Reeve Emily, Molin Pierre, Hui Amaris, Rockwood Kenneth
Geriatric Medicine Research Unit,Dalhousie University and Capital Health,Halifax,Nova Scotia,Canada.
Division of Geriatric Medicine,Dalhousie University,Halifax,Nova Scotia,Canada.
Int Psychogeriatr. 2017 Jun;29(6):959-966. doi: 10.1017/S1041610216002180. Epub 2017 Mar 9.
Online tools can be used by people with dementia and their caregivers to self-identify and track troubling symptoms, such as verbal repetition. We aimed to explore verbal repetition behaviors in people with dementia.
Participants were recruited via an online resource for people with dementia and their caregivers. Respondents were instructed to complete information about symptoms that are most important to them for tracking over time. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data pertaining to individuals with dementia who had at least three symptoms selected for tracking.
Of the 3,573 participants who began a user profile, 1,707 fulfilled criteria for analysis. Verbal repetition was identified as a treatment target in 807 respondents (47.3%). Verbal repetition was more frequent in individuals with mild dementia compared to those with moderate and severe dementia (57.2% vs. 36.0% and 39.9%, p < 0.01) and in those with Alzheimer's disease versus other dementias (65.2% vs. 29.7%, p < 0.001). Repetitive questioning was the most frequent type of verbal repetition (90.5% of individuals with verbal repetition). Verbal repetition was most strongly associated with difficulties operating gadgets/appliances (OR 3.65, 95%CI: 2.82-4.72), lack of interest and/or initiative (3.52: 2.84-4.36), misplacing or losing objects (3.25: 2.64-4.01), and lack of attention and/or concentration (2.62: 2.12-3.26).
Verbal repetition is a common symptom in people at all stages of dementia but is most commonly targeted for monitoring and treatment effects in its mild stage. Much research is required to further elucidate the underlying mechanisms and the effect of different treatment strategies.
痴呆症患者及其护理人员可以使用在线工具来自我识别和跟踪令人困扰的症状，如言语重复。我们旨在探讨痴呆症患者的言语重复行为。
通过一个面向痴呆症患者及其护理人员的在线资源招募参与者。要求受访者填写对他们来说随时间跟踪最重要的症状信息。在这项横断面研究中，我们分析了与至少选择了三种症状进行跟踪的痴呆症患者相关的数据。
在3573名创建用户资料的参与者中，1707名符合分析标准。807名受访者（47.3%）将言语重复确定为治疗目标。与中度和重度痴呆患者相比，轻度痴呆患者的言语重复更为频繁（57.2%对36.0%和39.9%，p<0.01），与其他痴呆症相比，阿尔茨海默病患者的言语重复更为频繁（65.2%对29.7%，p<0.001）。反复提问是言语重复最常见的类型（言语重复患者中的90.5%）。言语重复与操作小工具/电器困难（比值比3.65，95%置信区间：2.82 - 4.72）、缺乏兴趣和/或主动性（3.52：2.84 - 4.36）、放错或丢失物品（3.25：2.64 - 4.01）以及缺乏注意力和/或专注力（2.62：2.12 - 3.26）的关联最为紧密。
言语重复是痴呆症各阶段患者的常见症状，但在轻度阶段最常被作为监测和治疗效果的目标。需要进行更多研究以进一步阐明其潜在机制和不同治疗策略的效果。
