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Introduction: Sleep duration is proposed as a lifestyle-related risk factor for cognitive impairment. We investigated the association between sleep duration and cognitive function in a large population-based cohort aged 62-65 years., Methods: Cross-sectional analyses from the Akershus Cardiac Examination 1950 Study. Linear and nonlinear models were conducted to explore the association between self-reported sleep duration and cognitive function, adjusted for established risk factors for cognitive impairment., Results: We included 3,348 participants, mean age (SD) was 63.9 ± 0.6 years, 48.2% were women, and 47.9% had education >12 years. Mean sleep duration (SD) was 7.0 ± 1.0 h, and 10.2% had abnormal sleep duration (<6 or >8 h). Individuals reporting <6 h or >8 h of sleep scored significantly lower on MoCA test and delayed recall trial in adjusted analysis., Conclusions: Sleep duration showed an inverted U-shaped association with global cognitive function and memory, suggesting that both shortened and prolonged sleep are related to adverse brain health., (© 2024 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objectives: We evaluated a novel computer-based functional skills assessment and training (CFSAT) program, which includes ecologically valid simulations of six everyday technology-related tasks. In this report, we describe the psychometric properties of the assessment in terms of sensitivity to impairment, factor structure and correlations with cognitive performance., Design: Cross-sectional baseline assessment prior to a treatment study., Participants: Noncognitively impaired older adults (n = 62) and cognitively impaired older adults (n = 55), that ranged in age from 60 to 86 years (M = 73.12), was primarily female (90%), and ethnically diverse (21% Hispanic, 52% African American). Participants were divided at baseline on the basis of MOCA scores and cognitive complaints., Measurements: The Brief Assessment of Cognition (BAC), app version, was used to measure cognitive performance and completion times on the six subtasks of the CFAST constituted the functional capacity measures., Results: Performance on the CFSAT and BAC discriminated the two cognitive status groups. All of the cognitive domains on the BAC correlated significantly with all six CFSAT subtasks (all p < .01). Factor analyses suggested that the CFSAT and the BAC loaded on separate factors and regression analyses indicated that executive functioning and processing speed had the largest independent association with performance on the CFSAT., Conclusion: The CFSAT is sensitive to functional impairments seen in cognitively impaired older adults. Cognitive performance and CFSAT scores were related but nonredundant. Thus, the CFSAT appears to identify functional deficits that could be targeted with skills training interventions, likely augmented by pharmacological or computerized cognitive training interventions., (Copyright © 2020 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Various patterns of dementia care have been developed in different settings, depending on the availability of healthcare resources and facilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the epidemiology and characteristics of dementia care at a geriatric clinic, a field that has been subject to little prior evaluation., Methods: A retrospective chart review was undertaken of cohort patients with cognitive impairment who had received a diagnosis and were still on active follow-up at a geriatric clinic. A total of 892 patients were included. In addition, 203 geriatric patients with no cognitive impairment who attended the clinic during the study period were sampled as a control., Results: The main diagnoses of dementia were Alzheimer's disease (AD) (40.1%), vascular dementia (16.9%), unspecified dementia (16.3%), mixed dementia (9.0%), AD with cerebrovascular disease (8.7%), and Parkinson's disease dementia (6.1%). Atypical dementia was presented in 3.0% of cases. There were 178 patients with mild cognitive impairment, 20 with vascular cognitive impairment, and 18 with subjective cognitive decline. Other comorbidities were found in 97% of the subjects. Patients with cognitive impairment had a higher total number of other geriatric syndromes and higher percentages for delirium, falls, immobility, loss of appetite, and incontinence. Potentially reversible causes of dementia were found in 11.3% of the cases. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors were administered to 61%, whereas 23.5% received an NMDA receptor antagonist. The need for a change in the antidementia medication was identified for 10.7% of the subjects; the major cause was adverse drug side effects. Nonpharmacological therapy only was administered to 52.4% of the people with dementia who had behavioral and psychological symptoms., Conclusions: Mixed brain pathologies, comorbidities, and the coexistence of other geriatric syndromes are common at geriatric clinics. Holistic, integrated, and continuous care are needed to improve the outcomes of patients with more complicated comorbidities., (© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Low muscle strength and muscle mass are associated with adverse outcomes in older hospitalized patients. The aim of this study was to assess the association between cognitive functioning and muscle strength and muscle mass in hospitalized older patients., Methods: This prospective inception cohort included 378 patients aged 70 years or older. At admission patients were assessed for cognitive functioning by use of the Six-Item Cognitive Impairment Test (6-CIT). Muscle strength and muscle mass were assessed using handheld dynamometry and segmental multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis, within 48 h after admission and on day 7, or earlier on the day of discharge., Results: The data of 371 patients (mean age ± standard deviation 80.1 ± 6.4 years, 49.3% female) were available for analyses. The median (interquartile range) 6-CIT score was 4 (0-8) points. At admission, lower cognitive functioning was associated with lower muscle strength, lower skeletal muscle mass (SMM), lower appendicular lean mass, and lower SMM index. Cognitive functioning was not associated with change in muscle strength and muscle mass during hospitalization., Conclusion: This study further strengthens evidence for an association between lower cognitive functioning and lower muscle strength and muscle mass, but without a further decline during hospitalization., (© 2018 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Women experience more years of vigorous life after ovulation has ceased than do females of other primate species. Is this an epiphenomenon of the greater life expectancy humans have enjoyed in the past century or so, or is long post-menopausal survival the result of an evolutionary selection process? Recent research implies the latter: Long post-menopausal survival came about through natural selection. One prominent line of thought explaining this selection process is the grandmother hypothesis. Objective: To evaluate the implications of the hypothesis for non-human primate studies of aging and cognition. Method: The author presents a synopsis of the hypothesis, evaluates the uniqueness of the ‘grandmother effect’ to humans, and discusses its implications for non-human primate models of cognitive aging. Results: The hypothesis contends that, in past epochs, women who remained vigorous beyond their fertile years may have enhanced their reproductive success by providing care for their grandchildren. This care would have enabled their daughters to resume reproduction sooner, endowing them with greater lifetime fertility. Genes of grandmothers possessing such old-age vigor would be more likely to persist in subsequent generations. Is midlife menopause a uniquely human phenomenon, or does the chimpanzee, our closest primate relative, also display this trait? If so, we might expect a grandmother effect in this species as well. However, female chimpanzees continue to cycle until near the end of their maximum life span of about 60 years. Conclusion: Long survival beyond fertility and a long life expectancy are distinctive human adaptations. The robustness of ancestral human grandmothers necessarily included resistance to cognitive decline through preservation of functions present in many primates but also development of processes of social cognition unique to our species. Cognitive traits such as language and social cognitive functions may function in our species in particular as mechanisms to compensate for age-related decline. This has significant implications for research in which non-human primates are considered as models of human cognitive aging; it also means that some processes can be studied only in humans. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]