Screening for and Treating Dementia

Abstract

Dementia is a prevalent and devastating disease that often is difficult to diagnose and treat. There are 5.3 million Americans who have dementia diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and many seek treatment. Many Americans with dementia undergo extensive testing in search of a cause. Testing reveals a fully reversible cause in 3 out of 1,000 people tested. Many people with dementia also use dementia drugs to help symptoms, and it is felt that 92 out of 1,000 people who take such drugs may have some benefit when compared to placebo for up to a year, while 70 out of 1,000 suffer severe gastrointestinal side effects. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding the benefits of dementia screening and subsequent risks associated with medical intervention. Information presented to doctors and patients tends to be misleading and difficult to interpret. This is due, in large part, to the use of relative risks rather than absolute values when communicating information on dementia drug treatment. In light of this situation, a unique graphic, functioning as a decision aid, has been developed to enable physicians and patients to jointly assess the benefits and risks of dementia screening and eventual medical intervention. By characterizing the complexities of risk analysis in terms patients can understand, means they will be able to make well-informed decisions about their health.