Behavioral and psychological symptoms in Taiwanese patients with Alzheimer's disease.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for behavioral and psychological symptoms in Taiwanese Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.


METHODS
Consecutive AD patients from the Memory Clinic of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital were studied. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Chinese version of the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument. Primary caregivers were interviewed for the Clinical Dementia Rating scale, the Barthel Index, and the Alzheimer's Deficit Scale. Behavioral and psychological symptoms were assessed using the Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale.


RESULTS
Of the 142 participants, 73 (50.7%) had at least one delusion. The most frequent delusion was delusion of theft (N=43, 30.3%). Thirty-five patients (24.6%) experienced hallucination. Fifty-seven patients (40.1%) had activity disturbances and 39 (27.5%) had aggression. Patients were divided into two subgroups according to the presence or absence of each cluster of symptoms, namely, delusions, hallucinations, activity disturbance, aggression, diurnal rhythm change, affective symptoms, and anxiety. There was no significant correlation between age, age at onset of dementia, number of years of education, and duration of illness and each cluster of symptoms. Correlation between severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and cognitive decline was noted.


CONCLUSIONS
This study revealed a high prevalence of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in Taiwanese patients with AD and suggests that these symptoms are associated with cognitive deficit.
Liu
Chia-Yih
CY
Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Institute of Clinical Behavioral Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taiwan. liucy752@cgmh.org.tw
Wang
Pei-Ning
PN
Lin
Ker-Neng
KN
Liu
Hsiu-Chih
HC
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003702:Delusions / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan