Centre of Old Age Psychiatric Research, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Ottestad, Norway.
Int Psychogeriatr. 2011 Oct;23(8):1231-9. doi: 10.1017/S1041610211001177. Epub 2011 Jul 5.
Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in patients with dementia, and cause distress for patients. Studies on the prevalence, incidence, persistence and resolution of NPS in patients living in nursing homes are sparse. The aim of this study was to evaluate the course of NPS in patients with dementia living in Norwegian nursing homes.
169 patients from seven Norwegian nursing homes were assessed five times over a period of 16 months with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). The severity and the frequency of the NPI were analyzed.
91.7% of the patients had at least one clinically significant NPS at one or more assessments over the 16 months. Irritability (63.5%), agitation (51.0%) and disinhibition (50.0%) had the highest cumulative prevalence, while irritability (42.6%), disinhibition (37.8%) and depression (31.5%) showed the highest cumulative incidence. Delusion, agitation and irritability were enduring symptoms while the other symptoms had high resolution rates. The severity of the NPS did not vary significantly over time.
Almost every patient in Norwegian nursing homes had at least one clinically significant NPS over 16 months, but individual NPS show a fluctuating course. This should influence how we monitor and treat NPS in patients with dementia.
神经精神症状（NPS）在痴呆患者中很常见，会给患者带来痛苦。关于居住在养老院的患者 NPS 的患病率、发病率、持续性和缓解率的研究较少。本研究旨在评估居住在挪威养老院的痴呆患者 NPS 的病程。
来自挪威 7 家养老院的 169 名患者在 16 个月的时间内接受了 5 次神经精神病学问卷（NPI）评估。分析了 NPI 的严重程度和频率。
91.7%的患者在 16 个月的时间里至少有一次临床显著的 NPS。易激惹（63.5%）、激越（51.0%）和行为紊乱（50.0%）的累积患病率最高，而易激惹（42.6%）、行为紊乱（37.8%）和抑郁（31.5%）的累积发病率最高。妄想、激越和易激惹是持续存在的症状，而其他症状的缓解率较高。NPS 的严重程度在不同时间没有显著变化。
在 16 个月的时间里，挪威养老院的几乎每个患者都至少有一次临床显著的 NPS，但个体 NPS 的病程存在波动。这应该影响我们如何监测和治疗痴呆患者的 NPS。
