A state-of-the-art review of current knowledge on the epidemiology of dementia. Findings from recent studies are critically assessed with the aim of determining the magnitude of the current and future public health problem posed by dementia, identifying risk factors, and guiding the development of appropriate interventions. In view of demographic trends towards an increasingly aged population, the book predicts that the future will see a marked expansion in the number of persons suffering from dementia, with profound social and economic consequences. The book opens with a review of methodological and conceptual issues surrounding the diagnosis of dementia of Alzheimer type, vascular dementia, Lewy body disease, Pick disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Huntington disease, Parkinson disease, and progressive dementia caused by AIDS. Various diagnostic methods, screening instruments, and simplified assessment questionnaires, used in epidemiological studies, are also briefly discussed. The most extensive chapter reviews and interprets the results of incidence and prevalence studies conducted in different populations. Studies of a range of possible risk factors for vascular dementia and Alzheimer disease are evaluated in the next chapter. For Alzheimer disease, possible risks considered range from genetic factors, through exposure to aluminium, to the use of alcohol, tobacco, and analgesics. The book concludes with a series of conclusions and recommendations for future research. Annexed to the book are the ICD-10 clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines, and the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for research, for this group of disorders.

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WHODOC

WHO monograph

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