Home › Research › Risk factors
Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia
Cerejeira J, Lagarto L, Mukaetova-Ladinska EB.. Frontiers in neurology, 2012-05-07
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Plain-language summary
Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), also known as neuropsychiatric symptoms, represent a heterogeneous group of non-cognitive symptoms and behaviors occurring in subjects with dementia. BPSD constitute a major component of the dementia syndrome irrespective of its subtype. They are as clinically relevant as cognitive symptoms as they strongly correlate with the degree of functional and cognitive impairment. BPSD include agitation, aberrant motor behavior, anxiety, elation, irritability, depression, apathy, disinhibition, delusions, hallucinations, and sleep or appetite changes. It is estimated that BPSD affect up to 90% of all dementia subjects over the course of their illness, and is independently associated with poor outcomes, including distress among patients and caregivers, long-term hospitalization, misuse of medication, and increased health care costs. Although these symptoms can be present individually it is more common that various psychopathological features co-occur simultaneously in the same patient. Thus, categorization of BPSD in clusters taking into account their natural course, prognosis, and treatment response may be useful in the clinical practice. The pathogenesis of BPSD has not been clearly delineated but it is probably the result of a complex interplay of psychological, social, and biological factors. Recent studies have emphasized the role of neurochemical, neuropathological, and genetic factors underlying the clinical manifestations of BPSD. A high degree of clinical expertise is crucial to appropriately recognize and manage the neuropsychiatric symptoms in a patient with dementia. Combination of non-pharmacological and careful use of pharmacological interventions is the recommended therapeutic for managing BPSD. Given the modest efficacy of current strategies, there is an urgent need to identify novel pharmacological targets and develop new non-pharmacological approaches to improve the adverse outcomes associated with BPSD.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Cerejeira, J., Lagarto, L., & Mukaetova-Ladinska, E. B. (2012). Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Frontiers in neurology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2012.00073
Vancouver
Cerejeira J, Lagarto L, Mukaetova-Ladinska EB. Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Frontiers in neurology. 2012. doi:10.3389/fneur.2012.00073. PMID: 22586419.
BibTeX
@article{cerejeira2012-22586419,
author = {Cerejeira, J. and Lagarto, L. and Mukaetova-Ladinska, E. B.},
title = {{Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia}},
journal = {Frontiers in neurology},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.3389/fneur.2012.00073},
pmid = {22586419},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2012.00073}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- It is estimated that BPSD affect up to 90% of all dementia subjects over the course of their illness, and is independently associated with poor outcomes, including distress among patients and caregivers, long-term hospitalization, misuse of medication, and increased health care costs.
- The pathogenesis of BPSD has not been clearly delineated but it is probably the result of a complex interplay of psychological, social, and biological factors.
- Given the modest efficacy of current strategies, there is an urgent need to identify novel pharmacological targets and develop new non-pharmacological approaches to improve the adverse outcomes associated with BPSD.
Why it matters
This 2012 review describes behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), such as agitation, depression, apathy, anxiety, delusions, hallucinations and sleep or appetite changes. It estimates they affect "up to 90%" of people with dementia at some point in the illness, and they are linked to caregiver distress, long-term hospitalization, medication misuse and higher costs. It says their cause is not yet clear, and it describes the recommended approach as non-drug methods combined with "careful use" of medicines, while noting that current treatments have only "modest efficacy."
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Risk factors, ranked →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Frontiers in Neurology: journal h-index 162 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,420 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 88.8 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 22.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 38 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 384 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author EB Mukaetova-Ladinska: h-index 7 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Unidade Local de Saúde de Coimbra: institution h-index 252 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22586419) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2012.00073
- PubMed: 22586419
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Neurology →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 28.
Later studies that cite this one
38 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Risk factors from nearby years
Also tagged “prevalence”
1,223 studies in the library carry the topic tag “prevalence”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,223 tagged studies.