Is the DSM-5 change in dementia labeling perilous for research?

Language choices matter. In 2009, Garand, Lingler, Conner, and Dew published an article in this journal examining the stigma associated with the diagnostic term dementia and the possible eff ects of that stigma on individuals’ willingness to participate in clinical research. In 2013, the American Psychological Association (APA, 2013) replaced the diagnostic classifi cation of dementia with the categories of major and minor neurocognitive disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fi ft h edition (DSM-5). Th ese new terms are cumbersome, but, to give them their due, may decrease the stigma associated with the term dementia. In the past year, a fl urry of articles, editorials, and blog posts have addressed the costs and clinical implications of these changes. But these categories also impact research and the locating and aggregating of research participants. I’d like to briefl y explore four critical research challenges posed by the new DSM-5 categories.