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Background: The number of elderly with mental disorders is increasing, but few studies have been concerned with the physical condition and activities of daily living (ADL) of these patients. This study aims to describe the physical condition and ADL of patients with mental illnesses (PMI) from different age groups, which provides evidence to improve mental health services for PMI. Methods: In this prospective cross‐sectional study, the samples were divided into three groups of less than 60 years old (group 1), 60–74 years old (group 2), and over 75 years old (group 3) for comparison. Participants' ADL and physical condition were measure by Barthel Index (BI), Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ), Standardised swallowing assessment (SSA) and Short Form of Mini Nutrition Assessment (MNA‐SF). The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) were used to measure psychological condition. Results: Totally, 392 participants had been recruited, meanwhile 86% of them were diagnosed with at least one physical disease. There were statistically significant differences in the three groups of participants in BI (F = 50.603, P < 0.001), FAQ (F = 40.332, P < 0.001), SSA (F = 28.574, P < 0.001), and MNA‐SF (F = 18.366, P < 0.001). Group 2 and group 3 had significantly lower scores in BI and FAQ than group 1, and the SSA scores were significantly higher than the participants in group 1. In the negative symptoms subscale of BPRS, the mean score of group 3 was significantly higher than groups 1 and 2. Negative symptom subscale has different degrees of correlation with BI (r = −0.537), FAQ (r = 0.643), SSA (r = 0.480), MNA (r = −0.325) and MMSE (r = 0.607). In addition, the participants with comorbidities were related to BI (r = ‐0.364). Conclusion: Somatic comorbidities play a pivotal role in the clinical characteristics of elderly patients with mental illness, thus greater effort should be paid to elderly patients suffering from mental illness with dysphagia, malnutrition, and cognitive decline. Further, the negative symptoms of elderly patients with mental disorders also deserve attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Odor identification dysfunction occurs early in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is considered a preclinical symptom along with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Nevertheless, whether subjects with SCD are co-symptomatic with odor identification dysfunction remains unclear.Objective: To compare the degree of odor identification dysfunction and assess the relation between odor identification and cognitive performance in the AD spectrum (including SCD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD).Methods: Patients (84 SCD, 129 MCI, 52 AD) and 35 controls underwent the Sniffin' Sticks Screen 16 test and comprehensive neuropsychological examination.Results: Odor identification scores were progressively lower moving from normal older adult to SCD, MCI, and AD. Additionally,the proportion of odor identification dysfunction were increasingly higher in the AD spectrum (p for trend <0.001), but no significant difference was found in the proportion of subjective olfactory dysfunction. No significant correlation was found between odor identification and cognition in the normal older adults and SCD subjects, but odor identification correlated with global cognition in the MCI (r = 0.199, p = 0.033) and in the AD (r = 0.300, p = 0.036) patients. Multiple linear regression showed that odor identification dysfunction was most strongly associated with memory among different cognitive subdomains and was most strongly associated with immediate verbal recall among different memory subdomains.Conclusion: Odor identification dysfunction is already present with SCD and deepens with disease severity in the AD spectrum, and it may contribute to predicting cognitive decline and identifying SCD subjects who are at risk of developing AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Both an elevated homocysteine (Hcy) level and depression are risk factors for cognitive impairment in the general population, but no study has analyzed whether the coexistence of an elevated Hcy level and late-life depression (LLD) is associated with worse cognitive performance.Objective: We aimed to investigate the relationship between Hcy levels and cognitive function in individuals with LLD and whether the coexistence of an elevated Hcy level and LLD is associated with worse cognitive performance.Methods: A total of 113 LLD patients and 89 normal controls underwent a standardized clinical interview and comprehensive neuropsychological assessment battery. Plasma concentrations of Hcy were detected. Factorial analyses were performed to examine the impact of the coexistence of an elevated Hcy level and LLD on cognitive performance.Results: Plasma Hcy levels in patients with LLD were significantly higher than that in normal controls. Only for LLD patients, Hcy level was negatively correlated with global cognition, executive function, attention, and visual space. The factorial analysis showed that there was a significant interactive effect of Hcy level (normal and elevated levels) and LLD (with and without LLD) on global cognition. In post hoc comparisons, the elderly individuals with both elevated Hcy levels and LLD tended to have the worst global cognitive function compared with those with LLD or elevated Hcy levels alone.Conclusions: The coexistence of an elevated Hcy level and LLD was associated with worse cognitive performance. Early intervention should be initiated to protect cognition in LLD patients with elevated Hcy levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]