Comorbidity of dementia and psychiatric disorders in older persons

To further investigate the relationship between psychiatric disorders and dementia in elderly patients, the authors drew a population-based, age-stratified random sample from residents of Rochester, Minnesota, age 65 and older. A trained paramedic completed a 90-minute screening interview, including the Symptom Checklist-90, Mini-Mental State Exam, and Auditory-Verbal Learning Test. Persons failing the screens were interviewed by a psychiatrist and a neurologist. DSM-III-R diagnoses were assigned for dementia and other psychiatric disorders. Of 201 participants, 37 were evaluated further by both neurologist and psychiatrist. One received a psychiatric diagnosis alone. Dementia alone was present in four people. Concurrent psychiatric diagnoses and dementia were found in 17 subjects. Much of the psychopathology found in older persons occurs in people with cognitive impairment. Current diagnostic nosology may not be able to capture the interrelatedness of psychiatric syndromes and cognitive impairment in elderly patients.