2021 Volume 33 Issue 4 Pages 299-309
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the actual cognitive function of elderly rheumatoid arthritis（RA）outpatients using the Revised Hasegawa Dementia Scale（HDS-R）and to subsequently evaluate the medication adherence in patients suspected of having dementia according to the HDS-R.
Methods: Thirty-eight RA outpatients were requested to provide responses to the HDS-R. For those patients suspected of having dementia based on the results of the HDS-R，we performed case studies related to medication adherence by collecting data on disease duration，medical history，Steinbrocker stage/class，therapeutic course，family structure，and other factors from patients’ medical records.
Results: The patient’s mean age was 76.1±5.5 years. Four patients（10.5%）scored ≤20 points on the HDS-R and were thus suspected of having dementia. Of these four patients，two（18 points）were self-managing their oral medications，while the other two（17 and 2 points）had family members managing their medications.
Conclusion: The proportion of RA outpatients from our hospital’s rheumatology department suspected of having dementia was slightly lower than that of the national population.
Even if the patient’s HDS-R score is low，medication adherence may be maintained by appropriate interventions for the patient or their family.
