurement properties before implementing them in professional learning and quality improvement initiatives for medical practitioners in nursing homes., Competing Interests: Disclosures The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To investigate guideline adherence 3 years after the introduction of a national guideline on urinary tract infections (UTIs) in frail older adults. Appropriate use of urine dipstick tests, treatment decisions, and antibiotic drug choices in residents with (suspected) UTIs without a catheter were examined., Design: Observational prospective study., Setting and Participants: Nineteen nursing homes participating in a Dutch Sentinel Nursing Home Surveillance Network., Methods: As of September 2021, for a 3-month period, medical practitioners recorded additional clinical information in the electronic health record in case of a (suspected) UTI. Based on this information, adherence to guideline recommendations was assessed. Nonadherence was classified into 2 categories: (1) "intentional nonadherence" as reported by practitioners and (2) "nonadherence otherwise" applied to all other cases where the recorded information was discordant with the guideline recommendations., Results: A total of 532 cases of (suspected) UTIs from 469 residents were analyzed. In 455 cases (86%), dipsticks were used. For the 231 cases where clinical signs and symptoms already indicated no UTI treatment according to the guideline, a dipstick was still inappropriately ordered in 196 cases (85%). The decision to prescribe or withhold antibiotics was in 69% of the cases adherent, in 6% intentionally nonadherent, and in 25% nonadherent otherwise. The type of prescribed antibiotic was adherent to the recommended antibiotics for cystitis in 88% and for UTIs with signs of tissue invasion in 48%. Overall, for 40% of suspected UTIs, adherence to all relevant recommendations could be established, and in 9% practitioners reported intentional nonadherence to the guideline., Conclusions and Implications: There is considerable room for improvement in all clinical stages of managing a suspected UTI in Dutch nursing homes, particularly with regard to the importance of patient's clinical signs and symptoms for appropriate dipstick use and antibiotic UTI treatments., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To systematically evaluate the performance of COVID-19 prognostic models and scores for mortality risk in older populations across three health-care settings: hospitals, primary care, and nursing homes., Study Design and Setting: This retrospective external validation study included 14,092 older individuals of ≥70 years of age with a clinical or polymerase chain reaction-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis from March 2020 to December 2020. The six validation cohorts include three hospital-based (CliniCo, COVID-OLD, COVID-PREDICT), two primary care-based (Julius General Practitioners Network/Academisch network huisartsgeneeskunde/Network of Academic general Practitioners, PHARMO), and one nursing home cohort (YSIS) in the Netherlands. Based on a living systematic review of COVID-19 prediction models using Prediction model Risk Of Bias ASsessment Tool for quality and risk of bias assessment and considering predictor availability in validation cohorts, we selected six prognostic models predicting mortality risk in adults with COVID-19 infection (GAL-COVID-19 mortality, 4C Mortality Score, National Early Warning Score 2-extended model, Xie model, Wang clinical model, and CURB65 score). All six prognostic models were validated in the hospital cohorts and the GAL-COVID-19 mortality model was validated in all three healthcare settings. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality for hospitals and 28-day mortality for primary care and nursing home settings. Model performance was evaluated in each validation cohort separately in terms of discrimination, calibration, and decision curves. An intercept update was performed in models indicating miscalibration followed by predictive performance re-evaluation., Main Outcome Measure: In-hospital mortality for hospitals and 28-day mortality for primary care and nursing home setting., Results: All six prognostic models performed poorly and showed miscalibration in the older population cohorts. In the hospital settings, model performance ranged from calibration-in-the-large -1.45 to 7.46, calibration slopes 0.24-0.81, and C-statistic 0.55-0.71 with 4C Mortality Score performing as the most discriminative and well-calibrated model. Performance across health-care settings was similar for the GAL-COVID-19 model, with a calibration-in-the-large in the range of -2.35 to -0.15 indicating overestimation, calibration slopes of 0.24-0.81 indicating signs of overfitting, and C-statistic of 0.55-0.71., Conclusion: Our results show that most prognostic models for predicting mortality risk performed poorly in the older population with COVID-19, in each health-care setting: hospital, primary care, and nursing home settings. Insights into factors influencing predictive model performance in the older population are needed for pandemic preparedness and reliable prognostication of health-related outcomes in this demographic., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors have completed the International Committee of Medical Journals Editors uniform disclosure form at https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/ and declare: funding from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (ZonMw). KJ and FW have received grants from the program Leren van Data by theDutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport(grantnumber:329517); all declare no support from any organization for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The