Risk factors among incident cases of dementia in a representative british sample

✍ Scribed by Kevin Morgan; Jeanette M. Lilley

• Book ID: 102230345
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 449 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.930090104

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

In a 4‐year follow up of 1042 elderly people (aged 65+) randomly sampled from the community, levels of dementia were assessed using a two‐phase case‐finding procedure (screening followed by clinical interview) among survivors, with additional information provided by death certificates, hospital case notes or postal questionnaires. Overall, 42 cases were clinically identified. In a case‐control analysis matching for age, sex and premorbid cognitive status, risk estimates were obtained for nine self‐reported factors: heart trouble; headaches; giddiness; falls; current smoking; past smoking; left handedness; insomnia; and the use of sedative‐hypnotic drugs to promote sleep. While none of these factors was associated with a significantly increased risk, the power of these case‐control comparisons was limited by sample size.