Influence of gender on the prevalence of behavioral symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s dementia

Abstract

Introduction:The prevalence of behavioral symptoms in a patient with Alzheimer’s dementia is one of the factors that significantly affects nursing care. It is a major problem of nursing care and the main cause of institutionalization and increased costs. Design: For this research, the design of a prospective quantitative study based on the assessment scale was chosen. Objective: The aim of the research was to map out the prevalence of behavioral symptoms, the manifestations of problem behavior in Alzheimer’s dementia patients, and to determine the influence of gender on individual manifestations. Methodology: We used the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) to assess behavioral symptoms; problem behavior of patients with Alzheimer dementia. We statistically processed the results using the Mann–Whitney U test. The survey sample consisted of 413 patients who were randomly assigned to the sample. Results: The incidence of behavioral symptoms and behavioral problems in up to 92% of patients was detected with the scale (54 average rank). The problem was higher in man than in women (49 average rank), but this difference was only random and did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.273). Concerning aggressive behavior, we note that there is a statistically significant difference (p = 0.038) in the manifestations of aggressive behavior between men and women. There is no statistically significant difference in the manifestations of physically nonaggressive behavior (p = 0.098) and verbal restlessness (p = 0.220) between men and women. Conclusions: The problem of prevalence of behavioral symptoms, problem behavior in patients with Alzheimer’s dementia, is highly relevant. Finally, we can state that gender does not have an unambiguous influence on behavioral symptom manifestations, problem behavior in patients with Alzheimer’s dementia.