Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov 13:15:2183-2194.
doi: 10.2147/CIA.S281723. eCollection 2020.

Dementia Diagnoses and Treatment in Geriatric Ward Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland

Zyta Beata Wojszel  1   2
Affiliations

Dementia Diagnoses and Treatment in Geriatric Ward Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland

Zyta Beata Wojszel. Clin Interv Aging. .

Abstract

Purpose: The study aimed to determine the prevalence of dementia, its types, and treatment in geriatric ward patients.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study of 406 patients (77.8% women, median age 82, IQR (77-86) years) who underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment in one of the Polish hospitals between September 2014 and April 2015 was conducted.

Results: Dementia was diagnosed in 132 (32.5%) patients (46% mixed dementia; 32% Alzheimer's disease; 10%vascular dementia; 5% dementia in Parkinson's disease; 4% frontotemporal; 3% atypical parkinsonism). A total of 95 (72%) dementia cases were not detected before, and in the above half of these patients, it was not mentioned in the referral document. Only 33.3% of dementia patients were on cognitive enhancers (donepezil, rivastigmine, or memantine); 36.4% received antipsychotics, 45.5% received anti-depressants, 25.8% received nootropics, and 16.7% received anxiolytics/hypnotics.

Discussion: The results confirmed the high incidence of underdiagnoses and undertreatment of dementia in patients admitted to the geriatric ward. It is partly due to the lack of systematic cognitive assessment in primary care settings, although other factors can play a role.

Keywords: anti-dementia medications; anti-depressants; antipsychotics; cognitive enhancers; comprehensive geriatric assessment; dementia diagnosis; dementia treatment; geriatric ward; psychotropic medications; underdiagnoses; undertreatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest for this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patients’ enrolment to the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dementia types prevalence in geriatric ward patients.
Figure 3
Figure 3
MMSE results depending on the previous diagnosis and ICD-10 code of dementia on referral documents.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Use of different groups of psychotropic medications in demented patients (detected and undetected before hospitalization).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. van Roessel S, Keijsers C, Romijn MDM. Dementia as a predictor of morbidity and mortality in patients with delirium. Maturitas. 2019;125:63–69. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2019.03.005 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Duckett L. Alzheimer’s dementia: morbidity and mortality. J Insur Med. 2001;33(3):227–234. - PubMed
    1. Gaugler JE, Duval S, Anderson KA, Kane RL. Predicting nursing home admission in the U.S: a meta-analysis. BMC Geriatrics. 2007;7(1):13. doi:10.1186/1471-2318-7-13 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wancata J, Freidl M, Unger A, et al. [Projections about the future number of dementia sufferers: increasing life expectancy not sufficiently considered?]. Psychiatr Danub. 2015;27(4):452–457. - PubMed
    1. Wittenberg R, Hu B, Jagger C, et al. Projections of care for older people with dementia in England: 2015 to 2040. Age Ageing. 2020;49(2):264–269. - PMC - PubMed