Background subjective cognitive decline (SCD) refers to the subjective experience of cognitive de... more Background subjective cognitive decline (SCD) refers to the subjective experience of cognitive decline in the absence of detectable cognitive impairment. SCD has been largely studied as a risk condition for cognitive decline. Empirical observations suggest that persons with SCD are heterogeneous, including individuals with early Alzheimer’s disease and others with psychological vulnerabilities and/or physical comorbidity. The semiology of SCD is still in its infancy, and the features predicting cognitive decline are poorly defined. The present study aims to identify subgroups of SCD using a data-driven approach and study their clinical evolution across 8 years. Methods the study population is the InveCe.Ab population-based cohort, including cognitively unimpaired people aged 70–74 years and followed for 8 years. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was carried out to identify distinct SCD subgroups based on nine clinical and cognitive features. Longitudinal changes by baseline SCD st...
Is intellectual activity important for the cognitive performance? Study on healthy elders living in Abbiategrasso, Italy, Sep 5, 2012
Abstract
Background. Dementia is a disease with a high social and economic impact. Even if a lot... more Abstract
Background. Dementia is a disease with a high social and economic impact. Even if a lot of studies were conducted to estimate the ‘dimension’ of this disease, less is known about the evolution of healthy subjects with and without a very good cognitive performance (CP). Objectives. The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between intellectual activity (IA) and CP in the healthy subjects aged 70-75 years. Methods. Data analysed in the present work were a part of InveCe.Ab study (Invecchiamento Cerebrale Abbiategrasso). A cross-sectional study was carried-out on people born in 1935-39, living in Abbiategrasso (Northern part of Italy) to estimate the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases and the impact of known and/or potential risk factors. 962 cognitive normal subjects (without dementia and mild cognitive impairment diagnosis) attending InveCe.Ab were enrolled in the present work. Depending on CP level, a subject was classified as ‘best cognitive performer’ (BCP) if she/he presented a score to Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) test higher than 75° percentile (=28.3 pts), otherwise she/he was defined ‘worst cognitive performer’(WCP). The IA was measured by asking about playing cards and crossword puzzle, reading, going to cinema/theatre, attending courses, taking holidays, doing voluntary works, artistic activities and listening to music. The crude associations were investigated by Pearson 2 test. The mutually adjusted association was estimated by C-Log-Log GLM and was expressed as Prevalence Ratio (PR) with 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI). The model was adjusted for the effect of sex, birth cohort and years of education. The stepwise variable selection procedure was applied. Significance level was set to 5%. Statistical analysis were performed using Stata10. Results. 257 subjects were BP. In univariate analysis a higher proportion of BP was found between subjects reading books (33.1% vs 20.6%, p<0.001), going to cinema or theatre (32.7% vs 25.4%, p=0.038), attending courses (54.1% vs 25.8%, p<0.001), doing voluntary work (34.9% vs 25.7%, p=0.030), artistic activity (38.0% vs 26.1%, p=0.029) and knit (32.1% vs 25.2%, p=0.035). In multivariate analysis, a higher prevalence of BP was found between subjects attending courses (RP=2.2, 95%CI: 1.3-3.6, p=0.002) and reading books (RP=1.5, 95%CI: 1.1-2.0, p=0.005), but a lower prevalence was evidenced between subjects taking long holidays (RP=0.8, 95%CI: 0.6-1.0, p=0.053). Conclusions. Reading books and attending courses seems to be important IA for the best CP in older healthy people, but additional analysis, taking into account other possible confounders, are needed.
Ospedale Beata Vergine di Mendrisio (CH) Scopo : L’obiettivo di questo studio e mettere in eviden... more Ospedale Beata Vergine di Mendrisio (CH) Scopo : L’obiettivo di questo studio e mettere in evidenza la comprensione delle emozioni nei malati di Alzheimer. L’abilita nell’interpretare le emozioni degli altri ha un ruolo importante nella qualita delle relazioni sociali, sia nei normali che nei dementi, e l’emozione espressa dal volto, nella specie umana, e un buon veicolo di informazioni sia attive che passive del proprio e altrui stato d’animo, predisponendo ad una azione conseguente al contesto sociale e situazionale (1). Nella demenza di Alzheimer la capacita comunicativa verbale viene prima o poi compromessa, e nella possibilita di comunicare acquistano sempre piu importanza veicoli non verbali come le espressioni corporee e quelle del volto in particolare. Infatti i circuiti cerebrali che sottendono al riconoscimento di un volto sono diversi da quelli che consentono di comprenderne l’espressione emotiva, legati all’amigdala, alla zona prefrontale e al giro cingolato piu comprome...
