Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low ... more Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low levels of amyloid-β1-42 and high levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau is typical of Alzheimer's disease. However, several neurodegenerative disorders may overlap with Alzheimer's disease both in regards to clinical symptoms and neuropathology. In a uniquely large cohort of dementia patients, we examined the associations of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease molecular pathology with clinical dementia diagnoses and disease severity. We cross-referenced the Swedish Dementia Registry with the clinical laboratory database at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The final data set consisted of 5676 unique subjects with a clinical dementia diagnosis and a complete set of measurements for cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β1-42, total tau and phosphorylated tau. In cluster analysis, disregarding clinical diagnosis, the optimal natural separation of this data set w...
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, Jan 12, 2015
New research guidelines for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include biomarker evide... more New research guidelines for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include biomarker evidence of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau pathology. The aim of this study was to investigate what proportion of AD patients diagnosed in clinical routine in Sweden that had an AD-indicative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker profile. By cross-referencing a laboratory database with the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), 2357 patients with data on CSF Aβ and tau biomarkers and a clinical diagnosis of AD with dementia were acquired. Altogether, 77.2% had pathologic Aβ42 and total tau or phosphorylated tau in CSF. These results were stable across age groups. Female sex and low mini-mental state examination score increased the likelihood of pathologic biomarkers. About a quarter of clinically diagnosed AD patients did not have an AD-indicative CSF biomarker profile. This discrepancy may partly reflect incorrect (false positive) clinical diagnosis or a lack in sensitivity of the biomarker assays.
The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagn... more The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagnostic work-up, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden.
We hypothesized that CSF neurofilament light (NFL) levels would be elevated in dementias with sub... more We hypothesized that CSF neurofilament light (NFL) levels would be elevated in dementias with subcortical involvement, including vascular dementia (VaD), but less elevated in dementias primarily affecting gray matter structures, such as Alzheimer disease (AD), and that elevated CSF NFL would correlate with disease severity and shorter survival time irrespective of clinical diagnosis. We included 3,356 individuals with dementia who had CSF NFL analyzed in our laboratory between 2005 and 2012. Clinical diagnoses and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores were obtained from the Swedish Dementia Registry, and in selected cases (n = 478), date of death from the Swedish Mortality Registry. CSF NFL differed among clinical diagnoses, with the highest levels seen in frontotemporal dementia, VaD, and mixed AD and VaD. Early-onset AD (younger than 65 years) had the lowest levels. High CSF NFL correlated with low MMSE score and short survival time irrespective of diagnosis, and was also pa...
The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagn... more The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagnostic work-up, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden. SveDem is an internet based quality registry where several indicators can be followed over time. It includes information about the diagnostic work-up, medical treatment and community support (www.svedem.se). The patients are diagnosed and followed-up yearly in specialist units, primary care centres or in nursing homes. The database was initiated in May 2007 and covers almost all of Sweden. There were 28 722 patients registered with a mean age of 79.3 years during 2007-2012. Each participating unit obtains continuous online statistics from its own registrations and they can be compared with regional and national data. A report from SveDem is published yearly to inform medical and care professionals as well as political and administrative decision-makers about the current quality of diagnostics, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden. SveDem provides knowledge about current dementia care in Sweden and serves as a framework for ensuring the quality of diagnostics, treatment and care across the country. It also reflects changes in quality dementia care over time. Data from SveDem can be used to further develop the national guidelines for dementia and to generate new research hypotheses.
