Some contributions to the epidemiology of dementia and depression

Abstract

Objective. To give an account of how a research programme in epidemiology at the NHMRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit developed, and an overview of work completed. Data sources. General population samples of elderly persons; and persons clinically diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease, or as being free of dementia. Study selection. The studies undertaken include integrative analyses of published work; instrument development; cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal surveys of cognitive decline, dementia and depression in general population samples; and a case-control study of Alzheimer's disease. Data synthesis. The data are of two types: continuous and categorical measures of morbidi..