Schoenberg B S
Neurol Clin. 1986 May;4(2):447-57.
Descriptive epidemiologic studies demonstrate that the risk of dementia in general and of Alzheimer's disease in particular increases with advancing age, and the risk appears to be slightly greater among women. There is no firm epidemiologic evidence to suggest that Alzheimer's disease represents two distinct conditions. Demographic projections indicate that the number of affected individuals is expected to grow as the elderly segment of our population increases. Analytic epidemiologic studies have yielded a number of positive findings, including an excess of dementia, Down's syndrome, and lymphoma in the relatives of index cases of Alzheimer's disease and a greater than expected frequency of head trauma and thyroid disease among those with Alzheimer's disease. Results have not been consistent from study to study and await further confirmation. It is hoped that findings of future analytic investigations will provide much needed information required for the development of rational programs of treatment and prevention of this major health problem.
描述性流行病学研究表明，一般痴呆症尤其是阿尔茨海默病的风险会随着年龄增长而增加，且女性中的风险似乎略高。没有确凿的流行病学证据表明阿尔茨海默病代表两种不同的病症。人口预测显示，随着我国老年人口的增加，受影响个体的数量预计会上升。分析性流行病学研究已得出一些阳性结果，包括阿尔茨海默病索引病例的亲属中痴呆症、唐氏综合征和淋巴瘤的发病率过高，以及阿尔茨海默病患者中头部外伤和甲状腺疾病的发病率高于预期。各研究结果并不一致，有待进一步证实。希望未来分析性调查的结果将为制定合理的治疗和预防这一重大健康问题的方案提供急需的信息。
