| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
Early diagnosis of dementia in primary care
— a representative eight-year follow-up study in Lower Saxony, Germany | | Author(s) | Lienhard Maeck, Sebastian Haak, Anita Knoblauch |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 22, no 1, January 2007 |
| Pages | pp 23-31 |
| Source | http://www.interscience.wiley.com |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Early ; Diagnosis ; General practice ; Longitudinal surveys ; Germany. |
| Annotation | The assumption that primary care competency in early diagnosis of dementia might have changed during the period 1993-2001 was investigated. In a representative follow-up survey of 122 out of 170 family doctors (71.8%) in Lower Saxony were assigned to two written case samples presenting a patient with mild cognitive impairment (Case 1a vs 1b female vs male patient) and moderate dementia (case 2a vs 2b vascular type vs Alzheimer's disease, AD), respectively. They were asked for their diagnostic considerations in structured face-to-face interviews. Compared to 1993, a dementia diagnosis was significantly more frequently considered in 2001. However, there was a striking tendency in overestimating vascular aetiology and under-diagnosing probable AD (case 1a/1b AD: 11% in 1993 vs 26.2% in 2001). As a possible contributor to a dementia syndrome, concomitant medication was considered only exceptionally (case 2a/2b, 4.4% in 1993 vs 2.5% in 2001). Doctors aged 50+ showed significantly lower early diagnostic awareness. At follow-up, the presumed interest in geriatric (psychiatric) topics dramatically faded from 66.9% to 35.2%. These results demonstrate a persistent need for training aimed at the early recognition of dementia, especially AD, in primary care. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-070131215 A |
| Classmark | EA: 4J: LK7: L5: 3J: 767 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|