How Dementia affects behaviour and cognitive skills

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 Title: How Dementia Affects Behavior and Cognitive Skills (Correlates and Impact on Support worker

  Distress)

Abstract

Aims:

The study's objectives were to examine the behavioral and a few psychological signs and

  symptoms of dementia, find out how they related to different types, dementia stages, patient

characteristics, and evaluate how they affected caregiver distress.

  Methods:

Consecutive dementia patients and their caregivers were included in this cross-sectional study

  from our cognitive clinic. Types of dementia were categorized using standardized criteria. The

Neuropsychiatric Inventory was utilized to evaluate behavioral issues, and its caregiver distress

 scale was applied to measure caregiver discomfort. The individual who spent most of their time

 with the dementia patient and provided regular care was regarded as the caregiver.

 Results:

 Nearly all (99.1%) of the 107 patients had at least one behavioral or psychiatric symptom, and

 71% had four or more symptoms. Apathy and agitation were the most prevalent symptoms,

  followed by irritability, mood disorders, sleep and eating issues, and exhilaration. As people aged,

behavioral issues became less noticeable; men exhibited increased agitation. In rural areas,

  apathy and eating disorders were more common. The most severe form of the behavioral

problems caused by dementia was frontotemporal dementia (FTD), then dementia with Lewy

  bodies (DLB), and the least severe form was vascular dementia. In DLB, hallucinations were more

frequent; in FTD, there was abnormal motor behavior. Except for fear and exhilaration, all

  behavioral issue domains became more pronounced as dementia severity increased. Except for

exhilaration, rising behavioral problems raised caregiver concern. Agitation, apathy, eating and

 hunger abnormalities, aberrant motor behavior, sleep disturbances, and irritability were all

 present in FTD patients. Hallucinations, anxiety, apathy, sleep issues, delusions, anger, stress,

 impatience, appetite, and eating disorders were all present in the DLB patients. Furthermore,

 dementia impairs cognitive functions like thinking, remembering, and behavioral skills to the

 point that it interferes with day-to-day activities.

 Conclusion:

 Behavior issues are widespread, correlate to the type and severity of dementia, and significantly

  increase caregiver distress. In this study, patients with dementia virtually always exhibited

behavioral issues, most of which had several symptoms. Apathy and agitation were the most

  prevalent behaviors in this study, while disinhibition and euphoria were the least frequent. These

behaviors followed irritation, depression, anxiety, sleep and nighttime behavior disorders, and

  anger. FTD and DLB had the most cases of behavioral issues. We noticed some clustering of the

behavioral problems across different dementia subtypes. Except for anxiety and euphoria, all

  behavioral issue domains became more pronounced as dementia severity increased. Overall,

younger individuals had a higher prevalence of behavioral issues. In our study, men displayed

 more irritation and aggression than women.

 Dr Nadia Correia 08.08.22

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