title: European studies on the prevalence of dementia in the elderly: time for a step towards a methodological consensus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to discuss methodological limitations in studies on the prevalence of dementia across European countries with particular attention to post-EURODEM studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two people independently focused on an iterative literature search for studies published in the years 2000-2012 using the following keywords: 'dementia', 'Alzheimer', 'incidence', 'prevalence' that were cross-linked with names of European countries. After that, the results obtained were compared and publications in English were included in a subsequent analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We included 26 studies published in the years 2000-2012. The majority of epidemiological studies come from Spain and Italy. The past decade has not provided prevalence rates from a considerable number of countries. There is also a lack of nationwide surveys on the prevalence of dementia. Predominantly, epidemiological studies on the prevalence of dementia follow a two-stage approach that consists of a screening phase and a subsequent confirmation of dementia. However, several differences, particularly with regard to the neuropsychological instruments used, still exist and contribute to inconsistent prevalence rates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the EURODEM study was a milestone in the epidemiology of dementia in Europe and provided several future directions for research, methodological limitations are apparent in a number of European studies on the prevalence of dementia and require particular attention. In particular, a variety of diagnostic instruments requires unification for future studies. On the other hand, given the lack of epidemiological studies from a number of countries and the increasing prevalence of dementia, the need for population-based surveys should be emphasized.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors: Blazej
authors: B
authors: Misiak
authors: Magdalena
authors: M
authors: Cialkowska-Kuzminska
authors: Dorota
authors: D
authors: Frydecka
authors: Sylwia
authors: S
authors: Chladzinska-Kiejna
authors: Andrzej
authors: A
authors: Kiejna
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D032921:Consensus; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans
keywords: Europe; dementia; methodology; prevalence