Background: Most patients with dementia lose body weight over the course of the disease and have ... more Background: Most patients with dementia lose body weight over the course of the disease and have a lower body mass index (BMI) than subjects with normal cognition. Aims: To examine body mass index and how it correlates with cognitive status, age and gender in patients with different dementia disorders. Materials and Methods: Data from newly diagnosed dementia patients in the Swedish Dementia Quality Registry (SveDem) and recorded information about age, gender, cognitive status and BMI was analyzed using independent samples t tests and one-way analysis of variance. Results: A total of 12,015 patients, 7,121 females and 4,894 males were included in the study. The average BMI was 24. More than a quarter of the patients had a BMI of <22. Females were significantly older (p < 0.001) and males had a significantly higher BMI (p < 0.001) at the time of diagnosis. BMI differed significantly by gender in various dementia disorders and correlated significantly with cognitive status and age. Conclusion: At the time of diagnosis, patients with various dementia disorders had a BMI within the normal range. However, a significant number had a BMI in a lower, suboptimal range for older persons stressing the need for nutritional assessment as part of the dementia work up. Further analyses with longitudinal follow-up are needed to investigate BMI changes over time.
Background and objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) - the main cause of dementia - is characte... more Background and objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) - the main cause of dementia - is characterized by the presence of neuritic plaques containing the amyloid- peptide (A) and an intraneuronal accumulation of tubule-associated protein called tau. The current and future therapeutic strategies for AD will be discussed. Currently available treatment used in AD is based on acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, since in the
Objective: To determine whether changes in brain biometals in Alzheimer disease (AD) and in norma... more Objective: To determine whether changes in brain biometals in Alzheimer disease (AD) and in normal brain tissue are tandemly associated with amyloid -peptide (A) burden and dementia severity. Methods: The authors mea- sured zinc, copper, iron, manganese, and aluminum and A levels in postmortem neocortical tissue from patients with AD (n 10), normal age-matched control subjects (n 14), patients with
Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low ... more Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low levels of amyloid-β1-42 and high levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau is typical of Alzheimer's disease. However, several neurodegenerative disorders may overlap with Alzheimer's disease both in regards to clinical symptoms and neuropathology. In a uniquely large cohort of dementia patients, we examined the associations of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease molecular pathology with clinical dementia diagnoses and disease severity. We cross-referenced the Swedish Dementia Registry with the clinical laboratory database at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The final data set consisted of 5676 unique subjects with a clinical dementia diagnosis and a complete set of measurements for cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β1-42, total tau and phosphorylated tau. In cluster analysis, disregarding clinical diagnosis, the optimal natural separation of this data set w...
Knowledge on survival in dementia is crucial for patients and public health planning. Most studie... more Knowledge on survival in dementia is crucial for patients and public health planning. Most studies comparing mortality risk included few different dementia diagnoses. To compare mortality risk in the most frequent dementia disorders in a large cohort of patients with an incident diagnosis, adjusting for potential confounding factors. 15,209 patients with dementia from the national quality database, Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), diagnosed in memory clinics from 2008 to 2011, were included in this study. The impact of age, gender, dementia diagnosis, baseline Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), institutionalization, coresidency, and medication on survival after diagnosis were examined using adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). During a mean follow-up of 2.5 years, 4,287 deaths occurred, with 114 (95% CI 111-117) deaths/1,000 person-years. Adjusted HR of death for men was 1.56 (95% CI 1.46-1.66) compared to women. Low MMSE, institutionalization, and h...
Introduction: Compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is usually as... more Introduction: Compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is usually associated with a more complex clinical picture and higher burden of care. Yet, few investigations have been performed on comorbidities and risk factors of DLB. Therefore, we aimed to compare clinical risk factors and comorbidity profile in DLB and AD patients using two nationwide registries. Methods: This is a linkage study between the Swedish dementia registry (SveDem) and the Swedish National Patient Registry conducted on 634 subjects with DLB and 9161 individuals with AD registered during the years 2007-2012. Comorbidity profile has been coded according to the International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD 10) in addition to the date of each event. The main chapters of the ICD-10, the Charlson score of comorbidities and a selected number of neuropsychiatric diseases were compared between the DLB and AD groups. Comorbidity was registered before and after the dementia diagnosis. Results: "Mental and behavioral disorders", "diseases of the nervous system", "diseases of the eye and adnexa", diseases of the "circulatory", "respiratory", and "genitourinary" systems, "diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue" and "diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue" occurred more frequently in the DLB group after multivariate adjustment. Depression [adjusted OR = 2.12 (95%CI 1.49 to 3.03)] and migraine [adjusted OR = 3.65 (95%CI 1.48 to 9.0)] were more commonly recorded before the diagnosis of dementia in the DLB group. Following dementia diagnosis, ischemic stroke [adjusted OR = 1.89 (95%CI 1.21 to 2.96)] was more likely to happen among the DLB patients compared to the AD population.
