Memory Complaints of Elderly People in a Population Survey: Variation According to Dementia Stage and Depression

Abstract

Our data show the validity of the informants' reports about the subjects' memory deficits. Moreover, the study confirmed the clinical impression that the patient's own complaints should not be ignored, as subjects in the mild stage of dementia often have some insight into their own memory deficit. However, depressed individuals may underestimate their own memory, and individuals with moderate-severe dementia may overestimate theirs.