OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effects of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program on cognition, quality of life, and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.METHOD:The present study was a single-blind, controlled study that was conducted at a university-based day-hospital memory facility. The study included 25 Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers and involved a 12-week stimulation and psychoeducational program. The comparison group consisted of 16 Alzheimer's patients in waiting lists for future intervention.INTERVENTION:Group sessions were provided by a multiprofessional team and included memory training, computer-assisted cognitive stimulation, expressive activities (painting, verbal expression, writing), physiotherapy, and physical training. Treatment was administered twice a week during 6.5-h gatherings.MEASUREMENTS:The assessment battery comprised the following tests: Mini-Mental State Examination, Short Cognitive Test, Quality of Life in Alzheimer's disease, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, and Geriatric Depression Scale. Test scores were evaluated at baseline and the end of the study by raters who were blinded to the group assignments.RESULTS:Measurements of global cognitive function and performance on attention tasks indicated that patients in the experimental group remained stable, whereas controls displayed mild but significant worsening. The intervention was associated with reduced depression symptoms for patients and caregivers and decreased neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's subjects. The treatment was also beneficial for the patients' quality of life.CONCLUSION:This multimodal rehabilitation program was associated with cognitive stability and significant improvements in the quality of life for Alzheimer's patients. We also observed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms and caregiver burden. These results support the notion that structured nonpharmacological interventions can yield adjunct and clinically relevant benefits in dementia treatment.

Being frail may be associated with cognitive decline, thus, gerontological assessments and interventions should consider that these forms of vulnerability may occur simultaneously.

Our data suggest that being frail is associated with worse cognitive performance, as assessed by the MMSE. It is recommended that the assessment of frail older adults should include the investigation of their cognitive status.

ResumoIndicadores de atitudes etárias representados por categorização e identifi cação etária e suas relações com variáveis sociodemográfi cas e de saúde física e emocional foram investigados entre idosos residentes na comunidade. A amostra foi composta por 302 idosos participantes do Estudo FIBRA -Fragilidade em Idosos Brasileiros (Pólo Universidade Estadual de Campinas [Unicamp]; M = 72,3 anos; DP = 5,76; 64,6% mulheres), com escolaridade média de 3,32 anos (DP = 2,61) e renda de um a três salários mínimos (53,7%). A existência e atribuição de idade para início da velhice foram tomadas como indicadoras de categorização etária e o autorrelato de sentir-se idoso indicou identifi cação etária. Embora a maior parte dos idosos tenha atribuído uma idade para esse início (M = 62,3 anos; DP = 14,66), a maioria (60,3%) não se identifi cou como pertencente a essa categoria etária. Escolaridade, fragilidade e satisfação com a vida revelaram ser importantes preditores dessas atitudes em relação à velhice. Palavras-chave: Atitudes, idosos, envelhecimento. AbstractThis study investigated age categorization and identifi cation among elderly living in the community and their relationship with sociodemographic variables and physical and emotional health. The sample consisted of 302 elderly participants in the FIBRA study -Fragilidade em Idosos Brasileiros (Polo Universidade Estadual de Campinas [Unicamp]; M = 72.3 years old, SD = 5.76; 64.6% women), with average education of 3.32 years (SD = 2.61) and income from one to three minimum wages (53.7%). The belief of existence and age attributed to the onset of old age were taken as indicators of age categorization and the self-report of feeling like an elderly person was taken as age identifi cation. Although most elderly have assigned an age for the onset of old age (M = 62.3 anos; SD =14.66), most (60.3%) are not identifi ed as belonging to this age category. Education, frailty and life satisfaction were found to be important predictors of these attitudes towards old age.