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Bereavement-related cognitive impairment in an oldest-old community-dwelling Brazilian sample
- Source :
- Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology. 24(3)
- Publication Year :
- 2002
-
Abstract
- As it is already known that depression can cause a demonstrable impact on cognition in elderly subjects, the objective of this study was to determine whether also the mourning process is associated with any cognitive impairment in this age range. A random and representative sample (a sample with 77 subjects/total county population of oldest-old with 219 subjects = 35%) aged 80 years or more was selected from the county of Veranopolis in the Brazilian rural southern region. Of this group, the cognitive function of subjects without grief and of subjects with the presence of grief were compared. Five neuropsychological tests (the Buschke-Fuld Selective Reminding Test, the word-list from the CERAD battery, the Verbal Fluency Test, and two subtests of the Wechsler memory scale), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and two self-perceived memory impairment questionnaires were used. Presence of depressive symptomatology was identified by the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). The prevalence rates of some psychiatric diagnoses (syndromic general anxiety disorder, major and minor depression) were compared between the bereaved group and the control group. There was not a statistically significant difference between the scores of controls and subjects with grief in the GDS. The frequency of affective disorders in both groups did not differ. However, the recently bereaved elderly subjects presented a mild cognitive impairment when evaluated with the MMSE, with the digit span test and with Word-list neuropsychological memory test. Likewise these bereaved octogenarian subjects presented more frequently a diagnosis of 'aging-associated cognitive decline' when compared with non-bereaved oldest-old. These results suggest that the normal sadness and/or the chronic stress of the grieving process, even without the presence of an identifiable syndromal-level depression, are associated with memory and cognitive differences among the bereaved oldest-old. Cause-effect relationships, however, cannot be established from this cross-sectional correlational study: Grief may influence cognitive functioning in the elderly, but mildly cognitively compromised elderly persons may be more likely to experience strong grief reactions after loss.
- Subjects :
- Male
Wechsler Memory Scale
medicine.medical_specialty
Psychometrics
media_common.quotation_subject
Intelligence
Neuropsychological Tests
Reference Values
Activities of Daily Living
Memory span
medicine
Verbal fluency test
Humans
Cognitive decline
Psychiatry
media_common
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
medicine.diagnostic_test
Cognitive disorder
Reproducibility of Results
Neuropsychological test
medicine.disease
Clinical Psychology
Neurology
Grief
Geriatric Depression Scale
Female
Neurology (clinical)
Psychology
Brazil
Bereavement
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 13803395
- Volume :
- 24
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a30eca2653d3bc474965650599fc580d