Clothes and Dementia
Dementia is a disease affecting the cognitive abilities of the sufferer. The patient is experiencing cognitive decline and their intellectual function is diminishing due to the neuronal loss of their brain cells. This might result in the patient removing their clothes.
A study found out that amongst patients with diminished intellectual function due to hemiplegia after a cerebral stroke, although incompletely, 35% of the individuals (women mostly) were more likely to remove their clothes[1].
Such actions are prevalent mostly in patients with Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in both the sporadic FTD and the familial FTD [2].
It is important to understand that these actions are a consequence of the cognitive decline, rather than a personal choice of the patient as removing clothes might happen at inappropriate places as well. If your loved one is experiencing this, make sure to be understanding and follow the guidance from your healthcare provider on how to cope with such situations.