Dementia psychiatric symptoms and immobility: A one‐year follow‐up

Abstract

SUMMARYOne hundred elderly patients investigated for a cross-sectional relationship between dementia and limited mobility were reviewed a year later. Forty patients had died during this time. While there was a strong relationship between poor mobility and mortality, there was little between psychiatric function or symptoms and mortality. There was also a considerable decline in physical function over the year, but little association between original mental function and this. Finally, there was a decline in cognitive function. There was no increase in the frequency of other psychiatric symptoms, but different patients were affected by particular symptoms initially and one year later.

Mortality in elderly patients with organic brain disorder enrolled on the Salford psychiatric case register

“…Reduced survival following diagnosis is associated with later age of onset and the presence of coexisting physical disability and illness (Diesfeldt et al, 1986;Ballinger et al, 1988;Burns et al, 1991;Pitier et al, 1992). Low vitamin C intake appears to increase both the risk of developing cognitive impairment and subsequent mortality (Gale et al, 1996).…”