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The frequency and correlates of anxiety in patients with first-time diagnosed mild dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2012

Minna J. Hynninen ,
Monica H. Breitve ,
Arvid Rongve ,
Dag Aarsland  and
Inger Hilde Nordhus
Minna J. Hynninen*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Monica H. Breitve
Affiliation:
Section of Mental Health Research, Clinic of Psychiatry, Helse-Fonna HF Haugesund Hospital, Haugesund, Norway
Arvid Rongve
Affiliation:
Section of Mental Health Research, Clinic of Psychiatry, Helse-Fonna HF Haugesund Hospital, Haugesund, Norway
Dag Aarsland
Affiliation:
Centre for Old Age Related Medicine, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway KI Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Department of NVS, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Inger Hilde Nordhus
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway Norwegian Competence Center for Sleep Disorders, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway Kavli Research Center for Aging and Dementia, Haraldsplass Deaconess Hospital, Bergen, Norway
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Minna J. Hynninen, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Christies Gate 12, N-5015 Bergen, Norway. Phone: +47-55 58 88 96; Fax: +47-55 58 98 77. Email: minna.hynninen@psykp.uib.no.
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Abstract

Background: Anxiety in persons with dementia has received little attention despite its severe consequences. In this observational cross-sectional study, we investigated the frequency of anxiety and associations between anxiety and socio-demographic and clinical variables in an outpatient sample with first-time diagnosed mild dementia.

Methods: The study sample (n = 169) comprised participants recruited from clinics in geriatric medicine and old age psychiatry for a longitudinal dementia study. Symptoms of anxiety were rated by a caregiver on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and by the patient on the anxiety tension item on the Montgomery and Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. Measures of caregiver stress, dementia-related impairment (Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale), and cognitive functioning were also included.

Results: According to caregiver reports, 19.5% had clinically significant anxiety and an additional 22.5% had subclinical anxiety. Half of the patients reported experiencing anxiety from time to time. Patients with Lewy-body dementia reported anxiety more often compared to patients with Alzheimer's disease. Anxiety was associated with depression, higher caregiver stress, and more dementia-related impairment, but not with cognitive test performance. Caregiver stress and higher CDR score increased the odds for anxiety significantly, even when controlling for depression.

Conclusion: Anxiety is common in patients with mild dementia, and seems to be associated not so much with cognitive test performance than with caregiver distress and the patient's ability to function in daily life. Anxiety should be taken into account when assessing dementia, as well as screened for when examining patients with known dementia.

Keywords

dementiaanxietypsychogeriatrics
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 24 , Issue 11 , November 2012 , pp. 1771 - 1778
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2012

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