‘Four year’ dementia survival

People with dementia survive on average four and a half years after diagnosis, a new study claims.

Dementia is known to be associated with increased risk of death but no estimate exists for actual survival of people with dementia in England and Wales, a report says in today’s British Medical Journal (BMJ).

But a new analysis by UK researchers places the average figure at under five years, with age, sex and existing disability all having an influence.

They studied over 13,000 individuals aged 65 and over, assessing them for dementia at regular intervals over a 14-year period from 1991 to 2005.

During the study period 438 people developed dementia, of which 356 died.

There was nearly seven-years difference in survival between the youngest and the oldest people with dementia; 10.7 years for those aged 60 to 65 and 3.8 for those aged over 90.

In men average survival time from dementia onset to death was 4.1 years, compared to 4.6 years in women.

Frailer individuals were found to die on average three years earlier than the most able.

Social class, higher education, living arrangements, marital status and self-reported health were not associated with survival once other factors were taken into account.

“Some of these results may seem self evident but they answer questions asked by those caring for and advising people with dementia,” the researchers conclude.