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The prevalence of dementia and depression in Taiwanese institutionalized leprosy patients, and the effectiveness evaluation of reminiscence therapy—a longitudinal, single‐blind, randomized control study
Author(s) -
Su TsungWei,
Wu LiLing,
Lin ChingPo
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.2707
Subject(s) - geriatric depression scale , dementia , depression (economics) , medicine , population , clinical dementia rating , physical therapy , randomized controlled trial , psychology , psychiatry , cognition , disease , depressive symptoms , macroeconomics , environmental health , economics
Objective This study investigated the prevalence of depression and dementia in long‐term institutionalized older leprosy patients in Taiwan. We then examined the effectiveness of reminiscence group therapy on depressive symptoms and cognitive function in this population. Methods We recruited 129 long‐term institutionalized older leprosy patients in Taiwan and used the Geriatric Depression Scale—Short Form (GDS‐SF), the mini mental state examination (MMSE), and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale for outcome measurement. We then conducted a single‐blind, randomized, longitudinal quasi‐experimental analysis comparing the pre‐test and post‐test results of two equivalent groups at a 24‐week intervention interval. The intervention in the experimental group was three sessions of reminiscence group therapy per week, whereas that in the control group was weekly individual supportive interviews. Results The prevalence of dementia was 45.7–50.4% according to a CDR score ≥ 0.5 and an MMSE score < 25, and the prevalence of depression was 25% based on a GDS‐SF score ≥ 7. According to the Wilcoxon signed‐rank test, the GDS‐SF scores in the experimental group decreased significantly ( p = 0.02) after intervention as compared with that in the control group ( p = 0.22), whereas the MMSE scores in both groups remained steady. Conclusions The prevalence of dementia and depression in long‐term institutionalized older leprosy patients in Taiwan is high. Reminiscence group therapy has been confirmed effective on depression in this population, but its effectiveness on cognitive function requires further verification. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.