Authors of a comprehensive systematic review focused on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its impact over the last decade highlight its status as the most common neurodegenerative disease globally. Drawing from databases like Embase, Medline, and the Cochrane Library, the review considered observational studies from various countries that reported on incidence, prevalence, comorbidities, and outcomes related to AD. These outcomes included aspects of disability and mortality/life expectancy in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD, or those with mild, moderate, or severe AD dementia.

The results, derived from 88 studies, revealed AD diagnoses were confirmed using biomarkers in only a small fraction of these studies. The data showed that individuals with AD dementia experienced higher rates of comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes compared with controls, and their 5-year mortality rate was approximately double that of the age- and year-matched general population. These findings point to an increased likelihood of comorbid conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and stroke in people with AD dementia. The review underscores the urgent need for future longitudinal studies, incorporating biomarker assessments, to more accurately characterize the progression of MCI due to AD and AD dementia.

Reference: Lanctôt KL, Hviid Hahn-Pedersen J, Eichinger CS,. Burden of Illness in People with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review of Epidemiology, Comorbidities and Mortality. J Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2024;11(1):97-107. doi: 10.14283/jpad.2023.61.