Mutations in three causative genes have been identified in patients with an autosomal-dominant fo... more Mutations in three causative genes have been identified in patients with an autosomal-dominant form of early-onset Alzheimer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (EOAD). To determine the spectrum of mutations in a group consisting of 40 Polish patients with clinically diagnosed familial EOAD and 1 patient with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and family history of AD, we performed a screening for mutations in the presenilin 1 (PSEN1), presenilin 2 (PSEN2) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) genes. Four previously recognized pathogenic mutations in PSEN1 gene (H163R, M139V) and APP gene (T714A, V715A), and three novel putative mutations in PSEN1 gene (P117R and I213F) and PSEN2 gene (Q228L) were identified. The 34 patients with no mutations detected were older than the patients with mutations. A frequency of APOE4 allele was higher in this group. Frequency of mutations is relatively low (17%), possibly due to used operational definition of a patient with familial EOAD (a patient having at least one relative with early-onset dementia). It could be concluded that screening for mutations in the three genes could be included in a diagnostic program directed at patients with a positive family history or age of onset before 55 years.
Heart failure (HF) and dementia frequently coexist, but little is known about their types, relati... more Heart failure (HF) and dementia frequently coexist, but little is known about their types, relationships to each other and prognosis. The aims were to (i) describe patients with HF and dementia, assess (ii) the proportion of specific dementia disorders in types of HF based on ejection fraction and (iii) the prognostic role of types of HF and dementia disorders. The Swedish Heart Failure Registry (RiksSvikt) and The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) were record-linked. Associations between dementia disorders and HF types were assessed with multinomial logistic regression and survival was investigated with Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox regression. We studied 775 patients found in both registries (55% men, mean age 82 years). Ejection fraction was preserved in 38% of patients, reduced in 34%, and missing in 28%. The proportions of dementia disorders were similar across HF types. Vascular dementia was the most common dementia disorder (36%), followed by other dementias (2...
The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagn... more The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagnostic work-up, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden. SveDem is an internet based quality registry where several indicators can be followed over time. It includes information about the diagnostic work-up, medical treatment and community support (www.svedem.se). The patients are diagnosed and followed-up yearly in specialist units, primary care centres or in nursing homes. The database was initiated in May 2007 and covers almost all of Sweden. There were 28 722 patients registered with a mean age of 79.3 years during 2007-2012. Each participating unit obtains continuous online statistics from its own registrations and they can be compared with regional and national data. A report from SveDem is published yearly to inform medical and care professionals as well as political and administrative decision-makers about the current quality of diagnostics, treatment and ...
Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2014
Body mass index (BMI) is used worldwide as an indirect measure of nutritional status and has been... more Body mass index (BMI) is used worldwide as an indirect measure of nutritional status and has been shown to be associated with mortality. Controversy exists over the cut points associated with lowest mortality, particularly in older populations. In patients suffering from dementia, information on BMI and mortality could improve decisions about patient care. The objective was to explore the association between BMI and mortality risk in an incident dementia cohort. Cohort study based on SveDem, the Swedish Quality Dementia Registry; 2008-2011. Specialist memory clinics, Sweden. A total of 11,398 patients with incident dementia with data on BMI (28,190 person-years at risk for death). Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for mortality associated with BMI were calculated, controlling for age, sex, dementia type, results from Mini-Mental State Examination, and number of medications. BMI categories and linear splines were used. Higher BMI was associated with decreased mortality risk, with all higher BMI categories showing reduced risk relative to patients with BMI of 18.5 to 22.9 kg/m(2), whereas underweight patients (BMI &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;18.5 kg/m(2)) displayed excess risk. When explored as splines, increasing BMI was associated with decreased mortality risk up to BMI of 30.0 kg/m(2). Each point increase in BMI resulted in an 11% mortality risk reduction in patients with BMI less than 22.0 kg/m(2), 5% reduction when BMI was 22.0 to 24.9 kg/m(2), and 3% risk reduction among overweight patients. Results were not significant in the obese weight range. Separate examination by sex revealed a reduction in mortality with increased BMI up to BMI 29.9 kg/m(2) for men and 24.9 kg/m(2) for women. Higher BMI at the time of dementia diagnosis was associated with a reduction in mortality risk up to and including the overweight category for the whole cohort and for men, and up to the normal weight category for women.
