| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
| Prevalence and clinical correlates of psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer's disease | | Author(s) | Niall Gormley, Mohammed R Rizwan |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 13, no 6, June 1998 |
| Pages | pp 410-414 |
| Keywords | Psychoses ; Symptoms ; Perception disorders ; Thought disorders ; Dementia ; Diagnosis. |
| Annotation | Psychotic symptoms occur commonly in Alzheimer's disease (AD), predict a more rapid rate of cognitive decline, and increase the risk of aggressive behaviour. 70 patients with possible AD, recruited from an old age psychiatry service, were assessed to determine the prevalence and clinical correlates of delusions and hallucinations. Psychiatric symptoms were measured using the Behavioural Pathology and Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale (BEHAVE-AD), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) and the Depressive Signs Scale (DSS). 34% of the sample experienced delusions and 11% hallucinations in the previous month. Men were more likely than women to have experienced psychotic symptoms. Psychotic and non-psychotic groups did not differ in age, age at illness onset, dementia severity, HRSD or DSS scores. This study confirms the high prevalence of psychotic symptoms in AD patients encountered in clinical practice, and suggests that psychosis and depression represent independent behavioural disturbances in AD. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980703008 A |
| Classmark | EL: CT: EE: ED: EA: LK7 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|