Gender differences in the behavioral manifestations of Alzheimer'sdisease
B.R. Ott
Bok Engelsk 1996
| Utgitt | 1996
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| Omfang | Side 583- 587
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| Opplysninger | OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between gender and specifictypes of behavior problems that occur in patients with Alzheimer'sdisease.DESIGN: This was an observational study using the Dementia BehaviorDisturbance Scale to quantify and define behavioral problemsencountered by caregivers. Multiple regressions were used to controlfor the possible influence of dementia severity as measured by theMini-Mental State Examination and the duration of dementia.SETTING: Patients were sampled from the outpatient dementia clinicsof Roger Williams Hospital and Miriam Hospital in Providence, RhodeIsland.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 125 patients with probable Alzheimer'sdisease, defined by NINCDS-ADRDA diagnostic criteria, were includedin the study. There were 75 women and 50 men.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Caregivers rated the presence and frequency of28 different behavior problems from the Dementia Behavior DisturbanceScale. Domains of behavior disturbance were then defined by a factoranalysis of the data.RESULTS: Male and female groups were comparable for the demographicvariables of age, education, and duration of dementia, as well asseverity of depression, degree of cognitive impairment and overallseverity of behavior disturbance. Among the six behavior factors thatwere defined, two were significantly related to gender. One factor,which included apathy and vegetative signs, was related to malegender; a second factor, which included reclusiveness and emotionallability, was related to female gender.CONCLUSIONS: Although overall severity of behavior disturbance inAlzheimer's disease may be related primarily to severity of dementia,significant differences in the types of behaviors manifested existbetween males and females with the disease.
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