Dementia Increasing Among People Over 90
"Gathering reliable information on such a large number of the 'oldest old' makes this one of the largest studies investigating dementia in this age segment of the population," study author Ugo Lucca, head of the Laboratory of Geriatric Neuropsychiatry at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan, said in a news release.
"This study's results confirm that Alzheimer's and dementia are very common among the oldest people in society. We believe this strengthens the need to shift more of the focus of clinical research to this segment of the elderly population," Lucca said.
The study was to be presented Monday at the Alzheimer's Association's annual meeting in Vienna.
Another study presented at the meeting found that the "oldest old" females in Europe have a higher rate of dementia than previously documented. The researchers reviewed data from 26 previously published studies and found that dementia prevalence rates for all men and women up to age 85 confirmed previous findings. However, rates were higher than previously documented among the oldest old females, rising to more than 50 percent among those older than 95.
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