SOME CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DEMENTIA AND DEPRESSION

Objective. To give an account of how a research programme in epidemiol ogy at the NHMRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit developed, and an ove rview of work completed. Data sources, General population samples of e lderly persons; and persons clinically diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease, or as being free of dementia. Study selection. The studies u ndertaken include integrative analyses of published work; instrument d evelopment; cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal surveys of co gnitive decline, dementia and depression in general population samples ; and a case-control study of Alzheimer's disease. Data synthesis. The data are of two types: continuous and categorical measures of morbidi ty; and measures of personal, social and biological attributes of the sample, including assessment of disablement and use of services. The f indings have been both descriptive and analytic. New instruments devel oped are the Canberra Interview for the Elderly (CIE), the IQCODE and the Psychogeriatric Assessment Scales (PAS). Conclusion. Beyond simple estimates of the prevalence of dementia, cognitive impairment and dep ression, we have focused mainly on aetiology and outcome in community samples. Unexpected opportunities have had a substantial influence on the direction of our work.