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Life Events and Senile Dementia Affective Symptoms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Martin Orrell  and
Paul Bebbington
Martin Orrell*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University College London Medical School, London W1N 8AA
Paul Bebbington
Affiliation:
MRC Social and Community Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London SE5 8QU, UK
*
Dr M. W. Orrell, Department of Psychiatry, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Hamstel Road, Harlow, Essex, CM20 1QX, UK
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Abstract

Background

Previous research in the elderly has linked threatening life events with depression. Dementia sufferers are known to be sensitive to stressful changes in their daily life such as relocation. This study investigates whether threatening life events are associated with depressive symptoms in dementia sufferers.

Method

Using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule, this study examined life events before admission in a group of 70 dementia patients compared with two control groups: dementia sufferers in the community and mentally fit elderly people matched for age and sex.

Results

Life events with severe threat were not significantly more frequent in the dementia patients than in two control groups. However, depressive symptoms in the dementia sufferers were significantly associated with independent severe life events. This strong association was maintained when a multivariate analysis was used to control for the effects of other social factors and severity of cognitive impairment. This association appears to be specific to the threat aspect of life events since there was no association between depressive symptoms and events relating to change in the social environment.

Conclusion

In dementia sufferers, threatening life events are associated with depressive symptoms. This means that dementia sufferers are responsive to stress in the same way as cognitively intact individuals, and clinicians need to be more aware of the social influences on them.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 166 , Issue 5 , May 1995 , pp. 613 - 620
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1995 

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