Mental and Physical Benefits of Yoga and Tai Chi Compared to Aerobic Exercise

2013 AAGP Annual Meeting (PE)¼0.24, standard error (0.05); moderate: PE¼0.45 (0.03); severe: PE¼0.54, (0.11), all p<.001) was associated with higher annual rates of hospitalization after considering same confounders. Interaction term analyses suggest that medical conditions, cognitive impairment, and physical disability did not mediate the significant relationship between self-neglect and hospitalization. Conclusions: Reported elder self-neglect was associated with higher rates of hospitalization in this community population. Greater severity of self-neglect was associated with a greater rate of hospitalization.

Poster Number: EI 46

Mental and Physical Benefits of Yoga and Tai Chi Compared to Aerobic Exercise Divya Siddarth, high-school student2,1; Prabha Siddarth, PhD1; Helen Lavretsky, MD1 1 2

UCLA, Los Angeles, CA Harvard Westlake High School, Los Angeles, CA

Introduction: We explored differences in mood, fatigue, sleep and mental health measures among middle-aged and older adults who participated in community-based classes, either mind-body exercise, such as yoga and Tai Chi, compared to aerobic exercise. Methods: Forty-two participants (mean age 64.6 (SD ¼ 13.6) years) were recruited, 20 who routinely participated in a yoga or Tai Chi class and 22 who routinely participated in an aerobic exercise class. Mood, general health functioning, sleep, and pain levels were assessed for all participants. Results: The yoga/Tai Chi group performed better in all outcome measures compared to the aerobic exercise group. Participants in yoga/Tai Chi classes had significantly greater levels of Vitality and lower levels of Tension, Depression, Anger, Confusion, and Fatigue (p¼.0001-.04), as determined from the Profile of Mood States. Further, they showed significantly higher Mental Health Composite Summary scores on the SF-12 scale (p¼.0001), and less sleep problems (p¼.008), compared to the aerobic exercise group. Conclusions: This study suggests that participation in mind-body exercise is associated with improved mood, mental functioning, and better sleep compared to aerobic exercise, independent of class length, frequency, and length of time participated in the activity. This finding should be confirmed in a prospective randomized study.

Poster Number: EI 47

Change in Burden and Distress among Caregivers of Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Dementia Enrolled in Care Management Amy Benson, MSEd1,2; Shahrzad Mavandadi, PhD1,2; Samantha R. Wertheimer, BA1; Joel E. Streim, MD1,2; Suzanne DiFilippo, RN, CRCC1,2; David W. Oslin, MD1,2 1 2

Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA

Introduction: It is estimated that up to 80% of Americans with dementia live at home under the care of family members. Neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia are associated with poor outcomes for both caregivers and care recipients, including increased caregiver burden and early nursing home placement. Caregiver burden and stress are also associated with poor outcomes, including decreased quality of life for both members of the caregiving dyad. As the population of older adults with dementia grows, it becomes important to evaluate the association between care recipients’ neuropsychiatric and behavioral symptoms and caregiver burden and distress. Pennsylvania’s Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) has contracted with the Behavioral Health Laboratory (BHL) to provide telephone-based clinical evaluation and support to lowincome, community-dwelling older adults newly prescribed an antidepressant, anxiolytic and/or antipsychotic. For those PACE enrollees with dementia, the BHL offers evaluation and support to their caregivers. This project explores changes in neuropsychiatric symptom severity, overall caregiver burden and caregiver distress reported by caregivers enrolled in the program over a period of three months. Methods: Caregivers of PACE enrollees with dementia were asked to complete a baseline assessment following a positive dementia screen. Domains assessed during the interview include sociodemographics, reported reason for new/current psychotropic medication use, caregiver’s report of the care recipients’ dementia symptoms, functional limitations, neuropsychiatric and behavioral symptom frequency and severity (i.e., depression, anxiety, agitation, hallucinations), and caregiver

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 21:3, Supplement 1

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