Co-morbidity and drug treatment in Alzheimer's disease. A cross sectional study of participants in the dementia study in northern Norway

• Published in: BMC geriatrics 2011-10, Vol.11 (1), p.58-58, Article 58
• Main Authors: Andersen, Fred, Viitanen, Matti, Halvorsen, Dag S, Straume, Bjørn, Engstad, Torgeir A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - drug therapy; Alzheimer Disease - epidemiology; Alzheimer's disease; Angina pectoris; Antidepressants; Body mass index; Cardiovascular disease; Care and treatment; Chronic illnesses; Community medicine, Social medicine: 801; Comorbidity; Confidence intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dementia - drug therapy; Dementia - epidemiology; Diabetes; Diagnosis; Drug therapy; Family medical history; Family physicians; Female; Geriatrics; Health sciences: 800; Helsefag: 800; Hospitals; Humans; Male; Medical disciplines: 700; Medical/dental ethics, behavioural sciences, history: 805; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Medicine; Medisinsk/odontologisk etikk, atferdsfag, historie: 805; Medisinske Fag: 700; Mental disorders; Methods; Morbidity; Norway - epidemiology; Older people; Polypharmacy; Population Surveillance - methods; Prescription drugs; Prescription Drugs - adverse effects; Prescription Drugs - therapeutic use; Psychotropic drugs; Samfunnsmedisin, sosialmedisin: 801; Standard deviation; Stroke; Substance abuse treatment; VDP
• ISSN: 1471-2318; 1471-2318
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2318-11-58

Inappropriate medical treatment of co-morbidities in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an increasing concern in geriatric medicine. The objective of this study was to compare current drug use related to co-morbidity between individuals with a recent diagnosis of AD and a cognitively healthy control group in a population based clinical trial in Northern Norway. Nine rural municipalities with 70,000 inhabitants in Northern Norway. PARTICIPANTS with and without AD recruited in general practice and by population based screening.187 participants with a recent diagnosis of AD were recruited among community dwellers. Of 791 respondents without cognitive symptoms, 500 were randomly selected and invited to further clinical and cognitive testing. The final control group consisted of 200 cognitively healthy individuals from the same municipalities. Demographic characteristics, data on medical history and current medication were included, and a physical and cognitive examination was performed. The statistical analyses were carried out by independent sample t-test, chi-square, ANCOVA and logistic regression. A co-morbidity score was significantly higher in AD participants compared to controls. The mean number of drugs was higher for AD participants compared to controls (5.1±3.6 and 2.9±2.4 respectively, p