PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES OF AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOURS OCCURRING IN PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

✍ Scribed by REBECCA EASTLEY; GORDON K. WILCOCK

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 103 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(199704)12:4<484::aid-gps526>3.0.co;2-#

✦ Synopsis

Objective:

To determine the prevalence and clinical correlates of verbal and physical aggression occurring in alzheimer's disease sufferers.

Design:

A retrospective note review was performed to classify the subjects according to whether they were verbally or physically aggressive (assaultive) or non-aggressive. the characteristics of the three groups were compared.

Subjects:

The subjects were 262 patients who were living in non-institutional settings and had been diagnosed as suffering from dementia of alzheimer's type.

Results:

Fifty-two per cent exhibited some aggressive behaviour. ninety-one (35%) patients were reported to be verbally aggressive and a further 46 (18%) were assaultive to their carers. male gender (relative risk 2.17, 95% confidence interval 1.11-4.17) and the presence of dyspraxia (relative risk 2.89, 95% confidence interval 1.43-5.88) both increased the likelihood of assaultive behaviour. verbal aggression was not associated with any of the clinical features measured.

Conclusion:

Aggressive behaviour is a common phenomenon in ad and approximately one in five sufferers is assaultive. assaultive behaviour is associated with male gender and dyspraxia.