Prevalence, symptom profile, and aetiology of depression in dementia sufferers

Ninety-two consecutive attenders at a day hospital for the assessment of dementia were assessed using the CAMDEX schedule. The prevalence of depression in the 58 dementia sufferers who fulfilled the entry criteria for the study was 24.1%. The prevalence of depression was similar in patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer's type and those with vascular dementia. Patients with minimal dementia were significantly more likely to suffer from depression than those with mild or moderate dementia but there was no significant association with insight. The symptom profile of patients with minimal dementia was significantly correlated to that of patients with mild dementia and both were similar to the symptom profiles previously described amongst the elderly with functional depression. Physical illness was not associated with depression in the current sample. The implications of the findings are discussed.