If you don't ask (about memory), they probably won't tell

Frans Boch Waldorff; Susanne Rishoj; Gunhild Waldemar

If you don't ask (about memory), they probably won't tell

Frans Boch Waldorff, Susanne Rishoj, Gunhild Waldemar

27 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence and potential clinical implications of self-reported memory impairment among elderly patients in general practice. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in 17 general practices serving 40,865 patients, of whom 2934 were 65 years of age or older. Outcome measures were self-reported memory impairment, health-related quality of life, and cognition. RESULTS: In total, 177 (23.4%) out of 758 elderly patients consulting their physician reported impaired memory. Only 33 (18.6%) had consulted their physician for memory problems. The only independent predictor for impaired memory was a lower quality-of-life score: scores on the EuroQoL-5D-VAS of 0 to 49 and 50-74 points both correlated with memory complaints (odds ratios=4.8 and 4.1, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Memory impairment is a common complaint among elderly patients in general practice, but many patients will not present with these symptoms. It may be useful for general practitioners to ask about memory problems in order to identify potentially frail patients. Prospective trials are warranted.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Family Practice
Volume	57
Issue number	1
Pages (from-to)	41-4
Number of pages	3
ISSN	0094-3509
Publication status	Published - 2008

Cite this

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title = "If you don't ask (about memory), they probably won't tell",

abstract = "OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence and potential clinical implications of self-reported memory impairment among elderly patients in general practice. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in 17 general practices serving 40,865 patients, of whom 2934 were 65 years of age or older. Outcome measures were self-reported memory impairment, health-related quality of life, and cognition. RESULTS: In total, 177 (23.4%) out of 758 elderly patients consulting their physician reported impaired memory. Only 33 (18.6%) had consulted their physician for memory problems. The only independent predictor for impaired memory was a lower quality-of-life score: scores on the EuroQoL-5D-VAS of 0 to 49 and 50-74 points both correlated with memory complaints (odds ratios=4.8 and 4.1, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Memory impairment is a common complaint among elderly patients in general practice, but many patients will not present with these symptoms. It may be useful for general practitioners to ask about memory problems in order to identify potentially frail patients. Prospective trials are warranted.",

author = "Waldorff, {Frans Boch} and Susanne Rishoj and Gunhild Waldemar",

note = "Keywords: Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Denmark; Family Practice; Female; Humans; Male; Memory Disorders; Physician-Patient Relations; Quality of Life; Questionnaires",

year = "2008",

language = "English",

volume = "57",

pages = "41--4",

journal = "Journal of Family Practice",

issn = "0094-3509",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - If you don't ask (about memory), they probably won't tell

AU - Waldorff, Frans Boch

AU - Rishoj, Susanne

AU - Waldemar, Gunhild

N1 - Keywords: Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Denmark; Family Practice; Female; Humans; Male; Memory Disorders; Physician-Patient Relations; Quality of Life; Questionnaires

PY - 2008

Y1 - 2008

N2 - OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence and potential clinical implications of self-reported memory impairment among elderly patients in general practice. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in 17 general practices serving 40,865 patients, of whom 2934 were 65 years of age or older. Outcome measures were self-reported memory impairment, health-related quality of life, and cognition. RESULTS: In total, 177 (23.4%) out of 758 elderly patients consulting their physician reported impaired memory. Only 33 (18.6%) had consulted their physician for memory problems. The only independent predictor for impaired memory was a lower quality-of-life score: scores on the EuroQoL-5D-VAS of 0 to 49 and 50-74 points both correlated with memory complaints (odds ratios=4.8 and 4.1, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Memory impairment is a common complaint among elderly patients in general practice, but many patients will not present with these symptoms. It may be useful for general practitioners to ask about memory problems in order to identify potentially frail patients. Prospective trials are warranted.

AB - OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence and potential clinical implications of self-reported memory impairment among elderly patients in general practice. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in 17 general practices serving 40,865 patients, of whom 2934 were 65 years of age or older. Outcome measures were self-reported memory impairment, health-related quality of life, and cognition. RESULTS: In total, 177 (23.4%) out of 758 elderly patients consulting their physician reported impaired memory. Only 33 (18.6%) had consulted their physician for memory problems. The only independent predictor for impaired memory was a lower quality-of-life score: scores on the EuroQoL-5D-VAS of 0 to 49 and 50-74 points both correlated with memory complaints (odds ratios=4.8 and 4.1, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Memory impairment is a common complaint among elderly patients in general practice, but many patients will not present with these symptoms. It may be useful for general practitioners to ask about memory problems in order to identify potentially frail patients. Prospective trials are warranted.

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 18171569

SN - 0094-3509

VL - 57

SP - 41

EP - 44

JO - Journal of Family Practice

JF - Journal of Family Practice

IS - 1

ER -

If you don't ask (about memory), they probably won't tell

Abstract

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