[Clinical and epidemiological studies on inpatients with dementia]

We have studied 97 patients with dementia who have been discharged from our hospital and 106 inpatients with dementia who have been admitted during last two years in our hospital. The diagnosis of dementia was done according to the criteria of DSM-III. Based on their clinical course, neurological signs, Hachinski's ischemic score and neuroradiological findings, we divided patients into 4 groups, [senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT), vascular dementia (VD), unclassified dementia and other dementias which includes dementia with Parkinson's disease or motor neuron disease, etc.]. Concerning 70 demented patients who died during hospitalization, the average age of onset and the duration of illness of SDAT were 80.5 years old and 4.6 years respectively and those of VD were 77.6 years old and 2.7 years respectively. The common causes of death were pneumonia (50%) and cardiac failure (24%). Recurrence of cerebral vascular accident (CVA) was also another frequent cause of death in VD. The most common behavioral problems causing admission in patients of SDAT were aimless wandering, nocturnal delirium, illusion and hallucination. In VD, nocturnal delirium, aimless wandering, violence and abnormal monologue were most common causes of admission. The important causes degrading ADL of inpatients were fracture, especially fracture of the hip joint, pneumonia, intestinal bleeding and CVA. Concerning the increase of the population of over 75 years old, it will be suggested that the care and treatment of demented patients in this age group will become a major social problem.