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20 Type of dementia, disease severity and gender may also be factors as persons with Lewy Body dementia demonstrate more anxiety symptoms than those with Alzheimer’s disease 13 and anxiety occurs more frequently in males and persons with less severe dementia. 17 Other adverse outcomes associated with anxiety in dementia include greater functional impairment, 18 lower self-concept, 19 and attachment insecurity.
15, 16 Anxiety related symptoms may also serve as an indicator of more challenging behaviors that could lead to unnecessary medication or harm to PwD or others in the surrounding areas. The paper concludes with recommendations for assessment and treatment of anxiety and stigma in persons with dementia that will better allow them to age in place.Īnxiety is commonly exhibited through fearfulness, worries, irritability, paranoia, motor restlessness, suspiciousness, or day and night disturbances. Next, based on research by the authors and others, the association between stigma and anxiety is examined. The paper begins by describing dementia-related anxiety. When undetected and untreated, anxiety and associated stigma can adversely affect quality of life and the ability to age in place. This article focuses on anxiety, one of the least understood symptoms associated with dementia in community-dwelling older adults, the stigma of dementia, and the relationship between anxiety and stigma in dementia.
1, 2 This number will likely continue to grow as the population ages, 3 and may be unsettling as dementia is feared by many, 4, 5 resulting in anxiety in persons with dementia (PwD). Approximately 5.2 million Americans, or 10 percent of people over the age of 65, have dementia, with individuals over the age of 85 years having the highest prevalence rate at 50 percent.