Centre for Policy on Ageing



Political drive to screen for pre-dementia — not evidence based and ignores the harms of diagnosis
Author(s)	David G Le Couteur, Jenny Doust, Helen Creasey, Carol Brayne
Journal title	British Medical Journal, vol 347, 9 September 2013
Pages	pp f5125
Source	http://www.bmj.com
Keywords	Cognitive impairment ; Dementia ; Screening.
Annotation	Current policy in many countries is aimed at increasing the rates of diagnosis of dementia and cognitive impairment. This policy drive has been accompanied by research into early detection of dementia, including pre-clinical identification of underlying neurobiology that might later be associated with dementia. Although the clinical features of people with established dementia are unmistakable, the ability of these pre-clinical features to predict future disease is less clear. Nevertheless, the belief that there is value in screening for "pre-dementia" or mild cognitive impairment is creeping into clinical practice, with the resulting overdiagnosis having potential adverse consequences for individual patients, resource allocation, and research. (OFFPRINT) (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-130927202 A
Classmark	E4: EA: 3V *
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.