title: The complex role of having confidant on the development of Alzheimer's disease in a community-based cohort of older people in Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Social interaction is a lifestyle factor associated with a decreased risk of dementia in several studies. However, specific aspects of these social factors influencing dementia are unknown. This study aimed at evaluating the role of the distinct aspects of social support on the incidence of dementia in a community-based cohort of older people in Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 345 healthy and independent elderly subjects living in the community were followed by 12 years. Incident cases of dementia and probable Alzheimer's disease were defined by DSM-IV criteria and NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, respectively. Social variables evaluated were marital status, living arrangement, living children, living sibling, confidant and attending recreational groups. Sex, age, education, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, depressive symptoms and family income were entered as co-variates in a Cox proportional hazard model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The absence of confidant was the only social variable associated to higher risk of developing dementia (HR = 5.31; p < 0.001), even after adjustment for age (HR = 1.08; p = 0.048) and baseline MMSE score (HR = 0.79; p = 0.002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that to have a confidant could be an important lifestyle factor associated with dementia.
authors.affiliation: Dementia Clinic, Neurology Service, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Analuiza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Camozzato
authors.forename: Cláudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Godinho
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Varela
authors.forename: Cristiano
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kohler
authors.forename: Juciclara
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.forename: Márcia L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chaves
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012306:Risk; D012944:Social Support