Published 9 June 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1176
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1176

Editorials

Diagnosis of dementia

The usefulness of screening tests varies according to the clinical setting

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Although dementia is common, with an expected prevalence of 13 in 1000 in people aged 65-69 and 122 in 1000 in those over 80, only about half of those affected are diagnosed.¹ Without a diagnosis, patients and carers cannot access the services they need, so earlier diagnosis is a key component of the National Dementia Strategy in the United Kingdom.^{2 3} However, early diagnosis is not easy and no definitive test exists. In the linked cross sectional study (doi:10.1136/bmj.b2030), Brown and colleagues assess the effectiveness of the "test your memory" cognitive test in detecting Alzheimer’s disease. The test was designed to minimise operator time and to be suitable for non-specialists to use.⁴

Cognitive function in established dementia is clearly different from the cognitive changes of normal ageing, but the onset of dementia is gradual. Diagnosis requires consideration of the person’s education, culture, and circumstances; dementia presents when a person’s . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ Medicine for the Elderly, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    StumbleUpon    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

More testing needed

Louise Robinson, Carol Brayne, Steve Iliffe for the Primary Care Clinical Studies Group, Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network
BMJ 2009 339: b2825. [Extract] [Full Text]

Too many false positives

Stephen L Black
BMJ 2009 339: b2828. [Extract] [Full Text]

Diagnoses can be meddlesome

William House
BMJ 2009 339: b2835. [Extract] [Full Text]

Self administered cognitive screening test (TYM) for detection of Alzheimer’s disease: cross sectional study

Jeremy Brown, George Pengas, Kate Dawson, Lucy A Brown, and Philip Clatworthy
BMJ 2009 338: b2030. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Robinson, L., Brayne, C., Iliffe, S., for the Primary Care Clinical Studies Group, Demen, (2009). More testing needed. BMJ 339: b2825-b2825 [Full text]  
• Black, S. L (2009). Too many false positives. BMJ 339: b2828-b2828 [Full text]  
• House, W. (2009). Diagnoses can be meddlesome. BMJ 339: b2835-b2835 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

why should screening test be a single point in time test?

sunku guptha
bmj.com, 18 Jun 2009 [Full text]

Diagnoses can be meddlesome

William House
bmj.com, 19 Jun 2009 [Full text]

Faulty memory?

A. Mark Clarfield
bmj.com, 20 Jun 2009 [Full text]

Online poll

Find out more here>> and here>>