Effect of age, time spent in prison and level of education on the perceived health and quality of life of elderly prisoners.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of perceived health and quality of life of elderly prisoners in France, and to see whether there is a link between aging, time spent in prison and level of education and scores for perceived health and quality of life. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The authors' recruited 138 male prisoners aged 50 and over in seven French prisons. The research protocol comprised a semi-structured interview and two scales. FINDINGS: The results revealed low levels of perceived health and quality of life among the elderly inmates. They also showed that age was not statistically associated with most of the dimensions of perceived health on the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), with the exception of poor mobility. By contrast, age was statistically associated with most of the dimensions of quality of life on the WHOQOL-Bref. Time spent in prison was only associated negatively with the "sleep" dimension of the NHP. Emotional reactions were perceived most positively by the inmates with the highest level of education. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: It seems particularly important to assess the perceived health and quality of life of elderly prisoners in order to ensure their appropriate treatment and management. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Very few studies have examined the perceived health and quality of life of prisoners, even though this population is particularly vulnerable in terms of physical and mental health.

Cognitive impairment, self-perceived health and quality of life of older prisoners.

BACKGROUND: There is a wealth of studies of somatic and mental illness among prisoners, but little on older prisoners and their cognitive aging. AIMS: Our study examines the cognitive performance of older male prisoners and its effect on their perceived health and quality of life. METHODS: A total of 138 men aged 50 or over were recruited in seven French prisons and 138 men of similar ages from the general population. Two assessments of executive cognitive functions - the mini-mental state examination and the frontal assessment battery - were administered to each participant, together with self rating schedules of health (Nottingham Health Profile), subjective state of mental health and quality of life (the brief World Health Organisation Quality of Life Questionnaire). RESULTS: There were very significant differences between the two groups in terms of cognitive performance, perceived health and quality of life. There was, however, no significant association between cognitive impairment and perceived health or quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence that about a fifth of male prisoners in France had executive function test scores suggestive of at least moderately severe dementia and many others some evidence of cognitive impairments. Prisoners suffering from cognitive impairment do not necessarily seek help, perhaps not even considering that their health or quality of life to be affected. Communication deficits may also prevent their participation in prison activities which could prevent, slow or halt cognitive decline. Consequently, it is important that systematic screening for cognitive disorders is offered to men over 50 in prison. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mental disorders, perceived health and quality of life of older prisoners in France.

People serving prison sentences have major needs in terms of their physical and mental health. However, little is known about the prevalence of mental disorders affecting older prisoners and about how they evaluate their state of health and their quality of life. The aim of our study is to identify whether there is a link between mental disorders and the level of perceived health and quality of life of older prisoners. For the group 1, we recruited 138 male prisoners aged 50 and over in 7 French prisons. The control group was composed of 138 community-dwelling men aged 50 and over. The research protocol comprised four scales (The mini international neuropsychiatric interview, The French version of the Nottingham health profile, The scale of the subjective state of mental health, The WHOQOL-BREF). The results reveal a very high prevalence of mental disorders among older prisoners, notably depression and anxiety. The evaluation of perceived health and quality of life is also significantly lower in the group of older prisoners. We discuss the link between having one or more mental disorders and a negative evaluation of perceived health and quality of life.

QT interval measurement in the dog: chest leads versus limb leads.

INTRODUCTION: An accurate measurement of the QT interval is dependent on the accurate identification of the end of the T wave. Although chest leads have been recommended in dog toxicology studies, their use has not been widely put into practice, as shown by a recent survey on methodology for ECG collection in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, there is little published data on dog QT measurement from chest leads. METHODS: Electrocardiograms (ECGs) were taken from 100 beagle dogs (50 males, 50 females), with the dogs restrained in a sling. On the day of recording, measurements were performed at time zero and 1 h later. Recordings were repeated 7 to 10 days later. QT interval measurements were taken simultaneously from Lead II and the chest Lead CV5RL. Heart rate was taken from Lead II. Statistical analyses included the calculation of a QT correction formula, comparison of the mean values and variability of QT and QTc measurements from Leads II and CV5RL, the comparison of T-wave polarity from both leads, and a power analysis for QT and QTc. RESULTS: The T wave was positive in almost all dogs (99/100) in the Lead CV5RL at all measurement periods, while it was either positive or negative in Lead II (64-75/100), and the incidence of positive T wave varied between measurement periods. The QT interval was significantly shorter (194+/-11 to 197+/-12 vs. 197+/-13 to 200+/-12 ms) when measured from the CV5RL lead at all recording periods and in both sexes. In addition, the standard deviation for QT measurement within each individual ECG record demonstrates less intra-animal variation when QT is measured from Lead CV5RL compared with Lead II (3.8 vs. 13.2 ms). The linear regression between QT and heart rate was improved when QT measurements were taken from CV5RL, as shown by the percentage of variability R2. DISCUSSION: Estimates of the sample sizes showed that fewer animals would be required to detect a change at both the high and the mid-doses when using the chest Lead CV5RL. Using Lead II, we are able to detect within-animal changes of 10% in either QT or QTc; with Lead CV5RL, we are able to detect 10% change in QT and 5% change in QTc.