ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the investigations of the usefulness of existing data as a way of investigating geographical variation in the prevalence of and mortality from Alzheimer's disease in England and Wales. Two sources of data relevant to Alzheimer's disease exist; the first is routinely collected mortality data, derived from the information recorded on death certificates by the doctor certifying death; the second is the numerous surveys that have been carried out to determine the local prevalence of dementia. In the absence of generally agreed and workable definitions for dementia and criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, workers are obliged to construct an empirical definition for themselves. The annual numbers of deaths from senile dementia and senility were examined for the period 1974 to 1984. Two facts of importance emerged; first, the majority of patients had died in hospitals with long-stay beds; second, the most common terminal event by far, was bronchopneumonia.
