Graves A B, Larson E B, White L R, Teng E L, Homma A
Battelle Center for Public Health Research, Seattle, Washington.
Int Psychogeriatr. 1994 Fall;6(2):209-23. doi: 10.1017/s1041610294001778.
Estimates of the prevalence rates for dementia vary significantly among countries. Such variation may be explained, at least in part, by methodologic differences in studies. The disparities in prevalence rates of dementia subtypes, particularly Alzheimer's disease and multi-infarct dementia, are especially apparent in studies conducted in Eastern and Western countries. In Japan and China, the prevalence of multi-infarct dementia exceeds that of Alzheimer's disease, whereas in the West, Alzheimer's disease predominates in the vast majority of studies. Clearly, cross-cultural studies of incidence using standard methods are needed to investigate whether a true difference in risk exists, and which risk factors differentially contribute to this variation. Migrant studies of genetically homogeneous populations offer a unique opportunity to answer these questions. This article explores the value of migrant studies, their application to etiologic questions of dementia and its subtypes, and recommendations concerning how to conduct such studies.
各国对痴呆症患病率的估计差异很大。这种差异至少部分可以用研究中的方法学差异来解释。痴呆症亚型患病率的差异，尤其是阿尔茨海默病和多发梗死性痴呆，在东西方国家进行的研究中尤为明显。在日本和中国，多发梗死性痴呆的患病率超过阿尔茨海默病，而在西方，绝大多数研究中阿尔茨海默病占主导地位。显然，需要采用标准方法进行跨文化发病率研究，以调查是否存在真正的风险差异，以及哪些风险因素对这种差异有不同的影响。对基因同质人群的移民研究为回答这些问题提供了独特的机会。本文探讨了移民研究的价值、其在痴呆症及其亚型病因学问题中的应用，以及有关如何进行此类研究的建议。