researchers aimed to (1) explore the occurrence of psychological resilience in the face of a major life stressor and conflict in older residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs), and (2) identify factors associated with resilience in this population., Design: Longitudinal cohort study using the Dutch InterRAI-LTCF cohort., Setting and Participants: Older residents (≥60 years old) of 21 LTCFs in the Netherlands., Methods: The researchers selected 2 samples of residents who had at least 2 assessments surrounding (1) an incident major life stressor, or (2) incident conflict with other resident or staff. A resilient outcome was operationalized as not having clinically meaningful mood symptoms at the post-stressor assessment and equal or fewer mood symptoms at the post-stressor relative to the pre-stressor assessment. The researchers used 2 resilience outcomes per stressor: 1 based on observer-reported mood symptoms and 1 based on self-reported mood symptoms. The most important factors from among 21 potential resilience factors for each of the 4 operationalizations of resilience were identified using a backward selection procedure with 2-level generalized estimating equations analyses., Results: Forty-eight percent and 50% of residents were resilient in the face of a major life stressor, based on observer-reported (n = 248) and self-reported (n = 211) mood, respectively. In the face of conflict, 26% and 51% of the residents demonstrated resilience, based on the observer-reported (n = 246) and self-reported (n = 183) mood, respectively. Better cognitive functioning, a strong and supportive relationship with family, participation in social activities, and better self-reported health were most strongly associated with resilience in the face of a major life stressor. Better communicative functioning, absence of psychiatric diagnoses, a strong and supportive relationship with family, not being lonely, social engagement, and not reminiscing about life were most strongly associated with resilience in the face of conflict., Conclusions and Implications: Factors with a social aspect appear to be particularly important to psychological resilience in older LTCF residents, and provide a potential target for intervention in the LTCF setting., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: In the first months of 2021, the Dutch COVID-19 vaccination campaign was disturbed by reports of death in Norwegian nursing homes (NHs) after vaccination. Reports predominantly concerned persons >65 years of age with 1 or more comorbidities. Also, in the Netherlands adverse events were reported after COVID-19 vaccination in this vulnerable group. Yet, it was unclear whether a causal link between vaccination and death existed. Therefore, we investigated the risk of death after COVID-19 vaccination in Dutch NH residents compared with the risk of death in NH residents prior to the COVID-19 pandemic., Design: Population-based longitudinal cohort study with electronic health record data., Setting and Participants: We studied Dutch NH residents from 73 NHs who received 1 or 2 COVID-19 vaccination(s) between January 13 and April 16, 2021 (n = 21,762). As a historical comparison group, we included Dutch NH residents who were registered in the same period in 2019 (n = 27,591)., Methods: Data on vaccination status, age, gender, type of care, comorbidities, and date of NH entry and (if applicable) discharge or date of death were extracted from electronic health records. Risk of death after 30 days was evaluated and compared between vaccinated residents and historical comparison residents with Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Regression analyses were adjusted for age, gender, comorbidities, and length of stay., Results: Risk of death in NH residents after one COVID-19 vaccination (regardless of whether a second vaccination was given) was decreased compared with historical comparison residents from 2019 (adjusted HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.69-0.86). The risk of death further decreased after 2 vaccinations compared with the historical comparison group (adjusted HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.50-0.64)., Conclusions and Implications: We found no indication that risk of death in NH residents is increased after COVID-19 vaccination. These results indicate that COVID-19 vaccination in NH residents is safe and could reduce fear and resistance toward vaccination., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We aimed to explore the effects of the Dutch COVID-19 lockdown (March 20-May 25, 2020) on mood, behavior, and social and cognitive functioning of older residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) prospectively., Design: Mixed methods: historically controlled longitudinal cohort study and focus groups., Setting and Participants: Residents of Dutch LTCFs., Methods: Residents who were assessed during and prior to the lockdown were compared to residents of the same wards with 2 assessments prior to the lockdown. We used mixed models and generalized estimating equation analyses to explore differences in changes in mood, withdrawal and aggressive behavior, loneliness and conflict, and cognition and delirium. We also explored whether the effect of the lockdown differed for different subgroups. In 2 online focus groups, LTCF care professionals, ranging from care staff to physicians, reflected on their experiences of the effect of the lockdown and the cohort study results., Results: The lockdown group of 298 residents was compared to the control group of 625 residents. Self-reported mood symptoms showed a slightly greater increase during the lockdown. During the first half of the lockdown, the level of conflict with other