PREVALENCE, SYMPTOM PROFILE, AND ETIOLOGY 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 crite ria for the study was 24.1%. The prevalence of depression was similar in patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer's type and those with va scular dementia. Patients with minimal dementia were significantly mor e likely to suffer from depression than those with mild or moderate de mentia but there was no significant association with insight. The symp tom profile of patients with minimal dementia was significantly correl ated to that of patients with mild dementia and both were similar to t he symptom profiles previously described amongst the elderly with func tional depression. Physical illness was not associated with depression in the current sample. The implications of the findings are discussed .