OBJECTIVES Research has been oriented toward elucidating the links between religion and mental health. The purpose of this article is to further our knowledge in this area by examining the effect of religious activity on depressive symptomatology among community-dwelling elderly persons with cancer. We also test whether these effects differ between Blacks and Whites. METHODS We use two waves ...

BACKGROUND Falls are common among community-dwelling elderly people and can have a considerable impact on quality of life and healthcare costs. People who have sustained a fall are at greater risk of falling again.We replicated a British randomised controlled trial which demonstrated the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary intervention programme to prevent falls. The objective is to describe t...

The purpose of this study was to develop appropriate somatosensory video game interventions on enhancing selective attention of institutional-dwelling elderly with disabilities. Fifty-eight participants aged 65~92 were recruited and divided into four groups, 4-week and 8-week experimental and two control groups, for evaluating the one-month carry-forward effects by Vienna Test System. Fourteen ...

BACKGROUND Mild parkinsonian signs (MPS) are a marker of incident dementia. They have been linked with cerebrovascular disease, which can be evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Also, if MPS are a marker for developing Alzheimer-type changes, hippocampal volume on MRI might be diminished in individuals with MPS. OBJECTIVE To examine white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume and to...

Falls become more frequent with increasing age, and studies have shown that around a third of elderly people living in the community have one or more falls each year. The consequences of falls are significant and include injury, physical deterioration, fear of falling, institutionalisation, and in some instances death. It is well recognised that fall-related risk factors are a major contributor...

The Stroop Color and Word Test is a measure of executive function that is commonly used in neuropsychological evaluations, but for which there are currently no normative date for elderly African American individuals. The present investigation examined the influence of demographic characteristics on this measure in a community-dwelling sample of 236 elderly African American adults (60-84 years o...

The article describes the process of identifying 100 community-dwelling elderly adults at risk for physical disability, yet not functionally disabled, for participation in a research project to develop appropriate exercise programs for at-risk elderly. Over a period of 14 months, initial contact was made with 941 older adults, 11% of whom (101 people) were eligible for and willing to complete a...

The incidence of falls, fall-related injuries, and fall-associated costs continue to rise along with the increase in the aging population. Community-based fall prevention programs for the elderly are proliferating in an attempt to address this health problem. Prevention programs vary widely in their scope, ranging from single intervention strategies to comprehensive multifactorial approaches. P...

Background: Elevated plasma homocysteine (hyperhomocysteinemia), an independent risk factor for vascular disease, has been reported to be inversely correlated with objective measures of cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer disease and in community-dwelling older adults. Objective: We evaluated the cross-sectional relation between total plasma homocysteine concentration and cognitive fu...

BACKGROUND Elevated plasma homocysteine (hyperhomocysteinemia), an independent risk factor for vascular disease, has been reported to be inversely correlated with objective measures of cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer disease and in community-dwelling older adults. OBJECTIVE We evaluated the cross-sectional relation between total plasma homocysteine concentration and cognitive fu...