Early-onset Alzheimer's disease: clinical predictors of institutionalization and death.

Follow-up observations were made of 92 white patients with early-onset Alzheimer's disease to determine the demographic, clinical, and neuropsychological factors predictive of institutionalization or death. The cumulative mortality rate 5 years after entry into the study was 23.9%, compared with an expected rate of 9.5%. The 5-year cumulative rate of admission to nursing homes was 62.8%. The language ability of the patients on entry to the study, their scores on a brief screening test of cognitive function, and their overall ratings of clinical dementia were found to be predictors of subsequent institutional care and death. The age of the patients had a significant modifying effect on these predictive factors, resulting in a greater risk of institutionalization and death in younger patients with severe cognitive impairment as compared with older individuals with the same degree of dysfunction.

Duke Scholars

Author William E. Wilkinson Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Division of Biostatistics

Author Barrie James Hurwitz Neurology

Author Lisa Pepper Gwyther Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Adult Psychiatry & Psychol ...