Incidence and mortality of alcohol-related dementia and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome: A nationwide register study

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Crime, mortality and neurocognitive disorders: A nationwide register study in Finland

Objectives To explore mortality of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), or Lewy body dementias (LBD) who had criminal behavior in the year preceding diagnosis. Methods Data were obtained from the nationwide registers. Mortality was compared between disorder groups with and without criminal acts and with the general population. The cohort included patients who had received a discharge register diagnosis of AD (N = 80,540), FTD (N = 1060), or LBD (N = 10,591) between 1998 and 2015. The incidences of crimes were calculated in the year preceding diagnosis. We further calculated age- and sex-adjusted survivals of different dementia groups with and without criminal acts, and in relation to the general population (SMR, Standardized Mortality Ratio). Results Criminal behavior was more common in men than in women. It was associated with decreased mortality in the AD group. SMRs due to unnatural causes, and in the LBD and FTD female groups, were higher in patients with criminal behavior than in those without. Conclusion LBD and female FTD patients, who had criminal behavior before diagnosis, were at higher risk of death than patients without such behavior. Novel criminality in older adults may be associated with neurocognitive disorder, in which case medical attention is justified.Peer reviewe

Antipsychotic Use and Mortality in Persons with Alcohol-Related Dementia or Wernicke–Korsakoff Syndrome: A Nationwide Register Study in Finland

Background: Research on the use of psychotropic drugs in people with alcohol-related neurocognitive disorders is virtually nonexistent. We examined the prevalence of antipsychotic drug use and its effect on mortality among patients with Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) or alcohol-related dementia (ARD). Methods: In this nationwide register study, we collected data on the medication use and mortality of all persons aged ≥40 diagnosed with WKS (n = 1149) or ARD (n = 2432) between 1998 and 2015 in Finland. We calculated the prevalence of antipsychotic use within one year of diagnosis and the adjusted cumulative mortality of antipsychotic users versus non-users in relation to the age-, sex-, and calendar year-matched general population. Results: Of the WKS and ARD patients, 35.9% and 38.5%, respectively, purchased one or more antipsychotic drugs in the year following diagnosis. The adjusted cumulative mortality of the antipsychotic users was significantly lower than that of non-users in both the WKS and ARD groups, where the adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) were 0.85 (0.72–0.99) and 0.73 (0.65–0.81), respectively. WKS and ARD patients using antipsychotics were less likely to die of alcohol-related causes than antipsychotic non-users, but the difference was significant only in the ARD group. Conclusions: This population-based study shows that antipsychotic use is common in patients with WKS or ARD. In contrast to other dementia studies, our results indicate that the mortality of antipsychotic users is significantly lower than that of non-users. The lower mortality could be explained by decreased alcohol use and better healthcare coverage in antipsychotic users

Crime, mortality and neurocognitive disorders: A nationwide register study in Finland

Objectives To explore mortality of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), or Lewy body dementias (LBD) who had criminal behavior in the year preceding diagnosis. Methods Data were obtained from the nationwide registers. Mortality was compared between disorder groups with and without criminal acts and with the general population. The cohort included patients who had received a discharge register diagnosis of AD (N = 80,540), FTD (N = 1060), or LBD (N = 10,591) between 1998 and 2015. The incidences of crimes were calculated in the year preceding diagnosis. We further calculated age- and sex-adjusted survivals of different dementia groups with and without criminal acts, and in relation to the general population (SMR, Standardized Mortality Ratio). Results Criminal behavior was more common in men than in women. It was associated with decreased mortality in the AD group. SMRs due to unnatural causes, and in the LBD and FTD female groups, were higher in patients with criminal behavior than in those without. Conclusion LBD and female FTD patients, who had criminal behavior before diagnosis, were at higher risk of death than patients without such behavior. Novel criminality in older adults may be associated with neurocognitive disorder, in which case medical attention is justified.Peer reviewe