Impulsive–aggressive behavior is a significant challenge in geriatric psychiatry and requires professional evaluation and management.

SOAS-R scales (Staff Observation Aggression Scale-Revision) completed by medical staff on three secure psychiatric wards were analyzed during a period of 12 months. Patients were subdivided into the following two diagnostic subgroups: dementia and other diagnoses.

A total of 146 aggressive incidents involving 66 patients were reported (8.8% of patients treated during this period, n = 752). Fifty-seven percent of the incidents involved patients with dementia. In 20% of the incidents, no precipitating event could be identified; this was more common in patients without dementia (p = 0.005). The medical condition of the patient was considered the trigger in 55% of the cases. Aggression was directed at nurses in 82% of the cases. Visible injury was reported in 12 cases, 3 of which required medical treatment. Male gender, the presence of previous aggressive incidents, and the evening shift (in the case of dementia patients) were identified as risk factors.

Aggression in dementia is often reactive and seems to be more predictable than if occurring with other diagnoses. Prevention measures such as de-escalations techniques, warning notes in the patient's file with previous aggressive behavior and stepping up for evening shifts are of crucial importance. As nurses were primarily affected, employer support programs, and mental health interventions are proposed to avoid long-term consequences.

Advance directives are important for nursing home residents with dementia; for those with advanced dementia, surrogates determine medical decisions. However, in Taiwan, little is known about what influences the completion of these advance directives. The purpose of this study was to identify factors, which influence the presence of advance directives for nursing home residents with dementia in Taiwan.

Our cross-sectional study analyzed a convenience sample of 143 nursing home dyads comprised of residents with dementia and family surrogates. Documentation of residents’ advance directives, physical and cognitive status was obtained from medical charts. Surrogates completed the stress of end-of-life care decision scale and a questionnaire regarding their demographic characteristics. Nursing home characteristics were obtained from each chief administrator.

Less than half of the nursing home residents (39.2%) had advance directives and most (96.4%) had been completed by family surrogates. The following were predictors of an advance directive: surrogates had previously signed a do-not-resuscitate as a proxy and had been informed of advance directives by a healthcare provider; nursing homes had policies for advance directives and a religious affiliation.

Advance directives were uncommon for nursing home residents with dementia. Presence of an advance directive was associated with surrogate characteristics and the nursing home facilities; there was no association with characteristics of the nursing home resident. Our findings emphasize the need to develop policies and strategies, which ensure that all residents of nursing homes and their surrogates are aware of their right to an advance directive.

Our objective was to examine and describe the common socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of first time older sex offenders.

Research papers published in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and EMBASE were searched systematically. Following removal of duplicates and irrelevant papers, a total of 423 papers were reviewed to determine whether the selection criteria were met. A total of seven publications were included and evaluated by two researchers.

Of the seven publications, there were two retrospective research studies and five case reports. There was a higher proportion of neurocognitive disorder in this offender group and the victims were usually vulnerable individuals. Yet, cognitive assessments were rarely done or reported. Two subtypes of older sex offenders were identified: (i) offenders who had offended in the past but were not previously detected; (ii) first-time offenders with a high proportion of neurocognitive disorder.

There is a paucity of research in first time sex offending by older people. This review has highlighted a need for better designed studies to explore the characteristics of older sex offenders. Better collaboration between forensic and old-age psychiatric services is required for improved assessment and management of older sex offenders.

A dearth of population-based epidemiological research examines neuropsychiatric symptom (NPS) in sub-clinical populations across the spectrum from normal aging to mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The construct of mild behavioral impairment (MBI) describes the emergence of sustained and impactful NPS in advance of or in combination with MCI. This is the first epidemiological study to operationalize the recently published diagnostic criteria for MBI and determine prevalence estimates across the spectrum from cognitively normal to MCI.

MBI was assessed in 1,377 older (age range 72–79 years; 52% male; MCI ;= 133; cognitively normal, but-at-risk = 397; cognitively healthy = 847). MBI was assessed in accordance with the ISTAART-AA diagnostic criteria for MBI using the neuropsychiatric inventory.

