DEMENTIA IN SAUDI-ARABIA - EXPERIENCE FROM A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Objectives - To describe the pattern of presentation, the types of dem entia and the associated conditions in Saudi patients. Materials and m ethods - Hospital-based study using DSM-IV and TCD 10 criteria for con sensus diagnosis of cases from clinical information and results of inv estigations. Dementia subtypes were made according to NINCDS-ADRDA, NI NDS-AIREN and ICD 10 criteria while CDR was used for severity grading. Results - A total of 77 demented patients (49 males, 28 females) were studied. The hospital frequency was 19.3/100,000 patients. The mean a ge at presentation was 74.6 years and age at onset was below 65 years in 17 patients. The types of dementia were: Alzheimer's disease (51.9% ), vascular dementia (18.2%), mixed cases (15.6%), dementia with Parki nson's disease (7.8%) and treatable dementia (5.2%). Only 3 patients w ere in the severe clinical stage and infections were important causes of deterioration. Conclusion - The hospital frequency appears to be lo w probably because of the relatively young population. The pattern of dementia with preponderance of AD is similar to that in western countr ies and intervention directed at the risk factors for stroke could red uce the burden of vascular dementia.