Due to age of onset, Alzheimer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s ... more Due to age of onset, Alzheimer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (AD) is divided into early onset (EOAD) or late onset (LOAD), but emerging data also suggests that the underlying pathology may be different. Whether differences in clinical care exist is less well investigated. To evaluate whether there are differences in demographics, diagnostic work-up, and pharmacological treatment between EOAD and LOAD. Data on patients with newly diagnosed EOAD (n = 453) and LOAD (n = 4599) was obtained from the Swedish dementia registry (SveDem). Logistic regression models were used to adjust the comparisons for the baseline confounders including gender, cognitive decline, and co-morbidity. The majority of EOAD and LOAD were in the mild stage of the disease when diagnosed. The majority of patients with EOAD went through an extended diagnostic work-up including more technical investigations as well as assessments by neuropsychologists and speech therapists than patients with LOAD. EOAD patients were treated with overall fewer medications but obtained treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors to a higher extent than those with LOAD, while there were no differences between the groups in antidepressant and antipsychotics use. There are differences between EOAD and LOAD in demographics, diagnostic work-up, and pharmacological treatment. Based on our findings, an extensive work-up should be recommended when EOAD is suspected.
Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low ... more Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low levels of amyloid-β1-42 and high levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau is typical of Alzheimer's disease. However, several neurodegenerative disorders may overlap with Alzheimer's disease both in regards to clinical symptoms and neuropathology. In a uniquely large cohort of dementia patients, we examined the associations of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease molecular pathology with clinical dementia diagnoses and disease severity. We cross-referenced the Swedish Dementia Registry with the clinical laboratory database at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The final data set consisted of 5676 unique subjects with a clinical dementia diagnosis and a complete set of measurements for cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β1-42, total tau and phosphorylated tau. In cluster analysis, disregarding clinical diagnosis, the optimal natural separation of this data set w...
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, Jan 12, 2015
New research guidelines for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include biomarker evide... more New research guidelines for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include biomarker evidence of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau pathology. The aim of this study was to investigate what proportion of AD patients diagnosed in clinical routine in Sweden that had an AD-indicative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker profile. By cross-referencing a laboratory database with the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), 2357 patients with data on CSF Aβ and tau biomarkers and a clinical diagnosis of AD with dementia were acquired. Altogether, 77.2% had pathologic Aβ42 and total tau or phosphorylated tau in CSF. These results were stable across age groups. Female sex and low mini-mental state examination score increased the likelihood of pathologic biomarkers. About a quarter of clinically diagnosed AD patients did not have an AD-indicative CSF biomarker profile. This discrepancy may partly reflect incorrect (false positive) clinical diagnosis or a lack in sensitivity of the biomarker assays.
The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagn... more The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagnostic work-up, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden.
We hypothesized that CSF neurofilament light (NFL) levels would be elevated in dementias with sub... more We hypothesized that CSF neurofilament light (NFL) levels would be elevated in dementias with subcortical involvement, including vascular dementia (VaD), but less elevated in dementias primarily affecting gray matter structures, such as Alzheimer disease (AD), and that elevated CSF NFL would correlate with disease severity and shorter survival time irrespective of clinical diagnosis. We included 3,356 individuals with dementia who had CSF NFL analyzed in our laboratory between 2005 and 2012. Clinical diagnoses and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores were obtained from the Swedish Dementia Registry, and in selected cases (n = 478), date of death from the Swedish Mortality Registry. CSF NFL differed among clinical diagnoses, with the highest levels seen in frontotemporal dementia, VaD, and mixed AD and VaD. Early-onset AD (younger than 65 years) had the lowest levels. High CSF NFL correlated with low MMSE score and short survival time irrespective of diagnosis, and was also pa...
