Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in an elderly urban population: relationship with age, sex, and education

Abstract

We studied the prevalence of different types of dementia in an elderly population in Stockholm, Sweden, in relation to age, sex, and education. The study confirmed Alzheimer's disease (AD) as the most frequent type of dementia and the positive association of dementias with age, even in the most advanced ages. In contrast to previously reported data, we found the same proportion of AD and vascular dementia in the different age strata, and no sex differences regarding the prevalence of different dementia types. Finally, less educated people had a higher prevalence of all dementias, due essentially to a higher prevalence of alcoholic dementia and unspecified type of dementia. The prevalence of AD was similar across different levels of education.