residents decreased whereas it increased in the control group. The subgroup with moderate-severe cognitive impairment showed a decrease in withdrawal during the lockdown, whereas the group with no-mild cognitive impairment showed a statistically nonsignificant relative increase. Professionals described great individual variation in the effects of the lockdown on residents. Facilities attempted to preserve the experienced positive effects, for example, by promoting tranquility in shared rooms and continuing to organize individualized ward-based activities., Conclusions and Implications: We did not find clinically relevant negative effects of the lockdown on mood, behavior, and social and cognitive functioning in older residents of LTCFs at the group level. Possibly, staff mitigated the negative effects at the group level. Meanwhile, they learned lessons that they continue to apply to enhance resident well-being., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To describe the symptomatology, mortality, and risk factors for mortality in a large group of Dutch nursing home (NH) residents with clinically suspected COVID-19 who were tested with a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test., Design: Prospective cohort study., Setting and Participants: Residents of Dutch NHs with clinically suspected COVID-19 and who received RT-PCR test., Methods: We collected data of NH residents with clinically suspected COVID-19 via electronic health records between March 18 and May 13, 2020. Registration was performed on diagnostic status [confirmed (COVID-19+)/ruled out (COVID-19-)] and symptomatology (typical and atypical symptoms). Information on mortality and risk factors for mortality were extracted from usual care data., Results: In our sample of residents with clinically suspected COVID-19 (N = 4007), COVID-19 was confirmed in 1538 residents (38%). Although symptomatology overlapped between residents with COVID-19+ and COVID-19-, those with COVID-19+ were 3 times more likely to die within 30 days [hazard ratio (HR), 3.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.7-3.6]. Within this group, mortality was higher for men than for women (HR 1.8, 95% CI 1.5-2.2), and we observed a higher mortality for residents with dementia, reduced kidney function, and Parkinson's disease, even when corrected for age, gender, and comorbidities., Conclusions and Implications: About 40% of the residents with clinically suspected COVID-19 actually had COVID-19, based on the RT-PCR test. Despite an overlap in symptomatology, mortality rate was 3 times higher for residents with COVID-19+. This emphasizes the importance of using low-threshold testing in NH residents, which is an essential prerequisite to using limited personal protective equipment and isolation measures efficiently., (Copyright © 2020 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To estimate (1) the duration of no formal care, home care, and institutional care after dementia diagnosis, and (2) the effect of age, sex, living situation, dementia medication, migration background, and income on this dementia care duration., Design: Longitudinal retrospective study using routinely recorded general practice electronic health records linked with population-based healthcare and mortality data., Setting and Participants: In total, 11,012 community-dwelling persons who received an incident dementia diagnosis and were listed in a Dutch general practitioner database from 448 general practices in the Netherlands., Methods: Using multistate modeling analyses, we estimated the mean duration of care types (no/home/institutional care) for different ages based on simulations of transition rates and examined the influence of demographic and clinical factors on these durations., Results: From dementia diagnosis onward in 85-year-old men, the mean duration without formal care was 0.7 years, of home care 1.7, and institutional care 1.1 years. In 85-year-old women, the duration without formal care was 0.8 years, of home care 2.3, and institutional care 2.3 years. Total care duration was 3.5 years in 85-year-old men and 5.4 years in 85-year-old women. In men, the duration of home care was longer compared with no formal care and institutional care. The duration of no formal care was longer in persons not living alone, without prescribed dementia medication, with a non‒Western migration background, or with a higher income. The duration of home or institutional care was longer in women, persons without polypharmacy, in those living alone, or those with a Western background., Conclusions and Implications: Our findings help to increase understanding of long-term dementia care trajectories and show that demographic and clinical factors determine the duration of care types. Our results can contribute to the organization of healthcare resource planning and monitoring of the effects of healthcare policy and interventions., (Copyright © 2020 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Caring for people with Korsakoff syndrome (KS) residing in specialized long-term care facilities (LTCFs) can be distressing because of challenging neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS). However, good-quality studies on NPS in this under-researched population are lacking. This study examined the prevalence and severity of NPS in people with KS living in specialized LTCFs and the associated caregiver distress., Design: Cross-sectional, observational study. Data were obtained using structured interviews with care staff, elderly care physicians, and residents., Setting: Nine specialized LTCFs in the Netherlands., Participants: KS residents admitted for at least 3 months., Measurements: The prevalence and severity of NPS were measured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q). The