ABSTRACT
In 1986, the National Institute on Aging funded several Alzheimer’s Disease Patient Registries (ADPRs) across the United States. This chapter presents preliminary results from the Pittsburgh ADPR, with specific reference to the use of health and human services by persons with dementing disorders. The University of Pittsburgh’s ADPR was set up as a model population-based registry of all cases of dementia in a defined population. The Pittsburgh ADPR is linked to the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Case ascertainment in the Monongahela Valley Independent Elders Survey project is a multistage survey process, comprised of cognitive screening, initial clinical evaluation and final diagnostic assessment of progressively smaller groups of eligible subjects. With health services as well as record-keeping being less than uniform, the data gathered from providers alone are likely to be insufficient for the establishment of case registries.
