Wandering Dementia—A Syndrome with Forensic Implications
Abstract
Wandering behavior in dementia may result in significant injury or death. Search of files at Forensic Science South Australia over a 20‐year period (1998–2018) identified nine individuals with dementia who were found deceased having been reported as missing from home/residential facilities (M:F, 6:3; age range, 54–92 years; average, 77.7 years; median, 80 years). The established clinical diagnoses were of dementia in seven cases and Alzheimer disease in two. Deaths were unnatural in six cases: hypo/hyperthermia three, drowning two, train impact one; natural in two cases due to ischemic ( N =1) and valvular heart disease ( N =1); and undetermined in one case due to marked decomposition. There were five fatalities in winter. Exposure and drowning were significant causes of death. The increasing aging population means cases of lethal wandering dementia will be more often encountered among forensic cases in future. Issues around duty of care and suicide should be considered in evaluating cases.
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Wandering puts individuals with dementia at risk of significant injury and death.
“Wandering puts individuals at risk of significant injury and death.”
From 2024 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2024) · cites this paper as [9]
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2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures
(2023) · Alzheimer's & Dementia · doi:10.1002/alz.13016 · Cited by 3,212 · see citing works
2024 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures
(2024) · Alzheimer's & Dementia · doi:10.1002/alz.13809 · Cited by 2,536 · see citing works
- Authors
- Byard, R. W., & Langlois, N. E. I.
- Affiliations
- The University of Adelaide (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Byard, Roger W.
- Venue
- Journal of Forensic Sciences
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-08-06
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 443-445
- ISSN
- 0022-1198 (ISSN-L)
- 1556-4029
- OpenAlex
- W2886201948
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 0.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Forensic Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Autopsy Techniques and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Demography › Elder Abuse and Neglect
- Keywords
- Alzheimer's disease, missing persons, unnatural death, drowning, hypothermia, duty of care, suicide, forensic investigation
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Australia, Dementia, Drowning, Environmental Exposure, Female, Fever, Forensic Medicine, Heart Diseases, Humans, Hypothermia, Male, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, Wandering Behavior
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