Anxiety, depression and psychosis in vascular dementia: prevalence and associations

Background: Little is known about psychiatric symptoms in Vascular dementia (VaD). Method: 92 patients with VaD, and 92 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are reported. The evaluation included standardised measures of mood and psychosis. Results: 72% of VaD patients and 38% of those with AD had two or more anxiety symptoms. VaD patients with severe dementia (94%) were the most likely to be anxious. Depression was also significantly more common in VaD patients (19% vs. 8%) whereas psychotic symptoms were prevalent in both dementias. Conclusion: Psychiatric symptoms are common in VaD, especially in patients with moderate or severe dementia. Rigorous assessment of psychiatric symptoms in VaD should be part of good clinical practice. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.