title: Incidence and lifetime risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in a Southern European population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To calculate both the incidence rates and the lifetime risk (LTR) of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A two-phase case-finding procedure was implemented in a cohort of 4057 cognitively intact individuals 55+ years of age living in Zaragoza, Spain, and followed-up at 2.5 and 4.5 years. Age- and sex-specific incidence rates were calculated. A mortality-adjusted, multivariate model was used to document LTRs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidence rate of dementia continued to rise after the age of 90 years, but was slightly lower than in North and West European studies. Only a tendency for an increased LTR with age was observed. Thus, LTR was 19.7% for a 65-year-old woman and 20.4% at the age of 85 years, the corresponding figures for AD being 16.7% and 17.6%. The LTR of AD was higher in women and was about twice as high among illiterate individuals when compared with individuals with higher educational levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence rate of dementia in this Southern European city was slightly lower than in previous studies in North-West Europe. LTR of dementia and AD seems to be slightly increased with age. The association of illiteracy with higher LTR of AD is intriguing.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Service, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Zaragoza, Spain. alobo@unizar.es
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lopez-Anton
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santabárbara
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de-la-Cámara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Quintanilla
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Campayo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Palomo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Jimenez
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saz
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marcos
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology