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Predictors of survival with Alzheimer's disease: a community-based study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Carol Jagger*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Leicester; Medical Research Department, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Michael Clarke
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Leicester; Medical Research Department, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Andrew Stone
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Leicester; Medical Research Department, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Macclesfield, Cheshire
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Carol Jagger, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Leicester, Clinical Sciences Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary, PO Box 65, Leicester LE2 7LX.

Synopsis

Factors associated with reduced survival were investigated in elderly people diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in those free of dementia at diagnosis. The study population comprised 155 people free of dementia and 222 with AD; all were aged 75 years and over and were part of a two-stage prevalence study of dementia during 1988 in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. An increased risk of death was found for those with a history of heavy alcohol use, lower cognitive function, a history of heart failure and those in institutional care, these factors acting in the same manner for persons free of dementia and those with AD. For the non-demented group a greater risk of death was found with increasing age and for those with a history of cancer. A greater risk of death was found for males with AD compared to females with the risk increasing over time. The longer survival of women over men may explain the sex differences found in the prevalence of AD without accompanying differences in incidence.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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