Epidemiology: rapid increase in Alzheimer's disease prevalence in Japan

Abstract

As the percentage of elderly people aged 65 years and over in Japan increased from 7% to 14% over 24 years, ratio of the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) to that of vascular dementia (VaD) also rapidly increased. The increase in the AD/VaD ratio has been assumed to be caused by a decrease in the prevalence of VaD. As the estimated prevalence is influenced by the methodology, including sampling procedure, screening technique and diagnostic criteria, a ratio has been used to minimize errors. The prevalence of AD increased because of the increase in the number of people above 75 years in the population. The decrease in the prevalence of VaD is not significant in spite of advances in the management of cerebrovascular diseases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).