Editor's Note

VOLUME 39, NO. 3 • SEPT 2022

Tzung-Jeng Hwang, IPA Bulletin Editor-in-Chief

After the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic gradually improved, we look forward to a long-expected in-person IPA Congress planned to be held from June 29 to July 2, 2023, in Lisbon. Various web-based programs have been provided for our members through our IPA website. You are welcome to participate in those activities.

I want to introduce a new editor, Dr. Terence Chong, from Australia. He is a Senior Research Fellow in Psychiatry of Old Age – a joint appointment between The University of Melbourne and St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne. Dr. Chong also serves as a current member of the IPA board of directors. He has a long-term passion for old age psychiatry. Let's welcome him on board and look forward to his contribution.

In the "International Psychogeriatrics Review Column", Ms. Fei Wang and Dr. Fei Sun (USA) review the paper " A longitudinal evaluation of family caregivers' willingness to pay for an in-home nonpharmacologic intervention for people living with dementia: results from a randomized trial. International psychogeriatrics, 33(4), 419–428. " by Jutkowitz E et al. Based on a randomized trial, the review shows that dementia caregivers' WTP (willingness-to-pay) for support interventions changes with time and exposure to different nonpharmacologic dyadic support programs. Dementia caregivers are willing to pay more for a hypothetical support program immediately following participation in a similar, nonpharmacologic dyadic intervention. The findings suggest exposure to program elements may be necessary for families to embrace cost sharing consistent with typical copayments for home services.

There are three articles in "Research and Practice", and three in "Around the World". In "Research and Practice", Dr. Paul Sadler (Australia) et al. synthesize their review on the issue: "Cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) for insomnia and depression among older adults in a psychiatric setting". They found CBT-I could improve sleep and also had a positive impact on mood among older adults. Bahaa El Deen Wehbeh and Dr. Rita Khoury (Lebanon) review the relationship between psychosis and dementia. They found patients with early or late onset schizophrenia had a higher risk of developing dementia. Late-onset psychosis is increasingly believed to be a prodromal sign of dementia. The definition of psychosis comorbid of cognitive impairment was revised in 2020 by the international psychogeriatric association (IPA) group. Dr. Laura Valzolgher (Italy) discusses brain iron accumulation as a potential mechanism for alcohol-related cognitive deficits. A UK biobank research found that, using hepatic MRI as a marker of iron levels in the liver and indicator of systemic iron, participants who drank at least 56 grams of alcohol a week or more showed higher susceptibility for iron accumulation in all brain regions.

There are 3 articles in "Around the World". Dr. Debanjan Banerjee (India) reminds us of the importance of intergenerational solidarity to fight against ageism. The recent GLOBAL REPORT ON AGEISM launched by the United Nations and World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2021 highlights the alarming scenario. Every second person in the world is believed to hold ageism, which intersects with other forms of bias (such as racism, sexism, ableism, and mentalism) and impacts people in ways that prevent them from reaching their full potential and comprehensively contributing to their community. Dr. Javier Vicente-Alba (Spain) reports that the annual meeting for professionals dedicated to psychogeriatrics will take place in Valladolid (Valladolid, Spain) from September 29 to October 1 2022. Finally, Dr. Jiranan Griffiths and Mr. Denis Tuttle (Thailand) share their experiences in a field study on the caregiver burden of older adults with physical disabilities.

I want to thank our editors for contributing these wonderful reports and reviews. We also hope that more IPA members can submit articles to express their thoughts and share experiences in this IPA community. Please reach us at ipa.b.editor@gmail.com.