Applicability of the locus of control of behaviour scale for people with dementia

Objective: To investigate the applicability of the Locus of Control of Behaviour scale (LoCB) for people with dementia. Method: A sample of 534 participants with dementia (78.4 mean age, 58% female) were included. Assessment included the LoCB, the Montgomery–Aasberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), the Mini-Mental Status Examination Norwegian revised (MMSE-NR) and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (I-ADL). Completion percentages and internal reliability of LoCB were examined for predefined MMSE-NR groups (0–4, 5–9, 10–14, 15–19, 20–24, 25–27, and 28–30). Factors associated with completion were analysed, and a principal component analysis (PCA) of the LoCB was performed. Sum score and component subscale scores were compared to MADRS and MMSENR scores. Results: In total, 234 participants completed the LoCB. Completion percentages ranged from 74% (MMSE-NR 28–30) to 0% (MMSE-NR 0–9). Internal reliability was between 0.80 and 0.72 in groups with MMSE-NR > 9, except in MMSE-NR 20–24 (0.52). Age, MMSE-NR and education were associated with completion. The PCA yielded three components – powerful others, internal, and luck/ fate – with explained variance of 41.3%. Participants with MADRS > 7 scored higher on the LoCB sum score, powerful others and internal subscale scores. No difference was found regarding the luck/fate subscale score. MMSE-NR did not affect LoCB scores. Conclusion: Older age, less education, and more cognitive impairment decreased the likelihood of completion. However, psychometric test results indicate that those who completed the LoCB understood the questions, even with severe cognitive impairment. We conclude, therefore, that the LoCB is applicable for investigating control orientation among people with dementia. Keywords: dementia, depression, locus of control, psychotherapeutic interventionssubmittedVersio

Self-management and HeAlth Promotion in Early-stage dementia with e-learning for carers (SHAPE): Study protocol for a multi-centre randomised controlled trial

Background: With an increasing number of people with dementia worldwide and limited advancement in medical treatments, the call for new and cost-effective approaches is crucial. The utility of self-management has been proven in certain chronic conditions. However, very little work has been undertaken regarding self-management in people with dementia. Methods: The SHAPE trial will include 372 people with mild to moderate dementia to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an educational programme combining approaches of self-management, health promotion, and e-learning for care partners. The study is a multi-site, single-randomised, controlled, single-blinded trial with parallel arms. The intervention arm is compared with treatment as usual. The intervention comprises a 10-week course delivered as group sessions for the participants with dementia. The sessions are designed to develop self-management skills and to provide information on the nature of the condition and the development of healthy behaviours in a supportive learning environment. An e-learning course will be provided for care partners which covers similar and complementary material to that discussed in the group sessions for the participant with dementia. Discussion: This trial will explore the effect of the SHAPE group intervention on people with mild to moderate dementia in terms of self-efficacy and improvement in key health and mental health outcomes and cost-effectiveness, along with carer stress and knowledge of dementia. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04286139, registered prospectively February 26, 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT0428613

Coping and Depression in Older Persons

In her thesis Coping and depression in late life, Guro Hanevold Bjørkløf examines the relations between experienced control, coping strategies and depression. Depression is the most common mood disorder among older persons. Factors increasing the risk for developing depression in later life can be difficult to modify. These factors are depression in earlier years, being female gender, bereavement, sleep disorders and to have a poorer level of functioning in daily life. Treatment of depression in late life is as effective as in younger persons. In short-term, but not in the longer term, the prognosis after treatment is good. Of this reason, it is important to identify the factors affecting prognosis in a positive direction and that at the same time are modifiable. In this study 122 deeply depressed patients from seven psychogeriatric hospital units in Norway were examined at admission to hospital. Questionnaires for control and coping strategies were answered. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 of the patients. In addition, 106 older community-dwelling persons without depression were recruited as a reference group. The depressed patients were followed up after 12 months with a new assessment of depression. The older patients´ experience of low control and low cognitive function were related to more symptoms of depression after one year. Lower functioning in daily life and use of active coping strategies at admission to hospital were also related to depression after one year. Experiencing deep depression was described by the patients as an immensely painful existence and the use of active coping strategies were probably less useful to this group. This study shows that psychological factors as control and coping strategies may have importance to prognosis after treatment of depression. Interventions empowering older depressed patients should be part of treatment being offered in psychogeriatric hospital units

