Forskningsartikler

Background: Spouses of people with young-onset frontotemporal dementia (YO-FTD) (age 65 years or younger) encounter special challenges. The diagnosis is scarcely known; the early onset is unexpected; and the disease is characterized by symptoms varying from those of other types of dementia. Caring implies increasing hardships, which can be difficult to communicate to others when applying for support. Metaphors create and communicate meaning and are increasingly used in health care and health interventions as ways to better understand the situation.
Aim: To examine the experiences of spouses of people with YO-FTD and their needs for care and support as expressed through metaphors in narratives of their experiences during the development of the dementia.
Methods: Qualitative interviews with 16 informants (ten women, six men) were conducted in 2014/2015. They were recruited from seven memory clinics, one municipality dementia team, and a nursing home. Steger’s three-step method for analyzing metaphors was applied.
Findings: The core metaphors cover experiences of the dementia and the transformation of the spouse, changed roles and relationships between spouses, the transformation of the self, a radical turn of existential life, and relationships with others. Metaphors are words and phrases used to talk about complicated, contradictory, shameful, and/or normatively difficult feelings and reactions as caring spouses. The open themes and, at the same time, provide verbal shields and defences. Metaphors are especially effective for expressing the strength of the reactions in caring as emotional work and are tools for mastering emotions and challenges in life.
Conclusion: Metaphors give insights into the significant experiences of spouses of partners with YO-FTD and offer personnel in health services a better understanding of their needs for tailored support and help.

Kirsten Thorsen og Aud Johannessen

Background:  Having accurate, up-to-date information on the epidemiology of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia is imperative.
Objective:  To determine the prevalence of MCI and dementia in Norway using data from a large population-based study.
Methods:  All people 70 + years of age, n = 19,403, in the fourth wave of the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT4) were invited to participate in the study HUNT4 70 + . Trained health personnel assessed participants using cognitive tests at a field station, at homes, or at their nursing home. Interviewers also completed a structured carer questionnaire in regard to participants suspected of having dementia. Clinical experts made diagnoses according to DSM-5 criteria. We calculated prevalence weighing the data to ensure population representativeness.
Results:  A total of 9,930 (51.1%) of the possible 19,403 people participated, and 9,663 of these had sufficient information for analysis. Standardized prevalence of dementia and MCI was 14.6% (95% confidence interval (CI) 13.9-15.4) and 35.3% (95% CI 34.3-36.4), respectively. Dementia was more prevalent in women and MCI more prevalent in men. The most prevalent dementia subtype was Alzheimer’s disease (57%). By adding data collected from a study of persons ≤70 years in the same region, we estimate that there are 101,118 persons with dementia in Norway in 2020, and this is projected to increase to 236,789 and 380,134 in 2050 and 2100, respectively.
Conclusion:  We found a higher prevalence of dementia and MCI than most previous studies. The present prevalence and future projections are vital for preparing for future challenges to the healthcare system and the entire society.

Linda Gjøra, Bjørn Heine Strand, Sverre Bergh, Tom Borza, Anne Brækhus, Knut Engedal, Aud Johannessen, Marte Kvello-Alme, Steinar Krokstad, Gill Livingston, Fiona E Matthews, Christian Myrstad, Håvard Skjellegrind, Pernille Thingstad, Eivind Aakhus, Stina Aam, Geir Selbæk.

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Objectives: To explore factors from the acute phase, and after three and 12 months, associated with level of self-reported physical activity 12 months after a minor ischemic stroke with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≤ 3 in persons 70 years or younger.
Materials and method: In this longitudinal cohort study patients were recruited consecutively from two stroke units. Activity level were measured with three sets of questions addressing the average number of frequency (times exercising each week), the average intensity, and duration (the average time), and a sum score was constructed. The association between physical activity 12 months after stroke and sociodemographic factors, NIHSS, body mass index, balance, and neuropsychiatric symptoms were explored using multiple linear regression.
Results: This study included 101 patients, with mean age (SD) 55.5 (11.4) years, NIHSS median (Q1, Q3) 0.0 (0.0, 1.0), and 20 % were female. Multiple linear regression analyses showed sick leave status at stroke onset, balance at three and 12 months, and anxiety, depression, apathy, and fatigue at 12 months to be factors associated with physical activity at 12 months after stroke.
Conclusion: We found that pre-stroke sick leave, post-stroke balance, and neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with the level of physical activity one year after minor stroke. This might be of importance when giving information about physical activity and deciding about post-stroke follow-up.

Charlotta Hamre, Brynjar Fure, Jorunn Lægdheim Helbostad, Torgeir Bruun Wyller, Hege Ihle-Hansen, Georgios Vlachos, Marie Helene Ursin, Gro Gujord Tangen.

Objectives: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are associated with dementia severity and progression rate. NPS clusters have different neurobiological underpinnings; therefore, their effect on dementia progression may differ. Further, little is known about whether individual comorbidities affect progression rate. We investigated the effect of NPS clusters and individual comorbidities on dementia progression.
Methods: A memory clinic cohort with all-cause dementia (N = 442), was followed for up to three years from diagnosis. Previously, we found trajectory groups of dementia progression in this cohort: one with slow progression and two with rapid progression. In the present study, using principal component analysis, three symptom clusters of NPS were on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q): agitation, affective, and psychosis symptom clusters. Data regarding comorbidity were collected by linkage to the Norwegian patient registry. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to explore the association between NPS clusters and comorbidity with trajectory-group membership.
Results: Adjusted for demographics, dementia aetiology, comorbidity, and cognition, we found that, at the time of dementia diagnosis, for every point within the psychosis symptom cluster of the NPI-Q, the risk of rapid progression increased by 53%; for every point within the affective symptom cluster, the risk of rapid progression increased by 29%. A previous diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders (excluding dementia) decreased the risk of rapid dementia progression by 65%.
Conclusions: Psychosis and affective symptom clusters at the time of diagnosis were associated with rapid progression of dementia. Previous diagnoses of mental and behavioural disorders (excluding dementia) were associated with slow progression. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Trine Holt Edwin, Bjørn Heine Strand, Karin Persson, Knut Engedal, Geir Selbæk, Anne-Brita Knapskog.