Practices and experiences of nursing staff delivering acute care for people with dementia in surgical–medical wards in Chile: qualitative study Déborah Oliveira, Lucía Catalán, Agnieszka Bozanic, Victor Pedrero, Claudia Miranda‐Castillo, et al. Alzheimer S and Dementia, 2026 INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to explore practices and experiences of nursing staff involved with care delivery to people with dementia in surgical–medical wards at public hospitals in Chile. METHODS A qualitative study was conducted through one‐on‐one semi‐structured interviews with 30 registered nurses and nursing technicians in two hospitals. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken. RESULTS Nursing care took place in a context of multidimensional precarity, where multiple factors interacted to shape the type of care delivered to people with dementia. The intersection between negative views toward aging and dementia, with a risk‐aversion culture, resulted in a widespread application of agency‐limiting practices. Nursing staff were largely untrained and overly reliant on families and other professionals, resulting in an approach to dementia care based on individual levels of stress, tolerance, and moral standards. DISCUSSION Multiple factors hinder the delivery of quality nursing care for people with dementia in Chile and require urgent attention.
Cognitive impairment with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among community-dwelling older adults in Chile: Prevalence, risk factors and cognitive characteristics Agnieszka Bozanic, Pablo Toro, Sebastián Bello-Lepe, Javier Hurtado-Oliva, Christian Beyle, et al. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2023 IntroductionThe aim of this study is to determine prevalence and risk factors of Cognitive Impairment (CI) and its association with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in subjects aged 65 years and above. Additionally, we attempt to provide a cognitive profile for T2DM group.MethodologyA cross-sectional analytical study to assess CI was carried out. We evaluated a sample of community-dwelling residents from Chile. All participants underwent a general interview, lifestyle questionnaires and a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Regression analyses were performed to evaluate risk of CI with T2DM and influencing factors. Results between groups in the different domains of the neuropsychological assessment were compared by Student’s t-tests and MANOVA.ResultsAmong all 358 subjects, overall T2DM prevalence were 17.3%. The prevalence of CI was higher in T2DM group compared to the healthy participants (30.7%, p < 0.001). The risk of CI was 2.8 times higher in older people with T2DM compared to older people without the diagnosis. Multiple regression analysis, adjusted for age and gender, demonstrated that age, education, presence of dyslipidemia, and T2DM duration were the predictor variables significantly associated with CI. T2DM group performed worse on global cognitive performance, attention, language, verbal memory, visual memory, visual constructional ability, and executive function. After adjusting for significant covariates from multiple regression analysis, a relationship between “cognition” and T2DM is still observed. Amnesic multi-domain impairment was the specific cognitive identified pattern for T2DM group.ConclusionThe present study confirms the high prevalence of CI with T2DM among Chilean older adults in a community-based population. T2DM is significantly associated with a higher risk of CI, and age, education, presence of dyslipidemia, and duration of T2DM are risk factors. T2DM patients with CI are impaired in multiple cognitive domains, even after adjusting covariables, resulting in an amnesic multi-domain cognitive profile.
Number of years with type 2 diabetes is associated with cognitive impairment in Chilean older adults: A cross-sectional study Agnieszka Bozanic, Fanny Petermann Rocha, Heather Waddell, Solange Parra-Soto, Carla Cuevas, et al. Revista Espanola De Nutricion Humana Y Dietetica, 2021 Introduction: La esperanza de vida está aumentando en todo el mundo, así como la diabetes tipo 2 (DM2). Estudios poblacionales han demostrado que la duración de la DM2 se ha asociado con el deterioro cognitivo. Sin embargo, a pesar de la alta prevalencia de DM2 y deterioro cognitivo en Chile, aún no se ha investigado la asociación entre años con DM2 y la sospecha de deterioro cognitivo. El objetivo del estudio fue investigar la asociación entre la duración de la diabetes mellitus 2 (DM2) y la sospecha de deterioro cognitivo en personas mayores chilenas. Métodos: Participaron 1.040 personas ≥60 años de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud de Chile (2009-2010). El deterioro cognitivo se evaluó mediante el Mini Examen del Estado Mental abreviado (MMSE). El número de años con DM2 fue categorizado en cuatro grupos. Para valorar la asociación entre MMSE alterado y el número de años con DM2, se utilizó una regresión de Poisson, ajustados a posibles factores de confusión sociodemograficos, de estilos de vida, adiposidad y salud. Resultados: Cuando se ajustaron los análisis por factores sociodemográficos, las personas con 15 a 24 y ≥25 años con DM2 presentaron 2,2 veces (IC 95%: 1,07; 3,33) y 5,8 veces (IC 95%: 3,81; 11,0) riesgo relativo (RR) de deterioro cognitivo, en comparación con aquellas sin DM2. Luego de ajustar adicionalmente los análisis para las covariables relacionadas con el estilo de vida y la salud, el RR para deterioro cognitivo fue 1,76 veces (IC 95%: 1,02; 2,50) y 4,54 veces (IC 95%: 2,70; 6,38) más alto para aquellas personas con 14-24 y ≥25 años de DM2. Conclusiones: Se asoció el número de años con DM2 con la sospecha de deterioro cognitivo. Una mayor duración de la DM2 se asoció con una mayor probabilidad de deterioro cognitivo en la población mayor chilena.
