Studies have shown that people with schizophrenia are at a high risk of dementia. However, the magnitude and timing of this association are not known. This study aims to determine the age-specific prevalence and incidence of dementia in older adults with schizophrenia.
This retrospective cohort study included a total of 8,011,773 adults aged 66 years or older, of which 74,170 individuals had schizophrenia and 7,937, 603, didn’t have a schizophrenia diagnosis (control group). The primary outcome of the study was the diagnosis of dementia as defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
During 336,814 person-years (schizophrenia group) and 55,499,543 person-years of follow-up, the prevalence of diagnosed dementia was 27.9% among individuals with schizophrenia, compared with 1.3% in the control group. At 80 years of age, the prevalence of dementia in individuals with schizophrenia increased to 70.2% compared with 11.3% in those without schizophrenia. The annual incidence of dementia diagnosis was 52.5 per 1000 person-years in individuals with schizophrenia and 4.5 per 1000 person-years among individuals without schizophrenia.
The research concluded that when compared with older adults without schizophrenia, older adults with schizophrenia were at a high risk of developing dementia, and the risk increased with age.
Ref: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2777006?resultClick=1
