Prevalence and implications of psychopathological non‐cognitive symptoms in dementia |
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| Authors: | P. Saz R. López‐Antón M. E. Dewey T. Ventura A. Martín G. Marcos C. De La Cámara M. A. Quintanilla B. Quetglas M. Bel A. Barrera A. Lobo |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain;2. Centro de investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain;3. Hospital Clínico Universitario and Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud, Zaragoza, Spain;4. Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, UK;5. Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet and Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud, Zaragoza, Spain;6. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center Nuestra Se?ora del Pilar and Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud, Zaragoza, Spain;7. Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Objective: Clinical experience and recent population studies suggest that psychopathological, non‐cognitive symptoms are both frequent and relevant in dementia. Method: A representative community sample (n = 4,803 individuals, 55 + years) was interviewed in a two‐phase design. The Geriatric Mental Sate (GMS) was used for assessment and cases were diagnosed according to DSM‐IV‐TR criteria. Results: The prevalence of non‐cognitive symptoms (1 + symptoms) in cases of dementia (n = 223) was 90.1%, and negative‐type symptoms were most frequently found. A GMS ‘apathy‐related symptom cluster’ (anergia, restriction of activities and anhedonia) was significantly more frequent in the demented (55.6%) than in non‐cases (0.7%; specificity = 99.2%). In both dementia of Alzheimer’s type and vascular dementia, number of symptoms tended to be inversely related to severity of dementia, but psychopathological profiles differed. Conclusion: Non‐cognitive, negative‐type symptoms are very frequent in cases of dementia living in the community. They have powerful specificity in the distinction with non‐cases, and might change current concepts of dementia. |
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| Keywords: | non‐cognitive symptoms dementia Alzheimer’ s disease vascular dementia prevalence community study |
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