associated caregiver distress was assessed with the NPI Distress Scale (NPI-D) according to the nurse or nurse assistant., Results: Almost all of the 281 residents (96.4%) showed at least 1 NPS and 45.8% showed 5 or more symptoms. Irritability/lability (68.3%), agitation/aggression (58.7%), and disinhibition (52.7%) were most prevalent. Although the mean level of severity for all NPS was relatively low, half of the residents (49.1%) had at least 1 severe NPS. Care staff experienced low levels of distress associated with NPS., Conclusion: NPS are highly prevalent in KS residents. Unexpectedly, these did not have any severe impact on residents and care staff. Acquiring more insight into the persistence and course of NPS, and its associations, among KS residents is important to better understand and reduce these symptoms and, ultimately, improve the quality of care for these residents., (Copyright © 2017 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Dementia poses a substantial economic burden on society. Knowing which factors predict high costs in dementia may help to better target interventions and optimize resource allocation. This study aimed to identify predictors of the total societal costs in dementia patients and their informal caregivers., Design: Prospective cohort study with 2-year follow up., Setting and Participants: 192 community-dwelling patients with dementia and their primary informal caregivers in the Netherlands., Measurements: Data on health care resource utilization, informal carer time and caregivers' work absenteeism were collected by cost diaries and interviews. Predictors of total costs were identified for patient-caregiver dyads, and for patients and informal caregivers separately by performing univariate and multivariate generalized linear models., Results: Societal costs of patient-caregiver dyads averaged €75,084 (SEM: €4,263) in the first year and €99,369 (SEM: €6,441) in the second year. Sixty percent was attributed to costs of informal care. Patient impairments in activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), disruptions during daily activities of the caregiver, and receiving case management were significantly associated with higher costs in dyads. The same predictors remained significant for patients' costs separately, and for informal caregivers, a poorer caregiver's quality of life and having more chronic diseases determined higher costs., Conclusions: The societal costs of dementia are substantial and mainly due to high costs of informal care. The burden for caregivers caused by a disrupted schedule and patients' ADL and IADL dependencies contributed most to the total costs. Interventions targeting these factors effectively might result in relevant economic benefits for society., (Copyright © 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate outcomes for persons with dementia and primary informal caregivers of 2 types of implemented case management (intensive case management [ICMM] and linkage [LM] models) with no case management (control group)., Design: A pragmatic trial using a prospective, observational, controlled, cohort study., Setting: Community care in the Netherlands., Participants: A total of 521 dyads., Intervention: Case management provided within one care organization (ICMM), case management where multiple case management organizations are present within one region (LM), and a group with no access to case management (control)., Measurements: Neuropsychiatric problems in persons with dementia assessed by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and psychological health in informal caregivers as measured with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Secondary outcomes included care and support needs, quality of life, and institutionalization. Comparability of groups at baseline was secured by inverse-propensity-score-weighted mixed models., Results: No significant differences in changes in total NPI or GHQ-12 scores between the groups over 2 years were found. Secondary outcomes showed better quality-of-life scores for informal caregivers in the ICMM than the LM. Total needs, met and unmet care needs were significantly less in the ICMM compared with the control group., Conclusion: Neither case management type affected clinical outcomes of dyads meaningfully. The ICMM has positive impact on caregivers' quality of life and patient's number of needs compared with persons in LM and persons without access to case management respectively., (Copyright © 2015 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To examine the effects of an outreaching stepped care intervention program (Lust for Life) compared with usual care on depressive symptoms in older adults living in the community., Design: Randomized clinical implementation trial., Setting: 18 general practices and a home care organization in the Netherlands., Participants: 263 community-dwelling 65+-year-olds with depressive symptoms according to the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)., Intervention: After three months of watchful waiting, participants could sequentially choose between the following evidence-based interventions: 1) guided self-help or an exercise program, 2) problem solving treatment or life review, and 3) a referral to their general practitioner., Measurements: The outcome measure was depression severity (PHQ-9), measured every three months over 2 years., Results: After the provision of the stepped care program, a significant short-term positive effect on depressive symptoms was found in the first three months after implementation, in which average PHQ-9 scores dropped from 9.34 (SE: 0.61, 95% CI: 8.14-10.5) to 7.83 (SE: 0.51, 95% CI: 6.84-8.81)., Conclusions: The Lust for Life program has a promising