A comparative study of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in patients with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia referred to psychogeriatric services in Korea and the U.K.
BACKGROUND
There is a paucity of cross-cultural studies of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD).


METHODS
BPSD were examined in consecutive series of referrals to a psychogeriatric service in Korea and the U.K. using the Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease (BEHAVE-AD) rating scale and the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD). Results were analyzed separately for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.


RESULTS
Koreans in both diagnostic groups had lower Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and higher BEHAVE-AD total and subscale scores for most subscales. In both countries, for both diagnostic groups, the total BEHAVE-AD score and several subscale scores were negatively correlated with the MMSE scores. Logistic regression analysis for Alzheimer's disease revealed that BEHAVE-AD total and most subscale scores independently predicted the country of origin in addition to the MMSE scores predicting the same.


CONCLUSIONS
These differences in BPSD are most likely explained by the lower MMSE scores in the Korean sample. However, genuine differences in BPSD between the two countries can only be critically examined in a cross-cultural population-based epidemiological study for both diagnostic categories using validated instruments to measure BPSD and controlling for the influence of MMSE score.
Shah
Ajit
A
West London Mental Health NHS Trust and Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK. a.k.shah@ic.ac.uk
Ellanchenny
Nalini
N
Suh
Guk-Hee
GH
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D006113:United Kingdom