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Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
[Non-cognitive symptoms of dementia -- prevalence and consequences]
Johannes Wancata1, Norbert Benda, Ullrich Meise
1Universitätsklinik für Psychiatrie, Klinische Abteilung für Sozialpsychiatrie und Evaluationsforschung, Wien. johannes.wancata@meduniwien.ac.at.
Objective:
While the importance of non-cognitive symptoms of dementia is increasingly recognized there exist nearly no studies investigating the frequency of these symptoms among general hospital inpatients and nursing home residents.
Method:
The sample consisted of elderly persons admitted to medical hospital departments (N = 372) and nursing homes (N = 249) in Austria. Study participants were investigated by research psychiatrists using the Clinical Interview Schedule.
Results:
Of all patients with dementia, in medical departments 28 % and in nursing homes 38 % had marked or severe non-cognitive symptoms. Using multivariate regression procedures non-cognitive symptoms turned out to be significant predictors for nursing home referral, for a prolonged duration of hospital stay, and for impaired self-care.
Conclusions:
Non-cognitive symptoms of dementia occur frequently and have several negative consequences. Since such non-cognitive symptoms might be treatable, they should receive sufficient attention from the staff.
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