{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.027529761904761904, 'fraction_numerical': 0.020833333333333332, 'mean_word_length': 5.34433962264151, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Unrecognized Dementia in Elderly Patients Admitted to Hospital with Psychiatric Symptoms

In this study, we hypothesized that elderly patients with first admission to a psychiatric hospital commonly suffer from dementia but did not have such a diagnosis on admission. Over a period of 5 years, we surveyed all medical journals from patients treated for the first time at the Department of Psychogeriatrics. By selecting all inpatients treated at the only regional psychiatric hospital within a defined geographic area, the selected patients became rep resentative of this geographic area. After a diagnostic work-up at the hospital, 72 of 239 patients satisfied clinical criteria of dementia. Of these patients, 7 had Alzheimer's disease and 7 had evidence of vascular dementia. We iden tified 51 of 72 patients (71%) with an endpoint diagnosis of dementia made at the hospital without any clinical information suggesting dementia at the time of hospitalization. Nonspecific psychosis (35%), depression (15%), and behavioral disturbances (8%) represented the most common diagnoses proposed by the referring doctor. In conclu sion, dementia may be a difficult diagnosis in elderly patients with psychiatric symptoms. This study reminds clinicians that dementia should be considered in these patients. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2001; 14:7-10).