Agitation in Dementia

Agitation is shared across all stages of dementia but is more prevalent in the later stage. It complicates the care and nursing of people with dementia and increases the risk of harming themselves and others. Many studies have examined the evidence for managing agitation in people with dementia. However, the results are not always consistent, which might be explained by variations in the definition and type of agitation and the presence of comorbidities, including other BPSD. The Agitation in Dementia Working Group of the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) has recently updated the criteria for defining agitation in cognitive disorders and proposed an agitation management algorithm that not only integrates both pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions but also distinguishes the pharmacological strategies for different types of agitation based on the latest available evidence (Sano et al. Int Psychogeriatr:1–13, 2021; Cummings et al. Int Psychogeriatr, 6:1–12, 2023). References are made to these latest recommendations when describing the assessment and management of aggression in dementia in the latter part of this chapter.