Evolution of Psychiatric Admissions for Dementia in the Last Decade

Abstract

Aims:

To describe the admissions due to dementia in an acute psychiatric unit in the last decade, in patients aged over seventy.

Method:

Medical records of all patients over seventy admitted in an acute unit of a Psychiatric Hospital in 1997 and 2007 are analyzed.

Results:

Over the last ten years, the percentage of patients diagnosed with dementia compared to the total number of patients over seventy admitted in this acute unit, has hardly decreased.

Conclusions:

Despite the fact that in the last decade neurologists have widespread the use of various drugs in the treatment of dementia, the number of patients admitted to our psychiatric unit, in order to control the accompanying symptoms (delusions, abnormal conduct, etc), remains stable.

Moreover, given the progressive aging of the population and the consequent increase in the number of cases of dementia among the elderly population, perhaps the fact that the number of admissions in the unit has not increased is positive itself.