GPs failing to identify early-stage dementia
Monday 20th June 2011
Many general practitioners (GPs) are failing to correctly identify dementia in its early stages, research has shown.
A University of Leicester study found that just 45 per cent of people with early dementia and mild cognitive impairment were recognised in the trial.
However, eight out of ten individuals with moderate to severe dementia were identified.
Dr Alex Mitchell, of the university, said: "This study highlights for the first time that GPs trying to identify dementia actually make more false positive errors, with misidentifications outnumbering missed cases at least two to one."
He continued that patients with depression or hearing problems were at the highest risk of being misdiagnosed with dementia.
This follows research from Kent State University which revealed that testing improves many different types of memory rather than just 'target memory'.
According to research Kalif Vaughn, giving a correct answer during a test improved memory performance later on.
Posted by Megan Smith
Related articles
Cancer risk can be increased by snoring
Snoring has been highlighted as an unlikely cause for increasing the risk of cancer, new research has revealed. A team from the...
Monday 21st May 2012
National falls strategy could reduce incidents by...
A strategy between health authorities across the UK could help reduce the problem of falls in the elderly. The NHS Confederation&...
Thursday 10th May 2012
Persistent cough could be a sign of lung cancer
Having a persistent cough could be a sign that a person has lung cancer, according to a new advertising campaign from the...
Tuesday 8th May 2012
Related Hospital-Doctors Jobs
Specialist Registrar in Accident & EmergencyRef: 0509AH Job Title: Specialist Registrar in Accident & Emergency Location:...
Full infoConsultant Cardiology Job based in the West Midlands Consultant Cardiologist West Midlands Salary £74,504 - £100,446 Based...
Full infoSpeciality Doctor Critical Care London Salary £36,000 - £68,000 Experience Critical Care Doctor for a busy Acute NHS Hospital Based...
Full info