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Possible Improvements to the Diagnostic Criteria for Dementia in DSM-III

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

A. F. Jorm  and
A. S. Henderson
A. F. Jorm*
Affiliation:
NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia
A. S. Henderson
Affiliation:
NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

The DSM-III diagnostic criteria for dementia can be criticised because they treat dementia as a categorical rather than dimensional disorder, and thus ignore the problem of placing appropriate cutoffs. They are also too broad and may result in diagnostic unreliability because of varying interpretations of the criteria by different diagnosticians. Strategies for overcoming these problems are discussed and some improved criteria proposed.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 147 , Issue 4 , October 1985 , pp. 394 - 399
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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