“There is a clear increase in the number of cases in the elderly aged 80 and over”
“Diabetes is highly associated with Alzheimer’s disease among chronic diseases”
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‘Alzheimer’s dementia’ accounts for 60-80% of all dementia symptoms. The risk of developing the disease increases with age, and is a major cause of senile dementia.
The most likely cause of Alzheimer’s dementia is the ‘amyloid beta’ hypothesis. After excessive accumulation of toxic amyloid beta protein in the brain, abnormalities in tau protein, which plays an important role in maintaining the skeleton of brain cells, overlap, destroying nerve cells and causing cognitive dysfunction.
However, a study found that the incidence of Alzheimer’s dementia in Korea surged following the age of 69.
The research team led by Professors Hanna Jo and Han-Kyul Kim of the Department of Neurology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, analyzed the current status of Alzheimer’s dementia among the Korean population aged 40 and over (26.21 million as of 2015) from 2006 to 2015 using big data from the National Health Insurance Corporation. It was announced on the 17th that this characteristic was confirmed.
According to the results of this study, the number of patients with Alzheimer’s dementia in Korea jumped 4.96 times from 3.17 per 1,000 in 2006 to 15.75 in 2015.
In terms of the number of patients by age, the increase was most evident in the elderly aged 80 years or older.
In the case of those in their 80s, in 2006 alone, 1.46 per 1,000 people were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia, but in 2001, this rate increased by 4.71 times to 6.88. In the 70s and 60s, the number of diagnoses increased 2.54 times (1.00 → 2.54) and 1.84 times (0.25 → 0.46), respectively, during the same period.
Among chronic diseases, diabetes was strongly associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
The number of Alzheimer’s dementia patients in the diabetic group was 2.90 and 6.48 per 1000 people in 2006 and 2015, respectively, significantly ahead of 1.69 and 4.93 in the non-diabetic group at the same time. Hypertension and hyperlipidemia were also factors influencing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
What is noteworthy is that the standard age for diagnosing Alzheimer’s dementia in Korea was analyzed as 69 years old. This means that the number of diagnoses of Alzheimer’s dementia is low before the age of 69, but increases rapidly following the age of 69, the research team explained.
Trend of Alzheimer’s dementia by age group. thesis excerpt
According to the research team, the most typical symptom of Alzheimer’s dementia is a progressively worsening memory impairment. In addition, there may be language impairments and impairments in spatiotemporal ability.
Professor Kim Han-gyeol said, “If these cognitive impairments interfere with work or normal work performance or life ability, it can be considered Alzheimer’s dementia. “He said.
Professor Kim said, “Even though advanced countries such as Europe and the United States are publishing research results that the incidence of Alzheimer’s dementia is now gradually decreasing, the number of patients is still increasing. Active efforts by individuals to improve vascular factors such as high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia are necessary,” he advised.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of ‘Frontiers in Neurology’, an international journal in the field of neurology.
Lee Seung-gu, online news reporter lee_owl@segye.com
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