Differential Association of Aggression With Sadness for People With Moderate and Severe Dementia

Abstract

Little is known about how individual behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) impact the person with dementia. This cross-sectional, retrospective study examined the association between one BPSD, aggressive behavior, and a patient-identified outcome, sadness, among people with moderate and severe dementia (n = 5001) using clinical administrative Resident Assessment Instrument 2.0 data. For people with moderate or severe cognitive impairment, the odds of sadness were significantly higher if verbal aggression was exhibited 4 to 6 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.85, P