Older adults make little use of social networking sites (SNS). SNS has become essential for maint... more Older adults make little use of social networking sites (SNS). SNS has become essential for maintaining social contacts and countering loneliness in the current era marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. This study explores the attitudes of the oldest-old on SNS after attending a training course on SNS use. The study’s goals are to investigate their personal experiences, choices of use and to survey their views on the usefulness of SNS and its effects on mitigating loneliness for older people. The interviews were conducted in the context of the “Ageing in a Networked Society—Social Experiment Study.” The participants, who were randomly selected for the course on SNS use, agreed to be interviewed during the post-intervention evaluation ( N = 39). Results show SNS are mainly and productively used with relatives and friends. A positive view is reported for the potential impact of using SNS to counter loneliness, but mainly for socially isolated older individuals, while only a few find online...
Older adults are at risk of psychological consequences along home segregation during COVID‐19 pan... more Older adults are at risk of psychological consequences along home segregation during COVID‐19 pandemic. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are crucial in such context even among older people. Aim: to explore the impact of being ICTusers on loneliness and ICTs use among older adults from pre to lockdown period.
OBJECTIVES Retrospective observational study aiming at testing whether different education levels... more OBJECTIVES Retrospective observational study aiming at testing whether different education levels in older adults are associated with the rehabilitation outcome. STUDY DESIGN The study planned to cover all patients of over 65 rehabilitated from 2015 to 2017 at Golgi-Redaelli, a large government-funded rehabilitation Institute in Northern Italy comprising of three centers. Different administrative datasets were linked to investigate the factors associated with the functional outcome. The cohort resulted in 2,486 older adults for whom information on education and rehabilitation outcome was available. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Rehabilitation outcome was measured with the Barthel Index testing the ability in basic activities of daily living and the Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment measuring stability and walking. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were run controlling for rehabilitation setting and center of care, age, gender, cognitive functioning and comorbidity. RESULTS Education resulted negatively associated with functional recovery. Patients with at least 8 years of education improved 2.24 point less in Barthel Index (out of100) and 0.70 points less in Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (out of 28) than the less educated patients. Results confirmed the importance of cognitive functioning in predicting rehabilitation outcome in older patients. CONCLUSIONS Different mechanisms can explain an unexpected negative association between education and rehabilitation outcome, when possible inequalities in access to care are controlled for by study design (the cohort was admitted to a NHS-funded institute). Additional studies are needed to confirm our results and to test more specific hypotheses about the degree of effectiveness of rehabilitation across socio-economic groups.
Background subjective cognitive decline (SCD) refers to the subjective experience of cognitive de... more Background subjective cognitive decline (SCD) refers to the subjective experience of cognitive decline in the absence of detectable cognitive impairment. SCD has been largely studied as a risk condition for cognitive decline. Empirical observations suggest that persons with SCD are heterogeneous, including individuals with early Alzheimer’s disease and others with psychological vulnerabilities and/or physical comorbidity. The semiology of SCD is still in its infancy, and the features predicting cognitive decline are poorly defined. The present study aims to identify subgroups of SCD using a data-driven approach and study their clinical evolution across 8 years. Methods the study population is the InveCe.Ab population-based cohort, including cognitively unimpaired people aged 70–74 years and followed for 8 years. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was carried out to identify distinct SCD subgroups based on nine clinical and cognitive features. Longitudinal changes by baseline SCD st...
Is intellectual activity important for the cognitive performance? Study on healthy elders living in Abbiategrasso, Italy, Sep 5, 2012
Abstract
Background. Dementia is a disease with a high social and economic impact. Even if a lot... more Abstract
Background. Dementia is a disease with a high social and economic impact. Even if a lot of studies were conducted to estimate the ‘dimension’ of this disease, less is known about the evolution of healthy subjects with and without a very good cognitive performance (CP). Objectives. The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between intellectual activity (IA) and CP in the healthy subjects aged 70-75 years. Methods. Data analysed in the present work were a part of InveCe.Ab study (Invecchiamento Cerebrale Abbiategrasso). A cross-sectional study was carried-out on people born in 1935-39, living in Abbiategrasso (Northern part of Italy) to estimate the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases and the impact of known and/or potential risk factors. 962 cognitive normal subjects (without dementia and mild cognitive impairment diagnosis) attending InveCe.Ab were enrolled in the present work. Depending on CP level, a subject was classified as ‘best cognitive performer’ (BCP) if she/he presented a score to Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) test higher than 75° percentile (=28.3 pts), otherwise she/he was defined ‘worst cognitive performer’(WCP). The IA was measured by asking about playing cards and crossword puzzle, reading, going to cinema/theatre, attending courses, taking holidays, doing voluntary works, artistic activities and listening to music. The crude associations were investigated by Pearson 2 test. The mutually adjusted association was estimated by C-Log-Log GLM and was expressed as Prevalence Ratio (PR) with 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI). The model was adjusted for the effect of sex, birth cohort and years of education. The stepwise variable selection procedure was applied. Significance level was set to 5%. Statistical analysis were performed using Stata10. Results. 257 subjects were BP. In univariate analysis a higher proportion of BP was found between subjects reading books (33.1% vs 20.6%, p<0.001), going to cinema or theatre (32.7% vs 25.4%, p=0.038), attending courses (54.1% vs 25.8%, p<0.001), doing voluntary work (34.9% vs 25.7%, p=0.030), artistic activity (38.0% vs 26.1%, p=0.029) and knit (32.1% vs 25.2%, p=0.035). In multivariate analysis, a higher prevalence of BP was found between subjects attending courses (RP=2.2, 95%CI: 1.3-3.6, p=0.002) and reading books (RP=1.5, 95%CI: 1.1-2.0, p=0.005), but a lower prevalence was evidenced between subjects taking long holidays (RP=0.8, 95%CI: 0.6-1.0, p=0.053). Conclusions. Reading books and attending courses seems to be important IA for the best CP in older healthy people, but additional analysis, taking into account other possible confounders, are needed.
