Alzheimer's disease: 11 behavioral changes that affect 90% of people with dementia

0

Dementia is a major challenge for healthcare systems worldwide. But the pandemic has fanned the flames, a new report says. There has been a decline in the proportion of patients being diagnosed, falling below 60 per cent, two-thirds short of the government's target.

It is more important than ever to look out for warning signs and take the appropriate steps to get a diagnosis . Key to this work is understanding the spectrum of dementia symptoms. In addition to memory loss, dementia can cause a variety of behavioral and psychological symptoms.

The review lists 12 common behavioral and psychological symptoms that “constitute a core component of the dementia syndrome regardless of subtype.”

< p>Researchers stated:

“They are as clinically significant as cognitive symptoms because they are highly correlated with the degree of functional and cognitive impairment.”

According to the Alzheimer's Society, symptoms to look for include:

• Agitation
• Aberrant motor behavior
• Anxiety
• Excitement
• Irritability
• Depression
• Apathy
• Disinhibition
• Errors
• Hallucinations
• Changes in sleep or appetite

According to the researchers, behavioral and psychological symptoms are thought to affect up to 90 percent of all dementia patients during their illness and are independently associated with adverse outcomes, including patient and caregiver distress, prolonged hospitalization, misuse of medication, and increasing health care costs.

“Although these symptoms can be individual, most often different psychopathological features appear simultaneously in the same patient.”