Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Causes of aggressive behavior in patients with dementia.

Kunik ME, Snow AL, Davila JA, Steele AB, Balasubramanyam V, Doody RS, Schulz PE, Kalavar JS, Morgan RO. Causes of aggressive behavior in patients with dementia. The Journal of clinical psychiatry. 2010 Sep 1; 71(9):1145-52.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To examine factors predicting development of aggression. METHOD: Community-dwelling patients over 60 years of age in a Veterans Affairs Medical Center who had a documented ICD-9-CM code for dementia within 12 months of screening and no other dementia codes recorded for 2 preceding years but no aggressive behavior during the 12 months preceding study initiation were assessed every 4 months for 24 months for aggression, depression, pain, patient/caregiver relationship quality (mutuality), involvement in pleasant events, and caregiver burden. The study was conducted from September 5, 2003, to June 10, 2005. RESULTS: Of 215 patients, 89 (41%) developed aggression. In individual models, high baseline mutuality decreased risk of aggression; high burden and pain increased risk. Increases in depression and pain and declines in total mutuality also increased risk. In a full model and step-wise model, high levels of baseline caregiver burden, worst pain, and decline in mutuality over time increased risk of aggression. CONCLUSIONS: Many dementia patients become aggressive. Higher levels of worst pain, caregiver burden, and declining mutuality over time increase risk of aggression.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.