Excessive sweepstakes participation in patients with dementia in Hawai'i: a case series.
We report a case series of 11 patients with excessive sweepstakes participation on initial geriatric consultation in Honolulu. Ten of these patients had dementia, mostly Alzheimer's disease, with Folstein MiniMental Status Exam scores ranging from 17-29/30. Money lost ranged from 6,600 dollars to 200,000-400,000 dollars. Physicians need to have a high index of suspicion and the public needs to be educated about simple preventive strategies.
Tamura
Bruce K
BK
Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu 96813, USA. bktamura@hotmail.com
Wong
Warren F
WF
Sezginsoy
Banu
B
Masaki
Kamal H
KH
D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications* / Q000208:ethnology; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling; D006254:Hawaii / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors