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Biomedical subjects

L Fratiglioni

Publications and source records attributed to L Fratiglioni.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Mild cognitive impairment in the population and physical health: data on 1,435 individuals aged 75 to 95.

BACKGROUND: The physical health correlates of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the older individual are poorly known. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical health and MCI with population data. METHODS: Subjects were 1,435 nondemented 75- to 95-year-old subjects. MCI was defined as scoring one standard deviation below age- and education-specific means on the Mini-Mental State Examination. MCI was consistently associated with indicators of poorer health in logistic regression models with adjustment for potential confounders. RESULTS: The adjusted odds ratios for those with two, three, four, or more somatic symptoms compared with those with one or no symptoms were 1.3 (95% confidence intervals 1.0 to 1.9) and 2.1 (1.2 to 4.5; p for trend =.004); for those with poor self-rated health the odds ratio was 1.9 (1.4 to 2.6); for those with one, two, or more chronic diseases compared with those with no chronic diseases, the odds ratios were 1.3 (0.9 to 1.9) and 3.0 (1.2 to 7.6; p for trend =.02); and for those dying during the 3-year follow-up period the odds ratio was 1.5 (1.1 to 2.2). CONCLUSIONS: MCI is associated with poor physical health, leading to the hypothesis of a causal relationship between physical diseases and MCI in older populations.

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Morbidity and comorbidity in relation to functional status: a community-based study of the oldest old (90+ years).

OBJECTIVES: To describe health and functional status in the oldest old; to explore the relationships of morbidity and functional status; and to verify whether this relationship was modified by gender. DESIGN AND SETTING: A community-based survey including all inhabitants aged > or = 90 living in central Stockholm, Sweden. All participants were clinically examined by physicians, cognitively assessed by psychologists, and interviewed by nurses. Diagnoses were made according to the International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision (ICD-9), the DSM-III-R criteria for dementia, and Katz index of activities of daily living. PARTICIPANTS: Of the 698 subjects in the study population, 99 (14%) had died and 29 (4%) moved before examination. Of the remaining subjects, 502 (88.1%) were examined, and the refusal rate was 11.9%. MEASUREMENTS: Age- and gender-specific prevalence figures, and age-, gender- and education-adjusted odds ratios (OR) were used. RESULTS: Of 502 examined subjects, 19% had no disease and 73% were functionally independent. Dementia was the most prevalent disease among women (42.2%), and cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases were the most frequent among men (42.4%). Women had higher prevalences of dementia (adjusted OR = 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-3.7) and fractures and musculoskeletal diseases (adjusted OR = 2.8, 95% CI 1.1-7.3), whereas men had a higher prevalence of malignancy (OR = 0.2, 95% CI 0.1-0.7). Women were more disabled than men independent of age, education, and number of diseases (adjusted OR = 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.3). CONCLUSIONS: A great proportion of nonagenarians were functionally independent despite their advanced age. Further studies are needed to clarify the excess of disability among very old women.

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Incidence of dementia in relation to stroke and the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele in the very old. Findings from a population-based longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Both stroke and the apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon4 allele increase the risk of dementia. However, the interaction between stroke and APOE on dementia is still unclear. We addressed this topic by using a longitudinal design. METHODS: We followed up a community cohort of 1301 subjects aged >/=75 years, who did not have dementia at baseline. Among them, 92 subjects had a history of stroke (from 3 months to 16 years before baseline interview). After the 3-year follow-up, 224 dementia cases had been diagnosed. During the period of follow-up, 91 subjects had a first occurrence of stroke (incident stroke). The APOE genotype was known for 985 subjects. Cox proportional hazards regression models were constructed to estimate the risk for dementia in terms of relative risks (RRs) for stroke and the APOE epsilon4 allele, with adjustment for age, sex, education, systolic blood pressure, antihypertensive medication use, and heart disease. RESULTS: In the entire study population, RRs for dementia related to history of stroke and incident stroke were 1.7 (95% CI, 1.1 to 2.6) and 2.4 (95% CI, 1.6 to 3.5), respectively, after adjustment for all potential confounders. Subjects with stroke that occurred within 3 years before baseline had RR of 2.4 (95% CI, 1.4 to 4.2), whereas those with stroke occurring >3 years before baseline had RR of dementia of 1.1 (95% CI, 0.6 to 2.3). Among those with APOE information, individuals with only history of stroke (that occurred within 3 years before baseline) had RR of 3.1 (95% CI, 1.4 to 6.6), individuals with only the APOE epsilon4 allele had RR of 1.7 (95% CI, 1.1 to 2.5), and individuals with both factors had RR of 5.3 (95% CI, 2.1 to 13.4). The corresponding figures when incident stroke was examined instead of history of stroke were 2.3 (95% CI, 1.3 to 4.1), 1.7 (95% CI, 1.1 to 2.4), and 4.6 (95% CI, 2.0 to 10.6), respectively. The RR of interaction term for history of stroke and APOE epsilon4 was 1.1 (95% CI, 0.3 to 3.8; P=0.8). The corresponding figure was 1.2 (95% CI, 0.4 to 4.4; P=0.7) for incident stroke and APOE epsilon4. Furthermore, the RRs of dementia without any stroke and dementia with stroke in relation to APOE epsilon4 were 1.6 (95% CI, 1.1 to 2.3) and 1.2 (95% CI, 0.6 to 2.4), respectively. In addition, the APOE epsilon4 allele was not significantly related to the occurrence of stroke (RR=0.8; 95% CI, 0.5 to 1.5). CONCLUSIONS: A relatively fresh stroke is a risk factor for dementia. APOE epsilon4 increases the risk of dementia without stroke but not dementia with stroke. Our data do not support a multiplicative effect of stroke and the APOE epsilon4 allele on the risk of dementia. However, both factors seem to have an additive effect on the risk of dementia. The APOE epsilon4 allele does not increase the risk of stroke in this Swedish elderly population.

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Prevalence of dementia and major subtypes in Europe: A collaborative study of population-based cohorts. Neurologic Diseases in the Elderly Research Group.

The last comparison of prevalence figures of dementia across European studies was 10 years ago. Using studies conducted in the 1990s, the authors compare the age- and sex-specific prevalence of dementia, AD, and vascular dementia (VaD) across European population-based studies of persons 65 years and older. Data from these studies were also pooled to obtain stable estimates of age- and sex-specific prevalence. A total of 2346 cases of mild to severe dementia were identified in 11 cohorts. Age-standardized prevalence was 6.4% for dementia (all causes), 4.4% for AD, and 1.6% for VaD. The prevalence of dementia increased continuously with age and was 0.8% in the group age 65 to 69 years and 28.5% at age 90 years and older. The corresponding figures for AD (53.7% of cases) were 0.6% and 22.2%, and for VaD (15.8% of cases), 0.3% and 5.2%. Variation of AD prevalence across studies was greatest for men. In the VaD subtype, a large variation across studies was observed, as well as a difference in prevalence between men and women that was age dependent. Dementia is more prevalent in women, and AD is the main contributor to the steep increase of prevalence with age.

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Incidence of dementia and major subtypes in Europe: A collaborative study of population-based cohorts. Neurologic Diseases in the Elderly Research Group.

The authors examined the association of incident dementia and subtypes with age, sex, and geographic area in Europe. Incidence data from eight population-based studies carried out in seven European countries were compared and pooled. The pooled data included 835 mild to severe dementia cases and 42,996 person-years of follow-up. In all studies a higher proportion of cases were diagnosed with AD (60 to 70% of all demented cases) than vascular dementia (VaD). The incidence of dementia and AD continued to increase with age up to age 85 years, after which rates increased in women but not men. There was a large variation in VaD incidence across studies. In the pooled analysis, the incidence rates increased with age without any substantial difference between men and women. Surprisingly, higher incidence rates of dementia and AD were found in the very old in northwest countries than in southern countries. This study confirms that AD is the most frequent dementing disorder in all ages, and that there is a higher incidence of dementia, specifically AD, in women than men among the very old. Finally, there may be regional differences in dementia incidence.

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Prognosis with dementia in Europe: A collaborative study of population-based cohorts. Neurologic Diseases in the Elderly Research Group.

The effect of dementia on time to death and institutionalization in elderly populations is of importance to resource planning, as well as to patients and their carers. The authors report a collaborative reanalysis of nine population-based studies conducted in Europe to compare dementia cases and noncases in risk of and time to death and to institutionalization. Prevalent and incident cases were more likely than noncases to reside in an institution at baseline and were more likely to enter institutional care. Prevalent cases also had over twice the risk of death compared to noncases and survival for men with dementia was consistently lower than that for women with dementia of the same age group.

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Prevalence of Parkinson's disease in Europe: A collaborative study of population-based cohorts. Neurologic Diseases in the Elderly Research Group.

The results of seven population-based studies were examined separately and pooled to obtain age- and sex-specific estimates of the prevalence of PD. An in-person screening instrument and diagnostic clinical examination were used to detect potential PD cases. The overall prevalence (per 100 population) in persons 65 years of age and older was 1.8, with an increase from 0.6 for those age 65 to 69 years to 2.6 for those 85 to 89 years. There were no sex differences in prevalence of PD.

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Prognosis with Parkinson's disease in europe: A collaborative study of population-based cohorts. Neurologic Diseases in the Elderly Research Group.

Data are lacking on the prognosis (institutionalization and death) of PD cases identified in population-based studies. Data from five population-based European studies were compared and pooled. Each study used comparable two-step screening methods to identify cases and performed one or more follow-up examinations of their respective participants after defined periods of time. PD was classified on the basis of questionnaire and clinical data. The studies include 16,143 participants (252 with PD). The relative risk (RR) (95% CI) of death associated with PD was 2.3 (1.8 to 3.0). The risk for death in men with PD (RR 3.1 [2.1 to 4.4]) was higher than in women with PD (RR 1. 8 [1.2 to 5.1]). The rate of institutionalization varied across studies, increased with age, and was considerably higher in PD cases compared to noncases. Women with PD had a fivefold higher risk to live in a care facility than did men with PD. These data on mortality and rate of institutionalization reflect the high burden of PD in the population.

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Frequency of stroke in Europe: A collaborative study of population-based cohorts. ILSA Working Group and the Neurologic Diseases in the Elderly Research Group. Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

The authors estimated stroke frequency in Europe using data from six population-based studies that were analyzed separately and also pooled. Overall, these surveys comprised 19,132 individuals age 55 years and older for the prevalence analyses, and 35,577 person-years for the incidence analyses. The overall prevalence of stroke, age- and sex-adjusted to the 1991 European population, was 4.84% (95% CI 4.47 to 5.21) in individuals age 65 to 84 years and 7.06% (95% CI 6.52 to 7.60) in those 75 years and older. Age- and sex-specific rates did not differ substantially across the studies. Incidence rates of first-ever stroke rose markedly with age, and the pooled results confirmed that incidence keeps increasing even at 90 years of age and older. The overall age- and sex-standardized incidence rates were 8.72 per 1000 person-years (95% CI 7.47 to 10.06) for individuals age 65 to 84 years, and 17.31 per 1000 person-years (95% CI 14.79 to 20.02) for those age 75 years and over.

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Prognosis with stroke in Europe: A collaborative study of population-based cohorts. Neurologic Diseases in the Elderly Research Group.

The authors pooled four population-based European studies to determine the risk for institutionalization and death after stroke. Risk for institutionalization was assessed in 13,095 subjects. Survival was calculated for prevalent stroke in 7929 individuals and incident stroke in 8550 individuals. The adjusted risk of long-term care for cases compared to noncases was 2.8 (95% CI 2.6 to 4.5). At 5 years, the excess risk of death in prevalent cases was 1.6 (1.2 to 2.0), and the age- and sex-adjusted survival rate was 0.87 compared to 0.91 in noncases. The 5-year survival rate for incident cases was 0.84.

