Telling the Diagnosis of Dementia: Consider Each Patient Individually

Abstract

Pinner and Bouman's review article “To Tell or Not to Tell: On Disclosing the Diagnosis of Dementia” (pp. 127–137 in this issue) outlines the pros and cons of diagnosis disclosure to this diagnostic group. It is only over the past 10 years that the question of informing patients with dementia of their diagnosis has become topical, although the hard evidence for and against telling remains sparse, with much of the argument on either side being anecdotal. Paternalism is a common theme of surveys that examine the attitudes of spouse caregivers, relatives, and nonaffected older adults toward telling the diagnosis of dementia (Connell & Gallant, 1996; Erde et al., 1988; Holroyd et al., 1996; Maguire et al., 1996).