Some contributions to the epidemiology of dementia and depression.
OBJECTIVE
To give an account of how a research programme in epidemiology at the NHMRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit developed, and an overview of work completed.


METHODS
General population samples of elderly persons; and persons clinically diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease, or as being free of dementia.


METHODS
The studies undertaken include integrative analyses of published work; instrument development; cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal surveys of cognitive decline, dementia and depression in general population samples; and a case-control study of Alzheimer's disease.


RESULTS
The data are of two types: continuous and categorical measures of morbidity; and measures of personal, social and biological attributes of the sample, including assessment of disablement and use of services. The findings have been both descriptive and analytic. New instruments developed are the Canberra Interview for the Elderly (CIE), the IQCODE and the Psychogeriatric Assessment Scales (PAS).


CONCLUSIONS
Beyond simple estimates of the prevalence of dementia, cognitive impairment and depression, we have focused mainly on aetiology and outcome in community samples. Unexpected opportunities have had a substantial influence on the direction of our work.
Henderson
A S
AS
National Health and Medical Research Council Social Psychiatry Research Unit, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. spru@anu.edu.au
Jorm
A F
AF
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012494:Sampling Studies