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Tau gene polymorphisms and apolipoprotein E epsilon4 may interact to increase risk for Alzheimer's disease.

In an effort to analyze the genetic role of tau in Alzheimer's disease (AD), 17 polymorphisms were identified. Eleven of these polymorphisms were in complete linkage disequilibrium and segregated as two haplotypes, A and B. The A and B haplotypes were investigated in 269 AD cases and 238 controls from two different sources, a clinic-based group (mean age of onset 65+/-9 years), and a population-based group (mean age of onset 80+/-5 years). A synergistic effect between the common tau genotype AA and apolipoprotein E (APOE epsilon4) was found in the clinic-based AD group. Our study suggests that the common tau genotype AA may interact with APOE epsilon4 in increasing the risk of AD in a subgroup of the AD population.

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The occurrence of depressive symptoms in the preclinical phase of AD: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine preclinical depressive symptoms 3 years before the diagnosis of AD. METHODS: The authors compared incident AD patients and nondemented individuals in terms of baseline mood- and motivation-related symptoms of depression, and assessed whether depressive symptoms in preclinical AD are related to self-perceived memory problems. Participants came from a population-based longitudinal study on aging and dementia in Stockholm, Sweden. The sample consisted of 222 persons older than 74 years who were followed for a 3-year interval. Thirty-four individuals had developed AD at follow-up, whereas 188 remained nondemented. Dementia diagnosis was made according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition, revised. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale. RESULTS: The incident AD patients had more depressive symptoms than the nondemented persons at baseline. There was a dominance of motivation-related symptoms of depression (e.g., lack of interest, loss of energy, concentration difficulties) in preclinical AD. This association remained when adjusting for subjective memory complaints. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms are elevated preclinically in AD, and this elevation is not merely a by-product of self-perceived cognitive difficulties. Thus, depressive symptoms may be part of the preclinical phase in AD.

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Mortality in nondemented subjects with cognitive impairment: the influence of health-related factors.

Nondemented older subjects with cognitive impairment are at higher risk of death than are mentally intact persons. It is unknown whether the effect of cognitive impairment on mortality is independent or mediated by poorer health or other factors. To address this issue, the authors used a prospective population-based cohort study with 8 years of follow-up started in 1987 in the urban district of Kungsholmen, Stockholm, Sweden. Subjects were all 75- to 95-year-old subjects nondemented at baseline (n = 1,435). Data on cognition, health (mental and subjective health, physical diseases and comorbidity, nutritional status, and disability), and apolipoprotein E genotype were collected at baseline as was time of death at follow-up. Cognitive impairment was defined on the basis of age- and education-specific cutoffs on the Mini-Mental State Examination. When compared with cognitively unimpaired subjects (n = 1,210), those cognitively impaired (n = 225) had poorer health conditions, were more frequently apolipoprotein E epsilon4 carriers, and had greater mortality risk (hazard ratio = 1.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.5, 2.1). Neither health nor apolipoprotein E genotype accounted for the association of cognitive impairment with mortality (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.6; 95% confidence interval: 1.3, 1.9). The functional and behavioral consequences associated with the progression of cognitive impairment may mediate the increased mortality risk.

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Smoking and the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease: cross-sectional and longitudinal data in a population-based study.

The authors tested the hypothesis that smoking exerts a protective effect on Alzheimer's disease or dementia in a population-based cohort of 668 people aged 75-101 years (Sweden). Smoking was negatively associated with prevalent Alzheimer's disease (adjusted odds ratio = 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.4-1.1) and dementia (adjusted odds ratio = 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.4-1.0). Over 3-year follow-up (1989-1992), the hazard ratios of incident Alzheimer's disease and dementia due to smoking were 1.1 (95% confidence interval 0.5-2.4) and 1.4 (95% confidence interval 0.8-2.7). Mortality over 5-year follow-up was greater among smokers in demented (hazard ratio = 3.4) than nondemented (hazard ratio = 0.8) subjects. Smoking does not seem protective against Alzheimer's disease or dementia, and the cross-sectional association might be due to differential mortality.