34.1% of participants met the criteria for MBI. High prevalence of MBI across the cognitive spectrum was reported (48.9% vs. 43.1% vs. 27.6%). Irrespective of level of cognitive impairment, impulse dyscontrol (33.8% vs. 28.7% vs. 17.2%) and decreased motivation (32.3% vs. 26.2% vs. 16.3%) were the most frequently met MBI domains. MBI was more prevalent in men (χ2 = 4.98, p = 0.026), especially the domains of decreased motivation and impulse dyscontrol.

This study presents the first population-based prevalence estimates for MBI using the recently published ISTAART-AA diagnostic criteria. Findings indicate relatively high prevalence of MBI in pre-dementia clinical states and amongst cognitively healthy older adults. Findings were gender-specific, with MBI affecting more men than women. Knowing the estimates of these symptoms in the population is essential for understanding and differentiating the very early development of clinical disorders.

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) updated their practice parameters in the evaluation of driving risk in dementia and developed a Caregiver Driving Safety Questionnaire, detailed in their original manuscript (Iverson Gronseth, Reger, Classen, Dubinsky, & Rizzo, 2010). They described four factors associated with decreased driving ability in dementia patients: history of crashes or citations, informant-reported concerns, reduced mileage, and aggressive driving.

An informant-reported AAN Caregiver Driving Safety Questionnaire was designed with these elements, and the current study was the first to explore the factor structure of this questionnaire. Additionally, we examined associations between these factors and cognitive and behavioral measures in patients with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease and their informants.

Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-component structure, consistent with the theory behind the AAN scale composition. These four factor scores also were significantly associated with performance on cognitive screening instruments and informant reported behavioral dysfunction. Regressions revealed that behavioral dysfunction predicted caregiver concerns about driving safety beyond objective patient cognitive dysfunction.

In this first known quantitative exploration of the scale, our results support continued use of this scale in office driving safety assessments. Additionally, patient behavioral changes predicted caregiver concerns about driving safety over and above cognitive status, which suggests that caregivers may benefit from psychoeducation about cognitive factors that may negatively impact driving safety.

Mild behavioral impairment (MBI) describes later life acquired, sustained neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in cognitively normal individuals or those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), as an at-risk state for incident cognitive decline and dementia. We developed an operational definition of MBI and tested whether the presence of MBI was related to caregiver burden in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or MCI assessed at a memory clinic.

MBI was assessed in 282 consecutive memory clinic patients with SCD (n = 119) or MCI (n = 163) in accordance with the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment – Alzheimer's Association (ISTAART–AA) research diagnostic criteria. We operationalized a definition of MBI using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q). Caregiver burden was assessed using the Zarit caregiver burden scale. Generalized linear regression was used to model the effect of MBI domains on caregiver burden.

While MBI was more prevalent in MCI (85.3%) than in SCD (76.5%), this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.06). Prevalence estimates across MBI domains were affective dysregulation (77.8%); impulse control (64.4%); decreased motivation (51.7%); social inappropriateness (27.8%); and abnormal perception or thought content (8.7%). Affective dysregulation (p = 0.03) and decreased motivation (p=0.01) were more prevalent in MCI than SCD patients. Caregiver burden was 3.35 times higher when MBI was present after controlling for age, education, sex, and MCI (p < 0.0001).

MBI was common in memory clinic patients without dementia and was associated with greater caregiver burden. These data show that MBI is a common and clinically relevant syndrome.

In this paper, we report progress on “Neighborhoods: our people, our places” an international study about how people living with dementia interact with their neighborhoods. The ideas of social health and citizenship are drawn upon to contextualize the data and make a case for recognizing and understanding the strengths and agency of people with dementia. In particular, we address the lived experience of the environment as a route to better understanding the capabilities, capacities, and competencies of people living with dementia. In doing this, our aim is to demonstrate the contribution of social engagement and environmental support to social health.

The study aims to “map” local spaces and networks across three field sites (Manchester, Central Scotland and Linkoping, Sweden). It employs a mix of qualitative and participatory approaches that include mobile and visual methods intended to create knowledge that will inform the design and piloting of a neighborhood-based intervention.

