Objective: To explore the transcultural differences in the cognitive test, neuropsychiatric manifestation and caregivers reaction among the Taiwanese patients with dementia and other ethnic groups
Materials and Methods: A literature review.
Results: The performance on individual test item of Mini-Mental State Examination might be different between Taiwanese and the other ethnic groups. Aberrant motor behavior was the most frequently recorded behavior of Taiwanese demented patients and euphoria was the least. Taiwanese caregivers reported anxiety and delusions more frequently in demented patients than Caucasians. Caucasians reported appetite changes and apathy more frequently than Taiwanese. One study showed all three ethnic groups (Taiwan, Italy and the US) had a high prevalence of agitation among the dementia patients. However, agitation was significantly associated with hallucinations in Taiwanese patients and apathy in Italian patients. The symptoms most frequently reported to be severely distressing to caregivers were aberrant motor activity, anxiety, agitation, and delusions. In contrast to caregivers in the United States, Taiwanese caregivers are not bothered to any great extent by depression of the patients.
Conclusion: The sociocultural factors may influence the cognitive test and neuropsychiatric manifestations in demented patients.
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