Predictors of approaching death in individuals with Alzheimer disease and
Alzheimer disease-related dementias 
   Lead Investigator:    Shangchen Song
   Institution      :    University of Florida
   E-Mail           :    s.song@ufl.edu
   Proposal ID      :    1653



   Proposal Description:
   Individuals with dementia and caregivers describe knowing what to expect (e.g. regarding progression) as a major unmet need. Despite this, little research investigates predictors of death in individuals with dementia in ways that can be applied directly to prognostication in clinical care. Recently Haaksma, et al. developed 3-year survival probability tables based on age, gender, MMSE score, diagnosis (AD vs VaD/mixed/other vs FTD/LBD/PDD) and Charlson Comorbidity Index score, but the database used to develop those predictions lacked many potential variables. Additionally, it only looked at 3-year survival, whereas other time frames (eg 1 year) would be helpful for clinicians and families. We aim to identify predictors of death at 1, 3, and 5 years in individuals with dementia in NACC, focusing on the four most common dementias (AD, vascular, Lewy body dementia, FTD).     For this study, we will include NACC participants with a primary etiologic diagnosis of AD, Lewy body disease, FTD, or vascular dementia at their most recent visit. For participants labeled as normal or as having mild cognitive impairment at initial visits, we will be focusing only on the visits where they were given a dementia label. We will be requesting/using all visits with dementia diagnoses so that we can perform analyses looking at changes over time in predictor models.