van de Veen Dennis, Bakker Christian, Peetoom Kirsten, Pijnenburg Yolande, Papma Janne, de Vugt Marjolein, Koopmans Raymond
Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Radboudumc Alzheimer Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2022 Mar;37(3). doi: 10.1002/gps.5691.
Dementia at a young age differs from late onset dementia in pathology and care needs. This requires further research to improve the understanding of this group, support and service provision. Aim of current study is to reach consensus on the terminology and operational definition (i.e., age-related criteria and possible causes) of dementia at a young age, to aid further research.
A classical Delphi technique was used to transform opinions into group consensus by using an online survey. In three rounds statements regarding (1) terminology, (2) age-related criteria, and (3) aetiologies that can be considered as causes of dementia at a young age were sent to international experts in the field to give their opinions and additional comments on the statements.
Forty-four experts responded and full consensus was reached on 22 out of 35 statements. Young-onset dementia emerged as the term of preference. Provisional consensus was found for the use of age 65 at symptom onset as preferred cut-off age. Consensus was reached on the inclusion of 15 out of 22 aetiologies and categories of aetiologies as potential cause for dementia at a young age.
A clear term and operational definition have been reached. Although beneficial for conducting future research to gain more insight in pathology and care needs of young people living with dementia, still consensus about some details is lacking. To reach consensus about these details and implications for use in research and clinical practice, the organisation of an in person consensus meeting is advised.
年轻时患痴呆症在病理和护理需求方面与晚发性痴呆症不同。这需要进一步研究，以增进对这一群体的了解、支持和服务提供。本研究的目的是就年轻时患痴呆症的术语和操作定义（即年龄相关标准和可能病因）达成共识，以辅助进一步研究。
采用经典德尔菲技术，通过在线调查将意见转化为群体共识。分三轮向该领域的国际专家发送了关于（1）术语、（2）年龄相关标准以及（3）可被视为年轻时患痴呆症病因的病因学的陈述，以征求他们对这些陈述的意见和其他评论。
44位专家做出回应，35条陈述中有22条达成了完全共识。“早发性痴呆症”成为首选术语。对于将症状出现时的65岁作为首选截止年龄的使用达成了初步共识。就22种病因中的15种以及病因类别作为年轻时患痴呆症的潜在病因达成了共识。
已达成明确的术语和操作定义。尽管这有利于开展未来研究，以更深入了解患有痴呆症的年轻人的病理和护理需求，但在一些细节上仍缺乏共识。为了就这些细节以及在研究和临床实践中的应用达成共识，建议组织一次面对面的共识会议。
