Do subjective memory complaints precede dementia? A three‐year follow‐up of patients with supposed ‘benign senescent forgetfulness’

It is concluded that memory complaint must be taken seriously in the elderly and may sometimes indicate early dementia despite normal scores on simple screening tests, but a finding of normality after careful assessment is reassuringly correct in the majority of cases.

Abstract

Abstract A three‐year follow‐up study is reported of people presenting to a hospital memory clinic with ‘benign senescent forgetfulness’.All were complaining of forgetfulness for which no organic or psychiatric cause could be found. Sixty‐four out of the 68 patients initially seen were traced, of whom three had died. Six (8.8%) were found to have become demented, a slightly higher proportion than would be expected given the age of the population. No particular clinical features were found that predicted the subsequent development of dementia. Cognitive performance of remaining non‐demented subjects showed a significant but relatively modest decline, probably related to the effects of normal ageing. It is concluded that memory complaint must be taken seriously in the elderly and may sometimes indicate early dementia despite normal scores on simple screening tests. However, a finding of normality after careful assessment is reassuringly correct in the majority of cases.