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Screening test for dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Sanjay Jain
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The Psychiatrist , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , April 2010 , pp. 163
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Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010

Screening for dementia or early cognitive impairment is of paramount importance. However, it should not be limited to patients in their seventies but should be done even for patients in their nineties. Otherwise we are going to create a biased service. We have to understand that screening for dementia will help with further investigations and treatment of reversible causes of this illness. Reference Boustani, Peterson, Harris, Lux, Krasnow and Sutton1

Another important issue would be that of mild cognitive impairment which, although not formally classified, has received due attention as interventions at this stage will certainly delay the expression of clinical symptoms. Reference Callahan, Hendrie and Tierney2 The National Dementia Strategy 3 is indeed a step in a right direction. With huge infusion of funds across England and Wales as well as establishing early diagnosis and intervention clinics, it is of paramount importance in identifying probable mild cognitive impairment early on by utilising various screening tests including blood test, scans and battery of neuropsychological testing. This will certainly help both patients and carers to be well prepared and informed, and reduces the risk of early institutionalisation.

Therefore, to say that patients in their nineties do not deserve full investigation is rather a Stone Age statement. Screening tests should be available to everyone regardless.

References

1 Boustani, M, Peterson, B, Harris, R, Lux, LJ, Krasnow, C, Sutton, SF, et al. Screening for Dementia. Systematic Evidence Review. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2003 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat3.chapter.28271).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2 Callahan, CM, Hendrie, HC, Tierney, WM. Documentation and evaluation of cognitive impairment in elderly primary care patients. Ann Intern Med 1995; 122: 422–9.Google Scholar
3 Department of Health. National Dementia Strategy. Department of Health, 2009.Google Scholar
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