One-Year Change in Locus of Control among People with Dementia

Introduction: Knowledge of how perceptions of personal control change over time may provide valuable insights into how people cope with having dementia. The present study aimed to examine change in locus of control over a 12-month period in persons with dementia. Method: The study included 52 participants with dementia. Locus of control was measured with the Locus of Control of Behavior Scale (LoCB), with higher scores indicating a more external locus of control, interpreted as perceiving less personal control. A ≥5% change on the LoCB was considered clinically meaningful. We recorded sociodemographic characteristics and assessed dementia severity, cognition, ability to function independently in daily activities and physical self-maintenance, depressive symptomatology, and number of prescribed medications. Analyses were performed to examine differences between those with increases (more external) or decreases (less external) in the LoCB score after 12 months and to examine associations between baseline variables and change in the LoCB score. Results: The mean LoCB score for the total sample did not change after 12 months (baseline mean 29.33 vs. follow-up mean 30.33, p = 0.553); however, 2 subgroups emerged. Using the ≥5% cutoff revealed that the LoCB score changed for 92.3% of the sample, becoming less external (lower LoCB) for 21 participants and more external (higher LoCB) for 27 participants. At baseline, the mean LoBC score was higher in the group that became less external (33.81 vs. 24.56), p = 0.006, while this was reverse at follow-up (23.57 vs. 34.41), p = 0.001. Dementia severity and dependence in physical self-maintenance increased during the 12 months in both groups. Among those becoming more external, we also found a decline in cognition (p = 0.002), an increase in dependence in daily activities (p = 0.003), an increase in the use of prescribed medication, and a decrease in depressive symptomatology (p = 0.003). The baseline LoCB score was the only variable associated with 12-month change in LoCB scores (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Most participants showed a clinically meaningful change in locus of control after 12 months. Those with more signs of dementia progression reported a decrease in personal control but also a decrease in depressive symptoms. These findings are interesting for our understanding of coping but must be replicated with a larger sample

Being stuck in a vice: The process of coping with severe depression in late life

Articles describing older persons’ experiences of coping with severe depression are, to our knowledge, lacking. This article is methodologically grounded in phenomenological hermeneutics, inspired by Paul Ricoeur, and applies a descriptive design with in-depth interviews for producing the data. We included 18 older persons, 13 women and 5 men, with a mean age of 77.9 years, depressed to a severe or moderate degree, 1–2 weeks after admission to a hospital for treatment of depression. We found the metaphor “being in a vice” to capture the essence of meaning from the participants’ stories, and can be understood as being stuck in an immensely painful existence entirely dominated by depression in late life. This is the first article where coping in older men and women experiencing the most severe phase of depression is explored

The validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and the Geriatric Depression scale-5 in home-dwelling old adults in Norway

Background Little is known about the validity of the Norwegian versions of the Geriatric Depression Scale-5 (GDS-5) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-D (HADS-D). The aim of this study was therefor to validate the two assessment tools in a population of home-dwelling persons of 60 years of age and above. Methods A sample of 194 home-dwelling old adults with and without depressive symptoms were recruited. The participants were examined for depressive symptoms (GDS-5, HADS-D) and cognitive impairment. Sociodemographic information was collected. The participants underwent a blinded diagnostic evaluation for a depressive episode according to the diagnostic criteria of ICD-10. Results In all, 56 (28.9%) participants fulfilled criteria for a depressive episode according to ICD-10. The Receiver Operating Characteristics analyses of HAD-D and GDS-5 using the diagnostic criteria of ICD-10 for depression as gold standard was performed. For GDS-5 the Areal under the Curve was 0.81 and for HAD-D 0.75. The cut-off points of the measures that produced the highest accuracies were ≥2 for GDS-5 with a sensitivity of 73.2% and a specificity of 73.2% and ≥4 for HADS-D with a sensitivity of 70.3% and a specificity of 69.6%. Limitations A larger sample would have given the opportunity for analyzing home dwelling old adults with and without home health care separately. The participants were talked through the self-filling questionnaires. The procedure could have influenced the participants’ answers. Conclusion GDS-5 and HADS-D are useful screening tools for old adults, but only fairly good to identify depression according to criteria of ICD-10

Can depression in psychogeriatric inpatients at one year follow-up be explained by locus of control and coping strategies?

