title: [Difficulties in the evaluation of depressive symptoms in patients with dementia].
abstract: Depressive symptoms are often found in dementia (up to 86 %). Therefore, adequate treatment is necessary. Depressive symptoms appear significantly more often in vascular dementia than in dementia in Alzheimer's disease, but severity and profile of depressive symptomatology are independent of the etiology of dementia. The aim of this review is to help clinicians to select appropriate psychometric instruments to identify and measure depressive symptomatology in dementia. Frequently used scales are described, e.g. the Dementia Mood Assessment Scale and the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia - specific scales developed for rating severity of depression in dementia - and the Geriatric Depression Screening Scale. Methodological problems and limitations of psychopathological assessment in dementia caused by restriction of self-report, information gathered by collateral sources, manifestations of age and interference of somatic symptoms are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Zentrum der Psychiatrie, Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie I, Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt/Main. B.Schneider@em.uni-frankfurt.de
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maurer
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Frölich
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results