The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagn... more The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagnostic work-up, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden. SveDem is an internet based quality registry where several indicators can be followed over time. It includes information about the diagnostic work-up, medical treatment and community support (www.svedem.se). The patients are diagnosed and followed-up yearly in specialist units, primary care centres or in nursing homes. The database was initiated in May 2007 and covers almost all of Sweden. There were 28 722 patients registered with a mean age of 79.3 years during 2007-2012. Each participating unit obtains continuous online statistics from its own registrations and they can be compared with regional and national data. A report from SveDem is published yearly to inform medical and care professionals as well as political and administrative decision-makers about the current quality of diagnostics, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden. SveDem provides knowledge about current dementia care in Sweden and serves as a framework for ensuring the quality of diagnostics, treatment and care across the country. It also reflects changes in quality dementia care over time. Data from SveDem can be used to further develop the national guidelines for dementia and to generate new research hypotheses.
Background: Most patients with dementia lose body weight over the course of the disease and have ... more Background: Most patients with dementia lose body weight over the course of the disease and have a lower body mass index (BMI) than subjects with normal cognition. Aims: To examine body mass index and how it correlates with cognitive status, age and gender in patients with different dementia disorders. Materials and Methods: Data from newly diagnosed dementia patients in the Swedish Dementia Quality Registry (SveDem) and recorded information about age, gender, cognitive status and BMI was analyzed using independent samples t tests and one-way analysis of variance. Results: A total of 12,015 patients, 7,121 females and 4,894 males were included in the study. The average BMI was 24. More than a quarter of the patients had a BMI of <22. Females were significantly older (p < 0.001) and males had a significantly higher BMI (p < 0.001) at the time of diagnosis. BMI differed significantly by gender in various dementia disorders and correlated significantly with cognitive status and age. Conclusion: At the time of diagnosis, patients with various dementia disorders had a BMI within the normal range. However, a significant number had a BMI in a lower, suboptimal range for older persons stressing the need for nutritional assessment as part of the dementia work up. Further analyses with longitudinal follow-up are needed to investigate BMI changes over time.
Background and objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) - the main cause of dementia - is characte... more Background and objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) - the main cause of dementia - is characterized by the presence of neuritic plaques containing the amyloid- peptide (A) and an intraneuronal accumulation of tubule-associated protein called tau. The current and future therapeutic strategies for AD will be discussed. Currently available treatment used in AD is based on acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, since in the
Objective: To determine whether changes in brain biometals in Alzheimer disease (AD) and in norma... more Objective: To determine whether changes in brain biometals in Alzheimer disease (AD) and in normal brain tissue are tandemly associated with amyloid -peptide (A) burden and dementia severity. Methods: The authors mea- sured zinc, copper, iron, manganese, and aluminum and A levels in postmortem neocortical tissue from patients with AD (n 10), normal age-matched control subjects (n 14), patients with
Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low ... more Progressive cognitive decline in combination with a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker pattern of low levels of amyloid-β1-42 and high levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau is typical of Alzheimer's disease. However, several neurodegenerative disorders may overlap with Alzheimer's disease both in regards to clinical symptoms and neuropathology. In a uniquely large cohort of dementia patients, we examined the associations of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease molecular pathology with clinical dementia diagnoses and disease severity. We cross-referenced the Swedish Dementia Registry with the clinical laboratory database at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The final data set consisted of 5676 unique subjects with a clinical dementia diagnosis and a complete set of measurements for cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β1-42, total tau and phosphorylated tau. In cluster analysis, disregarding clinical diagnosis, the optimal natural separation of this data set w...
