Dementia Screening in Primary Care: Not Too Fast!

Abstract

A fundamental tenet of any screening program is that it should “reduce individual and societal burden from specific disorders.”1 Screening is predicated on the assumption that early detection and subsequent treatment will improve the clinical course for individuals without symptoms. Conversely, when an individual presents with complaints of memory problems, the physician engages in case-finding. 1 Screening for some conditions in some populations has resulted in improvements in individual and societal burdens of diseases (e.g., colon and breast cancer), but screening can also cause individual and societal harm (e.g., prostate-specific antigen testing). According to the 2003 report of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine screening for dementia in primary care.2