Prévalences des troubles psychologiques et comportementaux de la démence en fonction du stade évolutif

Behavioural and psychological signs and symptoms - BPSD are clinical features of dementia. They have considerable impact on the daily life of patients and their caregivers. The aim of this study is to show the importance of these disorders in dementia semiology and to assess differences in their prevalence across levels of severity of dementia. The sample is made up of 160 subjects with dementia older than 65 years old. Diagnosis of dementia was based on DSM-IV criteria. BPSD were assessed with the NeuroPsychiatric Inventory-NPI and dementia staging was measured with Clinical Dementia Rating/Modified-CDR-M. Results show that prevalence of delusions is more important in severe dementia and that prevalence of agitation/ aggression is more important in profound dementia. These data may help to clarify objectives and treatment of BPSD. This study raises also some methodological problems with the NPI and underlines the importance to define the different disorders included in certain NPI domains accurately.