Our research shows that the neighborhood plays an active role in the lives of people with dementia, setting limits, and constraints but also offering significant opportunities, encompassing forms of help and support as yet rarely discussed in the field of dementia studies. The paper presents new and distinctive insights into the relationship between neighborhoods and everyday life for people with dementia that have important implications for the debate on social health and policy concerning dementia friendly communities.

We end by reflecting on the messages for policy and practice that are beginning to emerge from this on-going study.

A single-item depression measure may not be adequate in capturing the complex entity of mental health, despite wide use of this indicator in community studies. This study evaluated the accuracy of a single-question depression measure in comparison to two composite indices–the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).

A total of 800 elderly participants ranging from 60 to 89 years of age and residing in Seoul were recruited using a multistage sampling scheme in 2015. The survey was conducted by trained interviewers with a constructed questionnaire. Reliability and validity measures such as the Kappa index, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and AUC were used to evaluate the accuracy of the single question measure. Socio-demographic group differences in accuracy were compared by age, sex, marital status, education, employment, and financial status.

The prevalence of depression by a single-question measure was much lower than those of CESD and GDS (5.5%, 12.3%, and 12.1%, respectively). The sensitivity of the single-item measure, based on CESD and GDS, was extremely low at 30.6% and 36.1%. In the subgroup analysis, however, there was a marked educational discrepancy in all accuracy measures; in sensitivity, people with a university degree or higher showed about 2.4 times higher sensitivity than those having only a primary school education.

The results show that a single-question depression measure should be used with caution. In addition, the single-question measure could substantially underestimate depression among the risk group of older adults.

A detailed neuropsychological assessment plays an important role in the diagnostic process of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). However, available brief cognitive screening tests for this clinical population are administered and interpreted based mainly, or exclusively, on total achievement scores. This score-based approach can lead to erroneous clinical interpretations unless we also pay attention to the test taking behavior or to the type of errors committed during test performance.

The goal of the current study is to perform a rapid review of the literature regarding cognitive screening tools for dementia in primary and secondary care; this will include revisiting previously published systematic reviews on screening tools for dementia, extensive database search, and analysis of individual references cited in selected studies.

A subset of representative screening tools for dementia was identified that covers as many cognitive functions as possible. How these screening tools overlap with each other (in terms of the cognitive domains being measured and the method used to assess them) was examined and a series of process-based approach (PBA) modifications for these overlapping features was proposed, so that the changes recommended in relation to one particular cognitive task could be extrapolated to other screening tools.

It is expected that future versions of cognitive screening tests, modified using a PBA, will highlight the benefits of attending to qualitative features of test performance when trying to identify subtle features suggestive of MCI and/or dementia.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) (formerly called social phobia) is among the most common mental health diagnoses among older adults; however, the research on late-life social anxiety is scarce. A limited number of studies have examined the assessment and diagnosis of social anxiety disorder in this population, and there are few social anxiety measures that are validated for use with older adults. One such measure, the Older Adult Social Evaluative Scale (OASES), was designed for use with this population, but until now has lacked validation against a gold-standard diagnostic interview.

Using a sample of 47 community-dwelling older adults (aged 60 years and over) with anxiety, the present study compared OASES performance to that of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders (SCID-5), as well as other measures of anxiety and depression.

The OASES demonstrated convergent validity with other measures of anxiety, and demonstrated discriminant validity on other measures (e.g. depression, somatic symptoms). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that a cut-point of ≥76 optimized sensitivity and specificity compared to SCID-5 derived diagnoses of social anxiety disorder.

This study is the first study to provide psychometric validation for the OASES and one of the first to administer the SCID-5 to an older adult sample. In addition to establishing a clinically significant cut-off, this study also describes the clinical utility of the OASES, which can be used to identify distressing situations, track anxiety severity, and monitor behavioral avoidance across a variety of social situations.

In April 2016, the Japanese government introduced an additional benefit for dementia care in acute care hospitals (dementia care benefit) into the universal benefit schedule of public healthcare insurance program. The benefit includes a financial disincentive to use physical restraint. The present study investigated the association between the dementia care benefit and the use of physical restraint among inpatients with dementia in general acute care settings.