potential to relieve depressive symptoms of older adults in primary care in the short term. Providing one single clinical intervention in accordance with participants' choices instead of stepped care could be sufficient., (Copyright © 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Caregivers of persons with dementia play an important and economically valuable role within society, but many may do so at a considerable cost to themselves. Knowing which caregivers have the highest risk of developing a mental disorder may contribute to better support of ultra-high-risk groups with preventive interventions. This study aims to describe the incidence of depression and anxiety disorders in caregivers and to identify its significant predictors., Design: Prospective cohort study with a follow-up of 24 months., Participants: 181 spousal caregivers of persons with dementia without a clinical depression or anxiety disorder at baseline., Setting: Memory clinics, case management services, and primary care settings in the Netherlands., Measurements: The onset of depression and anxiety was measured every 3 months with the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview, a structured diagnostic instrument for DSM-IV mental disorders. Potential predictors were assessed at baseline., Results: 60% of the caregivers developed a depressive and/or anxiety disorder within 24 months: 37% a depression, 55% an anxiety disorder, and 32% both disorders. Sub-threshold depressive symptoms (Wald χ2=6.20, df=1, OR: 3.2, 95% CI: 1.28-8.03, p=0.013) and poor self-reported health of the caregiver (Wald χ2=5.56, df=1, OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.03-1.34, p=0.018) at baseline were significant predictors of disorder onset., Conclusion: Spousal caregivers of persons with dementia have a high risk to develop a mental disorder. Indicators related to the caregiver's (mental) health rather than environmental stressors such as patient characteristics or interruption of caregivers' daily activities predict disorder onset and can be used to identify caregivers for whom supporting preventive interventions are indicated., (Copyright © 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Depressive symptoms are common among elderly primary care patients, and because they encounter considerable barriers in seeking help and they often resist referral to specialized mental health facilities, it is important to look for easily accessible interventions within the primary care setting. Bibliotherapy, which has been found to be effective among younger populations, might be an attractive option. In this study, the authors investigated the effectiveness of bibliotherapy for depressive symptomatology in very old adults., Design: Randomized controlled trial. After a 3-month period of "watchful waiting," the participants were randomly assigned to a bibliotherapy group or a usual care group., Setting: Thirty-three general practices in the north-western region of the Netherlands., Participants: One hundred seventy community-dwelling adults, aged 75 and older, with subthreshold depression., Intervention: The bibliotherapy intervention consisted of an information leaflet and a self-help manual "Coping with Depression" adapted for the elderly., Measurements: Outcome measures after 3 months were a) change in depressive symptoms according to the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and b) the proportion of participants who scored a significant improvement on the CES-D., Results: One hundred forty-six (85.9%) of the 170 participants completed the baseline and follow-up measurements. The authors did not find any clinically relevant and statistically significant differences between the intervention group and the control group in the severity of the depressive symptoms., Conclusion: Bibliotherapy as a stand-alone intervention for the elderly (aged 75 years and older) did not reduce depressive symptoms more than usual care. This might indicate that bibliotherapy can only be effective for patients who are motivated and acknowledge their depression.

Objective: Living with a demented person has been associated with high levels of clinical depression and anxiety. However, there are no prospective studies that allow good estimates of the incidence of depression and anxiety. In this study, the authors assess the long-term incidence of depression and anxiety in the spouses of patients with dementia as recorded by general practitioners., Design: Prospective naturalistic cohort study with a comparison group. Data from medical records in 2001-2007 were analyzed., Participants: Two hundred eighteen spouses of patients with dementia and 353 age and gender-matched spouses of nondemented persons., Setting: Seventy-one general practices in the Netherlands with a listed source population of 320,309 patients., Measurements: Incidence rates (IRs) per 1,000 person-years and hazard ratios (HRs) of depression and anxiety; prescription rates (per 1,000 person-years) for antidepressants and anxiolytics., Results: A new episode of depression was diagnosed in 18 spouses and 7 comparison spouses (IRs of 18.8/1,000 person-years and 4.4/1,000 person-years, respectively). Spouses of patients with dementia were far more likely to be diagnosed with depression than the comparison spouses (HR, 4.16; 95% CI: 1.73-9.98). Spouses did not have a higher incidence of anxiety than the comparison group (HR, 1.26; 95% CI: 0.58-2.71). The prescription rates for both antidepressants and anxiolytics were significantly higher for spouses than for the comparison group., Conclusion: The spouses of patients with dementia have a fourfold higher risk of a diagnosis of depression than the spouses of nondemented persons. The authors could not establish this for anxiety.