title: Neuropsychological Profile and Dementia Symptom Recognition in Help-Seekers in a Community Early-Detection Program in Hong Kong.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the neuropsychological and clinical profile of help-seekers in an early-detection community dementia program and to explore any relationship between profiles and time to seek help.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional.
  
  
  METHODS
  Early-detection community dementia program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Help-seekers (N = 1,005) with subjective cognitive complaints or complaints from an informant.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neurocognitive testing, including the Cantonese Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test, Digit Span, and Fuld Object Memory Evaluation and other clinical and functioning assessments, including the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental ADLs (IADLs), and depressive symptoms. Time since the person or an informant reported that they first noticed symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-six percent of help-seekers had at least very mild dementia (CDR score ≥0.5). Cognitive performance was moderately impaired (mean MMSE score 18.4 ± 6.1). They required some assistance with IADLs, had very mild ADL impairments, and had few depressive symptoms. Median time to seek assessment was 12 months (interquartile range 7-30 months) according to the person or the informant (an adult child in 75% of the sample). Using the median-split method, time to seek assessment was classified as early (0-12 months) and late (>12 months). Worse cognitive and IADL performance but not ADL performance or depressive symptoms were observed in late than in early help-seekers. Longer time intervals between symptom recognition and early assessment showed a trend of further impairments on all measures except ADLs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A time interval of more than 12 months between symptom recognition and early assessment appears to be associated with worse cognitive function upon presentation.
authors.affiliation: Sau Po Centre on Ageing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Jennifer Y-M
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Sau Po Centre on Ageing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Gloria H-Y
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Carmen K-M
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Sau Po Centre on Ageing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Dorothy T-S
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Kwok
authors.affiliation: Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Maggie N-Y
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Sau Po Centre on Ageing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association, Hong Kong.|Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: David L-K
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Sau Po Centre on Ageing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Terry Y-S
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Lum
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition; D003153:Community Health Services; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D063189:Symptom Assessment / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; cognitive performance; dementia; help-seeking