Is dementia a mental illness
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Is Dementia a Mental Illness?
Understanding Dementia: Definition and Characteristics
Dementia is a term derived from the Latin root "de mens," indicating a decline in mental abilities. It is characterized by a deterioration in cognitive, emotional, and conative functions, affecting multiple mental faculties such as memory, language, and problem-solving skills2 7. Unlike lifelong intellectual disabilities or single learning disorders, dementia involves a decline from a previously higher level of mental functioning and is severe enough to interfere with daily life7.
Dementia and Mental Illness: Legal and Medical Perspectives
The classification of dementia as a mental illness has been debated in both legal and medical contexts. Historically, legislation such as the 1958 Mental Health Act in New South Wales did not classify dementia as a mental illness, reflecting a dichotomy between mental infirmity and mental illness1. This distinction is rooted in shifting perceptions about the basis of illness and the causation of mental symptoms. Modern psychiatry often views dementia as a neurocognitive disorder rather than a mental illness, emphasizing its biological underpinnings and the involvement of brain dysfunction1 2.
Dementia as a Neurocognitive Disorder
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), proposes replacing the term "dementia" with "neurocognitive disorder" to reduce stigma and better reflect the condition's nature. This reclassification underscores that dementia is a syndrome involving multiple cognitive impairments rather than a specific mental illness5. The most common types of dementia include Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia5.
Links Between Mental Illness and Dementia
Research indicates that certain mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, are risk factors for developing dementia. Individuals with a history of clinically significant depression or anxiety have a higher risk of developing all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease3. Additionally, early-life mental disorders are associated with an elevated risk of subsequent dementia and younger onset of the disease4. This suggests that addressing mental disorders early in life may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases later on4.
Conclusion
While dementia involves significant mental decline, it is not classified as a mental illness in the traditional sense. Instead, it is considered a neurocognitive disorder with distinct biological and cognitive characteristics. The relationship between mental illness and dementia is complex, with certain mental health conditions increasing the risk of developing dementia. Understanding these nuances is crucial for effective diagnosis, treatment, and support for individuals affected by dementia.
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Most relevant research papers on this topic
Is Dementia a Mental Illness?
Dementia's departure from mental illness reflects psychiatry's marginalization within medicine, with the future of psychiatry potentially shifting from its current biological focus.
What is dementia?
Dementia is a clinical syndrome characterized by deterioration of mental abilities in cognitive, emotional, and conative aspects, with various clinical profiles and courses.
Highly CitedRisk of Dementia in persons who have previously experienced clinically-significant Depression, Anxiety, or PTSD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Depression and anxiety are risk factors for dementia, but the link between PTSD and dementia remains unclear.
Meta-Analysis
Rigorous JournalHighly CitedLongitudinal Associations of Mental Disorders With Dementia
Early-life mental disorders are associated with an increased risk of dementia and younger dementia onset, suggesting that early intervention may reduce cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease later in life.
Observational StudyDementia
Dementia is a syndrome characterized by a decline in cognitive capacities and impairment in function, with potential modifiable risk factors, and addressing these can potentially reduce dementia risk and improve patient and family well-being.
Rigorous JournalLIVING WITH DEMENTIA
Dementia impacts not only the patient but also their families, and mental health professionals can help them cope with the disease and its stages through individual and group therapeutic interventions.
Highly CitedAlzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias
Dementias involve mental decline that significantly interferes with daily life and affects more than one of the four core mental abilities: recent memory, language, visuospatial function, and executive function.
Highly Cited