Korean J Psychosom Med.  2014 Dec;22(2):71-78. 10.0000/kjpm.2014.22.2.71.

Gender Differences in Behavioral Psychological Symptoms of Dementia in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

• Lee JY
• Im WY
• Kim H
• Lee KJ

• KMID: 2071065
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/kjpm.2014.22.2.71

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia(BPSD) represent significant clinical problems, resulting in functional decline, caregiver distress, institutionalization and increased mortality. A recent study showed gender differences have important role in the development of BPSD, but relationship between BPSD and gender has never been studied in Korea. This study was designed to examine whether patients with Alzheimer's disease show gender differences in behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia(BPSD).
METHODS
Ninety-eight subjects with Alzheimer's disease were included in this study. We carried out history taking and cognitive assessment for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease based on DSM-IV. Cognitive impairment and BPSD were measured using the Mini Mental State Examination(MMSE), Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), Clinical Dementia Rating(CDR) and the Korean Neuropsychiatric Inventory(K-NPI). Independent samples t-test was used to examine the differences across gender in BPSD. Correlation analysis between MMSE, CDR, GDS and NPI was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient.
RESULTS
There were no significant gender differences between the gender in BPSD. We found statistically significant negative correlations between MMSE with NPI total score, and with scores of several sub-domains such as hallucination.
CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that gender differences in BPSD are not significant. Further research is necessary to identify whether BPSD affect gender differences or individual differences.

Keyword

Alzheimer's disease; Gender differences; BPSD

MeSH Terms

Alzheimer Disease*
Caregivers
Dementia*
Diagnosis
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Hallucinations
Humans
Individuality
Institutionalization
Korea
Mortality