Abstract
To test the hypothesis that education may affect clinical course and survival in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients we examined retrospectively a large AD database and obtained information from the National Death Index concerning these patients. AD patients with >11 years of education (high school complete) were compared with AD patients who had <11 years of education (high school incomplete) on measures of cognition and overall function. As compared with AD patients with high school incomplete, AD patients with high school complete presented at a significantly earlier average age (72.9 ±8.6 vs. 75.9 ±6.5 years; p<0.001 ), with less cognitive impairment as indicated by Mini-mental State scores (17.0 ±6.2 vs. 14.8 ±6.0; p<0.001 ), but no difference in global functioning as indicated by scores on the Blessed Dementia Rating Scale. Despite their higher cognitive scores at entry, AD patients with high school complete had essentially the same duration of illness and died at a slightly earlier age than those with high school incomplete. Survival analysis showed no effect of concomitant heart disease, hypertension, lung disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, head injury or Parkinson symptoms; nor was there an effect of the life style factors of cigarette smoking or alcohol use.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 369-374 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Alzheimer's Reports |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| State | Published - Dec 1 1998 |
Keywords
- Alzheimer's disease
- Education survival
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology