[A case-control study of risk factors on Alzheimer's disease. Multicenter collaborative study in China]

A case control study to assess the possible risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) among Chinese population was conducted on 126 clinical diagnosed AD patients and 252 matched by sex, age, nationality non-demand neighborhood as control. Factors significantly associated with AD cases were: family history of dementia in first degree relatives, family history of psychoses in first degree relatives, few interests and heavy negative life events during individual's life time. Neither family history of Down's syndrome, antecedent history of head trauma, nor other condition that might support immune hypotheses were significantly associated with AD cases. The data from this study support the familial/genetic hypotheses of AD and also the role of psychosocial factors in AD.