A national cross-sectional study design was used. Eight types of care units from acute care hospitals under the public healthcare insurance program were invited to participate in this study. A total of 23,539 inpatients with dementia from 2,355 care units in 937 hospitals were included for the analysis. Dementia diagnosis or symptoms included any signs of cognitive impairment. The primary outcome measure was “use of physical restraint.”

Among patients, the point prevalence of physical restraint was 44.5% (n = 10,480). Controlling for patient, unit, and hospital characteristics, patients in units with dementia care benefit had significantly lower percentage of physical restraint than those in any other units (42.0% vs. 47.1%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.76; 95% confident interval [0.63, 0.92]).

The financial incentive may have reduced the risk of physical restraint among patients with dementia in acute care hospitals. However, use of physical restraint was still common among patients with dementia in units with the dementia care benefit. An educational package to guide dementia care approach including the avoidance of physical restraint by healthcare professionals in acute care hospitals is recommended.

Caring for persons with dementia (PWD) can create “caregiver burden,” which is associated with negative outcomes for caregivers and PWD. The ZBI (Zarit Burden Interview) is a widely used unitary measure of caregiver burden. However, recent research has found caregiver burden to be multi-dimensional. The purpose of this study was to explore the factor structure of the ZBI within a sample of UK caregivers. A secondary aim was to identify variables that predicted burden dimensions found.

A total of 110 unpaid community caregivers of PWD completed the ZBI. They also completed the EACQ (Experiential Avoidance in Caregiving Questionnaire), DEX (Dysexecutive Questionnaire), PACS (Positive Aspects of Caregiving Scale), and a demographic questionnaire. ZBI data were analyzed via exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factoring). Relationships between burden factors and other variables were studied using Pearson correlations and multiple regression.

Analysis identified three burden factors, namely direct impact of caregiving, uncertainty around the future, and frustration/embarrassment. A direct impact of caregiving and frustration/embarrassment has been found previously. Uncertainty over the future is a new factor, which was predicted by adult-child caregiver role, highlighting that spouses and adult children are likely to have different burden experiences. Additionally, uncertainty over the future and frustration/embarrassment were inversely predicted by PACS, suggesting that being mindful of positive aspects of caregiving may function as a protective factor for burden.

This study found caregiver burden to be multi-dimensional and uncovered a novel factor in uncertainty over the future, which warrants further exploration. Burden factors were associated with a range of modifiable variables that could be targeted within health and social care interventions to improve outcomes for caregivers and PWD.

Cognition is multidimensional, and each domain plays a unique and crucial part in successful daily life engagement. However, less attention has been paid to multi-domain cognitive health for the elderly, and the role of lifestyle factors in each domain remains unclear.

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 3,230 older adults aged 60+ years in Xiamen, China, in 2016. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used to measure general cognition and six specific sub-domains. To account for educational effects, we adjusted the MoCA score and divided respondents into three education-specific groups (low, moderate, and high education groups with ≤5, 6~8, and ≥9 years of education, respectively). A series of proportional odds models were used to detect the associations between two categories of lifestyle factors – substance abuse (cigarette and alcohol) and leisure activity (TV watching, reading, smartphone use, social activity, and exercise) – and general cognition and the six sub-domains in those three groups.

Among the 3,230 respondents, 2,617 eligible participants were included with a mean age of 69.05 ± 7.07 years. Previous or current smoking/drinking was not associated with MoCA scores in the whole population, but unexpectedly, the ex-smokers in the low education group performed better in general cognition (OR = 2.22) and attention (OR = 2.05) than their never-smoking counterparts. Modest TV watching, reading, and smartphone use also contributed to better cognition among elderly participants in the low education group. For the highly educated elderly, comparatively longer reading (>3.5 hours/week) was inversely associated with general cognition (OR = 0.53), memory (OR = 0.59), and language (OR = 0.54), while adequate exercise (5~7 days/week) was positively related to these factors with OR = 1.48, OR = 1.49, and OR = 1.53, respectively. For the moderately educated elderly, only modest reading was significantly beneficial.