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Aging and the occurrence of dementia: findings from a population-based cohort with a large sample of nonagenarians.

CONTEXT: In spite of numerous studies on the occurrence of dementia, many questions remain, such as the relation between age, aging, and dementing disorders. This question is relevant both for understanding the pathogenetic mechanism of the dementias and for the public health prospective because of the increasing number of 85-year-old or older persons in our population. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the occurrence of dementia in the very old, including nonagenarians, in relation to age, gender, and different dementia types. DESIGN: An epidemiological survey where all participants were clinically examined by physicians, assessed by psychologists, and interviewed by nurses. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition (DSM-III-R) criteria for dementia were followed. A category of "questionable dementia" was added when all criteria were not fulfilled. A double diagnostic procedure was used for all subjects. SETTING: Community-based population, including all inhabitants of 2 areas in central Stockholm, Sweden (N = 1848). PARTICIPANTS: Of the 1848 subjects in the study population, 168 (9.1%) had died and 56 (3%) moved before examination. Of the remaining subjects, 1424 (87.7%) were examined, and the refusal rate was 12.3%. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age- and gender-specific prevalence figures, and gender- and education-adjusted odds ratios were used. RESULTS: At the end of the diagnostic procedure, 358 clinically definite cases of dementia and 101 questionable cases of dementia were identified. Alzheimer disease (AD) contributed to 76.5%, and vascular dementia (VaD) to 17.9%. The prevalence of dementia increases from 13% in the 77- to 84-year-old subjects to 48% among persons 95 years and older (from 18% to 61% when questionable cases were included). The odds ratio for subjects 90 to 94 years and 95 years and older in comparison with 77- to 84-year-old subjects was 3.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.7-5.1) and 6.5 (95% CI, 3.9-10.8) for dementia, 4.8 (95% CI, 3.3-7.0) and 8.0 (95% CI, 4.6-14.0) for persons with AD, 2.3 (95% CI, 1.3-4.2) and 4.6 (95% CI, 1.9-11.2) for VaD, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Dementia prevalence continues to increase even in the most advanced ages. This increase is especially evident among women and is more clear for AD. We believe that our prevalence data reflect the differential distribution of dementia risk.

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Occurrence and progression of dementia in a community population aged 75 years and older: relationship of antihypertensive medication use.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether antihypertensive medication use can affect the occurrence and progression of dementia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In a community cohort of 1810 persons aged 75 years and older, 225 prevalent cases of dementia were detected. Among the 1301 persons without dementia, 224 incident cases of dementia were identified during an average period of 3 years. Among the 225 prevalent cases of dementia, 79 were suitable for the analysis of cognitive decline. Information on drug use was collected for the 2 weeks preceding the baseline interview. RESULTS: Subjects taking antihypertensive medication (n = 651, 83.9% of whom took diuretics) had a lower prevalence of dementia than those not taking antihypertensive medication (P<.001). Subjects without dementia who were taking antihypertensive medication at baseline (n = 584) had a reduced incidence of dementia (adjusted relative risk, 0.7; 95% confidence interval, 0.6-1.0; P = .03). Furthermore, subjects taking diuretics (n = 484) had an adjusted relative risk of 0.7 (95% confidence interval, 0.5-1.0; P = .02) for all dementia, and subjects taking diuretic monotherapy (n = 345) had an adjusted relative risk of 0.6 (95% confidence interval, 0.4-0.9; P = .006). The use of other antihypertensive medication (calcium antagonists or beta-blockers), however, was related to a reduced risk of Alzheimer disease (adjusted relative risk, 0.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.3-1.2) only in the subpopulation with a higher baseline blood pressure (n = 458). Patients with dementia at baseline who were not taking diuretics had a 2-fold faster rate of decline in the score on the Mini-Mental State Examination than those taking diuretics. CONCLUSION: The use of diuretics may protect against dementia in elderly persons.

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