One in 4 elderly Australian women have dementia

A new estimation technique has raised the dementia rates for Australian women from 20% to 26%.

In Australia, it has beens estimated that 9% of people aged over 65, and 30% of those aged over 85 have dementia. However, these estimates are largely based on older data from other countries, or small local samples.

A new technique based on an ecological method for estimating species population size has been used to estimate dementia rates in the Australian population. The study used 16 years of data from 12,432 Australian women born between 1921 and 1926 who participated in the Women's Health Australia study. Survey data was linked to aged care assessments, the National Death Index, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and hospital admissions data to find any instance where the women participating in the study were diagnosed with dementia. This additional data helped overcome the problem of such studies, where participants often just drop out, and the cause isn’t known.

Applying the ecological technique to all this data led to the conclusion that an additional 728 women with dementia had not been identified, increasing the 16 year prevalence from 20.4 to 26.0%. Breaking this down by age, we have:

70-74: 0.3%
75-79: 3.7%
80-84: 16.6%
85+: 31%

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uoq-oif031617.php

Reference:

[4266] Waller, M., Mishra G. D., & Dobson A. J.
(2017). Estimating the prevalence of dementia using multiple linked administrative health records and capture–recapture methodology.
Emerging Themes in Epidemiology. 14, 3.

seniors

dementia prevalence

Alzheimers

Related News

Post-traumatic stress disorder increases dementia risk

A study involving over 180,000 older veterans (average age 68.8 at study start), of whom 29% had PTSD, has revealed that those with PTSD had a significantly greater risk of developing dementia.

Healthy diet could slow or reverse early effects of Alzheimer's disease

Following on from previous research with mice that demonstrated that a diet rich in

Special care plan does not slow decline in patients with Alzheimer's

A study involving over 1100 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease at 50 French clinics has revealed that receiving a comprehensive care plan involving regular 6-monthly assessments (with standardised guidelines for the management of problems) produced no benefits compared to receivi

Muted emotions misleading in Alzheimer's disease

A small study suggests that the apathy shown by many Alzheimer's patients may not simply be due to memory or language problems, but to a decreased ability to experience emotions.

Larger head size may protect against Alzheimer's symptoms

Confirming previous research, a study involving 270 Alzheimer’s patients has found that larger head size was associated with better performance on memory and thinking tests, even when there was an equivalent degree of brain damage.

Common medications increase risk of mild cognitive impairment

Anticholinergics are widely used for a variety of common medical conditions including insomnia, allergies, or incontinence, and many are sold over the counter.

Brain fitness program produces working memory improvement in older adults

While brain training programs can certainly improve your ability to do the task you’re practicing, there has been little evidence that this transfers to other tasks.

Benefits of music training on the brain

A review of the many recent studies into the effects of music training on the nervous system strongly suggests that the neural connections made during musical training also prime the brain for other aspects of human communication, including learning.

Brain training reverses age-related cognitive decline

A rat study demonstrates how specialized brain training can reverse many aspects of normal age-related cognitive decline in targeted areas. The month-long study involved daily hour-long sessions of intense auditory training targeted at the primary auditory cortex.

Low vitamin D levels associated with cognitive decline

Another study has come out showing that older adults with low levels of vitamin D are more likely to have cognitive problems. The six-year study followed 858 adults who were age 65 or older at the beginning of the study.

Pages