Prevalence of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia in individuals with learning disabilities

A review of 23 studies investigating the prevalence of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in the general and intellectual disability population and measures used to assess BPSD was carried out. BPSD are non-cognitive symptoms, which constitute as a major component of dementia regardless of its subtype. Research has indicated that there is a high prevalence of BPSD in the general dementia population. There are limited studies, which investigate the prevalence of BPSD within individuals who have intellectual disabilities and dementia. Findings suggest BPSDs are present within individuals with intellectual disabilities and dementia. Future research should use updated tools for investigating the prevalence of BPSD within individuals with intellectual disabilities and dementia.

Source: Devshi, R., Shaw, S., Elliott-King, J., Hogervorst, E., Hiremath, A., Velayudhan, L., Kumar, S., Baillon, S., & Bandelow, S. (2015). Prevalence of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia in Individuals with Learning Disabilities. Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland), 5(4), 564–576. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics5040564