Background/Aims: Detailed information on the age- and sex-specific relationships between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is scarce. This study aims to prospectively investigate the age- and sex-specific incidence density and relative hazards of AD in relation to diabetes. Methods: A total of 615,529 diabetic patients and 614,871 age- and sex-matched random controls were linked to the claim data from 2000–2008 to identify the first occurrence of a primary or secondary diagnosis of AD. Incidence density was calculated under the Poisson assumption. We also assessed the age- and sex-specific risk of AD in relation to diabetes with the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results: Over nearly 9 years of follow-up, a total of 4,615 diabetic subjects developed AD, representing a cumulative incidence rate of 0.75% (n = 3,873; 0.63% in controls). The overall incidence densities of AD for diabetic men and women, respectively, were 0.82 and 1.15 per 1,000 person-years, which were higher than those for control men and women (0.63 and 0.89 per 1,000 person-years, respectively). Diabetic patients had a significantly higher hazard ratio (HR) of AD [1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.38–1.52]. Diabetic women ≥65 years had a higher HR (1.52, 95% CI 1.42–1.62) than diabetic women <65 years (1.34, 95% CI 1.15–1.56). Conclusion: Diabetes may increase the risk of AD in both sexes and in all ages. A higher HR of AD was especially notable in older diabetic women.

Background: Screening or diagnosis for the elderly with dementia in rural regions might be delayed and underestimated due to limited utilization of healthcare resources. This study aimed to evaluate the disparities of prevalence and risk factors of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia between urban and rural residence.Methods: In this nationwide door-to-door survey, 10,432 participants aged 65 years and more were selected by computerized random sampling from all administrative districts in Taiwan and were assessed by an in-person interview. We calculated the prevalence of MCI and dementia with their risk factors examined by multivariable logistic regression.Results: The prevalence of dementia in rural, suburban, and urban areas among the elderly was 8.69% (95% CI, 8.68-8.69), 6.63% (95% CI, 6.62-6.63), and 4.46% (95% CI, 4.46-4.47), respectively. A similar rural-suburban-urban gradient relationship on the dementia prevalence was observed in any age and sex group. The rural/urban ratio was higher in women than in men for both MCI and dementia. Urbanization remained to be an independent factor for both MCI and dementia after adjustment for age, gender, education, lifestyle, and health status. The beneficial effects of exercise on dementia were more evident in rural areas than in urban ones.Conclusions: Significantly higher prevalence of MCI and dementia were found in rural areas than in urban ones, especially for women. The odds of risk factors for MCI and dementia varied between urbanization statuses. Focus on the rural-urban inequality and the modification of associated factors specifically for different urbanization levels are needed.

Background. Very few nationwide studies have focused on the variations in the incidence and prevalence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in Asian countries. This study aims to describe the gender and age differences in the incidence and prevalence of dementia and AD in Taiwan. Methods. The data on dementia and AD were acquired from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2004 to 2010. The sex and age-specific rates were standardized, and the differences of gender and age on dementia or AD were assessed using Poisson regression analysis. Results. Over seven years, the prevalence of dementia and AD significantly increased from 4.7 to 7.6 per hundred people (β = 0.0784, p<0.0001) and 2.3 to 3.5 per hundred people (β = 0.0696, p<0.0001), respectively. However, the incidence of both dementia and AD decreased but not significantly from 10.9 to 10.7 and 4.9 to 4.6 per thousand person-years, respectively. Noticeably, both incidence and prevalence increased with age and were higher in women than in men. Conclusions. The standardized incidence rates of dementia and AD are much lower than the data reported in some studies from Europe, the US, and Japan. Further studies are warranted to explore which factors are associated with the differences in the incidence of dementia and AD in Taiwan.

Demographic, socioeconomic, and urbanization level variations in Parkinson’s disease (PD) are rarely investigated, especially in Asia. This study describes an eight-year trend in PD incidence and prevalence in Taiwan as well as assessing the effects of sociodemographics and urbanization on the incidence and prevalence of PD. The data analyzed were acquired from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) entries between 2002 and 2009. The calendar year, sex, and age-specific rates were standardized, and the effects of the sociodemographics and urbanization on PD were assessed using Poisson regression analysis. PD incidence and prevalence showed a significantly increasing trend, with a greater magnitude noted for prevalence than for incidence (87.3% versus 9.2%). The PD incidence and prevalence increased with age and were slightly higher in men than in women. The people who were not under the labor force (i.e., dependents) or with lower monthly incomes were at significantly increased adjusted incidence rate ratio (1.50–1.56) and adjusted prevalence rate ratio (1.66–1.71) of PD. Moreover, significantly higher PD incidence and prevalence were noted in areas with lesser urbanization. This information emphasizes the need for preventive and clinical care strategies targeting the segment of Taiwanese population that exhibited a greater incidence and prevalence of PD.