Dementia among seniors - ARCHIVED

The prevalence of dementia increases sharply in old age and is higher among women than men. Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, affects a greater proportion of women. On average, the number of years lived with dementia is longer for women, and women with dementia are more likely to be living in institutions than men with the condition. This article examines age-standardized rates of dementia among men and women aged 65 and over. The data are from the 1991 Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA), a joint effort of the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa and the federal government's Laboratory Centre for Disease Control. Life expectancy estimates from Statistics Canada were combined with CSHA data to estimate the average proportions of life that are lived with and without dementia, in the community and in institutions.