Knowledge on survival in dementia is crucial for patients and public health planning. Most studie... more Knowledge on survival in dementia is crucial for patients and public health planning. Most studies comparing mortality risk included few different dementia diagnoses. To compare mortality risk in the most frequent dementia disorders in a large cohort of patients with an incident diagnosis, adjusting for potential confounding factors. 15,209 patients with dementia from the national quality database, Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), diagnosed in memory clinics from 2008 to 2011, were included in this study. The impact of age, gender, dementia diagnosis, baseline Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), institutionalization, coresidency, and medication on survival after diagnosis were examined using adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). During a mean follow-up of 2.5 years, 4,287 deaths occurred, with 114 (95% CI 111-117) deaths/1,000 person-years. Adjusted HR of death for men was 1.56 (95% CI 1.46-1.66) compared to women. Low MMSE, institutionalization, and h...
Introduction: Compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is usually as... more Introduction: Compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is usually associated with a more complex clinical picture and higher burden of care. Yet, few investigations have been performed on comorbidities and risk factors of DLB. Therefore, we aimed to compare clinical risk factors and comorbidity profile in DLB and AD patients using two nationwide registries. Methods: This is a linkage study between the Swedish dementia registry (SveDem) and the Swedish National Patient Registry conducted on 634 subjects with DLB and 9161 individuals with AD registered during the years 2007-2012. Comorbidity profile has been coded according to the International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD 10) in addition to the date of each event. The main chapters of the ICD-10, the Charlson score of comorbidities and a selected number of neuropsychiatric diseases were compared between the DLB and AD groups. Comorbidity was registered before and after the dementia diagnosis. Results: "Mental and behavioral disorders", "diseases of the nervous system", "diseases of the eye and adnexa", diseases of the "circulatory", "respiratory", and "genitourinary" systems, "diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue" and "diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue" occurred more frequently in the DLB group after multivariate adjustment. Depression [adjusted OR = 2.12 (95%CI 1.49 to 3.03)] and migraine [adjusted OR = 3.65 (95%CI 1.48 to 9.0)] were more commonly recorded before the diagnosis of dementia in the DLB group. Following dementia diagnosis, ischemic stroke [adjusted OR = 1.89 (95%CI 1.21 to 2.96)] was more likely to happen among the DLB patients compared to the AD population.
Mutations in three causative genes have been identified in patients with an autosomal-dominant fo... more Mutations in three causative genes have been identified in patients with an autosomal-dominant form of early-onset Alzheimer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (EOAD). To determine the spectrum of mutations in a group consisting of 40 Polish patients with clinically diagnosed familial EOAD and 1 patient with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and family history of AD, we performed a screening for mutations in the presenilin 1 (PSEN1), presenilin 2 (PSEN2) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) genes. Four previously recognized pathogenic mutations in PSEN1 gene (H163R, M139V) and APP gene (T714A, V715A), and three novel putative mutations in PSEN1 gene (P117R and I213F) and PSEN2 gene (Q228L) were identified. The 34 patients with no mutations detected were older than the patients with mutations. A frequency of APOE4 allele was higher in this group. Frequency of mutations is relatively low (17%), possibly due to used operational definition of a patient with familial EOAD (a patient having at least one relative with early-onset dementia). It could be concluded that screening for mutations in the three genes could be included in a diagnostic program directed at patients with a positive family history or age of onset before 55 years.
Heart failure (HF) and dementia frequently coexist, but little is known about their types, relati... more Heart failure (HF) and dementia frequently coexist, but little is known about their types, relationships to each other and prognosis. The aims were to (i) describe patients with HF and dementia, assess (ii) the proportion of specific dementia disorders in types of HF based on ejection fraction and (iii) the prognostic role of types of HF and dementia disorders. The Swedish Heart Failure Registry (RiksSvikt) and The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) were record-linked. Associations between dementia disorders and HF types were assessed with multinomial logistic regression and survival was investigated with Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox regression. We studied 775 patients found in both registries (55% men, mean age 82 years). Ejection fraction was preserved in 38% of patients, reduced in 34%, and missing in 28%. The proportions of dementia disorders were similar across HF types. Vascular dementia was the most common dementia disorder (36%), followed by other dementias (2...
