Day S, Roberts S, Launder NH, Goh AMY, Draper B, Bahar-Fuchs A, Loi SM, Laver K, Withall A, Cations M. Age of Symptom Onset and Longitudinal Course of Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Vascular Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
J Alzheimers Dis 2021;
85:1819-1833. [PMID:
34958038 DOI:
10.3233/jad-215360]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Understanding how the age of dementia symptom onset affects the longitudinal course of dementia can assist with prognosis and care planning.
OBJECTIVE
To synthesize evidence regarding the relationship of age of symptom onset with the longitudinal course of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
METHODS
We searched Medline, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Scopus for longitudinal studies that examined the impact of sporadic AD, VaD, or FTD symptom onset age on measures of cognition, function, or behavioral symptoms. Studies that examined age at diagnosis only were excluded. Quantitative meta-analysis was conducted where studies reported sufficient data for pooling.
RESULTS
Thirty studies met all inclusion criteria (people with AD (n = 26), FTD (n = 4)) though no studies examined VaD. Earlier onset of AD was associated with more rapid annual cognitive decline (estimate = -0.07; 95% CI -0.14 to 0.00; p = 0.045). Most studies that stratified their sample reported that younger AD onset (usually < 65 years) was associated with more rapid cognitive decline. Other evidence was inconclusive.
CONCLUSION
Younger people with AD appear to have a poorer prognosis in terms of faster cognitive decline than older people with AD. More research is required to determine the impact of symptom onset age in VaD and FTD, and on functional decline in all dementias.
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