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Factors affecting survival in Alzheimer's disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Alistair Burns ,
Glyn Lewis ,
Robin Jacoby  and
Raymond Levy
Alistair Burns*
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry; Section of Epidemiology and General Practice, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Glyn Lewis
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry; Section of Epidemiology and General Practice, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Robin Jacoby
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry; Section of Epidemiology and General Practice, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Raymond Levy
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry; Section of Epidemiology and General Practice, Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Alistair Burns, Section of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF.
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Synopsis

Factors affecting survival of 178 patients diagnosed using NINCDS/ADRDA criteria for Alzheimer's disease were studied. All patients were drawn from the Camberwell Health Authority Area and so were a representative sample of subjects from a clinical old age psychiatry service. The mortality rate of the sample was 3·5 times that expected after adjustment for age. Younger subjects had a higher standardized mortality ratio than older subjects. The cumulative three-year mortality of the sample was 47%. Factors shown to be associated with a reduced survival included: increasing age, longer duration of illness, male sex, presence of physical illness, poor cognitive function, observed depression and absence of misidentification syndromes. Apraxia was a stronger predictor of early death than aphasia or dysmnesia.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , May 1991 , pp. 363 - 370
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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