Johnell_2008_Dement.Geriatr.Cogn.Disord_25_54

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Low education has been shown to be a risk factor for dementia. However, little is known about the association between educational level and dementia drugs.
METHODS: We conducted a register-based study in Sweden of 645,973 people aged 75-89 years. Data on age, sex, type of residential area (urban/rural), dispensed drugs and education were analyzed from people aged 75-89 years registered in the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register during July to October 2005. The 3 main outcome measures were dispensed dementia drugs, cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine) and memantine.
RESULTS: Dementia drugs were used by 3% of the study population, cholinesterase inhibitors by almost 3% and memantine by 0.4%. High education was associated with dementia drugs (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.19-1.34 for >or=15 years of education compared with or=15 years of education compared with or=15 years of education compared with