Centre for Policy on Ageing



Reporting of dementia on death certificates — a community study
Author(s)	Mary Ganguli, Eric G Rodriguez
Journal title	Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 47, no 7, July 1999
Pages	pp 842-849
Keywords	Dementia ; Death ; United States of America.
Annotation	A prospective epidemiological study in which people living in the community with and without dementia were identified and followed until death, and their death certificates were examined. Of 1422 people aged 65 and over at the start of the study, 527 had died in the 8 year follow-up. 172 of the deceased had study diagnoses of dementia. Of 168 in which the sub-type could be diagnosed, 31% had probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 38.7% possible AD. On their death certificates, conditions indicating or suggesting dementia were reported in 23.8% of dementia overall. Although AD is widely regarded as a leading cause of death, dementias are reported on the death certificates of only a quarter of demented individuals in the population at large. Reporting is more likely in those with more advanced dementia, with probable AD, and those who die in long-term institutions. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-990825318 A
Classmark	EA: CW: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.