Ospedale Beata Vergine di Mendrisio (CH) Scopo : L’obiettivo di questo studio e mettere in eviden... more Ospedale Beata Vergine di Mendrisio (CH) Scopo : L’obiettivo di questo studio e mettere in evidenza la comprensione delle emozioni nei malati di Alzheimer. L’abilita nell’interpretare le emozioni degli altri ha un ruolo importante nella qualita delle relazioni sociali, sia nei normali che nei dementi, e l’emozione espressa dal volto, nella specie umana, e un buon veicolo di informazioni sia attive che passive del proprio e altrui stato d’animo, predisponendo ad una azione conseguente al contesto sociale e situazionale (1). Nella demenza di Alzheimer la capacita comunicativa verbale viene prima o poi compromessa, e nella possibilita di comunicare acquistano sempre piu importanza veicoli non verbali come le espressioni corporee e quelle del volto in particolare. Infatti i circuiti cerebrali che sottendono al riconoscimento di un volto sono diversi da quelli che consentono di comprenderne l’espressione emotiva, legati all’amigdala, alla zona prefrontale e al giro cingolato piu comprome...
Older adults make little use of social networking sites (SNS). SNS has become essential for maint... more Older adults make little use of social networking sites (SNS). SNS has become essential for maintaining social contacts and countering loneliness in the current era marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. This study explores the attitudes of the oldest-old on SNS after attending a training course on SNS use. The study’s goals are to investigate their personal experiences, choices of use and to survey their views on the usefulness of SNS and its effects on mitigating loneliness for older people. The interviews were conducted in the context of the “Ageing in a Networked Society—Social Experiment Study.” The participants, who were randomly selected for the course on SNS use, agreed to be interviewed during the post-intervention evaluation ( N = 39). Results show SNS are mainly and productively used with relatives and friends. A positive view is reported for the potential impact of using SNS to counter loneliness, but mainly for socially isolated older individuals, while only a few find online...
Older adults are at risk of psychological consequences along home segregation during COVID‐19 pan... more Older adults are at risk of psychological consequences along home segregation during COVID‐19 pandemic. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are crucial in such context even among older people. Aim: to explore the impact of being ICTusers on loneliness and ICTs use among older adults from pre to lockdown period.
OBJECTIVES Retrospective observational study aiming at testing whether different education levels... more OBJECTIVES Retrospective observational study aiming at testing whether different education levels in older adults are associated with the rehabilitation outcome. STUDY DESIGN The study planned to cover all patients of over 65 rehabilitated from 2015 to 2017 at Golgi-Redaelli, a large government-funded rehabilitation Institute in Northern Italy comprising of three centers. Different administrative datasets were linked to investigate the factors associated with the functional outcome. The cohort resulted in 2,486 older adults for whom information on education and rehabilitation outcome was available. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Rehabilitation outcome was measured with the Barthel Index testing the ability in basic activities of daily living and the Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment measuring stability and walking. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were run controlling for rehabilitation setting and center of care, age, gender, cognitive functioning and comorbidity. RESULTS Education resulted negatively associated with functional recovery. Patients with at least 8 years of education improved 2.24 point less in Barthel Index (out of100) and 0.70 points less in Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (out of 28) than the less educated patients. Results confirmed the importance of cognitive functioning in predicting rehabilitation outcome in older patients. CONCLUSIONS Different mechanisms can explain an unexpected negative association between education and rehabilitation outcome, when possible inequalities in access to care are controlled for by study design (the cohort was admitted to a NHS-funded institute). Additional studies are needed to confirm our results and to test more specific hypotheses about the degree of effectiveness of rehabilitation across socio-economic groups.