Objectives: Treatment of depression (in late life) is good. The short-term, but not long-term prognosis after treatment of depression in late life is good. To identify modifiable factors, we wanted to examine whether coping in terms of locus of control and coping strategies in depressed patients were associated with the prognosis of depression at follow-up, adjusted for sociodemographic information and health variables. Method: In total, 122 patients (mean age 75.4 years; SD = 6.6) were followed up (median 13.7 months, Q1-Q3 386-441) with a diagnostic evaluation(ICD-10) for depression and assessment of depressive symptoms (MADRS). Coping was assessed using Locus of Control of behavior (LoC-scale) and Ways of Coping questionnaire (WoC-scale). Results: At follow-up, 37.7% were diagnosed with a depressive episode. A stronger external LoC and lower MMSE-NR score at baseline were in adjusted linear regression analysis significantly more associated to higher depressive symptom scores (MADRS). More use of problem-focused coping, a lower I-ADL functioning, but not emotion-focused coping at baseline were significantly associated with being depressed (ICD-10), at follow-up in adjusted logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: LoC and coping strategies at baseline were associated with the prognosis of depression at follow-up, and may further be studied as indicators for choice of baseline intervention strategies

Validation of the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) in a multicultural sample across five Western European countries : diagnostic accuracy and normative data

Background:: With increasing cultural diversity and growing elderly immigrant populations in Western European countries, the availability of brief cognitive screening instruments adequate for assessment of dementia in people from diverse backgrounds becomes increasingly important. The aim of the present study was to investigate diagnostic accuracy of the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) in a multicultural sample and to calculate normative data as a basis for demographic adjustment of RUDAS scores. Methods:: The study was a prospective international cross-sectional multi-center study. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to examine diagnostic accuracy. Regression analysis was used to assess the impact of demographic variables. Results:: Data was collected from 341 cognitively intact participants and 80 people with dementia with a wide age- and educational range. Of the 421 included participants, 239 (57%) had immigrant background. The RUDAS had high diagnostic accuracy with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.93. The optimal cut-off score was <25 (sensitivity 0.80, specificity 0.90). Regression analysis revealed that RUDAS scores were mainly affected by education and were unrelated to data collection site and immigrant status. Education-adjusted normative data was calculated as a basis for education adjustment of RUDAS scores. Applying education-adjusted RUDAS scores slightly but significantly improved diagnostic accuracy with an AUC of 0.95. Conclusion:: We found the RUDAS to have excellent diagnostic properties in our multicultural sample. However, we suggest that RUDAS scores should be adjusted for education to increase diagnostic accuracy and that the choice of cut-off score should be considered based on the clinical context and expected base rate of dementia

Validation of a European Cross-Cultural Neuropsychological Test Battery (CNTB) for evaluation of dementia

Background: The aims of this study were to establish the diagnostic accuracy of the European Cross-Cultural Neuropsychological Test Battery (CNTB) for dementia in different ethnic populations in Western Europe, to examine its ability to differentiate cognitive impairment profiles for dementia subtypes, and to assess the impact of demographic variables on diagnostic properties. Methods: The study was a Western European cross-sectional multi-center study. A total of 66 patients with dementia and 118 cognitively intact participants were included across six memory clinics; 93 had ethnic minority background and 91 had ethnic majority background. Tests in the CNTB cover global cognitive function, memory, language, executive functions, and visuospatial functions. Results: Significant differences with moderate to large effect sizes were present between patients with dementia and control participants on all CNTB measures. Area under the curves (AUC) ranged from.62 to.99 with a mean AUC across all measures of.83. Comparison of ethnic minority and majority groups generally revealed higher sensitivity in the minority group but no significant difference in the mean AUC's across all measures (.84 vs78, P =.42). Comparison of impairment profiles for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and non-AD dementia revealed that AD patients were significantly more impaired on the memory domain, whereas patients with non-AD dementia were more impaired on the executive functions domain. Conclusions: The CNTB was found to have promising cross-cultural diagnostic properties for evaluation of dementia in the targeted minority and majority populations and could represent a valid cross-cultural alternative to other well-established neuropsychological test batteries when assessing patients from these populations