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Assessing the risk of Alzheimer's disease in first-degree relatives of Alzheimer's disease cases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

A. E. Korten ,
A. F. Jorm ,
A. S. Henderson ,
G. A. Broe ,
H. Creasey  and
E. McCusker
A. E. Korten*
Affiliation:
NH&MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra; Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Sydney, Repatriation Hospital, Concord, NSW, Australia
A. F. Jorm
Affiliation:
NH&MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra; Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Sydney, Repatriation Hospital, Concord, NSW, Australia
A. S. Henderson
Affiliation:
NH&MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra; Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Sydney, Repatriation Hospital, Concord, NSW, Australia
G. A. Broe
Affiliation:
NH&MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra; Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Sydney, Repatriation Hospital, Concord, NSW, Australia
H. Creasey
Affiliation:
NH&MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra; Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Sydney, Repatriation Hospital, Concord, NSW, Australia
E. McCusker
Affiliation:
NH&MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra; Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Sydney, Repatriation Hospital, Concord, NSW, Australia
*
1Address for correspondence: Ms A. E. Korten, NH&MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
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Synopsis

Family history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was investigated using a telephone re-interview of 99 cases and 116 controls selected from a case–control study of 170 matched pairs. It was found that the family history method used in the initial interview was satisfactory in identifying first-degree relatives and assessing their ages of birth and death, but the number of first-degree relatives suffering from AD was probably under-estimated. Family history of AD was confirmed as a risk factor for AD. Higher estimates of cumulative incidence were obtained among case relatives than among control relatives. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that a familial form of AD is more common in those with earlier onset AD (before age 75) in those who display early, prominent features of aphasia or apraxia, or that an AD gene may be sex-linked. The curves for cumulative incidence showed no tendency to reach an asymptote, as is implied by the theory that some forms of AD are due to the action of an autosomal dominant gene. Estimates of lifetime risk by age 90 were within the range found by other investigators. Much larger samples of the very old are needed to obtain estimates of total lifetime risk with smaller standard errors.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , November 1993 , pp. 915 - 923
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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