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Papers by Mauro Colombo
Background. Dementia is a disease with a high social and economic impact. Even if a lot of studies were conducted to estimate the ‘dimension’ of this disease, less is known about the evolution of healthy subjects with and without a very good cognitive performance (CP). Objectives. The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between intellectual activity (IA) and CP in the healthy subjects aged 70-75 years. Methods. Data analysed in the present work were a part of InveCe.Ab study (Invecchiamento Cerebrale Abbiategrasso). A cross-sectional study was carried-out on people born in 1935-39, living in Abbiategrasso (Northern part of Italy) to estimate the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases and the impact of known and/or potential risk factors. 962 cognitive normal subjects (without dementia and mild cognitive impairment diagnosis) attending InveCe.Ab were enrolled in the present work. Depending on CP level, a subject was classified as ‘best cognitive performer’ (BCP) if she/he presented a score to Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) test higher than 75° percentile (=28.3 pts), otherwise she/he was defined ‘worst cognitive performer’(WCP). The IA was measured by asking about playing cards and crossword puzzle, reading, going to cinema/theatre, attending courses, taking holidays, doing voluntary works, artistic activities and listening to music. The crude associations were investigated by Pearson 2 test. The mutually adjusted association was estimated by C-Log-Log GLM and was expressed as Prevalence Ratio (PR) with 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI). The model was adjusted for the effect of sex, birth cohort and years of education. The stepwise variable selection procedure was applied. Significance level was set to 5%. Statistical analysis were performed using Stata10. Results. 257 subjects were BP. In univariate analysis a higher proportion of BP was found between subjects reading books (33.1% vs 20.6%, p<0.001), going to cinema or theatre (32.7% vs 25.4%, p=0.038), attending courses (54.1% vs 25.8%, p<0.001), doing voluntary work (34.9% vs 25.7%, p=0.030), artistic activity (38.0% vs 26.1%, p=0.029) and knit (32.1% vs 25.2%, p=0.035). In multivariate analysis, a higher prevalence of BP was found between subjects attending courses (RP=2.2, 95%CI: 1.3-3.6, p=0.002) and reading books (RP=1.5, 95%CI: 1.1-2.0, p=0.005), but a lower prevalence was evidenced between subjects taking long holidays (RP=0.8, 95%CI: 0.6-1.0, p=0.053). Conclusions. Reading books and attending courses seems to be important IA for the best CP in older healthy people, but additional analysis, taking into account other possible confounders, are needed.
Background. Dementia is a disease with a high social and economic impact. Even if a lot of studies were conducted to estimate the ‘dimension’ of this disease, less is known about the evolution of healthy subjects with and without a very good cognitive performance (CP). Objectives. The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between intellectual activity (IA) and CP in the healthy subjects aged 70-75 years. Methods. Data analysed in the present work were a part of InveCe.Ab study (Invecchiamento Cerebrale Abbiategrasso). A cross-sectional study was carried-out on people born in 1935-39, living in Abbiategrasso (Northern part of Italy) to estimate the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases and the impact of known and/or potential risk factors. 962 cognitive normal subjects (without dementia and mild cognitive impairment diagnosis) attending InveCe.Ab were enrolled in the present work. Depending on CP level, a subject was classified as ‘best cognitive performer’ (BCP) if she/he presented a score to Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) test higher than 75° percentile (=28.3 pts), otherwise she/he was defined ‘worst cognitive performer’(WCP). The IA was measured by asking about playing cards and crossword puzzle, reading, going to cinema/theatre, attending courses, taking holidays, doing voluntary works, artistic activities and listening to music. The crude associations were investigated by Pearson 2 test. The mutually adjusted association was estimated by C-Log-Log GLM and was expressed as Prevalence Ratio (PR) with 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI). The model was adjusted for the effect of sex, birth cohort and years of education. The stepwise variable selection procedure was applied. Significance level was set to 5%. Statistical analysis were performed using Stata10. Results. 257 subjects were BP. In univariate analysis a higher proportion of BP was found between subjects reading books (33.1% vs 20.6%, p<0.001), going to cinema or theatre (32.7% vs 25.4%, p=0.038), attending courses (54.1% vs 25.8%, p<0.001), doing voluntary work (34.9% vs 25.7%, p=0.030), artistic activity (38.0% vs 26.1%, p=0.029) and knit (32.1% vs 25.2%, p=0.035). In multivariate analysis, a higher prevalence of BP was found between subjects attending courses (RP=2.2, 95%CI: 1.3-3.6, p=0.002) and reading books (RP=1.5, 95%CI: 1.1-2.0, p=0.005), but a lower prevalence was evidenced between subjects taking long holidays (RP=0.8, 95%CI: 0.6-1.0, p=0.053). Conclusions. Reading books and attending courses seems to be important IA for the best CP in older healthy people, but additional analysis, taking into account other possible confounders, are needed.