Considerations of Care in Dementia of Schizophrenia

With an aging population, there is increasing number of persons with schizophrenia and dementia in the post-acute and long-term care settings. By eighty years of age, the prevalence of dementia diagnoses is 70.2% in persons with schizophrenia, compared to 11.3% in persons without. This high rate posits unique care considerations in the post-acute and long-term care settings. These include balancing medication management for mood and behavior stability while minimizing adverse side effects such as tardive dyskinesia and metabolic syndrome, and optimizing non-pharmacological interventions to enhance quality of life and safety of this population.