Lifestyle factors play different roles in multidimensional cognitive health in different educational groups, indicating that individual intervention strategies should be designed according to specific educational groups and different cognitive sub-domains.

To (i) systematically identify and review strategies employed by community dwelling lonely older people to manage their loneliness and (ii) develop a model for managing loneliness.

A narrative synthesis review of English-language qualitative evidence, following Economic and Social Research Council guidance. Seven electronic databases were searched (1990–January 2017). The narrative synthesis included tabulation, thematic analysis, and conceptual model development. All co-authors assessed eligibility of final papers and reached a consensus on analytic themes.

From 3,043 records, 11 studies were eligible including a total of 502 older people. Strategies employed to manage loneliness can be described by a model with two overarching dimensions, one related to the context of coping (alone or with/in reference to others), the other related to strategy type (prevention/action or acceptance/endurance of loneliness). The dynamic and subjective nature of loneliness is reflected in the variety of coping mechanisms, drawing on individual coping styles and highlighting considerable efforts in managing time, contacting others, and keeping loneliness hidden. Cognitive strategies were used to re-frame negative feelings, to make them more manageable or to shift the focus from the present or themselves. Few unsuccessful strategies were described.

Strategies to manage loneliness vary from prevention/action through to acceptance and endurance. There are distinct preferences to cope alone or involve others; only those in the latter category are likely to engage with services and social activities. Older people who deal with their loneliness privately may find it difficult to articulate an inability to cope.

Years of education is the most commonly used proxy measure of cognitive reserve. Other forms of cognitive stimulation in childhood may provide similar protection against cognitive decline, particularly in Indigenous groups, where education may have been lacking in quality or quantity. The Retrospective Indigenous Childhood Enrichment (RICE) scale was developed to measure non-school-based activities and environmental stimulation during childhood that are likely to have enhanced cognitive reserve. The aim of the study was to assess the validity and reliability of the RICE scale with a group of older Aboriginal Australians.

294 Aboriginal Australian people (60–92 years), living in urban or regional areas of NSW, completed the RICE scale as part of a longer face-to-face interview. Additional data was collected on their formal education, childhood environment, and childhood trauma (Study 1). Test–retest, inter-method and inter-rater reliability were assessed in a convenience sample of a further 38 participants by re-administration of the RICE scale at two time points, approximately 14 days apart (M = 14.11, SD = 6.78) (Study 2).

Factor analyses reduced the scale from 21 items to 18 and identified three factors: (1) Traditional, (2) Intellectual, and (3) Community. Higher scores on the RICE scale were related to higher years of formal education and lower scores on a childhood trauma questionnaire. The RICE scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α 0.79), and excellent test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.95, 95% CI 0.90–0.97) and inter-rater reliability (0.99, CI 95% 0.997–0.999).

The RICE is, to our knowledge, the first standardized measure that assesses the level of childhood environmental stimulation in older Aboriginal Australians. This could provide an important supplementary measure, in addition to formal education, to investigate cognitive reserve and dementia risk in this population and enhance understanding of the links between childhood experiences and late-life cognitive decline.

The number of people living with dementia in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is expected to increase rapidly in the coming decades. However, our understanding of how best to reduce dementia risk in the population is very limited. As a first step in developing intervention strategies to manage dementia risk in this setting, we investigated rates of cognitive decline in a rural population in Tanzania and attempted to identify associated factors.

The study was conducted in the rural Hai district of northern Tanzania. In 2014, community-dwelling people aged 65 years and over living in six villages were invited to take part in a cognitive screening program. All participants from four of the six villages were followed-up at two years and cognitive function re-tested. At baseline and follow-up, participants were assessed for functional disability, hypertension, and grip strength (as a measure of frailty). At follow-up, additional assessments of visual acuity, hearing impairment, tobacco and alcohol consumption, and clinical assessment for stroke were completed.

Baseline and follow-up data were available for 327 people. Fifty people had significant cognitive decline at two-year follow-up. Having no formal education, low grip strength at baseline, being female and having depression at follow-up were independently associated with cognitive decline.

This is one of the first studies of cognitive decline conducted in SSA. Rates of decline at two years were relatively high. Future work should focus on identification of specific modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline with a view to developing culturally appropriate interventions.

