Rate for all causes of dementia in people age 90 and older is 18.2% annually and significantly increases with age in both men and women. A new report, called “The 90+ Study,” is one of only a few to examine dementia in this age group, and the first to have sufficient participation of centenarians.
Dementia (senility) is a progressive, degenerative disorder that affects memory, language, attention, emotions, and problem solving capabilities. A variety of diseases cause dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and other neurodegenerative disorders. Findings of the study appear in the Annals of Neurology.
According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance between six and 10 percent of the individuals 65 years and older have dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease accounting for two-thirds of those cases.
Researchers at the University of California completed a study on 330 participants who were primarily women (69.7%) between the ages of 90 to 102. these indivviduals showed no signs of dementia at baseline. Researchers identified 140 new cases of dementia during follow-up with 60% of those cases attributed to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 22% vascular dementia, 9% mixed AD and vascular dementia and 9% with other or unknown cause.
Their findings show dementia incidence rates almost double every five years in those 90 and older. Researchers found the overall incidence rate based on 770 person-years of follow-up was 18.2% per year.
Rates increased with age from 12.7% per year in the 90-94 age group, to 21.2% per year in the 95-99 age group, to 40.7% per year in the 100+ age group. Incidence rates were very similar for men and women. Previous results from The 90+ Study found higher estimates of dementia prevalence in women (45%) compared to men (28%), a result also seen in other similar studies.
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