Abstract
BackgroundDetermining the epidemiology of dementia among the population as a whole in specific jurisdictions – including the long-term care population–is essential to providing appropriate care. The objectives of this study were to use linked administrative databases in the province of Saskatchewan to determine the 12-month incidence and prevalence of dementia for the 2012/13 period (1) among individuals aged 45 and older in the province of Saskatchewan, (2) according to age group and sex, and (3) according to diagnosis code and other case definition criteria.MethodsWe used a population-based retrospective cohort study design and extracted data from 10 provincial health databases linked by a unique health services number. The cohort included individuals 45 years and older at first identification of dementia between April 1, 2001 and March 31, 2013 based on case definitions met within any one of four administrative health databases (Hospital Discharge s, Physician Service Claims, Prescription Drug, and RAI-MDS, i.e., Long-term Care).ResultsA total of 3,270 incident cases of dementia (7.28 per 1,000 PAR) and 13,012 prevalent cases (28.16 per 1,000 PAR) were identified during 2012/13. This study found the incidence rate increased by 2.8 to 5.1 times and the prevalence rate increased by 2.6 to 4.6 times every 10 years after 45 years of age. Overall, the age-standardised incidence rate was significantly lower among females than males (7.04 vs. 7.65 per 1,000 PAR) and the age-standardised prevalence rate was significantly higher among females than males (28.92 vs. 26.53 per 1,000 PAR). Over one-quarter (28 %) of all incident cases were admitted to long-term care before a diagnosis was formally recorded in physician or hospital data, and nearly two-thirds of these cases were identified at admission with impairment at the moderate to very severe level or a disease category of Alzheimer’s disease/other dementia.ConclusionsLinking multiple sources of registry data contributes to our understanding of the epidemiology of dementia across multiple segments of the population, inclusive of individuals residing in long-term care. This information is foundational for public awareness and policy recommendations, health promotion and prevention strategies, appropriate health resource planning, and research priorities.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-015-0075-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Determining the epidemiology of dementia among the population as a whole in specific jurisdictions – including the long-term care population–is essential to providing appropriate care
Incidence by sex and age group Overall, 3,270 incident cases of dementia were identified among adults aged 45 years and older in Saskatchewan for the 2012/13 period (Fig. 1)
Among females compared to males aged 85 and older, the lower incidence rate but higher prevalence rate of dementia suggest a lower likelihood of dementia or perhaps lower formal recognition, but longer disease duration, among females than males in this age group
Summary
Determining the epidemiology of dementia among the population as a whole in specific jurisdictions – including the long-term care population–is essential to providing appropriate care. It is estimated that there is one incident case of dementia every 4 seconds, or 7.7 million incident cases each year [1]. Low fertility rates and improved life expectancy are expected to be the main drivers of population aging [3], with the absolute number of older adults aged 65 years and older tripling worldwide from 524 million in 2010 to 1.5 billion in 2050 [4]. Among individuals aged 60 years and over in 2010, dementia prevalence was between 5-7 % worldwide; dementia onset before the age of 65 (i.e., early onset dementia) was estimated to account for 6-9 % of all prevalent cases [2]. International recognition of the association between population aging and the growing numbers of individuals with chronic and degenerative diseases has resulted in greater attention on dementia as a significant global health challenge [2]. The more prominent of these initiatives involve building capacity among health care professionals to diagnose and treat dementia in its early stages, improving public awareness of symptoms and stigma associated with resistance to help-seeking, and improving the availability and accessibility of diagnostic and post-diagnosis resources [6,7,8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
