L. Letenneur et al., CEREBRAL AND FUNCTIONAL AGING - 1ST RESULTS ON PREVALENCE AND INCIDENCE OF THE PAQUID COHORT, Methods of information in medicine, 32(3), 1993, pp. 249-251
Paquid is an interdisciplinary study designed to investigate cerebral
and functional aging. A cohort of 3,777 community residents living in
two administrative areas of South-Western France was selected. A stand
ardized questionnaire was administered at home by trained psychologist
s. The same procedure was applied one and three years after the baseli
ne data collection. The identification of demented subjects was made w
ith a two-step procedure. The first step is a systematic screening by
the psychologists using the DSM-III criteria for dementia. Subjects wh
o fulfilled the DSM-III criteria were examined by a neurologist. Diagn
osis of dementia is confirmed according to the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria.
The Paquid cohort is complemented by a random sample of 357 institutio
nalized subjects. First results of prevalence and incidence rates show
an exponential increase of dementia with age.