Dysphoric symptoms in relation to other behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, among elderly in nursing homes

BMC Geriatrics

Research Article

Agnes Lindbo¹  Hugo Lövheim¹  Ulf Isaksson²  Per-Olof Sandman³  Maria Gustafsson⁴ 

[1] Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Geriatric Medicine, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden;Department of Nursing, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden;Arctic Research Centre at Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden;Department of Nursing, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden;Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Health Sciences, University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden;Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden;

关键词: BPSD;    Dementia;    Cognitive impairment;    Dysphoria;    Depression;    Apathy;    Hallucination;    Aggressiveness;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-017-0603-4

 received in 2017-04-04, accepted in 2017-08-30,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBehavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common and varied in the elderly. The aim of the current study was to explore associations between BPSD and dysphoric symptoms at different levels of cognitive impairment.MethodsAssessments of 4397 elderly individuals living in nursing homes in Sweden were performed. Data on cognitive function and BPSD were collected using the Multi-Dimensional Dementia Assessment Scale (MDDAS). The relationships between dysphoria and eight BPSD factors were plotted against cognitive function to investigate how dysphoria affects BPSD throughout the dementia disease.ResultsOverall, dysphoric symptoms were most prevalent in persons with moderate cognitive impairment. However, moderate to severe dysphoric symptoms showed no clear variation with cognitive impairment. Furthermore, aggressive behavior, verbally disruptive/attention-seeking behavior, hallucinatory symptoms and wandering behavior were more common with concurrent dysphoria regardless of cognitive function. In contrast, passiveness was more common with concurrent dysphoria in mild cognitive impairment but not in moderate to severe cognitive impairment.ConclusionsBPSD, including aggressive behavior and hallucinations, were more common with concurrent dysphoric symptoms, providing insight into behavioral and psychological symptoms among individuals with cognitive impairment. Apathy was more commonly associated with concurrent dysphoria at early stages of cognitive decline but not at later stages, indicating that apathy and dysphoria represent separate syndromes among elderly patients with moderate to severe cognitive impairment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017