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Person-centered care at population scale : The Swedish registry for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia

Jönsson, Linus ; Wibom, Moa LU ; Londos, Elisabet LU and Nägga, Katarina LU (2025) In Alzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions 11(1).
Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are a common driver of suffering and high care needs. We describe the Swedish BPSD registry, founded in 2010 to develop an evidence base for quality improvement in the care of patients with BPSD. Further, we illustrate the potential of the registry by evaluating how individual BPSD affects mortality. METHODS: The registry provides a framework for documenting the occurrence of BPSD, formulating individual care plans, and following up outcomes. Symptoms are recorded by the nursing home version of the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI), and data are entered by trained staff, mainly at institutional care facilities. RESULTS: Enrollment in the registry totaled 114,869... (More)

INTRODUCTION: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are a common driver of suffering and high care needs. We describe the Swedish BPSD registry, founded in 2010 to develop an evidence base for quality improvement in the care of patients with BPSD. Further, we illustrate the potential of the registry by evaluating how individual BPSD affects mortality. METHODS: The registry provides a framework for documenting the occurrence of BPSD, formulating individual care plans, and following up outcomes. Symptoms are recorded by the nursing home version of the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI), and data are entered by trained staff, mainly at institutional care facilities. RESULTS: Enrollment in the registry totaled 114,869 patients with dementia and a mean age of 84 years. Patients were followed until death (median overall survival 2.2 years) or loss to follow-up (median time under observation 4.2 years in patients remaining alive). Common symptoms included agitation/aggression, aberrant motor behavior, and irritability. Mortality increased with NPI severity and use of neuroleptics but decreased in patients receiving cholinesterase inhibitors or memantine. DISCUSSION: The scale, completeness, and duration of the registry, together with the possibility of linking to other data sources, offer great potential for data-driven research. Highlights: The Swedish BPSD Registry, founded in 2010, has followed over 114,000 patients collecting data on symptoms, care plans, interventions and outcomes. The registry provides a framework for providing and evaluating person-centered care for patients with BPSD, and represents an unparalleled data source for research into BPSD and its management. Mortality increased in patients with more severe BPSD symptoms and for those treated with neuroleptics, but decreased in patients receiving cholinesterase inhibitors or mematine.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, mortality, quality registry
in
Alzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions
volume
11
issue
1
article number
e70057
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85219147567
  • pmid:39995597
ISSN
2352-8737
DOI
10.1002/trc2.70057
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.
id
32d4696d-809e-400f-960b-80358dc21fbe
date added to LUP
2025-07-03 09:19:54
date last changed
2025-07-17 10:11:27
@article{32d4696d-809e-400f-960b-80358dc21fbe,
  abstract     = {{<p>INTRODUCTION: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are a common driver of suffering and high care needs. We describe the Swedish BPSD registry, founded in 2010 to develop an evidence base for quality improvement in the care of patients with BPSD. Further, we illustrate the potential of the registry by evaluating how individual BPSD affects mortality. METHODS: The registry provides a framework for documenting the occurrence of BPSD, formulating individual care plans, and following up outcomes. Symptoms are recorded by the nursing home version of the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI), and data are entered by trained staff, mainly at institutional care facilities. RESULTS: Enrollment in the registry totaled 114,869 patients with dementia and a mean age of 84 years. Patients were followed until death (median overall survival 2.2 years) or loss to follow-up (median time under observation 4.2 years in patients remaining alive). Common symptoms included agitation/aggression, aberrant motor behavior, and irritability. Mortality increased with NPI severity and use of neuroleptics but decreased in patients receiving cholinesterase inhibitors or memantine. DISCUSSION: The scale, completeness, and duration of the registry, together with the possibility of linking to other data sources, offer great potential for data-driven research. Highlights: The Swedish BPSD Registry, founded in 2010, has followed over 114,000 patients collecting data on symptoms, care plans, interventions and outcomes. The registry provides a framework for providing and evaluating person-centered care for patients with BPSD, and represents an unparalleled data source for research into BPSD and its management. Mortality increased in patients with more severe BPSD symptoms and for those treated with neuroleptics, but decreased in patients receiving cholinesterase inhibitors or mematine.</p>}},
  author       = {{Jönsson, Linus and Wibom, Moa and Londos, Elisabet and Nägga, Katarina}},
  issn         = {{2352-8737}},
  keywords     = {{behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; mortality; quality registry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Alzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions}},
  title        = {{Person-centered care at population scale : The Swedish registry for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/trc2.70057}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/trc2.70057}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}