title: Misidentification Delusions: Prevalence in Different Types of Dementia and Validation of a Structured Questionnaire.
abstract: Misidentification delusions (MDs) are considered relatively rare psychopathologic phenomena that may occur within the context of psychiatric or neurological conditions. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of MD in different types of dementia, correlate the presence of MD with demographic and clinical variables, and validate a specific questionnaire. We examined 146 subjects with Alzheimer disease, 21 with Lewy body dementia, 6 with frontotemporal dementia, and 13 with vascular dementia (subcortical type), who were consecutively enrolled in the study from 2 Memory Clinics. Patients had a mean age of 78.7±6.4 years and an Mini-Mental State Examination average score of 16.9±6.1. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory delusion subscale and a new Misidentification Delusion Questionnaire aimed at specific assessment of 11 delusional misidentification syndromes were administrated to the caregivers. On the basis of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, MDs were present in 33.3% of the subjects, whereas according to the Misidentification Delusion Questionnaire they were present in 36.0% of the subjects. Specifically, 34.2% of Alzheimer disease, 52.4% of Lewy body dementia, and 46.1% of vascular dementia patients experienced at least 1 MD. None of the patients with frontotemporal dementia developed MD. The most frequent MD was house misidentification, followed by splitting of people and reduplicative paramnesia. Our self-administered questionnaire proved to be an accurate and specific tool for the detection of MD.
authors: *Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Center for Research and Treatment of Cognitive Dysfunctions, Institute of Clinical Neurology, "Luigi Sacco" Hospital, University of Milan ‡Neurorehabilitation Unit, Santa Maria Nascente Clinical Research Center, Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Milan, Italy †Laboratory for Research on Learning and Development (LEAD), CNRS UMR 5022, University of Burgundy, Dijon, France.
authors: Giulia
authors: G
authors: Perini
authors: Alessandro
authors: A
authors: Carlini
authors: Simone
authors: S
authors: Pomati
authors: Margherita
authors: M
authors: Alberoni
authors: Claudio
authors: C
authors: Mariani
authors: Raffaello
authors: R
authors: Nemni
authors: Elisabetta
authors: E
authors: Farina
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003702:Delusions / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*