Multicenter Investigation on Clinical Characteristics, Cognitive Impairments, Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Demented Elderly in Busan-Gyeongnam Province

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to examine the state of demographic findings with clinical characteristics, cognitive impairment and behavioral psychological symptoms of demented elderly in Busan-Gyeongnam Province. METHODS: Patients with dementia who were registered at nine medical centers in Busan Metropolitan City and Gyeongnam Province were the major subjects of this study. Data was collected by face-to-face interview. The final sample consisted of 144 cases after eliminating several incomplete questionnaires. Based on the collected data, the authors evaluated demographic findings, clinical characteristics, and cognitive impairment and behavioral psychological symptoms of the patients with dementia using statistical analyses. All of the patients were taken the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination(K-MMSE), the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale(CDR) and the the Korean version of Neuropsychiatric Inventory(K-NPI). RESULTS: Approximately 61% of the patients with dementia in Busan-Gyeongnam Province were women, and their mean age was 72.9(SD=8.3) years old. Their average education level was 2.3(SD=1.3) years. Among the demented elderly, Alzheimer's disease accounted for 68% compared with vascular dementia(32%) and the proportion of mild stage of dementia was above 50%. The mean K-MMSE score was 16.7(SD=6.2), the mean CDR score was 1.3(SD=0.8), and the Barthel Index with K-IADL score were 16.7(SD=5.4) and 1.5(SD=0.9). The average score of K-NPI was 22.6(SD=22.5) and the number of manifested K-NPI was 4.9(SD=2.8). The K-NPI score has increased in demented elderly as the severity of dementia getting worse according to the CDR score. The number of manifested K-NPI was significantly more prevalent in patients with AD than that of patients with VD. CONCLUSION: This study is a meaningful approach to the state of demographic findings, clinical characteristics, cognitive impairment and behavioral psychological symptoms associated with the dementied elderly who were comprehensively examined in Busan-Gyeongnam Province. Based on this study, we found that the demographic information was comparable with other epidemiologic study in Korea and our study patients were relatively mild stage of demenitia according to the assessment of cognition and behavioral symptom scales.