Possible Improvements to the Diagnostic Criteria for Dementia in DSM-III

The DSM-III diagnostic criteria for demetia can be criticized because they treat dementia as a categorical rather than dimentional disorder, & thus ignore the problem of placing appropriate cutoffs. They are also too broad & may result in diagnostic unreliability because of varying interpretations of the criteria by different diagnoticians. Stategies for overcoming these problems are discussed and some improved criteria proposed. 20 refs.