Characteristics of Alzheimer's Disease among Patients in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Beijing

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Yang, Yuan-Han^{a; b; c} | Wang, Huali^d | Lam, Linda^e | Chan, Wai-Chi^f | Yu, Xin^d | Li, Tao^d | Wang, Wen-Fu^{g; h} | Chiu, Pai-Yiⁱ | Lin, Yu-Te^j | Hu, Chaur-Jong^k | Fuh, Jong-Ling^{l; m} | Morris, John C.^{n; o; p; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | [b] Department of and Master's Program in Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | [c] Mentality Protection Center, Fo Guang Shan Compassion Foundation, Taiwan | [d] Dementia Care and Research Center, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China | [e] Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China | [f] Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong | [g] Department of Neurology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan | [h] Center for General Education, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan | [i] Department of Neurology, Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan | [j] Section of Neurology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | [k] Department of Neurology, Shung Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan | [l] Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan | [m] Faculty of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan | [n] Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA | [o] Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA | [p] Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: John C. Morris, MD, Knight Alzheimer' Disease Research Center, 4488 Forest Park Avenue, Suite 130, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. Tel.: +1 314 286 2881; Fax: +1 314 286 2763; E-mail: morrisj@abraxas.wustl.edu.

Abstract: In order to obtain data from patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia and their informants in a uniform manner and to foster further research among the Chinese and other races, we have conducted an international study to recruit patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Beijing. The Uniform Data Set was translated into Chinese and administrated to AD patients and their informants. A total of 1,107 AD dementia patients were recruited, including 691 from Taiwan, 244 from Beijing, and 172 from Hong Kong. There were differences in the AD patients: gender (p = 0.099), education (p < 0.001), age (p < 0.001), and handedness (p = 0.007). For informants, age (p = 0.679), gender (p = 0.117), education (p < 0.001), and living together or not (p < 0.001) differed in the three samples. Although three areas across the Taiwan Strait are ethnic Chinese, the clinical picture for patients and informants are very different. Further study is needed to clarify the significance of clinical characteristics in Chinese societies.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, Beijing, Hong Kong, informant, Taiwan, uniform data set

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-140174

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 193-200, 2014