Long term antidepressant use in a cohort of older people

Objectives: Depression is the most common mental health problem in older adults and untreated is associated with significant burden of illness for patients. This study aimed to examine longitudinal patterns of antidepressant use in older adults and determine which factors were associated with changes in use. Methods: Adults aged 50 and over, from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, who participated at any one of the four TILDA waves (n = 8,175) were included in the analysis. Repeated measures latent class analysis (RMLCA) is the model-based approach we used to identify underlying subgroups in a population. Results: We found antidepressant use ranged from 6% to 10%, over a 6-year period. RMLCA identified three distinct classes of anti-depressant use. Notably, 6% of older adults were categorised in a ‘long-term antidepressant use’ class, with consistent use across all four waves, and 6% were categorised in an ‘Intermittent/ Developing Use’ class. We found long-term antidepressant use to be a characteristic of older adults with chronic conditions at baseline of study and striking low uptake of psychological and psychiatric services. Conclusions: These findings provide evidence of the complex presentations of depression with comorbidities in long-term antidepressant users. While prolonged use of antidepressants in an older cohort is often rationalised due to recurrent depression and comorbidities, this study suggests little deprescribing of antidepressants and a need for greater access and provision of psychological services tailored to later life seem necessary improve management of this condition

Mentoring & support practices for fnal year medical students during a pandemic – ‘The covid doctors’

Background Transition from fnal-year medical student to newly graduated doctor is challenging with evidence of associated increased patient mortality and medical errors. Previous work suggests tackling preparedness alone does not‘solve’ this transition. The current focus on mentoring and support provision during this period and is an under-researched area. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a unique disruptive critical incident in which to examine mentoring and support practices, exposing strengths and weaknesses. The perspectives of this cohort and their implications remains an under-researched area. Methods Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine graduate-entry final-year medical students. An inductive latent phenomenological approach explored individual experiences of mentoring and support practices during final-year and transition to professional practice. Results Three major themes emerged: 1) Mentoring & Support; 2) Clinical Exposure; 3) Graduation & Transition. A journey metaphor was used to aid the description of participants’ lived experience of mentoring and support practices during their fnal year. Final year medical students (FYMs) felt under-supported and found practices inadequate. Reduced clinical exposure yielded unpreparedness and regression, potentially impacting future careers. Positive experiences were variable and unstructured. ‘The COVID Doctors’, subtheme provided rich insights into shared narratives and identities amongst participants. Conclusions This study provides qualitative evidence for perceived inadequate mentoring and support provision for fnal year medical students at transition during a critical incident (the COVID-19 pandemic). Several themes using the metaphor of a journey explore the lived experience of this unique cohort determining their perceptions on the delivery of their medical education and their identity as‘covid doctors’. There are several implications for this study in a post-pandemic era and for pandemic-preparedness, both rapidly growing areas of research in medical education. Recommendations include updating contingency plans, balancing clinical exposure with patient safety issues, and providing support to‘bottom-up’ mentoring practices.</p

Comparison of cognitive and neuropsychiatric profiles in hospitalised elderly medical patients with delirium, dementia and comorbid delirium dementia

Objectives: Differentiation of delirium and dementia is a key diagnostic challenge but there has been limited study of features that distinguish these conditions. We examined neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological symptoms in elderly medical inpatients to identify features that distinguish major neurocognitive disorders