Mortality from dementia in advanced age: A 5-year follow-up study of incident dementia cases

Five-year follow-up of a community-based, 77+ old cohort including incident dementia cases was used to evaluate the impact of dementia on the risk of death, taking into account other chronic conditions potentially related to death, and contrasting Alzheimer's disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VaD ). In this population, 70% of the dementia cases died during the five years after diagnosis, with a mortality rate specific for dementia of 2.4 per 10 0 person-years. After controlling for sociodemographic variables and comorb idity, 14% of all deaths could be attributed to dementia with a risk of dea th among demented subjects twice as high as that for non-demented people. M ortality risk ratios were 2.0 (95% confidence interval 1.5-2.7) for AD and 3.3 (95% confidence interval 2.0-5.3) for VaD. This study confirms that dem enting disorders are a major risk factor for death. Even in the oldest old (85+), dementia shortens life, especially among women. J CLIN EPIDEMIOL 58; 8:737-743, 1999. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.