Psychosis and Clinical Outcomes in Alzheimer's Disease: a Longitudinal Study

• Psychotic symptoms are common in Alzheimer's disease, affecting half of the patients in this sample over a three year period.• Both delusions and hallucinations are associated with greater cognitive and functional impairment, dementia severity, and caregiver burden• The presence of both delu sions and hallucinations is associated with worse outcomes than the presence of only one of these symptoms• Delusions, both by themselves and in combination with hallucinations, predict institutionalization; use of antipsychotic medication predicts mortality• The findings highlight the challenge s of managing psychosis in Alzheimer's disease given its poor prognosis and the mortality associated with antipsychotic medication
Source: The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Tags: Regular Research Articles Source Type: research