Continued clinical validation of dementia diagnosed in the community using the Cambridge Mental Disorders of the Elderly Examination

Abstract

We describe the outcome 2 years later of elderly Cambridge residents who had been diagnosed as demented using the Cambridge Mental Disorders of the Elderly Examination. Mortality rates were high but diagnoses were confirmed for all of the 43 moderate and severe cases who survived for this period, and for 51 of the 56 subjects who had been rated initially as mildly demented; 28 of the 56 mildly demented subjects progressed to more severe levels of impairment. As many as 12 of the 24 original minimally demented cases showed evidence of intellectual deterioration, which lends weight to the validity of this experimental category.