Broadly speaking, our data strongly favor the widespread substitution of the MMSE with the 3MS in older adults with concerns for cognitive decline.

Introduction: Research in human caregiving shows burden is often present in the caregiver and can be reduced by interventions that increase positive perceptions of caregiving. Recent work suggests burden is also present in owners of a seriously ill companion animal. To help determine if findings from the human caregiving literature are likely to generalize to companion animal caregiving, we undertook a comparison of burden and positive aspects of caregiving in these groups.Material and Methods: Caregivers recruited through social media disease support and information groups completed self-report questionnaires of burden and positive aspects of caregiving in an online research protocol. Owners of a seriously ill companion animal (n = 117) and caregivers of a family member with dementia (n = 252) were cross-sectionally compared. Analyses in the full sample were repeated in a subset (n = 75 per group) of caregivers with blindly matched demographic profiles.Results: Burden was elevated in both dementia and companion animal caregiver groups, though higher overall for dementia caregivers (p < 0.001 for full and matched samples). In contrast, greater positive aspects of caregiving were reported by companion animal caregivers (p < 0.001 for full and matched samples). In both groups, positive aspects of caregiving were negatively associated with burden (full sample p < 0.001; matched sample p < 0.05). Exploratory item analyses suggested the two groups show comparable experiences of fearing the future, guilt, and financial strain (p = ns for full and matched sample).Discussion: Although both groups showed elevated burden, companion animal caregivers reported less burden and a more positive appraisal of caregiving. Elements of burden showing similarities across groups provide a foundation for understanding caregiver burden in the companion animal owner. The inverse correlation between positive aspects of caregiving and burden suggests the impact of positive caregiving experiences should be considered in burden interventions, but because companion animal owners already positively appraise caregiving, enhancing positive aspects of caregiving may not offset burden as it does in human caregiving samples.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Background Yoga is a low risk intervention that is accessible, adaptable for older adults, easily incorporated into daily life, and potentially sustainable. It combines mental and physical practice and includes instruction on breathing, stress reduction, and mindfulness meditation. Previous research documents that yoga can target modifiable risk factors for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) progression, including stress, depression, cardiovascular health, insulin resistance, and inflammation. We describe a pilot randomized trial of yoga for individuals with MCI. Methods Participants were 37 individuals with amnestic MCI who were randomly assigned to receive 12 weeks of twice‐weekly yoga intervention (YI; n = 18) or healthy living education classes (HLE; n = 19). The yoga classes were 60‐min, designed for safety (using props and chairs), and followed a fixed sequence of breathing practices, meditation, warmups, standing and seated postures, simple inversions, and relaxation. HLE classes involved interactive discussion and presentations addressing topics relevant to aging and cognitive impairment. Participants completed neuropsychological and mood measures at baseline and immediately post‐intervention. Results There were no group differences for age, education, race, sex, class attendance rates, or percent taking dementia medications. Results of ANCOVA, controlling for baseline scores, did not show any statistically significant differences in neuropsychological domains between the groups. However, medium effect sizes in favor of the YI were seen for visuospatial skills (Cohen’s d = 0.47) and executive functioning/working memory (Cohen’s d = 0.58). Minimal to small effects were found for attention/speed, language, and learning and memory. The yoga group showed significant declines in perceived stress compared to HLE (p<0.05; Cohen’s d = 0.74). Surprisingly, HLE resulted in significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms after the intervention compared to the YI (p<0.05; Cohen’s d = 0.78). Conclusions Although small sample sizes likely impacted our ability to detect statistically significant results, these findings indicate that the YI was feasible and may improve aspects of neuropsychological functioning in individuals with MCI. Results support stress reduction as a possible mechanism for the YI. The interactive nature of HLE class may explain its effect on mood. Future studies should address a yoga intervention in a larger sample.

No abstract

No abstract