While depression is a growing public health issue, the percentage of individuals with depression receiving treatment is low. Physical and social attributes of the neighborhood may influence the level of depressive symptoms and the prevalence of depression in older adults.

This review systematically examined the literature on neighborhood environmental correlates of depression in older adults. Findings were analyzed according to three depression outcomes: depressive symptoms, possible depression, and clinical depression. Based on their description in the article, environmental variables were assigned to one of 25 categories. The strength of evidence was statistically quantified using a meta-analytical approach with articles weighted for sample size and study quality. Findings were summarized by the number of positive, negative, and statistically non-significant associations by each combination of environmental attribute – depression outcome and by combining all depression outcomes.

Seventy-three articles met the selection criteria. For all depression outcomes combined, 12 of the 25 environmental attribute categories were considered to be sufficiently studied. Three of these, neighborhood socio-economic status, collective efficacy, and personal/crime-related safety were negatively associated with all depression outcomes combined. Moderating effects on associations were sparsely investigated, with 52 articles not examining any. Attributes of the physical neighborhood environment have been understudied.

This review provides support for the potential influence of some neighborhood attributes on population levels of depression. However, further research is needed to adequately examine physical attributes associated with depression and moderators of both social and physical neighborhood environment attribute – depression outcome associations.

In the MEETINGDEM project, the Meeting Centers Support Program (MCSP) was adaptively implemented and evaluated in three European countries: Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom. The aim of this study was to investigate overall and country-specific facilitators and barriers to the implementation of MCSP in these European countries.

A qualitative multiple case study design was used. Based on the theoretical model of adaptive implementation, a checklist was composed of potential facilitators and barriers to the implementation of MCSP. This checklist was administered among stakeholders involved in the implementation of MCSP to trace the experienced facilitators and barriers. Twenty-eight checklists were completed.

Main similarities between countries were related to the presence of suitable staff, management, and a project manager, and the fact that the MCSP is attuned to needs and wishes of people with dementia and informal caregivers. Main differences between countries were related to: communication with potential referrers, setting up an inter-organizational collaboration network, receiving support of national organizations, having clear discharge criteria for the MCSP and continuous PR in the region.

The results of this study provide insight into generic and country specific factors that can influence the implementation of MCSP in different European countries. This study informs further implementation and dissemination of MCSP in Europe and may also serve as an example for the dissemination and implementation of other effective psychosocial support interventions for people with dementia and their informal caregivers across and beyond Europe.

We assessed the ability of a telephone-administered cognitive screening test – Minnesota Cognitive Acuity Screen (MCAS) – to predict time to assisted living/nursing home placement (i.e. institutionalization) and homecare/institutionalization in healthy controls (HC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Participants (N = 146; HC = 37; MCI = 70; AD = 39) had baseline MCAS testing and were re-contacted over eight years for dates of starting homecare, institutionalization, and death. Occasionally, outcomes were obtained via medical records. Accounting for informative censoring due to death within a competing risks framework, Cox regression examined the associations of baseline MCAS performance with the start of (a) institutionalization and (b) homecare/institutionalization.

Hazard ratios (HR) captured the effect of a ten-point difference in baseline MCAS scores, corresponding to a change from the MCI/HC to AD/MCI boundaries. In unadjusted models, increased baseline cognitive impairment was associated with nearly two-fold increases in the hazard of institutionalization (HR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.32, 2.48) and homecare/institutionalization (HR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.44, 2.42). However, hazards were not proportional over time in models adjusting for sex. This was resolved when regressions were run for men and women separately. Both sexes showed significant increases in the hazard of institutionalization (Females: HR = 2.39, 95% CI = 1.53–3.74; Males: HR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.02–2.76) and homecare/institutionalization (Females: HR = 2.31, 95% CI = 1.66, 3.21; Males: HR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.32, 2.96) with increased impairment, although hazards were lower for males.

Telephone-administered MCAS provides useful information about the risk of needing homecare assistance or institutionalization. It may be particularly useful when office/home visits are prohibitive but cognitive monitoring is indicated.