Paranoid Symptoms Among Older Adults

Authors and Disclosures

Muzumel A. Chaudhary, MD, Psychiatry Resident, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.

Kiran Rabheru, MD, CCFP, FRCP, ABPN, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia; Geriatric Psychiatrist, Vancouver General, University of British Columbia, and Riverview Hospitals, Vancouver, BC.

Disclosure: No competing financial interests declared.

Sidebar: Key Points

• The prevalence of paranoid symptoms in older adults is high.
  
  

• Collateral information is crucial for accurate identification and diagnosis of illness.
  
  

• New-onset paranoid symptoms require that medical causes first be ruled out.
  
  

• Increased caregiver burden is a potential and detrimental consequence of paranoid symptoms among older adults, and can lead to institutionalization.
  
  

• Paranoid symptoms and severe aggression, which represent a danger to the individual and to others, warrant the use of atypical antipsychotics after their relative risks and benefits have been considered and discussed.

Figure 1.