Causative Diseases of 108 Dementia Patients

ABSTRACT

Underlying caustive diseases were observed on 108 patients with dementia diagnosed on DSM-III, who were admitted to Keimyung university Dongsan hospital during January 1985 to September 1988. The results were summarized as follows. 1. Male to female ratio was approximately 5 to 1. In all diseases causing dementia, male outnumbered female. In particular, alcoholic dementia, multi-infarct dementia, posttraumatic dementia, infection, hydrocephalus and subdural hematoma were almost limited to males. 2. The important causative diseases were alcoholic dementia (21.3%), multi-infarct dementia(18.5%), postanoxic encephalopathy (14.8%), dementia of Alzheimer type (12.1%), head trauma(8.3%), brain tumor (6.5%), pseudodementia(6.5%), infection(4.6%), hydrocephalus (4.6%), and subdural hematoma(2.8%) in the order of frequency. 3. Cerebral trauma was the most common cause of dementia in young adulthod, and alcoholic dementia, multiinfarct dementia and dementia of Alzheimer type were important in middle adulthood. In old age, multiinfarct dementia was noted to be the most common cause. 4. Thorough diagnostic evaluation has uncovered reversible disorders in 19.4% of the total patients and disorders which, though not reversible, nevertheless require active therapeutic intervention in an additional 60.2%.