Relationship Between Dementia and Comorbid Diseases

Aim: Dementia is an increasingly frequent health problem worldwide. It is known that comorbid disease prevelance is high in dementia patients. Dementia can challenge the management of comorbid diseases and the ability of patients to manage chronic conditions. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between dementia and comorbidity. Methods: 2264 patients aged 60 years and over were included in the study. Patients were divided into 2 groups who have dementia and no dementia. Chronic disease information, socio-demographic data, drug numbers were evaluated retrospectively from patient follow-up files. The results obtained were compared among the patient groups. Results: The mean age of 1767 non-demented patients was 74.36 ± 8.5, and the mean age of 497 demented patients was 78.06 ± 8.48. Hypertension was the most common chronic disease in both groups of patients. The total number of comorbid diseases in the non-demented group was 3.06, and in demented group was 2.69. The Charlson Comorbidity Index was significantly higher in the demented patient group (p <0.001). Conclusion: It is known that comorbid diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia play role in dementia risk, but these findings suggest that vascular risk factors in etiopathogenesis of dementia might not be forefront and other risk factors may take part of disease development