Behavioral and psychological symptoms of
dementia are major components of Alzheimer’s
disease. In this study, we aimed at investigating the
prevalence and severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms of
dementia in very mild to mild Alzheimer’s
disease. Forty-four
patients with Alzheimer’s
disease who visited the
neurology outpatient clinic of
Seoul Medical Center were included. A trained
neurologist or a supervised test technician administered the
neuropsychological test, the
Seoul Neuropsychological
Screening Battery including Mini Mental State Examination and
Clinical Dementia Rating. The instrument used for assessing behavioral and psychological symptoms of
dementia was Neuropsychiatric
Inventory-
Questionnaire. In order of
prevalence,
apathy,
depression, irritability,
anxiety, and agitation were the most common symptoms occurring in very mild-to-mild Alzheimer’s
disease group. The
prevalence and severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms of
dementia were found to be in positive correlation with the
Clinical Dementia Rating scores. Behavioral and psychological symptoms of
dementia are found even in the very early stage of Alzheimer’s
disease,
apathy and
depression being the most common symptoms.
Physicians should be aware of this when managing
dementia patients.