Risk factors in Alzheimer's disease: a clinicopathologic study Journal Article uri icon
Overview
abstract
  • We investigated potential risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a clinicopathologic study of 407 patients with definite AD, 100 non-Alzheimer dementia patients, and 50 normal subjects. The AD patients had more first-degree relatives with dementia than the non-AD dementia group (odds ratio of 1.85, 95% confidence interval of 1.07-3.20) or the normal elderly (odds ratio of 3.60, 95% confidence interval of 1.50-8.64) but did not have significantly more head injuries, medical and psychiatric illnesses, or relatives with Down's syndrome. The AD patients with a family history of dementia had their dementia at a later age than those without an affected relative. These findings indicate a familial risk for AD that is greater than for other dementing illnesses and has age-related penetrance. This study does not support other putative risk factors for AD such as head trauma and familial Down's syndrome.

  • Link to Article
    publication date
  • 1992
  • published in
  • Neurology  Journal
  • Research
    keywords
  • Alzheimer's Disease
  • Comparative Studies
  • Dementia
  • Genetics
  • Risk Factors
  • Additional Document Info
    volume
  • 42
  • issue
  • 4