The aim of this study was to investigate quality of life (QoL) changes in elderly psychiatric patients with and without frailty. Forty-six Dutch patients (67.4% women and 32.6% male, mean age 74.9...Show moreThe aim of this study was to investigate quality of life (QoL) changes in elderly psychiatric patients with and without frailty. Forty-six Dutch patients (67.4% women and 32.6% male, mean age 74.9 years (SD 7.3)) who were treated by Parnassia, Den Haag, a psychiatric hospital, were investigated in this study. Frailty was defined by the Fried Criteria and QoL was measured using the EuroQol EQ5d 3L which investigates the domains of mobility, self-care, activity, anxiety/depression, and pain/discomfort. Frailty was present in 11 of the 46 patients. Frailty was associated with worse overall QoL than non-frailty, with a moderate effect size; U = 72.0, p = .002, r = .458. Frail patients had significantly lower scores in the self-care domain at baseline than non-frail patients; U = 98.0, p = .003, r = .435. For all other domains, no significant differences between frail and non-frail groups were found at baseline. Frail and non-frail patients saw significant improvement in QoL between baseline and 1-year follow-up measures t = 3.809, df = 10, p = .003 and Z = 2.22, p = .027, r = .375 respectively. Frail patients saw improvements in all domains except activity, while non-frail patients saw improvements only in the domain of anxiety/depression. We found that treatment of frail patients has a large benefit on the patients’ QoL, which was greater than for those without frailty. In those who are frail, activity is the domain which improves the least and therefore we suggest activity as the area where researchers may target their efforts in future research and treatment possibilities.Show less
Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate whether there are differences in the prevalence of frailty in elderly psychiatric patients with different psychiatric disorders (psychotic...Show moreObjective: The aim of the current study was to investigate whether there are differences in the prevalence of frailty in elderly psychiatric patients with different psychiatric disorders (psychotic disorders, unipolar depressive disorders, bipolar disorders and anxiety disorders). In this study, frailty was defined by the Fried criteria. In addition, two screening instruments (GFI/TFI) and two frailty components (handgrip strength and walking speed) were used to investigate differences between the four groups of patients with different psychiatric disorders. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including 131 participants (81 inpatients and 50 outpatients) aged 65 years and older without dementia, who were registered at the old age psychiatry department of Parnassia Group in The Hague. Results: Based on the Fried-criteria, 29.8% of the total group in this study was frail. In this sample, no significant differences in the prevalence of frailty were found between groups of patients with different psychiatric disorders using the Fried-criteria. Also, there were no significant differences between the mean scores at the frailty components handgrip strength and/or walking speed between groups of patients with different psychiatric disorders. In contrast, significant differences in the mean scores on the GFI and the TFI between groups of patients with different psychiatric disorders were found. Conclusion: The prevalence of frailty is relatively high in elderly patients with psychiatric disorders. In this study, we only found significant differences between groups of patients with different psychiatric disorders using screening instrument for frailty. Since this is one of the first studies to analyze these differences additional research is therefore recommended.Show less
This study investigates the results of a high intensive residential trauma-focussed therapy programme. The main hypotheses were that (1) PTSD patients with a history of CSA report a clinically...Show moreThis study investigates the results of a high intensive residential trauma-focussed therapy programme. The main hypotheses were that (1) PTSD patients with a history of CSA report a clinically significant decrease in their PTSD symptoms after treatment, and (2) PTSD patients with a history of CSA would profit equally from trauma-focused treatment as PTSD patients without a history of CSA. Methods: Patients were 76 individuals who participated in a five-day treatment program consisting of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), prolonged exposure (PE) sessions, and trauma-sensitive yoga. The severity of PTSD symptoms was assessed with the PCL-5 at pre- and post-treatment, at one-week follow-up, and at a one-month follow-up. Pre-post differences were calculated and compared between the two trauma conditions (i.e., patients with a history of CSA, and no CSA). Results: Treatment resulted in a significant short term decrease of PTSD symptoms, which was mostly maintained at follow-up. Although patients with a history of CSA showed significantly higher PTSD symptom severity at pre- and post-treatment compared to those without a history of CSA, no significant pre-post differences were found between the two groups. Longer term decrease in PTSD symptoms was significant for patients without a history of CSA, but was not strong enough to be significant for patients with a history of CSA. Clinical significance of the treatment was demonstrated for half of the participants. Conclusion: Results suggest that intensive treatment for PTSD might be a possible therapeutic option for PTSD patients with a history of CSA.Show less
