TY - JOUR T1 - Caregiver report of hallucinations and paranoid delusions in elders aged 70 or older. JF - Int Psychogeriatr Y1 - 2001 A1 - Carolyn L. Turvey A1 - Schultz, Susan K. A1 - Arndt, Stephan A1 - Ellingrod, Vicki A1 - Robert B Wallace A1 - A. Regula Herzog KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Aging KW - Caregivers KW - Cognition Disorders KW - Cohort Studies KW - Delusions KW - depression KW - Female KW - Follow-Up Studies KW - Hallucinations KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Marital Status KW - Paranoid Disorders KW - Risk Factors KW - Stroke KW - Surveys and Questionnaires KW - United States KW - Vision Disorders AB -

This study examined the demographic, medical, and psychiatric correlates of hallucinations and paranoid delusions reported by proxy informants for 822 elders aged 70 or older. This sample comprised people who were deemed unable to complete a direct interview in a large nationwide study of aging. Marital status, trouble with vision, and cognitive impairment were associated with report of both paranoid delusions and hallucinations. Depressive symptoms and stroke were associated with hallucinations only. These results suggest that inadequate external stimulation in the elderly leads to psychotic experiences.

PB - 13 VL - 13 IS - 2 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11495398?dopt=Abstract U4 - Caregivers/Dementia/Elderly ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Memory complaint in a community sample aged 70 and older. JF - J Am Geriatr Soc Y1 - 2000 A1 - Carolyn L. Turvey A1 - Schultz, Susan K. A1 - Arndt, Stephan A1 - Robert B Wallace A1 - A. Regula Herzog KW - Activities of Daily Living KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Cognition KW - Depressive Disorder KW - Educational Status KW - Female KW - Geriatric Assessment KW - Humans KW - Longitudinal Studies KW - Male KW - Marital Status KW - Memory KW - Self-Assessment AB -

OBJECTIVES: The ability of older people to estimate their own memory, often referred to as "metamemory," has been evaluated in previous studies with conflicting reports regarding accuracy. Some studies have suggested that an older person's metamemory is mostly accurate, whereas others have demonstrated little relationship between memory complaint and actual impairment. This study examines memory complaint in a large national sample of older people aged > or = 70.

DESIGN: A longitudinal cohort study with two waves of data collection spaced 2 years apart.

SETTING: A nationwide random sample of community-dwelling older persons.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 5,444 community-dwelling persons aged > or = 70 and their spouses.

MEASUREMENTS: Participants were asked if they believed their memory was excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. They were then administered a cognitive assessment derived from the Mini-Mental Status Exam.

RESULTS: In general, people's assessment of their memory corresponded with their actual performance on cognitive measures. However, large portions of the sample inaccurately assessed their memory skills. People who reported depressive symptoms and had impairment in activities of daily living were more likely to state that their memory was impaired, although they performed very well on cognitive measures.

CONCLUSIONS: The conditions that skew people's self-assessment are the ones most likely to bring them into contact with healthcare professionals. This may give clinicians the general impression that older people cannot assess their own cognitive skills. However, poor metamemory appears to be a characteristic of a specific subgroup of older persons, not necessarily characteristic of the general population.

PB - 48 VL - 48 IS - 11 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11083320?dopt=Abstract U4 - Aged, 80 and Over/Cognition/Depressive Disorder/Educational Status/Gender/Geriatric Assessment/Longitudinal Studies/Marital Status/Memory/Self Assessment (Psychology)/Support, U.S. Government--PHS ER -