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Misidentification in patients with dementia

Nages Nagaratnam1, Jennifer Irving, Hassan Kalouche

  • 1Aged Care and Rehabilitation Services, Department of Medicine, Blacktown-Mt. Druitt Health, NSW 2148, Blacktown, Australia. nage@mail2me.com.au

Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
|September 27, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Misidentification is common in dementia patients, affecting 35%. This phenomenon closely relates to accusatory behavior, though cognitive and disease factors can influence this link.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Geriatrics
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • Misidentification phenomena are recognized symptoms in dementia.
  • Understanding the prevalence and associated factors is crucial for patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of misidentification in dementia.
  • To evaluate the relationship between misidentification and patient characteristics, behavioral manifestations, and dementia-related domains.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective study of 116 dementia patients.
  • Characterization of misidentification included 'misidentification of people', 'phantom boarder', 'mirror image', and 'TV sign'.
  • Analysis of associations with age, sex, cognitive impairment, disease stage, language difficulties, and functional disability.

Main Results:

  • Misidentification was present in 35% of the dementia patients studied.
  • A significant association was found between misidentification and accusatory behavior.
  • Age, sex, cognitive impairment, disease stage, and functional disability were identified as confounding factors.

Conclusions:

  • Misidentification is a frequent manifestation in dementia.
  • Cognitive dysfunction and disease stage appear to confound the relationship between misidentification and accusatory behavior.

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