Group Activities For People With Dementia

Results from a dissertation in Umee University found that an active exercise program and a non-exercise group activity lowered the depressive symptoms of elderly patients with dementia.
The author of the dissertation and doctoral student at the Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gustaf Bostrvm, clarifies, Unfortunately, depression is common among older people, especially in people with dementia.
He also adds, Treatment with antidepressant drugs is often ineffective in older people and people with dementia. In addition, the risk of drug-related side effects increases with higher age and poor health, which is yet another reason to find other treatments.
Bostrvm examined the two groups. The exercise group participated in a 45-minute exercise every other weekday for four months. This includes balance and leg strengthening exercises. The non-exercise group performed songs, listened to readings, and conversed with each other with the same duration and frequency.
It was found that there were no major differences in effect between the two groups however; the results show that depressive symptoms among the elderly were significantly decreased.
Bostrvm continued, Previous studies have shown that people with dementia at residential care facilities have few social interactions, which can negatively affect a person's well-being. The positive effects could therefore be the results of social interactions in these kinds of group activities. However, more research is needed to confirm this.
He looked into the link in impaired balance and depression in the elderly. There were 392 participants, and the findings indicate that there is indeed a connection between the impaired balance and depressive state.
Bostrvm comments, The link between impaired balance, dependency in transfer or dressing, and depression is an important finding and may be the subject of future studies focusing on prevention or treatment of depression among people in older age.
Gustaf Bostrvm evaluated the possibility of increased mortality rate for the elderly undergoing a continuous antidepressant treatment. The results came up and depicted that the likelihood of these groups to be at risk is very slim but there are gender differences to be considered.
For the elderly patients, women showed to be more at risk with antidepressant use compared to men. If we take Dementia as a factor, it shows that antidepressant use in men is relevant to a lower mortality risk.
These results imply that there are a lot of factors that should be deliberated. It suggests the need to further study these issues in the future.