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AlzRisk Cohort Detail
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Cohort: World War II Navy and Marine veterans
Risk Factors:

Introduction to the Cohort
Participants were all World War II veterans from the US Navy or Marines. They were male, had served in the military during 1944 to 1945, and were hospitalized during their military service with a diagnosis of head injury, pneumonia, or laceration, puncture, or incision wounds.

Ethnicity Breakdown
95% percent of participants were Caucasian, 3.5% were African American, and the remaining 1.5% were from other races.

Diagnosis & Evaluation Methods
Dementia was diagnosed in three stages. First, participants or an informant were interviewed via telephone using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICSm) or the Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline (IQCODE), respectively.

Second, if a participant scored beyond a specified cut-point on either test, the telephone Dementia Questionnaire (DQ) was administered.

Third, if a participant was selected for further review, dementia diagnosis was made based on neuropsychological testing and medical record review. DSM-IIIR criteria was used for dementia assessment, and NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for Alzheimer's disease.

References
Plassman BL, Havlik RJ, Steffens DC, Helms MJ, Newman TN, Drosdick D, Phillips C, Gau BA, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Burke JR, Guralnik JM, Breitner JC.
Documented head injury in early adulthood and risk of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Neurology. 2000 Oct 24;55(8):1158-66.