The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagn... more The Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) was developed with the aim to improve the quality of diagnostic work-up, treatment and care of patients with dementia disorders in Sweden. SveDem is an internet based quality registry where several indicators can be followed over time. It includes information about the diagnostic work-up, medical treatment and community support (www.svedem.se). The patients are diagnosed and followed-up yearly in specialist units, primary care centres or in nursing homes. The database was initiated in May 2007 and covers almost all of Sweden. There were 28 722 patients registered with a mean age of 79.3 years during 2007-2012. Each participating unit obtains continuous online statistics from its own registrations and they can be compared with regional and national data. A report from SveDem is published yearly to inform medical and care professionals as well as political and administrative decision-makers about the current quality of diagnostics, treatment and ...
Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2014
Body mass index (BMI) is used worldwide as an indirect measure of nutritional status and has been... more Body mass index (BMI) is used worldwide as an indirect measure of nutritional status and has been shown to be associated with mortality. Controversy exists over the cut points associated with lowest mortality, particularly in older populations. In patients suffering from dementia, information on BMI and mortality could improve decisions about patient care. The objective was to explore the association between BMI and mortality risk in an incident dementia cohort. Cohort study based on SveDem, the Swedish Quality Dementia Registry; 2008-2011. Specialist memory clinics, Sweden. A total of 11,398 patients with incident dementia with data on BMI (28,190 person-years at risk for death). Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for mortality associated with BMI were calculated, controlling for age, sex, dementia type, results from Mini-Mental State Examination, and number of medications. BMI categories and linear splines were used. Higher BMI was associated with decreased mortality risk, with all higher BMI categories showing reduced risk relative to patients with BMI of 18.5 to 22.9 kg/m(2), whereas underweight patients (BMI &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;18.5 kg/m(2)) displayed excess risk. When explored as splines, increasing BMI was associated with decreased mortality risk up to BMI of 30.0 kg/m(2). Each point increase in BMI resulted in an 11% mortality risk reduction in patients with BMI less than 22.0 kg/m(2), 5% reduction when BMI was 22.0 to 24.9 kg/m(2), and 3% risk reduction among overweight patients. Results were not significant in the obese weight range. Separate examination by sex revealed a reduction in mortality with increased BMI up to BMI 29.9 kg/m(2) for men and 24.9 kg/m(2) for women. Higher BMI at the time of dementia diagnosis was associated with a reduction in mortality risk up to and including the overweight category for the whole cohort and for men, and up to the normal weight category for women.
Due to age of onset, Alzheimer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s ... more Due to age of onset, Alzheimer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (AD) is divided into early onset (EOAD) or late onset (LOAD), but emerging data also suggests that the underlying pathology may be different. Whether differences in clinical care exist is less well investigated. To evaluate whether there are differences in demographics, diagnostic work-up, and pharmacological treatment between EOAD and LOAD. Data on patients with newly diagnosed EOAD (n = 453) and LOAD (n = 4599) was obtained from the Swedish dementia registry (SveDem). Logistic regression models were used to adjust the comparisons for the baseline confounders including gender, cognitive decline, and co-morbidity. The majority of EOAD and LOAD were in the mild stage of the disease when diagnosed. The majority of patients with EOAD went through an extended diagnostic work-up including more technical investigations as well as assessments by neuropsychologists and speech therapists than patients with LOAD. EOAD patients were treated with overall fewer medications but obtained treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors to a higher extent than those with LOAD, while there were no differences between the groups in antidepressant and antipsychotics use. There are differences between EOAD and LOAD in demographics, diagnostic work-up, and pharmacological treatment. Based on our findings, an extensive work-up should be recommended when EOAD is suspected.
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