Dementia Diagnosis and Institutionalisation of the Elderly

The aim of this study is to establish the prevalence of dementia in elderly residents of long-term care institutions in Porto Nacional-Tocantins, in the northern region of Brazil. The results found are important because they show that the majority of elderly people diagnosed with a particular dementia syndrome are not treated with any dementia medication; on the contrary, they use iatrogenic medication, which aggravates the dementia outcome. In this way, this study is in line with the proposal to improve the public mental health policy for the elderly in Porto Nacional-To.