ABSTRACT
Coexistent medical problems are very common in people with dementia. Most patients are elderly and are therefore likely to suffer from other illnesses, both acute and chronic. It is very important not to assume that every physical or mental problem a person with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) experiences arises because of that disease.1 Elderly people with dementia frequently have other therapeutically important medical conditions. One prospective study of 200 elderly outpatients with dementia identified 248 other medical diagnoses in 124 patients; 92 of the diagnoses were new.2
