Prevalencia de síntomas neuropsiquiátricos en pacientes institucionalizados con diagnóstico de demencia y factores asociados: estudio transversal multicéntrico

Objective

The aim was to estimate the prevalence and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with dementia in nursing homes, assessing their association with certain factors that may influence their occurrence.

Material and methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out, and included all elderly patients diagnosed with degenerative, vascular, or mixed dementia, stage 4 to 7 on the Global Deterioration Scale of Reisberg (GDS), and residents in 6 nursing homes in the province of Ourense (Spain). A sample size of 120 individuals was determined to be necessary. The assessment of symptoms was performed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home test. The influence of the determined factors was investigated using logistic and linear regression analysis, and subsequently corrected for possible confounding factors.

Results

A total of 212 cases were included, with a mean age of 85.7 (SD = 6.7) years. The prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms was 84.4%. The most common symptom was apathy, followed by agitation and delirium, and the least frequent were euphoria and hallucinations. The symptom that produced most occupational disruption was agitation. Multivariate analysis showed that a higher score on the NPI-NH was associated with a higher score on the Global Deterioration Scale of Reisberg, the use of neuroleptics, cholinesterase inhibitors, and memantine.

Conclusions

In nursing home patients, prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms was high, and associated with the severity of dementia (GDS), the use of neuroleptics, cholinesterase inhibitors, and memantine.