Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurocognitive disorders are one of the major classes of disorders relevant to older adults. In addition to cognitive symptoms, psychiatric complications are common and are major contributors to impairments in quality of life for the individual and families and significantly impact health care costs. Geriatric psychiatry, whose core competencies include diagnosis and management of both cognitive and psychiatric symptoms of dementia, plays a unique role in meeting this substantial need in health care. This chapter therefore reviews background on neurocognitive disorders, approaches to diagnosis, and management of several of the more problematic psychiatric complications of dementia. Disorders reviewed include AD, vascular dementia, Lewy body disease, and frontotemporal dementia. Psychiatric symptoms reviewed include apathy, agitation, psychosis, depression, and anxiety.
Elsevier, Handbook of Mental Health and Aging, Volume , 1 January 2020
