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The NUH Memory Clinic. National University Hospital, Singapore.

1997; National Institutes of Health; Volume: 38; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

Ee Heok Kua, Sik‐Loo Tan, K S Lee, S M Ko, Christopher Tan,

Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

To assess the cognitive performance of elderly patients referred to the memory clinic.The patients were interviewed using the computerised mental state programme, GMS-AGECAT, and assessed on the Cognitive Assessment Scale (CAS) which includes the Elderly Cognitive Assessment Questionnaire (ECAQ) and the Cambridge Memory Test (CMT), modified for Chinese elderly.There were 72 Chinese elderly subjects aged 65 years and above, referred to the NUH Memory Clinic in the first year.Only 45 (62.5%) of the 72 subjects were diagnosed to have dementia using DSM III R criteria. There were 25 cases of Alzheimer's Disease and 20 multi-infarct dementia. In the non-demented group, 15 (20.8%) had depression or anxiety disorders and 12 (16.7%), had no mental disorders but had physical illness which could affect memory. There was a highly significant difference in the ECAQ, CMT and CAS scores of demented and non-demented elderly. There was also a significant difference in the cognitive performance of elderly with mild dementia and those with no mental disorder.The memory clinic is a useful facility for the diagnosis and management of dementia. The Cognitive Assessment Scale provides a valid and reliable battery of tests for dementia.