کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
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1903396 | 1534443 | 2013 | 5 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |

Although there is evidence that different types of dementia share similar pathophysiologic mechanisms, research studies support the concept that dementia of the Alzheimer type (AD) is a distinct clinical entity, which may differ in terms of disease progression and outcome. We assessed whether a diagnosis of probable AD in elderly patients admitted to traditional long-term care facilities results in different mortality rates. We analyzed data belonging to a prospective, multi-center (n = 4) cohort study involving 378 long-term care facility residents. In our population the prevalence of dementia (any-type) and AD were 46.3% and 11.9%, respectively. During a median follow-up of 5.7 years [25–75th percentile, 2.6–6.9], 262 (69.3%) elderly died. Compared to other admission diagnoses, AD was characterized by lower mortality rates: all-cause hazard risk (HR), 0.64 [95% CI, 0.41–0.99] (P = 0.048); HR for cardiovascular (CV) causes, 0.40 [95% CI, 0.20–0.78] (P = 0.008). Pre-specified subgroup analyses restricted to patients with dementia (n = 175) provided similar results. HRs for AD were: all-cause, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.35–1.00] (P = 0.049); CV, 0.43 [95% CI, 0.20–0.91] (P = 0.028). However, any-type dementia did not show any difference in risk when compared to other admission diagnosis. In conclusion, probable AD was associated with reduced mortality risk in traditional long-term care facilities. The reasons for these findings deserve further investigation; peculiar pathophysiological features could not be excluded.
Journal: Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics - Volume 56, Issue 3, May–June 2013, Pages 437–441