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The effect of age of onset of PD on risk of dementia

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Abstract

Background

Dementia occurs in the majority of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Late onset of PD has been reported to be associated with a higher risk for dementia. However, age at onset (AAO) and age at baseline assessment are often correlated. The aim of this study was to explore whether AAO of PD symptoms is a risk factor for dementia independent of the general effect of age.

Methods

Two community-based studies of PD in New York (n = 281) and Rogaland county, Norway (n = 227) and two population-based groups of healthy elderly from New York (n = 180) and Odense, Denmark (n = 2414) were followed prospectively for 3–4 years and assessed for dementia according to DSM-IIIR. All PD and control cases underwent neurological examination and were followed with neurological and neuropsychological assessments. We used Cox proportional hazards regression based on three different time scales to explore the effect of AAO of PD on risk of dementia, adjusting for age at baseline and other demographic and clinical variables.

Findings

In both PD groups and in the pooled analyses, there was a significant effect of age at baseline assessment on the time to develop dementia, but there was no effect of AAO independent of age itself. Consistent with these results, there was no increased relative effect of age on the time to develop dementia in PD cases compared with controls.

Interpretation

This study shows that it is the general effect of age, rather than AAO that is associated with incident dementia in subjects with PD.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health , and the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, New York; from the Norwegian Research Council and Stavanger University Hospital; and from the Danish Medical Research Council, Søster and Verne Lippert’s Research Fund, and Ebba and Verner Andersen’s Research Fund.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Centre for Movement Disorders, Stavanger University Hospital, Arm Hansen v 20, N-4005, Stavanger, Norway

    D. Aarsland & J.P. Larsen

  2. School of Medicine, University of Bergen, Norway

    D. Aarsland

  3. Dept. of Psychiatry, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark

    K. Andersen, A. Lolk & P. Kragh-Sørensen

  4. Dept. of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway

    J.T. Kvaløy

  5. Division of Research and Human Resources, Stavanger University Hospital, Norway

    J.T. Kvaløy

  6. Dept. of Biostatistics, Columbia University, New York, USA

    M.X. Tang

  7. The G.H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, USA

    M.X. Tang & K. Marder

  8. The Taub Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, New York, USA

    M.X. Tang & K. Marder

  9. Dept. of Neurology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, USA

    K. Marder

Authors
  1. D. Aarsland
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  2. J.T. Kvaløy
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  3. K. Andersen
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  4. J.P. Larsen
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  6. A. Lolk
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  7. P. Kragh-Sørensen
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  8. K. Marder
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Aarsland.

Additional information

Received in revised form: 22 December 2005

Contributions of authors

Contributions of authors

  • Dag Aarsland and Karen Marder: Study design, data acquisition, data analysis and interpretation, writing the report, decision to submit

  • Kjeld Andersen, Per Kragh-Sørensen, Anette Lolk: Data acquisition, writing the manuscript, reviewing and revising the manuscript.

  • Jan Terje Kvaløy: data analysis and interpretation, writing the report

  • Jan P. Larsen: Study design, data acquisition, reviewing and revising the manuscript

  • Ming Xin Tang: Data analysis and interpretation

  • Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

  • Grant support: AG10963, AG07232, RR00645, and the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation

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Aarsland, D., Kvaløy, J., Andersen, K. et al. The effect of age of onset of PD on risk of dementia. J Neurol 254, 38–45 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-006-0234-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-006-0234-8

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