Abstract
We investigated the prevalence of dementia in 673 subjects over 59 years of age in Vescovato, a small town of North Italy, using a two-phase survey. During phase I all subjects were administered the Hodkinson abbreviated mental test and the subjects with a score ≤ 7 underwent further examination to ascertain the diagnosis of dementia. The prevalence ratio of dementia of all types was 9.8% (7.6--12.0, 95% CI) above age 59. In our population Alzheimer's disease (AD) was the most frequent type of dementia (prevalence ratio = 5.2%), followed by vascular dementia (2.7%). Our study confirms that AD prevalence estimate rises exponentially with age.
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Ferini-Strambi, L., Marcone, A., Garancini, P. et al. Dementing disorders in north Italy: Prevalence study in Vescovato, Cremona Province. Eur J Epidemiol 13, 201–204 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007340727385
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007340727385