Peter V. Rabins

Anxiety symptoms among assisted living residents: implications of the "no difference" finding for participants with and without dementia

Anxiety is a distressing experience at any age but may be particularly disabling when coupled with dementia. Dementia-related anxiety is associated with a range of additional problems among community-dwelling older adults, but little is known about its occurrence in assisted living environments. The purpose of this article is to describe the prevalence of anxiety symptoms among older adults who participated in Phase I of the Maryland Assisted Living Study, a cross-sectional study of 198 participants who underwent comprehensive dementia evaluations. Participants with dementia diagnoses (n=134) were compared with those without dementia (n=64) using two measures of anxiety. Anxiety was common in both groups: 22% of each group were assessed to have one or more anxiety symptoms using proxyrated methods, and 45% had at least mild anxiety using direct observation and interview. Factors that contribute to variability in reports of dementia-related anxiety are reviewed.