Helmes, E., and Ostbye, T. (2008) Personality changes and the occurrence of dementia. Australian Journal of Psychology, 60 (S1). p. 147.

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Abstract

Previous reports have suggested that personality changes are associated with the development of dementia, notably increased social isolation and passivity in people later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Here data from the first two waves of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) are used to evaluate differences in personality characteristics between 99 people with dementia and 270 controls assessed to be cognitively intact. Ratings on seven variables from the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly (CAMDEX) at CSHA-1 by proxy informants for the person being rated were compared for normal controls and the group diagnosed with dementia five years later in CSHA-2. Most of the sample was female (63.1%), with a mean age of 77.5 years (SD = 6.44) and a mean of 9.4 years of education (SD = 4.19). Personality changes were twice as common in the dementia group as in normal controls, with aggravation of premorbid personality features, and changes in mood also being more common, while other personality factors did not differ between groups. These results are at odds with some earlier studies, suggesting that further studies of people in the early stages of dementia are needed to better understand the development of dementia.

Item ID:	25424
Item Type:	Article (Abstract)
ISSN:	1742-9536
Additional Information:	Presented at the 43rd Annual Conference of the Australian Psychological Society.
Date Deposited:	14 Jun 2013 01:22
FoR Codes:	17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170199 Psychology not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes:	92 HEALTH > 9202 Health and Support Services > 920209 Mental Health Services @ 100%
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