Anxiety Disorders in Dementia Sufferers

One hundred and fifty-eight consecutive patients attending a university memory clinic were assessed using a variety of standardized instruments. Dementia was diagnosed according to DSM-III-R criteria. One hundred and nine patients had DSM-III-R dementia, of whom 22% had subjective anxiety, 11% experienced autonomic anxiety, 38% experienced tension, 13% experienced situational anxiety and 1.8% had panic attacks. Thirty-two (29.4%) had one or more anxiety symptoms. None of the cognitive or demographic variables were significantly associated with the presence of anxiety symptoms. Three main categories of anxiety symptoms were evident—anxiety related to depression, anxiety related to psychosis and anxiety related to interpersonal situations.