Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T19:21:00.328Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Personality Change in Dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2005

Lucy Aitken ,
Stephen Simpson  and
Alistair Burns
Lucy Aitken
Affiliation:
Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, England
Stephen Simpson
Affiliation:
Forston Clinic, Dorset, England
Alistair Burns
Affiliation:
University of Manchester, Withington Hospital, Manchester, England
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study examined the prevalence and nature of personality change in 99 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type and multi-infarct dementia. Personality was assessed using an informant-rated inventory of the patient's personality before and after the onset of dementia, with the difference equating to a change in personality. Personality characteristics were related to the patients' age and sex, duration of illness, degree of cognitive impairment, the presence of a grasp reflex, and extrapyramidal signs. Personality change was found to be almost universal and negative in nature and was particularly associated with severity of cognitive impairment, longer duration of illness, and neurological signs. The findings reflect those from other studies and emphasize the biological basis of personality changes in dementia.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , September 1999 , pp. 263 - 271
Copyright
© 1999 International Psychogeriatric Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)