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There are more than 90 published reports describing the predictors of survival among patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), [1] but most consist of relatively small numbers of cases usually recruited from community, hospital, or nursing home populations in single catchment areas. Moreover, the followup period in these studies was often limited to 3 years or less. The present study examines the survival of subjects enrolled by the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD). This multicenter longitudinal study of AD, established in 1986, comprises 21 university medical centers in the United States. [2] The CERAD subjects in this study were scheduled for annual evaluation, some being followed for as long as 7 years. Approximately onethird have died, more than half of whom have had autopsy examination with confirmation of the diagnosis of AD in 87% of cases. [3] Thus, in contrast to previous reports, the present survival study of AD has the considerable advantage of a large number of nationally distributed cases, a relatively long period of observation, and a high rate of autopsy-confirmed diagnoses.
Methods.
Patients.
The 1,171 patients with AD in the present study were enrolled in CERAD between April 1987 and January 1995. All subjects received the standardized CERAD assessment battery at entry and at annual followup examinations. These assessment batteries, which have been described previously, [4,5] include a medical and neurologic examination; neuroimaging; screening blood tests to exclude thyroid dysfunction, vitamin B-12 deficiency, blood chemistry disturbances, and hematologic abnormalities; and a battery of neuropsychological measures. Information regarding the patient's history was obtained from a family member or other qualified informant as well as from the subject. Survival status was sought at annual evaluation, or from informants for persons who had not returned within 6 months of the scheduled annual visit. Date of death was obtained from …
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