Dementia Screening in Primary Care
A fundamental tenet of any screening program is that it should "reduce individual and societal burden from specific disorders." Screening is predicated on the assumption that early detection and subsequent treatment will improve the clinical course for individuals without symptoms. Conversely, when an individual presents with complaints of memory problems, the physician engages in case-finding. Screening for some conditions in some populations has resulted in improvements in individual and societal burdens of diseases (e.g., colon and breast cancer), but screening can also cause individual and societal harm (e.g., prostate-specific antigen testing). According to the 2003 report of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine screening for dementia in primary care.
Data were reviewed from multiple studies, conducted by Indiana University Center for Aging Research, investigating the benefits and harms of dementia screening in the primary care setting, and used to answer three questions:
Introduction
A fundamental tenet of any screening program is that it should "reduce individual and societal burden from specific disorders." Screening is predicated on the assumption that early detection and subsequent treatment will improve the clinical course for individuals without symptoms. Conversely, when an individual presents with complaints of memory problems, the physician engages in case-finding. Screening for some conditions in some populations has resulted in improvements in individual and societal burdens of diseases (e.g., colon and breast cancer), but screening can also cause individual and societal harm (e.g., prostate-specific antigen testing). According to the 2003 report of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine screening for dementia in primary care.
Data were reviewed from multiple studies, conducted by Indiana University Center for Aging Research, investigating the benefits and harms of dementia screening in the primary care setting, and used to answer three questions:
Can current primary care practices implement dementia screening without leading to negative, unintended consequences?
Are there potential harms affecting asymptomatic individuals undergoing dementia screening in primary care?
Is there evidence supporting the benefit of early implementation of best-practice dementia care in screening-detected cases of dementia?