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How common is this condition in this group of people?
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What does the older patient mainly show?Tap a term: its definition, what you can do with it, and how often the exam asks it.
You can: Tell Alzheimer's disease from vascular dementia by which cause is commonest.
Definition: dementia from vascular brain damage, about a fifth of all dementia.
You can: Tell vascular dementia from dementia with Lewy bodies by stepwise decline.
Definition: dementia with fluctuating cognition, visual hallucinations and parkinsonism.
You can: Tell dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer's disease by fluctuating cognition and visual hallucinations.
Definition: strictly defined depression, found in under 2% of older people at home.
You can: Tell major depression from minor depression by how strictly the criteria are applied.
Definition: milder depression, found in about 10% of older people at home.
You can: Tell minor depression from major depression by its much higher community rate.
Definition: loss of drive, the commonest behavioural symptom in Alzheimer's disease.
You can: Tell apathy from depression in Alzheimer's disease by loss of drive without low mood.
Definition: acute confusion, reported in up to about 80% of ventilated older ICU patients.
You can: Tell delirium from late paraphrenia by setting and rate.
Definition: a schizophrenia-like or paranoid illness first starting in old age.
You can: Tell late paraphrenia from delirium by a first paranoid illness starting in old age.
Each card is one term. The grey line is what the patient says, which is what the question stem gives.
Summary
- : the commonest type of dementia, over and under 65.
Alzheimer's disease is the commonest type of dementia, and the chance of having Alzheimer's disease rises with age.
is the commonest type of dementia, and the chance of having Alzheimer's disease rises with age. Prevalence is the share of a defined group who have a condition at one time. Dementia affects roughly 5% of the general population over 65.
Under 65, Alzheimer's disease is the commonest neurodegenerative cause of dementia. In the UK, Alzheimer's disease is also the commonest . Under 65, is second, and is third.
Dementia is common in older medical inpatients and rises steeply with age. Dementia is associated with higher mortality after emergency admission. Age, sex and comorbidity must be accounted for when judging a cohort. A full medical and neurological workup follows a dementia diagnosis, because some cases are reversible if treated early.
Joyce Mackenzie is seen at home by the old age psychiatry team. Joyce says, "I keep losing the thread of what I was doing."
Candidates pick vascular dementia for a patient with young-onset dementia. A dementia that starts under 65 still has Alzheimer's disease as the usual cause. Alzheimer's disease stays the commonest cause in younger patients too.
6 more sections on Prevalence of dementia, depression and delirium in older people
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