title: The association between Alzheimer's disease and thyroid disease in Rochester, Minnesota.
abstract: To determine whether an association exists between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and thyroid disease, we carried out two studies in the population of Rochester, Minnesota. We reviewed medical records of a cohort of 198 women with histologically confirmed Hashimoto's thyroiditis (1935 to 1974) for evidence of subsequent dementia, applying the criteria used for dementia in a previous determination of incidence and prevalence rates in this population. From a total of 4,197 person-years of follow-up, eight cases of AD were diagnosed, whereas the expected number was 5.8. The standardized morbidity ratio was 1.37, which failed to reach statistical significance. The second study was a retrospective case-control comparison that sought any relationship between AD and all thyroid disorders, using a previously identified (1960 to 1979) AD cohort (N = 646) and their age- and sex-matched controls. For myxedema there was a positive association for AD without significance, whereas in Graves' disease there was a significant negative association for AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yoshimasu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kokmen
authors.forename: I D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Hay
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Beard
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Offord
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Kurland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology