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Depressive disorders in Chinese patients with Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Liu C. Y.,
Fuh J. L.,
Teng E. L.,
Wang S. J.,
Wang P. N.,
Yang Y. Y.,
Liu H. C.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1999.tb10896.x
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , clinical dementia rating , dementia , psychiatry , rating scale , alzheimer's disease , disease , psychology , risk factor , depressive symptoms , medicine , clinical psychology , cognitive impairment , cognition , developmental psychology , economics , macroeconomics
Objective The present study was to investigate the prevalence and potential risk factors of depressive disorders in Chinese patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Method A series of consecutive AD patients from the Memory Disorders Clinic of the Veterans General Hospital, Taipei were studied. Psychiatric diagnosis was made according to DSM‐III‐R criteria with the use of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐III‐R (SCID). The Chinese version of the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were also applied. Primary caregivers were interviewed for the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale, the Barthel Index and the Alzheimer's Deficit Scale (ADS). Results Among 141 AD patients, seven (5.0%)were diagnosed with major depression, 11 (7.8%) with dysthymia and five (3.5%) with depressive disorder not otherwise specified. Women were at elevated risk for depressive disorders and had more severe symptoms of depressio. Conclusions The prevalence of depressive disorders among Chinese AD patients is in the middle of the range of western findings. The risk factor for depression is female gender.